Deuces Herman Cain, I hardly knew you.

Mediocrity requires aloofness to preserve its dignity.  

~ Charles G. Dawes

 

Becoming famous in America has become as easy as ordering a number one at McDonalds.  Any Tom, Dick or Harry can be a star if they believe in themselves and can get in front of a camera.  But there are serious pitfalls to having too much pride in your abilities.  Sometimes you believe that you are great when you really aren’t. 

 

Hence the story of Herman Cain, a former pizza executive that wanted to be Head of the American Empire.  But as he ends his campaign, we are still trying to figure out who he is?  He tried to shake off all previous allegations but couldn’t shake a 4am phone text.  What married man sends a text to another woman at 4am in the morning and periodically gives her money?  Did I forget to mention that Cain’s wife didn’t know anything about this woman?  Cain sold himself as a Christian with moral values.  And now a woman is claiming that he was serving her more than pizzas?  Cain needs to call Eliot Spitzer for some advice ASAP!!!!!  Don’t forget the allegations from the many women that claimed he sexually harassed them.  For a minute it started to look like a Tiger Woods Mistress coming out party. 

 

When I first heard a former CEO of a pizza company wanted to be head honcho, my mind started swimming.  I thought it would have to be someone from a successful well known company.  Pizza Hut?  They are tops in everything plus those personal pan pizzas are the bomb!!!  Domino’s?  I know they had some issues but they are making a comeback and their crust tastes a lot better.  Papa John’s?  So that dude in their commercials wants to be president?  Little Caesars?  I think their Hot and Ready Pizzas is an interesting concept.  But it has cheapened the product a little.  CiCi’s Pizza?  YES!!!…I love that place.  I know their pizza isn’t quality pizza but their buffet is one of the cheapest deals around (i.e.  recession prices!!)  Hungry Howie’s Pizza?  I know I know, their pizza probably isn’t the healthiest but those flavored crusts are amazing.  Well that’s all the pizza places that…..wait a minute...did you say Chuck E. Cheese’s?  No? Oh what’s that?  Godfather’s Pizza?  Really?  Where are they located?  Omaha, Nebraska….are you serious??  Unless you are in the Midwest or the smallest most backwoods town you could get lost in.  There is a good possibility that you have not enjoyed eating at a Godfather’s Pizza.  But none of this stopped Cain, who felt that he had something to offer America. 

But if he had something, only his hardcore fans and the lady he was sending 4am texts to knew what it was.  I don’t know if people actually believed in him or they were just that pissed off at Mitt Romney.  What can you say about a presidential candidate that knew absolutely nothing about foreign policy?  He couldn’t point to countries on the map or pronounce them.  He made light of his foreign policy credentials and told us that the voters are looking for someone to fix the economy.  But wouldn’t it be smart for him to know something about China, because we do still owe them money.  And because we still get oil from the Middle East, shouldn’t he know something about them too.  Not to mention Korea and India who will become major players on the world stage in the next few years.  I guess we’ll never know if Chuck Norris was on the short list for Secretary of Defense.  So foreign policy wasn’t his specialty.  He still had his business acumen working for him.  Who could forget about his financial plan that sounded like an ad for a pizza commercial?  And based on the plan’s figures, it seems that a pizza coupon would be better for you financially than his actual plan.  His Chilean 999 plan sounds like something you get at the Mustang Ranch in Nevada.  Since he was such a successful businessman, he couldn’t come up with anything better.  I’m curious why journalists never asked why Godfather’s Pizza wasn’t as well known as the other pizza chains.  Wouldn’t it have been impressive if he took Godfather’s to the highest level possible?  What if they were as competitive as the other chains..i.e.  stores on every corner, online ordering, adding chicken and pasta to their menus and putting more cheese in their cheesy bread (because you can really never have enough cheese stuffed in a pocket of bread).  But in the end, all we know about his time at Godfather’s is what the women that he allegedly sexually harassed said about him. 

 

Although Cain had no more business in the White House than a 14^th and K Street Prostitute, I hated to see him go out like this.  Just because I didn’t think he stood a chance didn’t mean I hated the guy.  I just thought he wasn’t qualified and lacked the intellectual curiosity that I think he needs for the job.  He reminded me of the drunken uncle that always had these crazy life stories.  Even the dumbest stories seemed to be the funniest.  My major problem with him was that he pandered to conservative whites entirely too much.  So much so that he seemed to dismiss black folks as some lost group of people that needed direction.  Did he not think that black folks (that aren’t tethered to the Republican Party) weren’t going to vote for him?   All blacks aren’t liberals.  You have a lot of them that are Independents like me.  I can judge a candidate on their views and make an intelligent decision.  And it doesn’t matter the gender or race of the candidate. But what I won’t do is vote against my own self interests.  And I won’t vote for someone that clearly wasn't up to the challenge. 

I could have told Jalen Rose that nobody wants to hear the truth.

You can tell a lot about a university and a country based on who it excludes and who it exploits.

~ Mdotwrites



Upper Middle Class and Middle Class Black Folks can be mad at last Sunday Nights “The Fab 5” documentary on ESPN all they want. But, kudos to the Jalen Rose produced documentary that earned high ratings. I’m just sorry that the folks watching didn’t get what they watched. Instead of dealing with the issue of college athletes being exploited, we have spent a whole week on who is and isn’t an “Uncle Tom”. Who knew that “The Fab 5” would air black folk’s dirty laundry?


Jalen Rose said the comment below in the documentary -

“For me, Duke was personal. I hated Duke. And I hated everything I felt Duke stood for. Schools like Duke didn’t recruit players like me. I felt like they only recruited black players that were Uncle Toms.”


This is what Upper Middle Class and Middle Class Blacks heard when he said the above comment –


“Blah, blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah blah if you were black and played for Duke University you are an Uncle Tom”.


Keep in mind that these comments were made when Rose was a teenager. Jalen Rose also said the following –


“Schools like Duke didn't recruit players like me. I felt that they only recruited black players that were Uncle Toms. ... I was jealous of Grant Hill. He came from a great black family. Congratulations. Your mom went to college and was roommates with Hillary Clinton. Your dad played in the NFL as a very well-spoken and successful man. I was upset and bitter that my mom had to bust her hump for 20-plus years. I was bitter that I had a professional athlete that was my father that I didn't know. I resented that, moreso than I resented him. I looked at it as they are who the world accepts and we are who the world hates.”


The above comment apparently bothered Grant Hill and he felt the need to write an op-ed in the New York Times. In it he quoted some Latin (good to know that someone else besides Clergy, College Professors and Treasure Hunters in Movies know Latin). He mentioned his ties to my frat brother the great Historian - Professor John Hope Franklin.

Side Note: Usually blacks get mad at our white counterparts when they reference black folks that they know in order to seem like they are cool with black folks but I digress…

He also talked about former Duke University players and how successful they are now. To all of this I say…..yawn!!! I have nothing personal against Grant Hill. We are from the same state and we both come from 2 parent homes. He was an excellent player in college and he seems like a nice guy. And his wife is HOT!!!!! But he read into this statement and wasted his time trying to defend what can’t be defended. People call Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and “Uncle Tom” all the time. Do you think he cares?? He doesn’t care what black folks think about him. He probably doesn’t even realize he’s black until he looks in the mirror. If someone calls you an Uncle Tom, laugh it off and keep on trucking!!! That title is so played out that it should have been retired with the word “Honky”.

Side Note: In the book “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” where the name came from, Uncle Tom was not the person that he has been portrayed in modern society. Uh Oh! My bad for ruining that for black folks that love to hang that title on other blacks.

Let me break down what Jalen said so we can separate what he meant and what you heard.

WHAT JALEN SAID: Schools like Duke didn't recruit players like me. I felt that they only recruited black players that were Uncle Toms.

THE BREAKDOWN: No the players aren’t Uncle Toms. That is silly and something I would expect a teenager to say. But he was right about Duke being selective in their recruiting. Duke basketball players are usually well groomed, well spoken, and tattoo less. In college and after college, you never hear about them getting arrested. These are all good things and it should be something Duke should be proud of. But let’s be honest….. Duke has a reputation for being snobby and everyone knows it (well except for Duke Students and their Alumni).

Side Note: most of the people I know that have a degree from Duke are cool people. But they weren’t snobby to begin with either.

The only people that like Duke are people that went to Duke and people that wish they could have gone to Duke. Talk to long time black Durham N.C. residents and see what they have to say about the university. But again, let me say that all of this is completely okay. Duke Head coach Mike Krzyzewski has the right to obtain the type of players he wants. And Duke has the right to enroll the type of students that will enhance their reputation.

WHAT JALEN SAID: I was jealous of Grant Hill. He came from a great black family. I was upset and bitter that my mom had to bust her hump for 20-plus years. I was bitter that I had a professional athlete that was my father that I didn't know. I resented that, moreso than I resented him. I looked at it as they are who the world accepts and we are who the world hates.

THE BREAKDOWN: Jalen admitted that his anger came out of him being JEALOUS!!! What part don’t folks understand? His logic is the same reason kids make fun of other kids for doing well in school. Or why kids are picked on for wearing designer clothes, taking ballet or speaking proper English. There is a resentment among blacks that is based on our economic standing. This isn’t anything new!! It’s just that Upper Middle Class and Middle Class Blacks don’t want to discuss it. It’s uncomfortable to talk about because they hate feeling the need to justify why they live in a nice neighborhood and their children attend good schools.

So what was not discussed this week? The exploitation of college athletes from the schools they attend and the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association). All the money that the University of Michigan made from selling Fab 5 paraphernalia and they never received a cut. All the money the NCAA made from their television games and ticket sales and the Fab 5 never received a cut. Now this is the part where you probably say “why should you pay college athletes?” I was the same way until I realized the money that these student athletes were making for their schools. You have student athletes who can’t afford a hamburger and schools are making money off these kids. They could at least receive a stipend for their service. Even a pimp lets his ho keep some of their money from trickin….