EddieFrancisNOLA's Blog

For whatever reason, I threw up a poll question about people's perception of the "angry Black woman." It's not based on what I think, it's based on what I've heard people say about those women they describe as such. Now, I believe that there are Black women and there are Angry Black Women, and (channeling Chris Rock's "Black People vs. N*****s" routine) Angry Black Women (ABWs) have got to go.

We all have pressures in life. I'm a Black man, so I know. I'm expected to be either the dumbest or most violent joker in the room sometimes around other cultures. Then I speak, people hear this funny and educated guy, and they act as if they've found a present on Christmas morning. I've even been asked, "How did you become so educated?" It took everything I had not to shoot back, "I went to f***ing school." Over the course of time I've learned to just deal with it. C'est la vie.

You see, a Black woman is an average, everyday person who simply deals with life's pressures. Does she blow up? Yep. Does she cry? Yep. Does she want to stomp the crap out of the last guy who betrayed her or let her down? Of course she does, and that's very much understandable and normal.

An ABW thinks that EVERY man should pay. I think what makes an Angry Black Woman is that moment someone (even another woman) just stops and asks, "What the hell is your PROBLEM?" We know why she's angry, but she almost forgets what or who pissed her off in the first place. After a point, it doesn't even matter. She's mad and that's all there is to it.

The most frustrating trait of an ABW is her refusal to acknowledge the error of her ways. We all make mistakes but this joker acts as if she never made a mistake in her damn life. It's not cool for anyone to be dogged out by someone he or she loves. But Angry Black Women will roll up on a cat that she KNOWS is no good, she'll try to outfox the fox she just caught THEN act hurt when Mr. Wonderful does what he's always done. What trips me out is it's not hard to tell a dog when you run up on a dog.

Does she take a rest to heal herself, emotionally and mentally? Naaaaah. It's some other dude's job to fix what Mr. Wonderful did. So the ABW finds another guy, and reads him the riot act on the first date. When this guy decides that it's not worth his time to sign the contract of "Things I Won't Do" by the ABW, she blames HIM for not "being man enough to date a strong, Black, independent woman." By the way, if you have to remind everyone that you're a "strong, Black, independent woman," you're probably not one.

Yes, our Black women have plenty reasons to be angry. The women who impress me are the ones who are honest. They honestly tell you they're upset or frightened, and they make that concerted effort to do something about it. They don't blame the next brother for what the last brother did, and they don't blame the next brother for past ill-advised choices. Hey we all have that . . . one . . . we shouldn't have even looked at as a dating prospect, but we knew it when we were looking.

These chilled Black women are neither docile nor weak; they are thoughtful. Most importantly, they know a good man when they see one. He may not be flashy, rich or have a Morris Chestnut flow; but he allows himself to be a rock-solid emotional punching bag if he truly loves you. After all of the punching is done, he's still firmly standing there, and ready to hold you tight throughout the night . . . and even help take the weave out.

I've been writing some heavy stuff lately, so let's take a sports break. As the Miami Heat have stormed into the 2011 NBA Finals, the comparisons between Lebron James and Michael Jordan have run wild. By the way, what happened to the Kobe/Jordan comparisons? Is Kobe a non-factor all of a sudden, because the Lakers got the boot this year? And that takes me to the point. You really can't compare, even though it makes for a great debate ("THAT'S THE ONLY ARGUMENT I NEED, SEAN!!!")

So, let's take a look at this:
1. Prior championship experience: Jordan entered the NBA already a winner on the national stage. Yes, I know we all watched Lebron make things happen as a champion with Vincent-St. Mary High School, but that was high school . . . and a state championship. MJ, however, was a champion with the University of North Carolina. Having won a college national championship gave Jordan a nice preview of how to get it done in the NBA.

2. Prior coaching: Jordan was coached by Dean Smith, who has sent a plethora of players to the NBA, most of them prepped and ready to go. Lebron was coached by, uh . . . (looking up the guy's name, no offense)

3. Current coaching: When I say "current" I mean the coaches at the time of these players' tenure. Jordan started with Doug Collins, who is great, then got Phil Jackson who got the ultimate results in six trophies. Lebron had Paul Silas, who was always a "close-but-no-cigar" type of coach then Mike Brown is very good. Brown is no Phil Jackson, though (and he has the pleasure of following Jackson in L.A.)

4. Team management: Well, we learned what a class act Dan Gilbert, the owner of the Cavaliers, is after Lebron left Cleveland. The Cavs surrounded the man with a good cast whereas the Bulls surrounded Jordan with guys who were at least very good at what they did on a consistent basis. Many forget that the Bulls had a strong supporting cast throughout the Jordan years, such as Scottie Pippen, John Paxson, Horace Grant, Dennis Rodman, Tony Kukoc, Ron Harper, Steve Kerr, Luc Longley, and B.J. Armstrong. There was enough perimeter support and juuuust enough inside presence to keep opponents honest.

5. State of the NBA: Honestly, the Bulls went through the Western Conference like toilet paper. I think the biggest challenge they had came in their first championship against the Lakers. Lebron, however, is in an era in which the Western Conference is much stronger. I mean, the man's first championship assignment was against the very boring but lethal San Antonio Spurs.

6. Overall attitude: The point could very well kill my argument, but feel me on this. Jordan was known as an animal at practice. I've heard story after story about how fierce a competitor he was and how nothing seemed to really get to him. Lebron lets stuff get to him, and I truly believe that his high school-to-NBA jump has something to do with it.  Lebron is also kind of mild-mannered. Jordan was known as a serious smack talker on the court.

I'm just not sure that the comparisons really fly because of so many different circumstances. Admittedly, I would love to see a Jordan, in his prime, battle Lebron. That would have been indeed a fascinating thing to watch. Maybe it will become a fair comparison as the Heat progress, but we'll see.