My two-cents worth and then some. An online journal by LP Brown.

Browsing Category General

A Father’s Day Message for Real Fathers

by on ·General, Opinion

Male parents don’t always get the attention on Father’s Day that mothers get on theirs. Nevertheless, many children, young and grown, who know and love their fathers acknowledge them with a card, a gift, a phone call or a visit. And those of us whose dads are no longer alive simply acknowledge them in pleasant memories.  

It used to be traditional for men to hand out cigars following the birth of  their baby, but considering today’s anti-smoking campaigns and the extenuating circumstances under which some children are born, I don’t think the celebratory cigar is handed out anymore. Still, expectant fathers eagerly anticipate their child’s birth and claim bragging rights. They take pride in showing off their newborn and anticipate the day when that smiling child looks up at him and says “Happy Father’s Day, daddy.”

Unfortunately, not all men who call themselves father earn that right.

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Thank A Mother — Revisited

by on ·General, Lifestyle and Culture

If you are in a relationship with — or married to — a man who you love because he respects you, provides for you, and treats you like his queen – thank his mother. While no rule of behavior is set in stone, there is much truth to the adage that the way a man treats his mother reflects on how he will treat you.

We’ve all overheard conversations among women where the subject is mother-bashing — not their own mother, but his. Some women feel that they have exclusive rights to the man in their life, whether he is their husband or longtime boyfriend, and they view his mother as the “other woman.”  Perhaps it never occurs to those anxious women that

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Face On, Face Off

by on ·General, Lifestyle and Culture

Ladies, would you dare to take if off — take it all off — and then show your face in public?  I’m not talking about  revealing your birthday suit, I’m asking are you self-confident enough to appear before your significant other, friends, co-workers or strangers without makeup? Are you a woman who won’t leave home without it or do you feel comfortable going about your business with a naked face?

Excluding the entertainers who become unsuspecting victims of quick thinking shutterbugs or relentless paparazzi, away from the limelight, some female entertainers are voluntarily baring their faces and letting the world see them as they really are.

A few years ago, Tyrah Banks removed her makeup and did one show au naturel on her daily TV program. Occasionally, other celebs are spotted in public without the painted face:  Mariah Cary, Hoda and Kathi Lee, Barbara Streisand, Jennifer Hutson, Halle Berry, Jennifer Lopez, Oprah, and the list goes on. I wonder if going natural away from the spotlight is becoming trendy for celebrities or do they just grow tired of wearing the mask?  Regardless, there are probably numerous entertainers who wouldn’t be caught dead without their face on for whatever reason.

“When you are sporting grey hair with a makeup free face, that’s crossing the line.”  Imagine the pressure for celebrities when they read stinging comments like that one captioning a series of “before and after” photos by Joanna Sloame (New York Daily News).

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Justice for Trayvon Martin

by on ·General, Opinion, Race Matters

 “Each time a person stands up for an ideal or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.” ~Robert F. Kennedy

The media  — social and broadcast — is carrying the torch for Trayvon Martin after the Sanford, Florida police officials let it drop.  Now the movement to get justice for Trayvon is raging across this country faster than a California wildfire.

Even before the unarmed, 17 year old was shot on February 26th, Blacks who live in Sanford voiced frequent complaints of bias against the local police.  Now, a month after Trayvon was killed, the U.S. Department of Justice and a special prosecutor appointed by the governor have been drawn into the furor surrounding a law upheld by states across the U.S.  A law that some feels mean Stand your ground – Black man down.

Read more about this on www.Bboomersnet.com

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A Never Ending Open Season on Black Males

by on ·Baby Boomers, General, Race Matters, The Way I See It

Did the Sanford, Florida police simply take George Zimmerman’s word for what happened to Trayvon Martin on February 26? No questions asked. No investigation. No lockup. Did they see a cut and dry case of  stand your ground — Black man down? End of story?  Thanks to a national outcry for justice, it is not going down like that.

Like people throughout the country, I am hurt and fire-spitting angry over the unfortunate shooting of Trayvon Martin. I have one son and six young grandsons. They are all Black. That gives me a strong vested interest in the circumstances surrounding Trayvon’s senseless killing and the call for justice.

What mother of a Black male child cannot relate to this most recent tragedy and does not fear for her own offspring? Even those of us who have had “the talk” with our young, male children know that just warning them is never enough. Making our boys aware of the dangers of simply being a Black male, combined with the ongoing racial stereotyping and negative judgments against Blacks in general is a struggle that requires endless vigilance.

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