Whatever happened to "Say No To Drugs"?

In the 70's, 80's and even apart of the 90's, there were many ads and commercials and many community leaders preaching to everyone to Just Say No To Drugs...

...What happened to that?

Drugs are more accepted now than in any time that i can recall in my life. You have young kids smoking weed just because their friends do it (which is usually the case anyway, but its so much more of em now). Prescription pills have made their way into rap songs. You have more politicians admitting to drug use in their past and getting a pass because "we all have experimented" at some point or another.

Since when did inebriation become so cool?

In my opinion, with the rise of hip hop or rap as i still wanna call it, the words of the black man was to glorify drug use because it was apart of the urban lifestyle. Don't get me wrong, other cultures use drugs, but i honestly dont think it was cool to speak on it in a public format before rappers made it popular. I could be wrong, but thats where i pinpoint the trend of actually talking about it openly.

Celebs even make it seem cool to get high. They have made rehab a trendy place to be instead of a place to go for help. They may bounce in and out of rehab and still have a successful career (i.e. Robert Downey Jr.). Sure, America is a forgiving place, but i would think if you are a role model with a possible detremental effect on my children (if i had any) i wouldn't support you.

Its even to the point when someone asks "Do you smoke", in some circles, they automatically assume you're talking about weed. And lets not forget, WEED IS ILLEGAL. So to make the assumption that someone does it because everyone is doing it is kinda ass backwards to me when its supposed to be frowned upon. I have an associate that will not go out to a party, to a girls house, anywhere without getting high first. A step further, he wont date a girl if she doesn't get high as well. Now we are supposed to think this is wrong, but you would be surprised how many people feel the same.

We as a people are not supposed to glorify drug use, for it only destroys the mind, body and your home. We should instead look for alternatives to getting high.

At least if not for you, for the future. Cause the cloud that hovers over our society may get you high...

Does the music you like define you?

I recently have come across a young man who's name is irrelevant essentially. He was listening to a rapper that apparently is very popular. When he asked me if i like said rapper, I told him that im not really into much rap. His response, "But its {insert name here} how could you not listen to him. EVERYBODY listens to him". That statement saddened me to think that people could have such a one track mind when it comes to music and things they like. That also made me think, does the music you like define who you are?

Many of us come from neighborhoods that we are apart of the majority so when one doesn't like what everyone else likes, then that person is deemed strange. Growing up in Jamaica Queens, I've dealt with that myself. When I used to tell people that I was into Jazz & Alternative Rock, they would look at me like i was strange. Like a creature from a foreign planet. I used to hear, "take that rock and roll shit to the suburbs" or "that jazz shit is for old people". I always felt like you like what you like and that should be the extent of it.

There is a statement, "People fear what they don't want to take the time to understand"

I think there are many misconceptions placed on the music one listens to. One of my former co workers was the most clean cut guys, very well mannered and polite. A real cool guy. Never seemed like the type that would get into confrontations or even raise his voice much higher than the rest of the crowd. So, the assumption was that he was into contemporary, easy listening music. Quite the opposite. He was into hardcore rap and only liked his music to have violence and alot of profanity in it. He was white and many people told him he was trying to be something he was not. Is that the case? I didn't and still dont think so.

In a way, it can go back into a blog i wrote about before about how hard it is to actually be different ( http://notableobscurity.blogspot.com/2010/07/its-hard-being-different.html ) Sometimes you wanna conform just cause you dont wanna get picked on, but when are you truly being yourself when you try to front like you like what others like when thats not the case at all?

Its hard for some people to fathom a 21 year old Dominican from Washington Heights into the Opera and that plays the violin, but I have met one and he doesn't seem like the type to be into Opera.

But thats an assumption, and you know what they say about assuming...

If you cant judge a book by its cover, why do many of us try so much to do just that?

Raising Adult Babies

I will start off by saying I do hate how kids are nowadays to when I was growing up. That may make me sound old, but it is so true. Kids now are in such a rush to grow up more than any other time that I have known or heard in life. Every kid wants a cell phone, and not only a cell phone, they have to have the latest phone. They must have the trendiest clothes and the most expensive gadgets. There isnt much humility with kids now compared to when i was a kid growing up. The appreciation factor isn't there as much. Kids are exposed to much more than when i was a kid. Back when i was much younger, if adults were having a conversation, you were not allowed to listen in. When adults may have passed a child on the street, if they were using foul language, they would curb the curse words until the kid isn't in an ear shot of the conversation. Kids nowadays are dancing to songs more provocatively, they are wanting to enjoy adult things such as sex and inebriation. There was a video on the net that circulated for a little bit about a boy no older than 3 i would say dry humping a grown woman with his penis out. Now some thought it was appalling, but there are similar bad things going on as we speak. Maybe not exactly on the same scale but some things lead to bigger things. If you feel comfortable drinking alcohol around your kid, how can you be mad if they wonder why mommy is leaning in the chair laughing and seeming to have a good time? There are kids smoking weed right now that dont even know how to put together proper sentences. Some parents let these things go on and if someone were to intervene and say something, the parent may get defensive and chastise the adult trying to give advice. If it takes a village, why are some of the parents village idiots? So sad. I dont know if things will turn around, i doubt it honestly. I heard a kid say to his mom, im a grown ass man and you cant tell me shit. Wow. That kid had to be in elementary school at best. I also think that some parents are afraid to discipline their kid out of fear of the judicial system. There has to be an indication between physical discipline and abuse.


Either way, kids are getting out of hand.

Is Life Truly A Precious Gift?

Some may see the images above and say that im showing a very negative spin on life, but the question has to be posed.

Is Life Truly A Precious Gift?

Now typically, a gift is something you would want to recieve, but i know personally with all the hardships that i've been through, i surely didn't ask for this gift. Like some gifts, i appreciate it at times and other times i wish i could exchange it for something better. Its hard not to feel this way sometimes when dealing constantly with adversity.

There is so much poverty, pain & suffering, natural disasters that can take life away from you just as quickly as the nut your dad bust to help conceive you. You can be walking down the block and an air conditioner falls right on your head. You can go at any time. So with that being said, if your life is horrid from beginning to end, how can you appreciate it? Its hard for people to truly look towards the afterlife because of the uncertanty of it all. We all have our different views and opinions on that subject as well. Many people that i know tell me when im down and out that god has a place for me in heaven. How can those people be so certain? If the unknown is truly that, how can anyone know where they will end up? Its all about faith i suppose and i can respect that, but can you truly knock someone that has abandoned their faith when it just seems to get rougher and rougher?

We all go through different things in life, but if i were to say that i dont appreciate this gift called life, can i still go to heaven? I mean why not if i dont wanna be here in the first place.

Right now there is a person in a rural part of the world who has witnessed their family murdered, hasn't eaten for weeks and they are out on the street or in the woods somewhere suffering. Not to intentionally sound blasphemous, but that doesn't seem like a test of faith, seems more like a punishment for living.

But that could just be my feelings towards things. It usually is.

Are you a slave?

Many people seeing the title may think I may go in the direction of calling black people slaves, especially since im so critical of my people. I will tackle that slightly but there is a deeper message in the question stated.

Are You A Slave?

You may be a slave to your job.
Many of us are. Many people are undervalued, unappreciated & under paid at their place of employment. Sadly your employer has placed a value for your worth when at any job. Sometimes the pay doesn't equal the whole story. You may go above and beyond at your job and not reap the benefits of proper pay or appreciation. Now i dont believe that any employer should get down and kiss the ass of their employees when they are simply doing their job, but an occasional pat on the back can go a long way for alot of us.

You may be a slave to your relationship.
You may have good loving, but the fear of being alone may make you put up with things that you normally wouldn't. You may have a lover that gets on your nerves, but they cook and clean their ass off and you dont wanna sacrifice that for what may potentially be out there. You may be in an abusive relationship and fear alone enslaves you and keeps you from breaking free of those shackles.

You may be a slave to the trendiness of society.
You may feel the need to have the latest fashions, the newest car, the latest technological gadgets just to feel that you are above a certain class of people. Sadly, if this is the case you have not realized that the media has enslaved you (and quite easily at that). Companies spend millions, maybe billions annually just to have you addicted to the new "thing" that comes out. How many times have you heard of someone standing in line all night waiting for a store to open so they can be first in line to buy the latest iphone, or the newest jordans? Even black friday, a day where people feel like they are getting deals on pricy items, you are actually getting tossed a bone by the master who cosiders you a dog that should get an occasional treat. Some may say that they go above and beyond cause these things make them feel good, but in actuality you are trying to impress others cause envy feels oh so good sometimes.

You may be a slave to your children.
Some may look at that and say yeah right, but if you think about it, its quite possible. There are alot of ungrateful kids out there who recieve the world from their parents. Now its nice to give your kids all the things you never had, but make sure they have one important thing, respect. But back to the point im trying to make, you go above and beyond for your kids if you give a damn anyway. You make sure they are fed, bathed, sheltered, protected. That sounds like a house negro to me. Now i can understand the whole loving someone more than themselves, but if i recall, so was the feeling of the house negro towards his massa (yes, i did that for effect). If you are receiving the love of a kid who is ungrateful and disrespectful most of the time, that is something of the equivalent of a master giving his slaves chicken one day instead of pig intestines. Just to keep em thinking its all good and they really do care about me. This may not be the case for some, but i know quite a few that this is the case.


How do we as a people become free of these shackles that bind us?

Only you can answer that.

Me, i know i like freedom!

Are You Being Strung Along?

Lately, i've been hearing stories from individuals talking about how someone has led them on. It led me here, obviously, but im gonna try to go a little bit deeper than expressing the emotions of being led on, getting your hopes up and having them dashed immediately and pretty much from out of nowhere.

For those who have been strung along, I have the impression that the best defense to that is to be defensive. Alot of people I know have acted in this way. Its always hard to understand why this person has given you false hope and then when you go to take things a little bit further, they back off by telling you in their own sort of way, im not that into you. So to combat those feelings being hurt, some tend to dispise that person that has led them astray. Being bitter helps no one. Just know that person made the mistake and you will be better off for it.

To be the one doing the stringing along, its not always about just out to play someone. Maybe that person is stringing you along cause they dont wanna hurt you. I have had the pleasure in getting some insight from an associate of mine who tends to lead all his girls on. He says theyre stupid and deserve what they get. In a weird and coincidental act of karma, he got led on by a female that he was really into and his world is shattered. I just thought i'd share that. I also spoke to a friend who said she grew apart from the guy she was dealing with and didn't wanna be the one to crush his heart. Thats nice, but it also isn't helpful. You should be free mentally without fear of hurting someone to explore whatever makes you happy. Just always remember the 80/20 rule (if i have to explain it, its not for you to understand)

Sadly, we all have done it in some point. It may not have been in a relationship or someone you were physically attracted to but the point remains, sometimes you have to butter someone up to get what you want (once again, if it doesn't apply, let it fly). Sometimes stringing someone along can be a good thing to benefit you. Its never a good thing for the other party, it can only be not that bad.

The thing about getting strung along that i think affects most people is the fact that afterward, we said "I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER". This may be true but the heart wants what the heart wants at the time. That at the time may be extended for a lifetime, or it may just be for this time right, right now!

Its not fair to keep someone as a fall back option. Some people that lead people on, lead them on for that exact reason. You may have a fear of being alone or you may be nostalgic and think of a former lover, but dont make plans with that person just cause youre tired of coming home to an empty apartment. Make sure you assess that person is right for you and exactly what you want.

At the end of the day, if someone is being led on or is leading someone on, there is a lack of communication. Either its on purpose or by accident, but its still there. Some people are non confrontational and have no desire to approach those issues. They can build up and cause scarring emotional pain the likes no one would like to experience.

I've been there...
I'm sure you have too!

Unheard Cries For Help

Some things are better left alone
Keep the past in the present & the future unknown
This is the road less traveled, but its the road i know
Emotional imbalance keep my feelings postponed
If you only knew the things that grew
Deep within my mind to make the things i pursue
So untrue
So much pain
Empty explanations that things will be okay
But they'll never be the same
My brain i remain trying to change cause simple and plain...
I feel like shit
Sometimes i think im not mentally equipped to deal with it
I wanna let go
But when you aren't holding on, what do you let go?
The screaming in my brain begins to echo
I self loathe
My pain is deep
Yet those around me say my happiness is unique
When i think the outcome is bleek
Makes it hard to sleep, eat, fuck or taste anything sweet
My senses are numb
When do i begin to feel like the end is done.
Am i truly wasting time with these therapeudic lines?
Helpful to anyone's mind, but mine.
Line after line from a deprived yet the sublime kind
No one notices, no one cares
Maybe they will when im no longer there...