HELLO WORLD
You may not realize it yet, but you are actually part of a historic & monumental occasion at this very moment! No, I didn’t win a million dollars (and, well, neither did you) BUT you are here to witness that I, James Higgins, have finally arrived on the Internet article circuit!! Yep, this is article one of what I hope to be a very positive experience for all involved. My family and friends have mentioned plenty of times over the past few years, “You REALLY need to write the occasional magazine or newspaper article? There are people who could use your pearls of wisdom!” Now, I’m not sure if they were being serious or just wanted me to shut up and take my ramblings elsewhere (I’ll go with the latter. Regardless of their intentions or if this is the right/wrong time for me to do this, I’m here now! Woooo hooo, break out the streamers and the chocolate milk, I finally have a platform to run my mouth!
Since I decided to join We of Hue I have had plenty of people actually shocked that I have chosen this avenue to discuss my insights. Most folks, who know me, know I do NOT have time for nonsense or ignorance of any kind. So it wasn’t a shock when the questions started, “Why in the world would you want to waste your time writing for We of Hue (WOH), or any site for that matter? Isn’t there too much yelling, name calling, and not enough intelligent discussion on many of these sites?” Well, the way I see it, it was about time for me to get involved with some folks who also enjoy a nice healthy debate and some intelligent dialogue, and WOH feels right to me. Not only that, but what better way than the Internet to “educate” and “inform” those who truly seek to change their community? That’s not to say that the authors and readers of WOH will not/don’t disagree on issues, but I decided to come aboard because I believe that disagreements will not turn into name calling and personal attacks (either from the authors or the readers). My people, we have A LOT of issues which are tearing at the fabric of our community and the time for all the trivial garbage has to stop. WOH is the place where I hope we will focus on the “message” and not so much “the messenger”.
The fact of the matter is that as a college educated, married, stay-at-home father of 2 young children (how often do you hear all that in the same sentence?) my “voice” is not being well represented within the confines of the Internet, the media, movies, music, etc… I don’t need to go into the LONG laundry list of ways Black Men are portrayed/ not portrayed in society (but I will in my next article). I came here because I know that by no means am I the only one out there who is fed up with much of what is taking place in the Black Community and the overall lack of accountability, not only from our “leaders” (and I use the term loosely), but from each of us on an individual basis. And while I am not a “journalist” by trade, I am a concerned father and husband who hasn’t had his head in the sand his entire life. I’ve been around the block a few times both personally and professionally so I do have a solid foundation for many of the topics I plan to discuss in the coming months/years: topics such as Parenting, Adoption, Children, Education, and yep…Marriage). You may agree with some of my “rants”, and disagree with others, but my hope is that I can get you to walk away saying, “Not only did that piece get me thinking, but I’d like to discuss it a bit further and maybe even look at changing my thoughts into action.”
A few years ago a movie came out entitled, “Finding Forrester”. No, I’m not going to go into the plot, etc… but there is a scene that I think pretty much sums up my involvement with WOH and wanting to bring about some change in the way we think about certain issues, and what is truly important and what really is a waste of time. In the scene, a much older mentor, William (played by Sean Connery) asks the younger high school student mentee, Jamal (played by Rob Brown), “Is that a soup question?” Now, seeing that quote stand alone without the context of the movie is tough, but it essentially meant/means, “Is the question you asked pertinent or important to the goal you are trying to meet?” Well, my goal with WOH is to get us ALL talking and doing things to move our community forward. Unfortunately if it isn’t a “soup question” I will not be talking about it in “Real Talk Wednesdays”. Whether or not T.I and Wesley Snipes go to jail, or The Real Housewives have a reunion, or the Kardashian sisters are having men problems are not “soup questions” so I won’t be wasting my VERY valuable time writing about such nonsense nor waste your valuable time by having you read it. I’m quite sure you have many other sites you can go to and get the latest celebrity gossip, I would rather spent my time in a more “constructive” manner)
I am REALLY looking forward to my relationship with We of Hue; from our founder, to the authors, and most importantly those of you who take the time to come and visit…the readers. But for today, it’s now time for the Iron Dad (you know kinda like Iron Chef; that and I also do a lot of ironing to bid you all adieu, the kiddos are ready to play.
See ya next time on Real Talk Wednesdays when I will “attempt” to go into why we Black Men have a problem with certain movies and why we need to STOP whining all the time and literally man up!
<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/alvarez-tostado/363243422/” title=”Dad and daughter by tostadophoto.com, on Flickr”>image credit: Dad and daughter by tostadophoto.com, on Flickr</a>
