Obama fallout

   Is it just me or does anybody else see a serious uptick in racism since Obama got elected. No, I'm not talking about the political scene (which could be a post all by itself). I'm talking about the good old fashioned racism that you can do nothing about, the racism from your fellow everyday people. There have been well, over a few occasions since 4 November 2008 that I have experienced BLATANT racism... The kind that you cannot overlook even if you tried. When I returned home from my first deployment and went snowboarding in Vermont with a few of my fellow deployment friends we were denied service in a restaurant. Now, obviously they did not come out and say "reggin you are not welcome here" but they just didn't seat us. Several families were enjoying a delicious dinner and several employees walked out of the kitchen, saw us standing there and went about their business. In addition to this I have heard people saying and also calling me reggin. Many of the times this had led to physical altercations because I'm a prideful man and someone isn't going to call me reggin and have me not take my rage out on your face and chest region. Most of these stories I'll probably write about because some of them are pretty hilarious.

   Anyway, back to the title of this post. I think the reason that I've experienced so much racism recently is because of Obama. (Yes, I blame Obama for the uptick in racism just... Not like that.) I think that people are so angry that a black person is in office that the hidden racism that just wasn't "cool" before is rearing it's ugly head. I'm not naive enough to think that it ever went away, just that it went underground and Obama's election made it bubble to the surface. Think about it, if you were a closet racist who thought that you were intrinsically better than another group of people and the most powerful man in the world was the head of your country, wouldn't you look for revenge.

   I'll end this with a story.... On November 4, 2008 I was in Talil, Iraq. I was living outside at the airport a football field or so from where planes were landing. Eight of us were waiting to go back to glorious, glorious America. Of course I knew that the election results would be in so I woke up at 7am (technically on the 5th from my standpoint) to see the results come in. After learning that Obama won I quickly left our area to go get breakfast, arms up in the air TRIUMPHANT!!!!! When I got to the dining facility I was SHOCKED to see grown men crying... Not cause they were happy either, because their Commander In Chief was black.

   Outrageous isn't it.

How I'll Know When I Made it.

   This is my first post and I have no idea how much I will be putting into blogging continuously. Hopefully, I'll keep this going and it won't be relegated into the depths of potentially incriminating nonsense that makes up most of the internet. Anyway, I'm a token and I've been traveling this token life for a while now. Most of this will be from my perspective.

   Anyway, I'm kinda broke. Not really broke as in "where will we be living soon" but "my bills take all my money and my job sucks my soul right out of me" broke. Is that even broke? I'm not sure. Anyway, this is how I'll know I made it.

I know I've made it when you can walk around in shorts in my house in the wintertime cause my house is warm.

I know I've made it when I can leave the lights on in my house and not worry about the electric bill.

I know I've made it (at least partially) when I can tell people where I work with pride.

These are just a few of the things that I'l be able to identify when I've "made it"... I'll let you know if it ever does.