Police Brutality in America

by mrqanimation

Police brutality has continually fuelled the belief within many homes of Hispanic and particularly African-Americans that the police forces across America are nothing more than a racist institution hell-bent on reaffirming the power of the white elite. From the more subtle forms of abuse such as ‘driving while black’, to the more blatant forms of abuse as seen in the incidents of Rodney King and Amadou Diallo, the police have done very little to enhance their reputations within these communities.

Police brutality was often used as a method to contain groups during the civil rights movement, primarily to underline the white hierarchy and reinforce the notion that blacks were seen as second-class citizens who had little reprieve even from the supposed protectors of justice. But a quick look through recent history will present even further evidence that validate claims of continued institutional racism within the American police forces,. Allow me to give you some examples: in 1997, a member of the NYPD sodomized Abner Louima, after being arrested outside a nightclub. Again, in 1999, white police officers shot Amadou Diallo an immigrant from Guinea, nineteen times, as they thought he reached for a gun, when in fact it was just his wallet. Two years later, Timothy Thomas was shot by a police officer for traffic violations. In each of these high profile cases, the victim was African-American and the police officer that committed the act of brutality was white. Moreover, in each of these cases the officers were all acquitted by the American justice system, as their use of excessive force was deemed necessary.

Many have foolishly claimed that Obama’s election meant that America had suddenly pardoned itself of its tragic history. With the election of Obama, the poverty gap existing between blacks and whites was gone, the disparity in the number of blacks in prison was gone, the years of oppression were gone and the segregation that exists between blacks and whites in so many parts of American life was gone. You can argue with these people until you’re blue in the face, and as if Obama’s election is the most definitive piece of evidence to ever exist, they will constantly refer to it as the end of racism in America. But then an incident like the shooting of 17 year old Treyvon Martin occurs. Treyvon Martin was a 17-year-old kid and George Zimmerman shot him to death as he made his way home. Zimmerman has yet to be arrested by anyone with sense,. Why he was carrying a gun in the first place (as he was merely on neighbourhood watch) can only be attributed by the inexplicable idiocy of America’s gun policy. Martin’s parents and many others feel that if it were not for their son’s skin colour, he would still be breathing today. Memories of the killings of King, Diallo, Thomas, Bell and the hundreds of others can’t help but be brought up.

Racism will be shouted and some will use it as an easy way to be divisive and/or dismiss the complaints of those who are angry about it. But even if those who believe they are colour blind and live in post racial society fail to conclude that this killing was racist. What they surely cannot deny is the fact that persistent inequalities in the way African-Americans are dealt with by any type of law enforcement, from the top courts to an every day neighbourhood watch office, will continue to fuel the belief that the law enforcement is nothing more than a tool of the power structure. A tool that was used so effectively for many years, essentially has meant that police forces within many major American cities have lost their legitimacy. And for as long as the law (courts and police officers) are seen to be killing men like Anthony Davis and Treyvon Martin so unashamedly, then the they will continue to be viewed as an institution with very little credibility.

Book Review – Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua

by mrqanimation

Review by W.Lee

‘Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother’ by Amy Chua has received wildly mixed reviews. Some have deemed the intimate account of childrearing as borderline child abuse, labelling her as completely insane and heartless; others see her as the embodiment of perfect parenting methods. The book comprises of a candid account of being a Chinese ‘Tiger Mother’ to her two girls. From learning the piano, violin and achieving at school, at all times she demands nothing less than excellence, with the philosophy she instills in her daughters perfectly encapsulated in the following quote, ‘everyday you don’t practice is a day you’re getting worse.’

She speaks briefly of her own upbringing, occasionally relating her own memories of a childhood controlled by strict Chinese parents to the challenges of being a parent herself. She applies the rigorous methods used by her own parents and explains how her relentless push for achievement with no praise along the way is driven by the success of her parents’ approach in raising four daughters, three of whom attended Ivy League colleges, and Cynthia, the winner of numerous gold medals in the Paralympics. The conflict between the supposed ‘Western’ and ‘Chinese’ child-rearing is at the heart of this book, as well as one of the reasons for why her daughters resented some of their mother’s choices. Being married to a Jewish man, she acknowledges the conflict between his and her idea of bringing children up, with the direct statement “All decent parents want to do what’s best for their children; Chinese parents just have a totally different idea of how to do that.”

Having been brought up by Chinese parents in England, and being part the first generation in my family to be British Born Chinese (or more colloquially, BBC) there were elements of this book I could very well identify with. Like her daughters, I also grew up playing the violin and piano, and was always encouraged to be the best at school. However, my parents never went as far as the Tiger Mother did; one poignant example of her methods to breed success is an instance where Amy forced her youngest daughter to practice a piece on the piano until it was perfect, with no dinner, breaks for water or toilet, or seemingly sympathy for her struggles, whilst threatening to take her dolls house to a charity shop if it wasn’t up to the standard she expected. Like most Chinese parents (that I know anyway) Chua doesn’t believe in the concept of bribery or rewarding children for doing what she tells them in the same way many Western parents seem to – it is simply expected that they will. This most likely stems from the controversial traditional belief that parents provide their children with food, shelter, and life and thus in return the children are to take them into their homes when they are no longer able to care for themselves to care for them in the same way. The concept of a nursing home is simply unheard of in Chinese culture, which is at odds with the often ‘Western’ belief that children cannot choose to be brought into the world, or who their parents are, and their parents are responsible for caring for their offspring until they are their own person, with the child an adult, and neither party owing anything to each other. Stereotypical as it seems to label the belief in this way, but this is just how it seems in my own experience, and stereotypes exist for a reason.

To the outsider, Chua can be easily labeled a bully or tyrant, but no-one can really understand the complexities of someone else’s family life from an observer’s point of view. I don’t think it’s a bad thing to demand excellence – quite the opposite. Instilling a solid work ethic from a young age meant that I applied this attitude to everything I did outside of school. Sure my parents placed restrictions on what I did when growing up, and I often felt I didn’t have as much freedom as my peers, but not as radically as Amy did where the rules were: no sleepovers, ‘play dates’, or partaking in school plays, whilst playing the violin and piano were compulsory. My parents always indulged my interests outside of school and music, such as swimming, drama, horse-riding and dancing, supporting me and giving me the opportunity to try everything, but the result of expecting success meant that I quickly learnt that nothing is worth doing if done half-heartedly. Being a member of countless orchestras, music groups, choirs, and enduring hours of lessons and practice, there were numerous times I wanted to give up learning music, and whilst my parents never said I couldn’t quit, I didn’t, because I enjoyed being good at something, and working hard at it and understood that persistence was the only way to be good at something. Sure, talent gives you a head start, but relying solely on that won’t get you very much further and complacency results in wasted talent.

Towards the end, she gives a little, allowing her daughters more freedom in their choices. The book ends with an open letter written by her elder daughter Sophia, where she acknowledges the negativity with which the memoir will be received by some, but points out that she does not resent her mother for her parenting methods, explains that it is easily read out of context and thanks her mother for all she did for her. I’m in two minds about her parenting techniques – they do seem radical and unsympathetic, but at the same time, she never gave up on them, and it is evident that all she did was only out of love for her children, even if this came out in questionable ways. I finished reading this book in less than a day – a testament to how much I enjoyed it. Whilst it isn’t a work of art, it is informative, precise, funny in parts, moving, and extremely thought-provoking. At all times, Amy writes completely truthfully, even when it reflects badly on herself, and I respected her ability to be self-questioning and self-deprecating behind her relentless façade. Despite the name-calling, rejection of birthday cards made by her daughters and threats to burn their toys, Amy is a mother of two extremely accomplished girls, she learnt to compromise a little over time and ultimately, I believe there are far worse women to have as mothers.

A Quick Thought

by mrqanimation

Celebrity culture is deep-rooted into the western world. People idolise celebrities who are talented and ones that are not so talented, many buy magazines and newspapers simply to read about the lives of people they don’t know.There is a weird fascination in people that entertain us, this fascination is almost always heightened when a celebrity is going through a bad time. We love to see our stars rise to the top, but to many people, watching them fall from grace is even better.

With this in mind, it should have come as no surprise to me the reactions when the news of Amy Winehouse’s death filtered through. But given what has taken place and still is going in the world right now, I kind of thought the worlds celebrity obsession would have taken a back seat, just this once.

At a time when 80 + young people were shot by person filled with unbridled hate, hate that our best selling newspapers consistently want to exacerbate. A time where millions of people starve in East Africa even though the western world throws out enough food to feed all of these people. I just thought that some type of compassion for human beings that aren’t famous would eclipse that given to a single person.

Yet on Friday night when news of the Norway shootings was breaking out, hardly anyone was talking about it, and hardly anyone talked about the famine in East Africa, there was very little sympathy on my twitter feed and there was much less on my facebook. As soon as a celebrity died however, there was condolences and expressions of sadness coming from all angles.

And I just thought to myself what a strange world we live in. I guess it must be the case that ‘a celebrities death is a tragedy and anyone else’s death is merely a statistic’.

The biggest point from all three of these tragedies is that they should all give vital lessons.

Amy Winehouse’s death should serve as a reminder of the way we treat drug addicts, that governments over the world are failing to combat the problem of drugs in the most effective way.

The terrorist attack in Norway should serve as a warning that we cannot continue to fill our world with hate.

And the famine in East Africa is another reminder that our world is hugely unbalanced, greed is rife and more needs to be done to make things better.

R.I.P to all of those who lost their lives over the weekend.

Meeting with God – Cancelled

by mrqanimation

(anyone who wants to shower me in hail and brimstone, this was typed in the sarcasm font)

I thought I was going to have a meeting with the most holy today, but I woke up only to find it had been cancelled. Slightly disappointed, I won’t lie. I really have a lot to ask him, even if most of the questions won’t be answered it would have been cool to actually meet the big man.

Perhaps he would have deemed my inquisitive nature as petulance and disrespectful, he may have sent me to visit his other son lucifer for this, but I would politely have told him that he made me (paternity test pending), so he should take some responsibility for some of my actions, you know like any good parent would.

It’s always nice meeting someone you’ve heard so much about, good and bad. It would have been a chance to put some of the myths to rest, you know the ones about him enjoying seeing children starve and mothers raped. I would have tested that flimsy defense that so many of his followers so often use, (some who have Johnny cochran skills others are more Lionel klutz when it comes to defending the ways of the world.)

But unfortunately it’s been cancelled, maybe I’m not one of his chosen few. Which is funny, because giving some of the things I heared about his loving nature, I thought he would have had an open door policy.

Redirecting Traffic (Poem)

by mrqanimation

As the tears rolled down his face
Hope descended from his soul
Rationale invaded his heart
Kicking down its remaining glass walls
Enfolding the heart with all of its security sensors
Building fences
And diverting all unwanted traffic
Sending those pesky emotional thoughts
To be diluted by his brain
Rationale asserted that no longer would he suffer pain

Am I Black Enough For You?

by mrqanimation

(An Old Post from Different Perspective Blog)

Do you have an instant image of the way a black person should talk? The music a white person should listen to? Or what an Asian person should be good at? Does it then slightly throw you off and make you question whether or not that person is acting like another race because they listen to a specific type of music or speak in a certain way?

Because I am confused, since when, or should I say why is it okay for someone else to define another’s “whiteness, blackness, Asianess”? If you’re wondering what I am getting at, I am referring to the statements, insults that people will throw around when they feel someone doesn’t quite meet up to their standards of how a person of a certain race should act. If you are unaware of the words that I speak of, I mean words such as bounty, wigger, coconut and oreo, all words that are intended to be slurs upon someone, no matter which way you try and phrase them.

You will get the “bounty” taunt thrown at a black person who doesn’t quite speak how someone expects them to. If they speak with a little too much Prince William in their voice, then they aren’t black, because apparently to some (black and white), black people only speak slang and are incapable of speaking in a well spoken manner (or as they see it, in a white manner). Is there a black dictionary that I am yet to acquire, or is peoples pig ignorance something that should just be accepted?

The reason I get annoyed with the use of words like bounty/coconut/oreo, is because quite often this label is only given to those who do nothing wrong apart from stray away from the stereotypical caricatures of African-Americans and Black British people, you know someone who might prefer classical over hip-hop, might happen to pick a white girl on a dating show over the sole black girl on it. Rarely, if it all, is the label applied to people who offer a negative portrait of black society, never will you hear the “road guy” being deemed as acting white no, such labels are reserved for those who simply don’t match up to how people normally expect someone to act.

I was unaware that there were specific traits that you had to have to officially make you a black person (if someone has this list, please email I will be interested to have a read, thanks.), and today I often cringe at myself and others when things like “Black Peoples Time” and other stereotypes are thrown about casually, whether meant half-heartedly or not, it is weird that people will so willingly put themselves in boxes and apply labels to themselves, yet will perhaps scream racism if say a white person said it. Of course I am not naive enough to dismiss the differences that exist in cultures, Africans are different to Europeans in the way that they go about every day events and such, but Nigerians are different to Kenyans, and the French and Estonians are also different. These differences have less to do with race (however, perhaps someone who is more knowledgeable in sociology etc could tell me different), then people tend to make out. Would our relatives that live in the motherland look down on us because they would deem us not black enough, I mean surely if anyone has a right to define blackness it is those that live in Africa or the Caribbean, no?

To some, a person’s colour is just that, nothing more than the colour of their skin. Others feel that it defines you, which is fine, but that doesn’t mean you have the right to assert someone else may not be black enough for you because they don’t quite talk how you think they should, and neither does it make someone less white because they listen to slightly more Jay-Z and Lil Wayne then you do.

Most importantly, when people throw around such insults, I think it is important to remember that race is nothing more than a man-made concept that was, and still appears to be used to divide.

Tyler talks a whole heap of realness here. You have to give him some credit, even if you don’t like his music.

by mrqanimation

http://www.worldstarhiphop.com/videos/e/16711680/wshhk8bumFAagT1QFcDs

Lost in Pre-Adulthood

by mrqanimation

I used to believe that reaching 21 would automatically catapult me into adulthood. Things were expected to fall into place or have a rigid shape as soon as I reached this age or at least that is what I thought; some sociologists assert that generations before us had life mapped out for them and it went as follows; you complete school, leave home, become financially independent, get married and end up having children. I suppose everybody follows this pattern, with the last two being purely optional, but fortunately or unfortunately for my generation this transition now appears to take a hell of a lot longer now than it used to, and as a result a lot of twenty-something year olds, are left floating in between a sometimes dark and confusing world that is pre-adulthood.

I often find myself thinking that I have yet to achieve anything or at least not enough; at 23 years old, I feel I should have done a lot more. This might be unnecessary pressure or quite simply just the truth, I don’t expect unrealistic things from myself, others might. In my head, life feels like it is running away from me, and with every moment a let slip by, I become increasingly hard on myself.

It’s feels like being a teenager again, but slightly worse. Merely because it was all expected at that age. And whilst there are some things to enjoy about this period, the uncertainty, frustration and nostalgia tend to creep their ugly heads more often than I would like.

But if all the studies are right and it is taking a longer amount of time for this new stage of transition, is this necessarily a bad thing? Is my frustration warranted or am I behaving like my sister and wanting to grow up before its needed?

“Lost in the world”

The Rush to Grow Up

by mrqanimation

“Life’s tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late”
Benjamin Franklin

The phrase, “Kids grow up too fast these days”, must be one of the most overused phrases in history, I’m sure every generation utters it and bemoans the way that younger people are in such a rush to run away from their age. But as of late, my 12 year old sister has forced me into repeating this same phrase on a number of occasions, not only is she making me feel that I am 40 rather than 23, but she has also made me think (worry) about how I will manage to deal with the complexities of a young mind when (if at all) I have my own children.

From the age of about 10, becoming an adult was one of the only things on my mind, one of my favourite phrases was probably “I can’t wait until I’m older”. I was deluded, painfully unaware of the way important things were made to sit on the back-burner, whilst unimportant things fill your mind; your imagination is asked to be curbed and diluted by the negative factors of the world as you shift into the gears of reality. I failed to realise that down the line I would look back and wish that I could just be a care-free child again.

But whilst I feel I wanted to grow up fast, I also feel that I actually managed to have some semblance of an actual childhood, now I find it strange, worrying, sad that my 12 year old sister appears to want to be an adult before she has really been a child. In today’s age, this can be put down to a million and one things, children are influenced from 24/7 media just as much as adults are (many would argue this is partly to do with issues of bad parent management of internet/tv time, I tend to agree. Growing up too fast is multiplied by 100 for children of today’s society, mobile phones, laptops, Facebook, lack of “real children’s television”, bad television and in many cases lack of real parenting, play too much of a role in bringing up kids. Technology has become the babysitter of the 21st century, as parents are forced to work longer and harder than ever to make ends meet, and many of them are too worried about their surroundings to ever feel that is safe enough to let their children go and play in the nearby park.

One of the most ironic things is the belief by kids that when becoming an adult, you inherit more freedom, but I believe that whilst a child your freedom is perhaps at its peak. So you can’t drive a car and stay out until all hours, but you’re not pressurised by society to do things a certain way and conform or get a job, pay bills etc. Unfortunately like most things in life, they won’t see this until its too late.

A history lesson for Chris Brown

by mrqanimation