Deez nuts
When I was in high school, Dr. Dre changed the rap game when he released his classic album entitled The Chronic which featured a song called “Deez Nuuuts.” From my recollection, it was the first mainstream reference to what would become the infamous “deez nuts” joke.
For those unfamiliar with this lowbrow antic, “deez” is slang for “these” and “nuts” refer to testicles. The idea is to lure unwitting people into questioning the reference and when they inquire about clarity, they become the object of ridicule.
Here’s how it typically goes:
Person 1: I missed you today. Did you miss deez?
Person 2: Deez?
Person 1: Deez nuts!!
Person 2: *unamused*
The wisecrack altered how many of my friends would respond to subject matter with which they were unfamiliar. Who wanted to be made the laughingstock for seeking further knowledge or questioning nonsensical rhetoric?
Change
On his 2009 album B.o.B vs Bobby Ray, supported by DJ Green Lantern and Don Cannon, rapper B.o.B released a song entitled “Change Gonna Come.” The joint, dropped a year prior to the album release, also featured Charles Hamilton and Asher Roth.
The track drew upon the soulful influence of Sam Cooke’s 1964 track “A Change Is Gonna Come,” from the album Ain’t That Good News. Cooke’s song was referenced by Barrack Obama during his 2008 victory speech and in a political remark within B.o.B’s song by stating, “Remember, remember the fourth of November.”
I wonder if the changes expected by impassioned voters came to fruition. Did voting for a man out of emotively-driven behavior effect meaningful change? If not, upon what might a person focus in order to undergo lasting transformation?
There is no record of Mahatma Gandhi stating, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” His actual quote was:
“We but mirror the world. All the tendencies present in the outer world are to be found in the world of our body. If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. This is the divine mystery supreme. A wonderful thing it is and the source of our happiness. We need not wait to see what others do.”
Nonetheless, I’ve seen many social media posts, coffee mugs, t-shirts, and other paraphernalia misrepresenting Gandhi’s quote. All the same, I suspect advocating personal ownership for one’s own actions is something with which I agree, regardless of the butchered quotation source.
“What starts here changes the world.”
Change was something promoted heavily during my time at the University of Texas at Austin (UT) between 2012 and 2014. The university motto at the time was, “What starts here changes the world.”
Rather than cultivating change for the individual, something popularized by the actual Gandhi quote, UT promoted change over the spheres of control, influence, and concern. Who’s to say others wanted change thrust upon them?
Could others refuse the change? If so, might there be consequences for doing so? Is dissident change forcefully perpetuated by a university something that serves as an inherent good for society?
Suppose that change relates to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Perhaps it comes in the form of critical race theory (CRT). Does an individual in the United States (U.S.) retain the ability, liberty, freedom, and choice to reject such change?
During my time at UT, I rejected much of the indoctrinated change taught to me. There were consequences for having done so. Leaving the social work program, I merely dismissed my experience as a subjective inconvenience.
I didn’t think the changes introduced to me were worth thrusting in and out of others or were worthy of use in a personal and messily musturbatory manner. Little did I know that deez nonconsensual changes don’t stop cummin’ until enough people refuse to be taken advantage of.
The curious case of Richard Lowery
Recently, I learned about the curious case of Richard Lowery, a UT associate professor. Per one source, “A finance professor is suing officials at the University of Texas at Austin for allegedly threatening to punish him for his criticism of the university,” indicating Lowery as the aggrieved party.
While UT reportedly has declined to comment on the case, and I make no assertion regarding the guilt of any party herein, I’m reminded of my time at the university and when I was strongly cautioned not to challenge academic decorum. I’m unsurprised that little has changed with my alma mater—despite the university’s advocacy for change.
A separate source expands, “The lawsuit filed this month is requesting that the court ‘bar UT officials from threatening or acting on the threats made to Lowery for his protected speech’ and also to declare that the ‘threats against Lowery amounted to unconstitutional state action designed to chill Lowery’s protected speech and retaliate against him.”
In 2014, I filed a formal complaint with UT’s Office of Institutional Equity. Just as one source states of Lowery, “The First Amendment protects such speech and, in a free society, DEI programs and UT’s president are not above public criticism,” I also referenced my rights:
Once UT investigated itself, I received a final decision from the Executive Vice President and Provost which stated in part that “the evidence provided to me is insufficient to show a violation of the University’s nondiscrimination policy.” How curious!
Regarding Lowery’s suit, one source reports, “According to the suit, Lowery’s criticisms include calling UT’s use of affirmative action in admissions policy ‘vile’ and ‘racist,’ characterizing the school’s use of DEI grants as the ‘diversion of state resources to political advocacy,’ and criticizing the university for its approach to ‘critical-race theory indoctrination.”
Undoubtedly, I observed similar features of the UT system during my enrolment at the School of Social Work. The school later changed its name to the Steve Hicks School of Social Work after a $25 million gift from a wealthy white man—the very sort of identity I was taught to abhor when at the school.
According to one source, “They [UT] threatened Lowery’s job, pay, institutional affiliation, and analysis alternatives if he didn’t shut up,’ the submitting stated. ‘Within the environment they fomented, one in every of Lowery’s colleagues even requested UT police to surveil the professor as a result of he may contact politicians or different influential individuals.”
When at UT, I learned about various theoretical approaches which addressed oppression. I wonder if use of an entity that has a monopoly on violence, by retaining the power to use deadly force against citizens and infringe upon rights, is an appropriate tool to use as a DEI and CRT enforcement strategy.
Per one source, “Texas Governor Abbott’s office recently sent a letter to state agencies—including public universities—to inform them that their DIE programs are illegal.” Noteworthy, a separate source highlights how Lowery’s suit “represents other professors with similar cases around the nation.”
If the services of law enforcement officials are utilized to enforce DEI programs—which are apparently deemed objectionable in Texas—would this constitute systemic oppression if UT were found to have violated policies in such a manner? Might this be occurring elsewhere in the U.S?
If “change” is forced upon unwilling participants—through DEI, CRT, and similar initiatives—and keeping with the crude sexual motif of this blog entry, wouldn’t forcible change against a person represent a form of molestation? If so, is Lowery able to revoke consent to such activity?
I’m familiar with the phrase “FTW” (fuck the world). Considering the same, are UT’s alleged forceful relations against hesitant parties worthy of questioning through proper countermeasures—as a matter of stopping the metaphorical unwanted sex act?
Much in the same way an unwitting person stumbles into a deez nuts joke and becomes the object of ridicule; purported behavior of UT has paved way for mocking the university. Even if the punchline isn’t humorous, contemptuous DEI and CRT polies deserve scorn.
Conclusion
Person 1: Knock, knock.
Person 2: Who’s there?
Person 1: Deez.
Person 2: Deez, who?
Person 1: Deez changes all on your face, in your throat, over your body, and without your consent; ‘cause change gon’ cum!
Person 2: *unamused*
I use Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) in my personal life as a means to remain unamused, though not self-disturbed, by DEI and CRT initiatives. While I may prefer these blatantly hypocritical and potentially racist actions didn’t exist, I have no control over them.
As such, I’m unamused to find that the school from which I graduated apparently continues changing the world in its subjective manner, allegedly using conduct with which I disagree. My attempt to bring forth justice against the university was ineffectual.
Nonetheless, I hope Lowery prevails in his quest for legal remedy. Moreover, I wish for an end to divisive institutional oppression measures thinly veiled as helpful policies which do little more than transfer power and privilege from one entity to another.
All the same, I’ll continue wearing my UT apparel while occasionally throwing up the hook ‘em horns sign—even if I consider the gesture nothing more than an obvious coopting of the sign of the horns, equating to a modified one-in-the-pink, one-in-the-stink maneuver that is aimed at the world. Shocking change!
Have you been subjected to DEI or CRT programs? Do you find that you’re frequently disturbed in relation to these obviously anti-civil rights movement measures?
Would you like to make changes in your own life, rather than demanding that the world change to suit you? I may be able to help you.
If you’re looking for a provider who works to help you understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.
As a psychotherapist, and hip hop head from the old school, I’m pleased to help people with an assortment of issues from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.
At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply helping you to feel better, I want to help you get better!
Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW
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