#jmattspeaks

[equinoxbham]

#jmattrant: Ugliness Is Skin Deep Too

This Monday afternoon, I noticed the usage of the word "ugly" scattered a bit loosely on my Facebook wall. And the word was used to describe the physical appearance of someone. I wish I was making this up.

Upon the news of Michael Sam being signed to the St. Louis Rams, one post clearly went belligerent on Sam's boyfriend, Vito Cammisano, for no apparent reason.

In another conversation where people were reacting to the news regarding Sherri Shepherd's divorce with Lamar Sally, one person posted this:

I hate to know that the friends of my friends somehow encourages this kind of reality, but it's true; we as a nation, groomed on a superficial Hollywood diet and on a culture that endorses liposuction, plastic surgery and any body enhancements, are highly fixated on outer beauty. Because of all of this, we tend to judge a person by their looks alone.

I am easily reminded of the old saying that beauty is only skin deep. The familiar quote was even used as one of the Q&A responses at the Al's on Seventh pageant on this past Mother's Day. But let's not get it twisted, so is ugliness. Of course we all are different and bear our own uniqueness, but real beauty and the epitome of ugliness comes from within. When a person acts disgustingly and becomes repugnant in their conversation, that's when the manifestation of ugliness arises.

For those persons who demonize the word beauty by spewing ugly thoughts on social media to describe others - particularly people who don't deserve that kind of judgement, I hope that they take a good look in the mirror and reevaluate themselves. Putting a little makeup on and grooming the hair will get them some attention, but there's no product that L'oreal and Maybelline makes that can fix the ugliness of the heart.

By the way, let the record show that the person that ranted on Michael Sam's boyfriend must be suffering from a bad case of cataracts. There's nothing on the outside of Vito that says ugly.

  Remember they called Lizzie Velasquez "ugly" also via cyberbullying, yet she uses the power of love to conquer the rhetoric of haters through her motivational speaking.

Remember that true beauty should be judged from what's on the inside.

#jmattrant #jmattspeaks

[equinoxbham]

#jmattrant: How Not to Market Southern Pride

I was born and raised in Birmingham. I love my city. I hardly love my state, but that's an op-ed for another day. I also have major qualms with the region I live in. We're always at the bottom of everything vital to survival, from education to economics, from job growth to survival rate. Sure, I love Southern hospitality and Southern cooking. Not so much for Southern Living magazine. But you get the point.

Having said that, I must say that this modern-day marketing strategy to put "southern" on everything that's pertaining to Southern life is a bit uncalled for, in my opinion.

Most recently, Buffalo Rock, a Birmingham-based company, gave the seal of approval for a very large vinyl sign (176 foot by 57-foot) on top of the Two North Twentieth building. The sign, now covering up the electronic sign, has garnered some controversy for bypassing a stage of approval usually made by the Birmingham Design Review Committee for the City of Birmingham. But it's quite alarming that not many are voicing their opposition about how cheap the sign actually looks. It's simply a generic sign that features a Pepsi bottle cap and the poor ringer of being "a Southern Classic" as its buzz words.

For a second, forget about the sign looking cheap and just think about the "southern classic" bit. If you ever venture to New York and see the high-res ads in Times Square, you'll see any and everything that makes the Big Apple tick. But never will you see those companies brag about being a "northern classic" nor will you see them brag about their Yankee doodling. They focus on bright designs, colorful fonts, sexy eye candy-esque models and lots of lights. 

Okay, the North pretty much whooped the South's ass during the Civil.War. And that might explain why there's no necessary need for them to brag about their advanced economic wealth and progressive environment. The stuff's in the history books. But I still don't think we need to always remind ourselves of our Southern traditions. I'm pretty sure my fellow Northerners know what to expect when they venture into Southern territories. So why do we need to always brand our stuff with the "southern" label. Are our egos that bruised? Are we subconsciously vexed by our substandard surroundings that we need to wear these kinds of labels to make ourselves feel better at the end of the day? Are we so behind the "popular trend" that we need to always bring up our location in order to win a brand fight?

And if Pepsi (PepsiCo, Buffalo Rock) is trying to pimpslap Coca-Cola with a slogan about being a genuine "southern classic," it's an argument not seriously worth making. Coca-Cola, Pepsi's biggest competition, is also a Southern classic. You can trace its origins all the way to Atlanta, Georgia, where it was developed and currently headquartered. So not only is the new sign cheaply manufactured, it hardly says much. And I think that's what bothers me the most. It doesn't make much of a statement at all. 

Birmingham deserves better. Heck, putting a replica of the LED-supported LightRails project atop the Two North Twentieth building would be an improvement compared to this.

#jmattspeaks #jmattrant

J MATTHEW COBB is a music journalist and proudly calls Birmingham, Ala. his home. He is the publisher for EQUINOX BIRMINGHAM.