In the light of the many racial issues that have already struck in the short four weeks of 2016, I have decided to make a position statement, considering there are so many positions to take. To begin with I would like to start with something that has begun to weigh heavy on my mind as I try to ignore it.
The recent and continuing saga of controversy that surrounds cam newton. I won’t dig too deep into his college exploits because that should be common knowledge now. What I will choose to discuss is the current issues facing the young NFL superstar. The Carolina Panthers have been having an astonishing year, and it seems as they flourish there is more and more done to hinder their quarterback. Before he even had the chance to make his debut Cam Newton was dubbed the “worst NFL draft pick ever”, a statement that has been proven far from true. Even as he has led the Panthers to the Super Bowl this year he faced scrutiny over some of the most trivial things like wearing a towel on his head, things have gone as far as fining Cam 25k for “dabbing” which is a popular attributed to marijuana “dabs”. The NFL mistook this popular dance for gang signs and fined him. he has gone through the ringer for his child that was conceived out of wedlock. I feel like it’s time for the media to let it go; the guy is gonna win a super bowl and there’s nothing you can do to stop it.
The next subject I bring up reluctantly, so I will do this as painlessly as possible. The recent feuds surrounding the Oscars has gotten so far out of hand people are renouncing their race. The most recent and most prolific case has to be Stacey Dash v. The Black Community. Stacey Dash alleges that in order for black people to be fully integrated into white society we should do away with the BET channel and the BET awards, as well as end black history month. Stepping over the obvious potholes in her logic, Stacey Dash is most wrong for thinking that not acknowledging history is a good idea regardless of race. Honestly we shouldn’t be mad at her for her opinion, Stacey Dash is simply a confused woman. She feels that if we continue to vote the same and behave the same we will have the same results and the cycle will continue. Her logic is to take the opposite side of what the black community generally believes instead of examining the system as a whole.
One of the more prominent trending feuds that actually happened was one of astronomic proportions. Atlanta rapper B.O.B recently took to twitter to prove to the world once and for all that the world is flat. This rant took a life of its own and became a full blown beef with acclaimed astrophysicist Neil Degrasse Tyson that eventually led to legitimate diss tracks . What I hate about this situation and all of these recent spats is the fact that these disputes had the potential to become a platform for the people in them to actually learn something and teach other people that follow their mindset. As the way of our modern society most of these situations devolved into twitter spats and trash talk.
I would like to end on a good note, and wash myself clean of the Oscar crap by talking about the Sundance film festival and their embracing of black films. Most notably of the sundance winners was Nate Parker with his film The Birth of a Nation which netted him a $17 million distribution deal from Fox Searchlight. Other films that are worth notable mention is How to Tell You Are a Douchbag, and Beasts of No Nation which has been nominated for and won a slew of awards. Of course I am perturbed by Straight Outta Compton not getting nominated for an Academy Award, but that should be overshadowed by N.W.A being inducted into the Rock n Roll hall of fame. In turbulent times like these it seems a better use of energy to celebrate our success and stop highlighting our shortcomings.
Skip McDougle 