motto of "No GUNS, No GANGS, No DRUGS"
Every child deserves one:
Sizes: ONE SIZE
Cost: $25.00 Send Checks and Money Orders to:
Eric D. Graham
Post Office Box 172
Magnolia, North Carolina 28453graham_34_99_2000@yahoo.com
"BORN TO BE LOVED; LOVE TO BE HATED!" His Anger Teaches Everybody Reality!! It's your boy BOBBEE BEE "THE HATER" aka the trouble maker from the "city of brotherly love" I am an obnoxious, opinionated, third grader whose ego is bigger than T.O.! I am an "odd"combination of Terrell Owens, KOBE Bryant, Rasheed Wallace, and Allen Iverson! by Eric D. Graham #TheRapProfessor. If you like what you are learning ($JeffreyBarnes)
Friday, February 21, 2014
BOBBEE BEE THE HATER THE MOVIE!!!!
motto of "No GUNS, No GANGS, No DRUGS"
Every child deserves one:
Sizes: ONE SIZE
Cost: $25.00 Send Checks and Money Orders to:
Eric D. Graham
Post Office Box 172
Magnolia, North Carolina 28453graham_34_99_2000@yahoo.com
BOBBEE BEE: PEACE TO JORDAN RUSSELL DAVIS
One night before what would have been Jordan Davis’ 19th birthday, a Florida jury has returned with a mistrial verdict for his killer, Michael Dunn, on the count of first-degree murder. Dunn, however, was found guilty on four charges — including three for attempted murder.
That’s right — a white man killed an unarmed Black teenager and just got away with it, using Florida’s so-called “Stand Your Ground” or “Shoot First” law as a deflective shield for this racially-motivated killing.1,2
It’s a gripping comparison and a terrifying continuation of the injustice we saw with Trayvon Martin — with both murders taking place in the same state just months apart. We send our love to Jordan’s family. While the jury was unable to adequately decide the fate of the man who killed their son, we hope that they will still find some peace.
In the years and months since Michael Dunn murdered 17-year old Jordan Russell Davis in cold blood at a convenience store in Jacksonville, his hostility towards Black folks has been made abundantly clear. In a letter to his daughter written from his jail cell while awaiting trial, he wrote, “This may sound a bit radical but if more people would arm themselves and kill these [expletive] idiots when they’re threatening you, eventually they may take the hint and change their behavior.”3 Although not submitted as evidence in the trial, these letters paint a chilling portrait of a man consumed by racial bias, exacting vigilante justice on an unsuspecting — and unarmed — Black child.
Nearly 111,000 ColorOfChange members have called for an end to these laws that undermine public safety and give murderers the opportunity to walk free. “Shoot First” emboldens people like Michael Dunn to kill when and where they see fit and unless we end “Shoot First” laws, we will continue to witness tragedies like the one that took Jordan Davis away from his family. As we accelerate our efforts demanding that state governments oppose and repeal “Shoot First”, we’ll also urge federal officials to investigate how these laws protect and embolden those who commit hate crimes.
–Rashad, Matt, Aimée, William, Jamar and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team February 16th, 2014
www.ColorOfChange.org
ColorOfChange.org is powered by YOU—your energy and dollars. We take no money from lobbyists or large corporations that don’t share our values, and our tiny staff ensures your contributions go a long way.
BOBBEE BEE: THE GIVING SEASON
Picture your average American playground.
Of the five children waiting in line at the slide or soaring on the swingset, one of them may be living in poverty.
Roughly 16.1 million kids in the United States now come from families where the total household income is less than the federal poverty level of $23,550 per year for a family of four. Almost half of those kids live in deepest poverty, on household earnings of less than $11,775 per year.
The number of homeless children enrolled in school topped one million at last count. The epidemic is growing fastest in the suburbs, where the number of poor families jumped by 64 percent from 2000 to 2011.
"Families with young children are the poorest segment of our society," says Benard Dreyer, M.D., professor of pediatrics at New York University's School of Medicine and cochair of the Academic Pediatric Association's Task Force on Childhood Poverty.
Research shows that low-income children as young as 9 months of age show weaker cognitive and social development than their advantaged peers.
"Poor mothers of young children are more likely to experience depression, which means they're less likely to talk to and engage with their babies in ways that promote development," explains Sheila Smith, Ph.D., director of the Early Childhood Program at the National Center for Children in Poverty in New York City.
Even when these parents aren't depressed, they may be working long hours, living in unsafe or unstable housing, or struggling to put dinner on the table.
"These children are dealing with all the repercussions of poverty during the crucial years for early brain development," says Dr. Dreyer.
"After these effects take hold in the first three or four years, it's hard to catch up."
More than 30 percent of children in poverty show signs of emotional or behavioral problems, studies show.
Their physical health suffers too: Children born into poverty experience dramatically higher rates of infant mortality and low birth weight. As they grow, they are more likely to struggle with both hunger and weight problems, as well as chronic medical issues like asthma and diabetes. So what's the answer? Childhood poverty is a complex issue, but the solutions don't have to be.
Dr. Dreyer points to the United Kingdom, which cut its rate of children in poverty from 26 percent in 1998 to just 12 percent in 2008 through a series of tax credits, government programs, and its first national minimum wage, which is set at a higher level than in the U.S.
"When there is a national will to fix this problem, it's possible," he says.
At press time, Congress was poised to allow cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, as food stamps are now known) effective November 1, reducing benefits for more than 22 million children.
You can go to parents.com/fight-poverty for a letter to your representative letting him or her know that you want antipoverty programs to be a priority.
•Get the letter to send to your representative. There's more you can do.
Consider making this holiday season a time for your family to help kids in need.
We've compiled a list of incredible nonprofit organizations working on every angle of this issue. They've received a rating of three stars or higher from Charity Navigator, an independent evaluator that assesses charities on their financial health and accountability and transparency--so you can rest assured that your dollars will go directly to where they can do the most good.
1. Children's Health Fund www.childrenhealthfund.orgIn 1986, musician Paul Simon befriended a homeless woman named Marie whom he saw every morning as he walked to his recording studio in New York City. Then one day, Marie wasn't there--and Simon had no way of finding out whether she was okay. He became interested in the problem of homelessness and met child advocate Irwin Redlener, M.D., now a professor of pediatrics at Columbia University (and a Parents advisor), and they spent a day visiting homeless shelters.
They didn't find Marie, though they discovered another disturbing fact: "We saw what was essentially a warehouse for a thousand homeless kids and their families," Dr. Redlener remembers. "And nobody was paying attention to whether they were receiving even the most basic medical care." Together with Dr. Redlener's wife, Karen, they launched the Children's Health Fund (CHF) in a "big blue bus" that housed a state-of-the-art mobile medical clinic.
Today, the organization runs a network of 50 mobile health clinics, as well as more than 200 fixed-site health centers, in underserved, low-income neighborhoods across the country, reaching more than 350,000 poor and homeless children to date.
How You Can Help $25 can get three babies essential immunizations. $50 can buy asthma meds for one child. $100 can help get care for a sick homeless child.
www.childrenhealthfund.org
2. Save the Children
www.savethechildren.org
Nevaeh, age 4, had her right leg surgically removed due to a birth disorder.
But her prosthetic leg doesn't stop her from pretending to be a princess or a teacher, says her mom, Candace Sanders, of Union, South Carolina. And Sanders, a single mom of three kids, encourages Nevaeh's imagination.
"I use play to teach my children shapes, numbers, and the alphabet," she says."That's how they learn best."
Sanders learned about the importance of play through an early-education program from Save the Children (STC), the iconic nonprofit that has been working to help poor children in the United States since the Great Depression, when it launched a hot-lunch program for hungry schoolchildren in Kentucky.
"The community saw an immediate rise in attendance and academic achievement," says Carolyn Miles, president and CEO of STC. "That became the model for our federal school-lunch program."
Today the global Save the Children movement works to improve children's health, nutrition, and education in 120 countries around the world.
Its early-education programs also serve kids living on Native American reservations, in California farming communities, Appalachia, and the rural South.
"We work to help a community better serve its own children and lift itself up over time," says Miles. "Our philosophy: To have the greatest impact, we cannot do it alone."
How You Can Help For less than $1 per day, sponsor an American child, corresponding via regular updates while providing early-education opportunities, nutrition, and school health.
www.savethechildren.org
www.nokidhungry.org
"In the U.S., you can't always tell someone is hungry just by looking at them," says Debbie Shore, cofounder of Share Our Strength, which she and her brother, Bill, started in response to the Ethiopian famine crisis of 1984.
They expanded their efforts to reach families here at home. "Hungry kids suffer a lifetime of cognitive and physical development challenges."
At Share Our Strength, the focus is on access.
"We have the food supply in this country," Shore notes.
"We also have government programs and services. But of the 21 million kids getting free or reduced-price lunch, only half are also getting free or reduced-price breakfast and only 3 million of them participate in summer feeding programs."
So the No Kid Hungry campaign helps schools make sure that more children take advantage of the school's breakfast program. In one model, teachers can provide grab-and-go options in the classroom. It's working: Kids who participate in school breakfast score an average of 17.5 percent higher on math tests and attend class more often.
How You Can Help December is Share Our Strength's No Kid Hungry month. Raise awareness by pledging to end childhood hunger at nokidhungry.org.
Then make a donation; even giving $1 will connect a child in need to up to ten meals.
www.nokidhungry.org
4. Feeding America
www.feedingamerica.org
Like many of the working poor, Gerald falls into an ever-widening gap: The single dad raising three daughters in Boston earns slightly too much to qualify for SNAP but not enough to cover all of the family's bills. So he relies on the Kids Cafe program for a healthy meal and snacks after school. "They serve good food and the girls enjoy it," he says.
Kids Cafe is just one way that Feeding America distributes nearly 3.4 billion pounds of food to 37 million Americans annually, through food banks and food-assistance agencies. In 2012, it served more than 84 million meals to kids.
"This is not simply a moral issue," says Angela De Paul, Feeding America spokesperson.
She cites scientific evidence suggesting that food-insecure children are less likely to become productive adults. "The nation's economic growth depends on the well-being of our children--so the existence of child hunger threatens our country's future prosperity."
How You Can Help Join the annual Give A Meal campaign: A $1 donation provides nine meals. $19 will feed a family for two weeks; $40 for a month; $120 for three months.
www.feedingamerica.org
5. Playworks
www.playworks.org
With all of the looming threats in a poor child's life, whether she gets recess might seem like a minor concern. "But for many of these kids, school is the one chance they have to play in a safe environment," says Jill Vialet, founder of Playworks, a nonprofit focused on making recess fun and safe for kids in low-income urban schools.
In too many of these settings, playgrounds get overrun with fights--if schools can even provide recess at all. "Instead of going back to class energized, the kids return upset and unable to focus," Vialet explains.
"We can change this."
Playworks, offered in more than 380 schools in 23 cities, places a full-time coach to organize games at recess that help kids stay active while learning about teamwork and conflict resolution. The coaches also lead before- or after-school activities and establish events promoting physical activity, inclusion, and other pro-social skills.
Happily, researchers at Stanford University have found that kids at Playworks schools stay more physically active and experience 43 percent less bullying than kids not in the program.
"When recess becomes a healthy part of the school day, kids carry that positive feeling with them into their classroom, back to their neighborhood, and out into the world," says Vialet.
How You Can Help $35 pays for balls and cones for one school. $75 will provide T-shirts for a school's student leaders. $166 pays for one child at a Playworks school for a year.
www.playworks.org
www.childrensdefense.org
"I was blessed to be at a convergence of great role models and major social events," says Marian Wright Edelman, who credits her parents' belief in service and her experiences with civil-rights leaders, including Martin Luther King, Jr., for her drive to create the Children's Defense Fund in 1973.
After working with poor families in Mississippi--helping parents get off food stamps and find jobs, and assisting them in getting their kids an education--she witnessed something profound:
"The sight of children having hope was incredible," recalls Edelman. Forty years later, CDF is still fighting to create opportunities for all children by advocating for changes in public policy while also working directly with kids in need.
It played a key role in expanding the Children's Health Insurance Program, as well as Head Start and Early Head Start, both of which support low-income children and their families.
More than 115,000 children have participated in CDF Freedom Schools, after-school and summer programs designed to help foster a love of reading, build self-esteem, and engage in community service.
How You Can Help $25 gets a Freedom Schools book and teaching materials to one child. $100 will give a child several books plus teaching materials. $250 provides a child with meals and snacks at the Freedom Schools summer program. •
www.childrendefense.org
7. Jumpstart
www.jstart.org
On the first day that Ethan Peritz entered a classroom as a Jumpstart Corps member, excited to share his love of reading with a group of low-income kids in Boston, a 4-year-old boy named Christopher spat in his face.
Every week, Ethan tried to read him a story according to the Jumpstart curriculum, which is specially designed to help preschool-age kids get ready for kindergarten, but Christopher refused to acknowledge him.
One day Ethan heard the little boy making noises and realized he was beatboxing, so Ethan started beatboxing too. By the school year's end, Christopher, a Haitian immigrant who had survived the earthquake at age 3 and suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, was able to greet Ethan with a smile and write out his full name.
"Those kinds of stories tell us how Jumpstart does so much more than early-education intervention," says Naila Bolus, the organization's president and CEO. Founded 20 years ago, Jumpstart is in 76 cities across 14 states plus Washington, D.C. Members work with kids to help them read, improve vocabulary, and learn letters, numbers, colors, and shapes.
Research shows that these children make significantly greater gains in reading, social skills, and school readiness than other kids in similar low-income settings.
How You Can Help $25 will supply a year's worth of crayons and paper for one classroom. $100 will get two classrooms puzzles and song charts. $250 provides five Jumpstart sessions for one child
www.jstart.org
www.hcz.org
Harlem Children's Zone was founded in 1970 with the goal of working with young children in Harlem who came from troubled low-income families and who were often absent from school. Today, the nonprofit has a much bigger mission: to break the cycle of poverty for the 10,000 children and their families living in a 97-block area of Harlem.
To do this, HCZ offers a range of educational programs and also runs two Promise Academy charter schools and a variety of health and social-service initiatives. In the 2012-13 school year, 100 percent of the kids who attended HCZ's preschool program achieved school readiness according to national standards, and 98 percent of the Promise Academy's 2013 graduating senior class headed off to college last fall. HCZ just opened a new school and community center in the St. Nicholas Houses, historically a highly vulnerable stretch of central Harlem.
"It used to be held hostage by the drug dealers," says Anne Williams-Isom, the organization's COO. She and HCZ's CEO and president, Geoffrey Canada, see their project as a model that other struggling neighborhoods can replicate, no matter what their challenges.
"We want other communities to do what we're doing because we know it works," she says. Meanwhile, both Canada and Williams-Isom stay plugged in to the needs of local families.
"One mom lost her kids to foster care last year; we've helped her get them back. Now she's calling me any morning they're running late for school to let me know what's up," says Williams-Isom.
"We're holding her to a high standard because those kids matter--but we're also wrapping our arms around her. We're treating her like the strong mom we know she can be."
How You Can Help $50 gets supplies to an elementary-school classroom; $100 provides a month of healthy lunches for one student; and $250 provides uniforms for five pre-K students.
www.hcz.org
Originally published in the December 2013 issue of Parents magazine.
BOBBEEE BEE: PICKING PEYTON A PART
by Eric D.Graham
NORTH CAROLINA (BASN)
-After four neck surgeries, one Super Bowl ring, five regular season MVP awards, Peyton Manning's duck dynasty was shot down by the SEAHAWKS OF SEATTLE and the Legend of Boom in the 43-8 blow-out on Sunday night at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey during Super Bowl 48.
Due to Peyton's poor performance, which included two interceptions, many people feel that the son of Archie Manning and the big brother of ELI Manning should unbuckle his check strap and retire after buckling under pressure by not winning the big ONE once again.
One of those who thinks the 37-year old Peyton should take off the pads is former NFL QB Joe Theisman, who recently in an interview with Amani and Eyton on NBC Radio On Monday said: "I personally would love to see him retire. I think that what he can do is take a look at the off season, figure out what you want to do-because remember NOW, he is going to be a year older-I don't know what the physical beating is like for him. I'm not sure EXACTLY where he is in that situation, but I do know ONE THING----HIS arm is not going to get any stronger going forward.
While Theisman believes Manning should retire, he also believes that there is still gas left in his tank, but fears that teams are going to use the Seahawks' blueprint in order to attack him next season. Matter of fact, Stanford graduate Richard Sherman, who has been called a student of the game, claimed that he and the Legend of boom, figured out Manning's complex hand signals and audibles in the first half of Super Bowl 48.
"Me, Earl (Thomas), KAM (Chancellor)...we're not just three All-Pro players. We're three ALL-Pro minds." Sherman told Monday Morning quarterback's Roland Kilimko
While many football purist may reject Sherman's claim, stat wise, the Seahawks did SHOUT DOWN THE BRONCOS' HIGH POWERED, HIGH SCORING OFFENSE TO ONLY 11 YARDS in the first half and NO touchdowns. Yes, after a week long discussion about Mannings' "Omaha" audibles and check-downs at the line of scrimmage, the ball-hawks from Seattle claimed that they had cracked the code of the calculated Colorado signal caller, which rattled and frustrate the 16-year veteran, who was seen throughout the game on the sideline intensely studying the Seahawks' cover-schemes and talking on the phone with his offensive coordinators in the booth up top.
Even Broncos' vice President John Elway, a two-time Super Bowl winner and Hall Of Famer, looked as if he had seen the ghost of Tim Tebow as Manning's passes left his arm like ducks, just like Richard Sherman had suggested during the pre-Super Bowl press conference.
Plus, with the Seahawks defense swarming non-stop the entire game while delivering spine-tingling blows to the bodies of the Broncos' banged up wide receivers, in the lost, some are questioning Manning's "greatness" and his legacy as one of the best signal caller in the game, despite him winning five-regular season MVPS and countless passing records, which included 5,477 passing yards and 55 touchdowns this year.
With that said, despite many people's dislike for Espn's Skip Bayless, we have to give him credit for coining the phase that Manning is the "greatest regular season quarterback in NFL HISTORY." Why? Because, with the lost to Seattle, his Super Bowl record is 1-2, and his overall playoff record is 11-12, which is not that impressive.
NFL NETWORK'S Deion Sanders seemed to agree with Bayless's assessment with his recent comments that Manning's legacy has been tainted by his poor Super Bowl performance against the SEAHAWKS, which shocked some and upset others .
"This is not good." Sanders stated. "What we saw tonight is not GOOD. I can't even tell you one thing I saw that I can take home and say man, that was alright. This is horrible. And it started from the first snap.
Even though, Sanders critique seemed harsh, shockingly, Peyton Manning had a 24.4 QB rating in the contest, which was his lowest this season, despite him completing 34 of 49 passes for 280 yards and a touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas.
"Well, it's disappointing for our entire team," Manning said of the loss. "We worked hard to get to this point. Overcame a lot of obstacles to be here. Put in a lot of work, did some really good things just to have an opportunity. But certainly to finish this way, it's very disappointing.
Eric D.Graham, a graduate of Winston-Salem State University, where he received a B.A. in Mass Communication with a concentration in Radio and Television and a minor in History, with an emphasis in African-American Studies, is currently the Managing Editor of Black Athlete Sports Network, where his articles appear daily along with his controversial cartoon character Bobbee Bee “The Hater.” Graham can be reached at lbiass34@yahoo.com or go to www.bobbeethehater.blogspot.com
Monday, February 10, 2014
BOBBEE BEE : GET YOUR TEE-SHIRTS NOW!!
Sunday, February 09, 2014
BOBBEE BEE: I HATE LOVE
by John Legend
"All Of Me"
[Verse 1:]
What would I do without your smart mouth
Drawing me in, and you kicking me out
You've got my head spinning, no kidding,
I can't pin you down
What's going on in that beautiful mind
I'm on your magical mystery ride
And I'm so dizzy, don't know what hit me, but I'll be alright
[Bridge:]
My head's under water
But I'm breathing fine
You're crazy and I'm out of my mind
[Chorus:]
'Cause all of me Loves all of you
'Cause all of me Loves all of you
Love your curves and all your edges
All your perfect imperfections
Give your all to me I'll give my all to you
You're my end and my beginning
Even when I lose I'm winning
'Cause I give you all of me
And you give me all of you, oh
[Verse 2:]
How many times do I have to tell you
Even when you're crying you're beautiful too
The world is beating you down,
I'm around through every mood
You're my downfall, you're my muse
My worst distraction, my rhythm and blues
I can't stop singing, it's ringing, in my head for you
I can't stop singing, it's ringing, in my head for you
[Bridge:] My head's under water
But I'm breathing fine
You're crazy and I'm out of my mind
Loves all of you
Love your curves and all your edges
All your perfect imperfections
Give your all to me
I'll give my all to you
You're my end and my beginning
Even when I lose I'm winning '
Cause I give you all of me
And you give me all of you,
oh Give me all of you
Cards on the table,
we're both showing hearts
Risking it all, though it's hard
[Chorus:]
'Cause all of me
Loves all of you
Love your curves and all your edges
All your perfect imperfections
Give your all to me
Loves all of you
Love your curves and all your edges
All your perfect imperfections
Give your all to me
I'll give my all to you
You're my end and my beginning
Even when I lose I'm winning
'Cause I give you all of me
And you give me all of you
I give you all of me
And you give me all of you, oh
Monday, February 03, 2014
BOBBEE BEE: THE KNOCKOUT GAME!!!
So today for the umpteenth time we saw another news story, designed to cause mass hysteria with solemn sounding anchors telling us to be on ‘high alert’ for roving gangs of Black youth participating in this nationwide trend called ‘The Knock Out Game‘..
As anchors launch into their tales of terror showing us the same grainy stock footage which includes a teacher being knocked out in New Jersey from two years ago and a woman being knocked out in London, a ticker tape runs across the bottom of our screens telling us police are on the look out for these ‘young thugs’ and have ordered extra patrols…
The story depending on what city you see it reported, will then tell you about two bike riders in St Louis being knocked out or Black kids in Brooklyn looking for Jews to knock out.. There’s a report of some kid knocking a woman out in San Diego..All the reports show the same video footage of some young teens in Jersey bragging about how they knock folks out.. By then our blood is either boiling or we are scared to death.
The anchors voices then get shrill as they pull out a map detailing what parts of the country the attacks have happened. In the past month there have been 7 knock outs and according to the anchors the videos are being posted all over YouTube by the hundreds.
All the news stories then launch into a field reporter interviewing someone who knows of a friend who knows a friend who got knocked out and went to the hospital because of the knock out game..
These news stories from coast to coast end with the reporters telling us two people have been killedby what police think MAY have been a version of the knock out game..We are left concluding that we no longer need to fear terrorists organizations like Al Qaeda, but instead be wary of marauding Black Youth. The message is when you see them run.
Why? Because they are gonna knock you out.
These reports have understandably led to some harsh reactions with many publishing blogs and posting YouTube vlogs promising to shoot if someone dares to try to knock them out. In fact if you go on-line, you are likely to find scores of threatening responses to the Knock Out Game then you are the same 3 or 4 videos all of from years past repeatedly being shown on news stations around the country reporting this ‘new‘ ‘disturbing trend‘.
It’s important that folks not get caught up in the hype of the Knock Out Game without putting it in historical, social and political context. First let’s be clear in understanding what this is.. the Knock Out game is ASSAULT.. and when a group of people are ‘targeting people at random’ to assault them, that is basically another form of BULLYING.
Are assaults and bullying acceptable? Absolutely not. Should we be concerned? Of course but let’s be honest when reporting on this type of anti social behavior. Yes there are crimes that occur. Yes there are innocent folks who get attacked robbed etc. But this is not whats being reported. many in the media are making it appear as if this is some sort of game spreading like wild fire from coast to coast.
Its simply not true.
The fact that they are taking any crime and calling it as part of knock out game trend is akin to when the police label every crime in certain communities ‘gang related’.
These actions were never as big and widespread as reported but it made for good TV and gave politicians a chance to talk tough and push for new harsh laws. What’s being report is now is the repackaging and rewording an age-old propaganda designed to stoke fears, increase ratings and justify demonizing and criminalizing entire groups of people.
For those who don’t know, the knock out game was called ‘wylding‘ or ‘rat packing‘ when I was coming up in New York. In Oakland it was called ‘mobbing‘ In other parts of the country it was called clocking, chin checking, and just plain old jumping. Under those names the image of vicious, out of control black teens were attached to them, but such activities should not be separated from those suburban teens who would head to the gay parts of town and jump folks in what we would commonly call gay bashing.
That should not be separated from the folks who would see Jewish kids wearing yarmulkes or what folks thought were black cowboy hats and snatch them or knock them off their heads and attack them, perceiving them to be weak. Others attacked them because they perceived to have lots of money and were easy pickings. Some would call it Jew Jumping.
That should not be separated from those who would see and attack Sikhs wearing turbans or Muslim women wearing hijab . This was ‘all the rage‘ after 9-11. Key word ‘rage’ which was used as justification.
This should not be separated from roving teens who routinely have jumped and knocked out unsuspecting homeless folks over the years or folks who would shoot pellet guns at unsuspecting bike riders or throw rocks from freeways overpasses at unsuspecting drivers. or even full blown riots at college campuses .Often times such activities were reduced to kids just mischief-making.
None of this can separated from the vicious attacks that have routinely visited Mexican day labors by xenophobic types in violent versions of ‘Knock out’ commonly known as ‘Beaner Jumping‘ or ‘Wetback Whippings‘. In some parts of the country attacks on Mexican migrants would occur with folks referring to them as ‘Walking ATM Machines‘ because it was believed they carried cash were unlikely to report crimes to the police.
It was just a few years ago that our nation’s newspapers were splattered with headlines about how a group of suburban teens from Long Island attacked two Ecuadorean Brothers who were walking arm and arm thinking they were gay and ‘illegal’ gay and illegal brutally beat them with bats killing one. Once caught it was discovered that this group of teens who had dubbed themselves ‘The Caucasian Crew’ had been on a week-long spree of jumping Brown folks who they thought were undocumented.. They described Beaner Jumping as a commonplace game.. You can read about that HERE
Some of you reading this are old enough to recall that if you lived in New York City in the 70s there was a game called Kill Nigger Day and if you went to certain parts of town like Bensonhurst, Brookland, Pelham Bay in the Bronx, Howard Beach in Queens you were gonna get mobbed on by angry whites who basically did this for fun.
If you lived in Boston and went to South Boston same thing would happen.In fact folks may wanna look at the rap sheet of actor Mark Walhberg who as a youth was quite fond of jumping Blacks and Asians youth.. He was not an exception to what was often described by many as the most racist city in America. Read about that HERE.
In generations past in cities like LA the game was called Spook Hunting..
In fact there was white racist gang calling themselves the Spook Hunters who would patrol the borders of Watts and Mexican neighborhoods to make sure no Blacks or Brown folks would leave the area. For fun they would head into the area and attack folks. Many of these folks were war veterans.. You can read about that HERE..
We also know that many of those military folks , in particular sailors while on duty would routinely go out and bash on Mexicans wearing Zoot suits. The random attacks led to what we now call the Zoot Suit Riots. You can read aboutthat HERE
Later we would learn the police themselves under Chief William H Parker would patrol the Watts area which on the force was dubbed The Duck Pond Officers like the Spook Hunters would keep Blacks contained in that area and for fun would venture off into Watts to jam up folks in sadistic activity called Duck Hunting..
They would go in and harass young Black teens with the goal of letting them know who was in charge. You can read about that HERE
In more recent days we saw the spook hunting, duck hunting mentality rear its ugly head during Katrina. In the Algiers section of New Orleans you had white mobs roaming around going ‘Peasant hunting‘ where Blacks were shot at random. At least 11 were killed as they were seeking refuge.
This is outlined in the documentary and ground breaking report Katrina’s Hidden Race War. You can Read about that HERE.
Last year we saw a group of deputies fired from the LA Sheriff department because of their random attacks on Black and Brown folks in LA in what was called Jumping.. They dubbed themselves the Jump Out Boys.
You can read about that HERE
I could go on listing things, but the larger point I’m getting at is that sadly mob violence is as bullying 101 and folks of all stripes have had a hand in this. None of it is excusable. American as Apple Pie. From the ‘Knock Out Game’ and ‘Beaner Jumping’ to lynchings and vigilante justice. There have always been cowardly folks who hid behind large numbers, weapons and badges who have reigned sheer hell upon innocent people. Its
None of it should be accepted. It should not be excused as boys being boys or teens just doing a little mischief-making. This why the knock out game reporting has been so troubling, because it acts like this is something new and isolated to one group of people vs it being systemic with deep-seated roots in our country’s psyche. In fact the media sensationalizing and outright lying about a trend that doesn’t exist could be characterized as a game of Knock Out by proxy, because the end result will be folks reacting aggressively and maybe even fatally to imagined dangers conjured up by media hype.
The case of Jordan Davis, Trayvon Martin and now Renisha McBride are examples of this over reaction.
With all these recent news reports of Knock Outs folks may be quick to forget it was just two weeks ago these same reporters were telling us to hide our cell phones because everyone was getting them snatched and with daylights saving times the FEAR’ was evil cell phone snatchers would be out in droves looking to make you a victim..
We have forgotten that it was just a year ago that these same anchors were warning us to watch out ‘Flash mobs’ of Black youths that were going on terror sprees attacking white folks all over the country from Milwaukee to Philly and we needed to be on the look out.
Many of us have forgotten that not too long before the Flash Mob news reports we were told that the evil, vicious Mexican cartels were now invading America and taking over the drug trade and attacking folks and that we need to run for the hills.
Many forgot that we were being bombarded with stories and numerous TV specials about MS-13 the World Most Dangerous Gang and they were an international super predator gang that was taking over cities all over America.
There were even some ‘special reports’ linking them to terrorists organizations like Al Qaeda and more recently Hezbollah. Needless to say these reports caused a big stir which helped usher in anti-immigrant bills like SB1070 and HB 86 in Alabama.
It led to lawmakers from Texas to Florida to California warning us to watch out for ‘anchor babies’ and ‘terror babies’ as they used the reports as rationale to try to change the constitution that would disallow children born in the US from undocumented parents from being citizens. The threat of the Brown menace was used as an excuse to get billions, not millions of dollars to new border walls.
Ironically the same companies building walls here in the US are the same companies building walls in Israel/Palestine where hysteria around Brown Arabs welding out has led to economic windfall.
Lets just keep it 100% real, the threat of the Black Brute and Brown menace is Big Business for a lot of people. It’s a tradition that dates back a century in popular media from the days of Birth of a Nation which led to the rise of the KKK to the lies told about rapes and murders in the Superdome during New Orleans to now..Zealous politicians and law and order types reacting to these false narratives can easily build political capital, using communities and groups of people who are not fully prepared to counter…
The nationwide hype of the ‘knock out game’ are designed to get us hysterically upset, fearful and angry resulting in us embracing policies and laws that will soon be proposed that justify racial profiling designed to protect us (translation: protect good white folks from ‘out of control Black and Brown mobs’)
***Update to this story..*** as predicted: A bill is being drafted to give folks who play the knock out game’ 4-25 yrs depending on age..If I was abetting man I’d say this is a playbook from ALEC designed to sweep the country state by state.. end goal fill the prisons..Watch miinor things become ‘Knock Out Related.. http://foxnewsinsider.com/2013/11/25/ny-lawmaker-james-tedisco-proposes-tough-new-law-%E2%80%98knockout-game%E2%80%99-perpetrator
A New York state legislator is drafting a new bill to increase the penalty for crimes related to the terrifying and deadly new “Knockout Game” trend. A 25-year sentence is being proposed for teens ages 14 and up who play the game, film it, or stand by and watch.
New York State Assemblyman James Tedisco told Elisabeth Hasselbeck on this morning’s Fox and Friends, “We can’t let kids use their youth as a way to get out of a serious and very violent series of incidents which are happening and continue to expand.”
BOBBEE BEE: SHERMAN VS MANNING!!
NORTH CAROLINA-(BASN)
-Celebrate the play, but don’t hate the player.
Why? Because, the 15-second sound bite between Fox’s Erin Andrews and Seattle Seahawks’ Richard Sherman, has everybody discussing the interview instead of the acrobatic game-saving deflection in the Seahawks’ thrilling 23-17 victory last weekend against San Francisco.
It was awesome because I’ve done so many interviews that are just so cliché and so rehearsed and the same old same old where you feel like you’re sleepwalking,” Andrews told seattlepi.com.
“This is one where I was like, ‘What is happening right now?’ I’ve never been a part of something like that, and obviously that’s why everyone nationally is talking about it.”
But, Sherman’s passionate post game interview and press conference, however, has also increased the interest in this year’s seemingly boring Super Bowl as well.
Why? Because, more people, whether they are football fans or not, who never heard of Sherman, until his alleged Kayne-West type rant, are going to tune into the game in order to see Sherman eat a “slice of humble pie” against legendary quarterback Peyton Manning, or step up to the plate and deliver as he spoke, the greatest cornerback in the game.
Therefore, despite the seemingly negative press, the NFL loves every bit of the controversy circulating around this incident. Because, “money talks and bulls#$%” talks,” regardless of what NFL Commissioner Roger Goodall says.
No, I’m not cheering for that,” Goodell said on “CBS This Morning” on Thursday. “(Sherman) is such a great young man. He is extremely well-spoken, does great things off the field, obviously a great player on the field. I want him to present himself in the best possible way and make sure that he is reflecting on himself and his family in a positive way.” Despite the political correctness from the Commissioner, in this case, the bulls*&% spit by Sherman has everybody talking about the league and endorsement deals coming. Is it a coincidence that Sherman’s new Beats by Dre headphone commercial aired during the playoff against San Francisco, in which he, conveniently uses the headphones to escape all the media’s questions about his actions on the field? I don’t think so.
So, instead of saying, “What a play!!!
Maybe, we should be saying, “What a marketing genius?”
As a result, the marketing manipulators have stumbled upon it’s new villain in the form of a loud-mouthed, dread-head Richard Sherman going up against the Sportsmen of the Year, Peyton Manning, the humble, play-by-the book good ole boy from Louisiana.
Hollywood is truly proud of this match-up.
And, the WWE is extremely jealous.
Man, where is boxing promoter Don King when you need him?
This is classic.
It’s Rocky Balbo vs. Clubber Lang a.k.a Mr.T.
Yes, now a game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Denver Broncos has become must see television.
Why? Because, one insignificant interview, and a little trash-talking, made it worth wild.
Only in America…..
Eric D.Graham, a graduate of Winston-Salem State University, where he received a B.A. in Mass Communication with a concentration in Radio and Television and a minor in History, with an emphasis in African-American Studies, is currently the Managing Editor of Black Athlete Sports Network, where his articles appear daily along with his controversial cartoon character Bobbee Bee “The Hater.” Graham can be reached at lbiass34@yahoo.com
Sunday, February 02, 2014
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