THE LITA CHRONICLES

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zcnNq4YbGQ)

So we’ve all been to the family summer cookout, right? Typically there is that one Uncle Leroy or Auntie Wanda that gets a little too saucy from the purple crown royal bag and they end up giving the long “black sheep of the family” speech. Kanye West is the Uncle Leroy of our generation in the music industry and now he wants to spread his foolishness across the board. 

He had one of his classic Uncle Leroy moments at the Video Music Awards by giving a long drawn out speech resulting in him announcing that he plans to run for President in 2020. I thought it was a joke when I initially had time to process his latest actions to create buzz about himself but I quickly learned that Mr. West is indeed quite serious about his aspirations to run for President.

Now I am a firm believer in two things: be confident and know what your limitations are. Yeezy is a musical genius. He has produced great hits such as “Late Registration”. His lyrics are often very thought provoking and clever. No one can ever take away the obvious notion that he is a talented artist.

When Yeezy had his umpteenth Uncle Leroy outburst it spoke to the one flaw that I feel that he is often wrongly praised for, his self centered God like ego. Now as I mentioned before yes everyone should be confident in their abilities but we must also remain grounded to have the humility to know when something is not for us. Mr. West’s ability to dominate the rap game and build an empire in an industry that doesn’t favor artists being able to hold their own is admirable but in no way shape, form or fashion does that qualify him to run our country.

I truly believe that his hopes to be a serious candidate in 2020 is a sign of him being surrounded by people who are not real with him. The job as The President of The United States of America is something that requires experience and a mindset to be able to think of the people first. 

I watched ‘Ye on The Jimmy Kimmel show recently. He talked about himself for a smooth 5 minutes without interruption solely about himself. That alone proves to me that he lacks the ability to listen to others to be able to make a sound observation about any situation. Being POTUS requires a certain type of poise and reserve which Yeezy lacks as well. Where is the proof of his basic knowledge of public policy, foreign policy, compression of the military, and/or social issues? Him being rich and having status in no way gives him solid qualifications to run for POTUS. His random outbursts of angry banter, which is he is known for, during a meeting with another country could mess around and get our shores bombed for God’s sake. 

What is even more of a funny thought is that we live in a day in age where our society takes him seriously and he actually has some solid support from his fans. He has gotten nods of support from Ice Cube and Alec Baldwin. WTF? Is everyone in Hollywood on 90% pure cut Columbian cocaine? The only issue with receiving that support is that the demographic of those that support him have been proven to be fickle and lack the ability to commit to changing serious social issues. Sure they may create social media websites supporting him but will they hit the streets to create a serious campaign is the true question. If he runs he will be our version of clown ass Ronald McDonald Trump. 

Ok some of you may say that his bravery to run will inspire children to one day do the same. True but it all comes back to whether he will be taken seriously or not. Can you imagine him at a debate? Or on tour across country campaigning? I will not vote for Kanye West the same way that I will not vote for Ronald McDonald Trump. Pickings are already extremely slim when it comes to weeding out the crooks in suits when an election is on the horizon.

I think ‘Ye should utilize his platform to really touch the lives and imaginations of children in a more effective way. Hopefully he rethinks his decision and will recalibrate his future endeavors to get into the government game.

Do you support Kanye West’s attempt to run for POTUS in the future? 

This was my first attempt at making homemade turkey burgers and I must say they came out pretty tasty. Lately I have been eating much healthier and watching my portions.

Here is what I used to make this:

½ of HEB 99% Lean Ground Turkey

½ cup of sweet onion

3 shavings from a red bell pepper

1 honey whole wheat burger bun

2 slices of tomato

1 handful of lettuce

Any salt free seasoning of your liking

Step 1: Chop up all onions and place in a bowl

Step 2: Squeeze ½ of the 99% lean turkey meat out of the packaging into the bowl

Step 3: Use a salt free seasoning and kneed everything together

Step 4: Use your palms to create balls of the turkey meat and place on your George Foreman Grill

Step 5: Flip once and place on the whole wheat honey burger bun w/ tomato and lettuce

In today’s world it has become almost normal, if not expected, to see interracial couples but what about intercultural couples? You know the couples that both appear to be for the same background but if you knew them you would soon learn that appearances can often fool the naked eye.

My boyfriend is from Nigeria (Igbo) and I am from Chicago (African-American). Previous to me dating him I had been exposed to and somewhat immersed in the Nigerian culture by a sorority sister. You know, the basics: attended a grand and luxurious Nigerian wedding, feasted on piles of Jollof rice, and enjoyed watching the cat and mouse game between the “Uncles” and the state side version of “Runs Girls” in some local clubs here.

My sorority sister hipped me to the stereotypes that Nigerians have been exposed to about African-Americans and vice versa. Now growing up in my household I was groomed to have an immense amount of Black pride and to always respect various cultures/ethnicities. The picture was painted to me that Africa was “home”.  

When my sorority sister told me that there may be some of the older “Aunties” (Nigerian women of age) who may toot their noses up at me when they see me and my boyfriend together I was genuinely shocked. This is such a common occurrence that my friends and my boyfriend have forewarned me to ignore the prejudice encounters that I will experience. I thought to myself, “But wait. I’m Black too. What’s the beef?” The “beef” is that we are not considered the same type of “Black”. There’s a term, Akata, used by Naija people to describe African-Americans. Now there are some I am sure that use it in a derogatory manner to be Petty Bettys but overall it isn’t meant or used in a negative way.

Here in America for those of us that are raised to uphold Africa up on a pedestal the idea of our connection to “home” is romanticized. Somewhere in history the generations before us who were finding their way after slavery, the Jim Crow era, and the Civil Rights Movement concocted a fable that everyone on the continent of Africa lived as one big happy family free of division in each respective region, country, city and community. For example, just because Sally and John are from Africa they can come from two totally different countries. Even in the event that they do come from the same country they may be descendants from different tribes with different languages, customs, and traditions. Its the same way when you compare Northern African-Americans to Southern African-Americans. Our traditions, dialect, and general day to day lives differ on various levels. 

Here in Houston there is a large Nigerian community so naturally there are Nigerian men and women who do date/marry outside of their community. The issue is this, the reputation of AA (African American) women specifically as a whole has been tarnished. On a national and international level because of the less than stellar examples of AA women on reality shows acting less than lady like and more like wild hooligans is the image that can precede someone like myself before someone gets to know me. So it is understandable on some level why the elders in the Nigerian community serve a little side eye closely watching to see if I will twerk for a buck but at a certain point it’s like come on now, really?

Now it has been quite the interesting experience running across other African-Americans who also make assumptions in regards to my intercultural relationship. For AA’s that were not raised to learn about and explore different cultures they do tend to ask me ignorant things about my boyfriend’s culture. It’s really sad but I have to laugh because with the internet at everyone’s fingertips and for people to still assume that my boyfriend grew up in a hut and will take me on as a 3rd wife is hilarious. Seriously? It’s called G-O-O-G-L-E people. Use it. Embrace it. It is your friend. Lol.

 Also I have found that other AA women assume that my boyfriend is either insanely rich paying for my every need/want or that he is the 2015 version of Coming To America’s very own Prince Akeem who is has a bevy of women to fulfill his dreams to sow his “royal oats”. It’s almost laughable to me to be honest because it wholeheartedly feeds into the stereotype that AA women date Nigerian men for the sole purpose of some financial gain. 

Seeing that I am a deep thinker and I enjoy probing the deeper meaning of someones words I like to explore the true meaning of those accusations/assumptions that come my way from time to time. So when someone jokingly suggests that my boyfriend is somehow with me because we have an “arrangement”, I ask “So you see me as the type to pimp myself out? Is that what you’re saying?” Typically they laugh it off, politely explaining away their ignorance and I am left bathing in the enjoyment of smacking that person dead in the face with their own ignorance. 

I am blessed to be dating a man who comes from a family that did not prejudge me because of where I was born and raised. His mom, brother, sister, cousins, and friends are genuinely down to earth people who looked at me for who I am as an individual. It makes our dating experience much easier in a sense of not having to take on the “its us against the world” mindset. He and I have found a balance between our cultural backgrounds that works for us. So when those moments of laughable ignorance questioning his reasons for dating an Akata woman, we say “So what?”

 Do you know of another couple that is in an intercultural relationship or are you yourself in one? What interesting encounters and experiences have you had? 

5 Easy Box Braid Styles Tutorial | September 18th @ 12:30pm

As promised, every Friday I will be uploading a NEW video on my YouTube Channel: MonaLita