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don’t think we give enough credit to those individuals who seem to ex- hibit a high amount of pa- tience and who have a habit of making sound decisions during the most difficult of situations. It is probably also not a coincidence that the people, who’ve mastered these skills, seldom find themselves in serious trou-
ble.
For me, personally, it took
years of head-bumping be- fore I finally figured out that it’s better to think twice (or maybe even three times) rather than to move sponta- neously off of impulse or emotion.
And, after hearing about the gruesome incident that occurred at the 22nd St. and Hillsborough Ave. Wing Stop two weeks ago, where 43- year-old Robert Williams suffered severe burns over 80% of his body as a result of being doused with hot grease by a restaurant employee, I think it’s safe to assume that a few more people have learned that lesson as well.
According to a police re- port Williams was dissatis- fied with the service he was receiving and the amount of time it was taking for his meal to be prepared. But in- stead of simply cancelling his order and having his money
refunded, according to wit- nesses on the scene, Williams got into an argu- ment with the store man- ager, threw a soda, jumped over the counter, somehow got into a physical altercation with several other restaurant workers and ended up being the recipient of a not-so- pleasant hot-oil bath cour- tesy of Wing Stop cook Eddie Tignor.
As much as I usually don’t like criticizing victims involved in situations like this, it’s hard for me to ig- nore the obvious question that I’m sure has crossed everyone’s mind who’s heard this story.... Why didn’t he just leave and go to McDon- ald’s?
I mean Wing Stop’s wings can’t be that good, can they? It would have been so much easier for him to take his business elsewhere and sim- ply never return to that par- ticular location.
At least he would have been much better off than he is today being unable to work, attempting to recover from his injuries and discov- ering that he’s the unflatter- ing subject of this Reality On Ice column. All huge L’s, by the way, that he could have avoided had he weighed all of his options before fly- ing off the handle.
As a middle-aged man Williams should have known that throwing temper tantrums in public settings always end badly. And now, unfortunately, he has to be reminded of his lack of good judgment every morning when he looks into the mir- ror or whenever he goes to the beach and has to decide whether or not he should take his shirt off.
Of course, this also ap- plies to Tignor, who thought it was a good idea to break up a fight by throwing boiling hot grease on another human being. Seriously, what was this guy thinking? Even if Williams was the biggest jackass customer in history, he still didn’t deserve that kind of cruel treatment.
Not only has Tignor po- tentially earned himself a felony conviction for aggra- vated battery, there’s a very strong possibility that he could wind up inside of a Florida state prison, where he’ll receive some mean side- eye, while being known as “that weak-ass-n—— who threw hot grease on a dude.”
Needless to say, both of these men’s lives have been forever altered because nei- ther of them took the time to think things through before they acted. For their sakes we can only hope that, going for- ward, they’ll now fully un- derstand that the huge rock sitting atop their necks is for way more than just holding hats.
Reality On Ice is © by the Florida Sentinel Bul- letin Publishing Com- pany. You can contact Mr. Barr at: cbar- ronice@gmail.com.
Consequence Of An Unused Brain
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The Wild, Wild West
ell, he’s done it again! Kanye West, the same
rap-celebrity who caused former president George W. Bush to come down with a bad case of pri- vate –political dyspepsia . . . the same suitor whose genes are forever mixed with the DNA of the legendary Kardashian Klan . . . that Kanye West who proudly an- nounced that he and Donald Trump were long-time “A- Spoons”. . . has now come out with the argument that African American slavery was a choice, and that Black historical figures such as Malcolm X, have simply out- lived their legacy and should be consigned to the scrap heap of what street-folks call “”back-in-the day,” being no longer relevant to the dialogue of Black liberation. (Ahem!)
“Moo!” sayeth the sacred cows of slavery and Black History. “Boo!” roar the banner-bearers who for ages have attempted to explain the Black Experience to an often head-strong world (Kanye West included). But guess what? In an urban free and Constitutionally pro- tected democracy, everyone has a right to yell any- thing, even if it shows stupidity and lack of everything.
So, when Kanye challenged the timeless legacy of Black slavery (concept and culture) and questioned the necessity of certainicons, had he the right to speak his mind?
Yes, he had the right to speak. No, he didn’t have the right to represent anyone other than himself.
In the meantime, we suggest Kanye check out J. A. Roger’s book, One Hundred Amazing Facts About the Negro with Complete Proof. And when he gets through reading it, pass it on to his new ace-boon, Donald Trump.
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TUESDAY, MAY 8, 2018 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 5