You Call That Racism? Gimme The Fried Chicken!

After exchanging not-so-nice words, most likely via twitter and everywhere else but to each other’s faces, golfers Sergio Garcia when asked if he would have Tiger Woods over to break bread, responded by saying, “We will have him round every night.  We will serve fried chicken.”  The golfing world got their knickers in a tangle with some calling for severe punishment.

As a black man, I do not find this at all insulting.  Someone alluding that I love fried chicken? That is racist?  It’s the truth!  I am black and love fried chicken very much!  I hate steak and fish.  As a white person, would you be offended if I told you that I would prepare turkey if you came over for dinner? Would you think I am being racist?  I hope not.  Look at it this way, if it’s racist to associate a particular food with a race, how about the term, Chinese Food?  Aha!

So maybe we should all calm down about all this racial stuff.  When we bring each comment under the microscope, looking for hints of racism, we are only helping to keep racism in our society.  It’s an overkill!

And you there bro, if you are black and too upset to eat the fried chicken, pass it over to me.  You may as well get me a slice of water melon also because I love it.  Maybe it’s a black thing or maybe it’s not.

Just my take.

Related articles

• Why Golf Moron Made Me Get Fried Chicken for Dinner (docptolemysays.wordpress.com)
• Yes, Fried Chicken Jokes are Racist (theroot.com)
• Tiger Woods, Sergio Garcia Spat Turns On Fried Chicken ‘Joke’ (atlantablackstar.com)
• Garcia makes ‘fried chicken’ remark about Tiger (cbssports.com)
• Sergio Garcia Has Now Made A ‘Fried Chicken’ Joke About Tiger Woods (businessinsider.com)
• Sergio Garcia Apologizes Over Fried Chicken Joke About Tiger Woods (oldschool955.com)

My Take Or Yours?

I have an admission.  I was checking my stats recently and noticed that I had quite a few followers.  I was thrilled!  “Look honey!”  I said to my wife excitedly.  “I have almost 300 followers! I am scared.  What should I write?  How do I please all these people?  I am sure to write something that they don’t like or agree with.  How do I choose ‘safe’ topics?”  “Shut up and just keep writing.”  Was her response.  We were lying in bed so she probably just wanted to be left alone.

My wife’s answer sobered me up and I thought of the reason my blog was called ‘My Vuze’.  It wasn’t because I wanted to write what people were thinking or how they felt about something.  It was my opinion, whether popular or unpopular.  How I felt and what I thought.  If I changed that to satisfy my readers, then I would be dishonest.  I would be misrepresenting my blog.

From reading other WordPress blogs, I know that I am not alone.  Some writers double think the content of their posts so as not to offend anyone or even to attract readers.  If that’s your wish, sure go for it.   Not me.  Life is too short for that.  Granted, I won’t be rude, crude or offensive in any way and there may be a topic or two that I may prefer to steer clear of.  Some of my vuze might seem to clash with my spirituality but trust me, God is the ultimate base for my takes and I never claim to be more than human.

I promise never to doubt myself again. I would tell it like it is.  Or like I think it is.  If you don’t agree, feel free to tell me why you don’t.  Maybe your information can sway my opinion.

Related articles

• Blogging … What’s it all about then ? (mumblingsontheverge.wordpress.com)
• Don’t Overthunk It! (funnysideupandscrambled.wordpress.com

Facebook Fights

Why do people use Facebook as their battleground?  I have read some statuses that were so disgusting that I was ashamed for the person who wrote it.  Seriously folks, why would anyone use Facebook, Twitter or any other social media to attack another?  It’s coward and weak.  Tell them I said so.

I don’t care who you are, if you use Social Media to sling mud at an old flame or old friend you are feuding with, it’s unclassy.  Plain and simple!  And there’s a bunch of us ‘classy’ people who think so too.  If you have a problem with your ex, please keep it between the two of you.  Other than a few gossipers, the rest of us really don’t care to to see your dirty laundry waving in the air.

Last week, one of my Facebook friends who I always thought of as a respectable person, ranted on his status about someone who was apparently giving him grief.  His choice of adjectives muddied his intelligence.  I was shocked and disappointed.  A few days later, another good friend, same thing.  His target was a female and he called her the name of a female productive organ.  His tirade was laden with such descriptive words.  Again I was disappointed by the lack of self-control shown by these people who I thought would know better than to stoop to such a low level and reveal an ignorance previously unseen.

If you feel the urge to berate someone on Facebook, please rethink.  It’s actually not cool and you don’t sound tough.  Some may say it’s downright pathetic, but it’s my take so I won’t say that.  Seriously though, if you can’t say anything nice, say nothing.  There’s an old saying attributed to Abraham Lincoln that goes, “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.”  You have a problem?  There’s the ‘unfriend’ button or better yet, use the ‘message’ button and let them know how you feel.

Thanks to Facebook, I now know who my smart friends are.

Related articles

• Withdrawal From Stupidity (identifyingjohndoe.wordpress.com)

How Sorry Are You Really? And Are You Really Praying For Me?

I watched the caller’s number on my phone as it rang on my desk.  I knew who it was, it was a co-worker.  I wasn’t too busy to take the call but it was someone I just wasn’t in the mood to talk to right then.  The next day, I emailed the caller to let her know I got her message on my answering machine.   I started with, “I am sorry I missed your call…”  Then erased it.  Why?  Because I wasn’t really sorry.  In fact, sorry was the last thing I felt.  So I changed it to, “I missed your call…”  Much better!

Now how many of you can relate to that?  Someone call on you for help and the first words you utter are,  ”I am sorry but I can’t help you.”  Or the classic, “I am sorry but I’ll have to hurt you.”  If you are sorry and you haven’t hurt me yet, then why don’t you just forget about hurting me?  That way, we both win.  I don’t get hurt and you have no reason to feel sorry.   How about the generic auto-reply message on your phone?   “I am sorry but I can’t come to the phone right now.”   If you are too busy to take the call,  you are either ignoring the caller on purpose, in which case you are not sorry, or playing with your kids, still not sorry, or cleaning your house, etc.  Nothing there to be sorry about.  Busted!

“I am praying for you…”  I am guilty of using that cliché myself.  It’s the first thing that comes to mind at the time of a disaster.  Boston Bombing for example.  A lot of my friends’ statuses promised prayers and thoughts.  Mine did too but I am happy to report, I kept my word and did offer up prayers and thoughts.   It’s a bit funny to see some of my friends who are professed atheists saying their prayers are with the victims.  See the confusion a tragedy can cause?  Atheists calling on God and Christians losing their faith…

So how about we bring back the true meaning of ‘sorry’ and try not to say sorry unless we mean it?  Don’t be sorry about the bombing, unless of course you are the bomber.  If you are like some of my friends and offered up thoughts and prayers to the victims of the Boston Bombing but got too busy to follow through, it’s not too late.  Send up some prayers to the Big Guy.  If you are an atheist, then you could…er…hmm… Just think happy thoughts.

Just my take.  I am sorry if you don’t like it.  Praying that one day you will…

 

 

Monday Musings: Are home-based missionaries irrelevant?

Pardon me here, I don’t mean to undermine or question the good work done by those who unselfishly travel overseas, sacrificing themselves and their families in the name of spreading goodwill and the gospel.   Overseas missions are very important in reaching the hard-to-reach places and bringing them hope.  Saying this, I do however, have some questions.

Recently, I was talking to friend about his church and he boasted to me that they had missionaries in 23 countries around the world.  I casually asked him, with no intent to judge, if they had any in Winnipeg, their backyard.  He thought about it and said he doubted it.  I wasn’t about to start a debate on where and how missionaries should answer their calling but I thought to myself,   “Why does it seem that much cooler to do missionary work abroad than in your own backyard?”  The same thing can be said of adopting.  It’s more trendy to adopt say an Ethiopian child than an aboriginal kid from the reservation.  It even sounds cooler too.  Admit it.  It’s gone Hollywood.

So, is sending aid to poor people in Africa worth double or triple that of giving  our local homeless man or woman money to buy food?  I know many of us do so with altruistic purposes while some of us have personal goals and egos to feed.  but again, it’s not for me to judge and that’s not what this blog is about.

We are usually bombarded with photos and televisions broadcasts of the millions of people starving in the Africa but rarely of the guy down the street.  If I step over that guy to reach out the ones that are across the ocean, would that make me a better missionary?  Is it still considered missionary if it’s only practiced in my neighborhood?  If I don’t adopt my cousin’s kid that she abuses and starves, but instead travel to Uganda to adopt the little girl I always wanted, am I still considered an effective missionary?  Also, is it ok if I maintain the outside of my house, keeping it clean and spotless, while inside looks like it was hit by a tornado?

Just my take.

Related articles

• Living as a Missionary in Your Community (christianitymatters.com)
• The Call to be a Missionary (timothymessenger.com)

My Friday Take – Is It A Catholic Thing?

I know there are some hard-core Catholics out there and because of this, I apologize if this post rubs you the wrong way.  I too was once a catholic and my family, especially my dear old granny, eats ,breathes and sleeps the Catholic religion.

Today, I read a disturbing article in which a cardinal, Roger Mahony, was relieved of his duties.  That wasn’t disturbing but apparently, he had a long and tainted career of protecting the integrity, (what integrity?) of the church.  He did this by protecting (aiding and abetting?) suspected pedophiles.  One such suspect, a Mexican priest, is alleged to have molested 26 boys in a 10-month span!  Mahony refused to turn over the list of the boys to police.  Other accusations involved priests drugging the kids.  These were the ‘men of God’ that the well-meaning Roger Mahony was protecting.  As long as the church came up smelling like roses, who cares if a few kids were harmed right?

Let me lay it down for you, I know some good non-pedophile practicing Catholic Christians and I don’t want to paint them all with the same brush.  What I do want to say is that I don’t think I would feel comfortable being a part of religion that has so much history of child sexual abuse.  I know all religions and faiths have bad people who kill, rape, etc. but I don’t know of any other religion that has such a rampant and well documented history of criminal behavior against children. It’s almost like an organized crime for goodness sake!  It’s like an embarrassment.  Scratch that, it is an embarrassment to well-meaning Catholic Christians.

I have a question though.  Why is the Catholic church plagued with so many allegations of child abuse world-wide?  I have been in discussions where some think that it is because they are not allowed to marry.  Well if this is true, shouldn’t they be out there molesting grown women?  How does a child take the place of a missing wife?  If I wasn’t allowed to marry, I think there are other legal and acceptable alternatives that I would engage in, not turn to little boys to fill my void.

And that’s it for my Friday’s take.  Remember, it’s my opinion.

Related articles

• Retired cardinal stripped of duties as child abuse files are released (guardian.co.uk)
• Retired Los Angeles cardinal punished over abuse revelations (religionnews.com)
• Los Angeles Catholic archdiocese releases priest abuse files (independent.ie)
• Cardinal Roger M Mahony removed from public life by LA Archbishop Gomez (irishcentral.com)

Repentant Pastor Made Me Eat Humble Pie

Logo used from 1980–2007, still in use at some Applebee’s locations. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It’s not too often that I go back on my take or eat humble pie so to speak.  This is one of those not-too-often occasions.  My last blog was harshly critical of the pastor, Alois Bell and her Applebee’s adventure.   If you have no clue what I’m talking about, read my blog here.

To refresh you, Pastor Alois went to dine at Applebee’s with some friends and when it came time to pay the bill, she was charged 18% gratuity.  She was not  impressed and showed it by writing, “I give God 10% why do you get 18%?”  A waitress finding it  insulting and comical felt that it was internet worthy and posted it online where it went viral.   She, the waitress, was promptly fired when the Pastor called the restaurant voicing her objection to the alleged invasion of privacy and breach of customer trust.  Well me being my opinionated self, jumped all over it and berated the pastor for being a cheapskate for trying to shortchange the poor waitress.

Later, I saw an interview that Pastor Alois Bell did on the Fox network.  I watched it in its entirety and within the first couple of minutes, I realized that I had been too quick to crucify the pastor.  She was very open and apologetic and being a good reader of people, I knew she was legit.  She did not show up to the interview wearing a brand name suit with hair and nails done.  She looked like your regular woman in the next pew.   She was down-to-earth and real.  Alois saw the lesson that her action presented.  She admitted her human frailty that led her to do what she did.  We all make mistakes.  Even I do.  And did.

Alois, you keep on doing your thing.  You seem like a nice person.  You erred but we all err but not all of us say sorry.  I am sorry for being so quick to judge and sentence you.  After all, who the heck am I to cast the first stone?

 

Watch the pastor’s apologize on Fox:

Pastor apologizes

Related:

Cheapskate pastor

Casting the first stone

Cheapskate Pastor Says Yes To Tithing But No To Tipping

Sometimes even well-meaning Christians forget what it actually means to be Christians.  Yes,  I do too.   We start focusing on serving ourselves and forget it is more than just us.  It’s serving those we share the earth with.  In this case, it’s serving those who serve us.

I read of a pastor who along with eight friends went out dining at Applebee’s Restaurant.  Because of the size of her party, there was an auto-tip of 18% added to her bill.  The pastor resented this and showed her resentment by writing on the bill, “I give God 10% why do you get 18?”  Now some cheapskates people might agree with the pastor’s take and stiff the poor minimum-wage-earning waitress whose job it is to cater to the whims of her diners.  To me, I think…well you know by now what I think.

To one server, it was insulting and comical.  So much that she took a photo of the bill and posted it online where it went viral.  Well of course it will.  People pounce on that kind of stuff.

Was the pastor right?  In my opinion, no she wasn’t.  I think she was being a miserable cheapskate and should have exercised her Godliness in a more positive way than she did.  Was the waitress right in posting the offending receipt?  Well I probably would have done the same thing.  Unfortunately, her manager didn’t see it that way and fired her.   She apparently breached an unwritten confidentiality law that made it illegal to post bills that diners wrote on online.  The pastor wasn’t a happy camper went she found out her autographed receipt was viral online.   Serves her right!  She should have thought of that before she did what she did.

The thing is lately is that many of us think that going to church, tithing and reading the bible make us perfect Christians.  Somewhere along the way, we forget the ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you’ part.  Sorry if I step on any toes but it’s my take and my opinion.

Related reads:

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/applebees-waitress-fired-pastor-receipt-193820748.html

Selfish Christians

Pastors and Gays

My Greedy Ex Is Back!

Have you ever been in a relationship with someone you loved, when out of the blue, they say,  ”Honey, I think we should take a break.  I need some space to sort things out.”?  At first you are heartbroken but as time passes, you start having fun enjoying the single life with your new-found freedom.  You have regular dates but nothing too serious and have your entire summer planned out.  Then again, out of the blue, she (it’s usually a girl) shows up.  ”Hey honey, I missed you.  I think I am ready to be with you now.”  Yep, how convenient.

So obviously, she was not having as much fun with the separation as you were.  For her, the grass wasn’t greener on the other side.  Unfortunately, you had made plans that did not include her, so her showing up throws a wrench into the mix.  Yes, you love her but you are just not ready for her at this time.

Well if you understand that scenario, you will understand my mixed feelings over the news that the NHL and the owners have ended their labor dispute.   This means that they would play the remaining 48 or so games instead of scrapping the entire season.  I guess they figured that a half year’s revenue is better than no revenue.

I am an avid hockey fan so I should be pleased if not excited about having some games this season, right?  Well not really.  You see the thing is, I have since moved on.  I made plans that did not include sitting down for a few hours watching hockey.  I have home renos and family stuff.  Maybe I am not that avid I guess.  I was hoping that they would have called the season and made plans for next year.  But no, here they are with 48 or so games to tantalize us.

I am also unhappy that millionaires are taking the sport out of sports with their greed for more millions.  At the end of all this, we the fans are the losers.  Not the overpaid players and not the fat cats who own them.  Lost revenue has to be recouped and I’m sure it won’t be done by a decrease in someone’s pay.  No sir, we will pay. Just watch.

And honey, I’m sorry but you just can’t show up when you feel like it.  You are toying with my emotions here.   What am I gonna do now? I have already made plans  and I just can’t fit you into my schedule right now.

Just my take.

Alcohol and Facebook

You are perhaps wondering where I’m going with this blog.  Well they may sound like a mismatched couple but alcohol and Facebook , has more in common than you think.

I had this Aha! moment the other day while on Facebook.  I was checking my news feed and browsing a few status updates.   Some of the statuses my friends had led me to wonder,  ”Would she say this in person?” or  ”This does not sound like him at all.  He doesn’t talk like this.  Actually he’s never talked like this in all the years that I have known him.”    And that is when I made the connection.

Facebook and Twitter to some extent, gives us that imagined protection and bravery to say whatever we want, just like alcohol.  All of a sudden, we can talk about our lazy boyfriend or girlfriend and even wax philosophical.  Just like with alcohol.  We can rant about how bad life is and how our work sucks, also just like alcohol.  Hey, and when on Facebook, it’s all about us.  We try to be the center of attention.  Again, (Let’s all say it together) JUST LIKE ALCOHOL!  I mean, some of us don’t need Facebook or alcohol to do all that but for the rest of us, we need a dose of bravery, in liquid or media form.

So, which persona is  real?   Is Facebook giving us the chance and courage to be and say who we really are or are we playing dress up?  If it is the former, maybe I should only communicate with my friends and family via Facebook.  This way we could be ‘keep it real’.   Or have a nice stiff drink of bravery.  I am thinking most would opt for that choice.

And you thought I was going to blog about Facebooking while drunk.