When it Comes to Marriage, Every Man is Conservative.

In those days, a woman would go to any length to cover up those sensitive parts of her body that men considered to be the basis of a woman’s physical pride. Women recognized this same physical pride as the bedrock of their emotional state of well-being.

Back in the day, a woman would take extra precautions to keep a man guessing about her body. It was common for a man to keep dreaming excitedly of the day when he would finally have the privilege to see that body.

These days however, it’s a different “ballgame”. Now, a typical woman will go to any length to expose the most intimate parts of her body, leaving nothing to imagination. From a very first date, she will provide a man with an eyeful of erotic sights to last him a lifetime. On a platter of gold, the man’s eyes are fed with a constant flash of her half-exposed breasts (cleavage) and the occasional exposure of her underpants (sex appeal). Unlike the past therefore, most men don’t have to “salivate” or have their imagination running riot anymore. Now, the only obstacle standing between a man and sex after one or two dates is just the distance between the location of the date and the nearest bedroom. Yet, it’s amazing, if not baffling to hear a lot of women lament over “the shortage of good men” and why marriage eludes them. Don’t they ever reason within themselves to realize that when it comes to marriage, every man is conservative in nature?

To Forgive and Forget? Nothing Short of a Mission Impossible.

Imagine getting offended by someone who, after a while, realizes their error and pleads for forgiveness. For many of us who have found ourselves in this type of situation, forgiveness is not a problem. Very often however, the offending person will not only ask for forgiveness. They will most likely ask that we “forgive and forget”. And this is where the problem arises. Yes, we tend to agree. But do we really ever forget? In reality, this is easier said than done. A brain has no eraser and neither does it have a delete button. Some things will just refuse to go away, depending on the hurts that arise from them.

The Yoruba people of southwestern Nigeria have a saying to the effect, “Spoken words are like eggs. Once they fall off from a mouth, they can’t be repackaged into their previous shapes.” Now, actions or spoken words that inflict physical or emotional pain cannot, in all reality, be expected to go away. The aggrieved party only has to see the scar or remember the emotional anguish to feel offended all over again.

Therefore, the only anti-dote to this type of situation is for us all to be mindful of what we do or say in moments of anger. And each time we do mess up, as imperfect mortals, the best we can hope for is forgiveness. Asking the aggrieved parties to forget is akin to asking them to wipe off a part of their brains. This is a “Mission Impossible”.

A Set of Twins With Two Fathers.

The New Jersey Law Journal reported on Thursday that a New Jersey woman got the shock of her life when she discovered that her 2-year-old twins have two different fathers. The mother (identified as “T.M.” in court documents) got the news last winter when she received the results of a paternity test mandated by a family court as part of her application for public assistance.

The order was made so as to establish the paternity of the twins (in order to make the twins' "father" pay child support). DNA test results however revealed that the woman had two sexual partners who are now separately responsible for the kids' paternity.

This is grossly absurd. But then, what else really is new in America when it comes to sex? A couple of years back, a young woman appeared on “The Maury Show” to know the father of her new baby. The man she suspected was invited to the show for a DNA test which proved that he was not the father. Then, she brought another man who was found to be free from the paternity as well. After the eighth man was also cleared, the show host was livid with anger as he asked her “Just how many men did you sleep with within the same period of a menstrual cycle?” I lost interest in the case after the woman brought the 12th man from her neighborhood. Alas, even that one was cleared by DNA.

One thing I keep finding painful in stories such as these though is the unfairness of the women involved to the children born out of such sexual recklessness. The hapless kids could have been spared all the nonsense if only their mothers were not so dumb as to engage in unprotected sex. When a woman spreads her itchy legs wide open while shutting off her brain, this is what happens.

Narcissism: Between Kim Kardashian and Beyoncé.

According to Wikipedia, to be narcissistic is to have an excessive or erotic interest in oneself and one's physical appearance. Narcissistic individuals are vain, self-loving, self-admiring, self-absorbed, self-obsessed, conceited, self-centered, self-regarding and egotistic.

Narcissism is a social disease that afflicts the rich and the famous. This disease is regularly sustained by the media which routinely feed on the gullibility of the famous. At the height of her “social sickness”, Britney Spears was notorious for her desperation for the limelight. And when it appeared that some other fellow narcissistic celebrities were stealing the shows, Spears resorted to the absurd. She shaved her head and, promptly, the young woman was back on top of the news. But in spite of all that nonsense, the time came for the media to get their hands on a fresh set of suckers.

Right now, the most notorious in narcissism among the celebrities are Kim Kardashian and Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter a.k.a. Beyonce. Amidst a very tight competition, these two women will go to any length to display their obsession for public attention. From marrying some “unusual” men to giving their kids names that are most ludicrous and wearing outfits that make them look as good as stark naked, just anything will do in feeding their insatiable lust for public attention. And this was evident at the last Met gala where both Kim Kardashian and Beyoncé wore outfits that left nothing to imagination.

In the above picture, the gross hypocrisy of the American media was glaring. One picture that shows celebrities in the erotic movies genre is captioned as “Porn stars at the 2014 AVN porn Awards”. But the other picture showing Beyoncé and Kim Kardashian is captioned as “Influential people at the Met gala.” Objectively though, the “porn stars” dressed like choir girls when compared to the so-called influential women who looked as good as cheap whores.

 

 

 

Yoruba Liberalism and the Reactionary Igbo.

Poor Oba of Lagos! He was simply unlucky to have inadvertently made a statement that got exploited to turn him into a whipping boy at the hands of a people who always hide behind every excuse to heap insults upon the Yoruba race.

Ironically, this singular issue would “unite” me with some “Internet Tigers” of old who were my major adversaries in those days of Nigerian-oriented websites such as the Nigeria World, Lagos Forum, Kwenu, Nigerians in America and Gamji. Those were the good, old days of internet “combats” among Nigerian columnists in the period between the late 1990s and the early 2000s. In the past few days, the arguments that took place between me and those guys via e-mails were reminiscent of our past encounters.

The Yoruba people are very well-known for their liberalism which sometimes, can be on the extreme side. At the beginning of the civil war (for those of us who were around) the Yoruba initially chose to be neutral. In fact, some notable Yoruba sons such as Wole Soyinka, Fela Kuti, his brother (Beko) and Tai Solarin put their lives and freedoms in jeopardy by publicly expressing solidarity with and sympathy for the seceding Igbos, some of whom were allowed to move about discreetly all over Lagos. But how did the Igbo reward us? They bombed Casino Cinema at Yaba where several innocent people, especially women and children, were murdered in cold blood. The same Biafrans went on to make an attempted incursion into Yoruba land through Ore town. This act of treachery prompted the great Awo to declare that we “Go On With One Nigeria!” (Gowon). This rallying call would lead thousands of young Yoruba men to enlist in the army, forming the core of 3rd Marine Commando.

At the end of the civil war, only the Yoruba people welcomed the ex-Biafrans back with open arms. It was only in Yoruba land that no case of “Abandoned Property” was recorded as it happened in Port Harcourt and elsewhere across the nation. In our then Ebute-Metta neighborhood, for instance, several houses belonging to Igbo owners were duly returned to them by the Yoruba friends in whose hands they were entrusted. Many of us can still remember vividly how the returning Igbo were given accommodations and allowed to settle in Lagos Island, Makoko, Amuwo-Odofin, Iganmu, Amukoko and other parts of Lagos. It was in those places they sold all kinds of stuff such as chewing sticks and roamed about as “London tailors” (ejika ni shop). Yoruba people went out of their ways to make them comfortable. But what did we get in return? All of a sudden (as in the story of an Arab and a camel) the Igbo have since been claiming that Lagos is a “no-man’s land”. They have also resorted to peddling an abominable tale that Lagos State was developed by them. One can only wonder why they don’t deem it fit to first go develop their terribly impoverished states in line with the adage of “charities begin at home”.

When Asiwaju Tinubu became the state’s governor, he exhibited the typical Yoruba liberal attitude by appointing some Igbo individuals to important positions, including that of a Commissioner. This has not been reciprocated by any Igbo State governor till date. Instead of an appreciation, these unprecedented gestures have been seen by the Igbo as entitlements in a “no-man’s land”. The same Igbo finally over-reached themselves by resolving to collectively vote against the APC at the last elections. Unwittingly, it was a crazy gamble as they “cut their nose to spite their face”.

Now that Ambode of APC has won the governorship election in Lagos State, it’s a clear evidence that the spiteful Igbo had rendered themselves politically redundant at both the national and state levels. In the new dispensation therefore, it’s absolutely unnecessary for Lagos State government to “allocate” a commissioner’s spot or any other public position to the Igbo community. If this nonsense must continue, then similar slots have to be given to the Hausa, the Edo, the Calabar and other sojourners in the state.

Oprah in Her Own Words.

Yes, I Have Trust Issues.

Usually, I don’t bother my head about what other people think of me. And I'm realistic enough to always look beyond smiling faces. However, there are times when I imagine the kind of thoughts shrouded in the minds of certain individuals. I was in a meditative mood over this issue sometimes ago when a colleague came over. We had barely exchanged pleasantries and traded some banters when he threw a question at me.

Colleague: Hey no offense, but there's one thing I’ve been trying to figure out about you…
Me: What’s that?
Colleague: I have this feeling that you have trust issues…
Me: (Interrupting him mid-sentence) Yes, I do have trust issues.
Colleague: (Sighs) You’re not even denying it?
Me: (Very calmly) No.
Colleague: (Pauses briefly) Okay…So, how come you have trust issues?
Me: (Smiling) Listen…I've come a long way. In the banking/financial industry, I held very sensitive positions. If I didn’t have trust issues, I would have ended up in jail or dead.
Colleague: Wow! That's something...
Me: My folks have a saying about life; "People's wish for you is to be like a partridge with all its aura of poverty." If I didn't have trust issues, wouldn't I be like that hapless bird today?
Colleague: (Now laughing) That's right!
Me: In my current profession, with all the risks and hazards involved, if I didn’t have trust issues, I could have been fired or worse, dead by now.
Colleague: Oh, I know about that one…
Me: Great! And what about my days as a bachelor with different women in my life? If I didn’t have trust issues, I would not have been so painstakingly patient enough to meet and marry the most wonderful lady in the world.
Colleague: (Now laughing) That’s so true! Okay, I understand where you’re coming from…
Me: Good! Now, you know why I have trust issues.

This Is How We Can Overcome The Serious Tension Between Black American Women & Black African Women. By Kovie Biakolo.

I have been Black under several constructs. Indeed if you live in the United States and have only lived in the United States, it is easy to forget that realizations and experiences of race are beyond these fifty states. I am an African and it is under my African realizations, perhaps coupled with a European gaze that my Blackness was first known to me. Moving to the United States for college was in many ways an experience of being in a new culture, a new nation. But it was also an experience of viewing my Blackness in a different light.

I remember for instance, the first time I was invited to a Coalition of Black Students meeting in college. I felt somewhat out of place. I was a Black African student in an 85 percent White American university. One would think I would at least find “home” in a space with other Black students, regardless of nationality. But it was one of the many moments in my life I would understand the importance of culture in a brand new way. Throughout college, there would be dialogues, formal and informal, about this unspoken tensions between Black Americans and non-American Blacks and especially Africans.

From my understanding, there is an impression that Africans apparently give to African-Americans of condescension; an aura of superiority. From my understanding, Africans do not like to be inflicted with the same stereotypes within the United States, that are confined to Black Americans. Participating and celebrating Black American culture as an African, while also maintaining my own identity, has taught me that above all else, there seems to be a miseducation of the other, going on.

The stereotypes African women have about Black American women are inflicted by the American imagination–loudness, rudeness, over-sexualization, etc. While the stereotypes of African women by Black American women is condescension, distancing of their Blackness in order to participate in American life and the typical caricatures all Africans face – of coming from places of poverty and disease. Stereotypes, as Chimamanda Adichie warned us, do not tell us the entire story.

Like many people who find themselves drifting between these two Black spaces by chance or by choice, it pains me that there seems to be these unspoken tensions. But we can overcome them and we do by actually having deep conversations about everything from our cultural differences, to our understanding of the differences that national and cultural identity play in participating in American life, to having the humility to recognize that we oftentimes don’t really know each other’s culture, yet are bound together in America’s racial constructions and its complex history.

We have much to learn from each other’s way of seeing the world and being in the world. And it would do us good to learn so directly from the horse’s mouth than from old and tired stereotypes. I firmly believe that if you are not actively ending stereotypes, you are most likely perpetuating them. Because when we uplift each other, we also uplift ourselves. And I choose to believe that we are sisters, separated by oceans. But while we’re here together at a time and in a space where we can be, we should be each other’s keepers.

The Truth Will Always be the Truth.

Islam and the Rest of us.

While the ISIS and the Boko Haram lunatics, along with their supporters, are jubilating across the world, the Al-Qaida terrorist group has claimed responsibility for last week's deadly assault on a French satirical newspaper to "revenge for their prophet." The attack came on the heels of the deadly attack launched by the Boko Haram on Baga, a Nigerian town where innocent people, including women and children were practically mutilated and incinerated in cold blood.

For how long will the international community continue to fold fold its arms while these animals continue to murder innocent people in the name of their prophet and religion? For God’s sake, there are other religions in the world! In fact, here is a list of some other notable religions and the populations of their believers:

Hinduism: 900 million.

Chinese traditional religion: 394 million.

Buddhism: 376 million.

Primal-indigenous: 300 million.

African Traditional & Diasporic: 100 million.

Judaism: 14 million.

Sikhism: 23 million.

Juche: 19 million.

Spiritism: 15 million.

Ironically, most Christians and Muslems consider these other religions as something akin to evil. But do we ever hear of some terrorist groups springing up from their midst to slaughter fellow humans like fowls or sheep? In fact, to a Bhuddist, Hiduist or an African indigenous faith believer, the shedding of blood is absolutely considered as a heinous sin against God. Yet, here is the whole world being harassed every now and then by various Islamic terrorist groups. Apart from their deafening silence, it’s sad to see or hear many Moslems go on the defensive by claiming that the terrorists among them do not represent their religion. But ask them how that sounds in the ears of the relations of terrorists’ victims? And ask them the last time they consider it necessary to publicly criticize or condemn the senseless murder of people in cold blood all over the world, and they will slip further into silence. This is a shame on humanity!

Stevie Wonder Welcomes Another Bundle of "Joy".

Legendary soul singer, Stevie Wonder was reported to have got a very special “Christmas present”. He and his girlfriend, Tomeeka Robyn Bracy, welcome a new baby, their second child.

According to reports, the soul singer already had eight children with five different women before this new baby. Stevie Wonder’s kids range in age from 12 months to 39 years. For a man who is considered to be financially comfortable, no eye-brows would have been raised except that, among other things, he is 64 years old!

As for the "baby mama", would she have ever thought of having children for such an old man if the man had not been a rich celebrity? At such an advanced age, what tangible role of fatherhood is the singer going to play in the life of that baby, other than to expose the child to a future laden with social and moral potholes? By the time the child grows to become 18, the father will be 82 years old and that is if the man is lucky to still be alive by then. This is very unfair to the poor child!

One can still remember the unpleasant situations that characterized the home-front of another legendary soul singer, James Brown upon his demise. Long after the man was buried, his body had to be exhumed upon a court order and subsequently, his legs were hacked off for a DNA test as part of a paternity suit. He was treated like a dead stray dog. What were (are) some men (and women) thinking? As they recklessly go about creating social problems, don’t they ever bother to think about the future consequences of their actions, especially long after they are gone?

Between the Lives of Eric Garner and a Cat.

This is surely not the best of times to be a cop, especially a white cop, in the United States of America. The whole nation is still reeling from the shock and the ensuing riots arising from the shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed young black man, by a white cop in Ferguson. And now, this killing of Eric Garner, another unarmed black man in New York!

As a daily, heavily-armed law enforcement officer, the use of a deadly force will always be my last resort. One can therefore wonder why any cop will readily resort to the use of a deadly force at the slightest threat to their ego or feeling instead of life. By the way, whatever happens to the use of Tasers or cap stun? Must cops always go for the kill over every incident without first assessing the supposed threats? And, in the case of Eric Garner, when it became apparent that the hapless man was choking for breath, why did the cops not bother to apply a CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation)?

It was not long ago that a Brooklyn man was hunted down until he was arrested by the police for kicking a cat. The invectives and racist comments that were directed at the guy was extremely intense. In a bid to appease those people as they cried and condemned the man, the Brooklyn district attorney hurriedly proceeded with plans to prosecute the cat-kicking guy for animal cruelty. The message of that incident to the world at large was simply this: In the United States, the life of a cat is sacrosanct, something you don’t want to mess with.

Since that incident though, two black men and a 12-year-old black kid have been murdered in cold blood by police officers who did not exercise due diligence while performing their duties. Sadly, the affected cops have since been declared blameless by the grand juries set up to look into the two separate incidents. The cops and members of the two separate grand juries may be beating their chests proudly for jobs well-done. But unwittingly, they have sent a combined message to the outside world that: In God’s own country, the life of a black man is worthless, not even worth a dime when compared to the life of a cat.

http://youtu.be/g-xHqf1BVE4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Equals Rights & Justice.

Jamaican Reggae star, Peter Tosh released the album, Equal Rights in 1977, in protest against the then apartheid regime in South Africa. If only he knew that the song would still be relevant in 2014 America...

Everyone is crying out for peace, yes

None is crying out for justice

Everyone is crying out for peace, yes

None is crying out for justice

 I don't want no peace...

I need equal rights and justice

I need equal rights and justice

I need equal rights and justice

Got to get it, equal rights and justice...

[embed]http://youtu.be/iqeOTg2a-l8[/embed]

10 Survival Tips for Young Black Folks in the United States.

In the wake of the ridiculous verdict of the St. Louis County grand jury on the cold-blooded shooting of Michael Brown, here are ten survival tips for young black folks to consider:

1. Stay away as far as possible from any city or town that has no favorable racial diversity in its law enforcement agency.


2. If you’re already stuck in such a city or town, avoid driving in the evening as much as possible.


3. Don’t go driving about with your car loaded with black friends. It’s a sure invitation to racial profiling at the hands of white cops.


4. If you get pulled over by a white cop, make sure to place your two hands calmly on the steering wheel as he or she approaches the car. And put a “zipper” on your lips!


5. When the cop asks for your driver’s license, registration and insurance, gently inform him or her when you’re about to reach for the required documents.


6. Make sure to say “Yes sir/ma’am” or “No sir/ma’am” to any question asked.


7. It’s DUMB to swear, curse or argue with anyone that has a gun. If you disagree with a cited violation or traffic ticket, keep your feeling to yourself. You can always go to court later to argue it out.


8. Please NOTE that cops are humans too. They have prejudices, frustrations, miserable lives and anger management issues just like other mortals.


9. Yes, this is a land of freedom and liberty. But if you rely on that slogan to confront an armed cop (legitimately or not) you may be doing so at your own peril.


10. And, lest I forget, there can never be any change in this God’s own country unless you and I make it a duty to always go VOTE at every election!

These are times that call for common sense. It’s better to appear stupid and be alive than to “show off” and end up six feet below!

Al Sharpton: The Gold Fish has no Hiding Place.

When the news broke the other day that one of the highly visible and vocal civil rights activists in the black community, Rev. Al Sharpton owed some money in unpaid taxes, I was not really surprised. Guys like that, in spite of the pious image they portray to the public, usually have some stinking skeletons in their cupboards.

I was however surprised to learn that the amount he owed was in the sum of $4.5 million! According to an investigation conducted by the New York Times, Sharpton “regularly sidestepped” taxes, rent and other bills. His non-profit organization National Action Network alone owes over $1 million in overdue payroll taxes. Now, how could taxes be deducted from the employees of his organization without the same taxes being remitted to the Internal Revenue Service?

For Al Sharpton, it is a double moral tragedy.

In his desire to fight for justice and the civil rights of other people, Al Sharpton does not necessarily have to be a holy angel or a saint. But he is not only a sundry civil rights activist but also someone who strongly lays a claim to religious leadership, a factor on which rests the bulk of his reputation. For this factor therefore, he definitely needs to be morally above board.

And in silly attempt at self-defense, Sharpton appeared on the CNN yesterday saying that the reported $4.5 million was the original figure he was ordered to pay back in 2008, but that he has been making regular payments since then and the amount is now less. Pleaseeeee! Can someone please tell this guy that whether 2008 or 2014, he has no moral right to owe taxes, period!

Sharpton cannot, on the one hand, strive to be seen as a respected “man of God” that is playing “savior” all over the place while, on the other hand, he is grossly shirking in his civic responsibility to pay taxes in his individual capacity and as a business man who owns some for-profit companies such as Raw Talent and Revals Communications.

If a famous, money-making public figure such as Al Sharpton refused to pay taxes why should poor, ordinary folks like me pay?

It Takes a Village to Raise a Child.

A colleague once narrated an incident that took place in her Wilmington, DE neighborhood. After getting off work in the middle of the night one fateful day, she saw a group of people loitering around her home. Seeing the fully-armed officer approach, the group dispersed. Then she realized that among the group were teenage girls and kids ranging from seven to twelve. Angrily, the officer scolded the girls and the kids for staying up so late in the company of grown men.

The following morning, her porch played host to some furious women who wanted to know why she scolded their kids. In spite of her explanation about feeling concerned for the kids’ safety, she was warned to mind her business next time. A few days later, the same officer arrived at her neighborhood to see the teenage girls “making out” with some of the men at various corners of the street. Shaking her head sadly, she ignored them. A few months afterwards, a couple of the girls were pregnant, victims of “babies having babies”.



All over the United States, too many people are shirking in their primary responsibilities as parents. And they would not tolerate anyone getting involved in their kid’s discipline. It’s no wonder therefore that the country is replete with too many rude, lazy and ignorant young people. Unfortunately, there is a staggering manifestation of this sad consequences in schools, work places and neighborhoods across the nation.

In many middle schools and high schools across the nation, it takes individuals with lion hearts to work as teachers. With metal detectors installed at several schools to prevent lethal weapons, the job of a teacher is filled with as much hazards as those of soldiers deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan.

When a typical high school churns out some irate, undisciplined kids either as drop-outs or as half-baked graduates, they usually end up at the hands of unlucky employers of labor. Yet, with a sordid foundation laden with laziness and indiscipline in formative years, these individuals who are now “grown” adults will sooner or later begin to exhibit their negative attributes.

Some of the kids who are unable to fit into a regular work orientation or too desperate to get rich quick, will end up as a menace to their neighborhoods. If they are not selling drugs at street corners, they get into street gangs to unleash terror on hapless people. Before long, these characters will get busted, tried in courts and jailed. And that is if the guys don’t first get killed by fellow drug dealers, opposing gangs or a frustrated police officer who is also a victim of some very poor parenting.

There is still hope in the horizon. But that is only if we all can return to the “old school” tradition where "it takes a village to raise a child".

The Complexities of Life.

There's a day of feasting and a day of famine, day of sadness and a day of joy. You could see in the day of feasting, that life isn't just a little play-like toy.

So, the day arrived when you least expected because you always thought you were well protected. Now, you feel like a fish out of water, so now, you're wondering what's the matter?

Oh remember you said it wouldn't happen to you. Now, you're thinking how to start anew, like a drowning man reaching for a straw. You were warned but you wouldn't take heed.

Everything in creation must obey a law, which is true in words as it is in, deed. Remember the saying about reaping what you sow? It’s a simple truth that everybody knows.

-    From "House of Exile" by Jimmy Cliff.

Taking Responsibility for our Image.

Whether we like it or not, certain people in our neighborhoods, at our jobs, among our friends and even within our families, will insist on seeing the worst in us. But it is our individual duty to take responsibility for our image, do right by others and project positive image to make a majority of people see the best in us.

There is a natural mechanism in every individual that sieves the positive character in our nature from the bad. Therefore, no matter the extent by which other people try to dent our image either out of ignorance or by sheer mischief, if the positive character in our nature is greater, it will always outshine whatever smear campaign is launched against us.

 

 

What are the Conditions of Your Eyes?

A young couple moves into a new neighborhood.

The next morning, while eating breakfast, the young woman sees her neighbor hanging some newly-washed clothes in the open yard.

"Those clothes are not clean", she said. "Doesn't she know how to wash clothes?"

Her husband looked on, but remained silent.

It was always like this each time the neighbor comes out into the yard to hang her clothes. The young woman would make the same comments to her husband.

About one month later, the woman was surprised to see some nice, clean clothes hanging on the line in the yard.

"Look..." she told her husband. "Our neighbor has finally learned to wash clothes properly..."

The husband looked at her, shook his head and said.

"I got up early this morning to clean our windows."

"So..." the woman was stunned."The problem was with our dirty windows...and not the clothes?"

And so it is with life ... what we see while observing other people depends on the condition of our eyes---are they pure or tainted with prejudice and stereotypes?