EVERYBODY! Cross out the Word Negro on Your Census!

In filling out my 2010 Census form I noticed that listed in the category of race is the word NEGRO. I'm appalled that any member of the Census Bureau would think that having NEGRO on the form was appropriate. To say it's necessary for older members of our society to know in which category they fit because 56,000 people, out of millions, actually wrote the word in during the 2000 census is RIDICULOUS!!!! That's like taking a census of everyone in Washington DC and because 5,600 people wrote Washington, Dumb Crap instead of Washington, District of Columbia, you mandate that all new maps list Washington as Washington, District of Columbia/Dumb Crap!!! Sounds ludicrous doesn't it? Just about as ludicrous as the census including the term Negro for members of society who are already asked to racially identify themselves when they get government issued ID or Driver's License. They do so without the ASSistance or "simplification" of the word NEGRO and "miraculously," they've been able to identify themselves correctly within the parameters given.

To include the term Negro was an egregious step backwards for the Census Bureau and the country and for that I say shame on Census Director Robert Groves and Nicholas Jones, Chief of the Census racial statistics branch and anyone else who believed that including the term NEGRO was necessary!!! It is truly a sign that although this country has come a long way in the 40-plus years since the Civil Rights Movement there is still a long way to go before the respect due is an automatic and not a question! In this time, I am reminded of an interview that I did with Professor Griff a member of Politically and Socially conscious rap group Public Enemy,(see video below). After asking him a question about the derogatory names and terms used in music, he said "It's not what you're called it's what you respond to!" I thought he had a point then and I think he has a point now.

Filling out the Census is important, so I will do so, but I'm crossing out the term Negro. I won't respond to that!!! I am urging EVERYONE, no matter the race or nationality to draw a line through the word Negro on the census form as well. Lets stand together as we did over 40 years ago and say together to the Census Bureau and anybody else in Washington, "This is Not appropriate or acceptable!" They do not have a "Consensus" when it comes to using the term NEGRO. Maybe if they get more entries with the word crossed out than written in we can finally bury this word once and for all!

d-the-VIP

I don't condone what Tiger did, but guess what???

I'm not a fan of Tiger Wood's as a person nor have I ever been! I've had the "pleasure" of being up close with Tiger and seeing first hand the arrogance that made him think he was invincible. I watched that same arrogance propel him to victory in competition. He is undoubtedly the greatest golfer to ever pick up clubs, even if he is not the squeaky clean "moral compass" most thought he was.

Tiger screwed up BIG TIME! He's embarrassed his wife, jeopardized his family, both physically and emotionally, and has most certainly disappointed his mother. To them he owes his apologies. They're the ones that he promised fidelity and respectability, not the the companies who have made millions from his endorsement, not the fans who have watched him play with passion and integrity each and every time he's stepped on the green, and certainly not the media, who "ASSUMED" he would be, "Mr. Clean",crowned him as such, and sat him on a pedestal reserved for our celebrated deity's, otherwise known as celebrities.

I don't condone what Tiger did, but guess what??? He's human! And as such he will make GREAT decisions and POOR decisions. But who are we to judge???? Who are we to say his public apology wasn't "good enough"? Who are we to constantly rehash his mistake and comment about whether his wife should stay or leave? Tiger's wife and mother are the only ones with the right to chastise him. God is the only one who has the right to judge him. The rest of us need to be thankful that our lives aren't subjected to the white, hot, spotlight of fame, because the scandal that could be dug up in some of our backyards, might make Tiger's situation look tame. We should all think about that before giving our commentary.

~d-the-VIP