TKO

Hey y'all I have been a day late and a dollar short in posting. There are so many things going on with me, both personally and professionally.

Everything and anything you could imagine, has happened to me in the course of six months (Yes, I am in VERy good health, No, I have NOT been a victim of crime, and NO, I have NOT been knocked up).

Other than the aforementioned, think about something that can happen to a girl in a six month period. YEP, it happened. Check out all my labels for the posting, and you can use your imagination about the "what had happened wuz's"

NOT TO MENTION, my current (and hopefully soon to be past) employer has blocked out blogger. Who do they think they are, when is a girl like me supposed to blow off steam? On my own home computer on my own personal time? Hehehe.

Like the Terminator, I'll be back, and when I am, don't call it a comeback.

Miss P.

The "N" Word

Don Imus. Rutgers Women's Basketball Team. Al Sharpton. Women's Organizations.

Say all these names together and you will think of the telecast that featured Don Imus and those three words that turned into an outrage that equaled "We're Mad As Hell and We're Not going to Take it Anymore".

Women's Groups all around the country jockeyed for position, calling it sexist most of all. That these women, future leaders in their own professions, were subjected to the crude comments of an antiquated jockey, who, albeit a shock jock, had crossed the Mason - Dixon line and had entered into a territory of warfare.

Al Sharpton & Co. were also in the mix indicating that NOT only were they offended and angry, they wanted Imus to apologize. Others called for (and subsequently received), his job on a platter bigger than the one that carried the head of John the Baptist.

Those Three Words. The words that shocked and angered everyone into a frothy tizzy.

But to most black women, there was only one word we heard.

NAPPY.

The word that has been used in anger, teasing, jokes, sadness, envy, and even pride. The word that chases many women around for being "too black" and haunts other black women for not being "black enough". This is the word that the word Jheri, California, "S", and even Soul Glo were able to mask. This was the word, used in the very self absorbed, non "free to be me" 1980's that distinguished who was good looking, and who WASN'T. And we can't say it was perpetuated by men, I'm NOT going to go there. Some of the worst offenders of this came from women. You can't imagine how many women I've heard be concerned about what kind of HAIR their children are going to have. Exactly where does that come from?

I can tell you myself, when I was communicating what Don Imus said to many of my girlfriends, mostly all of them said with a loud resonating voice "Who was he calling NAPPY?"

It's a word, even know, if used in comedy, or even as a timeclock to you knowing it's time for you to get your hair done, means something to most black women. It means something is WRONG. It means something is askew. It means "fix it". AND, if you think that we have gotten past it, think again. . . Listen in on any descriptive conversation of a generation Y-or Z-er any.given.day for a rude awakening. . .

Authentically speaking, I can't say that I was ever the target of that word, but I can tell you that I heard it enough in passing, describing hair textures for both boys AND girls. One of my self absorbed, narcisisstic friends, now even compares her son's hair to others, and the word "good" and "bad" come out of her mouth on the regular.

Not as vicious in adulthood (but still prevalent) as it was in childhood, the word Nappy generates images of people unhappy with the skin (or hair, for that matter) that they are in, and equally as bad, the notion that the hair shaft is tightly wound and requires more treatment to manage, versus straight, signifies something in a culture that has always has to fight - for an identity and everything else. It signifies something for a culture - a culture that had to be created from the legacy that was originally stripped from them.

There is no clearly defined texture of what represents us - be it Afro-Cuban, Black American, Honduras, Boricua, French-Canadian (Creole), Blasian, or any combination thereof. It represents all of us, and neither should it be a reason to envy or love one more than the other, especially for something that delves into the minutia of determining what is 'good' and what is 'bad' as it relates to hair texture.

So, let your soul glo. . . .

What are Your Thoughts?

Habla Espanol?

In respect to the coastal states, the value of knowing a secondary language is almost tantamount to having a secondary collegiate education. There are innumerable job postings that are listed, where, they not only require knowing a second language, but actually post it in the language they are looking for you to know.

With English not being the official language of the united states, our melting pot consists of innumerable languages (Farsi, French, and in particular, Spanish). The spanish population has imploded in recent years, and, in fact, they are progessing as the largest minority (for lack of a better word) in this country. This land was originally inhabited by almost every ethnicity that you can imagine (Sans European) prior to the Columbus raid, so during that time there were far reaching implications of what was communicated prior to that. This is understood.

With that said, if in fact there is a high latino population (surging and emerging) that would also mean that there are more and more Latinos entering the work force. Because of this, those who do have English as a Second Language have SPANISH as their first language. With that said, if you live or visit any coastal state (Texas, California, New York), even an increasing number of employees are conversing in their native languages directly on the work floor.

The value of knowing a second language is beautiful, no matter which one. Any language is a form of communication (Sign Language included), and to break a barrier with a person who believes that you are unable to speak with them cannot be measured in words. I've witnessed it and it's wonderful. As for me, once again, I'll reserve my opinions after every one has posted.

But that's not the question at hand. . .There are many, and you can respond to any of of them you wish. . .

If this economy works primarily in one language (American English), then would there be a necessity to require employees to speak a secondary language in a work location where the primary language IS English? (With the exception of call centers, where in bound calls come in from people speaking everything from Arabic to Swahili). Has the tide turned where those who have mastered the English language (as most were trained to do in their primary school years, as well as secondary education) came back to haunt many of them? Is it appropriate for any person that speaks a secondary language to carry on an entire conversation in the work place with someone who is unfamiliar with the language? If you went outside of Western Civilization, would anyone care for you enough to ensure all could speak to you in your native tongue? Should everyone just get on the good foot and learn a second language, for their benefit?

How Effective/Necessary is it to Know A Secondary Language in The Workplace? Should Employers Require it?