A CULTURE OF COMPLAINT

A few days ago I was sitting with friends [old and new] at Pequeno—a trendy little Mexican foodie in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. We had just returned from Queens where Body and Soul put on their annual outdoor House Party. Lots of people, lots of House Music, lots of sweat and chests and legs and piercings and girls throwing beers into guy's faces. I had a good time, but my friends didn't. They complained and complained. About the dated music, about the heat, about the skinny guy dancing alone in the pool of water; about the long line to buy drinks; about the homogenized crowd with blue-streaked hair.

So we left.

When we arrived at Pequeno, all was cool... That is until we were asked to wait for ten minutes until a outdoor table became available. But when the table became available, a party of four sat there. We, of course, immediately walked over to them with an "Excuse us, this is our table." They immediately and apologetically removed themselves, but my three friends found this to be a good enough reason to complain. About the heat, about white privilege; about the invisibility of blackness, about how Brooklyn's changing, etc.

After we sat down and ordered our soft tacos and chicken tostados, the complaining kicked up again: Halle Berry's lack of talent; Gabrielle Union's all-American smile; Maxwell's new found gayness; DeAngelo's bloated face and his "mediocre" voice; and Al Gore's Inconvenient Truth—one of my friends said she heard it was like a lecture. AND THAT'S WHEN I SAID: My God, it's a film about the implosion of our planet. How else can you convey the information that the planet is falling apart, SING AND DANCE IT?

I hate complainingng. It sucks energy from your brain and body. And in my opinion [I used to be a bit of complainer up until I realized that I was complaining in order to avoid dealing with my own truth and baggage], complaining is useless. It's a projection of one's own unresolved life. Because if you don't like ANYTHING then you got yourself a problem that the venom you have for the Truth about Global Warming or Gabrielle Union's smile will never be able to fix.

Complaining is the song of the victimized. And I swear, I hear this song waaaaaay too much!

My suggestion: Challenge yourself to be honest about who and why and where you are in the world. And like my good friend Hortense says, "STOP COMPLAINING AND PUT INTO ACTION THE IDEALS AND DREAMS YOU WISH TO LIVE BY."


Until next time,

Keith