The President, The Professor, and The Policeman (Beer Summit): The finale

Dear Friends:

My synopsis of this fiasco…

1.) President Obama – Made his first Presidential gaffe by getting involved in this. Made the statement, “The Cambridge Police acted stupidly by arresting him when he provided proof of home ownership…” Which was then transformed (e.g. chopped in half) into a sound bite by every anti-black bigot in America (Obama has gone from a: Muslim Terrorist, Illegal Kenyan Immigrant, The anti-christ, and now the leader of the New Black Panther party, in the span of several months. It’s looking like America is gearing up for a Sarah Palin Presidency. So I’ll enjoy the next three and a half years before Armageddon)…Thus, instead of having this be a transformative moment the entire issue gets swept under the rug. This “beer summit” was purely political and well…not much else.

On the onehand I appreciate the Pres. trying to make the focus healthcare reform and the economy (the two reasons I voted for him)…but if he was just going to waffle on the issue of racial profiling then he should have just said “No comment.” Shame, Shame, Mr. President.

2.) Officer James Crowley – A bully cop, no more no less. Like the typical bully cop he believes he’s above the law and anyone who pisses him off, including senior citizens, deserve to be locked up. He’s also a liar too. There is nothing admirable or honorable about this person. It also turns out that some of his fellow officers don’t really like black folks either (which makes me wonder how the average black man in Cambridge fares when pulled over). Oh well…He probably got trashed and will go back to business as usual.

3.) Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. - The victim in this. Sadly, he was further victimized by this “beer summit.” Imagine having to sit down beside some doofus who arrested you on general principle and having to pretend as though everything is okay? On top of that you are further demeaned by the racists at your school, where you’ve have taught for years, with derogatory racial epithets all over your website and on your front lawn. I imagine it would be akin to the kid at school sharing having to share his toys with the boy that just throttled him. Professor Gates’ life has been altered by this, no doubt.

It made me particularly mad because I was taught to respect the elderly. To see older people abused SICKENS me. I don’t care what color they are.

4.) Beer is so nasty. I don’t see how anyone can drink it. I prefer mixed drinks myself.

Regards,

Toddy English.

P.S.

Okay, this is OFFICIALLY my last post on this…lol. It is over. America has ADD. We’ll forget about this the moment the next celebrity dies.

To Be Young, Gifted, Black, and A GAY…

Dear Friends:

Recently, I’ve been involved in a discussion (online actually) about the African American portion of the gay community. The conversation was divided between men and women who identified as black first/gay second and vice versa. Each individual enummerated the reasons why they believed  the way that they did. Most of the answers, from either side, were because of percieved rejection (authentic or imagined) from the overwhelming gay community or the African American Christian community. The bulk of the complaints were valid; however, I still took issue with them…

About a year ago I spoke about this extensively, in an effort to find my own way through the labyrinth that is societal expectation. Am I black first or gay first? Should one identity be chosen over another?

My ultimate conclusion would be a resounding no.

 Why do we need to choose one in favor of the other? It makes no sense for me to do so. I am not black first. I am not gay first. I am Toddy English first. That is who I am. The other two make up what I am; and for better or worse I claim them equally. All of that blackness and gayness came together to create me; therefore one cannot surely take priority over the other.

True, there is a good amount of racism and exclusion in the gay community. However, it was the gay communities that nurtured and helped me grow into the self affirming person that I am. Yes, the black community raised me, cradled me, and instilled within me its values and the like. However, sadly, it was primarily the black community that castigated, abused, shunned, and treated me like a pariah when I had the audacity to stand in my own authenticity. Both communities are comprised of good and evil. Neither is perfect. Therefore, I can’t cease to be one in favor of the other simply because one is a greater evil and the other is less. That would be the equivalent of ceasing to be human because of the evil that men inevitably do.

We’ve all been, in some way or another, persecuted by both groups. So I cannot excuse one and shun the other simply because we share a physical characteristic. Like I said I went through HELL dealing with folks who looked like me, outwardly. Yet, I’ll not cease loving who I am just because they did so.

So, with that I must say that I’ve very much in love with both facets of myself. It has made my life experience so much more vital and intense. Plus, it has given me more material for my writing. I wouldn’t trade either or for anything in the world.

Some of our greatest historical figures were black gay men and lesbians.

Langston Hughes…

Bruce Nugent…

James Baldwin…

Bayard Rustin…

Audre Lorde…

E. Lynn Harris…

And the list goes on.

I am very proud to be in such company. I think all should cherish this unique niche’ that we occupy.

Cheers!

Toddy English.

Why I Want to Date A Mechanic…

Dear Friends:

This morning I woke up and my car was dead. I mean it was deader than disco (which should be resurrected). Apparently, it was my car battery. For whatever reason–after working perfectly the day before (or maybe I missed something?)–it just wouldn’t go. So, I managed to bum a ride and head to the local auto zone and get a new car battery.

Anyway, to make a long story short, a random neighbor came over and showed me how to install the battery. Well, getting right down to it, I learned how to change a car battery. Yay! I was actually excited because I don’t know ANYTHING about cars. That is why I would like to marry (well when it becomes legal anyway) a mechanic.

Best!

Toddy English.

Curiouser and Curiouser: Boston Cop Used Racial Slurs towards Professor Gates Through E-Mail…

Dear Friends:

Officer Crowley and his wonderful equality minded, racially diverse, and 100% pure as the driven snow, brothers in blue continue to dig themselves deeper and deeper into a hole. The more that surfaces the more I’m beginning to realize that Professor Gates was 100% the victim in this case (and that President Obama was absolutely correct in his assertions). This just brings more validity to the claims of racism. Poor wittle Officer Crowley…

Read on…

An officer in the Boston Police Department was suspended yesterday for allegedly writing a racially charged e-mail about Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. to colleagues at the National Guard, a law enforcement official said. Mayor Thomas M. Menino compared the officer to a cancer and said he is “gone, g-o-n-e” from the force.

Justin Barrett

The law enforcement official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Officer Justin Barrett referred to the black scholar as a ” jungle monkey” in the letter, written in reaction to media coverage of Gates’s arrest July 16.

Barrett, a 36-year-old who has been on the job for two years, was stripped of his gun and badge yesterday and faces a termination hearing in the next week, said police spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll. He has no previous disciplinary record, she said.

“Yesterday afternoon, Commissioner Davis was made aware that Officer Barrett was the author of correspondence which included racially charged language,” she said. “At that time, Commissioner Davis immediately stripped Officer Barrett of his gun and badge, and at this time we will be moving forward with the hearing process.”

Barrett will receive legal representation from Boston Police Patrolmen’s Assocation, the police officer’s union. A woman who answered the phone at the police association said that union president Thomas J. Nee was not available for comment, but said he would be releasing a statement this evening.

Barrett could not immediately be reached for comment.

Menino said he was angry when Davis informed him of the incident Tuesday night. Of the suspended officer, Menino said he told Davis: “He has no place in this department and we have to take his badge away. That stuff doesn’t belong in our city and we’re not going to tolerate it.”

The mayor stressed that the incident was about one officer, and ”one officer doesn’t make up a police department.”

Menino, speaking to the Globe before an evening event in the South End, said he hadn’t seen the e-mail Menino said while the officer is not officially terminated, he might as well be “He’s gone, g-o-n-e. I don’t care, it’s like cancer, you don’t keep those cancers around.”

Maria Cramer of the Globe staff contributed to this report.

 

I’ll continue following this story. I believe it is of significant import. If the police are here to truly serve and protect then that goes for protecting, and respecting, tax paying citizens of ALL colors…Instead of automatically assuming that every black man is a potential adversary.

Gay In America: Color Lines Across Rainbow Skies (1-4)

Dear Friends:

I recently had the oppurtunity, at long last, to view this mini documentary by Xemmy Bear (aka Xem VanAdams) about race relations in the gay community. I loved it. I thought it was extremely well done, thoughtful, and spared the sensationalism that most documentaries of this nature tend to exploit.

Anyway, I love Xem VanAdams. He’s such a wonderful and inspirational voice in the LGBT community. So I’m showing support for him here! Check it out!

Cheers!

Toddy English.

The Muses Live!

 

Dear Friends:

Taking a queue from fellow blogger Jean Pierre Baptiste I’ve recently jumped back into my manuscript (which I completed back in 03′). I got disillusioned with it and sat it on the shelf for a few years. However, now that I’ve started writing again I literally can’t stop. I have all of these ideas and they are making the story all the more vibrant.

My solemn vow is that I will have this novella completed by the end of 10′, most definitely! I’ll keep you abreast of my work!

The muses live and these heffas ain’t playin…

Wish me luck!

Sincerely,

Toddy English.

Dave Chappelle Does Rick James (Classic Comedy)

Dear Friends:

This is some funny shit (lol)…

I used to love The Chappelle  Show!

Toddy English

Barack Obama: All American Boy!

Dear Birthers:

He’s still the President and his birth certificate is authentic.

Cheers!

Toddy English

Ballroom Dancing

Dear Friends:

I want to take up ballroom dancing as a hobby. Since I love to dance (in my bedroom) I figured it would be a really fun past-time. Plus, dancing is a great cardiovascular routine (sans the monotony of a treadmill). Any ballroom dancers out there? Where should I start? I’m going to look into it.

Best!

Toddy English.

Well, Well, Well, Officer James Crowley Is A LIAR Too (The FINAL Final word)

Dear Friends:

Curiouser and curiouser. Well, in light of new evidence it turns out that the oh so WONDERFUL (as his friends and colleagues vouched…duh?) officer Crowley is a liar. The 911 caller never mentioned the race of the suspects. Read on (FYI: You can hear the 911 call in my previous post)…

The 911 caller NEVER refered to black suspects

By Wayne Drash
CNN

(CNN) – The woman who made the 911 call that led to the arrest of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. never referred to black suspects when she called authorities for what she thought was a potential break-in.

Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. was arrested after a break-in was reported to police.

Police in Cambridge, Massachusetts, released the 911 phone call Monday. In the call, Lucia Whalen reports seeing “two larger men, one looked kind of Hispanic, but I’m not really sure, and the other one entered, and I didn’t see what he looked like at all.”

“I just saw it from a distance, and this older woman was worried, thinking somebody’s breaking in someone’s house and they’ve been barging in,” Whalen says. “She interrupted me, and that’s when I noticed. Otherwise, I probably wouldn’t have noticed it at all, to be honest with you. So I was just calling because she was a concerned neighbor, I guess.”

Attorney Wendy Murphy, who represents Whalen, also categorically rejected part of the police report that said Whalen talked with Sgt. James Crowley, the arresting officer, at the scene.

“Let me be clear: She never had a conversation with Sgt. Crowley at the scene,” Murphy told CNN by phone. “And she never said to any police officer or to anybody ‘two black men.’ She never used the word ‘black.’ Period.”

She added, “I’m not sure what the police explanation will be. Frankly, I don’t care. Her only goal is to make it clear she never described them as black. She never saw their race. … All she reported was behavior, not skin color.”

Calls to the Cambridge Police Department about the issue have not been returned. Police Commissioner Robert Haas told reporters at a news conference Monday that the 911 tape and police transmission from that day “speak for themselves, and I would ask that you form your own opinion.” He added that police always ask themselves: “If I had to do it over again, what would I have done differently?”

“This matter is not resolved,” Haas said. “We have a long way to go. We recognize that we are going to take advantage of the situation and we’re going to learn from it. We’re going to move forward.”

In the police report, filed by Crowley, he says he spoke with Whalen outside the home before he approached Gates’ house.

“She went on to tell me that she observed what appeared to be two black males with backpacks on the porch of Ware Street,” the report says. ” She told me that her suspicions were aroused when she observed one of the men wedging his shoulder into the door as if he was trying to force entry.”………….

Hmmmmmm…

Sincerely,

Toddy English.