Nightman: The Podcast - Episode 3

"All The Things We Hate"

For our third episode, J. Brown is joined once again by Andrene and Brittany. This time, they rant about a number of things they find bothersome, including hashtags, group dinners, and people who don't tip.

This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things

by J. Brown

I recently had an interesting conversation with a colleague at work. My coworker, a Black woman, lives in a Black neighborhood. Because of who she is and where she lives, she feels the need to stay in the neighborhood when she runs her errands or goes out to eat. As she put it, she doesn't want to just live around Black folks, but she wants to be an active part of the community. The problem is that when she goes to the post office or the local restaurant, she often notices a lack of professionalism that makes her wonder if her efforts are worth it. 

Now, just typing that sentence made me wince a bit, because I know how that's going to be read by some: Black people aren't professional, they're lazy. My colleague was also bothered, for similar reasons, as she expressed her concern. There's a natural internalization that happens to Black people when we're around other Black folks that aren't doing what they're supposed to be doing. For some reason, we feel that whenever one of us isn't being professional or tactful in public, it's a reflection - and really, an indictment - on the entire race as a whole. 

This isn't fair, and might not even be a worthwhile concern all of the time, but as minorities, we're always worried about our public perception. If a white waiter has poor customer service, he's just lousy at his job. If a Black waiter has poor customer service, some might see that as proof that the restaurant shouldn't be hiring Black waiters. No one would ever say that about the white guy, mostly because you can't just stop hiring white people; there's too many of them. Being Black (or being a member of any other minority group) means constantly being self-conscious, not only about how the rest of the world sees you, but also how they see people who look like you. Black people know that we're not only judged by our actions, but also by the actions of other Black people.

Going Off Script

by Lee Deltoro

1921: Six Characters In Search of An Author by Pirandello debuted at the Teatro Valle in Rome. The characters being portrayed enter and become active participants in the story telling. It is a groundbreaking theatrical endeavor dealing with the theme of self-awareness. The audience reception was lukewarm, reviews were mixed.

The 1960s: I assume the word “polarizing”, was created as a new descriptor for 22-year-old Muhammad Ali. Not only the most talented man in his sport, Ali was the most outspoken. Today, lauded for his courage in the face of adversity, rarely is the source of that adversity discussed - adversity manufactured by the men watching this “legend” in his prime. Some denounced him as presumptuous, cocky, arrogant, etc. His pacifist beliefs were vilified as “draft dodging”. Yet he was almost universally respected, for his skill in the ring and for his larger than life persona outside of it. All the while, Ali was acutely aware of, and dead set on defining his public perception. “I aint gonna be the champ the way you want me to be. I am gonna be the champ the way I want to be the champ”. He is the gold standard for celebrity in the modern era; champion of both boxing and the people. He is one of the first pop culture characters to tell his own story.

Ever since then, we have been searching for his predecessor - not only a performer to erntertain us, moreover an icon we could aspire to. But with the ascension of Rock n Roll, and subsequently, Hip Hop, the most famous athletes and artists in America were symbolic of the counterculture. They also became removed. The 90s were the last era in which celebrities retained their mystique and obscured their private lives from the public eye. Figures like Charles Barkley and Kurt Cobain did not have to concern themselves with the optics of their personal beliefs or relationships. They could choose not to acknowledge public opinion. The advent of Nancy Grace, TMZ, the twitterati, and a hypersensitive social "conscience" has forced the famous to become more self-aware. Media perception is as integral a facet of “brand” as performance. We have long taken interest in the personal lives of our stars, but in the past it was akin to a 3 hour walking tour, now it is a role-playing theme park. The price of fame, an all-access pass. Everyone has been assigned a storyline, better known as brand management. The public needs to know what and how to think about newsmakers, which realm to place them in. The star’s part is to simply learn the lines, to play the role. Kanye West and LeBron James are two of the most famous men on the planet. Successful, respected by their peers, good fathers, have no criminal records, and outspoken on issues of social injustice. One is the most popular rapper of this century and the other, its most popular athlete. Yet in the recent  past they have often exchanged the title of 2nd most hated black man in America. #Barrykeepyoheadup They are descendants of Muhammad Ali.

About That Video...

by J. Brown

Without rehashing what's already been discussed, debated and pontificated upon ad nauseum, here are a few other things I've been thinking about regarding the OU Sigma Alpha Epsilon video:

• The fact that the chant was to the tune of "If You're Happy And You Know It" forces me to believe that this isn't something that they just made up last week. This chant has probably been around for years, and has probably been repeated within the frat at multiple campuses for decades. OU's chapter just so happened to be the ones that got caught. Tough luck.

• What makes SAE - or any other white fraternity - believe that we would want to be in their frat, anyway? We already knew that you'd rather hang us from trees; that's a large part of the reason we started our own organizations. Not to mention, SAE is the only national frat that was founded in the antebellum South, and they had members that fought for the Confederate Army. No thanks.

• With that said, should we really be surprised?

• The expulsion of the two guys in the video seems drastic, especially considering that the video was posted TWO DAYS AGO. There was clearly no investigation (although, if there's video evidence, I guess you don't really need one). The chant was messed up, but to me, this feels very reactionary. There's a bus full of guys chanting, but the school president decided to kick two of them out of school. They're like the definition of the word "scapegoat" at this point. The chant is offensive, but getting kicked out of school for a racial slur seems unfair. I know as a Black person I'm not supposed to say that, but I'm fairly certain that all this accomplishes is that it provides racists with the cognizance to ask everyone to put their phones away next time.

Nightman: The Podcast - Episode 2

"Emo LeBron, MVPs and Old Stars"

On our second episode, J. Brown is joined by college friends Nick and Sarah. They sit down to talk about the current NBA MVP race, LeBron's ego and the career trajectory of former TV stars. 



Editor's Note: The case for Stevie Wonder's possible sight is made best here. You decide.

The Lousy Taste of a Losing Team

by J. Brown

The Washington Redskins are a terrible team. Most people who follow football know this, and it's been this way for a while. After winning the Super Bowl in 1991, they've made the playoffs only five times in the past 23 years. They spend each off-season hyping their fans with buzz phrases like "potential", "improvement" and "high expectations" before inevitably trotting out another sub-par roster, year after year. The owner of the Redskins, Dan Snyder, seems more concerned with accruing revenue than with actual winning, and he hasn't shown any signs of changing his ways in the near future.

How can this be? How can this perpetually unwatchable team possibly be making Snyder money? Well, the main reason is because the NFL is a revenue-sharing league, which basically means that every team gets a share of the money the league makes as a whole. Still, Washington was the 3rd-most valuable team in the league a year ago, meaning they were somehow making more money than 29 other NFL teams. Although the specific sources of this money are unclear, it can be assumed that most of it comes from TV deals and merchandising. That means people are watching this terrible team on Sundays and wearing athletic gear with their racist name emblazoned across the front (that's a whole different story). Having lived in DC for the past five years, I can attest to the fact that the Redskins have a large contingent of faithful, die-hard fans. Why?

Nightman: The Podcast - Episode 1

"Backsides, Black Twitter & BHM"

On the first ever podcast, J. Brown is joined by Brittany and Andrene for a lively discussion covering the Amber Rose/Kardashians feud, the effects of social media on self-esteem, the usefulness & worth of Black History Month, and Black Twitter's seemingly favorite topic: anilingus.