A Fight in Chinatown

About a week ago, some friends and I finished a delicious lunch in Chinatown and were headed back to the South Loop. For those of you that are not familiar with Chicago's public transit system, the CTA, Chinatown is literally two stops south from the South Loop, so about a 5-minute train ride at most.

Anyway, we got on the platform and waited for the train to pull up and as the doors opened, a group of about six guys were in brawl that moved onto the platform. Stunned and rather curious, I moved back in shock and watched to interpret what was going on.

As the fight unfolded, I noticed that the fight ratio was 5-1 and the subway train remained stalled and the doors ajar. The lone guy screamed and begged for help and eventually a woman from the train yelled for the assailants to get off of him. The victim was helped onto the train and the assailants ran off.

I later came to understand that the altercation took place because the five assailants were trying to steal the victim's iPad. Luckily, they did not succeed and for the most part, the victim is okay, and one of my friends called the police.

Typically, I would not share stories like this all the time because I think it could give people the wrong image, but this was important for the purposes of this blog. The assailants were young black men; the victim was a young white man. Even though I did not jump in to help (I regret that and even though this does not excuse my "bystander-ness" I was in shock for the whole time), I was rather irritated with the situation.

As a black person, I feel it is imperative for me show that I am more than my race and the diversity within myself to break down the stereotypes and misconceptions of black people (the main purpose of the blog, if you haven't noticed). Of course, this blog would not exist if there was not widespread ignorance within American society and in many places abroad, but also exist because of the black men that assaulted this white man that help perpetuate the negative stereotypes of black people.

These men are luckily a small facet of black people in this country. This image of barbarism is commonly applied to black people in American media, but is not the reality. This is what I want everyone to understand. More so, to the black readers of this blog, we need to encourage our youth who are engaged in this kind of behavior to understand that not only do they make black people on the whole seem barbaric, but they self-title themselves as hoodlums - a title that takes a lot of time and effort to remove from one's self. I personally do not care what people think about me because I know and understand the image of myself I portray and I really don't care who or what likes it, but one thing I have gained is respect from the right people who will get me to where I would like to be in life. If I was labelled as a hoodlum, I wouldn't have that respect at all.

So, please, spread this story to everyone you know so they can understand these two things:

• Not all black people are violent and dumb (because these boys were definitely violent and dumb).
• The way you view yourself will be the image you project to others, so make sure its positive to gain the right kind of respect.

The End of the LRA? Finally?

Usually, when I talk about Uganda, I refer to the horrible and deplorable Anti-Homosexuality Bill of 2009 (which is still up in the air), but here is another sinister and deadly issue that (thankfully) the Ugandan government has been paying more attention to instead of finding a way to kill (suggested) homosexuals.

The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) is a militant rebel group that is notorious for abducting children in Central Africa as young as 5 years old to transform into lethal child soldiers. The group started in Uganda earlier this decade and has spread to neighboring nations. The have forced thousands from Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo to flee since the began their ruthless terror campaign on Christmas 2008.

Now, based on the efforts of US President Barack Obama and others in the international community, there is a conscious effort to disarm the LRA. YAY! I am hoping this initiative works.

Groups like the LRA piss me off, and I hope they do the same for you. For a group that shouldn't have been around to begin with, they have been the part of hindering Africa's progress as a continent, let alone the nations they directly affect. They perpetuate the images of danger in Africa due to whatever selfishness they have by stealing children and turning them into killing monsters when these kids should be in school to become the future of a cultural and mineral rich continent. I have another story coming up later today, that is more personal that aligns kind of with this issue, but talking about things that I had witnessed last week on American soil that pissed me off just as much.

Anyway, to learn more about efforts to end the LRA's terror campaign and to see how you can contribute, go to: http://www.invisiblechildren.com/

Scandal, Witchcraft and Cheaters - OH MY!

The stuff I am reading today is serious off the chain. I mean, some of this stuff sounds like a storyline for a Lifetime movie.

In short, a 47-year-old South African woman had an affair with a South African rugby player by the name of Deon Helberg who was dating her daughter. Because the Deon called off the affair, she plotted with Nigerian "crooks" to kill the him. However, her plan backfired because the "crooks" immediately informed authorities of her plot. She supposedly dabbled into witchcraft and visited witch doctors. I think we should all read the whole article and I will give you updates on this madness as it come around.

I have a problem with this crazy lady on many levels (as I am sure many of you do after reading the story). First of all, why were you sleeping with your daughter's boyfriend? That is some low level stuff that a mother should not be doing. Secondly, I know the stereotype of Nigerians on the continent is that they are crazy and crooked, but not all of them are like that, which was shown here (however, since she paid them, they may have taken the money then told the authorities, something I would have done, LOL). Lastly, she's visiting witch doctors and experimenting with witchcraft? Was this rugby player that good that you had to get into the supernatural? She has lower herself and it is sad.

The people I wonder about is the rugby player, Deon Helberg, and his now ex-girlfriend. Of course, Deon was stupid and weak, as many of us know, but how would this affect his career? And the girl...how would she look at her mother now? As this story continues to develop, I will have more information. I can see this being a made-for-TV movie within the next year.

Shuga - Episode 2

I don't know how many of you have been watching this Kenyan drama, but if you haven't, you probably should start watching it. The first episode was a little slow, but this one definitely picks up a bit.

Shuga Episode 2 from mtv staying alive on Vimeo.

Sitting on the Toilet - Now Mobile in Nigeria

Watching this report from CNN.com definitely brought a giggle, but this is quite a serious issue considering the amount of work by many organizations around the world to end the global "toilet crisis."

The toilet is commonplace in homes and and public places in developed countries, but in the developing and underdeveloped worlds, sometimes a toilet is a luxury (an estimated 2.6 billion people do not have access to a toilet). One Nigerian businessman realized the scarcity of public toilets in Lagos and started the country's first (and right now only) mobile toilet service.

Coffins for All...Even Tools

Ghana has always been an innovative West African nation and has been noted for being one of the safest. today I found something rather cute that made me laugh.

A novelty coffin maker makes grave beds in all shapes, as CNN. com reports. I looked at some pictures of these novelties and saw coffins shaped as crabs, snails, turtles and tools. Now, if you know someone who passed away and was a complete tool for most of his/her life, you got a coffin for them! (Okay, that may have been bad...oops.)

Exclusive Interview - Brought to You by the Columbia Chronicle

As I have been talking about for weeks now, Shannon Kook-Chun was in Chicago and talked about his acting and all that jazz. He sat with the beautiful MTV Africa VJ Fikile Moeti, commonly known as "Fix." I found this interview intriguing and gives those who missed out on his live Q & A a chance to get some answers.