Yesterday was my first-ever stint on the radio. I’d give myself about 12 points, 7 rebounds. That is to say, I didn’t embarrass myself at all, but I would like to have come a lot stronger. As one of my friends said, I didn’t even drop any classic “Tooleyisms.” Not one metaphor, nothin. You know, it would’ve been nice to drop somethin like 25 and 13. But if I get another chance, I’m gon’ REALLY come strong. There’s not gonna be any question that it was me on the radio - or at least the people who know me aren’t gonna be like, “That was you?”
At any rate, one of the topics we discussed was the “We Gotta Do Better” show, formerly known as Hot Ghetto Mess. Because I was a little nervous and playing it cool, I didn’t really get loose. And I know I get a late pass for this, but still. I’m slappin down my late pass and representin all over the place.
While I can comprehend the consternation behind the concept of the show, I can’t co-sign. Okay, yeah, the images are unflattering. And yeah, there might be some power issues in terms of who’s behind the camera and ostensibly poking fun at whom. But you know what? Where I’m from, once you put yourself out there, you get what you get. A prom tux made of an Iverson jersey? That’s putting yourself out there. Let me draw you a parallel.
I’ve been workin out this summer. Put on a few pounds too, but not exactly the way I wanted to. My initial plan was to drop down to swell up. Instead, I put on some weight without really getting the cuts I wanted. To remedy that, I’ve been running regularly. Since I’m trying to cut weight and I know that the majority of body heat exits through the head, I almost always wear a knit hat when I run. Along with the hat, I generally go with at least 2 layers, with the top layer being a long-sleeved shirt. All that to say, I know that when I’m running, I look ridiculous. Especially when I’m all kitted up like that and it’s about 93 degrees. I don’t do it for the attention, but I know I draw attention to myself and I’m sure that people who see me think I must be more than a li’l bit crazy. So if the camera crew for WGTDB rolled up on me, I assume that they would at least consider taking a picture of me. Ridicule is the price for looking ridiculous.
But my example fails at one point: while I look patently crazy when I go out to run, I’m not going out with the intent to be seen. A prom tux is made to be seen. Especially when we talk about posing for portraits, which is where many of the pictures on the website come from. That’s just asking to get joned on. Naw. Really, it’s demanding it. And me personally? I don’t mind it if people oblige. After all, I don’t think it’s like most of us would walk by somebody who was oddly-attired without saying anything.
The whole ‘picking on the poor’ element holds no water with me for a couple reasons. First and most importantly, poverty is no exemption from personal responsibility. Meaning that with every choice, there are consequences. In this case, the significance is limited, but if you go out tacky, people are gonna jone. Simple as that. That’s not about being poor, that’s just the way life is. Is it possible to derive some larger sociological point from this? Yup. Is it necessarily accurate? Nope.
Which leads to my second point. If my poverty is my defense, then wouldn’t I exempt myself by spending big money to be ostentatiously tacky? An NBA jersey tuxedo, though? For real? And yeah, fashion is relative, but come on. When I look at the people on the HGM website, the way I cringe at them is no different than the way I cringe at pictures of myself from back in the day. (Well, not really, cuz I was never all that close to the curve on fashion. My moms wasn’t goin for all that. You know I never even got to have a pair of parachute pants? Back then I thought she was tryina kill me, but I don’t mind it so much now.)
Of course, with all that, in the Bible it says, “What does a poor man gain by knowing how to conduct himself before others?” so I guess it’s all vanity.
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