The abundance of the lack of self controlled outbursts & accusations displayed this past few days by Serena Williams & Kanye West, not to mention the many churches, congressman, people, pundits, athletic associations etc. seems to becoming more & more unacceptable in this new era, where there must be a sense of evolvement in one’s revolution. This is the Obama Era where being a role model is the top honor, the ultimate checkmate! Serena Williams & Kanye West are most definitely not in the same class of “Uncool” because their previous actions prove Serena as someone who just had a temporary error in judgement while Kanye proved more of the same in the character that is Mr. West- Good Morning! I just think back to Serena & Kanye -pumping their best “Yes We Can” message, where the message in the purpose was showing that one can achieve the impossible thru one’s level of personal evolution in the collective revolution of leading by example. Yes It matters, Yes We can, Yes We Will, Yes We Have, Yes We Are! Losing one’s cool is the most un-cool in this type of evolutionary revolution!
At a time when the leader you marched with is being hit with two wars with more downs than ups, the most death threats of any previous presidency,being disrespected by his subordinates in congress by being called a liar & having to be questioned, step up & speak on other people’s personal outbursts just because they supported his campaign & its message, which those same supporters have completely taken off message; He has chosen to move quickly past the controversy to get back to the business at hand because getting bills passed & achieving the goal/task at hand is more important than the disruption of a meaningless expected & wanted revolt that leads to nothing but distraction from the business at hand. The new era game is the evolution of & beyond the revolt. By any means necessary has left the barrel of the gun, the street march & the loudness of the outrage culminating into the tip of the pen. It takes the sharpest pen to attain the finest writing of our history.
Serena could have gone on to win the US open & represented the ultimate in keeping one’s cool thru adversity as an athlete, as a female & as a young African-American. Yes all that still matters in the evolution of our individual & collective revolution! She could have been exemplary in representing her country, her fans & herself in the finals of the US Open at Arthur Ash Stadium, the ultimate host of national & cultural pride & class in sport, but instead she chose to revolt & take herself out of the championship. Although she has had a taste of the finals & even the win on more than one occasion, the privilege to be in her position & the outburst are bigger than Serena. She is continuing to write a history that is bigger than her & was left off by people like Arthur Ash & Harlem’s own, Althea Gibson ( http://www.altheagibson.com/biographical.htm). Great Players of American/world tennis who understood that the story being written was bigger than their individual hardships & achievements, so instead of revolting they elevated the level of class in the sport known for its class. The US open is by all definition America’s classic culture showcasing the highest in class & sport, a sport where silence is required for ultimate concentration, a place where the expressing of jubilation comes at breaks in order for the recipient to enjoy & invite the applause. A world of fairytale like civilization, where Serena in one outburst broke the sacred vows of ultimate display of respectability & respectfulness for the sport, the rules, the cup, the nation & herself. I can see the cartoon spoof or the SNL spoof with the ghetto girl from Compton disrupting the white man’s sport, giving those who have not evolved from their own personal revolution more fodder & reason to pursue the revolution of the past & to return to a time of division. The division that was fought for & broken by Althea Gibson & Arthur Ash, the namesake of the home that represents the US Open’s invitation for the best of the best in the world in the ultimate game of class, marketed around the world as this sport which we call, Tennis!
Arthur Ash & Althea Gibson represent the understanding of keeping one’s cool, focus & concentration as class acts off & on the court, while always demonstrating the best in their game. A representation of the man/woman who paved the way for players like Serena to be amongst the highest paid players with endorsements & winning earnings combined . As the bible verse turned cliché goes-”To whom much is given -Much is Required”! We all have the opportunity see & own our mistakes, rectify them & begin the task anew. Serena & Kanye both chose the wrong time, words, people & instituations to mess with this time around. Threating physical violence to officials is a complete “no no” in tennis & disrupting the honor & acceptance speech of a young country singer who is seen as the ultimate role model for young people in the Obama Era of leading by example is a complete “no no” as well. Kanye West in his usual predictable childish outburst that only craves attention when he sees the focus is off of him, like any baby does, went as far as bullying a microphone from a likable young female musician who surpasses him in record sales & whose only desire was to graciously accept an award that she had dreamed of attaining one day in her career, an award that she clearly was surprised to get, but deserved because of her originality in the making of her music videos in comparison to the usual format of Beyonce’s videos.
I applaud Beyonce for being a class act & calling Taylor Swift on stage to finish her acceptance speech, but at the end of the day Beyonce is fabulous at what she does & we all know that she does Beyonce/Sasha Fierce the best. Maybe it’s not always a conspiracy, but rather a call & challenge to step up your game where there is a lot more competition & newness competing for the main prize. Serena’s competition was able to beat her because of a point, which she gave up herself by default of her outburst. She wasn’t far off from a loss due strictly to the game she was bringing & the level of competition that was brought to her by her opponent. Taylor Swift has crossed over from country to pop, to rock, to rap in her videos. She has shown she is not afraid to take risks while Beyonce just upgrades her usual formula.
Those who want to compare Serena’s 10k fine for threatening to shove the ball down the throat of a game official with the outburst of Congressman Wilson calling the President of the USA a liar & having to possibly publicly apologize & go thru censure, along with the foolish outburst of Kanye West, Please Don’t!! If you need to make comparison for understanding then compare Serena’s outburst to Federer’s because it’s the same institution, same game, same high profile players who have had exemplary records off & on the court. A Congressman who has had a past of voting for & perpetuating the the racial history & intolerance of America is no comparison to Serena or Kanye for that matter. There should not be any comparison for the other outbursts because they are of different sovereign entities with different rules, our congress represents our class & culture as a collective nation not just a sport or genre of music. Justifying one wrong with another wrong just leaves you with wrongs ,which can never make anything right.
All of these outburst were wrong & should be left to their perspective institutions to decide their punishments, instead of holding them to a public forum that detracts from the goals & real works of their perspective institutions. Now the day after the tantrum/outburst we are giving Kanye exactly what he wants -a full day or two & maybe even more of focusing on the subject of Kanye , where everyone from entertainment news, sports, pundits, bloggers, and actual traditional news forums are gathering experts, insiders, fans, or whomever has an opinion to express on the subject of Kanye, to hold forums in discussing & dissecting Kanye. We must tread lightly as we give his childish behavior too much attention with every cry & tantrum. Sometimes when we stop giving the baby attention with every cry & tantrum he/she innately learns to disassociate the cries & tantrums as the means for the reward of attention, thereby allowing a child to grow & become an independent entity. We really need to help our young people attain the necessary tools of growing up as independent entities with substance, instead of just the constant need for attention whether it is negative or positive while encouraging industries & individuals to reward only those who take responsibility for their actions & lack thereof! That whole Hennessey bottle carrying & sipping role playing was beyond foolish, tacky & begging for attention – very Un-Louise Vuitton Don –if I may say so myself-but then again Hennessey & Louis Vuitton are in the same fashion family, so I guess they go hand in hand-LOL!
Decorum, common sense & self respect should never be compromised at any age. It is a mockery when every outburst & corresponding apology comes with book sales, record sales, movie sales, air time & what most in the world will see as rewards for bad behavior. Now there is talk of a Kanye West/ Taylor Swift duet- OH Come On! Completely disingenuous & laughable on both sides if this occurs. Both Serena & Kanye went too far & took their frustrations out on the wrong people, wrong time, wrong era & wrong institutions. Being young & foolish is no longer an acceptable excuse when those who are younger than you are able to exert the discipline, class & self control which you lack. This time around the outcry & fall out maybe more steep & may determine their future in their respective fields. Lack luster apologies will not suffice, we are now in an era where actions in showing one has evolved will be the only way to move them & us all forward. This is an era where divisiveness & disrespect are unacceptable no matter who you are!
I really wanted to know what Venus Williams was thinking as she watched her sister ” lose it”. She looked so surprised & probably wanted to go to the rescue of her little sister from what she knew was about to be a regrettable mistake for her. With an entourage of family who truly have your best interest at heart , one can never go wrong & for sure this too shall pass when there’s the foundation of family. The foundation of family has brought us back Whitney, Michael, Mary J., Lauryn Hill –4 a brief moment-LOL! The foundation of family is why I have faith that this was just a bad mistake at an emotional moment for Serena because thus far she has been the representation of the class & spirit of modern day American tennis on a global level. Kanye, on the other hand, seems to have lost his total foundation of family with the loss of his mother, with no one to help balance the man-child from the character + he has shown himself countless times to over excessively seek attention through bad behavior, whereby he continues to get rewarded with the typical apology, until he needs another fix. Let’s stop being his enabler. At some point the man child has to grow up & if he chooses not to, then he may just get his wish to be the next “King of Pop” with a circus of a life played out in living color at his death, while forgetting his real contribution of good/great music! The role models are here/there! Those who have done extraordinary things, those who have fallen, those who have risen, those who have been there & done that , those who have set the example of what to do & what not to do by acting out the path from start to finish & those who have already set the blueprint for us to build on. It is up to Kanye to decide how he wants to build & finish his story. I hope he does stick to his word & goes away for awhile & writes the next Album “REHAB –A Return to find IT”- whatever “IT” is for Kanye because his “IT” factor has quickly SPIRALED!!
Did Serena really say I am going 2 kill you, or is it the conditioning of many who are not black to see a black person coming in an aggressive manner & automatically assuming that whatever comes out of their mouth is “I AM GOING TO KILL YOU” ; Yet we have American citizens toting guns at political & community gatherings wishing death to our president , but that doesn’t scare & threaten America(ns) as an automatic death threat as much as an aggressive black woman. REALLY?
Was Federer fined for this? Let’s keep it equal! Both Serena & Federer have had good track records as role models of their generation & future generation & both have been wonderful for the evolvement of the sport of Tennis. If one outburst can be forgiven based on the same criteria of track record then let tennis take its course!
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Yes Obama is right whether it’s presidential or not sometimes you have to just call it as you see it.
I thought this was a white supremacist message when I first saw this, then realized it’s probably from someone black or someone that wants the audience to believe they are, thereby giving them a pass or right to speak on issues effecting black people. This is exactly what I mean when I say now is the era of an evolutionary revolution. For me as a black female to have thought that this was some sort of white supremacist propaganda on the Kaye Taylor Swift incident it turns out to be some sort of message from a fellow black person telling black people to wake up & act act right- Huh! There is a problem somewhere in the message or it’s delivery fight the revolution withith embracing the evolution. Message Lost!