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Yes, #HimToo: How Would You React if a Man You Know and Care About Were Accused of Sexual Misconduct?
Since the series of sexual harassment and assault allegations against Harvey Weinstein broke the news, a plethora of other allegations have followed, and now it seems as if almost every breaking notification on our cellphones is another harrowing account of sexual misconduct. A proverbial “purge” of sexually abusive power players in Hollywood, newsrooms and Capitol…
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Dating While Black and Atheist
There’s some internet rule that goes along the lines of “If you think it, it exists on the internet.” Maybe I’m confusing it with Rule 34 (If you think it, there’s porn of it). But ultimately, I’ve always thought of the internet as a haven for the congregating of niche and segmented voices and a…
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Maybe You Should Stop Calling Yourself an Alpha Male
In my experience, confessions are pretty fuckin’ useless. Never has being on the receiving end of a confession resulted in me feeling happy or relieved or satisfied. They’ve all been pretty inconvenient and/or bewildering, leaving me resentful of the party who voluntarily purged long-held secrets and then sighed a breath of relief. They’re about as…
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White Power Is About White Victimhood, and It’s Everywhere
It’s been less than a week since the much-discussed Unite the Right white nationalist demonstration erupted in Charlottesville, Va., resulting in the tragic death of counterprotester Heather Heyer and the injuries of 35 people. We’ve since been inundated with commentary, reactions and subsequent statements from celebs, pundits, elected officials and, unfortunately, Donald Trump. For now,…
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On The Vital And Audacious Rage Of Valerie Castile, The Newest Member Of The "Fucked Up Mother's Club"
Last Friday, an unsurprising but still disturbing announcement reverberated across the internet. A jury in Minnesota acquitted former police officer Jeronimo Yanez of all charges associated with the shooting death of Philando Castile. The announcement of the acquittal was kind of like being reminded of a slightly older, neglected wound that had started to bleed…
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Our Unreasonable And Arbitrarily Critical Standards For Women Making An Effort To Enhance Their Beauty
There’s a lot of huff made these days about social media and an alleged rise in vanity and narcissism (despite neither being all that quantifiable). People bemoan Snapchat filters, Facetune, and the heavily glammed up ladies that employ their visual enhancing features. Not surprisingly, this huff is usually directed at women; most of whom are…
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Black, 30, And Finally In Therapy
Do you remember those Cathy comic strips your mom used to have tacked to her cubicle wall or office board? The one’s her and her co-workers would share and cackle and point at while nodding their heads in agreement and uttering ‘Yup, so true’? You’d look at those comics as a little girl with a…
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The Distraction Of Racism And The Bipartisan Roots Of Chicago's Black Suffering
There’s a Toni Morrison quote I used to bristle at: “The function of racism is distraction.” I had never read the full context of this quote and initially, I thought this was another attempt to dismiss racism as a primary societal ill deserving of discussion, while prompting us to start paying attention to the “real”…
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Twitter And The 2016 Presidential Debate: A Match Made In Hell
There are a few instances in my life where I was keenly aware that I was making the wrong decision; when I bought a ticket to see Batman vs Superman, when I decided to drink two cups of a mysterious alcoholic beverage named ‘Blue Muthafuckas’, when I said “I do”….. Every time I can recall…
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A Man Like Him: To My Godfather
I read recently that dreams always start in the middle. There is no real beginning, there is no chronological sequence; just snapshots of visions in jarring order. I think memories work the same way. A lot of my more important memories seem to be snapshots of the climax in a particular moment, or glimpses filled…
