The Investment of Our Consideration - Life's Gamble

It’s my theory that reciprocity is the foundation for trust and thus happiness…However, trust cannot be developed without a further investment of our consideration.

Investing is a funny concept. In order to understand it you must look at the reason people do it.

invest (v.) -
1. To spend or devote for future advantage or benefit
2. To devote morally or psychologically, as to a purpose; commit

Investing is meant to produce a larger return. You put something in, and hopefully (if it was a good investing decision) you pull out more than you originally committed. In the financial market these returns are a result of either favorable interest rates (that increase the value of your consideration over time), profitable dividends (that pay you back in consideration periodically), or from a price (value) increase of the investment in question that allow you to sell it for more than it was originally worth.

The investment of consideration is no different... we've discussed time and honesty... I think it's time we discuss the consideration of energy...

energy (n.)
1. Exertion of vigor or power
2. Vitality and intensity of expression

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SKIP TO THE SKIP MARKER IF YOU ARE NOT A SCIENCE PERSON
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Energy, as a scientific term, is what allows all matter to exist. Everything has some type of energy - potential, kinetic, radiant, radioactive. This energy is used to affect the state and space of other matter, however it is never dispensed. The Conservation of Energy Principle (an accepted fact in physics and chemistry) states that energy is neither created nor destroyed, but rather it changes its characteristics. So if you're running, and you stop, your energy isn't lost, it is converted from kinetic (moving energy) into radiant (in the form of heat) and potential (because your energy can be converted to another form at your will). . . what ever energy you no longer have after the remainder is converted back to potential energy is the energy spent... if you factor that with how far you ran (distance), you have a component called WORK.

For the sake of understanding this term better, I will add a synonym to this definition: effort. Our energy/effort is seen as a form of our consideration towards others.

In terms of investing, we give our time and energy to others in hopes that we get it back. The truth is that once the energy is converted from potential to whatever you use it isn't destroyed, it is converted and subsequently lost... you don't get it back. This matches the theory from earlier that our consideration has no guarantee of reciprocation. Thus we must apply our energy towards things/people that we HOPE will get us a return on our investment. If not, at the end of the day we hope that we have at least accomplished achieved some form of WORK, in that we HOPE our energy got us somewhere new.
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SKIP TO HERE.... YUP, YOU ARE INTELLECTUALLY LAZY!
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We HOPE that our investment of time and energy would increase the value of our potential energy over time... however, in interpersonal relationships banks do not set our interest rates, interpersonal chemistry determines that. Interest (in itself a form of consideration) must be mutual between parties in order for its rate of increase to be favorable, otherwise you actually run the risk of a negative interest rate - becoming disinterested or turned off. By this time you have to decide if your time and energy spent is a sunk cost or just a part of the investing cycle where you might lose some before you gain some back. This is why the early stages of investing are always treated with a relaxed standard ... it is expected that favorable return will not come in the short-term (however sometimes it can).

We HOPE that our investment of time and energy would pay us in dividends... this is where reciprocity is achieved. In financial investing, an acceptable dividend is what ensures you do not sell your stock... in terms of consideration I guess the most recognizable example/synonym for dividend would be "gift". This gift is unsolicited, however it is often times expected. Most people don't go a long time in dealing with others without receiving some type of gift... Don't get me wrong, this isn't necessarily something that is of monetary value, usually the gift is an unexpected increase of consideration returned (i.e. a nice conversation, a favor, a compliment, etc.)... a nice gesture can go a long way in increasing one's trust/faith in their investments.

In financing, sometimes the dividends are never disbursed, but rather reinvested into the stock in hopes that it will increase its value... YUP... this is when the person you are investing consideration in is so busy that they are hoping to be more worth your consideration in the long run. They seem like they are worth your time and energy but you can never really know until you evaluate what they are worth to you. If they are legit, their busy-ness will result in them being successful in some right, and you will/should respect that considering you've waited for them to get there (and thus paid time consideration). But if they don't ever get right, and you don't see the dividends you want to see, and the interest rate is falling.... it might be time to sell your stock.

Like with any investment, unless you are just completely business minded, it is hard to let go of things that you placed value into, especially consideration value. You will never get the time, energy, effort, interest spent, etc. back... what you get in return for selling/dropping the person in question is the freedom of your consideration to be spent elsewhere.

This is where the financial aspect of the analogy fizzles, but you should get the point... in short...
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There is never a guarantee of return of consideration from others, thus any time you spend it, it is considered an investment. Our investments have to be monitored by us otherwise we don't know if it is working for us or against us... whether it's a good decision or a bad decision... whether you'll receive a return or mark it as a sunk cost. The point is to use your own standards to decide what it is to you. For some, they would prefer to not receive dividends/gifts at all, others want frequent dividends... Some want high interest rates, and some are so invested that they don't care what the value seems like to others, they just want to own the stock.

The only person who can decide if your consideration is well spent or not, is YOU... not your friends, your family, or your peers... because their realities/perceptions of the status quo are different than yours, remember? Ultimately what it requires is that you know and understand yourself in order to know what is good for you.... and when in doubt because you really don't know, rely on hope/faith that you are either right or will find the right path.

The consideration of hope next time...

Time Machine: The Black Greek Problem Pt. 10

Of all of the things Greeks proclaim to be, IGNORANT would be the most fitting... but nobody will own up to that. the truth of the matter is the ignorance is natural... to simply not know something or know better is actually natual, because you can't change what you don't know unless you understand that it is available to be learned.

But the All-Knowing, All-Powerful, and somewhat ever present culture of Greek life is far beyond disrepute... for we all know a few things (even if we act like we don't), for example:

1. The first inter-collegiate black greek organization was originally created for the purpose of helping black students graduate from a PWI during a point in history where society didn't support the idea of blacks being educated.



2. Every BGLO since has been founded on similar principles of strengthening their membership within and allowing that to affect their communities in a positive way.



3. These organizations were created to enhance the undergraduate experience of its members... thus we are expected to submit to the NPHC in order to add substance to our campus unity... (I repeat ". . .")



4. These organizations and the influence they hold are a privilege (earned) and not a right (self-substantiated)... or are they?

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I'll start today's rant/discussion by talking about the inconsistencies of national tradition. Originally, these organizations were meant to employ efforts from qualified applicants who could add to the greater good of the organizations' purpose - to better the organization and the community it resides within. Over the years you would see the BGLOs claim victory either through not-so-visible national initiatives or through the success of their individual members (who technically didn't do it for the organization)... This proves one thing... these orgs love the STATUS... a synonym for significance (as opposed to substance). It is what they tout, it is what they brag about... it is what they perpetuate.

While these organizations were founded by and for undergraduates, in the status quo it seems it is more made for the business of graduate members... the socialites and bourgeois folks that would like for these organizations' selection process to be so discriminant that they appear to be elite(ist) organizations...

Don't get it twisted, if you go hang around the women at Boule and Delta Nat'ls, I guarantee you their general demeanor is going to be vastly different from the individuals you have met at the undergraduate level. In fact, they act as if they'd rather some of the undergraduates NOT be members.... kinda weird especially when the orgs were made for the undergrads but the graduates are attempting to control everything.... and what's more is that half of active graduates were never active as undergraduates and thus don't (and don't try to) understand the plight, purpose, or pursuits of the undergraduate members anymore. Delta's current President is the first undergraduate member to be Pres in a very long time...

The initiatives of the BGLOs isn't so much directly affected by this divide, but it is indirectly affected by the lack of relationship (or desire for one) between the two groups... The truth of the matter is this... GRADUATE CHAPTERS WOULD PREFER TO KILL THE UNDERGRADUATE PORTION OF GREEK LIFE.
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Frankenstein's Monster


Written in 1818, Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" explored motifs of responsibility and abandonment while telling the tale of an abhorrant creation. Catch a full summary of the book here.


Dr. Victor Frankenstein literally created a monster... frightened by its appearance, Frankenstein left his monster behind, not claiming any accountability for its creation or existence until the monster started harming others (in fact KILLING them)... Frankenstein eventually vows to kill the monster in order to keep it from harming others and in order to gain retribution for the blood that is actually on Frankenstein's hands.


So odd, that a white female from the UK could compose a fictional novel in 1818 that would forshadow the current phase of BGLO Life (that started in 1990). For more history behind why the transition happened, I'd recommend reading Black Greek 101 by Walter Kimbrough.


Before I discuss this analogy in further detail... let's get something straight... just like on my blog on "haters", it is asinine, ignorant, and not characteristic of educated (college) people to redefine words for their own benefit. Let's define a word that will be used in this blog from here on out, but only in the way it is TRUELY defined.

pledge (v.) - To offer or guarantee by a solemn binding promise; To commit

While "pledging/business" is a concept all on its own, to pledge seriously ONLY means to commit oneself (which is why I DONT pledge allegiance to the American Flag... I'mma follow a flag?... get serious). Back in the day, when people committed themselves to Greek Life, it was to service, tradition, brotherhood, and success... there were very high standards from individuals who were members of BGLOs. They were expected to contribute to the org and to the community outside of the org, submit to VERY STRICTLY CONTROLLED/"set" rituals and traditions that facilitated their submission to and participation in brotherhood/sisterhood... and all the while, they were expected to do great things and GRADUATE.


What happened? I mean really? If it was all GOOD, why did it ever become a BAD thing... simple reason... cuz PEOPLE STARTED DYING. People started realizing the threat and severity of the actions performed while people were attempting to commit themselves to a "greater purpose". At no point in my preliminary research on Greek Life did they metion military service, armageddon, or saving the world (in the sci-fi movie sense)... so YT-FUCK would I be dying for this?... please... please... try to defend people DYING for greek membership on my comments, I swear I'll dedicate a blog just for your dumb ass.


I digress.... pledging became seen as bad.... It went from a traditional practice to strictly against the law (and against the bylaws of BGLO constitutions) over night... now this is where things get iffy. Thousands of members from EACH organization have participated in, supported, and perpetuated the act of "pledging" on their campuses and even in grad chapters (not anymore usually)... then once it went bad, they tried to tell the undergrads to stop "hazing/pledging"... the undergraduate response was to resist the notion of this being okay for fear that if they didn't they would be ridiculed and not respected by the older members of their organizations (regardless of if they told them not to pledge). Thus pleding continued in something that is now called the "underground process"; it gained this name because people used to pledge in public before then.


Throughout this time, people(undergrad and grad) celebrated in the fact that their traditions were being upheld. Simultaneously, graduate chapters continued to conduct intake but they significantly decreased their frequency of "underground processes"... as a result you have a generation of one doctrine active at the undergrad level, and a generation of another doctrine at the top. As a result of this dichotomy of intake methodology, labels were created to distinguish the difference between those who committed themselves traditionally (Made/Real) and those who SOLELY participated in the newly revised national education processes (Paper). I would say that the two are not completely mutually exclusive because MOST people who are made are certified members of their organization (meaning they have things in common with the Paper folks), but the things that the Paper folks do NOT endure is what separates them... further more the phenomon of Ghost/Renegade (those whom were "made" but never had an approved application...) members would affect the playing field as well. For the most part, the "paper" community would have no voice in undergrad for a long time.


And then... more bad shit started happening... more investigations, more hospital visits, and thus more law suits. The institution of pledging was now not only considered dangerous but expensive. Dues rates in BGLOs would steadily increase over time in order to pay for insurance, court fees, and punitive damages to plaintiffs who sued as a result of pledging becoming illegal. The BGLOs have since taken a hardline stance on hazing/pledging:

1. They don't condone or recognize hazing/pledging as related to their membership intake processes.



2. They require all aspiring applicants to sign a waiver stating that they will not participate or allow hazing/pledging activities to occur.



3. If a plaintiff files suit, they will refer to the waiver, and thus send liability to the specific chapter (usually undergrad)



4. If a chapter is pinned, the graduate structure/national organization will turn narc on their brothers/sisters (thus getting them expelled from school, thrown in jail, or removed from the organization) in order to "save" the national organization.

While this makes logical sense... This is so STUPID. How is it that the graduate members (Frankenstein) don't want to own up to the fact that they THOUGHT they were doing something good in the past, and it went wrong... why is it that at the end of the day it was tradition and expected when they did it, but now it is an individual choice that deserves severe consequences? Why is it that the people who started, perpetuated, defended, promoted, lived with a certain tradition are able to abandon it as if they didn't create it??? and then when it becomes a problem, rather than trying to work through something to halt it... they attempt to KILL it... and not even it, the people who are practicing it. How is it that the graduate chapters share NO ownership?....


Frankenstein in this case will do anything to save their own necks, and keep their pockets from thinning... if they say it's because they are cutting off the arm in order to preserve the body, it's a LIE... the body still has members who were hazed, did haze, and do believe in hazing... you would have to kill the organization to eradicate all traces of the malevolent process. If they tell you that they are preserving the true sanctity of brotherhood/sisterhood, it's a LIE... they will throw people to the wolves in order to secure their longevity (I'll show that on future blogs), and the national organization (as an entity) does NOT have control over whom will accept whom as their brother/sister... the divides still do exist, and will continue to until gradute entities take more responsibility for the monster (pledging) that they have created.

This would FIRST start with them fully revamping their intake processes... if they think it's acceptable to change a (let's say) 8 week, 6 day, 1 hr, 35 minute, and 0 second process into 3 days... they're WRONG. You can't become acquainted with individuals, learn information, or familiarize yourself with business at the same level if you reduce the timeframe to 4.7% of the original time invested. This is the dillema between "paper" and "made" individuals... papers attempt to commit themselves to the work of their orgs, and made folks look at them as if they have a 95.3% desparity in commitment. For the graduate population to act as if that is insignificant means that they must not be paying attention to the community dynamics.... but why should we expect them too... they're not even furthering the purpose of their orgs anymore.
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Grad folks effin' up...


Back in 2007, did you that Zeta Phi Beta's National Executive Board expelled a member who discovered embezzlement activities by the then current President? How is it that somebody who is doing their job... being committed to her sisters and stewarding their funds... can be expelled for informing her sisters that one of their own is stealing from them? Furthermore... how did the Executive Board allow this to happen??? maybe because the Exec Board Chair would later become the President... and regardless of her reputation in the world of comedy, She would bring a wide range of criticism to the sorority of "finer womanhood" due to her long history of vulgarity.

And then... this story about a narcissistic "leader" who wanted to imortalize herself with a wax statue, actually thought it would be okay to use $900,000 of AKA's money to get this done.

And again... last year, Fraternity/Sorority Presidents, namely Darryl Matthews of Alpha Phi Alpha, tried to denounce the "n word" on behalf of their entire organizations... how do you do that? What authority allows this kind of audacious promulgation?

I'm guessing Greek Life gives people big nuts to feel that they can do/say whatever they want...

Most recently, a remake of Jay-Z's D.O.A. has been released referring to "paper greeks" has been virally marketed over the internet... the saddest thing about this song is the UNREALISTIC belief that pledging will outlast the national intake processes from this point on... Furthermore, people just do NOT/canNOT seem to learn that if you would like to prolong the traditional ways of intake, the only way that will happen is if NOBODY KNOWS ABOUT IT (which in turn will lead to them diming on you too). Bringing attention to the fact that you "pledged" only brings attention to the graduate structures, the school administration, the community (who will dime you if they'd rather be paper), as well as the police... yes... they are getting involved now-a-days...


Furthermore, these processes used to add to the substance of their organizations and their members... the need to brag about it or share it with the public is evidence of feelings of low self worth and esteem... they want everybody to know they pledged in order to gain significance, because the truth is their substance doesn't substantiate their importance anymore.... yep i said it... most greeks now a days are trash and dont deserve it.

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So what's the point... in short....


Black UT is a mircrocosm of our society in the U.S... if all this confusion and disarray was happening, it was bound to hit UT as well... some of us had thought we were already seeing it... Fall 07 would prove otherwise. This continual abuse of powers used to take advantage of those who would submit would eventually place some in a place to be scapegoated as the individuals at fault... all the while, nobody is looking for any type of solution.

Reciprocity: The Foundation of Our Happiness

The trade of consideration is scarce these days.... so how do we make good decisions about who to trust with our most coveted asset, our consideration? And furthermore, how can we ensure that the return of our consideration will continue to make/keep us happy? (YOU CAN SCROLL DOWN TO THE "SKIP" MARKER IF YOU ARE A LAZY READER...)
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These two questions were asked last time… and I must now be honest with you all… these are technically “trick questions”… there is no single resolute answer, but you knew that. Whenever discussing our decision making process when it comes to trusting others or having faith that something good will come our decisions, the criteria for an acceptable result is all dependent on the person in question.What makes me happy doesn’t necessarily make you happy.The reasons why I find somebody/something trustworthy may be different than yours.The reason for this is because we are individuals and we have our own unique life experiences that grant us our own perceptions of the…

Status Quo – noun, Latin
The current state of things

The Status Quo is basically the world as it is right now. The issue with defining the Status Quo is that everybody has their own perceptions as to what is really going on. In the philosophical sense, perception is reality. Thus if there are multiple perceptions, couldn’t that mean there is a multiplicity of realities in the Status Quo?

Think about it… have you ever analyzed somebody and ended up telling yourself that they were “in their own world”… They actually might be… which would make it impossible to give “good” advice to each other as to how we should change our Status Quo’s, but what we can do is decide whether our Status Quo is acceptable or not.

Status Quo Bias – noun, Latin
A bias towards maintaining the current state of things

Why did it take so long to elect a Black President? Why are we stuck with the BCS when the majority of College Football Fans want a playoff? Why does our nation refuse to move towards social reform and welfare programs (i.e. Universal Health Care…) when we are in the position to help others?

It’s because (as discussed before) we are an egocentric species and we (as a whole) have a general Status Quo Bias.A specific Status Quo Bias is simply the desire to maintain your individual reality… undoubtedly if you fall in this group you ACCEPT your Status Quo.Individuals with a Status Quo Bias are known as conservative decision makers and are also said to be afraid of change. If this fear is indeed present, these individuals tend to blur the lines of distinctions between their reality and others’… in other words: they don’t want your Status Quo to change either in fear that it will affect their reality. The most concrete example of this in “our Status Quo” would be the controversial debate and fight for homosexual rights to marriage.

This becomes an obstacle for individuals who are attempting to REJECT their Status Quo. Now this is where we get back on track and address the question at the top.

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(SKIP HERE IF YOU ARE A LAZY READER!!!)
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In order to trust somebody/something new, they must first be introduced into your perceptions and into your reality.The first step to deciding if this new entity is trustworthy is to determine whether to ACCEPT or REJECT your Status Quo.*** Now it is very important to point out that trust isn’t given or considered without a justification… Whenever we decide to trust something/someone new it is usually based on satisfying our NEEDS.There is usually no grey area here… if there is no need for the new asset, then you may consider it, but you won’t necessarily trust it.***

Accepting the Status Quo doesn’t mean to not consider any possible change, it just means to be satisfied in the event that nothing changes… but of course, to have a Status Quo Bias means to be actively opposed to considering possible changes.

Rejecting the Status Quo doesn’t mean to not consider the current state of things as a positive concept. What it does mean is to consider what changes would lead you to better accept the Status Quo. In making these considerations, we must also consider our (egocentric) selves; after all it is our own realities that we are trying to enhance. Before we are willing to trust change, we have to determine under which circumstances we would be willing to accept it…

Quid Pro Quo – Latin
“Something for something”

As explained in the last note, when our considerations aren’t returned it is called a sunk cost. Before you get to the point where you are that invested, you should always evaluate what your potential gain is compared to your potential loss; tit for tat… this for that… what will you get for your considerations?

Outside of the Latin world, we refer to this as…

Reciprocity – noun
mutual exchange of commercial or other privileges

Notice that the definition doesn’t say the “even exchange”; it only has to be mutually agreed upon.Reciprocity is the first step to accepting and trusting change because it assures both parties that they will receive something out of the deal.

For me and my easily rejectable Status Quo, reciprocity serves as an invitation to a new reality… one where I don’t have to simply consider myself because somebody else is willing to consider me too.And remember, this type of generous thoughtfulness isn’t to be shrugged off… for as long as they are considering you, they are NOT considering themselves. It’s my theory that reciprocity is the foundation for trust and thus happiness…

However, trust cannot be developed without a further investment of our consideration… more on that next time.

The King's Law on Society: Promiscuity

**EXPLICIT CONTENT**

So... I have an honest confession to make... I enjoy sex.

Now that we have gotten that out of the way... I feel I can be honest about others now.
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PROMISCUITY DEFINED AND ANALYZED

We live in a very sexualized society. The concept that "sex sells" is nothing new, however it is now permeating into venues that were once sectioned off from its carnal influence. Now we got former Disney pop stars telling folks to "If You Seek Amy" (eff-u-see-k em-ee), current teenage Disney stars attempting to be sexy, Lil' Wayne using his daughter to convey how much he wants to fornicate with "Every Girl" (a song mentioning said teenage Disney star), and increasing wedlock childbirth rates that have turned a taboo topic into a TV Reality show (16 and Pregnant). Sex is still a selling point, so much so that now it doesn't hint at a lifestyle that was once expected to remain secret, it hints at a lifestyle that people would like to be more open to public acceptance... This includes anything from the fight for homosexual rights in America to women's fight with the sexually conservative public to feign disrepute as an effect of their sexual lives; the latter fight is what we will discuss today.

Women, or at least those women who would like to have the same degree of openness with their sexuality that men are afforded, have tried to force this issue by being honest about their sexuality (it's nature, it's preferences, it's frequency)... so much so that some don't care if you know who they are getting banged by right now... which is all fine and dandy, but if the people in your society "right"/write the "rules" on what is acceptable, and you are aware of the status quo... YOU CANNOT COMPLAIN WHEN YOUR ACTIONS ARE LABELED...

Promiscuity (n.) - miscellaneous mingling or selection of persons or things : indiscriminateness

So, the truth: Men have had and will forever have a strong reputation for being sexually promiscuous. However, we live in a society that has and seems to forever will forgive this as a natural occurrence as opposed to a sequence of bad decisions. To illustrate my larger point, I'll have to begin my discussion by explaining evolutionary psychology...

Evolution, for those of you living under rocks or are too religious to learn about it, is the THEORY that over time any species will adapt genetically to better survive in their environments. This is evidenced by the THEORY of "natural selection" in which individuals within a species will choose to only mate with those who will produce healthy (well-equipped to survive) offspring.

Even if you don't believe in evolution, you have to recognize that this THEORY of natural selection makes perfect sense. It's the reason why people date people who are attractive them... every feature that gets evaluated and judged are subconsciously ingrained as requisites for suitable mating.... facial features, hair quality, hairiness, height, muscle build, potential for obesity, genetically inherited disease potential, intelligence, inhibition and impulse control... all qualities that a mate would like to have us much control over when choosing the traits of their children and the individual who will help raise them.

The issue with humanity is that we are so "intelligent" that we have concluded that it is beneficial to use sex as an agent of dual functionality: procreation and enjoyment. Intelligence is reference here because as human we've determined that the one of the most intelligent non-human species would be the dolphin, (correct me if i'm wrong) the only other known creature to have sex for non reproductive reasons.

This is where "intelligence" gets somewhat nonsensical in relation to evolutionary psychology. As a society, we have pushed sexuality to a point we rely on scientific achievements (prophylactics and other forms of contraception) in order to divert the true purpose of sexual activity... so much so now that the purposeful result of sex, reproduction, is(now more so than not) an unwanted consequence of the action... Society is in the process of trying to understand sex to be more than what it is actually intended for, and as a result places a significance upon it that exceeds its substance.

**The true end to this is that the action that is intended to produce life is now manufacturing discomfort/death (via STDs), and society is trying catch up with its own destructive choices by finding cures for the sexually spread plagues.**
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Thus, even though it is not right that men have a variety of sexual partners overtime, it does correlate with the sexual behavior of a healthy breeding animal (I guess this is why women like to call men DOGS... which always bothers me because inference leads me to believe that "Dogs" only have sex with "Bitches", in the literal since at least). Women on the other hand, the gatekeepers of breeding, are supposed to choose the most suitable partner after observing what ever existing mating rituals, which for humans includes courting, talking, spitting game, establishing familiarity, etc. (ultimately - dating). Even while having non-reproductive sex this had been a standard in our society because the risk of pregnancy was significant enough to make natural selection of sexual partners more discriminating.

In short, people used to care who they were having sex with. This meant that the supply of sex from females was shorter than the demand... some dude technically shouldn't be getting any... of course our intelligence has also allowed a barter system that monetizes the value of the sexual experience, prostitution - if you can't prove you deserve it, go out and buy it.
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The truth of about WHOREs

Waged Helpers of Open Relation Ejaculation - they get paid to do what most will do for free, yet it comes free of commitment, no strings attached... it's the oldest profession in the world, it's foolish to think this is ever going away. Beyond the religious aspect of it being a career rooted in sin, prostitution is shunned by society because it contributes to actions that produce an unmarriageable society... male or female, nobody wants to marry anybody who has been overly promiscuous.

However, with procreation on the backburner, what women are really competing for is their right to exclusive partnership. In order to have a competitive advantage over the WHOREs, they offer sex earlier in the relationship and this TEMPORARILY keeps their partner's attention... that is until people came along that didn't need the WAGES or the RELATIONSHIP... drop the W and the R... what do you get? HOEs.

HOE is the label for the individual whose purpose in society is to Help Others Ejaculate... this is a key reason why the term is somewhat exclusive to females, because promiscuous males aren't necessarily helping others get off... they're getting themselves off. While HOEs might enjoy sex, what HOEs are really doing is providing sex for others to enjoy... at least WHOREs get paid to do this...

Have you ever met somebody who is very sexually active? so much to the point that they don't even always enjoy it, they're simply doing it to keep somebody else's attention? I think those are the real HOEs, the ones who are completely indiscriminant in their sexual life... but the word is used to label a larger group than just these women... some women are called HOEs when they're just sexually liberated and the make their decisions similar to how men make theirs... this is okay right?

From a male-chauvenist point of view, NO... but I actually don't think it to be much of a problem personally... It's actually the other women who have a problem with it. Women are much quicker to label another woman a HOE than a man is (another reason why the word is reserved for them and not men). Women are so competitive and at times feel entitled to what they desire so much so that they will HATE on other women and malign their reputations... the sad thing is, most women don't want to be HOEs but they want to be in the HOEs' shoes. Women, more so than men, determine how much promiscuity will get you labeled a HOE... if it's not vindictive women in competition for the men in question, then it's the women that are already in that man's life - their mother, sister, aunt, grandmother... If you are loose, you will never meet their standard.
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So what does this all mean?

I'm writing these rules, but I don't write these rules, I just observe what they are... promiscuity is NOT something to be pursue in order to drive a message of social gender equality into people's heads... that is a surefire way of having them discredit anything in your message to begin with. Even if you're the type of HOE who enjoys what you do, at the end of the day if you can be considered a HOE rather than a companion, something is wrong.

Women could actually run this world if they knew how much power they had... and not just sexual power (although the rest may stem from that), women have the ultimate power of persuasion... if they came together, they could have the world believing that open sexuality is the way all of us should live... but that will never happen. As quickly as a woman will stand up to declare her sexual liberty, another one will call her out of her name and tell that HOE to sit down.

While our intelligence has provided us venues to entertain and utilize the existence of HOEs, it has also provided barriers to ensure HOEs aren't viewed in high regard. Not only is it the (somewhat, if not blatantly oppressive) standard of acceptable womanhood that men have projected, but its the standards that women promote for themselves as well.

I guess the question really is... are we as a society too harsh on labeling HOEs, or not harsh enough?

LEAVE COMMENTS... WE'LL DISCUSS MORE NEXT TIME

Time Machine: The Gilded Semester Pt. 9 (Spring 07)

So the Fall of 2006 happened, and that's all some of us attempted to say about it at the time... but we all knew that things were going to be drastically changed in the very near future. As I said, we talk about things as if they aren't big deals... but when some people are having lines that people don't finish from, and others aren't having lines at all (for whatever reason) it actually starts to throw things out of wack... the cycle wasn't in tact any longer and as a result, student leadership and Greek Life would eventually be forced to adapt.

The Spring did however start of with good news for Black UT... This was the semester that the Almetris Duren Residential Hall was opened. Almetris Marsh Duren is a first generation Black UT historical icon. Click the link to get the abbreviated history... in addition to what Mama Duren is remembered by in that article, she also helped students organize and secure resources for some of Black UT's oldest student groups including Alpha, AKA, and Innervisions of Blackness Gospel Choir (now known as Innervisions Gospecl Choir - IVGC). This dorm building is one of only 3 buildings on campus to be named after a Black individual (the other two - the PCL (Perry Castaneda Library) and John Hargis Hall - the Freshmen Admissions building)

It was a good semester to come back proud of who we were. We had just survived a semester of ignorant shit and we actually came out with an opportunity to claim more of the campus and its services... administration and other student entities would be happy to oblige us as long as we didn't continue to bother them with protests and etc.

A committee that would work on getting our X-Lounge officially named "The Malcom X Lounge" was put together... this wasn't a new committee at all, but it would be the last time this committee would need to be formed.

Meanwhile there were two other committees on campus that were planning the design, placement, and unveiling of two new statues on campus - Barbara Jordan and Cesar Chavez. This was very important for a few reasons:

1. The MLK Statue was at this point the ONLY statue on campus of a non-white individual. Oddly enough, it was also the only statue NOT located in the main/south mall area and NOT facing south... you see, the architects that engineered the aesthetics of our campus ensured that important historical figures (i.e. The Tower, Jefferson Davis, George Washington, and several other slave owners from the antebellum era of American History) faced south to show respect to the Confederacy... Even the State Capitol faces south. The newer statues are reflective of how society and the campus itself has changed since the institution's founding.
2. The Cesar Chavez statue, much like the MLK statue, represented a group of people and a mentality of individuals on-campus and far beyond... the placement of this statue would work as a beacon... it would welcome new faces to campus and give them something to relate to, whereas when they walked on campus before it was just confedarate war heroes.
3. Barbara Jordan would be the third non-white statue figure, the second black statue, the first female statue, and the first permanent structure that represented members of the LGBTQ and disabled communities as well... needless to say, there would be some bickering as to which image of this woman would be the most acceptable.

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The first week of school started off differently this semester. Monday, the MLK Parade was cancelled due to inclimate raining and cold temperatures... it escalated to a point that school would be cancelled on Tuesday. I'm sure everybody had their own way of celebrating the College Snow Day, but at the G-Spot we coined a new phrase for our Monday evenings... GRAVITY NIGHT... because "it goes down".

ahhh.... nostalgia


Once things did get going again, BSA decided to change the tone of our meetings to a more social/less political tone in order to build a "family" culture for ourselves before we left for Nebraska in February. This was facilitated by the forcing of CP-time via the "meet and greet"... while some were upset that meetings started at 10 after as opposed to at 7 PM sharp, I think those 10 minutes helped people warm up to each other... for those who want to ride the nostalgia bus, remember these songs during meet and greet? "Wipe Me Down" by Lil' Foxx, "I Done Came Down" by Fat Al, "Morris Brown" by OutKast, "We Fly High" by Jim Jones, "Upgrade You" by Beyonce.... ok I'm done...

Outside of BSA, I don't really remember much in terms of what community organizations did this year. This could be due to a few reasons... A - I'm getting too old to remember this shit, B - there wasn't shit to remember, C - what I do remember outweighs what I don't...

There may be such a vast LACK of detail for the following reason...

King's Law: THE FRESHMEN ARE THE PULSE OF THE CAMPUS.

If the freshmen class is social then the community is social, if they are active then the community is active, if they are lame then the community is lame... In any given year, the efforts of the upperclassmen to maintain the quality of campus life will be comparable to the initiative exhibited by the freshman class.

So with that said, what do I remember?
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Big XII

This particular Big XII was a great one for UT... for the most part we had a bus full of students and we could all get along/be cordial. To be frank, alot of us had one hell of a trip... with a few funny stories.... alot of which wouldn't be shared with the community when we returned. What we did share was an award for the Most Improved BSA in the Big XII Council. This made it the 4th time in 5 years that UT received an award from the Big XII (we were the BEST BSA from 03-05...3 years straight). This award was good because it legitimized the amount of work we were doing and it also punctuated that BSA's year was already considered successful because we had definitely improved on the previous year's efforts.

The Freshman Action Team assisted in our efforts to be recognized by continuing with successful trends from the year before as well as starting some new ones. They had successfully upgraded the Talent Show in the fall and thereafter had begun to hold weekly study hours for interested students. It looked as if the F.A.T. was all of that, but the surface always looks better than what's underneath... What most of the exec board saw was a functional and organized group via the word of the FAT Chair... because I saw what happened the year prior and was once the FAT Chair myself, I understood what was really going on was an imbalance of power within their committee... This would become hurtfully evident later in the spring when the FAT had trouble organizing a budget proposal for another large scale program (that didn't end up happening). But I wasn't too upset about this... at least I had freshmen that were trying to do more. Freshmen weren't particularly seen searching for the mainstream leadership positions throughout the community. Some believed this to be a product of their study habits (which only holds probably 21.385% weight as an actual contention)... I'd attribute it more to their apathy about community issues. Maybe the upperclassmen choked them out - we did so much they felt there wasn't anything left for them to do... or maybe they never had an interest in it... regardless, it would make interest meetings much more interesting...

After our triumphant return from Lincoln, Nebraska, a GREAT opportunity became available... Barack Obama, a relatively-little-known senator from Illinois had recently went on Oprah and she coerced him into running for President.... jokes... but he had started his campaign and had announced a visit to Austin, TX. The primary organizers of his visit were the University Democrats (U-Dems), and although they had grown significantly in the 2 years prior, they didn't have as many black people involved as they would like. In order to get the word out quickly, they cosponsored their efforts with AACC . . . needless to say, people immediately began jumping on the band wagon. AACC and U-Dems drafted every student that they could in order to prepare for the crowd that was to be seated in the Gregory Gymnasium. This plan was axed 2 days into planning as they realized that over 10,000 people wanted to attend this speech... they moved the venue to Auditorium Shores, an outside venue.

The entertainment for the crowd consisted of live speeches from other notables as well as live music.... AND... The Alphas stepped for Obama... by the time we hit the stage there were over 17,000 people in attendance... standing in the drizzling precipitation waiting for their future President to address them... it really was beautiful, anybody who was there that day can attest to how powerful it was to have been even minimally involved... it would be the first time (out of three) that I met Mr. Obama.

Meanwhile, the administration on campus were making political moves as well... in an effort to appease students looking for a more diverse campus (or better yet a campus more reflective of its diversity) the DDCE headed by Dr. Vincent began interviews for possible faculty members who would be able to be assets to the University. One name that then and still now sticks out more than the others was a man from LSU that Dr. Vincent had worked with in the past. His name was Dr. Leonard Moore. He was initially invited to the university to lead a "round-table" discussion amongst a small group of student leaders about diversity and tolerance and how discomfort is vital to the development of both. The message actually wasn't half-bad, if you could get past the unnecessary yelling and his need to employ stereotypes as "the truth" in order to make an aggressive point... I noticed that he had a unique skill for entertaining folks through his banter, and that's how he draws them in... I just wondered what his overall message would be in the end....

It didn't take long to find out... he would be invited back for a second speech, this time it would be to a less exlcusive audience, and more black students in general. I could discuss everything he said, but I'll just discuss where he lost US... this nigga said that our community will never have unity without the involvement of the athletes. We responded to this saying that if we waited on them to fix our community we'd be holding our breaths forever (not to mention that most student leaders don't have faith in this theory). He then replies that if we ever wanted to be considered successful, we would change our meeting times to accomodate our schedule around athletes and their lives.... **crickets**... "Are you high?"

Like for real... crack, PCP, lean, the list goes on... he had to be on something to think that we would respond to some BS like that with a smile. What kind of self-respecting (and thus incredulously proud) student organization would willfully step out as athlete bops, and cater to their "needs"? Better yet, when did people start respecting their opinions (as they related to the community) and who was this???
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Mixed Student Union

This has to have been the most successful yet unsuccessful venture into student organizing from this year. It was a unique concept marketed with an above-average initiative for a mission about as vague and cloudy as Snoop Dogg's piss.

The Mixed Student Union was supposed to be an organization that discussed society in settings that allowed the point-of-view of anybody present, thus allowing a MIXture of cultures (which is how the name was derived). Their publicity efforts were off the chain... not only did they pass out flyers, but everybody at their table knew every vital program detail so that they could actually discuss it as they announced it. Furthermore, the members all had great networks of friends that would allow for maximum support at the programs. Unfortunately, the majority of the group's membership was undeniably fair-skinned and female... it soon became a joke to prod them with that they called themselves the "Mixed Student Union" due to their apparent mulatto membership "requirement". Where it all became a wash was the "Color Complex Forum" (similar to colorism/brown-paper-bag/"Imitation of Life" forums done before). Their was a panel set to discuss their views on colorism as the moderator for the evening hashed through main points for everybody to be in the same framework of discussion... sadly we would find out DURING the program was that the motivation behind what would become an inane series of questions about DATING, came from a random convo between an MSU exec member and an athlete about his dating preferences. Assuming that the majority of attendees would either side with her or the other, she place him on the panel in hopes of having "clash" in the discussion (which is actually a good thing, without disagreement, people don't analyze why they agree).... However what it actually became was a discussion about "why don't the athletes date the dark girls???"....

It kind of sucked for them because they actually seemed to have good intentions, and they definitely had a good following in terms of support. However, as per the community assumption theory, people sadly assumed it was a ploy to build a collective resume for Greek life... I'm not making this up... some came to this conclusion after assessing that the organization had more significance than substance in its beginnings... the reason why I'd agree with this assertion was because they wouldn't be active beyond this semester (and if they were, it wasn't active enough to be perceived)... worse things have happened to UT organizations... worse things have happened to people waiting to be in organizations...
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This had to be one of the funniest semesters in terms of the emotional imbalance of the female population.

As I have mentioned before... Greek Life works in a cycle. There were at least 50 girls waiting in line to be chosen by one of two organizations, and neither would have a line this semester. This hurt alot... why? The community sets up expectations and tries to be proactive at times in order to adjust. These random 50 had been running around campus looking for leadership, friendship, favor, and high GPAs... thus when this Spring came around, they had registered for the easiest classes they could (mostly electives) in order to lighten their academic load while being "busy". This is a common practice for alot of people approaching Greek Life... the saddest thing is that it is never discouraged (by sororities or fraternities). How is it that organizations that are nationally recognized for their commitment to promoting academic excellence employ slackers during intake... sounds like a retrogression of purpose to me... but that's another blog.

I digress once again, but the community expects people to go Greek... and thus disappear... and because of this, people start getting their excuses and "busy"ness ("business") plans together... and against the advice that they hear from day 1 (freshman year) they tell ALLLL of their friends about it. The general feeling of esteem in the female community was especially low when so many that were expecting to enter "business" realized that the market was closed for the semester... so they proceded to do them in the mean time... SMH

For a lot of women, this meant being themselves and getting back to their normal lives... which means (sadly for them... happily for the males) promiscuity flourished... from those in waiting and the Greeks themselves. When people don't have places to be at night and they expect to be busy/"busy", they tend to find other things to do with their time... and since they already planned their studying for the day... it's usually tomfoolery... this ultimately leads to their "moral character" (which is a prerequisite for Greek membership) being placed in question.

This led to a virtually forced ultimatum (not a real one tho) that the women would either a) stop pursuing greek life or b) pursue it extra hard. You saw alot of women drop off the scene in terms of showing interest at this time... the rest of them jumped on the "leadership" scene, thus mitigating the presence of male leadership on campus... the shit got all skewed at this point. To put it bluntly, there really are just TOO MANY positions labeled for "leaders" within our community. People started realizing this and as a result decided it was no longer relevant... especially within organizations that were already established and thus already headed in whichever direction (with or without the new leadership's help). In summation, leadership lost its value not only in the community, but also in regards to resume building within the community because everybody knew that a position didn't necessarily justify an individual's substance.
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Relays rolled around again... yay... and in terms of parties there's not much of a story for this year. Thursday night was shared by the Alphas and the Deltas. The Deltas secured Visions (the new age go-to venue... which was on its way to being played out) and us, The Alphas, secured Vicci for the only undergrad party to ever be thrown at the venue... shit was too playalistic... the place looks like it's owned by a cocaine dealer.

The Deltas party was expected to have their regular crowd, which at this point consisted of alot of the athletes... because of the happenings discussed in past blogs (fights) a lot of the male population decided not to attend their party... a lot of females followed suit... except for those who chose option B of the ultimatum above.

Vicci was just too tight of a venue... plus bruhs from other chapters traveled to support us, it truly was a good example of how college parties should be... no fights, no drama, no problems (except for a super long line that was moving extra slow).

The real problem with this Relays was circumstantial as opposed to consequential... the weather... after Thursday, it was cold as a polar bears toenails. This didn't stop the normal happenings from going as planned... The Kappas had their annual probate and introduced 5 new members (2 of them freshmen...), and the SGRhos present 2 new members. It did however stop a good number of people from hitting downtown on Friday and Saturday like normal. The Kappas' party wasn't affected by this, in fact they had to turn away individuals with pre-sale tickets to their party with a promise that it would be valid at the Saturday party... the same issue happened that night.... like I said, they know how to pack out parties.
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So... freshmen going greek... I'm going to approach this as real as I can, and I won't step on toes, I respect the two individuals that crossed that semester, but it is what is.

King's Law: FRESHMEN SHOULD RARELY/NEVER BE ALLOWED TO GO GREEK

There are a few good reasons for freshmen to go greek... they have longer to learn the way of "the yard" and how to work with it, they are connected with "the pulse of the community" because they are a part of it, they get their most unproductive semester out of the way, and it elevates their potential to do more for their chapter (via leadership, knowledge, etc).... so why is it bad?...

1. Freshmen Neophytes have ONE semester to establish themselves as an individual on campus. If they can't make a significant enough impression as an individual in that timeframe, their identity will be limited to their greek label thereafter.
2. Freshmen Neophytes have ONE semester to establish their GPA. They must be above a 2.5 to enter "business", but because of the stresses that semester can introduce, it is only responsible to consider Freshmen with a 3.5 or above, because a 1.5 or below in the "busy" semester will put them on academic probation quicker than they can recite "Invictus"
3. Freshmen Neophytes have not had an opportunity to work within other student organizations which deprives them of general knowledge which can be vital/helpful once they are members of their new organization (this info can be supplemented by an actual healthy/comprehensive intake process or by the experience of their LB/S's)
4. Freshmen Neophytes aren't vetted nearly long enough to evidence that they are truly qualified/ready for Greek Life.
5. Taking Freshmen Neophytes is counterintuitive to the "social fact" that Greek Life is worth waiting for...
6. Freshmen Neophytes (not all the time) have the potential to live in the clouds because they feel special from that day forth... if they do get like this, you can never fix it, because you can't take their status/"significance" away from them... humility will be scarce if not absent.

This is not to say that EVERY freshman who pledges will end up this way, because in all honesty, most don't (In fact I know quite a few notable Greeks who crossed as freshmen), but it is something people should look out for, especially in our new age... the freshmen are less mature as adults when entering the university, and on top of that they are not as well versed in the "natures" of Greek Life as we were in my day... it's just not a smart move for general risk management... then again, when and where organizations can get quality membership (of substance) nobody will judge them negatively for making that choice in the long-run.

Later on in the semester, the Omegas would probate three new members (thus ending their 6 semester hiatus from intake). This was a huge deal simply because it reinforced the fact that Greek Life wasn't dependent on the existence/survival of just a few organizations, rather it is dependent on the well-being of the collective community (including potential new members...)
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A few more events before I (finally) close this entry

This spring brought about a significant advancement in community culture... Mr. DST from this year would be crowned after a revealing self-expression that served as the individual's declaration of his sexuality. It would be the first time (in my time) that somebody would come out and be supported for it. Up until this point, it was definitely known within the community that there were individuals that identified at homosexual, but the common practice was "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"... people tended to act as if they didn't care, when the truth of the matter was that they would rather ignore the pink elephant in the room. After this year, it wouldn't be considered such a taboo subject to recognize that homosexuality existed in our community... but it would test the tolerance and understanding of the community as they adapted to this change... believe it or not, it was a pretty big change.

Towards the end of the semester, the SGRhos and the Kappas decided to cosponsor Friday's events during Sigma Week... the day's events consisted of Kappa Splash (the first year that it was a boat party, as opposed to a pool party) and the First Annual (subsequently, the only) StRHOll-Off... The boat party was planned to be over in time for the party goers to be back in time for the stroll-off. As a result, the Deltas (who were registered to compete) attended the boat party. When the stroll-off was about to start (extremely... even for black people) late, the SGRhos decided to start the show, and thus one sorority act was dropped from the program and the program in general was not executed as planned (this upset the SGRhos) ... I'd say it was a pretty good show... In the finals it was between us, The Alphas, and the men of Phi Beta Sigma... now even though I'm biased and will say to this day we could've won anyway (hehehe), the Sigmas really just wanted to make a show, so their final stroll, while very entertaining, also got them automatically disqualified because of its content (Whipped Cream Pies. . . . .). It was good times tho, until...

The boat partiers returned... there was a public argument that ensued between members of SGRho and Kappa... it involved conflicts between the two orgs and the conditions of their cosponsorship... not my business really so I won't throw that out there, but this was the note Greek Life would enter into Hope Week with... disarry, discontent, disconnect, and disrepute... these types of public altercations, without fail, are always at the least embarassing to black folks.

Additionally... Houston chapters of Kappa decided to take on the annual Greek Olympiad Stepshow for the TX A&M Chapter while they attempted to get re-established.... what ensued was one of the most talked about brawls between Greeks (specifically Nupes v. Ques) ever talked about. Upon hearing the story, it was one of those things that made you say "I wish I was there so I could say that it was a damned shame."
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Hope Week, my favorite week ever, came once again... a few notable things I remember....

On Wednesday, community service day, I went to Texadelphia with the people who came to do service with us and I had an interesting/entertaining conversation with some freshmen from that year (wow, I'm old... ya'll are seniors now...). The discussion basically hinted at the student leadership cycle that I keep referring to. 2 particular freshmen argued with me that what I was saying was full out mularchy... they would both be Greek by the end of 2007... I'm not wrong often (King's Law).

This year's Hope Week included a NEW program that was originally conceived by the BSA-F.A.T. It was called the "F.A.T.est Pool Party Ever". It was originally planned to be a cosponsorship with the Omegas, but because of scheduling conflicts and lack of time to plan it before Hope Week, I proposed to the FAT and BSA exec that we do it during Hope Week, thus allowing a less strict budget and providing more hands to assist in the execution of the program. I think this is one of the best things I've ever done in Alpha, BSA, community... it is a guaranteed actual co-sponsorship that promotes campus unity and fun annually. Some criticized me for stealing this program from the FAT... but I dont think I have... especially since I have always made sure the FAT have been involved in the program since then (at what level... that's disputable but I don't chair it every year either). If anything, in my defense, I'd say I placed the program in the hands of something more consistent... the frat will always have a consistent contingency whereas the FAT will absolutely NOT, and BSA is not guaranteed to have members who worked on the program the previous year either.... at any rate... this was a great cook-out/party... it was fun... and at the end of the night, we all came together.... Sadly, we came together to fight some random Austinites who were talking shit at the pool. Like I always say... fights are embarassing... but as some of my friends would say... that dude needed his ass whooped. UT folks won the fight, but we closed down the cook-out immediately after apparently because the dudes who lost didn't know how to take their ass whoopins like men and threatened to go retrieve their guns from their car. Needless to say, we didn't want anybody getting shot.

The next night was the United Colors Jam... which was at a smaller house than usual... normally we were located in West Campus at the Tejas House, however their new membership wasn't as keen on the amount of negros at their house as the group before. So we played the game and threw it at my frat brother's house. Good Points - it was a safe party, and it went off without an issue (in terms of police, tabc, ambulances, etc...) however it would be the first public display of Greek Life's house of cards beginning to tumble... the scapegoat from the AKA Fall 06 issue decided to attend the party... as did her former linesisters... from what I hear their beef escalated at some point during the party... if it did, I was too drunk to remember... regardless, it was now public knowledge to everybody in the community what had(n't) gone down in the past semester and how everybody felt about it...

It never made since to me why the dirty laundry had to be aired, or why people preferred that it not be held private... I'm guessing because people would rather submit their opinions to the public and let them have control over how to handle it (and at this point, it's still not okay on-campus to be "paper", to act as somebody who is, or to tolerate it)...

It had always seemed illogical to let the entired (un-unified) community have control over that which was created by a select (supposedly unified) few... it's not the community's fault or responsibility to handle it... or was it? Maybe not in the old mentality, but whether the older generation realized it or not, the messiness that allowed such privileged information to fall into the public's hands would change the dynamics of how the community approached and resolved complex issues that were once none-of their business... Once it became their business, it became their issue to deal with... so how would they decide to do it???...

In the upcoming blogs...
finding a solution v. finding a scapegoat

Consideration Accounting 101

If you missed the last blog about "happiness", essentially all you need to get from it is that "happiness" exists when things/people that make you happy are present. This break started with me being with the most important people outside of my family, transitioned into a week of pure isolation from everybody, and just recently I had the opportunity to reunite with a group of individuals that will continue to define this phase in my life. I had a great time... but it only lasted one day. Now I'm back to the drawing board, I must redefine what things/people will make me happy now that I fully understand that they're no here... undoubtedly I'm a bit uneasy at this point.

The reason for this is simple... Ownership. People love having things. Ownership implies comfort, convenience, satisfaction, and availability. Ownership provides security and thus a sense of stability. However, when those things we'd like to claim are not there, we are insecure because there is no guarantee that we can access, use, and thus be satisfied by the object of our happiness. That's because we view these objects as:

property - noun
something at the disposal of a person, a group of persons, or the community or public

Today I thought of an interesting analogy to discuss this, however I'm afraid that it may only be appealing to business major/minor people... but I'll keep the schooliness out of it as much as possible.

Property is at our disposal. It is ours to obtain, own, squander, give, trade, sell, buy, or even forget. But any piece of valuable property (such as cash) must and should be accounted for. Accountants have a (not so) simple system to do this... I'm going to make it very simple, so simple in fact I expect my accounting friends to scold me about this, lol.

Observation I:
In "accounting" (or more basically, "counting") we have "debits and credits", or more basically gains and losses. For every gain, there is a loss elsewhere, for example: you buy a shirt for $20, you debit (gain) one shirt valued at $20 and you credit (lose) cash valued at $20. Because of how this works, every transaction is said to "zero out" which means what you gain is always worth what you lose (theoretically).

Obersvation II:
The property that you own and can do with what you please today is called an "asset". Strangely in the world of accounting, assets also include things that are owed to you (that you may never actually own). This "account" is called a "receivable" because it is property that is expected to be gained... so we act like we already have it.

Observation III:
The property that you own but is owed to somebody else is called a "liability" because it is property that the owner is liable for until those assets are rendered to the "creditor" or gainer. As the "debtor" you are in debt and have an obligation to pay because the creditor has already counted the asset you own as something that they own (so technically you have it, but you know it's not yours).

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Isn't it funny how some if not most of our "happiness assets" are never really ours even though we account for them as if they were? Think about your relationships, friendships, your accomplishments, the recognition owed to you... they are owned by you and are thus assets.. but are they really "at your disposal"? Their value is more based on what you can "receive" from them in the future as opposed to their current worth. The truth about these types of assets are that they cannot be accounted for because they are not tangible, and they cannot be used to settle debts. This makes them invaluable (without standard comparative value) or priceless. Thus when we gain or lose them, the other side of the transaction usually involves an asset with similar characteristics: consideration. The reason why this transaction "zeroes out" is because "happiness assets" are all forms of consideration as well.

The problem with our calculation of these assets is the expectancy of our "receivables"... In the business world, companies will count their receivables as an asset knowing that some of those funds will never reach their accounts. They will eventually debit their receivables account for "bad credit debt" via a "write off" when they realize that they are not going to receive what they are owed... In the accounting of happiness, many individuals tend to forget that consideration transactions have no promise of return (much because there is no common standard for valuation). Thus because consideration is at "zero value" to begin with, a write off of bad debt doesn't change the budget of emotional frugality; when we realize we're not getting what we are owed, we become upset because of our own valuation standards and not because of that of others.

Example, you say? ok... A friend of yours is bored, you have other shit to do, but you volunteer your time to chill with them so that they don't have a bad day. You just credited your friendship "X" points of considertion and debited your time "X" points of consideration (which to you has actual value because you cannot get your time back). On your birthday, your friend doesn't come through... you are pissed because you feel that it's now their turn to give some time or some consideration, but any considearation you receive may or may not be of equal value to you because your friend may not think your consideration was that valuable... you are great at picking friends obviously...

Thus you acted accordingly... you counted your receivable consideration as owned, only to find out you weren't going to get it back. Unfortunately for us, it's easier said than done to "write off" our friends with "bad debt" because our consideration is spent and thus we already feel invested. In accounting they call this type of investment a "sunk cost" which means that the money is spent and the investment is depreciating in value (kinda like spending $2000 on a car that breaks next month *sad face*). What the accountants will tell you is that you should disregard financial options based on the fact that you spent this money, because the money and the correlating asset is already gone... in other words, don't make decisions based on a preserving a lost cause. In the end you could blame your friend for being inconsiderate, but it's just not logically sound because in the end you chose to value them with your consideration... the bad decision was really on you, not them.... the idea is to prevent any further waste of your consideration.

After analyzing all of this, I guess it really did make the most emotional frugal sense to base the valuation of my consideration on others' opinions, because at least then I could accurately predict what kind of consideration I would receive in return... however this is where the analogy starts to fizzle.. why? because people lie (and omit and euphemize)... and more often then not, they have bad debts.

It is apparent to me now what a recession really is... I feel as if I have been the credit card company with a few loyal billpayers and a bunch of people who will never grant me my "receivable" consideration. As any company would do I'm expecting to write them off for "bad debt", but beyond that, what do I do?

The trade of consideration is scarce these days.... so how do we make good decisions about who to trust with our most coveted asset, our consideration? And furthermore, how can we ensure that the return of our consideration will continue to make/keep us happy?

Comment Please...

Time Machine: Us and Them Pt. 8 (Comprehensive Observation)

For those of you who are reading my thoughts but don't know who "the thinker" is, I feel it's important that I bring you up to speed.

I am King Anthony Derrell Williams, I. I call myself "King" because I treat my son as royalty, a "Prince" if you will. I tend to try and live up to the name, but I guarantee you that regardless of how arrogant/cocky I may come off (or may actually be), I'm much more than a ball of ego-waste.

Growing up as an Army kid, you learn not to create strong attachments with anything outside of your home, because nothing else is constant... You're going to have to move away at some point and leave behind your school, your friends, your regional hobbies... this means I never got too involved in school activities before we finally settled in TX (in other words, I've never played organized sports).

Moving to Texas would further prevent any involvement in extra-curriculars. We were renting a house in San Antonio while trying to sell our former homes in Clarksville, TN and Woodbridge, VA. Paying 4 rents (my dad lived in an apt. in Marlyand) with one household income means alot of things...

1. Moms was working 2 jobs...


2. I had no ride to/from school other than the bus


3. no ride meant no extra-currics/sports for me


4. The extra hours weren't going to leisure buys, so I was still that dude in school with only one new pair of shoes per year and no name brand clothing.

By the time I was in high school, the fam's financial situation started to improve, however it was too late to do sports because of the way things are in SA. If you don't play in middle school, you'll never get PT in HS, simply because the coaches want as many students as possible to get scholarships, so they push the best/most proven ones forward. The reason they can't just promote everybody is because there aren't enough scouts that visit SA; there aren't very many flights that arrive straight into SA (as opposed to Austin, Dallas, or Houston), so when scouts do arrive, their attention is boss-hogged.... I digress... It wasn't a problem, I just realized that I couldn't play sports... that doesn't mean that I couldn't be cordial with my fellow students... right?
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I would soon find that regardless of if I looked like them, knew the same people they knew, or hung out at the same places they did... we didn't belong around each other. Tony and athletes (mainly football players) and like oil and water. I've always been very vocal about my contempt for those people... i was about to say "individuals" but that's the problem... if they were "individuals" I wouldn't feel the need to lump them into a special category of random coons I'd rather ignore... "individuals" who plays sports have always had my respect. However, people who are simply a part of the athlete pack don't really get much attention from me unless I'm observing the dumb shit they're getting into.

But how is that right Tony? How can you "hate" on them like that? What did they do to you?

I've always had to field these questions to the people who try to defend the others, as if they're helpless. Essentially, it's not right for me to perpetuate another unjustified venue of self-segregation within the Black community... and if you're a reader, you know that I don't HATE these coons, I just dislike them and I believe that to be harmless... but what did they do to me? Some answers aren't as concrete as an event, or a justification.... sometimes it is possible to just not like a muthafucka...

I mean over the years, I tried (... I really tried...) to find redeeming qualities for the GROUP that I have repeatedly exhibited verbal disdain toward. I'm reminded of a time where sports brought large populations together for a common trivial purpose, to be entertained by competition. The entertainers/athletes began to realize their importance to this trivial cause. Some used it as a platform to liken themselves to superhuman/hero status... others actually became heroes...I'm reminded of Black athletes breaking important ground in arenas where we were once not allowed to play... I remember stories of INDIVIDUALS such as Paul Robeson, Fritz Pollard, Arthur Ashe, Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown, Tommie Smith and John Carlos... I mean I'm reminded of a time where these really were heroes because some leagues, and more specifically some teams (and other teams) just didn't want US playing in their sport... I think somewhere between Malcolm and Martin being taken from us and forced integration, people forgot about the struggle... and not what it means to struggle, but the fact that we ever had one... Instead we're stuck with a bunch of Pac-Man Jones-ass dudes walking around campus like the concrete they walk on is sacred.

Ever since High School, they (the one's who helped me form my negative opinions about them all) have been offered care-free rides through the same paths that I had to achieve my way through. They end up being spoiled and handed everything where in the past their requests/needs would've been completely ignored, but they ignore that fact. And while other students are on campus trying to ensure the retention of our rights and privileges as Black students (including the athletes), we got these coons making a case for anybody with views in opposition to our contention....and I'm supposed to be cool with these muthafuckas?!? WELL BREAK OUT THE FRIED CHICKEN AND LET'S HAVE A PARTY... THE ATHLETES ARE HERE!!!

It also doesn't help that my intelligence is always challenged or insulted by this mob that lacks individuality. If there is one thing that I will always take as disrespect without exception, it's a shot at my intelligence. I will never be anybody's fool or be considered stupid. And if I am to you, that's fine as well... I just don't respect your system of thinking because I know that to be an irrational conclusion... I will admit (on my part) that it is childish/harsh to assume them all to be of one mind/likeness, but I avoid more potential ignorance that way... there are times that I'd like to be proven wrong... this is one of them, but I remain correct based on my 9 years of "student-athlete" observation.
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Student v. Student-Athlete (Athlete-Student, maybe?)

By definition of purpose, as opposed to action, a student is somebody whose objective is to be educated and recognized for the completion of set curriculum. What this means is if you are at least trying or you at least want your degree you are a student. The issue with this is that most athletes don't seem to care about any type of scholarly advancement... it's usually about getting to the league/getting paid, getting women (at least they don't discriminate by race), or getting attention... no matter how retarded they have to act or sound in order to receive it.

I'm not the only one who has felt this way, that's why over time the black community has developed an "agree to disagree" social construct with the athletes in order to minimize irresolvable disputes... they do them, we do us... and as result, they aren't too much considered "students" by those on the other side of the veil. The athletes may not use the same logical brightline to dichotomize our groupings, however they understand it as well... they hang out amongst themselves the same way we do. This is to be expected though, sports organization is modeled after familial structures which facilitate strong social bonds between teammates. This helps to build their trust for one another and makes cooperative game play more likely and more effective.... they don't to much like applying this theory to anybody who's not on the team though... they don't rely on the same comforts in racial/ethnic similarities that the rest of us do, cuz "Massa" aka Coach, got them covered.

Anybody not accompanying them on the team (via assumption theory) is

1. a benefactor - somebody who gives charitably in order to impart well wishes upon the recipient


2. a bopper - somebody looking to get something from the person in question; these advances are usually only entertained when it's a sexual favor


3. a hater.... because natural if I don't want to give you anything or dont want to take anything from you... I don't like you...????


4. a nobody... and they'll attempt to treat you as such.

Because it's their job to be physical, they run an automatic assumption of physical superiority... this assumption happens to get exposed periodically... most recently/frequently in 2005-06, there were the Football Afterparty fights. Since then, personal beefs have been squashed and we have returned to the "agree to disagree" based segregation of social interests in the community. Sadly, I think things are actually best that way.

Some may be offended by what I'm saying, or question my ability to be cordial/friends with any athlete if these are my opinions... as I stated before, there is a difference between somebody who owns their own identity and happens to play a sport, and somebody who lets the sport define them and who they are (significance v. substance). The issue he is, because of our segregation, the things that define their significance/substance are not the same things that would determine ours... while institution that pays for their "education" lumps them in as a part of the general black demographic (as to suggest they are a part of the community), the truth couldn't be more scarce if you tried to infer from those context clues.

Over time, instead of relying on each other for advocacy, support, camaraderie , or general comfort based on our similarities... students and student athletes have decided to let the differences keep us apart in hopes that we don't bump heads to often.

The main agents in this segregation however would be the students... the ones who avoid contact, conversation, and cordiality with the athletes... yup that'd be people like me. Why? cuz they're not here for what I'm here for (usually). I don't feel the need to give anybody the benefit of the doubt about their motives or their stance as a black college student when they ignore community issues that they could influence (for the better in most cases). I don't underestimate the student-athlete's potential influence... I just refuse to overestimate the relevance or significance of their presence in the community... a National title doesn't help make the campus a place that WE can all "home".... it simply takes more than that.

... While this seems like a random rant, it would end up being a heated debate in the future semesters at UT... especially once Dr. Moore came over from LSU.

**For the record, these observations are of male athletes... I will chill with somebody from the Womens Track Team ANYDAY**