If you don't succeed, it's really easy to try and use race as a scapegoat because our society has tolerated it for so long, but that is a bygone era. If you want to move forward towards a color-irrelevant future, then you must first stop looking back and finding excuse in the circumstances of past generations. If it wasn't in your lifetime, then it needn't be in your life.

I'm actually going back to school in my free time (around working a full time job) for Radio & TV Performance and Production. Check out this movie a friend of mine from class made. He just released it last month and he's taking it to Sundance next month as well.

It provides a pretty interesting take on things using the Long Beach, CA hip-hop scene as the backdrop to tell a story of two whiteboys trying to become rappers.

It has a few established name rappers like KRS-1 in it, that make some very valid points about various elements of culture, and how they play into everything.

www.primalrap.com

In my opinion, it is worth buying.

I guess the point I've trying to get at is this entire "diversity" argument all comes back to culture and behavior. God knows jobs in the creative industries are extremely hard to get because they require exceptionally rare levels of ability in key areas, so just assuming they are supposed to fit any certain expectation except success is arguable.

I'm not sure if you can consider advertising the intellectual equivalent of professional sports, but the bottom line is, we can't all be Michael Jordan as much as we may want to. If I didn't make it, it wouldn't be because I was white though, it would be purely based on performance.

However, as a man, I respect Michael Jordan because he carried himself with relative class and respect on and off the court, and when you act that way, people will treat you that way, and you're odds of success will undoubtedly reflect that. You may not be a pro athlete or whatever as desired, but you will be a good person, and good people will see that, and that can payoff in other ways.

I don't like strategies that approach things from stereotypical perspectives, much less outdated ones, but I realize this is an uphill battle. Therefore I would only address things on an individual case-by-case subjective basis, and the best performance on the desired tasks should win. Don't be part of the past problem, be part of the desired future.

Happy Kwanzaa! (although for the record, I think if Kwanzaa threw out the self-excluding "African" core definition, the principles it is supposed to embody and promote would be far more unifying instead of culturally divisive)

I see people as people, and I judge them on principle and behavior, not color or God knows what continent they originally came from. It is literally so retarded to see things in that way. We are all members of the human community, and it would be nice if people started finding more important things to claim or blame that the color of their skin, sex, or nationality.

It's really this simple:

Hi! What is your name? What do you do? What would you rather do? What are your interests? What is your guiding philosophy? Perfect!

If you can answer those simple questions without using race or nationality as a qualifier, and your world view isn't one that causes harm or damage to others, then you are OK in my book.

What are you?

You are not a white man. You are not a black man. You are not even a wo-man. You are a human being first, and you should see and treat others the same way, and expect them to see an treat you as you see and treat them.

I know this is all theoretical rhetoric, but it is based on an ideal future, not a checkered past.

:)

Do we need more diversity in professional basketball?

How about rap?

Wait a minute, that doesn't seem fair. Some people are simply better at some things than others, and beyond that, people are naturally DRAWN to EXCEL at things that interest them most in a relatively free (we are ALL slaves to money) society, but it damn sure isn't as easy as some people make it look or sound.

I think it is ridiculous and taking a step backwards to try and blame race as the scapegoat for anything/everything when convenient. Ignore color all together. Judge people by behavior, performance, nobility of their intent, and they way they treat others.

In business I guess it simply comes down to performance, but don't get me started on corporate character reform that I also think the world needs.

I'm somewhat envious of Malcom's job and obvious career and financial accomplishment, but he clearly deserves it. Not because he is black, but because he obviously has lived his life in a way that led to where he is at.

I do not argue that it is hard to break into cultures that see you as different. I actually thought about being a battlerapper for a while because it looked like easy money, but I had a hard time bringing myself to accept many of the socially destructive attitudes it stereotypically promotes.

The key there is that word STEREOTYPE. F*ck stereotypes even when they are largely true, because the goal is to be the EXCEPTION to the rule, and prove that you can go against the grain and succeed based on your own ability. That's the beauty of America.

That's funny, because where I went to college "2%" meant something completely different. I was actually seriously considering getting my license plate customized to say "2 PERCNT", but I was afraid my car would get keyed.

Where I went to school (Texas A&M University), "2 percenters" were people that didn't take part in all the (in my opinion trivial, stupid, ridiculous, and pointless) traditions related to turn-of-the-century school spirit and "all-important" football games etc.

Stand up to watch the entire football game if you want to, but unless I'm on the field playing, f*ck that, I'd rather stay at home, avoid the crowds, and do my own thing.

So, I guess peoples' definition of things varies depending on where they are from. I think that is called "relative perspective", and ALL humans are limited by it.

More on topic of this video, I am generally considered to be an exceptionally creative person, and I would LOVE to have Malcom's job, but, I don't know anybody in that industry, and unfortunately didn't go that route in school.

The bottom line is, when it comes to some jobs, TALENT and SKILL are required to compete, and if you don't have that natural talent, no amount of skill you can acquire will put you on that elite level required to play with the pros in the big leagues.

Advertising is about manipulating peoples' thoughts and actions using words and actions, so whatever the sly angle being sold is, that certainly doesn't make it true. And if you want the world to be the best place it can be, TRUTH is what needs to matter more than peoples' self-centered desire to spin things to their benefit.

Of course we know (tragically in my opinion) the world is largely run by bullshit artists (from politicians, to preachers, to rappers...quite possibly all the way down to what your parents told you was true based on their own limited and subjective perception), and advertising is certainly at the center of that 3 ring circus.