Mobilize & Fly

I came to a realization today. We (black people) are trying to thrive in a system that was made for us to be oppressed. The unwritten prefix for everything in the constitution is "White men." It went without being said at the time. The term "innocent until proven guilty" was written for white men. Had it been written with slaves in mind, there likely would have been a clause that said "The blacks, who are only a fraction of a person (for population purposes only and none other), however are guilty until proven innocent."

The evidence that white men were the only consideration for anything written at this nation's inception is the line "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights..." They knew that they were not going to allow black people to enjoy this. Therefore, even though it was written in later that these laws now include us, we are apart of a system that was built for us to be oppressed. So to wonder why it is nearly impossible for us to get ahead is the same as wondering why humans cannot fly; the system is not built for that. Just like humans need a machine to contradict the laws of nature and fly, we, as black people, need to mobilize as a unit to fight against this systematic oppression so that we can rewrite the rules, this time with everyone in mind.

I have to get back to studying but that was on my mind and I had to get it out. Let's fly.

*Hold the phone*

Just as I was going to hit send, I got an e-mail from my school's police department that said "Crime Alert." Once again, it gave a vague description of a black male with no approxomation of height, weight, complexion or hairstyle and a very bland description of his attire that will probably get me stopped on my way home from the library tonight. See? It is a system built to make all of us guilty. I'm sick of it.

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Litera scripta manet. - Unknown

Thinking About Marriage? Think About Money.

I was just sitting around thinking about money management and it's connection with relationships. In thinking about this, I realize that, though money cannot buy me love, one's inability to make the sacrifices necessary to be financially stable can definitely put a strain on, and ultimately break, the bond that love has built.

I was talking to Desireé (my girlfriend for those who haven't been reading) last night about money and our relationship and the emphasis I put on it and why I like to be so financially structured and things like that. (That last one nearly turned into a run on sentence. Thankful for Ms. Exum and Ms. Buck in second and third grades). I told her that if ever I was at a point where I was just being lazy and consistently wasn't taking care of my responsibilities, I wanted her to leave me. Not because I don't want to be with her but because I am well aware of the stress and strain that fiscal irresponsibility can put on a marriage and a family.

Though I am no where near engaged, this is something that, as college-aged people, we must think about. We need to be cognizant of what it is to have good credit. We need to be able to budget our money and stick to that budget. We need to be able to curb desire and impulse because what we want is not feasible at that time. It is often said that "bad habits die hard," and I am a firm believer in that. But they can die. It takes time and practice. I will be the first to say that I am not always the best with money. But I am very good with it. I am good at making my money work for me. And I am learning more and more from Des all the time because her parents taught her a lot of things that I was unaware.

You have to find someone who will strengthen you all around. If you both bring God, a good credit score, an education, a job, and discipline into a relationship, you can't go (too) wrong. And even if one of those is missing, if you have determination, you'll find a way to fill the void.

Litera scripta manet. - Unknown

Yes, They Are Tattooed on Your Forehead

You know what I realize about most of today's Greeks? We don't think about the fact that we are always wearing our letters. We think that, just because we aren't out in public, no one is judging our organization's character.

Truth be told, they are. We are on Facebook with wild tagged photographs or on twitter saying some outlandish things. Tweets from brothers of (insert fraternity here) that read "F***in while flyin. #MileHighClub." Or Facebook pictures of an sister of (insert sorority here) climbing up on a pole while on spring break. And then I look at this individual's background or description on Twitter or their Facebook info section and they are making sure everyone knows what organization they pledged. Have some more respect for all of our founders than to do that. They were great men and women and they deserve better. And if you don't think so, maybe you should have just remained without letters.

This is not to say that we shouldn't have fun. We are in college. Do what you do. But no one wants to be known as the "Pothead" (insert greek letters) chapter of (insert fraternity/sorority) or as the "Hoe" (insert greek letters) chapter of (insert fraternity/sorority). How about we replace those negative monikers (b/c, like it or not, people, other Greeks included, say them behind our backs) with positive ones that start with the same letter (i.e. Prestigious or Hard-working). So don't be surprised when someone who is far from wholesome comes to an interest meeting or to rush. When more than 20% of the individuals at your interest meeting lack the character you would like to see in a brother or sister, ask yourself, "Are my brothers/sisters and I holding up the light as we should and being role models or are these people here because they feel like their character matches ours?"

And lastly, it might be sexist but these are you all's rules so have them changed if you want to be like the fraternities - Ladies, all this cursing on Twitter is kind of hypocritical when you have your letters in your description/background but as soon as you're in a shirt, you are the first to say "I can't curse in my letters." I just fail to see the difference. And just to be fair, I know that we as Alphas aren't supposed to drink in letters so me sending out crazy Tweets while it is obvious that I am short of sober is hypocritical on my behalf. I say that to say this - I too fall short but I am aware of it and am trying to change. What are you doing about it?

(FYI, I have seen both becoming and unbecoming things from members of every organization both on and off my own campus, including my own, so please take this personally but not disrespectfully)

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Litera scripta manet. - Unknown

p(hi) Expectations

It is often said that 20% of people will do 80% of the work. My problem is, I don't understand how someone can be ok with letting someone else do that work. That is the worst mentality in the world to have because it means that you really are ok with being expendable. The sad thing is, I heard that it doesn't change when you get out of undergrad. And I'm sure the only reason that isn't always the case in the work world is because people don't want to get fired. So they do the bare minimum to stay on. This is why there are 50 year olds who have never moved up in their organization answering to 25 year olds who are ambitious as heck. I refuse to be 50 in the same position that I am when I come out of college.

Another thing I find is that being complacent is cancerous. How often have I seen brothers who come in wanting to work move into a lackadaisical state just because they started hanging out with brothers who say "It's ok. You don't have to be on time. So-and-so will be there. We'll just show up when we do." That is cancerous and, though I love everyone, I really don't like people like that.

Lastly, I hate the "everyone plays their role" model of thinking. I'm an Alpha. I don't want to bring more people in my fraternity who are one dimensional. I want well-spoken, social, well-read, service-oriented, ambitious, gentlemen of integrity, not one well-spoken man, one social man, one who is well-read, and one who wants to do service. That's what you call a ____ (well, you fill in the blank with your own stereotypes). And some people may say I'm asking too much but I say that too often, we ask too little of our aspirants and neophytes. We tell them it's ok that they have not yet matured. And it is true, life is a maturing process, but I like to see maturity coming in because some people get their letters and still you have to squint to see the growth even after 3 and 4 and sometimes 8 and 9 years.

Litera scripta manet. - Unknown

Where Are the Morals

It is funny to me how our generation is full of people who are, from my point of view, proud of their sinful nature. We tweet about how much sex we have. We never untag photos of our overly drunken nights. We discuss the grade of weed we just purchased as if it were a grade of meat. We, for all intents and purposes, say to children, "Do you want to have male or female tendencies?" as opposed to long ago when boys were made aware what things were boyish and what things made them look like sissies. Really, I have to ask, where is the backbone? I feel like we no longer stand for anything and, instead, we let any- and everything fly.

After reading more into history, I do not believe our generation does worse things than generations past. I believe that we do it at a higher frequency and with no sense of discretion because it is no longer frowned upon. Females are out here trying to think like men and males are out here trying to dress like women and at the end of the day, we have more females/males and fewer true ladies/gentlemen.

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Litera scripta manet. - Unknown

Paparazzi Dreams

It's funny how we get dressed up and go out like we're celebrities. We hit parties at local clubs as if we're in LA or something and have photographers snapping shots that end up in Facebook but we act like it paparazzi taking pictures. We go shopping every weekend, get drunk, and basically live carefree. Thing is, at the end of the day, it gets old. No ones letters makes them a celebrity outside of this undergraduate world. And if you buy the booth, is it really VIP? We are college students who get refund checks and blow them so we can enjoy our experience. And that's cool. But don't trick yourself into thinking it's something that it's not. You are a regular person. That red carpet at the party is the one that everyone who walks in the building gets to take pictures on. The velvet rope is raised for everyone who comes to the club.

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Litera scripta manet. - Unknown