Simple minded males...

For the past 6 years I have been blessed to be part of an email string that consists of 12 guys arguing, jonesing (to talk rudely about someone in a poetic way), debating, and reminiscing about the good ole fashioned responsibility free college years. We love to talk about everyday life and hear one another's thoughts. Many people believe that because we are so close and can be found doing the stanky leg in disorganized unison at any function including Sunday services or wedding receptions, that we have the same beliefs whether they be political or thoughts towards the marvelous taste of fresh cilantro; or feelings towards topics that include the most controversial debate in modern American history: Popeye's or KFC. As much as we are the same, we are very different. If I told you that we emailed each other everyday, you'd say the emails must be based around sport or anything else that seems to link the male species. No doubt, fat hams in baby phat jeans, Kobe v. Lebron, Training Day v. Deja Vu, are common grounds for 32 emails in a day. BUT, below is an example of an email you may stumble across if you were to have the pleasure and the guts to stomach an email thread set forth by the Commission.
"I first wanted to say THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart to everybody who was at the wedding. We could not have possibly dreamed of a better wedding weekend and y'all are the ones who made it so special. To share even more memories with our closest friends mean the world to Cheety and myself. I truly love all of y'all and feel blessed to have you in my lives. BJ you were missed but I totally understand- now you just have to come visit Tulsa sometime!

On another note, I have strong feelings about the Vick saga. I really disagree with you K-Rock about the race issue. To me it is definitely race, but digs even deeper into what I feel is the "Color" prejudice that is still extremely prevelant but not really talked about.

I feel that you bring up great points about Kobe and Ray Lewis but if you examine those two closely you will find that these are two black men that white society is much more willing to accept than Vick. Kobe, is a "well-spoken" black man who is not from the hood, scored over 1000 on the SAT, and even spoke Italian publicly! He was the Will Smith of the NBA-America's favorite black man! While, Ray Lewis is not nearly as "commercial" as Kobe, he is still a very intelligent, likable, and once again "well spoken" black man. They are media friendly and more importantly "color friendly" in that they are not dark skinned.

Now Vick on the other hand is conservative white America's worst nightmare. He was a dark skinned, corn-rowed, athletic freak that played the most "Lilly White" position in all of American sports-quarterback. We are STILL not completely past the racial prejudice surrounding the quarterbacking position, nor the head coaching position for that matter. Max can attest for how much racial hatred surrounded Vick even when he was in his prime for the Falcons. Many of white American-red neck football fans do not want an African-American running quarterback and were constantly taking shots at him even though he has the 6th highest winning percentage of any active NFL quarterback!!!

I maintain that if Vick looked more like Jason Kidd, society would be more willing to forgive him. I'm sorry, but like I said during the election, as special as Obama is, if he had looked like Wesley Snipes, he wouldn't even had been in the primaries. America just isn't there yet with all blacks. You have to fit the image that they are comfortable with, or you just have to be a marketing monster such as MJ.

Sorry for the long email, but I have strong feelings on this subject and as a light skinned man, I am still very embarrassed by the prejudice that is still covertly bestowed upon darker skinned people. If I was in school I would try to write a thesis on this- let me know your thoughts!"


That's Real Talk!