Media Changing at the Speed of Light

As the world turns, and I'm not writing about the soap opera, but with the advancements in technology, Newsweek magazine is now up for sale and its only a matter of weeks (I hope) before Allen & Company find a buyer.

I guess covers such as Palingate that I wrote about back in November 2009, in her running shorts and Joe Biden laying the smacketh down didn't do enough.

Joe Wilson: SC Representative's outburst & The 9-year-old

Last night, I looked forward to hearing President Obama's speech to Congress and was apprehensive because I wanted to hear the President outline, very clearly, what he was proposing for Health Care Reform.

I was also very apprehensive regarding how he would be received when he entered the chambers; whether he would be applauded and or hissed at. I was pleased to see and hear that it was the former.

When Obama began to speak, my daughter, all of 9-years-old, turned to me and said, "I'm proud to see President Obama speaking. I hope one day I can see a woman President speaking to Congress." That statement summed up all that we as parents can do, inspire, educate and encourage children to think larger than themselves.

I paid attention to Obama's speech, picking up on the key points that he was proposing to Congress and America about Health Care Reform and encouraging people to read the proposal and listen to what he had to say.

Then, like a ton of bricks, a comment was shouted from the balcony,"You lie!", to which President Obama glared in the comments direction, Vice President looked down and shook his head and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, looked like a deer-in-headlights and blinked profusely.

My daughter turned to me and asked, "What did that person just say?", to which I said I thought the person said, "That's a lie". She immediately said, "That's rude to say to anyone who is speaking, especially the President." Again, an "Aha" moment.

Suffice it to say that I know why Barack Obama is the President of the United States, for he is a better man than I am. With all my patience and understanding that people may not always see eye-to-eye, all my Caribbean, Southern, West Indian and Dutch roots would have not allowed me to let the comment slide. Again, I know now, even more than before, why Barack Obama is the President of the United States.

Yes, South Carolina Representative Joe Wilson immediately apologized for his outburst, but that doesn't change the fact that we expect alot from our children, the future leaders of this country, and yet we have adults that act like children, sometimes.

President Obama has a tough road to travel, but I know he's "Built for It", and for that I'm encouraged.

Mass Perceptions

Living in Massachusetts, having grown-up in the Virgin Islands, always invokes the question of, "Why did you move here?", well sometimes I do ask myself that same question.

I know more than a handful of people that either grew-up in Massachusetts, attended college, graduate, law or medical school and enjoyed their experience, to some extent.

Being either Black or Hispanic living in Massachusetts means that there's a history of desegregation and racial tension that is sometimes very palpable. There was the Racial Imbalance Act of 1965, which led to the creation of the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity (METCO) program, which opened the flood gates of racial tension of late 1960s, and we can't forget the image that was captured on April 5, 1976, by photographer Stanley J. Forman, then a photographer for the Boston Herald American, that continues to plague Boston. The attack of Ted Landsmark by Joseph Rakes with the American Flag, is still remembered as being a sore spot in the Commonwealth, and was aptly titled, "The Soiling of Old Glory".

So, through many tensions, some major incidents were put on public display for the United States and the world to see; all presented Boston as a city that is not kind to Blacks and Hispanics nor very welcoming, to say the least.

Fast forward to July 16, 2009, and we have the Henry Louis Gates, Jr. arrest by Officer James Crowley, because a neighbor reported seeing two men attempting to break-into a house in Cambridge, MA. Yes, the audio tapes have been released by the Cambridge Police Department and Lucia Whalen, the person that called Cambridge Police to report the suspected break-in, was vilified in the news and media, is now viewed as a concerned citizen, rather than a "racist, nosy neighbor".

President Obama's comments, made at the end of a press conference that was scheduled to address the proposed health care reform bill proposal, were very telling and understandable from my vantage point because I, too, thought Officer Crowley and the arresting officers "acted stupidly" for arresting Mr. Gates, Jr. in his own home, for which he provided identification that proved that he lived there.

On July 30, 2009, the "Beer Summit" took place at the White House between Officer James Crowley, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Vice President Joe Biden and President Obama. Cooler heads seemed to prevail and some talk about the incident took place where, we hope, each person left having learned something from one another.

Now, there's the matter of dealing with Officer Justin Barrett, who sent an email to his National Guard colleagues about the Gates, Jr. and Officer Crowley incident and referred to Mr. Gates, Jr. as a "jungle monkey".

Officer Justin Barrett's comments don't end there. We now know that he sent an email to Yvonne Abraham, a Boston Globe columnist, disagreeing with the opinion piece she wrote regarding the Gates, Jr. arrest and wrote that Gates, Jr. was a "banana-eating jungle monkey." and that she, Ms. Abraham, should serve him," I like a warm cruller and hot Panamanian, black. No sugar."

There is only so much negative news that one can put up with, and, as of late, there seems to be a plethora of negative news, particularly news that involves race and social status.

With the myriad of so-called reality television shows, it's no wonder why websites such as YouTube.com and Vimeo.com have become so popular for children and young adults to post videos of themselves doing things that, in my day, we would be ashamed to have shown or seen by our parents and friends.

Lately, I've been watching alot of national news, but every night I am drawn to watch the local news to see if there's a story that I may have missed in reading on Boston.com or Telegram.com. Nine times out of ten, it's the evening news is "old news" and I gather little new information from it.

When I'm asked about Massachusetts and what it's been like for me to live here, I always catch myself saying that it's "Nice", but what does "Nice" really mean? It means that it's a good place to live, and if you like the constant change in weather, along within close proximity to cities such as Providence, RI, Hartford, CT, and New York City, then it's a good place to live.

Having grown up on the islands of St. John and St. Thomas, Cape Cod is not attractive to me. My favorite part about Massachusetts is the fall foliage, because there is nothing in the world quite like it and I can see God's hand at work.

The winters can be tough, and, especially after this past winter, I ask myself more frequently what I'm doing living in Massachusetts. But the beauty of it all is that I know when my family and I are ready to pack it in, we have some very good locations to pick from.

So, if you ask me about Massachusetts, I will say that it's "Nice", but don't take it the wrong way. It's just Massachusetts has a long way to go to shake off the perceptions that have haunted it for many years and I highly doubt those perceptions will be changing anytime in the near future.