Obama's Speech to students

Live reaction to Obama's speech (fueled by the fact that parents were pulling kids out)

First of all I would have LOVED to hear this on the first day! :)

Every one of you has something that you're good at, that you can offer. I think that's great. Some kids need to know that...

I like how he related the inventors... and he spoke of the iPhone in it. LMBO. In the same breath that he said vaccine. iPhone fanboys rejoice.

I do think that any kids that already aren't motivated and don't give a d*mn... this speech will mean nothing. For those whose minds are still being developed, who are impressionable... this will definitely motivate them.

If you quit on school you are not only quitting on yourself, you're quitting on your country. True story... although we do need someone to be the garbage man... he should have thrown that statement in there. lol. "...if you do quit, we do need garbage men, so you can pick up an application on the way out the door." I should write Obama's speeches. lol.

Nothing on the outside is an excuse for bad behavior at school. Get your act together! STFU! I love it... get ya stuff together. There are not excuses nigras! (@masterluke103).

For some students this is one of the only times they will really have someone speak to them to encourage them and really show them the success they can have. He's offering stories from different people who went through adversity.

Encouraging them to set goals. Totally great idea! Kids don't do that, and even if their parents aren't going to tell them this, now the President has.

I don't like how he spoke on the Harry Potter author... but eh.

I wish that he would have spoke to the kids that have everything handed to them. It felt like he was speaking to "urban" kids and not kids on the whole. Talk to the kids that just have things handed to them, or are doing well. Encourage those that are doing well to do better and reach back to others. I wish he would have done it in a sit down environment. Maybe slacks and an oxford. Actually sitting down. Not a dern podium speech, but that's something his handlers may have preferred. (@nathan0428)

He shouldn't have said Facebook developer... dude... that ninja dropped out of school... boy i tell ya.

I wonder what the atmosphere was like at school afterwards...

My thoughts have really changed after I saw it. That mug was so mild. Nothing was "political" like them fools were upset about. If I were to write them a letter it'd say this...

Dear parent,
I'm not sure why you pulled Sally out of school today, but I'd like to gain understanding. Is it because you were afraid of Obama influencing your kid to stay in school and do their best? Did you think he was going to talk about the war and influence your kid to join the military? Were you afraid that he was going to brainwash your child and have them brainwash you to vote for Obama for his second term?

Ok I could understand if you think that Obama is so outlandish in his views, you may have been afraid that he would take this opportunity while your kid wasn't under your supervision to hypnotise them. He's clearly that ignorant. Or even start a movement or what not. Clearly. After all, you are always supervising what they watch, listen to and do in life. You wouldn't dare let them have ANY bad influences in their lives. Don't forget to protect them from gay marriage and abortion. Pull them out of sex education too... they'll learn from the childbirthing classes after cheerleading practice next year.

Best Regards,
Alexis
OBAMA '12

Of course I'm being "extra". For those of us who were a little upset at these "dumb" parents for pulling their kids out of school, there are some things we should consider. For some of the parents it may not have even been about Obama's speech, just the fact that they could have another day of vacation after labor day. There may have been some conspiracy theorists that said that Obama was going to make them offer a pledge to Obama... (something I heard from a coworker that sound like a pile of malarky... sorry to say... why the Flip would that make sense?) They did the same thing to Bush Sr. when he did his speech back inthe day. They did more than pull kids out of school they actually had a hearing, criticizing him spending $26,000 on the broadcast. (Which actually is well worth it if you are talking about kids NOT dropping out of school.) I do see how it would be something I'd like to view with my child just so we can actually have a discussion afterwards. "so what did you think about it?" kinda convo. That would be a wonderful thing to do as a parent. In that regard, if ANY of the parents planned to approach it like that I think that's wonderful. Oh and also... by showing this in school it can stir up things in the students and teachers. In school they aren't supposed to be talking much about politics and this opens a can of worms. *thought: but THIS is not a political race... he IS the President* I know know I know... but it doesn't mean that those cans won't be opened. Kids were getting ISS after the inauguration for talking about the President, so I wouldn't put anything past parents nowadays. My 10 yr old cousin has had many debates on Obama with classmates. Some issues he is passionate about. If they show this in a classroom your kids are likely to hear the teachers political views, whether by their murmuring, demeanor or just flat out hear it. If you are for Obama, it could mean that as your child attends a classroom in the red state you live in they are bogged down with anti-Obama comments all day... just as soon as the political tensions finally were released.

It's hard to take it out of feeling like they are picking on President Obama. I just wish we all would be more objective. I think it's hard to do when some of the reasoning is fueled by him having strikes against him being a Black man AND a democrat. I mean they clearly would have preferred Palin, duh! :)

She got that gooood hair

So today one of my friends asked about the reality of "good hair" and "bad hair" today. Generally society has said good hair is something that is straight, easy, generally not the natural way we (black folks) have hair come out of our scalp. Bad hair is... pretty much bad hair is everything that is related to Black hair. period.

I got curious of the definition of bad and this is what i found.

1.	not good in any manner or degree.

2.	having a wicked or evil character; morally reprehensible: There is no such thing as a bad boy.

3.	of poor or inferior quality; defective; deficient: a bad diamond; a bad spark plug.

4.	inadequate or below standard; not satisfactory for use: bad heating; Living conditions in some areas are very bad.

5.	inaccurate, incorrect, or faulty: a bad guess.

6.	invalid, unsound, or false: a bad insurance claim; bad judgment.

7.	causing or liable to cause sickness or ill health; injurious or harmful: Too much sugar is bad for your teeth.

8.	suffering from sickness, ill health, pain, or injury; sick; ill: He felt bad from eating the green apples.

9.	not healthy or in good physical condition; diseased, decayed, or physically weakened: A bad heart kept him out of the army.

10.	tainted, spoiled, or rotten, esp. to the point of being inedible: The meat is bad because you left it out of the refrigerator too long.

11.	having a disastrous or detrimental effect, result, or tendency; unfavorable: The drought is bad for the farmers. His sloppy appearance made a bad impression.

12.	causing or characterized by discomfort, inconvenience, uneasiness, or annoyance; disagreeable; unpleasant: I had a bad flight to Chicago.

13.	easily provoked to anger; irascible: a bad temper.

14.	cross, irritable, or surly: If I don't have my morning coffee, I'm in a bad mood all day.

15.	more uncomfortable, persistent, painful, or dangerous than usual; severe: a bad attack of asthma.

17.	regretful, contrite, dejected, or upset: He felt bad about having to leave the children all alone.

18.	disobedient, naughty, or misbehaving: If you're bad at school, you'll go to bed without supper.

19.	disreputable or dishonorable: He's getting a bad name from changing jobs so often.

20.	displaying a lack of skill, talent, proficiency, or judgment: a bad painting; Bad drivers cause most of the accidents.

21.	causing distress; unfortunate or unfavorable: I'm afraid I have bad news for you.

22.	not suitable or appropriate; disadvantageous or dangerous: It was a bad day for fishing.

23.	inclement; considered too stormy, hot, cold, etc.: We had a bad winter with a lot of snow.

24.	disagreeable or offensive to the senses: a bad odor.

25.	exhibiting a lack of artistic sensitivity: The room was decorated in bad taste.

26.	not in keeping with a standard of behavior or conduct; coarse: bad manners.

27.	(of a word, speech, or writing) a. vulgar, obscene, or blasphemous: bad language. b. not properly observing rules or customs of grammar, usage, spelling, etc.; incorrect: He speaks bad English.

28.	unattractive, esp. because of a lack of pleasing proportions: She has a bad figure.

29.	(of the complexion) marred by defects; pockmarked or pimply; blemished: bad skin.

30.	not profitable or worth the price paid: The land was a bad buy.

31.	Commerce. deemed uncollectible or irrecoverable and treated as a loss: a bad debt.

32.	ill-spent; wasted: Don't throw good money after bad money.

33.	counterfeit; not genuine: There was a bad ten-dollar bill in with the change.

34.	having the character of a villain; villainous: In the movies the good guys always beat the bad guys.

35.	Sports. failing to land within the in-bounds limits of a court or section of a court; missing the mark; not well aimed.

36.	Slang. outstandingly excellent; first-rate: He's a bad man on drums, and the fans love him.

So I went through these and was thrown. I thought about how I grew up thinking there's good hair and bad hair and the way that my hair is was bad. According to whom? Who's to say my hair is bad? What standard is there?


Most of the definitions of bad are ridiculous. They make it just seem terrible. To call your hair, the hair that grows out of your head "bad" if that's how it naturally grows. Why should someone have to alter themselves every 2-8 weeks in order to have hair that would be categorized as good? Things like "inadequate" and "tainted" or "regretful". Mercy... have we really been using these for years? smh. Even if we don't say we have bad hair, we are always saying "she got that goood hair"... if you say someone else's is good... then there is a bad. One can't exist without the other. However on the other side of the fence, "disobedient" "causing distress", could very well describe hair in it's natural state.

I think it boils down to how YOU want your hair. If it's not what you want, it's bad, if it is, it's good. Simply put. I think it's important that we shift from just calling natural hair bad hair.

Digging further... pondering... when I had a perm I never once said I had good hair. It was what it was. It was easy, manageable and all that... but I'm not sure if I never called it good because it wasn't actually how my hair grew. There are so many ways you can look at it.

If we grew up as little girls and natural Black hair was "the standard" and accepted and cherished, would we still call it bad? If we celebrated the versatility of our follicles and explored the possibilities. Do women who grow up in predominately White communities generally find happiness in altering their hair whereas in predominately Black communities they enjoy naturals? How does media play a part?

Of course we see how they handle the light-skin/dark-skin thing... but look at hair. It's very clear that natural hair for a Black woman is NOT cherished on mainstream TV... and really not necessarily on our networks. The natural girl always has to be the one with the attitude, Black Panter-like and just so-so into her roots. Why can't the natural girl just be a woman? I think of Jill Scott on her Live album when she addresses this. In her song "Gettin in the way":

Jill: "'...Jill Scott she's supposed to be such a positive person' First off, I never said that. We have this thinking that soon as we see someone with a natural that they're automatically positive. I mean, come on... some days I am, some days I'm not. Human"

This makes me chuckle more now because I'm natural. I'm no different than I used to be. Actually I take it back... I am. I appreciate myself more. I don't know if that's due just to my hair being natural and all that comes along with it or with just growth period. I accept my forehead more now, I accept my "naps". There are times when I can't stand them... there are times when I want to slap a perm in my head... but I don't. I just love the fact that my hair is mine... it's mine.

*pondering* How can something that we go through on average, once a month... not have an effect on us. If not concisously, subconciously. As soon as we see a piece of a nap we are ready to get that liquid crack and slap it on thick. It's not good until it's essentially not really ours. What if we did that in other areas? As a hair follicle I would be offended if every time I decide to grow, I am thinking I'm doing you a favor... and you want to change me. Change...

In any state Black women change their hair. We don't wake up in the morning and just go. We do something to tame the animal unless it's in a style that doesn't require maintenance. Would we... as Black women be more accepting of ourselves and others if we were just "naked"? If we didn't alter our selves in any way and just were "ourselves" how would that change things? Or would it?

There have been times that I thought about there being a day when women just were just who they were. No fake lashes, no make-up, no weaves, no extensions, no girdles, no "good" facebook picture that doesn't really look like you look... just you... You. Beautiful YOU! How would it be? Or does that seem preposterous? And if it does... how happy are we with who we really are "naked"?





These is just thoughts... will touch on this another time...

Even how we have conditioned our men to accept our rating systems.