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A Word of Encouragement to All the Black Men Who Desperately Need Haircuts Right Now
I see you, fam. Really, I do. Well, actually I donāt, like literally. Because of the social distancing thing and the statewide lockdown thing, I only leave home now for daily walks and maybe to take the kids to this open parking lot behind my house. So when I say I see you, I mean…
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Unfortunately, The Worst People Will Survive This Too
The compulsion to convince ourselves that bad things will eventually happen to bad people can be seductive and cathartic. Itās also embedded in most of the lessons taught to us as kids. Childrenās stories and fairytales usually end with the āgoodā winning and the evil receiving some sort of punishment. The concepts of fair play…
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How to Be a Successful Writer in 2020
Itās a question Iām asked during book talks, while signing books after said talks, on panels, in emails, through DMs, at happy hours, and even once in between games at LA Fitness. I try to be as transparent as possible, but the honest answer (āI can tell you what worked for me, but thereās no…
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What Color-Coding the Books in My Office Taught Me About Life
Nothing. I tried real hard, though, to find life-lessons there. An edict, perhaps. An ancient mystery, finally solved, maybe. A clue, even, that would begin to unlock an ecosystem of interconnected riddles. A tomb opened. A catacomb unleashed. A reverie discovered. āOne cannot step twice in the same river,ā the great Heraclitus said when noticing…
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Are We Obligated to Snitch on and Publicly Shame Coronavirus Deniers?
If youāre the type of person who believes, for instance, that AIDS can be cured with paprika, your belief is definitely dangerous, and you probably need some lotion. But because the Venn diagram of āpeople who think mailboxes cause diabetesā and āpeople living in their auntās basements who still write their names on their orange…
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We're Just Not Built for This (and It's Fine to Admit That)
When faced with a life-altering and potentially life-ending crisisāa cancer diagnosis, for instance, or a terrorist attackāthe performance of resilience can be an anesthetic; an anxiety-engulfing balm that allows us to make space for an effective counter-punch. Also, it just feels good to tell ourselves and others that āWe got thisā and āWeāre built for…
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A Social Distancing Silver Lining? The Complete Eradication of Small Talk
If you know me, it shouldnāt be a shock to you that this social distancing thing feels specifically tailored for meā-a bespoke social mandate. (If you donāt know me, Iām a Capricorn and apparently an INTJ; distinctions that greatly matter to the people they matter to, and donāt mean shit to anyone else.) Of course…
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America's Response to the Coronavirus Is a Natural Consequence of White Supremacy
Itās crucial to remember, when attempting to place both the Trump presidency and the devotion he still receives today in the proper context, that the idea that white people have voted and will continue to vote against their self-interests when supporting him is a fallacy. He is president because, for his tens of millions of…
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You're Working From Home, Stressed, and Want to Defeat the Coronavirus? Masturbate!
In just the past 24 hours, the NBA suspended its season, the NCAA suspended most conference tournaments (and, by the time you read this, might have already postponed the NCAA tournament), countless schools and universities have shuttered their campuses, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson revealed that they have the coronavirus, and we were collectively reminded,…
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A Conversation With a Wise Old Black Negro Who Voted for Joe Biden
āHey Sweetie,ā Miss Mable said, as she welcomed me onto her porch. āWould you like some tea?ā Mable Jenkins was known in this sleepy, sticky, southern, black community for two thingsāher sweet tea and her preternatural tendency to vote for moderate Democrats in highly contested primariesāso of course, I accepted. āThe kids call me Miss…
