Some Reflections About Acceptance

By Briscoe Pugh
For According to Me...By B

As we strive at each turn to realize our innate potential as beings of light and life, the duality of our existence is shown to us in stark terms.

Our every life-affirming process and intention is besieged by those forces bent upon feeding upon such organically occurring beauty without feeding it back.

Greed, arrogance and envy (amongst other things) infect every portion of the life and love cycle...unless acted upon with vigilance.

The key in my humble opinion is acceptance. The definition of the term which is most applicable here is twofold as I see it:

1) “To recognize as true.”
2) “To agree to undertake”

Acceptance acknowledges the power and fragility of the human vessel simultaneously...while also recognizing the seductive power of imbalanced destructive influences alongside the work to be done in developing past them.

In doing so, it also empowers he/she who engages in it with much needed clarity.

There is an engrained reflex of honesty in the process of acceptance. In acceptance we walk a straight path of non-avoidance and give ourselves the opportunity to earn the distinction of engaging in the evolutionary process in a way that is tangible.

It may at times feel that acceptance is unduly burdensome. I believe it should be...sometimes.

Acceptance like any true growth process hurts at times.

Much as our physical bodies are made stronger when subjected to some degree of resistance and discomfort, it is a must that we not allow the mental, emotional and spiritual processes we must develop our understanding of to atrophy.

I caution those who engage this process in a real way to not be swayed by misguided souls apt to take their acceptance as permissiveness. The difference in the two would be that in being permissive, one effectively relinquishes control and does not seek to affect either one’s self or circumstance in a positive manner. As those who do not or cannot distinguish observe either at work, many will presume it is all permissive and see weakness therein.

One who engages in acceptance stands firm on what he/she has acknowledged as what is true and actual and is not easily moved, but for the possibility of growth and progress.

So, my people...

I say,

Learn to accept, and then work to evolve.

Peace and progress

BEWARE OF PRINCE "CHARMIN"

By Celena Howaard
For The Sassy C~E~O


Ladies, Please beware of Prince “Charmin.”  No, I did not make a typo.  I said “Charmin”…..as in squeezable SOFT.  You see, Prince “Charmin” is the guy who melts your heart with his sad story of how he just can’t find a good woman because they don’t like nice guys, but instead settle for the no good thugs.  His story tugs at your heartstrings and has you rooting for the underdog.  And then… about three minutes into the conversation, it is revealed just why he is alone waddling in his own self-pity while cursing women for sleeping on a “good, kind, loving” brother like himself.  Now don’t get me wrong, there are definitely some genuinely good brothers out here who are being overlooked by women suffering from the temporary insanity which is the need to experience ‘thug love.”  However, in my ladies defense, the urge to experience that “ghetto love” that only a true thug can give usually does not go away until tested.  Unfortunately, the tests usually comes in the form of baby mama drama, bad credit, and let’s not forget those long visits at the correctional facilities.  As you can probably tell, I am so over thugs, but I still got the memories (ooohhh)…anyway back to the lesson at hand, keeping the ladies from falling for Prince “Charmin.”  First, you must know the types and there are many.  I have taken the liberty of naming a few for you: 

The Good Son – Sounds wonderful right?  We all want a man who loves his mother; if he is good to her then he will probably be good to you.  That makes a lot of sense; however, if he is a Prince “Charmin” he loves his mother so much that he refuses to move out.  He lives at home to “take care of” his mother even though she is the only one in the house with a job, car, and cell phone.    His room of choice is the basement, because he can bring his under-aged girlfriends in without notice.  Hey what woman over 16 wants to make love in a damp, musty, storage room right next to the water heater?  Then there’s The Messenger – I am all for spreading the good word.  As a matter of fact as a Christian, I feel that is a duty.  However, a Prince “Charmin” is a man over the age of 40, spreading the “message” in the form of rap.  Don’t get me wrong, if you have God-given talent and a need to express yourself through poetry, rap, or song, please do.  That is perfectly fine as long as it is a hobby or you are already established because at forty, your rap career should be going strong, or winding down, NOT starting up.  So unless you’re Kirk Franklin, please STOP!  Now let’s move on to The Afro-Cent-trick – this is the Prince “Charmin” who loves everything black as long as it benefits him.  He is the “I can’t get a job because of the white man, so please help a brother out” type of guy.  He is proud of his blackness because it is his ticket to do absolutely nothing.  His definition of black is Bob Marley t-shirts, dreaded locks and smoking weed from the motherland.  However, I have much love for my Afro-centric brothers who are filled with pride and making a difference in their communities by educating, employing and empowering our youth.  The brother that realizes that movement comes from hard work, and refuses to waste countless hours on video games, and music videos while waiting for their thirty acres and….oh yeah that damn mule.   Lastly, is The Cry Baby-Boy – This is the Prince “Charmin” who always wines about everything.  He constantly reminds you of how hard he had it growing up.  He lives in the past and refuses to be happy and move on.  He can’t keep a good woman because he spends countless hours telling her how bad his last woman treated him.  He has “trust issues” that you will always be held accountable for.  Without intense therapy and daily affirmations, he is a hopeless case. 

I hope that my break down has been helpful.  I am sure that most of you didn’t even realize that you were being a Prince “Charmin” Squeezable soft.  Just remember, there is hope.  To the truly good brothers out there; please be patient because anything worth having is worth waiting for.  To my ladies, no matter how good his story sounds, or how tempting it may be “please don’t squeeze the Charmin”.

FOR MORE TIPS, BREAKDOWNS, AND POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS – Please pick up a copy of my new book “BACK OFF – She don’t want your controlling, stalking, penny pinching, gossiping, pretty boy, psycho ass…”      (COMING SOON)

When Peter King Calls You “Rad,” It Isn‘t A Compliment

By

Briscoe Pugh

for According to me...By B

Recently, Rep. Peter T. King (R-NY) called for and held hearings on the “radicalization of American Muslims” in his capacity as chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee. Rep. King’s viewpoints on the Muslim community in America became quite clear in the days leading up to the hearings.

The hearings themselves were based on assertions Rep. King has held for some time that,

-Muslim-Americans by-and-large have not been cooperative with authorities in preventative measures against terror attacks on American soil

-“85%” of Muslim mosques in America are presided over by radical clerics

-Most Muslims are encouraged in their mosques to ignore extremism.

All of the above comes on the heels of earlier commentary Rep. King made asserting that “there are too many mosques in this country.”

The fetishization of the popularized imagery of the "radical" or "extremist" has taken its place next to, yet opposite from the popular, imagery of the so-called "patriot". I am of the opinion that radicalization by its definition as a process enjoys no religious specificity. The extreme nature of any radical stream of thought is something which anyone is vulnerable to in my opinion. I believe that it is the pressure of extreme circumstances which can give rise to perspectives and agendas which might be labeled as "radical."

My opinion:

I believe it is unjust to marry radicalization or extremism to a singular dogma or to exclude any one dogma from any perceived, potential influence of extreme or radical thought.

When cherry picking in this fashion, I believe we serve to unjustly demonize certain groupings, while unduly glorifying others in comparison. I am GLAD Rep. King had these hearings.

Yes. I’m glad.

I’m glad because sometimes in moves like his (which are little more than him grinding that particularly large ax he has to grind with Islam) we are forced into certain conversations we might not normally have.

In having those hearings...and talking about them, we all may just be forced to examine on a tangible level just what actually causes radicalization. We might even have the hard truth revealed that unlike the popularized perceptions people like Rep. King love to cite and reinforce by their references to them, Islam is NOT a “violent religion”. You might be forced to examine Islam from the perspective of the larger prophetic Abrahamic tradition from which it springs.

This is part of a religious conversation I may visit again soon.

I digress.

In my reading of the (Merriam Webster) dictionary definition of the term “radical,” I discovered something.

One of the definitions listed is, “advocating extreme measures to retain or restore a political state of affairs”...

At the end of that particular definition, the parenthesized example given happens to be written as “the radical right”.

You’ll have to pardon me. I giggled to myself just a little when I read it and I think you might too.

My message here is simple.

It is a difficult thing to detect radicalization as those in certain authority tend to want to define it.

If you know a Muslim family and see the men are growing longer beards lately or speaking and/or learning Arabic (for non-Arab Muslims), gathering more publicly amongst those of the same faith and dressing in more culturally specific, Arab inspired and designed clothing, would this be a matter of concern or even fear for you?

Does this same alarm exist where one sees Hasidic families more visibly expressing their faith and culture?

What of Christian expressions of faith and how much of it has become politicized?

Each of the “Big 3” religious expressions can be interpreted to inspire and justify extreme (even murderous) behavior. Whenever one embraces a religious doctrine wherein prophets of which have called for murder and even themselves killed, and doesn’t qualify their reading of the doctrine with historical, social or political context, extreme behaviors from some amongst its faithful is inevitable.

The embrace of ANY religious faith is by its very definition “radical”. It demands an elemental change in one’s worldview and interactions as well as one’s motivations.

Other factors that people such as Rep. King do not examine which also lead to the “radicalization” he so fears have absolutely NOTHING to do with one’s religious beliefs.

Now, we happen to see with our own eyes the indignation and uproar in America if the masses are denied even mistakenly certain creature comforts.

(“WHAT??? Excuse me...but I ordered a LARGE latte and this is clearly a MEDIUM...”)

What if...

In an already poverty stricken country, a little boy who barely has enough to eat sees family members killed, kidnapped and/or brutalized at the hands of a despotic government and wealthy dictator whom has been armed, funded and endorsed by this thing he has known as “America”...then...

This same child grows older and sees armament and military might used against his own people by his own people at the behest of this same dictator...supplied by “America”...

Then...by the time he matures into manhood, planes fly overhead...explosions kill everyone he knows and all news reports say that “America” has bombed “strategic targets” yet no mention is made of the neighborhood where he sifts through the detritus that used to be his family, friends, neighbors...life...?

What would you think if you were that boy?

What would you feel if you were that boy?

Would your anger be justified?

Would you have an issue with this entity called America that seems for all you have seen to wield the power of death with impunity?

I ask these questions for a very specific reason.

What in ANY of the aforementioned process I just cited (which is typical for what is happening all over the so-called “Third World” right now) is specific to a particular religious doctrine?

This young man is exactly the one an extremist organization would prey upon...and it is THEN that religion becomes distorted into a tool to manipulate angry, young people to kill.

It is this young man and those like him...products of strife in their environments and victims of long dismissive American foreign policy who are prepared for extremism and radicalization by an unwitting Western populace whom (out of fear via fear mongers, like Rep. King) supports by popular vote a legacy of xenophobia married to military might.

Now, let me be PERFECTLY CLEAR...

I categorically do NOT support murderous acts perpetrated for ANY reason...whether sanctioned by extremist religious movements...or governments.

Let’s be intellectually honest however, in what it is we brand wholesale as “radical” or “extreme” and what role religion REALISTICALLY plays in the process of radicalization.

Peace and progress, my people.