Its more than just a game

I recently watched an episode from eric cantona^^
entitled eric cantona football rebels

and it had me on the edge of my seat
he has been painted as the football philosophizer
for his response after a certain incident

so the name entrigued me and we all make assumptions and mine were blown out of the water
when i saw the title i envisioned
a balotelliesque kind of player
one mostly of the football kind and of a small orbital sphere around it
such as disobeying managers
not acting in the traditional way
or an innovator of some kind

and when i heard him announce who he would discuss i was like who
i have never heard of this person
like ever
little did i know that by the time i finished the program i would feel ashamed that and puzzle why i had never heard of him even passingly

after watching i felt so inspired and joyous all in one
pondering how one can be involved in so much yet be in anonymity

and this episode was the epitome
of how nothing is too small
of how just a game does not always apply

and how far would you go for a cause
a just cause
would you or i step up and be counted

i will not spoil the wonder for you but aide you in enjoying it likewise so here is the link
http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/footballrebels/2013/03/201336102359464263.html

it is a collage of elements of a diaspora
allegiance
conscience
status
comradeship and
cause
to name a few

Different lifts same floor

I was watching a very strange video
which inspired this post

if it was a rap video
showing the plurality of views
which was a very strange experience

which tied in a lot with a discussion i had the previous weekend
of the variety of views

a few weeks prior i recalled how certain affiliations create sides
but specifically with the martin luther king and malcolm x debate or stance
how some are pro martin luther just because he is christian or publicised
and others malcolm x because he is muslim and not so publicised

though their actions and life styles maybe the opposite
but what the video showed me was the other view
and has been pointed out whatever your stance that both were after the same goal though
it was to different degrees

but back to the video
it was a kind of response to and of the criminal based urban lifestyle

in response to an alternative lifestyle that looks down upon the criminalised element or antithesis
which ties into another thing i discussed that weekend of a
 black middle class and does it exist



the person in question claimed it did not exist
but others would argue against it
some would claim having a nuclear family is a sign of middle class
or would point to a parents profession
did they come home in a suit or a tie
or with a companies logo across their chest

or some would claim that any one who does not work directly with their hands is middle class and up

others would claim income


or even down to the vocabulary at your disposal

U	Non-U
Vegetables	Greens
Scent	Perfume
Graveyard	Cemetery
Spectacles	Glasses
False Teeth	Dentures
Napkin	Serviette
Sofa	Settee or Couch
Lavatory or Loo	Toilet
Lunch	Dinner (for midday meal)
Pudding	Sweet

but not to deviate so much
it was a tale of the non middle class black or could be urban person
where as the others would look down on them for criminality
you see it differently from their view

first of they do not want to be poor and you only have to go to the local job centre to feel the sombre mood of those on handouts

some may argue they should be more pro active
but they are the same people who say there is a recession on
and hear in the news about unemployment and its rises and falls
and higher education does not necessary mean an escape from class
as is evident in the following story
http://www.guardian.co.uk/higher-education-network/blog/2012/aug/03/academic-job-seeking-and-post-doc-unemployment
and if you are more a fan of pop culture look no further than john q

though we sympathize with the character trying to save his son
sorry about spoilers
this is a reality of lots of people
and criminality for people gets the job done
and they will do it whether you vilify them or not
because they need to provide
for their families
it is not as portrayed their addictions

the person rapping paints a picture of a person
who has been to jail and now with a criminal conviction
can not get the work others tell him to do
and rather than fit the role of lazy
is actually being pro active
trying to make things happens
and that he has dreams of what
others take for granted like going on vacations

personally i have met people without passports
and people who have never left their side of the city

and the argument is made that he is working with the tools he has
and though we may look down at him we are on the same floor
which questions are we looking down
essentially vertically or horizontally

i did touch on this in a previous post about a certain police poster

realising we are people at different parts of the same boat

and what are we doing to help

which questioned me on that weekend

that with those people who look vertically which is really horizontally
they escape that lifestyle
but never go back their to pull others out of it

gain wisdom but never share it

for if you the reader opened a business would you hire
felons or those so called straight cut citizens
with degrees
and phds

and i will leave on that question and this link

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/end-of-poverty/

and the link that inspired this post
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujfykqcpO-o

Martin you are the king jr

Mlk jr day is a day celebrated by many especially in america
but it was pointed out to me that only since the noughties has it been a recognised national holiday in all fifty american states

martin was branded many things in his day but what gets me is the way he is branded now
and what are people really celebrating when they celebrate mlk jr day

is it the case of appeasement a spin move on the side of pr
to promote what the system was once again and that history favors the victor
and the worrying thing is that without a civil rights movement
the same country that celebrates a holiday in his honour would of gladly carried on its racist oppressive ways

or is it the case of people celebrating that there are people who will stand up for what they believe in against all odds and adversities
and it gives hopes to others fighting other fights that even though now they may call you a trouble maker a conspiracy theorist and many other things
they may even set dogs on you and burn your house down
but through all that you may get to the mountain top
and see the promised land you are helping to pave the way for

or is it a celebration that we are being aware of history and will not be doomed to repeat it
and though through omission and misinformation about the transatlantic slave trade and its remnants there is at least one beacon you are aware of who fought back against injustice hatred and ignorance

which gets us to ponder as we go from this

would we do a martin luther king jr

and are there some causes still looking for a champion

because even though it is called martin luther king day
we know so many more names it could be called by and perhaps we all name it after different people

like malcolm x day or angela davis day or
huey newton day
rosa parks day
harriet tubman day
steve biko day

Classy or classless is that how you class it

When we think of class what image springs to mind

isit likened unto the inter web action or a state of rigid boxes

And do we skate proudly upon the sides of the fence that profits us
staying within the boundaries that is benefiting

what do you believe there is only a tertiary for class
lower middle and higher
or 5 as the prior picture postulates
and these cannot be brought into further dissections
some may boil it down to just the employed and unemployed
how many times have you heard of the insulting phrase
go get a job
where there subjectivity if employment is the fence dividing them
or the phrase
well at least i have a job
but why never would you like a job
how many times have you walked passed the homeless and shooed them by
or branded them liars or drunkards
or concluded its not your problem
but whose problem is it
and what if you become homeless
well that will never happen to you
right
what about hurricane katrina
or the tsunami in asia and the earthquake in haiti
oh you are safe because you are not near prone areas for acts of god
what about flooding
that can happen anywhere

i was out last week and was quite hungry
and upon approaching this church
i perceived a white van
with a group in matching jackets handing out food
to what i presumed to be the homeless
i wanted to go and get some food
i was hungry
but did not because i was reminded it was not my place
but why was it
was it because i had money in my pocket some of these homeless guys must have
from busking or whatever
and it was not pride
but more of my sense of class
but that is just one dissection
what about one driven by the economical
which is shown through accent apparel and apartments
through this we consciously and unconsciously put people on their sides of the fence
and the saying that you can't buy class
such as economical stance does not change
the traits garnered from class like preference or affiliation
one of the highlighted places is the arena of hip hop
rich persons still affiliating or verbally painting visualisations of the vicissitudes
coined rags to riches
you see the general view of class when you look at a work place
for this example we will use the retail arena
where you have workers
team leaders
assistant managers
managers
area managers
regional managers and so on
then you have the apparels of class
workers and area managers do not wear the same clothing
whilst in their station
and whereas one wears the clothes of their class
but going down in perspective they don't change their clothes to fit in
example if a president went to meet so called blue collar workers
but going up apparel and presentation are moderated accordingly
such as the working class will modify their clothing and presentation
such as removing piercing and covering tattoos
with regards to the profession
if they went to an award show or to meet the ruling class
they would buy
borrow or rent clothing suitable to the class
and if they came in their own apparel
made to feel out of place
or labelled as being without class
laughably no class because they didn't drop their class to fit in with another
this idea is based upon classes being solely above another such as better or higher

Which brings to mind how often do classes mingle

You then get the conceptual divide of class
where one could be in the same
intellectual class but not the same economical class
shown in university
with some there via scholarship and others by parental funds
and the insults that could ensue would be on the nature of their economical stance
some put it simplistically as intelligent and unintelligent
you have heard the insulting verbiage uneducated or ignorance
then nerds and geeks
to the effect in a house hold of a nuclear family
there can be varying intelligence
and others look down upon the ones on the less beneficiary side of the fence

so i asked at the beginning if we do we skate proudly upon the sides of the fence that profits us
staying within the boundaries that is benefiting

but now i ask do we extend to those on the other side of the fences we erect
bringing them closer
or at least begin building bridges helping others to our realms of
privilege
instead of building walls and moats

This article was influenced by an album title
and television program the names are

the talented tenth based on dubois work
and how racist are you a program shown on channel four

a brief overview of the two

the talented tenth is primarily centered upon the african diaspora situation
but can be a model for many institutes
about how the talented tenth of the communities
should use their talents
for the betterment of their communities

Then how racist are you
was about a woman who is attempting
to show individuals of the white race
about their sense of benefit
and how so called minorities may feel
via an experiment

I would like us all to go away and think of the area we are privileged
in and how might we bridge the gap with those who are not so

i would love to hear your examples you can hit me up on twitter
rebelreasoner

Thanks for tuning in once again

and the next post will be within the next four days

I have now added a vlog to coincide with the blog

here is the link


http://youtu.be/qEJn2g6Ni3M