Posts tagged crisgray

One in 8 Million

I Love hearing people’s stories & these are great stories. A slideshow coupled with audio of NY’rs from all walks of life.  Of course I was drawn in by the story of the comedian, Jesse Pop (shout to the homie, CrisGray, on the link) but then I got to meet the tolerance teacher from Greece, the Pathologist born of a family obsessed with morbidity, the tabloid photographer since 1946, the subway performer and a host of others.

crisgray:

I went on a trip to Ireland a few years ago with a group of my white friends. At one point on the trip, we got some bad treatment from the locals. Not because of race or religion but because we were Americans. One of my white friends, began crying and kept repeating “Why would they treat us like that? We haven’t done anything.” As shocked as they were, I was not shocked at all. Why? Try growing up as a minority in this country, especially in the south, and you’re discriminated against regularly. I find it fascinating when people who are accustomed to not getting shit finally get shit upon and then they whine about it to those of us who have been on the receiving end of that shit all of our lives. Racial profiling by police and at the airport seems ok if your skin is brown. Doesn’t seems like anybody cares. That spotlight needs to be turned onto the homegrown terrorists right here who have white skin. During my life, the only people blowing shit up here in the U.S. have been crazy white folks…Timothy McVeigh…Eric Rudolph…The Unabomber…bombing of black churches during Civil Rights…bombing of Tulsa in 1921. The list goes on and on. (Sept 11th was the only exception I’ve ever known.) There are more extreme white supremist groups out there predicting more attacks out there but you never hear anyone railing to ship them off to Guantanamo and water board them to find out about these eminent terrorist attacks. I’m not afraid of the Muslim terrorist ghost stories that have kept everyone’s head in the sand for the past 8 year. I’m watching for “Bubba” in the pickup truck with the cache of weapons at home who is just itching for a race war. Ever notice that there are very few black ‘innocent bystanders’ when this shit goes down? We’re keeping an eye on the crazy motherfuckers right here and not in caves half a world away.

I so feel you Cris.  I’m tired of hearing jokes where [mostly white, sometimes black] people say, “Why is TSA searching me while Achmed and Mohammed are walking through…it’s not racial profiling, it’s good police work, blah, blah…”

NO, it’s lazy police work or security or w/ev you wanna call it.  Don’t give me that bullshit as if brown people are the only ones to ever commit a terrorist act in this country, hell on this planet! So you should be exempt from searches because you ‘appear safe’ in your own biased eyes?  I hope you get a cavity search!

‘Star Trek’s’ Familiar Face

crisgray:

The “Star Trek” movie is filled with our favorite characters from the television series. But moviegoers may also notice a new but familiar crew member on the Captain’s bridge — Carnegie Mellon computer science professor Randy Pausch.

Mr. Pausch, whose “last lecture” became an Internet sensation and best-selling book, died last July at the age of 47 from pancreatic cancer. His improbable celebrity led to a talk before Congress about funding for pancreatic cancer research, an appearance on Oprah and even a practice session with his beloved Pittsburgh Steelers.

But it was an e-mail message from Star Trek producer J.J. Abrams that brought him an unexpected thrill. Mr. Abrams had heard about Mr. Pausch’s affinity for “Star Trek” and his childhood dream to “be Captain Kirk.” Mr. Abrams wrote:

I just wanted to put the invitation out there — that if you had any desire to be in the film (can’t promise you role as CAPTAIN, but… we could do SOMETHING!), it would be my honor and pleasure.

After confirming his friends hadn’t pulled a prank, Mr. Pausch took Mr. Abrams up on the offer and flew to Los Angeles, where he received a custom-made uniform, a station on the bridge and a line.

“I’m sitting on the bridge and pushing buttons,” Mr. Pausch told me during an interview last year. “He gave me a line. I say, ‘Captain, we have visual.’ Of all the things that have happened, that is the coolest. I’m touched by it. It’s something my kids will be able to go see. It was such a kind thing that he did.”

For his time on the film, Mr. Pausch received a $217.06 paycheck, which he donated to charity.


http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/08/a-familiar-face-on-the-captains-bridge/