Tag Archives: school

You think Dr. Pepper is only sexist?

11 Oct

Not only does a 10 calorie drink being advertised as a man-only beverage unleash sexism so did a class field trip to KDKA-TV.

As my honors mass media class entered the doors for our KDKA tour today, no one would have thought that our tour guide would be sexist. And sexist to who? Me. Yes, today during the tv station tour I was called out for sitting in a chair. 

After standing on the main floor of the studio, we moved to the control deck where one person controls the cameras and the TelePrompter resides. As we make our way in this small long space, I end up in front of a chair and instead of dealing with that awkward feeling of “Oh there is a chair behind me and I am standing right in front of it, I don’t want to fall over.” So I sat down and within seconds the tour guide tells me that “Young men should not sit when young ladies are standing.”

I let her repeat herself a couple of times because I wanted to see what she is insinuating with her tone of voice. Well, I got the picture that she wanted me to move out of my seat for a girl who was around me. So I asked the girls around if they wanted to sit down. They all declined. Then I turned back to the guide and said they all said no. Well, I then asked if she herself would like to sit down in the chair. She smiled and said no. Then she muttered that we will suck it up and as she was about to turn to continue her presentation I explain to her that I am gay.

I said that because I wanted to get the point across that I am gay and by that I feel more like a woman as oppose to a straight male. I naturally feel more for women. She responded I know. And then I tell her that she was being sexist. She denied it and we repeated ourselves twice, then I quickly knew oh lets move on because obviously she wasn’t going to budge. So I say okay and with my look on my face told her that she needs to continue her presentation. 

_______

That was the story of the day for me. The epitome of negativity that I experienced thus far. I was appalled by the simple fact that she knew I was gay and still categorized me under gender specific qualities to tell me when to sit and when not to sit. Blatantly being sexist. It might be a misfire to manners, but like my mother said chivalry is dead. It has been dead for many years. And because I am Gay that should prescribe me with some notion that I have a feminine essence stored within my personality to relate to women and fit in more smoothly. Greater than that, no one cares about who got to the seat first. Males and Females, Females and Males are the same. 

I am deeply impacted by this situation and will not be giving KDKA my time or efforts for anything. What took place is uncalled for and even if the station is in the top 20 for the market, I rather not become sexist in any industry I choose to work for. 

Tangled Slinky: The lies in higher education and beyond

11 Oct

A post like this one has gone on by for too long.

My so called University (if you do extensive research, you will figure it out, but that is NOT the point), has the audacity to lie to me about my financial aid. Ok, so apparently, I was quote on quote “missing” a document. A verification worksheet document. I find out today that this document, this flimsy sheet of paper, is to verify my government standing based on my status as a student and how much money I actually make.

A week ago, my mom told me that I was missing a part of my financial aid packet and it was this Verification Worksheet. Well, I go to the office and the counselor ( I actually forget her name) informed me that “Oh, Bernard. I am sorry but looks like we lost this sheet when you filled it out before.”

Well, the Bernard who expects everything to be in order at all times courageously speaks up and asks for his file. The file comes and no verification form was present in there for this school year. Ok, maybe there was another office mess up. Of course. Every year there has to be something wrong with financial aid. Does anyone else have these problems? Leave a comment!

After I get a copy of this document, which mind you is on a piece of cardstock, I just had various flashbacks to the summer. My mom is into scrapbooking so feeling the weight of this paper immediately transported me back to when I was home in the scrapbooking room. My summer had some rumblings of family affairs, that honestly are out of my control and I am giving it all back to Mother Earth to deal with, because I choose not to.

So with the frustration of having to fill this sheet out to verify my life and to tell my mom that I needed her signature and then realizing afterwards we are not rich just hit me all at once. Yes sometimes, I wander outside of myself and believe that my family is secretly hoarding millions of dollars. Nope, not at all! My mother doesn’t have a fax machine and doesn’t work, so I am glad this school believes in a high-class lifestyle. I simply forget that it is a private school, and rich kids go here. Silly of me to have amnesia when it comes to class warfare. Well, I called my mom to tell her what happened and to get a signature nonetheless. We poor folks rely on the U.S. Postal Service, which in itself is a joke because they will shred your headphones if you mail them. So don’t mail your headphones!

Literally, my boyfriend (yes I am gay) received his headphones in the mail cut apart. Logically thinking would tell me that squishing would have flattened the buds, not slice wires into two pieces. Nope, the wires have been sliced! And I sure as hell did not do it. If I was angry or upset with him ( my Self-Observation skills are impeccable see Chakra Awakening to understand) he and everyone else will clearly feel the wrath of this fiery Aries more in-depth and it does not require destroying headphones to make my point clear. Yes, so I am not sure who exactly chopped up my boyfriend’s headphones, all I know and sense is that corporations, government, and ignorant (in its truest form) people are not reliable and we need alternative humanistic metaphysical practices to transform these times.

Coming back, from a small tangent, well in the course of a week. I learned much more about this paper and this school. I learned that the school will lie to its students in order to get a paper completed. I also learned today that this paper was to be  filled out not only because it was lost or misplaced, but because I was “randomly” chosen to verify my standing in money. I don’t know how accurate random means in this regard, because I am aware that governments, corporations, and mean people will do anything sneaky and clandestine without proper communication. 

All I know is that lies are being told instead of the truth, and this situation just proves to me that if you fall into the category of being “uneducated” then ignorant people, government, and corporations will assume you are stupid and just a number. So my advice is you need good self-observation skills and strong communication skills because anyone ignorant will abuse you and surround you with negativity so that it consumes your life and they will make sure you are in living in a fearful and oppressed state. 

If you ever had similar experiences, please do share, because you are not alone! 

OWN needs youth

2 Jan

Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN)

Happy New Year to one and all! This is the second day of the bright future ahead of us and lets all take a minute to stop and breathe in harmony that surrounds us all. Great! Lets begin!

When I first discovered OWN, I was on my computer and there I was following my daily rambles of Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr, then suddenly, I ended up on the OWN site and Oprah Winfrey was looking for the next TV star with Your OWN Show! My heart dropped to the floor and I paced around a bit before I made any hardcore decisions. Then I looked over my computer screen and  perused the site  and said YES, I can! After I mustered up enough strength I looked at the rules and regulations to enter the contest. The entrant had to be 21 years or older. I don’t know if this happened to anyone else, but this opportunity skyrocketed my passion and then my ideas suddenly crashed to the ground all in a matter of seconds. Really, Oprah! Twenty-one years old seems like the reason would be an alcohol-related ruling, but who really knows. So, I just subscribed to the site’s updates and I left it saying to myself, if they needed someone younger they will sure enough ask.


Since, the launching of OWN, it has come to people’s attention that Oprah carries a strong and faithful audience aged around 50-years-old. In this recent CBS news video that I found on YouTube, experts are suggesting that Ms. Winfrey should in fact consider reaching out to the younger population. This younger audience is not exactly said to be of a certain age, but my immediate assumption would be teens and probably the college era of youth. But only the terms young and youth are used, so who really knows. All I know is that the young people of today do know who this thriving successful black woman is and many students need just as much positive empowerment as the older folks!

Photo credit Lindsay Dill

I am certain that Oprah’s new age thinking is going to appeal to a younger audience by the simple fact that there is this giant increase of vampire loving and werewolf adoring young fans, Harry Potter fanatics, and even a newly rising following of The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanna Collins. Not saying new age thinking is about those creatures and themes entirely, but at the root of it all there is commonality among people today for something more magical and worthwhile like a real life adventure! That’s what kids these days want.

All in all, it is a matter of inspiring teens to believe again, help them create at their best, and then motivate them to  teach others to dream further by passing it forward. So ask me now how I feel about that rule on being 21 to enter Winfrey’s Your OWN Show. My response is going to be that I am going to bet on myself first.

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