Source: iStock

I remember exactly how I learned what a hypocrite was. I was young, maybe 7 or 8, sitting in my grandmother’s room, listening to one of her mini rants. In a state of mild annoyance, she declared with disdain that someone, probably my grandfather, her ex husband and favorite target, was such a hypocrite.

That was new word for me. So I asked her what it meant. She thought for a second and patiently told me that a hypocrite is someone who says one thing but does the complete opposite. Well! That’s interesting. Though, I didn’t realize it at the time, my grandmother had just dropped some serious knowledge about human nature on me. From that moment on, I was on a hypocrite hunt. And though I’m sure my grandmother didn’t mean for it to go down this way, it didn’t take long for me to find my first hypocrite, living within the walls of my own house.

I was eavesdropping on a conversation my mother was having about one of her co workers/associates. I’d seen these two together. Though there was something about them that was noticeably different, they seemed like they at least enjoyed each other’s company; but here was my mother talking about how tacky this woman was. I’d found one. My first hypocrite, my very own mother.

Not wanting to accept the fact that my mother was this terrible person, I went back to my grandmother for clarification. I told her the story, how my mother had talked about this woman but hung out with her as if they were friends. Then I asked, Does that make her a hypocrite? Again, my grandmother paused; but true to her nature, kept it real and solemnly said yes.

I would eventually come to learn that there was no need for me to be on such a hunt. There are hypocrites all around us, everyday.

There’s this teacher in my hometown who practically leads a double life. Some people know her as a devout Christian, a married woman who adheres to all the tenants of the Bible, attends church regularly and believes in educating her two children in the ways of the Lord. But in reality, she only wears a ring to hide the fact that both of her children were born out of wedlock, she lives with a man she has no intention of marrying and describes herself as a nymphomaniac. (True story.)

Though this woman lives a life of hypocrisy most sane people can’t even begin to relate to, many of us would be lying if we said that we always act according to our beliefs. Personally, I know I’ve wasted plenty of time judging people or writing them off entirely because they weren’t living according to my standards. As a Christian, I believe that’s not my job; but that doesn’t stop me from trying to analyze folks.

The truth is there was never a need for me to go on a hypocrite hunt. Almost everybody’s a hypocrite. It’s human nature for us to seek pleasure, whether in the moment or long term, and if that pleasure, just so happens to conflict with our core beliefs, we’re not always evolved enough to adhere to our higher nature.

These days, the only time I search for hypocrisy, it’s within myself and not others.

christiansinthenews.com

Ohhh you know the type:  always telling you how right you should be living and their own windows need washing. Or the other type: the ones who’ve reached a certain level of enlightenment in life and now feel the need to continuously tell you what you’re doing wrong.  Sometimes it’s funny and sometimes, it’s just downright sad how the tables often turn.

Check it out…and please try not to get yourself too upset!

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Source: The Jasmine Brand

So last week, singer Tank completely clowned Brian McKnight for his musical request to let women allow him to show them how their p*ssy works. Specifically, he said:

“First of all, he’s got a Mohawk. Let’s start there. He’s 57 years old with a Mohawk. I don’t condone anybody over seven at this point with a Mohawk. The Mohawks have now become cute. And then, I don’t condone the switch between Harvard and then a a bad version of a hood singer.”

But low and behold, five days later, Tank shows up on the scene selling his package through the Internet in a random twitpic/instagram/NSFW body-baring photo showing us all that he has to offer. And though part of me wants to say Thank ya Jesus, the other half is like wait, did you just pull a Brian McKnight? (sans vocals)

While Tank was trying to clown Brian for being 57 years old and desperate—when he’s really only 42—he’s not too far behind him pulling this stunt at 36. Blame Eddie Long for my aversion to men taking pics of themselves in the mirror scantily clad with iPhones and then posting them for the world to see, but this just rubs me the wrong way. Had it been a photo shoot, he’d have my approval 99 percent but you can’t knock another R&B singer in your same lane for a desperate attempt to boost female fans and then do the same thing—at nearly the same age.

I suppose since Tank already has some hood appeal he thinks he gets a pass for this antic but I’m thinking pass DENIED. Am I alone or is Tank foul for this?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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“The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions.” – Leonardo da Vinci

Do you think more highly of yourself than you should? Are you the girl who’s always right? Or the brutally honest friend full of judgment and unwanted advice?

Many of us have jaded views of ourselves, because our personal truths are rooted more deeply in opinion than reality. It’s not you, it’s them. No, wait…it is you. We tend to think of ourselves as the people we want to be when, in many instances, that is not how people see us. Self-deception is the worst kind and it only prevents you from operating at your best. In order to live life authentically and to the fullest, we have to be honest with the woman in the mirror:

Shock jock, radio personality Rush Limbaugh said first lady Michelle Obama is not practicing what she preaches. Limbaugh criticized Lady O for induldging in short ribs while on vacation in Colorado. He said, ” The problem is—and dare I say this—it doesn’t look like Michelle Obama follows her own nutritionary, dietary advice. I’m trying to say that our first lady does not project the image of women that you might see on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.”

The first lady’s detractors brushed off the comment telling the Washington Post “She’s never told people to cut out junk food; she’s suggested they eat junk less and exercise more.” They were a little bit nicer than they should have been. But I guess they wanted to take the classy route. Fortunately I don’t have to.

I would have responded with a question, something like, “Rush don’t you think you should be less focused on Michelle and what she’s eating and more focused on how you’re going to maintain that Adonis-like physique of yours while sitting behind a desk, spewing ignorant filth all day?” And another thing. Even the women on the covers of Sports Illustrated don’t have those bodies. It’s called airbrushing, not like every woman aspires to be on that cover anyway. No, the first lady opted for a more sophisticated approach, when she graced the cover of Vogue.

Limbaugh has since said he’s surprised at the backlash he’s received for his comments, saying he was engaging in very “civil discourse.”

Please, enough with the foolishness.