The Census: Nuyorican Mural = Ghetto???

My homie Sherine sent this to me in a Facebook message, and I had to take notice. If you happened to be in Times Square recently, you may have seen a mural emblazoned on the side of some awning-laced building. The mural depicts numerous Black and Hispanic women in various stages of undress, adorned with long nails and the Nuyorican style so prevalent in the Bronx (my hometown), and the rest of New York City. As beautiful as the work is, it's drawing stark criticism for it's portrayal of women as 'ghetto'...

Now, I, for one, take my etymology very seriously. By that virtue, I felt it necessary to look up and properly define the word 'ghetto'.

via Dictionary.com: ghetto - a section of a city, esp. a thickly populated slum area, inhabited predominantly by members of an ethnic or other minority group

That's a noun... A noun that's been transformed into an adjective describing anything negative or degenerate originating from the area defined above. That said, is the mural 'ghetto'? In fact, is the mural portraying something negative? Honestly, I'd say no. The Nuyorican culture in NYC is one that's oft referenced in hip-hop and poetry. While the portrayal may seem crude and sexist to an outsider (which most of the people in Times Square seeing the mural are), to the average New Yorker, the mural is synonymous with an aspect of New York culture. The person saying that the women should be carrying 'briefcases' seems to have a ridiculously limited scope of what constitutes a 'positive' portrayal of women. The placement may be misguided, but the art itself is beautiful. That's neither here nor there, though. Readers, what do you think about the mural?? Is it 'ghetto' or are the critics ignoring the rich Nuyorican culture and history? PLEASE, chime in in the comments section below, and let me know what you think. This is the new and improved Census...

No Blackberries in the Oval Office

Do you want to know why Barack Obama is going to go down as one of the greatest Presidents ever? CHANGE. Yeah, that's cliche, but change (when it's done right) is something internal and external. Politically, it starts with the leaders, and even something as small as not allowing Blackberries in cabinet meetings, is a step in the right direction. If not one less thing to worry about distracting you during the day, it means during meetings there is undivided attention to the meeting and the issues at hand. Now if only we could bring every other free civilian on the planet to do the same with their Blackberries...