Nobody asked me but...
***Florida's recently passed "Don't Say Gay" legislation is condescending, silly, and mean spirited public policy—period!
While I fully expect this law to fail in federal court because it is a textbook example of a governmental entity infringing upon free speech per the First Amendment, it still irks me to no end to see Florida Gov. Ronnie Desantis (R) and his conservative minions in the legislature forcing their discriminatory sense of values upon others.
You see, I find it funny that ‘conservatives' whose ‘family values’ render them hostile towards the LGBTQ community, have so little to say about alleged child molesters in their ranks (see U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz-R), or the men who are responsible for everything from mental health breakdowns, to abortions, that are forced upon their ‘girlfriends’ (see U.S. Sen. Tim Murphy-R), all because their conservative public images wouldn't quite square with their private philanderings, if the truth came to light!
Republican Rep. Tim Murphy (Pa), a staunch anti-abortion advocate and family values proponent, resigned in 2017 when it was revealed that he had helped pay for his girlfriend's abortion…
But alas, such hypocrisy is as old as time—and it is far past time for us to call these hypocrites out on their hypocrisies and, while calling them out, choosing to say “gay” in support of our LGBTQ kin and friends!
***While I often lament the dumbing down of America, I must declare that while I know that there are half wits and dumb-asses in both major political parties, the modern Republican Party has cornered the market in terms of elevating village idiots to high elected office (see U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville-Ala., and Reps. Marjorie Taylor-Greene-Ga., and Lauren Boebert-Co., for quick reference).
Such is why I cringe at the mere thought of Herschel Walker leading his Republican primary challengers at this juncture—and placing several points ahead of incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock in general election poll projections.
Seriously, what renders Herschel Walker fit to serve the state of Georgia in the U.S. Senate? Is it because he played football for the Georgia Bulldogs? Or, is it because he boxed, rode a bobsled, wrestled, and has been a fitness guru of sorts?
Seriously, somebody please help me to understand the qualifications of a man who has lived in Texas, not Georgia, for the majority of his adult life; one who struggles mightily to string subjects and predicates into coherent thoughts; one who has lied about his academic background, his business successes, and has admitted that prior domestic violence accusations stem from his mental health deficiencies! And while I do not make light of the violent streak that he admits he struggles to contain, I do find it quite curious that in an era when so many people clutched their pearls last month when Will Smith slapped a whole grown man (Chris Rock), that some of the same folks who condemned Smith have no problem at all with old Herschel allegedly beating up a grown woman…
The problem, I submit, is America's general infatuation with celebrities; in my 11 years on the Facebook platform, some of the most heated debates on my page have come when fans of celebrities like former Florida State University quarterback Jameis Winston, R&B singer R. Kelly, Dr. Bill Cosby, and even former presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, show up to defend these celebs allegations of rape or other criminal misbehaviors as if they were passionately defending themselves in a courtroom! Some of these ones defenses have been downright offensive, too, as the fans of such celebrities often resort to personal insults as they “stand by their man.”
While Walker's celebrity is shielding him from a proper vetting process for the Senate seat, I can only hope that those up in Georgia with good sense will do their parts to turn out and re-elect Sen. Raphael Warnock not just because he has done well for Georgia to date, but also because the last thing that Congress needs is another senator who "don't much about history, biology, or a science book," as the late R&B legend Sam Cooke once famously crooned!
***Listen, I don't care what any federal judge, politician, or agency head says about mask wearing, if you are getting on a plane where you will be flying in a veritable Petri dish for any period of time, please wear a mask!
Florida's puerile governor, Ronnie Desantis, is an anti-masker, and he expressed his deplorable views like a child throwing a hissy-fit on his Facebook page: “(President Joe) Biden’s extension of the transportation mask mandate simply prolongs the misery that passengers and flight attendants are being forced to endure. This is not evidence based, but simply more COVID theater. This is the Biden equivalent of continuing the beatings until morale improves. I’m glad Florida and other states are fighting this mandate in court."
As expected, Desantis's words are the typical drivel of a political village idiot; folks, do know that your fellow Americans are still out here passing Covid germs each time they talk or cough, and a mask could help you avoid catching Covid or spreading it to your loved ones. I stress "could" because few things in life are ever 100 percent certain—but you surely stand a better chance covered than you do inhaling germs from your in-flight neighbors and flight attendants!
Birthday Blessings for my Nana
My paternal grandmother, Arilla J. Hobbs, was born 101 years today in Levy County, Florida to Bahamian immigrant D.K. Jones and Minnie Lee "Big Momma" Mitchell-Jones!
I was blessed to have a close relationship with my grandmother, a woman who, while not formally educated beyond high school, possessed a razor sharp mind and ability to recite facts that led to many wonderful talks about Jim Crow segregation in Miami, Florida.
By the time I left home for college, I realized how crucial Nana's talks were whenever my college schoolmates would conclude in classroom discussions or dorm debates that "Florida wasn't really the old South." They were quite wrong, as Nana was born in 1921 in the northern end of Levy County, the very one that would explode in January of 1923 as racist whites massacred hundreds of Blacks in Rosewood, Florida, which was located near Levy County's southern end. Her family fled to Gainesville (like many local Blacks), before eventually settling back in Dixie County, where her father was a lumberjack who cut down pine trees and extracted turpentine for a living—while her mother worked as a cook and maid at the Putnam Lodge (depicted below circa 2013).
Nana also reminded, quite often, that when her family moved back to the Coconut Grove section of Miami, an area that was filled with fellow Bahamian immigrants, that those who worked as domestic maids or construction workers on Miami Beach had to have "papers" to allow them access—lest they be arrested for breaking the Jim Crow trespassing codes!
When Nana died in August of 2000, barely six weeks after her elder son (my father Charles) died that May, I lost one of my favorite teachers, one who told the truth "straight with no chaser," as my generation often says. But her memory lives on through her descendants, and her teachings live on through her grandson's trenchant pen each and every time I “Hobbserve” about Jim Crow in 20th Century America!
Happy Birthday in Heaven, Nana, and continue to rest in peace!
Thank you for subscribing to the Hobbservation Point—have a wonderful Wednesday!
Loved this... you hit a homerun
Excellent again. What a granny. On Walker, ever since Reagan, it is all about the look of being tough and being able to say the right script, much more than actually being smart. This greatly concerns me, just as it did with the Founding Fathers. All part of the dumbing down. I certainly hope that Georgia continues on the right path. I would also like to see athletes like Charlie Ward or Warrick Dunn get into politics, IF we must have athletes. At least I have some confidence that their hearts and heads are in the right place.