Blog – Gravyology

29Jul 2019 by Gravy

Villains are Heroes Too

Rants & Raves

I’m sitting in my hotel room in Elmina, Ghana, Africa. I’ve been here four days now and it has been an emotional, but life changing. To say that I thought I would never come to Africa wouldn’t be accurate. Ive always believed in myself and been confident in my abilities, yet I never knew how I was going to feel until I actually got here. Witnessing and walking the paths of our ancestors overwhelmed me. It gave me a sense of peace and deep introspection. I kept thinking about history and the suffering: something I speak often about. Then I got to the point where I started to feel this fire in my belly. It wasn’t hunger. I wasn’t thirsty. I felt heavy and it wasn’t from breakfast or because…

08Nov 2016 by Gravy

Win, Lose or Draw: Why I Don’t Vote (Diary of a Non-Voter)

Issues in American Politics

First off let me say, as a teacher of Political Science, I understand the purpose of government, the role of voting, and the functioning of Democracy (or American Republicanism). But… The absolute worst thing I hear from people is: “if you don’t vote, you have no right to complain.” These people are idiots. This is by far the most ignorant comment I have heard on the subject of voting in American elections. If you pay taxes to government, you can complain rather you participate or not. Do you complain when you get crappy service at a restaurant? People who don’t vote may not choose what’s on the menu but when we’re paying, we have just as much of a right to complain as those who picked the restaurant. Voting…

31Oct 2016 by Gravy

For the Love of Trump: Why America Needs (and deserves) Donald Trump

Issues in American Politics

Before I get started, let me just say before the trolls and ignorance take over: NO I am not voting for Donald Trump. I don’t vote at all (coming soon). There. Now, that we got that out of the way, let me tell you why Trump is absolutely perfect for the 2016 election… First, Americans hate politicians. All of them. And last time I checked, Donald Trump is the only person running in this election who is not a politician. Hillary Clinton has essentially been a lifetime politician. She’s been vying to be President her entire life. Since Trump’s not a politician, he’s not captive to any one particular audience or constituency. Plus, people despise both political parties… And both parties hate Trump. This is a good…

12Jun 2016 by Gravy

Working Class Disillusionment and Ignorance

Issues in American Politics

Short story: So I’m at Red Robin. After the food comes, the waiter points in the direction of the “Ziosk” and says that if we’d like to order anything else that we can order on the screen, if we didn’t need anything else, we could check out on the screen as well. I couldn’t help myself. The poor kid was maybe only 20 years old. I was obligated. So I said to the young man, “You know this thing is going to take your job, right?” He laughed and replied, “No sir, these are just here so that customers don’t have to wait for a server all the time. It also really helps when we’re busy and people just want to check out.” I, of course, already knew the…

24Jan 2016 by Gravy

12 Days of Gravy: The Overman

Rants & Raves

On the 1st day of Gravy ‪#‎theoverman‬ gave to you: Sticks and Stones - What ever happened to "sticks and stones may break my bones, but names can never hurt me?" Seriously, has our disillusioned society devolved so far that we need safe zones for name-calling? In my day we hit them with the "sticks and stones" and kept it pushing. We have lied to generations of kids who think they're feelings should be hurt because they don't like what someone said. Only the real intellectual lives by this credo. I been called all kinda names, sometimes daily, but you know what? Say what you want, just don't touch me. It is no wonder we have a society of cry babies who are offended by the most trivial…

15Sep 2014 by Gravy

Babies Behind the Wheel? Problems of Driving in a Police State

Issues in American Politics

I make no quip about my driving skills. On a scale from 1 to 10 I’m probably closer to 20. The funny thing is, even after all these years I still find a way to impress myself occasionally with my driving skills. It puts a smile on my face. But there is one thing about driving that is NOT funny. Yes, there are a lot of terrible drivers out there. Way too many if you ask me. Yet, the more I drive, and the more places I drive, why am I starting to get the feeling that I am constantly being filmed, monitored and babied behind the wheel of my own car? A police state is one where the government exercises strict and repressive controls of its people. I can…

26Jun 2014 by Gravy

Celebrating Mediocrity: the Lowering Academic Standards and Expectations of America’s Youth

Rants & Raves

The last thing I want to do is come off as a “negative Nancy.” I certainly agree that every person deserves their day. But we have got to stop the madness. Are we really throwing graduation ceremonies for graduating Kindergarten? 6th grade? People, we have to start celebrating SERIOUS accomplishments. Here is one way to measure: if you have a class of 20 Kindergarten students, and they all pass on to 1st grade, what is there to celebrate? Now, if only 5 children graduate, or a much smaller proportion, fine, you win. But don’t we expect all kids to pass kindergarten? Are we expected to reward children for meeting not only our own expectations, but accomplishing what 100% of their classmates also accomplished? Graduating from Kindergarten is no…

17Jun 2014 by Gravy

What Donald Sterling, Mark Cuban, and Justin Bieber Taught Us about Post-Racial America…

Issues in American Politics

#1 – Rich white people (and some rich Black ones too!), still don’t like or want to hang around with Blacks no matter how wealthy… Donald Sterling said what many rich, white country club goers, sport team owners, and record label owners think and say to themselves all the time. Sterling told a female friend, V. Stiviano, not to bring Black people to Clippers games during their conversation that was recorded. The recording sparked a torrent of outrage from fans, NBA players and commercial sponsors, several of which temporarily severed ties with the Clippers. Four days later, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver fined Sterling $2.5 million and banned him from pro basketball for life in an unprecedented rebuke that bars Sterling from any further association with the NBA or his…

10Jul 2013 by Gravy

The Voting Rights Act and the Art of Phony Outrage

Black Politics & Culture

I thought the best thing to do about this issue was give it a week or so, come back and see how I feel about it. Anyone who knows me well – particularly any of my students – know that I am not particularly fond of the U.S. voting machine in the first place. In the Black community, the significance of U.S. elections is even more of an illusion. So last week when the Supreme Court eliminated a key part of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, I was neither surprised nor outraged. On June 25th the Supreme Court struck down a key part of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 — the map that determines which states must get federal permission before they change their voting…

23Apr 2013 by Gravy

A Degenerative Culture, Part I: Put Up Your Dukes!

Rants & Raves

Everyday someone posts some new video on Facebook: some patriotic scene of a U.S. soldier or a heart-warming tribute to some young, cancer-stricken teenager. Or even some funny video of a monkey slinging it’s feces. But I never click to watch. No, there is only one type of video out there that I consistently take time out of my day to watch: fights. That’s right. There’s nothing like a slightly grainy video of two people throwing hay-makers until someone gets knocked out. They take me back to my youth. Reminds me of a better America, you know, before we became a nation full of sissies and tattle tells. I am reminded of one of my favorite Eminem lyrics: “Whatever happened to catching a good-old fashioned passionate ass-whooping/ and getting your shoes,…