Stop Cryme Time and Racism in the WWE Petition...Fear and Loathing on Sirius

It seems that race is a driving force still today. We may try to deny it or hide it as much as possible, but the sad truth is that race play a key role in American Society. As the musical Avenue Q proclaims, "Everyone's a little bit racist..." However where is racism more of a problem, in real-life, or the media circles that constantly spin the story.

Recently a show on Sirius Satellite Radio, The After Hours Spot, took offense to World Wrestling Entertainment's new RAW Brand tag-team, Cryme Tyme. You can read the story on the grievance here. After Hours Spot takes a shot at the WWE as using racism for cheap heat. An effort to get a worker over with fans the easiest way possible. Who is more responsible for using the race card as blatant self-promotion though, the WWE or The After Hours Spot?

Personally, I have never heard of The After Hours Spot. I have listened to Sirius, and I am quite in tune with the goings on in the world of the media, yet I had never heard mention of"The After Hours Spot" before today. WWE on the other hand is a house-hold name, not just here in the U.S., but across the globe. I guess if you're gonna take a shot at someone, why not go for one of the biggest in the world.

WWE does often leave themselves open to shots from the media, and negative press. And there is no denying the fact that many of the things done on WWE television are distasteful, however racism is not something that I believe the wrestling conglomerate is guilty of. A quick look at the WWE SmackDown! Roster will tell you this. King Booker (formerly Booker T) is the World Champion, and Bobby Lashley is one of the brand's biggest stars, both of which are black men. There have been a plethora of greats from all over the planet in every culture that have made themselves a name in WWE; Yokozuna, Booker T, The Rock, Farooq, Mark Henry, Bobby Lashley, Junk Yard Dog, and Eddie Gurrero just to name a few. So it is not a question of WWE using race as the sole motivator for "pushing" a wrestler.

Then why would WWE put a black tag team in vignettes that show them stealing, and mugging people? The answer is simple, entertainment. The WWE has long based storylines on the society at the time. WWE does not make all Asian wrestlers come to the ring in samurai battle garb, not all Hispanics come walk down the aisle with eating a fish taco to the tune of "The Mexican Hat Dance," and not all white wrestlers enter the curtain in a pickup truck while swilling beer. However, there are some instances where these things have happened, just as there are some instances where this happens in real life.

I could have spent this time complaining on the racial profiling that WWE is guilty of against white people with wrestlers the likes of Stone Cold Steve Austin, Irwin R. Schister, and the current tag-team of Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch, but I did not for the simple reason that it entertaining. Its a simple matter of art imitating life.

So again I ask, who is more guilty of using the race card as a means of peddling their wares, The After Hours Spot or The WWE? Perhaps the crew of the after hours spot should focus on new, creative ways to put their show over, and not rely on the cheap heat that is racism.

~peace, props, & chicken pox!
JP

Ephram

The Crew over at YWO Show . com has come up with a new masscot, what'dya think?

The Insatiable Lust for Home...Frolicking in Familiarity...Fear and Loathing at Home.

"You know, Thomas Edison tried and failed nearly 1,000 times to develop the carbonized cotton-thread filament for the incandescent light bulb...When asked about it, he said, "I didn't fail, I found out 999 ways how not to make a light bulb.' But he only needed to find one way to make it work."

~National Treasure

Normally, I would try and avoid a Disney quote at the beginning of an entry, however it fits. Plus it adds a bit of cohesiveness to the bumpy beginnings of this post.

I have never made it a secret the fact that I feel that the U.P. is quite possibly the most stifling place in the world. Of course, there are the usual pundits on the flip-side of this constantly quoting this being "God's Country." This is a solid argument that I cannot refute. The U.P. is unquestionably beautiful, and can soften even the most ruthless of hearts (just ask former mobster Al Capone when you get to Hell).

It has never been the caliber of the landscape, but rather that of the people that infuriates me to the point that I dust off the keys to "Tha Lair" to make my first post in over four months. While the rolling hills and endless beaches on the shores of the Great Lakes may be the foundation on which Michigan's Upper Peninsula is built, its people are the mortar, and you're cracking folks. There is an unspoken pride that roughly 98% of the population feel in regards to their home town. Sure, we all talk about how much we can't stand the area we are from, but at the end of the day if you hear a news report about a massive drug crackdown in your place of birth...well it hits home (pun INTENDED). This a natural thing. We all have a generic sense of pride when it come to our upbringings, but it is when you let this pride become unadulterated that you run the risk of falling into line with the herd.

Perfect example. I have many good friends that are from the U.P. and are constantly talking smack about their hometown, yet when something good comes their way, they refuse to deviate from anything that may be new and exciting. Instead going back to their home. It seems that this is a general sense of being afraid to take risks in life. Too often people are afraid to take a risk and stray from their day-to-day. That's not to say that these people are not driven, but rather they are just too scared to do anything about it.

Whether this fear comes from getting burned by an ex-boy/girlfriend or from legitimate hardships in one's life, this fear is debilitating. Twice in the past month I have had conversations with two different people on taking chances. Both of which ended in the same fashion: "Risk taking is a great thing...would I do it myself? Hell NO!" I may have paraphrased that a little bit to further my own point, but that is essentially what was said.

For these people, life is easiest when the KNOW that they can handle it. Is it rewarding? Not particularly. Will they ever be truly happy? Probally not. But can they HANDLE it? Most definitely. However, when you are just doing the bare minimum to "get by" you loose out on hundreds of great opportunities. It is very possible that many of you reading this would not even be here if one of your parents hadn't stepped-up and taken that big plunge by talking to the other the first time they met (of course this would go against my other theory that most American children born since 1970 were accidents).

The strangest thing about this is that most of the people I talk to take offense if you call them "scared," however the manner in which they lead their lives is a stunning example of how fear can put a strangle-hold on your life. Fear is the great debilitator. Its time we stepped up and said, "no more!" Take a chance by asking that girl out. The worst that can happen is that she'll say no (well actually the WORST that could happen would involve the 1998 Green Bay Packers, a midget, and a meteorite with Bruce Willis nowhere to be found).

This is a call to arms! Dust off, and reattach those things you so gleefully used to refer to as your balls. Ask for a raise, try a new food, TALK TO A STRANGER! Do whatever it is that you need to do to improve your life. Take a risk, and reap the rewards. As the late great Hunter S. Thomson once wrote, "Buy the ticket, take the ride." Upon reaching adulthood, we all bought a ticket. Stop waiting in line and take the ride my friends.

~peace, props, & chicken pox

Soul Brotha Joel

Colleges protest feds' Net order

SCARY SHIT HERE: The federal government is requiring hundreds of universities, online communications companies and cities to overhaul their Internet computer networks to make it easier for law enforcement authorities to monitor e-mail and other online communications.

Colleges protest feds' Net order

tommy d's mugshot on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

tommy d's mugshot on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Raistlin Majere

Now THIS is fun. A survey to determine which sci-fi character you are. Myself:

Raistlin Majere

An intensely private individual that chooses actions with care, you strive to further your own skills and powers.

This happens because I choose it to happen!

Raistlin is a character in the Dragonlance universe. He has a short biography at Dragonlance.com.

Partying With Atlantis...A Break From Alaska...The Econo Story Revealed...Goonies Never Say Die!

Well my friends, its been a while, I slacked off a bit, but the watch is off and its time for another fine edition coming to you from Tha Lair.

The reason that I haven't had a chance to post is due to the fact that I have been working my ass off here aboard the GTS Infinity, that and the sense of melencholy that sweeps over this place while in Alaska is enough to force one's self to board themself up in their cabin, and not come out until the sun does...NEVER!! But I have been had at work as I just got done with a Gay Cruise. No I don't mean "Gay Cruise" as in, "that place sucked so bad, it was so gay," I mean "Gay Cruise" as in lisping and ass-less chaps. The team that chartered the ship is called Atalntis, and they brought all their own equipment and entertainers aboard. And though I worked 78 hours last week, it was actually a good time. See, your typical Alaskan Cruise Traveler is old and it seems almost a chore for them to even be here, but these people know how to party. And the highlight of the week, meeting and working a show for Debbie Gibson. That's right, Miss Electric Youth herself! All in all, Atlantis was a great expierence, but I will say this: Every stereotype that you have ever, EVER heard about gay people is true, and there was at least on person to fit each stereotype here last week.

*and on a side note to Adam and Joe, I actually did see gay cowboys eating pudding.

That week officially brought the redundancy of 7-night Alaskan Voyages to a close, we are currently on our way to San Francisco from Vancouver B.C., Canada. We had two stops in Canada thus far, one in Victoria, the capital of British Columbia. A nice place too I might add. It reminds me very much of Evanston, Il (BREE!). And the other place was one who had a nice feel to it, but had a strange name that I can't be bothered to remember. Today we were in The States in the town of Astoria, Oregon, but I'll get more into that later.

I got several e-mails asking about the "Econo Story" from my last post, so here it is: My second job in this world was working as a Stocker at Econo Foods supermarket. A good job for a 16-year-old. One of the managers there (*cough cough* BURT *cough cough*) had the responsibility of checking the store to see what we needed, and then loading said merchandise from the warehouse onto carts for the stockers to...well, stock. After a while, I was asked by this manager if I would like to take on this resposiblity, and I was happy to. Anything to get me out of bagging groceries for ornery old people. I did this job, and was happy with it for a while, until I noticed that this manager was doing NOTHING throughout the store on the days I was doing his job. I was getting paid the same as everyone else that was stocking, yet doing more work. I went through the channels to get a raise out of this, and after a few months of empty promises from the management, I got fed up with it. I went up to the break room to find Burt sitting there BSing with one of the emlpoyees, and that was it, I was sick of Econo. I walked up to Burt, took off my trandy maroon Econo Foods shirt, handed it to him while saying, "Burt, you keep that," and waled out the door. The rference to this story was due to the fact that there have been several times since being here that I have wanted to do the exact same thing.

Astoria, Oregon is beyond a shadow of a doubt, the BEST place that I have been to thus far. It might have had something to do with the company (Frank, a sax player, Allen and Debora, both singers, and Daniel, a dancer...all from The States baby! <- a hard thing to come by on this ship). Astoria is the location at which the cinematic masterpiece "Goonies" was filmed. We walked several mile to find the Goonies' house, and all took our pictures outside doing the Truffle Shuffle! En route there we stopped by a local supermarket where Frank and I hijacked those moterized shopping carts that lazy fat people like to use cause it winds them to push a damn cart. It didn't take too long for us to get kicked out. Really though, if you're not supposed to crash the things into displays and play bumper-carts with them, there should really be a sign or something. Astoria is also the filming location for "TMNT 3", "Short Circut", "Free Willy", and another favorite, "Kindergarten Cop"! I got my picture taken playing on the swings of the school at which it was filmed. Another cool thing today was being 10 feet away from wild seals. Big scary beasts they are! I'll be sure to post all these pictures as soon as I can.

I guess that winds things down for another week. I want to plug Adam's debut with the Superior Wrestling Aliance (SWA) this weekend on Labor Day, email him for the details and check it out! Also, Adam and Roy will soon be doing the YWO Show again. Look for that podcast to start coming your way very soon. Who knows, you might even see Soul Brotha Joel make an appearance from time to time.

That's it for me. This is Joel saying peace, props, and chicken pox to all my homies along the way!

~peace out yo!
SBJ