Morehouse Madness
I titled this blog Morehouse Madness, because that's exactly what it is...Madness!
I was listening to the Tom Joyner Morning Show this morning (10/12/2010) and the commentary by Jeff Johnson really struck a nerve! He talked about Morehouse's President responding to an article placed in Vibe Magazine regarding a "clique of gay students" at the Private Black University. Jeff also went on to say that this is the perfect opportunity to deal with the homophobic issues that seem to plague our community. Now, what struck a nerve in me is the fact that this particular group of students would have the audacity to do something like this. And before anyone jumps to conclusions and think that I am headed down judgmental road, let me just say that everything I am about to say is merely my own opinion! Let me repeat, this is just my opinion!
The article also goes on to talk about Morehouse being "anti-gay" because of the banning of certain clothing being worn on campus. Well, I have to strongly agree with Jeff. There needs to be a discussion or shall I say, some lessons on the true definition of manhood. Here is where I stand on the homophobic issue: I would NOT consider myself to be homophobic. I just think that in this day in age, there are too many homosexual individuals that want to consider any and everyone who don't agree with their lifestyle to be "homophobic", and that is NOT the case. Just because you don't agree with someone doesn't mean your hate or fear that person. You can still love and respect an individual that you do not agree with.
This entire Morehouse madness as well as any other professional environment or institution that has students or employees behaving in such a manner is indeed Madness! I mean, think about it...there are ethical standards as well as rules and regulations in just about every professional institution. I seriously doubt employers would allow openly gay employees to come to work in their trans-gender attire. My point is this, what everyone does in their sexual life is their own personal business. It is their own personal preference or choice. No one's personal life should ever have such an impact on their work life. this is a question that I have been having for quite some time: What exactly does a person's sexual preference have to do with their job function or academic studies? I wish someone would please explain to me how a man dressing as a woman, going to work, is going to help or make him be more productive and/or thus improving that company or institution's bottom line?
All I'm saying is...If an individual wants to be gay, then that's their choice. If he or she wants to dress as the opposite sex, then that is their choice. However, dressing in trans-gender attire at certain places is inappropriate. I once heard someone say, "It's all about knowing your audience". We've all got to "know our audience". We've got to know when and where to conduct ourselves in a professional manner. Here's a metaphor that I hope will help some people better understand where I'm coming from: The swim team of PDR in the movie Pride decides NOT to wear the proper attire to their first few swim meets. If you've seen the movie, then you know that the PDR Swim Team was very "undisciplined". They were not willing to cooperate or follow the rules. So thus, they lost many of their swim meets...until they learned how to become more disciplined and follow rules and regulations. They learned that it wasn't all about who looked the best or who was more cooler than the other. It was about PDR: Pride, Determination, and Resilience or I'll say Respect!!
The mission of Morehouse is to develop men with disciplined minds who will lead lives of leadership and service. I believe the key words in this Mission Statement that back up my metaphor would be "develop, disciplined minds, leadership, service". What part of these group of individuals at Morehouse dressing in women's attire help to "develop" them into great leaders? What part of their attire speaks "disciplined minds"? What part of this attire speaks "service"? For this particular group of men to attend classes at Morehouse in such attire would be a blatant form of disrespect and inadherence to the Mission of Morehouse College.
Once again, I agree with Jeff Johnson, we need to really start discussing issues like this amongst our African-American community and stop sweeping these issues under the rug.
In closing I will say this: A well disciplined man knows how and when to lead, be lead, and makes wise decisions in every area of his life.
Peace & Blessings!
I was listening to the Tom Joyner Morning Show this morning (10/12/2010) and the commentary by Jeff Johnson really struck a nerve! He talked about Morehouse's President responding to an article placed in Vibe Magazine regarding a "clique of gay students" at the Private Black University. Jeff also went on to say that this is the perfect opportunity to deal with the homophobic issues that seem to plague our community. Now, what struck a nerve in me is the fact that this particular group of students would have the audacity to do something like this. And before anyone jumps to conclusions and think that I am headed down judgmental road, let me just say that everything I am about to say is merely my own opinion! Let me repeat, this is just my opinion!
The article also goes on to talk about Morehouse being "anti-gay" because of the banning of certain clothing being worn on campus. Well, I have to strongly agree with Jeff. There needs to be a discussion or shall I say, some lessons on the true definition of manhood. Here is where I stand on the homophobic issue: I would NOT consider myself to be homophobic. I just think that in this day in age, there are too many homosexual individuals that want to consider any and everyone who don't agree with their lifestyle to be "homophobic", and that is NOT the case. Just because you don't agree with someone doesn't mean your hate or fear that person. You can still love and respect an individual that you do not agree with.
This entire Morehouse madness as well as any other professional environment or institution that has students or employees behaving in such a manner is indeed Madness! I mean, think about it...there are ethical standards as well as rules and regulations in just about every professional institution. I seriously doubt employers would allow openly gay employees to come to work in their trans-gender attire. My point is this, what everyone does in their sexual life is their own personal business. It is their own personal preference or choice. No one's personal life should ever have such an impact on their work life. this is a question that I have been having for quite some time: What exactly does a person's sexual preference have to do with their job function or academic studies? I wish someone would please explain to me how a man dressing as a woman, going to work, is going to help or make him be more productive and/or thus improving that company or institution's bottom line?
All I'm saying is...If an individual wants to be gay, then that's their choice. If he or she wants to dress as the opposite sex, then that is their choice. However, dressing in trans-gender attire at certain places is inappropriate. I once heard someone say, "It's all about knowing your audience". We've all got to "know our audience". We've got to know when and where to conduct ourselves in a professional manner. Here's a metaphor that I hope will help some people better understand where I'm coming from: The swim team of PDR in the movie Pride decides NOT to wear the proper attire to their first few swim meets. If you've seen the movie, then you know that the PDR Swim Team was very "undisciplined". They were not willing to cooperate or follow the rules. So thus, they lost many of their swim meets...until they learned how to become more disciplined and follow rules and regulations. They learned that it wasn't all about who looked the best or who was more cooler than the other. It was about PDR: Pride, Determination, and Resilience or I'll say Respect!!
The mission of Morehouse is to develop men with disciplined minds who will lead lives of leadership and service. I believe the key words in this Mission Statement that back up my metaphor would be "develop, disciplined minds, leadership, service". What part of these group of individuals at Morehouse dressing in women's attire help to "develop" them into great leaders? What part of their attire speaks "disciplined minds"? What part of this attire speaks "service"? For this particular group of men to attend classes at Morehouse in such attire would be a blatant form of disrespect and inadherence to the Mission of Morehouse College.
Once again, I agree with Jeff Johnson, we need to really start discussing issues like this amongst our African-American community and stop sweeping these issues under the rug.
In closing I will say this: A well disciplined man knows how and when to lead, be lead, and makes wise decisions in every area of his life.
Peace & Blessings!
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