J. W. Wiley has possibly orchestrated and engaged in more conversations about diversity and social justice than anyone else in the North Country of New York. He is as eager to get in your ear as he is to have you share your thoughts.
When we romance someone do we consider how/why she/he receives us the way she/he does?
When we kiss someone what is the criteria that contributes to our kiss being considered a “good” kiss as opposed to a bad one? Could it be because my lips are fuller or less full than other people’s lips? Could it be that a person has been told they are different, enough to affect their confidence?
Is a preference or disdain to lip size or hip size racism, or ableism?
Does our sexual orientation affect the quality/way we are capable of loving or being loved?
Can sex be better if you have it within a backdrop of a 5 star hotel, or with cars racing past as lovers hurriedly attempt to take advantage of a moment, with the only option available being a car and the only location the side of the road?
Are these questions that most people ask themselves? Would our experiences with romance, sex, love, and marriage be better if we engaged these questions as we move in and out of our intimate moments? Well, what do you think?
Continue reading "Romance, Sex, Love, and Marriage: Perhaps the Most Significant Discussion We Never Had!" »
Recently I wrote an In My Opinion (IMO) in the Press Republican (PR) on April 28 about a local politician who recently made statements that were consistent with what men who were against the women’s suffrage movement might have said, or what racists against the abolitionist’s movement might have said. When I expressed disbelief that she could have made these statements, I was called intolerant by an ex-student of mine in another PR IMO (May 9). This ex-student attempted to take me to task for being intolerant simply because I challenged the politician's alleged statements. Aside from the student’s ignorance of the often painful plight of gays and lesbians and political agenda as a proclaimed Republican leader (the politician I challenged is also Republican), what many people wouldn’t know is that the student who challenged me is the son of a prominent community leader who actually wrote a PR IMO back in September 2008 challenging me for my attempt at satire in an August 2008 PR IMO about the potential of the Obama’s ascending to the White House.
Continue reading "If She is Racist, Why Isn't He?...Race, Gender, & Class Conflicts" »
In a blog I wrote a month ago titled Interracial/Anti-Social Implications of Dating we covered quite a bit of territory in our discussion on the societal underpinnings of interracial dating. We not only engaged interracial dating, but various types of different dating scenarios. Though I didn’t go into same sex dating in that blog, I recently posted an In My Opinion in the Press Republican (April 28th) on the implications of one of our elected officials criticizing same sex marriage in what I saw as complicated ways because of the problematic language she used. In essence, her critiques/concerns about same sex marriage reflected the same language that people used to prevent her, as a woman, and other now so-called liberated people from achieving their equal rights.
Continue reading "Is Freeing Our Minds the Answer?" »
I am mischievously curious as to what you think about the concept of only 35 personality types? Yes, somewhere once I read/heard/subconsciously plagiarized the concept of their being about 35 personality types. Because I am too busy/lazy at present to research any similar concepts/theories, let’s just flow with the fact that there actually are about 35 (or 25, or 45) personality types. If so, the theory suggests that if you “know” these so-called personality types, you can recognize them as they approach you. You can anticipate their thoughts and actions from similar personality types you have previously encountered. In other words, if you are an anthropologist of sorts, a student of people (someone who can get into watching people) who actually somewhat analyzes, albeit veiled or subtle, everyone you meet that you have a moment to focus on, then you have mastered or are well on the road to mastering aspects of human interaction. After all, if you have encountered five people who have reminded you of one another, who all looked somewhat similar, with similar characteristics, similar mannerisms, similar intellects, and you encountered a sixth look-a-like of theirs, wouldn’t you be foolish not to assume certain things? And yes, I know this is an argument for stereotyping/profiling, so where do we go from here?
Continue reading "Blog #76 Personality Types, This Blog, and You!" »
A student of mine who knows I teach a class called “Romance, Sex, Love, and Marriage, recently called me to ask me some of my thoughts about interracial relationships. I started first by making sure that he recognized how one dimensional the conceptualization of interracial relationships actually is. What comes to mind when you think about interracial relationships? Be honest, did your thoughts actually gravitate towards a relationship between a Black and White person? If so, why would that have been your thoughts?
Continue reading "Interracial/Anti-social Implications of Dating" »
Recently previous SUNY Plattsburgh student body president, commencement speaker, Chancellor Award winner, and current CDPI graduate assistant Angel Acosta (quite the accomplished young man, isn’t he) and I had the pleasure of addressing Plattsburgh High School’s student body. I was quite flattered when approached by teacher Tony Perez and asked to engage their student body on the possibility of a visit this week from an infamous hate monger and/or his hate harassing crew, hate mongers who also have plans on visiting SUNY Plattsburgh as well. I asked Angel to join me in engaging the students because of how quick witted and creative he is, and how passionate he is about social justice. Also, since it was the day before Black History Month ended, I thought his now rather large afro might assist the audience in pausing for that cause, a reaction that my shaved head doesn’t appear to generate. I mean growing an afro is a statement in itself, though people shouldn’t think that all afros make the same statement. When I had mine, back in the day, it was about Black pride, style, and making me taller.
Continue reading "Making Statements: A Personal Epiphany on not Hating Haters" »
Recently Clint Eastwood has been praised / assailed for a film he made (Gran Torino) where he ventures into somewhat foreign territory to tell a tale of one man’s xenophobic excursion through a culturally diverse neighborhood. While I would like to laud Eastwood’s efforts, especially in light of other stories he has recently told that provided insight into underclass realities (the plight of the 18th Century Western prostitute in Unforgiven the plight of women in a man’s sport in Million Dollar Baby), he missed the mark for me considerably. His story is of one man’s perspective on a burgeoning Hmong culture within a context of that man’s refusal to succumb to white flight (a phenomenon whereby Whites depart from once racially White communities as those communities begin to become more racially diverse). Where the story fails for me is in its overtly banal use of stereotypes. Now, I am definitely averse to cavalierly dismissing stereotypes, recognizing that they originate from somewhere real and therefore do occasionally have merit. However, wanton use often reveals the users lack of sophistication with the subject matter.
Continue reading "Daring to Do the Daring: Storytellers and the Stories They Tell" »
What is the conversation about race that takes place when only Latinos, only Whites, only Blacks, only Asians, or only like ethnicities are alone in their conversations? Let’s not kid ourselves, when men are alone, or women are alone we know how the conversation differs without the other gender in the mix. So, why would it be any different in terms of race? As a matter of fact, it would be even more dysfunctional because across gender lines there is love for our sisters and brothers, aunts and uncles, mothers and fathers, girlfriends and boyfriends. Across racial lines we often don’t see a connection, which prevents us from loving one another, and instead exacerbates our hatred or inconsideration for one another.
Continue reading "Can Anyone Win The Race (Conversation)?" »
I would imagine that January 20th, 2009 was a very intriguing day for many Americans. I found myself in SUNY Plattsburgh’s Yokum 200 lecture hall with more than 300 people observing/participating in the inauguration as best we could. I found myself fascinated by the pomp and circumstance of the day. It was nice seeing whole families seated to witness the historic event of our nation’s first racially underrepresented leader sworn into office. It was moving watching so many people transcend stereotypical behavior and embrace President Barack Obama and his family, though sometimes at the unfortunate expense of ridiculing the outgoing administration.
Continue reading "The Precedent of the United States" »
Just the other day I had the pleasure of having lunch with a member of the 2006-07 & 2007-08 SUNY Plattsburgh NAACP Championship Women’s Hockey Team. In chit chatting about their two championship runs I asked her if she had ever been in a "shootout." She told me she had. When I asked her what was the score she said 1-0. My rendition of a “shootout” had a score that sounded like “10-9” which is quite a score for a hockey game. If we hadn’t taken the conversation a bit further, our thoughts and definitions of “shootout” would have been worlds apart. She informed me it is an actual hockey term. I was engaging it along the lines of the way it is used in football or basketball as an extension of the western term “shoot out” where in the midst of a fracas gunslingers were busting caps on anyone that moved. In these two sports it is where the offenses basically overwhelm the defenses and the score is ultimately extremely high.
Continue reading "While It Is Evident That People Are Talking, Where Is The Evidence That People Are Really Listening?" »
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