Afternoon RoundUp

September 9, 2011

The internet has been freaking out today at the prospect of fast food chains like McDonalds, Wendys and Taco Bell accepting food stamps from customers. You’ve got one side arguing that nobody, rich or poor, should be utilizing a tax payer-funded program like food stamps to buy junk food like cheeseburgers, sodas and skittles. Others say that it’s none of your freakin’ business what someone buys with their food stamps, tax payer-funded or not.

While it is certainly up to the individual to decide what they put into their bodies, regardless of their method of payment, what this issue really brings to light is the issue of Food Deserts in underprivileged communities. People turn to Burger King because the food is cheap and easily accessible; as opposed to catching two buses to get to the closest legit grocery store. Junk food should never be the most affordable option for an entire neighborhood. We need to do a better job of providing healthy, affordable food options for all Americans, regardless of where they live.

 

Howard University and Morehouse University, two of Black America’s foremost HBCUs, are rekindling a decades-long rivalry this weekend, squaring off for the first time in 15 years (which is a ridiculously long time). Shit is sure to hit the fan in D.C. this weekend, and we wish we could be there. But according to TheRoot.com, an estimated 10,000 fans will.

 

In news that will certainly piss off everyone who already hates them, underground rap collective Odd Future are getting their very own TV show. Poignantly-titled “Loiter Squad,” the show is being billed as a 15-minute “Jackass-styled” live action show featuring “sketches, man on street segments, pranks and music from the Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All collective.” Apparently the show will be on Adult Swim, which makes almost too much sense, and it’s just bound to be the most offensive thing on television, bar none. Excited?

 

And check out this spoken word piece by Loany G, an ex-stripper “that actually finished school.” It’s a pretty phenomenal poem, capturing one young woman’s struggle to find her way in an unforgiving economy. Young black people are disproportionately impacted by unemployment. Obviously not everyone turns to stripping, but her poem still makes you think. She makes no apologies for her choices, but takes great pains to convey the utter demoralization that comes with placing one’s own body on display for the leering eyes of uncaring onlookers.

Not everybody’s stripping because they want to, guys.