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Naomi Osaka, Mental Health, and Getting the Dirt Off Your Shoulder

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Photo: Elise Amendola, AP

For the high achievers in the world, here are things to think about when trying to navigate naysayers on social media and maintain positive mental health.

Naomi Osaka has been a central figure in the ongoing conversation surrounding mental health. After her U.S. Open third round loss to Leylah Fernandez, Osaka broke down into tears, stating that she would be taking a break from tennis and thus reigniting the mental health debate and the merits of it. Mental health management is a real thing, and for Osaka and others who sacrifice to achieve at the height of industry, I have some advice on how to navigate toxic social media flames that get thrown your way.

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Deandre Hopkins’ Anti-Vaccine Comments and the Problem with Living in Fear

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Deandre Hopkins

Getty Images

Are you living a fear-based reality?

Star NFL wide receiver Deandre Hopkins is not down with the COVID-19 vaccine, and has gone so far as to question his NFL future in light of his unwillingness to take it. While whether to take the vaccine is a matter of personal choice, your issues with it may reveal the fact that you live a fear-based reality. Living in a constant state of fear is problematic for anyone with goals and ambitions, and if you continue to do so, you’ll never be great.

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Kyrie Irving is Making a Mistake By Not Talking Basketball to the Media

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Photo: Michael Conroy, Associated Press

When keeping it smart goes wrong.

During a Brooklyn Nets postgame press conference, NBA star Kyrie Irving declared to the media that he would no longer be answering questions about basketball – something he is contractually obligated to do – because basketball isn’t the most important thing to him and he only wants to talk about societal issues that he is impassioned about. This is a mistake. Kyrie is painting himself as a social elitist who is smarter than everyone else, all the while undermining awareness of his causes and alienating potential allies. People should not replicate this strategy. This is what happens when keeping it smart goes wrong.

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Gina Carano is Fired, and the Disturbing Trend of Cancel Culture Continues

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Photo: Mark Cuthbert, UK Press via Getty Images

Gina Carano’s firing by Lucasfilm and Disney continues our disturbing trend of being intolerant towards disagreeable points of view.

Most people are focusing on Gina Carano’s poor use of a Holocaust analogy to justify the decision to drop her from The Mandalorian. What is being sorely missed is the point she was attempting to make. That is, we have adopted a culture of acceptance towards liberal points a view and an intolerance towards conservative, more traditional points of view. This imbalance is counterproductive to the notion of free speech and civil discourse, and as a result, Gina Carano has become another victim of ridiculous cancel culture. Poor analogy aside, her overall point is valid, and it is sad to see our society continue to traverse down the rabbit hole of persecution and career head-hunting for those who express conservative or otherwise disagreeable points of view.

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What the Washington D.C. Capitol Insurrection TEACHES Us About Practical Solutions

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Photo: Shannon Stapleton, Reuters

Although high emotions are understandable, let’s not allow what happened at the Capitol to stop us from continuing to discuss PRACTICAL solutions to social and racial inequality.

The January 6, 2021 insurrection at the Capitol building in Washington D.C. spurred a racial conversation as to the difference in the way that people of color would be treated versus the way that the insurrectionists were treated. For us, this served as a reminder that there are practical ways to approach the conversation around combatting racial inequality, and there are impractical ways to do so. We want to talk about those practical ways.

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Let’s Get to the BOTTOM of Cardi B’s Woman of the Year Award

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Photo: Xavier Collin, Image Press Agency, Splash News

Don’t get mad at Cardi B for becoming Billboard’s 2020 Woman of the Year. Instead, take issue with the people because it is the people who glorify the behavior and make her so influential.

Cardi B was bestowed Billboard’s 2020 Woman of the Year honor, and people had issues with it. While questions over the validity of the appointment are fine, if you have a problem with Cardi B winning this award, then you probably have a problem with a deeper issue in our culture. Let’s talk about that deeper issue.

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Dave Chappelle Urges Fans to Not Watch “Chappelle’s Show”. Ownership Matters!

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Photo: Mathieu Bitton, Netflix

Dave Chappelle is another cautionary tale on the importance of knowing your worth and having an ownership mentality.

During a recent stand-up set, comedian Dave Chappelle took some time to plead with his fans to not watch reruns of his early-2000s sketch-comedy show “Chappelle’s Show” because he does not own a piece of it, and thus is not paid royalties for the work that he created. This prompted us to continue our ongoing conversation about the importance of ownership, and how it is the key to freedom in life. This is also the first episode in which we have a guest contributor to the platform – local artist and friend of the channel Titaness Writes! Follow “Tite” on the channels below for everything she has going on musically and otherwise!

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What to Learn from Kanye West’s Comments on the Music Industry and Modern-Day Slavery

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Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris 2016

Why are Kanye’s comments about modern-day slavery and the need for ownership so important?

Kanye West took to Twitter to tweet out several comments on the importance of ownership. He also likened the music industry to modern-day slavery. We discuss his comments, as well as how important it is that black and brown people prioritize the notion of ownership to attain true freedom.

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George Floyd: Reflections and Solutions

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Photo: Jerry Holt, Star Tribue via AP

Shifting our mentality towards a focus on real solutions.

With the world on fire, we discuss the fallout from the murder of George Floyd, and moreover, delve into tangible ways that we can find solutions to systemic racism. This commentary is about SOLUTIONS. There is plenty of content out there lamenting the state of affairs, so there is no need for us to pile on to it. Let’s self-reflect and focus on pragmatism. If you’re looking for ideas in terms of participating in movements that can instigate true change, check out the #blackoutday2020 movement.

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Our Thoughts on Ahmaud Arbery

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Photo: John Bazemore, Associated Press

Let’s talk about accountability and the need for reform at the same time.

We give our thoughts on the unfortunate shooting of Ahmaud Arbery and how accountability and self-reflection can help steer things in the right direction.

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