Month: November 2015

#BlackLoveMatters

All lives matter cartoon
If any nuance is to be added to the #blacklivesmatter or #prayforsoandso hash tag movements it should be that black people need to learn how to love each other. #BlackLoveMatters! Not just the ones that are out in the streets perpetrating crimes against one another, the community and humanity as a whole–actually I’m not even talking about them because in most cases they don’t even love themselves enough to know the gravity of some of their acts. Even the most heinous acts like murdering a 9 year old kid just to get back at his gang affiliated father does not equate with a cop who swears to do right by the community doing the same thing to a 16 year old.
Glenbeck rally
 Misery loves company and the hood is replete with misery–you do the math.  Crime and poverty go hand in hand. Those of us who have made it out of the cycle of generational poverty and those of us who are a mere generation or two removed from the cycle need to undertake the task of loving and understanding each other, human history and the effects of protracted poverty on a given populace. When I hear people (especially black people) say things like “they only protest when a white cop shoots a black person but never do it when a black person kills a black person” I no longer have to patience to explain to them that such a disparate comparison makes sense only to the myopic minded Fox News viewer. No longer will I retort that cops are paid and empowered by the state to uphold the law and to serve and protect the communities that they are deployed and when they fail to do such a thing and decide play judge, jury and executioner all in a matter if seconds it’s a far more egregious crime than Pookie who is a  member of the Bloods gunning down Man Man who reps the Crips from the other side of the projects whose crews have been warring since long before either were born . Furthermore the likelihood that Pookie or Man Man were under and mis-educated is rather high. As is the likelihood that they lacked the requisite love and attention needed to grow from a boy to a man so even if Pookie and Man Man were born in 1979 they are so arrested in their development that comparing their actions to professional law enforcement and to hold them to the same moral code is nonsensical at best. It’s also an opine completely devoid of love, understanding and common logic. What people are really saying when they utter such bullshit is they don’t understand how the human mind works. What’s scary and depressing is many of these people have at least had the benefit of taking psychology 101 so to be so lost on the causal effects of trauma on the human condition is rather embarrassing. At least it should be.

In our collective DNA there’s over 400 years of oppression and trauma passed down from our ancestors–most of which spent their entire life in brutal bondage. Such residual effects should be the tie that binds the “talented tenth” to masses who in most cases lacked the helping hand or foot in ass that they had to break their cycle. Black love is being that helping hand and/or foot in the ass when called upon. The single biggest reason why you are not mired in the doldrums of generational poverty and hood stagnation that we often see recklessly bantered about on the news and in popular forms of black entertainment (movies, novels, TV)  is because someone extended a hand and foot to you when you most needed it.

So from here on out my resounding reply to all of those on the sidelines (because if you are parroting Fox News talking points you really ain’t doing shit for the community) saying things like #alllivesmatter or “black people don’t care about black on black crime” is #BlackLoveMatters.

 All lives march
Hopefully they won’t be so clueless that they fail to comprehend that I’m speaking about them and not Pookie, Man Man or any of the rest of the victims of white supremacy in America’s man made ghettos and hoods.

To Pray or not to Pray (for France)

Since the tragedy in France my timeline has been consumed with mostly people bickering back and forth about how to express their feelings regarding said tragedy.

There are essentially two camps. The ‪#‎prayforparis‬ camp and the ‪#‎prayforeveryone‬else camp.

The internal debate centers mostly around profile pictures being set to honor the French flag and both sides make salient points.

The ‪#‎prayforeveryoneelse‬ faction makes the very valid point that almost every other day scores are killed in terrorist attacks. The only difference is the methods and the victims (and suspects). An F-16 dropping bombs or a drone attack is still terror. So why are we not praying for all victims of terror. The #prayforparis faction makes the equally valid point that when people say ‪#‎blacklivesmatter‬ it’s disrespectful to the movement to say things like‪ #‎alllivesmatter‬ so with all things being constant it’s less than respectful to the victims of this grave tragedy to be dismissive of them in this moment of collective grief.

Here’s my take: before people were praying for Paris, Paris has been preying on the homeland of the very people that carried out that dastardly attack. I’m not saying this to say that this is chickens coming home to roost I’m saying it because it’s simply cause and effect. Violence begets violence. When we think of Paris we think of the Eiffel Towers, fashion models, exotic foods, and a sexy language. We don’t think of war mongering, xenophobia, racism, colonialism and imperial endeavors. Friday’s attacks did not happen in a vacuum. They’re part and parcel to the untoward acts of the French government. Much of which have been done in concert with NATO, the United States and other western imperialists.

France played a larger than normal role in the ouster of Mummar Gaddifi sending Libya descending into anarchy and chaos while greatly exacerbating the refugee crisis that eventually found its way to their boarder leaving them with little choice but to take many of them in. After all it was the French president that insisted that NATO and the US intervene in the Libyan civil war so as to take advantage of all of the crude oil beneath the war torn soil.

I say all of this not to say to cease praying for France. They do need prayer. I’m also not saying that you have to pray for Kenya, Palestine and other places in the third world where terror takes no vacations if you’re going to pray for France (though that would be nice). I’m saying all of this because my prayers are for us all to better understand global conflict and geo-politics so that we cease supporting wrong causes that end up bringing us to our collective knees in sorrow due to their almost immediate effects. I’m also praying for the refugees and other peace seeking Muslims within France’s boarders that will no doubt feel the sting of misguided angst and retribution from many of the French citizens that so many here are keeping in their own prayers. Never been to France but I did pay attention in world history and to world history and it don’t take a history major to know that France as a nation has committed some dastardly deeds. They’ve also grown more and more intolerant towards Africans, Muslims and other non-Europeans as of late.
After 9/11 the American flag was everywhere you turned your head and the US Government used that faux sense of patriotism to unleash endless bloodshed in the Middle East. We are witnessing a replay of it and many are unwittingly supporting it. I don’t begrudge those that are changing their profiles to be in solidarity with the victims of  the massacre in Paris because for the most part their hearts are in the right place. I just wish that they would put some depth of thought into what they’re really supporting and what’s going to be the eventual outcome. In lieu of Fridays attacks France has massively increased their bombing campaign. So while we are praying for roughly 500 or so victims of last weeks attack understand that there will be 10-20 times the amount of victims once France, the United States and the rest of the NATO is done “retaliating” so I hope all of my prayerful brothers and sisters state side have strong knees because if the outpouring of prayer on the heels of the Paris attacks are sincere and devoid of media  programming (social and mainstream)  than they will be on their knees for the next few weeks (at least).

Side note: The meme wars that ensued in light of all profile pictures laminated with the colors of the French flag are hilarious and kind of telling.

sphinx

Stephenbut do yo upray for Africa

kat williamsmassa said

KKKlil boy