*GASP* I know, I know people…just relax and let me explain. I know what you’re thinking. How could Ms_MaryMack possibly one of the most liberal people I know suggest that Black people support the Republicans…especially during election season! Well let me tell you, I’ve always erred on the side of the somewhat unethical Machiavelli when it comes to politics. The end justifies the means. Let’s be frank, Obama doesn’t have a Black Agenda. He has a Homosexual Agenda and a Hispanic Agenda but he didn’t feel one was necessary for Black people. Honestly, I don’t blame him or any other candidate for any office for not having a black agenda. Why? The simplest answer is because Black people don’t vote. Not in primaries, not if it’s raining, not if we can’t run our errands after work, not if it’s too inconvenient. Given there are very valid cases out there regarding what appear to be government officials trying to deter people in darker communities from voting by having long lines due to severely overcrowded voting stations, weird hours, and so on. But let’s put these “unicorn” cases to the side and discuss the real issue.


I always thought Black people that didn’t vote had to be uneducated, lower socioeconomic people that were completely disillusioned by the system because of the hard life they had. Then I started meeting ex-military people, accountants, engineers, and so on that say they don’t see a point in voting. My thought is how you, as a college educated individual who learned about the civil rights movement and know about the struggles of your people just decide it doesn’t matter and not do it?

I’m trying to keep this short so let me cut to the chase. Democrats know that black people don’t vote, but they also know that when we do vote most of us are voting for them, especially black women. You ever see any presidential debates where they ask questions that are targeted towards black women? I don’t. You ever see any campaign ads that reach out to us? I don’t see these ads and I don’t see these ads because the Democrats know I’m in their back pocket. They don’t cater their policies or initiatives towards us because we don’t keep them in office. We are not a strong base and any career politician would be foolish to focus on improving or addressing any black issues.

Now you’re probably thinking the Republicans aren’t any better than the Democrats, and you are correct. The things they say sometimes are so ass backwards that I’m often stumped by their audacity. Anyone see the government official caught on camera saying he was going home to eat a taco, after a reporter asked him what was he was going to do for Latinos? So trust me, registering as a Republican isn’t to help the Republican Party it’s to help make both parties take us seriously.

If 50% of the black people that registered Democrat switch over to Republican, both Republicans and Democrats would HAVE to take notice. The Republicans would see this is a potential way to guarantee they become the ruling party since they wouldn’t have to worry about the black vote being what tips the scale in favor of the democrats. The Democrats would have to develop a specific agenda directly solely towards us in order to win us back and keep the ones they have. Are you following me now?

After vetting the candidates, I feel like Newt and Santorum are pricks, Romney is a threat to Obama and faking during the debates (I don’t like liars), and Paul is a great guy but most of the things he talks about he can’t change. So I’m going to stick with Obama. Now, I don’t want Obama to go against Romney. I’d rather it be Newt or Santorum. So if every black person registered as a Republican now they could go and vote for the best candidate to give Barack the best chance of winning and in turn we would get more attention from both parties that we are a group of people who are not to be ignored.

So this is just one step or idea in my plan for world domination…what do you think?

That's what they should have told me the moment I set my bags down in D.C. Welcome to the muthafuckin jungle! Sink or swim bitch! Actually that's what they should have told me the moment I crossed the stage for graduation. "Congratulations on busting your ass these past four years. Now strap in because it's going to be a bumpy ride and don't forget about Sallie because she won't forget about you." A week after graduating college I received a job offer to work in Rosslyn at an advisory services board. Nevermind the fact that I went to school and majored in Communications I was looking for a J-O-B. And honestly the best advice I can give to any recent graduate is to apply, apply, apply but don't be afraid to step outside the box because sometimes all you need is a foot in the door and a paycheck. You have to earn your stripes people!

When I first moved to the big city...which has grown incredibly small this past year and prompted me to reconsider what qualifies an overly crowded area to be a city. For example: Greensboro, NC is a suburb with a lot of people while Richmond, VA is a big suburb with a lot of guns. Washington, DC is a metropolitan area that's full of a lot of people, a lot of guns, and a lot of crackheads on Florida Ave with a healthy dose of drag queens for flair. Regardless of how you rank DC on the scale of cities (if you're a NY'er please spare me because everyone knows you have the greatest city in the world, just ask a NY'er) when I moved here after being in Elon, NC for four years it was overwhelming and I had several emotional breakdowns during my first 6 months.
Not having your mother to hold you or tell you she loves you right after your boss bitches you out can be a sobering thought. Regardless of how strong you think you are, not having your boyfriend or best friends to rally around you and cheer you up after you get lost in the city, or almost hit a biker, or get YET ANOTHER parking ticket. However a year later, I have new besties, a second job where I'm the boss and can bitch people out (but deal with a whole new set of problems), a new wardrobe (shout-out to all my HU friends for rubbing their stylish ways off on me), a new GPS, and a handy dandy metro card.

I don't know why things work out the way they do, I don't know why I moved to DC by myself 3 weeks after graduating not knowing a soul, or why I was able to meet the amazing people who have grown to become part of my family. But I do know that sometimes a little trek through the wild is all you need. Things get tough, life gets hard, and you'll get lonely. YES YOU WILL GET LONELY...if you're lucky. While that may not seem so lucky to you, in all actuality me feeling alone gave me a big wake-up call. I'm the only person responsible for me and my happiness and my success or failures. I can get lonely and sad and cry and pack up and move back home to my parents house or I can say I'm gonna make a spear out of this tree branch that just hit me on the head and go gut the next person that gets in my way!

Most people I graduated with either went on to graduate school or moved in with their parents or a family member. I didn't have that luxury. I moved into a 450 sq ft studio apartment in what I lovingly refer to as the Little Tijuana of Northern Virginia. I had a bed, a tv, a entertainment center, a kitchen, a closet, and a bathroom. No sofa or seating but if you wanted to come visit I had a desk chair you could get comfortable in. It wasn't anything fancy but it was mine. Long story short, I look back on my first year in the city and I wonder why didn't I just go home? I had every reason to, but I'm glad I didn't because it was the first step in making me the person I want to be. I think it goes without saying but you learn a lot of things about yourself, life, and other people when you're independent and on your own for the first time. Fortunately, I learned to like and appreciate a lot of things about myself that I didn't before. I'm not saying that I'm perfect or where I want to be but this was without a doubt the biggest learning experience I've had in my young adult life.

In Bali, the coming of age ceremony is supposed to take place after a girl's first menstrual period or a boy's voice breaks. The upper canines are filed down slightly to symbolize the effacing of the individual's "wild" nature. In the rite of initiation of Baka Pygmies, the Spirit of the Forest ritually kills the boys to propitiate their rebirth as men. Now, Sweet 16 Party aside I really think the U.S coming of age ceremony is the moment your parents help you unpack your belongs at your first apartment, knowing that every single bill in that place is in your name. You will struggle and fall on your derriere a few times but you'll get back up and at some point you'll come back home to your parents with your metaphorical canines slightly filed and some of your more young impetuous ways buried 6 feet under. You live, you learn, and you conquor and then you start wearing your big girl panties and the world becomes just a little bit better.