Letters to the Editor
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@d.c.eric
You're welcome. I know of Ellis because the number of AAmerican scriptwriters in the biz is still fairly small. And he was one of the few who benefitted/stood out just after Spike Lee proved black movies could make money.
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Well anon
I suppose it's not a bad leap to make if you don't regularly associate with black people. African american's don't refer to their skin color as black the way white people say our skin is white, they call it brown and have different demarcations of brown, honey, caramel, ect.
I had no trouble knowing that this was a black man writing about his children, nor thought for one second that this was bi-racial couple, men just don't generally do the braiding and straigtening of their daughters hair, the moms do and they keep their own hair pretty short or go to a salon or friends house for braids.
As to the excerpt, thanks Salon. I liked hearing a story from a single dad, I probably won't buy the book, but I do want to know more, like did he take the key from his ex like he should, did he get a new old lady nanny like he should, did he end up sleeping with the current nanny and then fire her when the relationship tanks cause shes nuts, like he should? Sometimes this website seems awfully lady centric when it comes to parenting, so this was a nice change.
Also, why should he feel guilty about wanting to date when his ex has already got a new guy? If he knows about the guy, the kids might too.
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Welcome to the real world
Nice piece (so to speak) but I'm puzzled: if Carmen takes the kids at least once a week you (Trey) should be able to date. Your situtation is really no different than for most busy people these days - many couples who are dating see eachother just once a week.
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Mr. Anonymous
All I'm saying is why did you have to assume anything at all?
If we want a supposedly color blind society, maybe people should really take the "make an ass out of u and me" mantra to heart.
Besides, fyi, most black people don't have black skin. My skin is brown, not black. My boyfriend, though, is very dark and his skin verges on true black. (More like blue-black.) If I were writing a story, a memoir, and I was describing my boyfriend, I might use the term black for his skin color. Not if I were talking about myself though. It just makes sense. The term black is about race; it's not really at all descriptive.
But don't get all touchy. I'm really not trying to make you feel bad, or even say that you're a racist. I doubt you are. But just like I assumed you were white (I'm an Ass as well it seems) all of the justifications you made about how you came to believe the author was white can easily be refuted. The truth is, that this isn't a story that is about black issues; it's the simple story of the trials and tribulations of a single father.
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d.c. eric
That's Ms. Anonymous to you!
Oh, btw, I think that white liberal crack was a cheap shot as soon as I wrote it. Don't worry, I dislike the politics of white, black, green, maroon conservatives like a good little salonista. I gues was trying to instigate something...bad anonymous. No soup for you.
Sometimes I think people really need to explore their motivations for why they make certain assumptions. But oftentimes, especially when it comes to race (and this is the case for everyone!) they don't want to look too closely. I didn't even notice who wrote the story until I went back to check the name. I didn't see him as any color, to be honest. I just didn't really care for his writing style...however, I did like the bit about the pussy. Pure comedy.
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Skeptical Anon 11:01
That movie trailer was really perfect! I was actually able to hear the movie trailer voice man narrating and saw all the scenes.
Great!
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The song would have to be, of course
Trey has 99 problems, but a bitch ain't one!
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For the movie trailer- 99 problems but a bitch ain't one.
Sorry, I don't know if my earlier post was clear. I could just see those Hollywood types sitting around saying, Trey, we need to make your movie a bit more, how shall we say it, urban, so that it will appeal to black and white audiences. How about that 50-cent song?
Can't you just hear it? Though Trey might not like it, but I'm sure he'll like the money. He's gotta keep Ava in relaxers somehow..
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Sorry, Jay Z song.
Jeez. That's it. I'm going back to work. I obviously can't be trusted to write coherent posts. That just goes to show I don't listen to hip hop at all.
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Give a guy a break!
If people wrote in again and again how pathetic it was for a woman to have a vibrator, you'd have a dozen posts defending every woman's right to her own sexuality. But, somehow a guy wanting a sex toy is inherently pathetic? Get over it, all of you! Men masturbate, and using something other than the "death grip" is recommended by legendary columnist Dan Savage.
I am married and I have one of these, have for years actually. It comes under the brand name "Fleshlight" and it was the model before it came with any kind of realistic "features." (You can now get it as a vagina, mouth or ass.) It feels good, and until you can convince my wife to put out every time I want sex, I don't see anything wrong with owning one of these things.
Grow up people, and give up your double standards.
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Loved it!
Of course, I don't have any burning need to comment on every detail of someone's story. Good effing grief. If you don't like the guy's writing, don't read it. Let someone else enjoy it.
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@Ms. Anonymous 11:33
Sorry to jump to conclusions! Mr., indeed.
After reading your last post, I must agree with your attitude for the most part. I just think that people use stereotypes as lazy shorthand in their thinking, to everyone's detriment.
Actually, I'm a white guy who grew up in a biracial family, with my formative years in the ghetto, no less. So I think I've got a bit of an advantage on this subject sometimes, being intimately familiar with both black and white cultures. Living in one of the most racially polarized cities gives a certain ammount of unfortunate insight as well. This isn't bragging, it's just a unique twist of my upbringing that really helped in instilling a perception and (hopefully) understanding that I've seen missing in most white people I've met that grew up in traditionally homogeounous situations.
One of the more unusual aspects is that I ended up being quite the good little liberal while my (black) brother ended up being a G.W. Bush lovin' Republican! AAAARRRGGG!