The Gantt Report
By Lucius Gantt
The Gantt Report would like to send condolences to the wife, children and family members of slain former pro quarterback Steve “Air McNair” McNair. I’m going to let the other editorial columnists parrot what they read about the tragedy in white newspapers or saw on white broadcast sports shows but I want to talk this week about Black family unity and what can happen if family values get distorted.
The Bible says you should love God and love your neighbors and I say you should also love your family. When you love your spouse and your children you should put your family first. We all have friends, partners and associates that we adore but love for friends is different from love for spouse and family.
A married person should put their spouse first! A friend, even a girl friend or boy friend, should never be considered on the same level as a spouse. If you have one, you can’t buy your “special” friend the same things you buy that you buy your spouse, you can’t take your friends the same places that you take your spouse and you should never engage in intimate conversations with anyone other than the person you made commitments or vows to.
There are a lot of different relationship levels. There are friends, close friends, friends with benefits, finances and, the best friends in the world, spouses. Whenever a Black person puts someone of the opposite sex first and that person puts them second, third or fourth, there’s bound to be trouble. No, a married person should not expect their mate to be perfect but they should expect the people that they love and marry to be the very best that they can be.
If men and women in relationships would just be honest with each other, most of the drama, hurt and bad feelings in relationships would disappear. If you want to hang out with, spend money on or even have sex with someone else just be man enough or woman enough to say it. Personally, I have never met a cat, so to speak, that sprung me so bad that I would risk my family or risk my life just to be with the pussy. If I’m with a woman, I’m with that woman until one of us decides that we shouldn’t be together any more. If my lady decides to run away from me for another guy I always tell her to keep walking and don’t look back! If you feel that you must have variety in your life, there are countries and cultures where multiple spouses are acceptable.
If you just like to get more than one cat there are places that you can go to play with a cat a while and then retreat back to the castle where your true queen resides. A woman once told me that any curious dog will sometimes stray and roam but the smart dogs will always respect, take care of and return to their home! Brothers and sisters, women, lovers and everyone else hate to be scorned. Be safe, put your spouse and family first and above all love and respect your wives and husbands.
The Gantt Report
By Lucius Gantt
On the day of his crucifixion, Jesus Christ forgave the people that nailed him to the cross. Martin Luther King Junior forgave the people that beat him and jailed him for participating in non-violent civil rights protests and every day spouses, family members and friends forgive each other for our transgressions.
However, the devilish, atheist leadership of the organization called People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) plan to hate football player Michael Vick for life!
PETA, with encouragement from biased sports writers and broadcasters, plan to stage protests at NFL stadiums and games if Michael Vick is allowed to work in the professional football league.
Vick was charged with being involved in dog fighting and sentenced to about two years in federal prison. After serving part of his sentence under house arrest in Virginia, Vick will be free to resume his life in late July 2009.
America is a “free” country and anybody can protest almost any thing but Vick’s treatment by haters spreads way past professional sports.
Everybody in America that is Black has either been to jail, has a family member that has been locked up or a friend or neighbor that has been incarcerated. Many African Americans that have served time in jail find it extremely difficult to get a job anywhere. Government won’t hire offenders, schools won’t hire offenders, banks won’t hire offenders and many other employers use jail time to deny people opportunities to work.
If people in jail should be hated and shunned, I wouldn’t have a single hero because Jesus, MLK, Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, Angela Davis, Nelson Mandela, Andrew Young, Rap Brown, Huey Newton and many other great Black men and women have spent time behind bars.
If the National Football League refuses to allow Michael Vick and opportunity to seek a professional football job, the NFL would be the most hypocritical league in pro sports!
Michael Vick is not the only pro football player that has viewed or been involved in dog fighting and he’s not the only NFL person that has killed animals.
There is more than one person that has an NFL contract right now that has killed human beings in alcohol related car crashes. There are hordes of NFL players that have committed domestic violence. Every month there is an NFL player accused of drug use or substance abuse.
No disrespect but it seems to me it’s always cool for white folks to remember but the rules are different for us. PETA won’t forget Vick and dog fighting, Jews will never forget the Holocaust, Cubans won’t forget refugees and boat lifts, Hawaiians won’t forget Pearl Harbor and Indians won’t forget Little Big Horn but if we mention slavery, we’re playing the race card. We should forget the days of slavery, the Bermuda Triangle, Jim Crow and all of the oppression and exploitation we’ve suffered.
We should even forget how white racists and white colonialists routinely ordered dogs to attack women, children and babies, along with men, of color in almost every part of the world when Black people sought equal rights and justice.
If the NFL refuses to give Vick a chance to go back to work because of protests from misguided and opportunistic PETA members, Blacks that want fairness should boycott the NFL and every sponsor the National Football League has.
Don’t do it for Vick, do it for your family and friends that can’t get a job because they did jail time even if they were “over charged” and arrested on false charges.