Thugs Dont Buy Smoothies
Thugs Don’t Buy Smoothies
By Anthony Harris
Opinion Section Editor
anthonydeanharris@gmail.com
As much as I have tried of avoid speaking on the subject, I am once again bringing up my workplace. With a new class comes a new crowd inhabiting the scene that is Jazzman’s Café. I have since noticed in my year as a barista personality types associated with orders. Among the most prevalent is the so-called thug ordering a strawberry smoothie. This just cannot be.
If you walk into a coffee shop and order a strawberry smoothie, you are not a thug.
If you are concerned about the appearance of your masculinity by adding whipped cream, you are not a thug.
If you comment on going to Gloster to settle your tuition payment, you are not a thug.
If you’re upset about a grade you received on a history paper, you are not a thug.
If you have to beg your parents for more money to fund your late night calls to Papa John’s, you are not a thug.
There are many at Morehouse who must realize that thugs do not go to college. The media shows conflicting messages on what a Black man in America must be. Is this a vision of our own choosing or some Anglo vision of what it should be, we have not yet decided. Still, whatever the new commercialized vision of what the Black man is, we cannot follow both. We can either pay our $25,000 a year for our college education or head out to become “snowmen” in the example of Jeezy. There are no straight gangstas with MBAs.
It is at this institution where we must make a decision on where our lives must go. Either to follow the will of our parents or follow our passions. Major in Biology or English. Clark or Spelman? In doing so, we must also decide if our role model should be the Bishop Don Juan or the Archbishop Desmond Tutu. If you’re already paying $25,000 a year, I suggest the latter route.
By Anthony Harris
Opinion Section Editor
anthonydeanharris@gmail.com
As much as I have tried of avoid speaking on the subject, I am once again bringing up my workplace. With a new class comes a new crowd inhabiting the scene that is Jazzman’s Café. I have since noticed in my year as a barista personality types associated with orders. Among the most prevalent is the so-called thug ordering a strawberry smoothie. This just cannot be.
If you walk into a coffee shop and order a strawberry smoothie, you are not a thug.
If you are concerned about the appearance of your masculinity by adding whipped cream, you are not a thug.
If you comment on going to Gloster to settle your tuition payment, you are not a thug.
If you’re upset about a grade you received on a history paper, you are not a thug.
If you have to beg your parents for more money to fund your late night calls to Papa John’s, you are not a thug.
There are many at Morehouse who must realize that thugs do not go to college. The media shows conflicting messages on what a Black man in America must be. Is this a vision of our own choosing or some Anglo vision of what it should be, we have not yet decided. Still, whatever the new commercialized vision of what the Black man is, we cannot follow both. We can either pay our $25,000 a year for our college education or head out to become “snowmen” in the example of Jeezy. There are no straight gangstas with MBAs.
It is at this institution where we must make a decision on where our lives must go. Either to follow the will of our parents or follow our passions. Major in Biology or English. Clark or Spelman? In doing so, we must also decide if our role model should be the Bishop Don Juan or the Archbishop Desmond Tutu. If you’re already paying $25,000 a year, I suggest the latter route.
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