Thoughts and Theology: Great Black Patriots

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Great Black Patriots

19 comments:

Abbey said...: Interesting video.
Along the lines of our country's past, I have a friend who wrote a post about the 4th of July. It's rather funny, but very good.

http://shalomistheword.blogspot.com/2008/07/independence-day-kingdom-of-god.html; July 9, 2008 at 3:37 PM
Dr. Russell Norman Murray said...: I appreciate you dealing with your heritage.

Russ;); July 9, 2008 at 5:26 PM
Dr. Russell Norman Murray said...: Oh, Abbey and I both mentioned you in the latest s&t comments.; July 9, 2008 at 5:27 PM
Abbey said...: ^LOL-don't you find our heritage exciting!?! Don't you wish that you could have to learn it?; July 9, 2008 at 7:08 PM
Jeff said...: Russ,

I appreciate you dealing with your heritage.

Well, I'm not African-American (A number of people have mistaken me for being Cuban; others have mistaken me for being Native American), but I find it interesting. My Aunt is from France. Her daughter (my cousin), who is half-French, used to be married to a Cuban guy. Another cousin used to be married to a Native American. My brother-in-law's mom and dad are Puerto Rican, and his step-dad is from Cuba. My sister-in-law is from Cuba. My other brother used to be married to a girl from Honduras. Later, he dated a black woman from England who already had a daughter. When I was little, the couple across the street from us was from Italy, and before I moved from Miami, my one neighbor was from Italy (though 99% of the people in my community were from Cuba). I've dated a couple Cuban girls in the past, plus one girl from Hawaii.

Oh, Abbey and I both mentioned you in the latest s&t comments.

Ah, gossiping about me behind my back, eh? I'll have to check it out and see how much my reputation has eroded.; July 9, 2008 at 10:08 PM
Jeff said...: Along the lines of our country's past, I have a friend who wrote a post about the 4th of July. It's rather funny, but very good.

http://shalomistheword.blogspot.com/2008/07/independence-day-k

The link got cut off (I hate when that happens; lately I've had to use Tiny URL a few times because of that), but I'll try to find it using the first part of the link.

^LOL-don't you find our heritage exciting!?! Don't you wish that you could have to learn it?

Hmmm...I suspect that may be an inside joke. I'll have to check the S&T comments to see what hilarity has been exchanged at my expense. :); July 9, 2008 at 10:12 PM
Jeff said...: BTW, when I was attending Bob Jones University in South Carolina (which I absolutely hated), people kept asking me if I was Native American or Indian or part Indian. I got so tired of telling them "No," and them not believing me, that finally, when one girl asked me, I told her "Yes," and I gave her this long story about how my dad was a Chief, and how I had to go through an initiation ceremony when I was 13 years old, where I had to kill a bear with only a knife. She sat there wide-eyed as I told the story, and she was awed and amazed. At the end, I told her, "And everything I've just told you is a complete lie." She got so mad at me that she refused to talk to me for a long time.; July 9, 2008 at 10:15 PM
Abbey said...: Oooo, you got to be one of those BJUers? Fun, fun...

Actually, being from Colorado, I would've guessed you were part Hispanic - maybe even one of those illegal ones. :P We get so many of them here because it's on the corridor straight up from Mexico. We call Wal-Mart Mexico City because that's where they all hang out, and Cinco De mayo is quite the occasion. Not to sound racist or anything, but I think we should all move down to Mexico because they're all moving here.

Nice story you made up. Sounds like something my brother would have told me when I was little.

About the link-if you just go to http://shalomistheword.blogspot.com/ and scroll down until the post titled "Independence Day & the Kingdom of God" you've got it.; July 10, 2008 at 6:43 PM
Jeff said...: Oooo, you got to be one of those BJUers? Fun, fun...

Yep, but I'm certainly no "BoJo," as they called those whose wholehearted allegiance was to the school. To me, it like a Fundamentalist military school. They were so bad that they would make the Pharisees look like a bunch of lawless rebels. Hitler's Concentration Camp officers could have taken lessons from them.

Every month, each dorm floor would have a meeting to go over the new rules. And you were required to attend.

You were required to turn in all radios, CD players, and anything that could play music. If you didn't turn it in, and they found you with it, or they discovered it in your dorm room, you would be kicked out of the school, and you would be required to pay the full year's tuition, even if you had only been there a few weeks.

When you took a shower (which was located down the hall), you had to wear shoes (i.e., sandals or flip-flops). If you walked out into the hallway, you were required to wear shoes.

All lights were required to be out by 11 pm. I had to work the entire time I was attending classes there (and living in the dorms), so I would almost always come home after 11 pm. But I still wasn't allowed to turn on the lights. This led to many practical jokes that my roommates played on me, and many that I played on them, for revenge.

After you go to bed, if you have to go to the bathroom, you have to wait until 11:30 pm. No exceptions.
If you had to throw up, you had to wait until 11:30. Actually, they may have made an exception in that case, but I'm not certain. I think they would require you to cut off your little finger in return, or something like that.

They had white glove inspections every morning. Every person had a room cleaning job, and if you failed the inspection, you had to go back and do it again, without being late for classes.

All meals lasted for one hour, with the doors being open for the first 15 minutes. If you arrived after they closed and locked the doors, you missed the meal. This happened to me several times, because of having to re-do my room job, and other reasons. Plus, the Dining Common was across campus, and it took me 15 minutes to walk there.

The first year I attended there, guys were not allowed to talk to girls after 6 pm. If you were caught doing so, you would be kicked out of the school.

There was a Lums restaurant across the street, as well as a Red Lobster. If anyone saw you eating at either restaurant, or even walking into the restaurant, you would be kicked out of school, and have to pay the entire year's tuition. The reason? Because both restaurants served beer.

I could go on and on, but I'll stop at that for now. Maybe at some point I'll talk about the pranks we pulled on each other, which were really funny.; July 10, 2008 at 8:52 PM
Jeff said...: Actually, being from Colorado, I would've guessed you were part Hispanic - maybe even one of those illegal ones. :P We get so many of them here because it's on the corridor straight up from Mexico. We call Wal-Mart Mexico City because that's where they all hang out, and Cinco De mayo is quite the occasion.

I'm not Hispanic (I am of British descent; also, the poet John Greenleaf Whittier is an ancestor). However, most of my life I have spent living among mostly Hispanics. In fact, I'm still not completely used to being around Americans, as odd as that sounds, because I'm more used to the customs and ways of Cubans.

I moved to Ocala about 5 years ago. We have quite a few Mexicans here, and in the WalMart I usually go to, there are many Mexicans. Nevertheless, as far as Hispanics, this doesn't even come close to comparing to Miami. Where I was living in Miami, it is completely and totally Hispanic---there is nothing American about it, at least in the area where I was living. It was rare to hear anybody speaking English, in fact.

Oddly enough, I had never even heard of Cinco de Mayo until I moved to Ocala. They don't celebrate that in Miami, because there aren't very many Mexicans there. They celebrate things like Calle Ocho instead, which is a local celebration. Calle Ocho is the biggest street party in the country, and over a million people attend it. I have never gone, because you are basically trapped with people pressing against you from all sides...you can't move. And there is much groping and other things going on.; July 10, 2008 at 9:02 PM
Jeff said...: Oh, and regarding Calle Ocho, they're in the Guinness Book of World Records. In 1998, they got 119,000 people joined into the world's longest conga line!; July 10, 2008 at 9:08 PM
Jeff said...: I just saw a funny but accurate comment from some guy named "Anthony," posted 10/5/2006, who said:

"I moved to Miami in 1989, thinking that I could leave the doldrums of the North behind. I did enter a new world, however, it was not long before I began to dislike, no really dislike, the lack of culture, lack of consideration, No speak English to me, “ME MACHO I KILL YOU IF YOU LOOK AT ME AGAIN” attitude, no decent parks to take walks through either alone or with a special someone. The scenery is, yes, FLAT.....There is zero Christmas spirit, no four seasons to really talk about....The people are very unruly, uncivilized, poorly educated in general. I have been in many instances where I have extended my salutations to someone in the Publix line or any other place in Miami, and just like others in this area have stated, "courtesy is a no-no in Miami” I have been cut off, oh not only in traffic, but in the lines at the theater,(AMC, etc..) at the gas stations, at the Home Depot, at Piccadilly,..........There seems to be an excess of immigrants in Miami, whom were raised in far away places, where many of the social norms, ethics, mores, etc, are non-existent.....I am referring to the ones that arrive in Miami and become part of the high influx, overcrowded land also known as “Banana Republic”. Do I hate Miami? YES, after all these years, I have grown to detest it. I did move away to Fort Myers and it was spectacular!!!....Miami, overcrowded, Rude, unserviceable, EXPENSIVE to live, expensive condos and homes everywhere, roads are becoming virtually unpassable due to all the punishment they receive from influx of traffic and construction vehicles passing over, for which Miami streets were never designed for....Oh, did I mention Miami is becoming dirty? Yeah, observe the streets everywhere, plastic bags, bottles, cans newspapers, you name it, it has become a dirty place."

from:
http://www.miamibeach411.com/news/index.php/news/comments/10-things-i-hate-about-miami/; July 10, 2008 at 9:27 PM
Jeff said...: I can confirm that what both individuals said are true. I was turned down for jobs more than once because I only spoke English, and in High School, I was attacked by a few individuals in a pep rally because I was an American.; July 10, 2008 at 9:33 PM
Jeff said...: And if anyone thinks that I was attacked for some other reason, a guy from about 20 people down the row yelled at me and asked me, "Are you American or are you Cuban?" I said, "American," and they started punching and kicking me.

If your car breaks down and you don't speak Spanish, some car garages won't even serve you. I've had that happen to me before. And at many of the grocery stores, when the cashier tells you how much your groceries cost, they will tell you in Spanish, not in English. And, when they give you your change, they tell you what it is in Spanish, not English. When I used to go to the laundromat, if I needed change, I had to ask for it in Spanish. Or, if a machine was broken, I had to tell them in Spanish. I knew very little Spanish, but I had to learn a little bit, just to survive.; July 10, 2008 at 9:39 PM
Jeff said...: I am so, SO glad I moved to Ocala. I feel like I live in a different world now. It was a real culture shock when I first moved here. And all I did was move from South Florida to Central Florida! I had to get used to people on the street waving to you; that was strange to me, at first. And hearing English when you go to the stores and other places was also strange. The colder weather was hard to get used to, as well. And the large insects they have here...especially the spiders...was scary at first...at first, I developed arachnophobia. In Miami, there are only tiny insects, except for the many large Palmetto Bugs. People here complain about the traffic; they have no clue. I would rather drive 45 minutes here, than 10 minutes in Miami. The scenery is far more beautiful here, too. Sure, in Miami there are the beaches, but everything has become so crowded and dirty that it is unpleasant to go anywhere. The last time I went to the beach in Miami, it was hard just to find a place to sit down on the beach, because it was crowded with people. And it was cool seeing all the horses and cows here, which you don't see in Miami. I also don't miss the extremely loud Latin and ghetto music that you could hear blocks away, into the early morning hours.; July 10, 2008 at 9:46 PM
Jeff said...: OK, I'm going to continue with my Miami rant, just to build up a bunch of comments.

From that same website I mentioned earlier, a guy going by the screen name "Royal" comments:

"Even rednecks in redneck cities/states waving their confederate flags and stickers on their cars would treat “others” with more respect....If you believe that every city or state has a ghetto, Miami as a whole IS a ghetto....My point is Miami was considered one of the poorest cities in the country back in 2003...If you want to get a bird’s eye view of corruption, welcome to Miami. Recently a leader(and others) at a housing authority was found using funds to construct low income housing to repair his own home and purchase other homes, etc.

If you enjoy eating rodent droppings and having a couple of roaches mixed into your dish...come and enjoy the delightful cuisine of Miami. Restaurants are closed down and exposed.

Miami is the University of Fraud and Hard Knocks.....Also, if your want to catch the “bird flu” just go to a health clinic in Little Haiti that has chickens (yeah really, chickens, you know the bird) wandering around.

Also, if you want a career being an Administrative Assistant, you have the perfect start in miami---Miami firms would rather call you the Administrative Assistant for ten years, rather than the Manager, because they want to pay you 30k and under. Your degree in Business Administration and/or management is useless in the MIA.

If you want to become paranoid, go to a “doctor” here in Miami. You can’t tell the real from the fake. So many people have false degrees, made by a home printer.
Also, you may run into a doctor's office in someone’s garage. While you work paycheck-to-paycheck to gain a down payment on a home, others are getting their homes built from the ground up for free. Only in Miami."; July 10, 2008 at 9:56 PM
Jeff said...: When I moved here from Miami, I was suddenly only making half of what I made in Miami. But real estate is less expensive here.

A Cuban girl I used to date in Miami (who came over illegally) used to have a dentist's chair in her tiny apartment, from which she would operate on people's teeth. She didn't wear gloves, either. She said she had been a dental assistant in Cuba.; July 10, 2008 at 9:59 PM
Jeff said...: Again, from that same website (these are just too funny, but SO very accurate!), "Freddy Kwok" says:

"You guys are right - I just moved here from Philadelphia, and I have to say that I am shocked that I feel like I am not in U.S. soil here in Miami. Spanish is the number one language here. Fine. They pretty much built this city anyway, I mean the Cubans. Yeah, and the music, personally I like salsa, but it is too much in Miami. But hey everyone, the beauty of living in Miami is - you actually get to know what it is like to live in South America without having to leave the country. But eventually Latin Americans will rule this country. Look at the birth rate of Latin-Americans. It is just a matter of time (could be in 30 years) that this country will be a Hispanic country. If you can’t stand it, maybe you can move to Canada or Australia."; July 10, 2008 at 10:01 PM
Jeff said...: Same website..."Lifelikeillustion" says:

"I knew Miami was a little bit ghetto but I never realized it was this bad....The only thing that is exceptional is Miami’s drug import and nightlife. If you’re looking for anything other then those things, don’t come here."; July 10, 2008 at 10:04 PM

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)