It's An All Williams Wimbledon Final Again - Spare Us The Haterade!

Venus and Serena Williams won in contrasting fashion (early) Thursday to set up their fourth all-sister Wimbledon final and eighth meeting in a Grand Slam title match. The sisters - who hold 17 Grand Slam titles between them - will face each other in a Fourth of July final. 

“Oh, my God, this is my eighth final, and it’s a dream come to true to be here again and have the opportunity to hold the plate up,” Venus said. “A fourth final - it’s so exciting. It was so hard before my match to watch all that drama,” Venus said, referring to Serena’s semifinal. “

One Williams or the other has won seven of the past nine championships at the All England Club. Serena beat Venus in the 2002 and ’03 finals, and Venus came out on top against her younger sister last year. Yahoo sports

I am so looking forward to what will be an exciting match for the final Wimbeldon Ladies round. The fans of good tennis always are. What I am not looking forward to are the snide comments from the US broadcasters' decision to let some of the most hateful, jealous ex-tennis players moderate it. I'm calling out John McEnroe specifically because he doesn't even try to hide his utter disdain for all things Williams. You'd think it was a personal vendetta. Or that they had done something to him. We see you John. 

I also see it as the allowance of the denigration of black women as started by black men for....you guessed it black women whose features, skin shade and appearance are not the sacred cow of fairness and light. We all know whatever activities women engage in, her appearance is more noticed and harshly judged than a man doing the exact same thing. A man with a big belly will be referred to as a teddy bear while a similarly shaped woman...is not. Both Venus and Serena have gone through their own journey as women and seem to have found their beauty regime and fashion niche. 

I recall all the years they were ridiculed for their appearance which was really about their refusal to conform to what others wanted. Apparently it hasn't stopped as evidenced by this HuffPo article. It was always about the superficial. We know that had they possessed more "keen" features no one would have said a word. This isn't about pitting black women of various features against each other or elevating one over the other either. We know that certain black women time and time again get the short end of the stick and are bashed by other blacks for their features and some white men have taken their cue in adding to the pile-on (Don Imus, Asher Roth, etc). 

It was also about their sheer dominance of a sport all-hallowed as lily white. Well Miss Anne and Mister have to take a back seat. They have ruled US tennis for the past decade and don't appear to be anywhere close to being on the back end of their peak. They should be on the cover of more magazines, have prime time specials dedicated to them and be afforded the respect they deserve for all of their hard work. When I watched the elevation of certain foreign white female tennis players over the players of their own country by the USTA and these commentators I shook my head in disgust. Federer gets more favorable press and he's the male champ from Switzerland! I also noticed last year how the Olympics were all about a certain white male swimmer who very quickly showed how false idols quickly disintegrate when proof of his drug use surfaced.

This isn't about the worship of athletes and celebrities, but have you ever heard of such a scandal with either sister? Of course not! If I hear another of these fake commentators talk of "physicality" I will hurl. It is not sheer "brute" force that propels these women as the premier tennis players of the last few generations. They're not superhuman. It is their mental focus, dedication to craft and practice. Oh and I'm certain a little natural ability, but that won't carry you over the threshold. I am also tired of hearing comments about Serena's body shape and weight. I cannot recall at any time that I've seen or heard them make public spectacles of themselves, bash other players, or be anything but model citizens. 

We can't say the same for Gigantic Sense of Entitlement McEnroe can we? He's not the only one hired by these networks who's been snide, but he is the worse offender. He knows they are better tennis players and he wouldn't have been able to beat them even when he was in his prime. He really hates the idea that he'd have been beaten by two non-white women. It's another case of racialized sexism. You'd think these people would be relieved to have such exemplary players and role models for all the complaining about the numerous arrests and felonies of so many male sports figures. The disrespect is astounding and I'm here to declare: ENOUGH. 

They are intelligent women who decided early on to not put all their eggs in one basket and expanded to other industries. They have also made tremendous humanitarian efforts. They live more exemplary lives than most people. Or at least they have the common sense to keep it private! I love the fact that they continue to kick butt and live their lives with dignity. They could care less and the haters can keep on hating! One of them will emerge victorious and one will be runner-up. They are both now and forever more winners at life.

Update: Serena Wins!! Now both sisters share 3 Wimbledon plates apiece. Can't wait until next year!

Repost: The Latest Rumblings of War and Social Upheaval Are a Lesson in Dominance That We Should Learn Something From

*** I think this post deserves a second look since it got lost in the Holiday schedule ***

With news of India and Pakistan shoring up their borders after the violence in Mumbai last month as well as the bombings between Hamas and Israel, there will be plenty of commentary, bluster and hand-wringing. About how it's each government's right to defend themselves. About how unfair it is that innocent people die because of war mongering. There are even questions about WHY THESE CONFLICTS continue? Why are the US (and other countries) still in Iraq and what happened to all the oil? 

Personally all the fighting and conflicts make me ill, but I've come to realize that our lives are being impacted whether we choose to engage or not so we'd better pull our heads out of the sand. This isn't just about military actions in foreign countries. It's about home-grown "terrorism" when government declares war on its citizens. How certain groups jockey for power and some of us wonder how those people got to where they are while we're left in the dust. And blamed for being dusty. 

We need to understand all the players and figure out as much of their end game as possible. We need to know who their allies are and where they're getting their financial/political help and who their personal relationships are with. We need to know what the public press release states and accurately guess what the private agendas are. 

We need to know what we want for ourselves, our community and our country and then work on several courses of action. Then we need to decide whether who's going to work within the constructs of the systems in place and who will work outside of them. We need to make sure our plans have some chance of success as well and decide just how far we're willing to go to meet our goal(s). We need our own mentors and allies as well and to find out if we can find common goals. We need to recognize the cog in the wheel and how to grease it or put a wrench in it if necessary.

I don't think being critical of a government's action makes one unpatriotic or against a social/political/ethnic/religious group. It is the act of manipulation and subterfuge to deflect scrutiny to suggest otherwise. It is also a nice strategy at avoiding outside accountability. One thing I have realized this year is that most of us do not know how to think outside the box, think critically at all or are operating out of some level of naivete. I'm including myself in that evaluation. We need to do a lot of catching up but I sense the dumbing down of society greatly benefits those people who are deploying campaigns for world domination.

That domination includes land, natural resources, meme setting, family structure, religion, control of industries, media images, finance, food distribution and everything else under the sun. Those that want control want a permanent underclass of poor workers and higher earners who will fight with their peers over what they see as bread and butter issues that are in fact tools of spreading dissent. Fractured movements can't gain traction.

I'm not exactly sure what the specific solutions are because I think there are many. It depends on the situation and those impacted. I think we have to continue to question things and look for a new way of handling conflicts. We need to gird our loins physically, mentally, emotionally, financially and every other way. We don't need to be perfect, though. Some plans are just meant to be thwarted and subverted. As soon as we figure out what track we're on and how to run that particular race we can decide how best to infiltrate from within and lay waste to it. 

In 2009 we can continue to study how nations rose to power and how they eventually fell, but how certain people within the borders managed to survive while others did not. We can study how social movements gained traction within governments where there was opposition but it was negotiated around. We can also look to see where people won a great victory, had a plan but didn't think beyond that immediate moment in time. Like with Civil Rights where a lot of people are doing worse today than 40 years ago. 

That's why I will pull the theme of the original Matrix film about how humans are being controlled and most people accept the 'program' without question. Those few that don't have to reach out to the resistance, take a pill (which is symbolic for the decision to be free), get out and retrain their bodies and minds for 'war'. Everyone that is still in the Matrix can be used to thwart their efforts and are to be considered their enemies. This is about simultaneously dismantling the system of oppression and looking to free more people. Even after being freed some people will want to go back to mediocrity and ignorance. So being ever diligent and constantly vetting allies for shared goals is always necessary.