Jamaica

My mother works in the financial aid department of Lincoln Technical Institute, a vocational school specifically suited for students looking to enter the workforce immediately after graduating (or not graduating)...
Put aside for a moment the hackneyed workplace setting of rich old white guys sitting in an office and drinking coffee; in order to fully comprehend the story I'm about to tell, one must understand the social atmosphere at this school. My mother is the minority out of minorities:

Daisy is in her twenties and latino.
Taiwan, her boss, is just a bit older and black.
Alexandria is in her twenties and black.
Most of the staff and students at this school came from a lower-class backgrounds. Some are still from bad neighborhoods and don't have extra money to burn.
My mother is a middle-aged, middle-class white woman who has never known poverty.

Amazingly, my mother gets along quite nicely with the people with whom she works. There's not a scintilla of doubt in her mind: she's happy working at LTI!

So now, a vignette:

Two days ago, a Jamaican man worked as a temporary employee in the financial aid department. Besides from not being able to understand him some of the times, my mom enjoyed working with him. She said he was nice and efficient. She also said "you have a nice thick accent. I'm having trouble understanding it!"

Anyway, the emigrant started explaining how different it is to live here in America and how all of his family was still in Jamaica. He commented on how obsessed jejune people in America are with money and material possessions. He came up with some quite fascinating thoughts, all of which were true.

Far from feeling blasé about this man, my mother studied him quite carefully. In fact, she found that his éclat was extremely moving. After a full day of working with the surprisingly deft neophyte, the only thing she could say was:

“People in Jamaica are so laid back!”
To which her boss automatically responded with:
“You mean because of all that pot they smoke?”

Regardless of this last conversation, the story my mom told me got me thinking about all of the material possessions I have and how people in different parts of the world live with almost nothing. Would I be happy like that? Or would I miss everything I own here in America and be splenetic for the rest of my life? Sure, Mr. Jamaica might have had more here than he had at home but was he really happy? Do people need material possessions to be happy?

Honestly, I don’t think many people do but I find it sad that the only people who feel like they need material possessions are in the United States or Canada or China or all the extremely advanced countries. I have always wanted to travel outside of the US and see what life around the world was like—especially where people live their life in jeopardy every day; my dream is to help a village in Africa or another underdeveloped part of the world, where all they need is water, food and shelter to survive. I think we would all be able to focus a little more on ourselves if we weren’t distracted by material possessions and technology. We would be a little happier, in the long run.

But for now, I’ll keep my MacBook and my blogspot.com…

only two more minutes...

Although school elections seem like harmless democratic processes, do not be fooled by the political paraphernalia telling you to “vote for Jack and ignore Mac” or to “vote for the Jew, it’s the right thing to do!”
Because it is hard to eschew from the campaigns of school elections, they can become pernicious, splitting the once homogeneous social scene into two or more groups (depending on if the independent decides to run…although in the case of school elections I guess this is irrelevant…) and resurrecting schisms between close friends. During election time, honest people become bitter candidates with ostensible slogans displayed on their campaign posters and fastidious students become careless when rushing to get out the vote! They resort to petty quarrels and vulgar gestures and—
Hold up. This seems a little drastic, no? Sure, the presence of a campaign is ubiquitous in any school but they seem quite harmless! Luckily, in our school they are.
In fact, at PV this year, three candidates who ran did so unopposed! However humane this campaign may be, I’m still nervous for the announcement about to be made in two minutes…

OTHELLO!

Now for Othello. Initially, I didn’t think Othello was quite wise but as the tortuous plot thickened, he certainly became...well no, I guess he really didn’t change. Specifically, after he’s bereft at the end of the play, he finds out the truth about the whole debacle and ends up killing himself! (Whoops, did I give anything away?)
On another note, although Othello would not have earned impunity at the end of the play (obviously not, he became a murderer) I do not think it was a smart move for Shakespeare to kill off Othello at the end of the play. After all, in the Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s whole plot revolves around the Herculean strength it takes Hester to overcome the public embarrassment. Shouldn’t it be the same for Othello? Isn’t facing the public world and suffering through worldly embarrassment far worse than being put to eternal rest? Or was Shakespeare implying that the most expedient punishment is to burn eternally in hell?
And another thing: At the very end of the play, during the famous cortège-like scene, or the “loading the bed scene” I found it very significant that Cassio did load that same bed. Although debilitated, Cassio remained very much alive. As if to rub it in Othello’s face (even after he’s dead), Shakespeare keeps Cassio alive and makes him the new general of the Venician army. Although the best revenge on Iago occurs when the Venicians pay homage to Cassio. This all happens without any symposium even though in Shakespeare’s milieu, this was quite rare. It’s almost as if Cassio’s livelihood carries on the memory of this tragedy because he is the only surviving main male character of this story.
The tale of Othello is completely based on nepotism, lies, misconceptions and miscommunication. Brilliant as it may be, the fact is that Shakespeare was just embellishing the true a bit: the main themes are timeless. We can relate to Shakespeare’s messages because they are still valid today.

IAGO!

Iago. Although some people--cough cough Isabel--think he has a "sexy" name (these are exact quotes, I swear), most people read Othello and hate the character Iago. Most people would say he is a scheming, conniving, evil man who enervates the ingenuous Roderigo and is just one step above a political dissident all because he wants to be general of the Venician army.
Even though these things may be completely true, in my opinion, Iago is quite august. In fact, Iago is quite erudite, knowing so much about the people around him that he can mold them like warm clay in his hands. As evil as he may be, Iago ostracizes Cassio (eventually convincing Roderigo to attempt to murder him) and convinces Roderigo to believe that he will marry Desdemona and that Desdemona will love him back. The false camaraderie between the two characters disillusions Roderigo to such an extent that Iago convinces him that Cassio is the only obstacle between Desdemona and Roderigo. And, as we know, Roderigo isn’t too resilient when he’s hurt. (After all, he did become slightly depressed when he heard news of the Desdemona’s marriage).
Iago’s only foible, strangely, is his lack of a love life. There is question throughout the play if he even sleeps with Emilia, his wife. Is the reader supposed to believe that Iago’s exorbitant price for being unbelievably manipulative is love? What bunkum! How is anyone supposed to believe that? The purest form of motivation in literature, especially Shakespeare, is love! (Ever thought of how the phrase “irrevocably in love” applies to almost every Shakespeare character?)
**stay tuned for next post**

Everyone's a critic.

THE 2010 WINTER OLYMPICS. A TIME TO REJOICE. A TIME FOR DEFEAT.

But everyone thinks they can make the calls. No matter what sport or racing event that takes place in Vancouver this year, people have this thought that if they are in possession of a remote, they have the power to determine whether the racers or bobsledding teams or cross-country skiers are justified to receive that gold medal they've been working their butts off for.

Hold up. Who gave you the power to decide who gets a medal or not? Obviously, we all know that Apolo Ohno deserves a medal. But who are we to decide if the Yugoslavian from all the way across the world has the perfect ski-flying technique? Or if the Chinese skier, nicknamed "princess" has flawless form? Who are we to rescind the judge's decision?

We're not in the jury room and we need to get over ourselves.

Too many people think that they have the medals in their hands. They think they have the power to decide who gets what award. And do they? Well, just take a look look at them: the choleric viewers are sitting on their leather sofas staring at their flat screen tv's eating cheese puffs and screaming at the tv. Tell me frankly, how does this compare to an actual Olympic judge, with years and years of training and a keen eye for rigid form and slight ?

It doesn't.

The laconic arguments people make to justify why Shaun White should not have won the gold medal this year don't stand a chance against the judges' official marks. He justifiably won that medal, not because viewers with cheese breath were sitting at home cheering for him but because he spent years and years diligently training for these seventeen or so days.

I may sound malcontent, but I think everyone should stop screaming at their tv's and start respecting the judges.

**And congrats to the parvenu who won the silver medal this morning in the biathlon (cross-country skiing and shooting). He was the first Yugoslavian to ever win a silver medal. And he won it because the judges made the call, not anyone else.**

When Pigs Fly...

A whole post on colloquialism. Lucky you! Have you ever noticed the stupid things we say? Not we as in my friends and I, we as in the human race. The whole human race, that is. Not just Americans. Not just Spaniards. Not just people from Norway. Everyone! In no way am I deprecating this behavior (nor do I aim to terminate this all but surreptitious behavior). I am merely noting its overt presence in our busy lives.Ponder for a moment why we might use these expressions...They're usually extremely colorful or imaginative. They paint a picture that. They half-satiate a unquenchable craving, an instinct almost, for adventure. It's simply blissful perfidy in a cruel world...

Some colloquial expressions you have probably heard in everyday speech:

I'm so hungry I could eat a horse!

Could you now? Really? A horse? For breakfast? Lunch? Dinner? Do tell.

I'm just pulling your leg.

In Spanish, this phrase is "I'm just taking your hair." Go figure.

This comes from old crime-ridden London where criminals used to trip victims with a wire that pulled on the victim's leg so they could steal from the person while he was on the floor.

Not the sharpest crayon in the box, are we now?

I have yet to say this to someone...I love this expression though

Your eyes are bigger than your stomach.

The most polite way of saying you're wasting my food. And the very opposite of "you're fat."

You eat like a bird.

My sister gets this a lot. Me, not so much...

Hold your horses!

What's with the horses?

You're driving me up a wall!

I got this from my mom a lot when I was younger.

He's lost his marbles.

...and where have they gone?

What's the matter, cat got your tongue?

Ouch. That sounds painful.

Just like two peas in a pod.

You can be eaten? Oh, never mind.

Look what the cat dragged in.

Dude, I think she just called you a mouse!

and to end it off...

Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite!

This one actually came from the 1800s when beds were made out of hay and little insects called bed bugs crawled around in the hay and sucked people's blood when they slept. Hope your not reading this before bed!

Anyway, to fix this dilemma and force the human race to cede this cryptic language, I prescribe a large dose of do-absolutely-nothing. Why suggest a moratorium on something that makes our day-to-day life more ebullient? Don't you think they add a little zest to our monotonous routines? I mean, heck, they make us happy as clams! (By the way, clams spend their whole life under sandy muck only to be dug up by human beings and boiled alive. Remind me, if you will,

why clams are so happy?)

**websites used in this post:

http://www.saidwhat.co.uk/phrase-finder/phrase66

Would you rather...

Hot or cold? Soup or ice cream? Heat or AC?

There's always a choice between winter or summer where we live. But what about places that are one season practically all

year round? And what about those cynical people who claim they would be happiest if they lived in Florida or Vermont?

How dare they say such a thing!! Don't they know how many people would love to live in a place with more than one season? Nevertheless, four seasons?! How do they know they won't get tired of the same weather day after day after day?! Be gone with them!

I'm totally kidding, folks, I am one of those people. Were you credulous enough to believe I would discriminate against people who have a predilection for one season over the others? Do you really think that would be of paramount importance to me? That I would want to eradicate those who love one season in particular?

Call me aloof if you will but personally I know I would be happier if it snowed almost every day of the year. I prefer winter. Although I'm always castigated by summer-lovers, I am stoic in front of nay-sayers. Avoiding superciliousness, I make my arguments clear to people who dismiss me as unhinged. Wary of cajoling summer-lovers, I stand by my quixotic belief that I would be in a complete state of bliss...in Alaska.

My preference for winter primarily stems from my infatuation with snow. Yes. Infatuation. I. Love.

Snow. I can't get enough of it! The way the trees look right after the snow falls, the way each snowflake is different from every other snowflake, the crisp, fresh smell of the air right after it snows, the noiseless sound of a gentle snowfall. I love everything about it.

But that's not all.

Even when it isn't snowing, I still love winter. Meandering through the park on a cold Sunday in January really clears the inane, superfluous thoughts from my head. Although spring might provide the opportune weather for a bike ride and fall the ideal time for pumpkin picking, nothing beats a cold walk in the park with the dog.

Besides snow and weather and the obvious aspects associated with winter, there's one more thing that makes winter special. Holidays.

Christmas, Hanukah, kwanzaa, ramadan, winter solstice, whatever it may be, holidays are the best winter events. Forget the winter Olympics, ignore the snow tubing, and put aside the hot cocoa (although that stuff's heartwarming too). Winter holidays bring together families and let's remember what's important here: friends and family and celebrating all the good times in life, whether they be big or small. Winter holidays, no matter which one(s) you celebrate, bring family and friends together in the warmest of environments (double entendre intended).

So whether you are convinced I am a behemoth for loving winter, you've heard my reasons and probably found my argumentative flaws.

Now, I leave you to decide: winter? Summer? Vermont? Florida? Or plain ol' Jersey?

A Short One

A sycophant, according to Dictionary.com, is a self-seeking, servile flatterer; fawning parasite. Sycophants can be found guilty of brown-nosing and being a goody-two shoes. But can we really blame them? We all have needs and we all have wants so why deride those who try to go get what they want? After all, in order to exonerate sycophants of their many crimes (yes, we forgive them or else the world would cease to turn), we have to realize that all humans are born with a selfish instinct! This doesn't make us capricious, mind you, just sycophants...
And technically, if we're all born selfish and evil, aren't we all sycophants? Some may be flamboyant ones, and others may be closet sycophants but we are certainly all sycophants.
Hey, Mrs. Abrams, you look quite nice today!

Turkeys

Yes. I said turkeys. My neighbor has a turkey and it's quite a remarkable animal. The ethereal birds have beguiling prominence and charm anyone who dares to keep them as pets (even if they can be quite more capricious than a more normal pet, let's say a rabbit...). Here's the story:

My neighbors, whom my family is very close with, love animals. They have had anything from fish and rabbits to snakes and degus! [Please don't excoriate this family, they are really wonderfully normal people]. Anyway, as you can see, they are extremely outdoorsy and love to go camping.
One fine day, while they were out at their lake house in New York (I believe), they found a small saturnine poult (baby turkey). As soon as they went to pick it up, the turkey became distressed--it started to cluck and gobble! Implacable as it may have seemed when they picked it up, they eventually calmed it down and looked everywhere for the mother but the mother was nowhere to be found...
Poor turkey; it must have reached the nadir of its life, it lost its mama! So what did my neighbors do?
By golly, they took it home! They have been taking care of it for many months now and it doesn't seem to have any social stigmas. In fact, just the opposite: the turkey is quite personable!
And I don't mean to allay any qualms about this little unconventional act, but I think it's just fine to have a turkey for a pet!

Tumblr

Almost everyone at PV has one. Or at least everyone in the class of 2011 has one. A tumblr. Similar to blogger, Tumblr is a blogging website that is simple to use and, when used correctly, can make certain people socially burgeon. Most people use Tumblr because it is unblocked on school computers. However, some people who are normally extremely social in the "real world" become hermits when it comes to Tumblr. Most coalesce their social "real life" and their social "Tumblr life" but a select few become engrossed in their ephemeral social life (because, after all, a Tumblr can be deleted.

Sometimes, the most garrulous people make the best Tumblr posts but other times they make the most invidious posts. However, no matter the quality of the Tumblr, their blog gets them talking about their most passionate ideas and thoughts. Even the most amorphous people seem to adapt to the social animal called Tumblr!

So my question is, when will it stop? When it come to a point where PV computer police (aka Pico) will notice our little ruse of "blogging" and usurp Tumblr? Does our Tumblr sortie post a significant danger to the socially advanced (or, for that matter, the socially inept)? Will it ever come to that point? I'm sure PV hopes otherwise. Will PV students succumb to the powers of the administration or will we merely shake off the allegations that Tumblr is detrimental to our health?! WILL WE REBEL.

Anyway, whoever is following me, leave comments...

...

Work for home, work for school, work for home, work for school...

Ugh. Homework. I know, I know, everyone has too much homework. But this week has been especially busy. And, consequently, this blog has been in temporary abeyance. So much work, in fact, that it has precluded my ability to blog! Oh me oh my. Anyhoo. This brings me to the topic today: Homework or no homework? [That is the question]...

So as I ignore my qualmish feeling (I'm not sure how my English teacher will react to this blog post), I shall continue. As a High School Student, I spend seven hours in school, working my donkey off--let's keep this PG, folks--and then return home (after a minimum of two hours extra curricular events) to do what now? MORE WORK. And, as most of you have already figured out, junior year is especially bad.

Between the standardized tests and the homework, I'm surprised some of us (cough cough Caylin) haven't dropped out of school! I'm not sure if the teachers assume everyone has a complacent demeanor but I think we should rebel!

[on second thought, this post is getting graded by my English teacher, soooo...just kidding!]

Well, I'm getting sidetracked. Anyhoo, I believe that seven hours of school is sufficient enough. And I also think homework should be optional. Yes, optional. Honestly, I'm quite chary of this three to four hour homework ordeal. Every night, day after day, night after night. And unless the teachers have somehow commandeered every student of theirs, making them part of a giant minion, teachers don't have control over us! And I could be very wrong, but I DO NOT think giving more homework makes certain teachers far more gregarious than others, correct?

IF--and I mean a capital IF--we didn't have to do homework, not only would our overall mood improve, we would be more focused as well. We would get more sleep and be more focused in class. Not only that, but our character would improve. I, for one, haven't had time to play guitar on a weeknight for about two months now. And that dates back to...the day school started!

If we're supposed to go through the labyrinth of life without a hobby, what life are we living? Shouldn't we all be PV's eminent students by being focused and well-rounded? Are we being complete antipodes of well-rounded students by only doing homework after school? Isn't that they're teaching us kids nowadays? If not, I will assume the educational system hasn't evolved since the narrow-minded approach of learning trades and joining guilds...

And here's the final question: Homework or no homework?

PSAT: palpably stupid [and] abnormally tasteless

The PSATs. Possibly the least halcyon test of our teenage youth (next to the SATs, of course). Although I don't mean to exhort an inordinate amount of complaints from the students of PV, I don't understand why we must take this test. It only exacerbates the stress thrown upon the students in this school. And, although I don't mean to impede on the grand educational strategy of this government, the PSATs only serve to emulate the SATs. Therefore, why take both? Students can practice on their own time with their own tutors. This raises another concern; if this test really holds some sort of implicit message (hinting at the fact that to do well on the test, students must be tutored), is the SAT really a test?

^This is probably what you look like right now.

...well, not exactly, but...

Bear with me for a moment. The definition of a test, one would say, is "a procedure intended to establish the quality, performance, or reliability of something, esp. before it is taken into widespread use" (as stated by the standard dictionary on the Apple MacBook laptops). This being true, isn't this test supposed to analyze how well a student will perform in the real world? I suddenly feel imbued with a revelation...

This being said, I believe wholeheartedly that this SAT, the mother of all tests, [and the PSAT] should do just that: analyze how well a student will perform in the real world. Maybe it should test street smarts as well as school skills--the point being that the SATs should not test how well one takes a test. This is a common criticism of the SATs).
Forgive me if I appear to be lacking any chauvinism for the educational standards but I believe, along with many others, that these tests should not test how one takes a test. And although I may not have known what enigmatic word halcyon meant when I took the PSATs, I sure do now, but not because of living in the "real" world. Rather, I know what halcyon means because of a test. Because, apparently, according to the SAT makers and the folks at collegeboard, halcyon is a common word used in everyday speech...are you a halycon person?

Poetry Ties

My relationship with poetry is one that is very meaningful in my life. Because I have a grandfather who writes poetry for a Yiddish online publication and because he is so passionate for poetry, a little bit of that passion rubbed off on me. However, the harder I try to write a good poem, the worse it is. Therefore, I usually just write when I feel like I have something to say. When my pieces come out the way I wanted them to, I share them with my grandfather, usually via telephone. He always tells me how proud he is of me and I admire him so much. When I look back upon these shared moments over the years, I realize that, through poetry, special family moments have been created. My relationship with poetry strengthens my relationship with my grandfather.

Discuss amongst yourselves...

What makes a novel "a classic"? Discuss.

Often times I've wondered why we read the books we do in our English classes. I mean, most of them are just books written by people who only wrote one book and then went and did something weird, like shoving their head in a hot oven or isolating themselves from the rest of the world. So, okay, does this mean that if I write a book and then disappear into the Bermuda triangle, my book will become a "classic"? Probably not. However, what I've noticed is the following:

In each book we read, there is a thread that connects all of the books to each other. The thread is called controversy. No matter if it was the Catcher in the Rye, Wuthering Heights, or Malcolm X, we learned about controversial people and controversial ideas. Maybe we do this because it provokes discussion. Or maybe the curriculum is this way to challenge us and make us pour out our deepest thoughts about life and society as we know it today. Or maybe they just really want to piss us off...either way--

controversy is what makes a novel a "classic".

My Comments to Others Part II

I don't know whether I'm supposed to do this or not but these are the comments I left to others:

TO ELLEN!
Wow, Ellen, nice 1-2 paragraphs...haha, jk!Well, the program you were watching sounds really fascinating (possibly a little creepy, but fascinating nonetheless). The soul marriages part I never realized existed! Weird, I guess people's subconscious can be so strong that they feel a great need to fix things that weren't fixed in a past lifetime!! Great post but there's just one thing I want to know: do you actually believe in all that spirit stuff you described?!

TO ASHLEY!
Nice comparison to Smallville! Anyway, I totally agree with you on this topic. I think that if a family wants to adopt a child, they should by all means treat that child like nothing less than one of their own! Good post, btw. :]]

TO MAJA!
OMG. NICE PIC. okay, anyway...it sure does sound like you are conflicted. However, I agree with Allison; what if the parents did not raise the children!? The children would not have been "infected" [shall we say] by the parents bad morals! There would be no use in punishing the child because the child would have nothing at all to do with the bad deed! This is like the whole debate with the new generation of young people in Germany and how they might be educated by anti-semitic grandparents...but what if they were separated from their grandparents?!well, nice blog, again, and nice pic!

Ghosts do not exist

The supernatural has never ceded to interest me. The strange mishaps and coincidences that I have heard on TV shows and from scary stories fascinate me. However, are they real? 

Personally, I'm afraid of the dark. I remember the first time I realized I didn't like my room when I couldn't see it. I was sitting in my bed. No one else was in my room and I might have had a slight fever. It was the middle of the night and I started to see pictures in the dark. I only remember one picture I saw but it was the most frightening thing to a little kid: a clown. A clown in a red car. And as soon as I saw that, you could bet that my heart was beating at 100 mph as I ran into my mom's room.

This was the perfect example of my eyes "playing tricks on me." 

And this brings us back to the supernatural. Usually when you watch these supernatural shows, there are only re-enactments of what took place. And the actual experiences usually happen at night. Very rarely is there an instance (except UFOs) where a strange, unexplainable event happens during broad daylight. Now, I believe all "supernatural" happenings are due to "tired" eyes. Maybe I'm wrong but the proof that I experienced with "night-pictures" definitely proved to me why people see strange things. 

Anyway, when I actually see a supernatural event that's not at night and if it's when I'm with people and NOT tired, maybe I'll believe in ghosts. But for now, I'm blaming our human fears on our human flaws.

MY COMMENTS TO OTHERS!

I

wow, that was smart to research! I think it does make people feel closer if you call them brother and sister...maybe it's because in America, no one does that, but I think it is a great thing that Muslims do, habit or not. 
Also, it's important to retain tradition, as long as it retains it's meaning...like in the Jewish religion, males (and some females) cover their head in respect for G-d--I assume you know this. Even though the covering is small, it is symbolic and Jews must remember what the purpose of the covering is...

just thought I'd make the connection :D

March 10, 2009 5:47 AM

II

That's quite interesting...the part about the modern Christian monk...

The most interesting part is that, even though you said he's an extremist, he doesn't try to push his views on others--you said he doesn't expect people to live the way he does. Most extremists try to influence others. What Mr. Claiborne does is quite different; it's respectable.

March 10, 2009 5:43 AM

 

III

WoAh. Horseback riding. GREAT story! That sure is a different take on "life-changing" experiences. Although Malcolm's life-changing experience was a religious one, you related it to a fear that was created when you were little. That's obscure, fascinating, and downright clever! Man, Malcolm traveling thousands of miles to Mecca seems like nothing now...umm, maybe not. But great post! Interesting article too! :D

March 10, 2009 7:47 PM

IV

Cool. Mosques seem like very peaceful places but from what you described, the rules were very strict. You explained very well how a lot of new experiences that many people do not have can affect you personally. That is a pretty neat thing to do, especially because you had images in your head already of Muslims who were praying. It turned out that everything was different... I guess exploring things for yourself is the best (or only) way to learn things!
Great post!

March 10, 2009 7:52 PM

**hypocrisy is a band**

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypocrisy_(band)

JUST FOR FUNSIES!

Does the belief that knocking on wood will prevent bad luck come from Christian practices? If not, what's up with the whole superstition!?

MALCOLM V: Taking a Different Approach

As I make my way through the final chapters of Malcolm X, I realize something very peculiar. Malcolm X, although relieved to be out of America, notices that even people in Mecca tend to associate themselves with people of the same color. Although the race and color doesn't matter so much to people in Mecca, he notices that on the trip to Mecca (the Hajj), people were subconsciously grouping together because they have the same color. However, Malcolm seems to look the other way when this happens. Some would call this hypocrisy. 

But: 

http://www.charisfoundation.com/hypocris.html

Read this article^. Mr. Barber seems to take a very different approach on hypocrisy. He basically says (and still read the article because I am merely paraphrasing) that hypocrisy is when someone acts out something they should believe in instead of completely devoting their whole heart and soul to it. I believe, from personal experiences, that hypocrisy is just that. However, Malcolm's heart and soul are into his black race so much that, when he finds justice for his race, he looks the other way and acts like Mecca is a release. What do you think the definition of hypocrisy is--the "new" definition the article and Luke 12:1-5 states? Or do you think it is the standard definition mentioned right below those quotes from Luke 12:1-5?  I'm sorry if this article makes things confusing but it puts out a different viewpoint.

Please respond back! Let me know what you think...