So this is my first post...I decided to write about some things that have been on my mind. This is the first presidential election that has gone on since I've been old enough to vote. During the previous one, I was only 17. Some say this is the presidential election that will rival all others after it. They say this one's going to make history. I kinda feel special that this is going on in my lifetime. I see change on the horizon, and it's exciting to know that as a Black woman, I have a part in that. It's disturbing though the amount of voter apathy. People, namely the youth of our nation, think that the things that everybody's talking about are things that won't change if they vote. But they complain about gas prices, and how much it costs to live. Don't they know they have the power to change all that? The power's in the vote, people.
My sister is trying to get a job as an HIV-prevention educator, which I think is right up her alley. She's smart and articulate, and she just got her Bachelors in public health. When we were talking about her interview, we got into somewhat of a sidebar about the demographics that get the best and the worst of HIV/AIDS education. And we agreed. Coming from Los Angeles, which is where my sister and me grew up, we see a lot of HIV/AIDS education geared towards homosexual white males. And then we discussed why that is. We both said the same thing. It's all about the resources. Not to take away from homosexual white males as a demographic, because they deserve the benefits of HIV/AIDS education just as much as anyone else. But it's clear that as a demographic the availability of resources is sort of one-sided. And why stop at one group? Why not educate all groups in one place? It's rare that you see more than one group being the focus when it comes to HIV/AIDS education. You always see AIDS in Africa, AIDS among gays, and AIDS among African-Americans being discussed separately. Why not talk about them all in one place, at one time?
On another subject, I was born in New Orleans, which is where I've recently come to from Los Angeles. I hadn't been back here since August of 1999, which is six years before Katrina to the month. I got the chance to go back into the city last week, and I'm still reeling. The rest of the country thinks that New Orleans is officially back on its feet and that's not the case at all. I got a chance to be driven past the house where the Real World New Orleans was filmed, and it was still completely gutted. There are houses that still have those spraypainted boards in their windows. There are houses that are still only half there. There are front and back yards that still have FEMA trailers in them. People can't afford to come home. Cost of living has gone way up down here, but wages have not...I know I'm not the only one that sees something wrong with that, am I?
I want to give some shout-outs:
My sister (who gets on my nerves, but who makes me so proud)
The city of New Orleans (RIP)
Barack Obama and John McCain (hopefully one of you can pull our country out of this political sespool)
MTV (for being the symbol of the youth, artistically, socially, and now politically)
Peace and Jah Bless