i've still been busy blog. what with work and well, this movie and what not, I don't always have time to come in and check on you. here's a thought though. what's with all my friends being called racists lately? myself included. there was a guy at a check out counter who was talking about all the predjudice in michigan, what with the benton harobr stuff... which by the way, was the dumbest thing i ever heard. in case you missed it, people in benton harbor rioted for three days straight because cops there chased down a black man on a motorcycle and ran him into a house, which killed him and set the house on fire. that sounds terrible and everything, but it's not exactly what happened. a motorcyclist in michigan is required to wear a helmet, as this guy was, along with long sleeves, riding gloves, and long pants. so that automatically knocks out any possibility that they targeted him because of his ethnicity, because he was completely covered, no skin even showing. second of all he was trying evading police, which, i think is illegal. third, right before the crash they clocked him doing 100 in a residential area. cause enough for them to chase him. and fourth, the police car cameras caught the whole thing on tape and when he wrecked into the house, he was three blocks ahead of them. so because of this obviously racist abuse of whitey's police power, citizens of benton harbor rioted in their own town, burning down their own houses and causing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of property damage to their community... way to go. anyway, back to me being accused of racism. the guy was talking about why elson floyd, the african american ex-president of the university left michigan, he claimed racism, the real reason was he got paid more to be somewhere else. florida i think. and if youve ever been to michigan, you want to be in florida. but according to this guy, it was all a plot by the man. then in the middle of saying that there were racists everywhere in the community, he turns and looks at me, turns back to the lady he was talking to, and nods, as if to say "see?" now, he did this because for the film, i play a white wannabe rapper. so i shaved my head. i'll admit, i looked like a skinhead. but the man was talking about the evils of judging people just by looking at them and assuming you know everything about them... irony can be pretty ironic sometimes.

im not saying there aren't racist white people out there. there are tons. most live south of the mason dixon line and are still upset about losing "the war of northern aggression." and they're all idiots. im not one of them, and neither are my friends.

just because i don't smile at you doesn't mean im racist. i don't smile at a lot of people, regardless of skin color. just because john is standing becind the counter doesn't mean he's only watching you in the store because you're the only black guy there. just because no one asked you if you needed help finding anything doesn't mean they're a bigot, it means you're daughter is the one shopping and she's in the changing room, so you've obviously found what you need, or you're going to need assistance later, not now. i'll agree racism exists, but it's on both sides, and it's not everywhere. just because they got your order wrong at mcdonalds doesn't mean they're taking off early to get to their klan meeting, they get my order wrong too. i hate it when people use this type of thing as a crutch. they don't like me because i'm a girl. no, they don't like you because you're annoying. they won't give me a job because i'm black. there's five black guys who work here now, they won't give YOU a job because you asked for an application while reeking of pot.

this isn't p.c. and i've got nothing against black people. ive got everything against hypocrites. and why is it that even when I read over this it sounds like i'm judging everyone? i think because nowadays if you say something bad about one single solitary person, who just happens to be a different religion, gender or race than you, then automatically it sounds like you're classifying that whole division. that's bull. those four guys were hypocrits. everyone else on the planet i don't know until ive met them.

if i was at an atm, and a gangsta looking guy came up behind me with three of his gangsta looking friends, big chains, baggy pants, upside down backwards visors, gold teeth, throwback jerseys, would i automatically be nervous? yes. is it because they're black? no. because if they were Urkel, i wouldn't even notice. it's because they look intimidating. same goes for white guys. if a black man was at an atm and three guys wearing leather chaps, big leather vests with a shaved head, a big spider tattoo on their heads, and the confederate flag tattooed all over their arms walked up, he'd be nervous. is it because they're white? no, because if they were Screech, he wouldn't even notice. it's because they look frightening. and in either case, if those biker redneck white guys came up behind me, i'd be nervous too, as would he with the gangstas.

so in closing, yes there is racial tension, there always has been. but it isn't all valid. i'm not a skinhead, i'm an actor. but that guy jumped to his conclusions in the same way he was damning everyone else for doing. if stuff doesn't go your way, it's not always because someone judged you. sometimes shit just doesn't go your way. it happens to all of us.