Every Man On The Radio These Days Is Telling His Crush How Beautiful She Is. Hes Crooning How Can You

Every man on the radio these days is telling his crush how beautiful she is. He’s crooning “How can you not see how beautiful you are? You capture my attention every time you step in a room, and I would do anything if I could tell you so each day.” His crush, a girl with immense physical attraction, does not know how many are captivated by her, and he takes it upon himself to gush to her about her own gorgeousness. A good sentiment, kind hearted, for how many girls out there are self-conscious about their body, hair, features? Isn’t it every girl’s dream to be noticed by a guy who looks at her as though she is his everything?   

    But what if this girl, being serenaded by every male pop star out there, was aware that she was beautiful? What if you complimented her, and she responded with “Thanks! I thought this dress looked nice too.” Would the man she’s wooed be attracted to her self-assured stride, the way she holds her chin high - or would she seem too arrogant for his ego? Would she be more appealing for her confidence, her knowledge that she is exactly where she’s meant to be, or would he loose interest because the need to shower her with appreciation is gone?   

    These are questions in our society that must be asked. Are men more attracted to weak, unsure women, or determined ones who know the only person they need are themselves? Why? Why does a woman have to conform to men’s standards of how much self-love you can have? The only person a woman needs to keep her happy and strong is herself. She does not need to have you gush through the false speakers of the radio to tell her she is beautiful. She’s not arrogant for knowing she deserves the world, she is not a “bitch” for condescendingly thanking the whistlers on the corner, she is not stuck-up for taking compliments and knowing they have a reason to be said.   

    But a girl at peace with herself is deemed unattractive by a man who wants to be emotionally dominant in a relationship. Because a girl is not supposed to know her own self worth.

There’s something about a girl, some unspoken phenomenon. The unfathomable depth beneath words that makes you love her. Because all the gorgeous melancholy and unimaginable happiness makes her more than human. It makes you marvel at the wonders of creation. It is her resilience.

In the darkened corner of a spicy club, two people. Green skirts and navy tees. He ought to be focusing on his band members, the drums and claves and maracas and musicians with the music in their soul, pumping out a rhythm that sparks those high-up lights meant for Navidad. The noise will wake the neighbors’ kids, whose mother works long hours in a bustling sweatshop, the noise and voices holding no joy like the sunshine of the meringue band. She works hard for the children she has raised, and to keep them away from the fascination of her home in La Vibora.

The lights are bright and warm: not blinding, calm like a happy day. He can just avoid the spotlights shining on him and his friends, who practice long and play longer, drink and have fun and remember what their mothers taught them. The women on the block, the one’s too young to be raising a child or a husband, scoff and assume they will flirt. Uncertainty.

It is loud and hot and sexy, but no one feels threatened. It’s just fun, and those who know each other know. Xenophobia, like in the rest of the neighborhood, where all are foreigners in La Ciudad de Nueva York.

In the darkened corner of a spicy club, two people. He leans in, singing along to her. His cowbell sharp and sassy like the slips and flicks of her fingertips. She pays him no mind, her curls and lips and hips smiling for no one but herself. Dark chocolate shards and caramel brooks. Bubbly and laughing, taunting him. Caution, but intelligent humor.

Quick feet, flashing eyes. Wink, smirk, arched brow, blissful eyelids.

She is dancing fast beside him, her movements all her own. He will not contain her, and she will not indulge. The hard-working Mexican, her eyes bright as the muddy mangoes her father brings home to her, telling her the stories and memories of his childhood with the family’s orchards, lush before fire took them, and his family starting new and happy until fire took her, and left him with a daughter who is slipping away to a better future, that girl who is slender in a green dress, her long curls churning, her feet outpacing his self-esteem. Friendly, platonically, and he doesn’t take the blow.

Her voice clear, singing along to the rhythms, she won’t give him any satisfaction of hearing her voice compliment his cultures’ words, the sunshine of a music that others mistake for merengue, when Puerto Ricans have a culture all their own, and stereotypes are easy, especially for a young man who wanted more as a descendant of slavery, who felt trapped in a place like that, whose differences keep her wondering. Wondering like the histories of his skin that differs from the music that is like sunshine. Subtle in the darkened corner of a spicy club.

Sleeveless green like los flores, navy tee shining behind eyes like estrellas. Loving wisdom hidden by twinkling humor, shining down on simple happiness.

Xenophobia, racism, hostility, friendzone? Feminism, she dances.

It’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day, everyone! Today we honor the legacy of one of the most inspiring and dedicated leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. 

Before the Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964, racial segregation was a part of daily American life. MLK Jr. saw the injustice in this, and wanted to fight against it. A preacher and an activist, as well as a loving husband and father, he dedicated his career to improving the lives of African-Americans. Sit-ins were jeered and people were arrested, but Mr. King continued his work. He encouraged many Americans, black and white, to fight for racial equality. In the end, they succeeded.  Today we honor this man’s life, and the effect his message has had on America. The right’s and opportunities of this great country should never be denied to anyone - Martin Luther King Jr. helped teach us that. 

“Words have the power to change the world, and that realization inspires me everyday.” ~Amanda Gorman

Well, this blog might not get very far. 

According to recent news, Net Neutrality, the set of rules that protect our Internet rights and freedoms, is on the line. The principle that enables online freedom to publish, access, and receive any content you wish might be impacted on December 14th, 2017. If Congress votes to change the bill, millions of Americans’ safety, First Amendment rights, and access to information would be affected. 

Almost since President Trump took office, his FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has been pushing for Net Neutrality to be reconsidered on Capital Hill. Millions of Americans have spoken up, on social media and directly to our government officials, requesting that the bill stay the same. Pay has ignored these messages and insists that Net Neutrality limits innovation and economic growth. But what he’d really be doing, if he manages to get the bill off the board, would be clearing away regulations that prevent telecom giants, like Verizon or Comcast, from controlling what content users obtain. Right now, companies can’t pick what websites and services get to us faster, for censorship or economic reasons. They aren’t allowed to slow down or speed up their own content or sites to stifle a competitor. The general fear, and the reason for Net Neutrality, is that if they could, they would. Booming businesses could profit off of the violation of our constitutional rights, if Ajit Pai’s mission succeeds.   

You can say and view and do whatever you want online. All the information and opportunity on the planet is at your fingertips, because of Net Neutrality. Heck, while writing this I had to research the details of what’s actually been going down lately. How? Net Neutrality. Social media, websites, applications, databases - so much would be effected, and not for the better. A lot of people who use the Internet to make a change, marginalized communities standing up for their rights, all these people could be silenced. For money. 

We owe it to Net Neutrality, the result of millions of activists in 2015, that America is as safe, informed, and free as it is now. Hey, it’s the reason I’m able to run this blog - using my voice to talk about what I believe in, which not everyone out there can do.   

There’s still time. In just days, on December 14, the bill will be voted on. Send this to friends, contact government officials and politicians, take action now. While it isn’t too late.