Confirmed!

The Friday Flashpoints...

Alas, a Sista raised in the County Dade (Miami), is heading to the Supreme Court!!!!!!

By a 53-47 bipartisan vote, modern American history (her-story) was made yesterday and now, the Honorable Ketanji Brown Jackson is poised to be sworn as the first Black woman Associate Justice on the United States Supreme Court! 

My heart burst with pride as my mother (whose age I won’t give 😆) noted her gratitude for living long enough to see this milestone, while later in the afternoon, my pre-teenage daughter, smiling broadly, noted that seeing Justice KBJ fully confirmed reminds her that she can grow up to become anything that she sets her mind on becoming! 

Amen!

Quisling Tim Scott is all sold out

All morning yesterday and into the early afternoon, there was a part of me that hoped that Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), the sole Black Republican in the U.S. Senate, would have a change of heart and vote to confirm Justice KBJ. 

Sen. Tim Scott is forever etched on the wrong side of history…

So, I'm not one that believes that everyone has to think or feel alike on all political issues, but I am one that believes that historic "firsts" for Black people should be celebrated and supported by ALL Black people. I remember back in 2008 that several Black Republicans, including the late Colin Powell, former U.S. Rep. J.C. Watts, and former Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele, were ecstatic when Barack Obama won the presidential election—despite not sharing his brand of politics!

But not Sen. Scott, a man who gave a milquetoast acknowledgment of Justice KBJ's nomination during the same week that he voted against her confirmation! 

The self-hate within Scott is palpable, and what's worse is that two Republican women, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, placed their partisanship aside to support what now becomes a record number of women (four) on the Supreme Court.

Conversely, Scott is seemingly content with receiving the praises of a group of conservatives who very likely still see him as "3/5ths" of a man—even if they won't say it to his face. 

Holocaust Remembrance

After watching Justice KBJ's confirmation vote, I was blessed to accept the invitation of a dear friend and old colleague, Attorney Liz Ricci, and attend a reception that she co-hosted for the local Holocaust Education Resource Council.

Posing with my friends Quia Atkinson, Amanda Heslekrantz, Liz Ricci, her husband Neil Rambana, and their younger daughter Belen Rambana…

For those unaware, my primary area of focus while earning undergraduate and master's degrees in history from Morehouse College and Florida A&M University was modern European history, with a special emphasis on the Second World War. During my final semester of law school at the University of Florida, my senior seminar thesis compared and contrasted violations of natural law at the Nazi concentration camps with the Andersonville and Libby Prison camps from the U.S. Civil War.

Ergo, I enjoy any opportunity to gain further knowledge about the Shoah—or to share my own—especially in an era when so many foolish politicians are quick to compare relative trivialities, like mask wearing during the Covid pandemic, to the plight of over ten million Jews, Roma, and others deemed "sub-human" by Hitler's evil minions, who were murdered in Nazi death camps.  

Lest we forget...

Russian atrocities

I am still somewhat surprised that the Russian military is getting whipped in Ukraine, but I am not surprised in the least that in failing to take the military advantage, that Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilians are ramping up!

This morning, the Associated Press is reporting that over 30 Ukrainians are dead and nearly 100 injured following a Russian missile strike near the Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk. 

This play from the Russians is not new; During World War II, when the German Luftwaffe (Air Force) failed to whip the Royal Air Force in the Battle of Britain to pave the way for a German invasion, Herman Goering, the Luftwaffe commander and second in command to Hitler, ordered the terror bombing of London that left thousands of civilians dead—and countless buildings destroyed.

Just as the Germans did not conquer the British during World War II, so it seems that the Russians will not conquer their Ukrainian neighbors (absent the injection of tactical nuclear missiles). 

Stay tuned...

Homophobia

Earlier this week, I was greatly annoyed by a 50-ish looking white male while standing in a rather long Publix Deli line to order lunch. While I had a grocery cart that kept a distance between us, the guy first looked back and made a comment about my size before saying "I don't know if I should be scared with you standing behind me," after which he kept turning back to look and laugh seemingly every few seconds. 

I did not respond...

In my life and career, I have come across all sorts of folks who try to make idle chatter at best or, at worst, try to bait me into confrontation. This includes the white male whose jaw I cracked outside of the Leon County Courthouse back in 2003 for calling me the unpardonable "N-word" after a very contentious hearing in the gambling case of my then client, former Florida State University quarterback Adrian McPherson. 

N-word aside, I was raised by my father that words alone should never lead to violence, so when the guy kept staring and commenting about my size, I did not get offended because, well, I am a very large man.

I was, however, on high mental alert because there are many fools out here in the world who may be looking for an excuse to pull a weapon and claim "I feared for my life" when the big, Black man puts them in verbal check.

Thus, my silence...

...but this guy just wouldn't shut up.....

As the line inched painfully slow to the front, perhaps bothered by my refusal to engage, the guy then took a look at my shirt, a Ralph Lauren Polo, and said "well, that ain't no Disney logo, so I guess you're alright."

I took this selfie while standing in the Publix checkout line post-incident knowing that it was my complexion, not my size, that had that idiot thinking that I was a threat…

I stood there in silence, despite knowing fully well that Kissimmee, Florida based Disney World is in a spat of sorts with Florida Republicans and Gov. Ron Desantis over the whole "Don't Say Gay" Bill that would limit what and how matters of sexual orientation and identity can be taught in the Sunshine State.  

Noticing my continued refusal to chat, the guy turned around and finally started ordering his sandwich. Shortly after, a second sandwich line opened and we were side by side, so he finally heard my deep baritone when I ordered the chicken tenders sub and engaged in banter with the young woman who was making it. 

Perhaps frustrated that I refused to chat with him, the guy tried one last time, saying "hey, I just think it's crazy that Disney wants kids to learn all about all kinds of mess...."

And still, there was silence from Ol' Hobbs… After what seemed like an eternity, the guy finally got the hint, took his sandwich, and walked off!

The lesson here is actually Biblically rooted: "Resist the Devil and he will flee." But the practical reality is that just as the old saying about "entertaining angels unaware" is true, so is the notion of being wary of demons! 

Which leads to my conclusion—when it comes to sexual preference and orientation, folks really need to exorcise their own issues while living and letting others live! Especially when folks are government actors running afoul of both the First Amendment and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by trying to limit what people can say when it comes to sexual orientation!

Seeing cartoons, like Cinderella, did not “make” little Chuckie Hobbs heterosexual as a child—nor did parental or church socialization! When I was in first grade, I was absolutely smitten with a pretty little brown skinned girl named Cherese, and nobody “told” me to be smitten with her—it just came naturally. Many of my gay and lesbian friends have told me that they felt those same feelings as a child and yet, from their families, to the clergy, to politicians, they face skeptics who assume that their preference was due to some form of sexual abuse or untoward influence…

Lest we forget!

Thank you for subscribing to the Hobbservation Point—have a wonderful weekend!