EddieFrancisNOLA's Blog

Have you ever watched a political debate and wished the politicians would go clean OFF on each other?  Here are some responses that I think some of us would truly appreciate.  Enjoy!

20. I know I am but what are you?

19. I'm rubber and you're glue. What you say bounces off me, and sticks on you.

18. Let's talk about your proposed policy . . . the stupid one.

17. Truth be known, nobody likes you.

16. You got kids? You do? Poor kids.

15. You got kids? No? Don't have any.

14. Clearly, you didn't pay attention in civics class . . . or English . . . or math . . . or anything else.

13. Shut up.

12. Y'all smell that? That's that BULL$hit coming out of my opponent's mouth.

11. Why are you here?

10. Everybody knows you go to church to pray and beg for votes, Beelzebub.

9. You're an a$$hole.

8. My daddy kicked your daddy's a$$.

7. F . . . you.

6. I knew you were stupid . . . but DAMN.

5. It is a known fact that your most endearing qualities dripped down your mother's leg.

4. You're a bastard and everyone in your home town can prove it.

3. Who, besides your dysfunctional family and gene pool-challenged community, would vote for you?

2. Kiss my black a$$ (even if said candidate is white).

1. Ya daddy . . . whoever the hell he is.

Maybe this "self-interview" will be more therapeutic than anything. Now, I cannot tell a lie. I saw this on another BP member's page. Had to jack it.

CAREER
Blogger (B): So what DO you do?
Eddie (E): Media and entertainment. I'm the public relations director at a university, a part-time radio producer/personality, a speaker, speaking coach and stand-up comedian.

B: Out of all of that, what do you enjoy the most?
E: Without a doubt, speaking. Speaking has given me a foundation for everything I do now. I feel free when I'm in front of a group. And I also know that I'm making valuable connections with audiences when I speak, because they see the best I have to offer.

B: When did you start speaking and media, respectively?
E: I started media work at 18 years old as a production assistant at WWL-TV. I really sunk my teeth into public speaking in my teens. My love for it manifested itself at the age of 16 when I joined the St. Augustine High School speech & debate team. We were an outstanding, highly competitive group who won the "Individual Events" state championship in 1988.

B: What has been the highlight of your career?
E: Speaking for Monster's Making It Count Programs, a division of Monster Worldwide (Monster.com). I was surrounded by positive people, I spoke in 28 states and to more than a quarter of a million high school and college students. Most importantly the MIC programs are priceless when you talk about the information they provide to students and parents. I delivered those programs 1,249 times in 7 1/2 years.

B: Why did you leave? Sounds like you loved it.
E: At the time, having a then-4-year-old demanded that I spend more time at home. I had been traveling several times per month.

B: What do you like the most about being a comedian?
E: I love to make people laugh. My dad was the consumate host when we had company at the house, so it rubbed off on me.

EDUCATION
B: What college/university did you attend?
E: Loyola University New Orleans. Graduated "Thank ya, Lawday!" *LOL* I got my degree in broadcast productions in '95. I'm very proud of that, because LU easily has one of the best communications programs in the South. Many of our grads dot the national broadcasting map. In fact, one of our recent successes is a WWL-TV anchor named Lucy Bustamante. She recently had a guest spot on "Live! with Regis and Kelly".

B: High schools are a big deal in New Orleans. You mentioned your alma mater, St. Aug, by name? Why the big deal?
E: I have a theory that high schools are a big deal in N.O. because we're such a small community. The high school rivalries are huge in N.O., so the memories stick with folks forever. There's actually a joke that goes around the rest of the country that if you ask a New Orleanian where he/she graduated from, that person will mention his/her high school. We're the only ones who don't get the joke.

B: And where does St. Aug stack up?
E: *GRIN* Of course, I believe we're the best! Honestly, St. Aug is the best at what it does--educate young Black males. I say that with confidence. There's hardly another place in America where you have a high school specifically opened for young Black males during the Civil Rights era (1951), and has created the academic and leadership tradition than we have. We send at least 95% of our graduates to colleges all over America, and the others normally move on to good careers in the military.

And this needs to be said to those who attack us based on our "not being what we used to be". America isn't what it used to be. Parents aren't what they used to be, so kids aren't what they used to be. Nothing stays the same; but St. Aug is still a place where young Black males of many temperaments can go to school and feel it's OK to be who they are. We encourage them be disciplined and be the best nerd, athlete, musician or whatever they can be. St. Aug is STILL a place where the mind of the young Black male is developed. Just because we don't produce billions of dollars of scholarships every graduating class, doesn't mean that the Purple Knights are dead. So our critics can put that in their pipes and smoke the s*^% out of it. Next question.

WHAT EDDIE THINKS
B: Alrighty then. Let's talk about your opinions. You're known as a very opinionated person on the weekly Saturday morning talk show "Real Talk" on Q93 (WQUE-FM). And comedy certainly gives you an outlet to tell people how you really feel. Do you ever say things you regret?
E: I regret when I say things based on pure emotion, because pure emotion tends to overshadow rational thought. My problem is that New Orleans is a place where I think people are afraid to communicate, and face the realities of their feelings. I think a lot of us are deathly afraid of what other people will think of us, and I'm included in that group. So, when the words finally come out, the emotions pour out with them. That's what often makes situations nasty.

B: It almost sounds like New Orleans bothers you.
E: I can do without the pettiness of my fellow New Orleanians. There are people who refuse to work with you if you they think you're trying to take something from them. They don't need proof; they just need the feeling. Now you're talking about a relationship that never develops, because somebody felt something.

I tend to be hard on myself because I hate being the product of an environment where people's feelings dominate their thinking. The most productive communities get so much done because their leaders think. And they deal with each other based on what needs to get done, not what they feel about each other.

SUBMITTED QUESTIONS FROM READERS
B: How has working at a university compared with other places you have worked in your career?
E: A university is like a small city. What I really like is the energy that the students bring forth, especially surrounding sports. And college athletics are very cool. But I'll comment more if I ever work at another institution of higher learning. *LOL*

B: Which charity appeals to you most and why?
E: Don't know about a charity. I have a cause that I've become a little passionate about lately. I met a gentleman by the name of John Thompson. He's the executive director of an organization called Resurrection After Exoneration, and I've interviewed him about what happens to folks after they've served time. I realized that this is a huge problem, because it looks like people enter in droves and come out in droves. I really want to be a part of the solution in making sure that these folks make a smooth transition back into mainstream society. I intend to keep using the airwaves to deal with that issue.

B: What gives you the most satisfaction in love, work, and play?
E: Loving me for who I am, respecting my boundaries in the workplace and keeping the energy up during playtime so everybody has fun.

B: If you chould change anything (of those three) what would it be?
E: Play. I don't play enough. I don't know how to relax.

B: Before leaving this life, what one thing would you say would give you a sense of satisfaction or completeness?
E: A career that I navigated my way.

On the October 24th "Real Talk" (Q93 radio New Orleans), I took in listeners' feedback on Morehouse College's new dress code with great interest. For the most part, it seems that the "Real Talk" listenership feels that Morehouse is very much in touch with the world in their adoption of this policy. But let's put this issue of Morehouse being a private college doing whatever they want aside. This, to me, is more about a community taking control of its standards at the expense of no one.

Sure, it seems that this policy on attire is a bit stifling to some. In fact, the part of the policy that seems to be getting a weird type of attention is the college's refusal to allow cross-dressing on campus. The most liberal of us view it as an attack on one's personality. I will unapolgetically say that cross-dressers, in particular, need to get over it. Find another institution if you, a male, feel that wearing high heels is more important than the institution's standards. And the same goes for saggers, outdoor do-rag wearers, indoor sunglasses wearers and everyone else in between.

Every society has its rules. The rules may be unfair to us, personally, not including crap such as Jim Crow (I think we understand that those laws were created specifically to marginalize an entire segment of society). I'm talking about rules that were set by organizations and communities to maintain standards so as to project a certain image to promote that institution.

Dr. Steve Perry made a great point in his CNN interview with Don Lemon. Perry pointed out that we have a bad habit of making our personal lives public in America. Although his point was geared more toward criticism of saggers' showing the world their undies, it is also important to point out that we simply have a habit of trying to impose our personal beliefs in situations that simply do not apply.

We now have public HBCU's phasing in dress codes inside classrooms and across campuses. Why? Is this much ado about nothing? Will my employer, Southern University at New Orleans, who is considering a student decorum policy, be fighting an uphill battle if they give professors the latitude to dismiss students who are sagging in class, for example? For a public institution, it may be a tricky call, but students should not miss the bottom line.

The bottom line is that employers and potential business partners are looking at students as they matriculate through college. While students are living it up and expressing their independence, potential employers and business partners are comparing those very students to other students across the land. There is absolutely no secret that the Black community is judged more harshly by mainstream society. So a Black student sagging and displaying his/her unmentionables with a drink at a party on Facebook should be aware that he/she is being compared to a student whose profile reflects a sense of professionalism. Sorry. That's life.

And let's be fair. These free spirits who dare to be different are neither unintelligent nor bad. As a person who chooses to live in the creative portion of his brain, I identify with the urge to buck the system. But emotional leadership can often lead to counterproductive results and, most annoyingly, wasted energy. What this boils down to is whether or not an individual is a match for the environment, and whether or not the relationship can produce benefits for both parties.

Sisters, I'll be the first to recognize that we brothers aren't perfect. There are those of us who lie, cheat, abuse you and take you for granted. I get it. I know guys who do these things, and I have dated women who have been the victims. I get it. But please spare me this "There are NO good Black men left" crap.

I think I'm a good Black man. I didn't cheat on or abuse my ex-wife. I show my affection, express myself, I have a thriving career plus I have a son I'm crazy about. And I'm out there dodging nutcases just like you! How about this? You're reading the words of a man who has dated liars, dated two women who got engaged to other guys WHILE we dated, and has dated others who tried to force me to commit to them after ONE DATE!  And before you accuse me of having these problems because I chased down "trophy girlfriends", think again. I've dated tall, short, thin, thick and all beautiful Black complexions as well as Hispanic, Asian and White. Nope, no patterns over here. At least not physical ones.

Believe me when I say that good, quality brothers have issues finding good women. It's because these men have standards and guidelines like good Black women. Whether or not we agree with those guidelines isn't really the case. At 5'5", I'm often overlooked for men who are over 5'9" by women who are 4'3".  So I think I should be allowed to have the standards that fit my wants, also.  There's nothing wrong with wanting certain attributes from other folks.

It's not so much about those personal standards and "requirements" we have. It's about what we allow people to take from us. Here's what I mean. People with positive energy are in high demand in this world, because so many of us have crappy negative energy. Consider that people with positive energy want that positive energy for everyone else. So these good folks may not even notice their energy getting sucked away by those with emotional challenges.  So just think of what good Black men go through when they meet Black women who feel that the world, including these men, owe them something.  Yeh, I said it!

Relationship hardship goes both ways. There's the joke that when people meet, they send their "representatives" to that first date. According to a good friend of mine, who's a therapist, that's normal. It's also normal for folks to "change" as the relationship progresses, according to my buddy. That means that it's normal to see the real person as the relationship goes. So it's up to us to decide whether or not we want to deal with the worst of a person when that side rears its ugly head. By the way, if you decide to deal with the worst someone has to offer, it's called love.

For various reasons, some of our women come across as nothing more than emotional damaged goods to good Black men. Is it a man's fault? Could be. But it's not about what happens; it's about how we react to what happens. As the saying goes, "Don't allow yourself to become upset by people or things. They are powerless. Your reaction is their power."  Ladies, you can't be a bag lady and expect a good brother to enjoy helping you with your bags for long. If you recognize that this man loves you enough to help with those bags, you have to reciprocate that by emptying those things out.

What I implore sisters to do is take a good look in the mirror. And no one person in a relationship should look alone. Both play a part in how a relationship develops or breaks down. What compromises a good Black man's outlook on relationships, however, is the expectation that is placed on him to answer for those men who have screwed up. Nobody wants to answer for a screw-up.

Who said that President Barack Obama's education address to the nation was harmful? Read this Facebook post from my buddy, Nina Weber, about a discussion her two children had.

"Peyton (11) became frustrated while trying to complete a complex equation containing many difficult variable factors for her gifted math class, so she shut her book and frowned. Loren (6) asked what was wrong; Peydi replied that she couldn’t do it. Loren immediately responded… “Obama said NOT to give up! Even when it’s hard, you have to keep trying… you can’t give up- Obama said that! I saw him on TV @ school."

Put that in your pipe and smoke it, neo-cons.

I have been pretty apprehensive about writing this commentary. Spirituality, to me, is a very personal thing; yet I feel compelled to share this journey. Let me say, first, that my opinion is as blunt as it could be on this subject; but I am fully aware of the sensitivity of the subject. Still I will express myself, not in an effort to offend, but rather in an effort to try to lend some perspective of the importance of personal temperament. In other words, if you're one of these super-mega-feel-that-the-world-needs-to-know-that-you're-a-Christian people, you might want to skip this commentary.

I am a Christian. I was baptized into Catholicism, and attended Catholic schools all of my life. Dare I say, it's a big part of the reason that I drink so much and I'm so cynical about life. That's Catholic humor, by the way. The Catholics get it. What's important to me, on a serious note, is that I respect the teachings of Jesus Christ more than I respect dogma. My journey, however, is about understanding what guides me to make good decisions in life. Ironically, the best quote I've ever heard about steering clear of bad choices came from my high school theology teacher, Fr. Patrick McCarthy. He used to simply tell us, "Bad decisions lead to bad consequences."

In reorganizing my life for nearly a year and a half, I have asked myself over and over again, what I believe in. I immediately determined that I don't believe in quite a few of the people sitting in churches. Not that I disrespect or dislike them. I just know that not every person in there is following every law of their respective churches. I don't fault them as much as I question what their purposes are.

I have also determined that I have next to no tolerance for people I call "scary Christians". These are the folks who sport the attitude that if everyone doesn't share their respective philosophies, then everyone else is living their lives completely wrong. These are the folks who can't have a conversation without imposing a Bible verse on you. They're the ones who can't seem to figure out that not everyone in the world is a Christian because not everyone in the world is alike. They put themselves on moral pedestals, and attempt to impress folks around them with Bible verses. When Karl Marx wrote, "Religion is the opiate of the people" he had these types in mind.

Mind you, I don't believe that people are foolish for being religious. I certainly don't believe that we're foolish for believing in God. I believe that people are foolish for thinking that their beliefs are the only ones that matter.

The former NBA player John Lucas once said, "Religion is for those who are afraid of hell. Spirituality is for those who have been to hell and back." When I read that, I immediately understood it. What Lucas meant is that spiritual people understand that a higher power is what has kept them alive through the extremely rough times, whatever those times have been. Some call that higher power God, others call it Allah, Yahweh, Jah, Buddah, etc. That higher power, according to Lucas's quote (in my humble opinion) is an unexplainable salvation that saves us from our worst decisions. That quote touches me 'til this very day, and it has served as a compass for this journey of mine.

Call me silly, but I believe that one of the most spiritual movie series of our time is the "Star Wars" saga. What do you think "The Force" is? Think of the original film in which Obi-Wan Kenobi tells Luke Skywalker, "(The Force) is an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us, it penetrates us, it binds the galaxy together."

Yoda later goes on to advise Luke, during his training in The Empire Strikes Back, "A Jedi's strength flows from The Force. But beware of the Dark Side. Anger, fear, aggression---the Dark Side of The Force are they . . . A Jedi uses The Force for knowledge and defense, never to attack". All of this is said while Luke is training to become stronger in order to defeat The Empire. And the big scene in that sequence is where Luke attempts to get his X-Wing Fighter out of the swamp and gets frustrated. Yoda gets it out with ease, to which Luke says, "I don't believe it." Yoda responds, "That is why you failed." Faith. It's an area where I continue to struggle.

The series is all about a classic battle between good and evil, and good wins at the end. Hey, it may not be the most desired path to embracing that higher power, but it's getting me there.

I have begun to feel a spirit all around me, and I identify that spirit as God. I view God as being a guiding force who wants me to make decisions that serve the best interest of humanity. That belief is making my journey more worth while than ever.