There is the Truth and the Bold Lie. Florida, the Media (paper, local and cable) and those that just want to oppose what is obvious have, since the day of the shooting, been trying to find justification and (fictitious) evidence to exonerate David Zimmerman. The events and actions were clear from the start. It was very cut and dry. The more the other side pushes with their desire to apply justification for an innocent child's murder, the more uber-evidence comes to the surface. Almost like an erupting volcano. Just this video alone shows that the reports of a "life-and-death" struggle fall flat.
There is one thing about having an open mind and another to look for reasons to reject the truth. THIS IS ONE OF THEM. What the nation (Florida) is struggling with is accepting that not only was this a CHILD but a child that did not fit the psychological profile that has been brainwashed into its psyche ... the THUG, the Criminal, the Dangerous Boogie Man-Child. It speaks to proving that this nation has a deeply rooted psychological "need" to categorize and profile based on looks, dress and mannerisms. Whites are even (slowly) starting to acknowledge that if the role/races were reversed, Trayvon and the nation would be calling for the DEATH PENALTY. This even exposes how People of Color, Creeds and sexualities have to exercise CODE SWITCHING so that they can function in society. When Black families have to TEACH their children how not to walk, talk, act, dress, eat, sing, dance, play, respond, stare, smile, associate, travel, drive, shop, study, write, work, travel, worship, vote etc. for fear of being "misinterpreted" ... how any action or normal behavior will be subject to an error in judgement or confrontation ... or the end result will be adding them to the thousands of Black and Brown children being shoot all over the country ... you don't pull a Rick Perry and say, "Opps" and keep it moving. This is what the Florida police tried to do and found out that Black people were not going to let it happen.
The media tried to ignore it and deem it as "another common Black child shot" story and they were in error. If the police and media had done their job, there would not be the national rallies, social media barrages, community marches, Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson on call. But when you ignore the facts and ignore the reality of murder, looking for "another truth" , you are simply copping out for not wanting to take off the Rose Colored Glasses and seeing the events as they are.
Geraldo Rivera is catching Hell for his statement that it was Trayvon's hoodie and or his parent's fault for "allowing" him to wear Thug Clothing ... the same clothing that every college and university child wears. Even worst, the police did a FULL toxicology and autopsy and found NOTHING. Where was Zimmerman's tests on that day and a "citizen who killed someone? Now they are trying to brand Trayvon as a school trouble maker and drug user/dealer. NOT TRUE.
Stand Your Ground is a law that was to protect innocent people attacked within their homes, businesses or in protecting their property from an aggressor. NOT a person looking to play TOP COP with known psychological issues. Maybe I have dedicated myself to gathering all the information I can on this case and trust me, the evidence from the other side is all weak and non-existent. But for the idea of two truths ... there is only one and all the evidence points to it. Now its up to Florida to show its TRUE COLORS.
I had the great honor to salute my mentor's time on this Earth and give condolences to the entire Payne Family for their loss. God give save passing to the soul of Donald Payne and thank you for all the work you had accomplished as a politician in Congress.
Whitney Houston, who died on February 11, 2012 at the tender age of 48, has sold more than 170 million albums, singles and videos worldwide. She also won 2 Emmy Awards, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, and 22 American Music Awards add to this list BET Awards, Soul Train Awards, NAACP Image Awards, Essence Awards and People ChoiceAwards and you have one of the most recognized artist in America. Guinness World Records lists Whitney Houston as "the most awarded female artist of all time," with a "total of 425 career awards as of 2010." An impressive music career, one which people would sell their soul to have a small portion of that kind of recognition. A talent recognized all over the world. A mother, a daughter, a sister, a commercial icon. She was all things commercial, perfection in her image but in the end Whitney Houston was mortal, fallible, flawed and known to be a bit of an uber- Diva. Truth of the matter is, she was a Newark, New Jersey Hood-Rat ..... and that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. This part of her life is the REAL story we need to see and talk about because the fabricated Clive Davis version, in the end, creates and makes Whitney Houston a tragic character, the Diva who fell from "commercial grace", the artist who couldn't keep it together, the woman who was bright in the light and dark in the privacy of her home the thing of tabloid falter. Disconnected from her roots in image but straight up hardcore in urban attitude and spirit, Whitney Houston carried the burden to be most unlike herself to the World than being what I call real. They sold a fabricated STANDARD when she existed at a "standard" from the beginning. Although her voice was never a debate, this short haired, nappy-headed, under-weight, runway model wannabe with an occasional PK (Preacher Kid) vs Street Kid complex was always just under the surface of the woman who would be one of the most copied female icons globally. But that don't sell units or at least not back in the days of the 80's. Bottom line, Whitney Houston's death only perpetuate the reality of the modern artist. Extension through dollars and a manipulated sense to connect with an image created by an industry that respects the individual's right to self-implode. Whitney Houston represented, like many other artist, the typical trajectory of modern fame; See, Want, Take, Have and then Loose. Move on.
I am waiting for the millions of condolences to roll through and they will be well deserved but the Realist wants to know one single thing. How? How did Whitney Houston die? That fact will punctuate the true legacy of the icon. We know she struggled with addiction, and emotional issues, stress and weight issues which plays havoc on heart health, fowl play (which is unlikely but the Illuminati conspirators will have a field day with the idea), this is what we wait for and hope for the best that her passing is a natural death. Our recent experience of Michael Jackson's murder under the influence of drug addiction, Amy Winehouse with her drug and alcohol addiction, Don Cornelius' suicide, who wants to hear that their idol died because they were weak in spirit? I know what my expectations are. I pray that I am wrong.
Freely we throw spiritual blessings and good journey to Whitney Houston's raised soul. We want to hope that it ascends to Heaven in the loving arms and blissful hands of her Lord and Savior. Personally, I am a bit ambivalent since from personal experience, the Diva, at her height, had spread far and wide her personal brand of praise upon the "Little People" (her words not mine). Although within her tight circles she may have been nice and gentle, there are quite a few disgruntle fans that are existing in a current state of, "Oh well-itis." Those in the know, from the streets of Newark to the boulevards of Beverly Hills know that life with Whitney always came with a touch of ugly and depending on what side of the touch, you either stayed and took it or you had to go and leave her be. The time spent with Bobby Brown only added to the circus that was called the "Whitney and Bobby Show" and we still watched hoping that something would give and the authenticity of her character would surface for the public to connect with. The part that was Hood Real, the personality that the common person, the Little People could relate to, the physical presence where her own person would connect to People, speaking freely without being edited or chased by paparazzi. We got a little bit with Wendy Williams jabbing at her "truth" but it wasn't enough. We never were exposed to the real Whitney, never revealed the packaged wholesome bread and butter of Good, Bad and Ugly. Basically, we never knew Whitney Houston's story, only that which was meticulously controlled, pre-written or re-written.
We were all blessed to have witnessed the natural talent that was Whitney Houston. She loved sharing her gift with the World. The interesting thing about talent shared, is that it is often no different than a simple conversation. There is that "investment" of the listener, that story, the message you begin to tell to enter the psyche of others, the something that can be connected to, the emotion, the emoting, the resolve that we share the same experience. That is the challenge and essence of "talent". If people can't connect with it, the response will be clear; often immediate. Even so much as to faking acceptance until you can move it along for the next story more interesting. We call this "choice". You choose to connect and ultimately share back either in gratitude, applaud, inspiration or equal talent and or conversation in return.The sharing can come from many perspectives, many levels but in the end, the "outcome" is positive because you are invested in the relationship; which is the core of our humanity and the return on our investment. I say all of this to say, or even ask, one thing, "Did we really have that conversation with Whitney Houston?"
Whitney Houston's talent was her connection but it was never her complete or true story? There was always a question about how much of her music was the story of Whitney Houston's life, the "real" Whitney and how much of it was tailored "imagery". For years I watched her development from the girl from the Hood to Diva. Barbie Doll. The hair, the makeup, the dresses and jewelery, it all fit, it was all appropriate for the image but knowing the story NOW and the music THEN, can we really extrapolate from the many songs, some small essence of the woman? Artist like Michael Jackson, Minnie Riperton, Etta James, Phyllis Hyman, Amy Winehouse, James Brown, Rick James, Billie Holiday, Teena Marie all infused their lives into their music. There was no separation. More so for recently passed Michael Jackson, his life an open book for the extreme range of emotions a human being can experience or endure spiritually and social consciously. We knew his pain and his joy from innocence to adulthood because he detailed it like a blind man expressing sound with soul; the essence of R&B. So in his passing, the loss was deep, soulfully lost. The World knew the totality of the loss because we lived Michael and he the people in return. When you listen to any one of the aforementioned artists, at any point of your life, at any point of their life, you related, you emoted, you knew them from pure and shared experience. With Whitney Houston, the connection is external in relationship. The connection between "her" story and "her" music is only surface. Yes her music pulled from the emotion, even inspired to lift oneself up and have courage to live your life with purpose, but was that the Whitney's story or a fraction of the whole? The World around her was everything but internal sharing, unless you knew her personally and or intimately.
In conversation regarding uber-hyped entertainers and musicians like Whitney Houston, I often ask, how can you say you "love" someone if you didn't know them? It's meant as a , "snap out of it" moment. Her music was great but the constant reminder that her music and person weren't one and the same was hard for people to accept. Still can't. Her music wasn't self created, or self-inspired or self produced. There were others, many "others" in the planning and the Mega machine that is part of the music industry that created the icon known as The Diva; Whitney Houston for 30 years made sure that that image was unshakeable. So unshakeable that in her death, they stand to profit more from the death of the icon than she would have alive. How's that for legacy? This, for me, is where the deviation from artist and person came into play. The simplicity of her character was made complex only because much of what we knew about Whitney, her connection to her church (New Hope Baptist), the fact that she loved HipHop and Rap, the party girl, wearing a good pair of jeans, gossiping and being Church folk-like, etc., we never really saw, The True Whitney Houston. She was a product of Newark, New Jersey and not the Land of Make Believe. So much of THIS artistry never surfaced and again I ask, how much was this by choice? How much was perpetually her internal/external struggle? There is nothing wrong with being regal, grand or royal but there isn't anything wrong with being common, plain and or "real". People would like to comment, postmortem, how her addiction was a major factor of Whitney Houston's demise or the circles and choices she made, but I believe the catalyst of being un-Whitney had more to do with her conflict of character/image. Take away the existence of "self" and you have no choice but to exist as "other". Thus my lack of shock when she married Bobby Brown. Who else can you be with except someone who is most like "you", to fill the void removed or re-build the "diminished you". I mean just how do you live a double identity on a global stage and keep your sanity being the music industry's Black Barbie doll or the musical voice of the "Post-Civil Rights Movement? Standing on a train platform during rush hour daily is a struggle enough for most so imagine being just that for 30 plus years without pause. How do you live a life of royalty when you know deep down you want to throw back a rum and coke with a side order of sticky-finger ribs, mac and cheese, fried chicken and potato salad.
I caught an episode on the reality show, Being Bobby Brown where Whitney Houston had gone through one of her "self fulfilling" tirades where she yelled at a group of common people, "Do you know who I am?" Truth of the matter was, they knew who Whitney Houston was but not THAT woman. She wasn't the Whitney Houston created by the World to know but the Hood Rat that was "real" and it wasn't as bad as Reality TV made it out to be. I actually like it. Not so much the ignorance factor but the "real" factor of a woman who could get angry, who could yell, scream, throw things and needing a cigarette and a drink to calm down afterwards. There was no shock and awe at all. Whitney Houston was a human being with personality with a unique perspective, character and opinions. All this, we never heard from the Diva by design. Newark locals knew but the World was absent from the introduction on day one. As those who "thought" they knew Houston's stage media persona with their fantasy connections to the singer, they say that she always knew where she came from but did the World REALLY want to see that? Did they really want to see, hear or even know The Hood Girl from Newark, New Jersey with the voice of an angle and an attitude of Mike Tyson? I doubt that image could sell, "Saving All My Love for You".
Although times have changed in the industry where artist of a particular vain, can and will break out and just "be" themselves (i.e. Janet Jackson, Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, Mariah Carey) and others that took control of their images from the beginning (Madonna, Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj). With that change was also a change in music, style, message and in some cases their audience. Early in Whitney's career the fans and critics questioned if she could make that transition. They questioned why Whitney wasn't crossing over into what they all knew were her roots. There seemed to be an absence of Gospel, R&B even a scant degree of HipHop, Jazz and Soul. Her music was inspirationally "safe". As commercially neat and clean as you can get without being "corny" we all knew Whitney was far from CORNY, she was cool people as a regular Hood girl. She was fun as well as deep. This we never got. So when the dark side (which really wasn't dark, just edited) became public, one would hope that a transition of image and clarity, artistic truth and conviction would dominate her comeback. Unfortunately as she began to re-build her career, the machine that is Clive Davis gave us more of the same. I was sadden and even more so, disappointed.
As the media industry try to find blame and fault to a life that left the World "too soon" highlighting talking points like Bobby Brown, Robin Crawford, her hometown; Newark, New Jersey, the music industry and Clive Davis, her Faith in Christ or the lack thereof when the truth of the matter is, it was all of those things and none of them at the same time. No matter what the catalyst was, be it fate, cosmic design, karma or the act of God, this was who, what, how and why Whitney Houston was to "be", a reality not "too short" or "too long". Thus ends this lesson of life.
Did we love Whitney Houston as an artist? Yes. Do we feel sad for the loss of another icon? Most definitely. Did we know Whitney Houston? Not really. We knew her commercially, we even knew some of her demons but in the end, we never connected to the real artist through her story, no more and no less than we connect with a random person sharing the train seat next to you. The experience is only as personal as the ride to the last stop.
Roland Martin was suspended by CNN for an assumed Homophobic 'Tweet' comment. The GLAAD association filed a formal complaint over a Superbowl tweet that Roland Martin made to his "followers" which, according to Roland was taken out of context and fueled by the same uncontrolled and chaotic resources of limited human common sense we call social media. The argument used to justify the suspension were past comments defined as racist, homophobic, liberal, socialist and every and any other definition used to describe a CNN host. What gets me most about this is the exploitative nature of the issue. The Boogyman in the closet factor. Normally I wouldn't care about something like this but I did take the time to bone up (I hope saying that don't get GLAAD on my ass for saying) on the facts and my jaw dropped. I mean dropped like a Looneytoon moment for shock and awe. I did not read anything remotely homophobic in Roland Martin's comment. If anything, it was a greater diss on H&M than anything sports, sex or gay related. But then again, I was using common sense and basic comprehension skills.
"Ain't no real bruhs going to H&M to buy some damn David Beckham underwear! If a dude at your Super Bowl party is hyped about David Beckham's H&M underwear ad, smack the ish out of him! I bet soccer fan Piers Morgan will be in line at H&M in the morning to get his hands on David Bechman's (sic) underwear line."
I mean REALLY .. for this tweet comment?
Believe it our not, I not only thought the same thing at my Superbowl event, I actually said something similar, OUT LOUD which got a roomful of collective laughs. By the way, I am quite sure the Gay people in the room weren't psychologically scared due to the fact that they were more interested in "WHO" David Beckham was and where they could get the granny-panties he was wearing. All-in-All, the ad was successful for attracting both Women and Gay men to buy a pair of over priced H&M booty-chokers. And for those who are not in the know, H&M is Metrosexual central for fashion. Hoping GLAAD isn't hot on my ass for poking at the truth for saying this but H&M has been the primary source of the uppity-urban fashion trend for knock-off Couture and Cat-Walkmania since day one and if it is Gay, Metro-trendy and inexpensive, its at H&M. Its reality living in New York City. I'm not saying that H&M is an exclusively Gay business or that it is a hyper-Gay-friendly corporation but real is real, a large amount of their profits come from Women and the Gay Community. Look at their profits and then get back to me if you want to call me anything outside of speaking truth or being honest. Even David Beckham stated he felt uncomfortable doing the Ad. And this is coming from a guy who kicks balls for a living. Again, GLAAD, no pun intended so keep back your lawyers.
I once posted on a social media network, "It's so humid, even crackers have lost their snap." WOW, was this a lesson in White vs Black humor when the truth of the matter was, I had an opened box of crackers that had absorbed the humidity in the room and literally, each cracker was moist and soft. I say this to say, some realities are just that, REALITY. The ad is homoerotic. The style and look is very Gay in its tone and intent.
What amazes me is that tweets and one's personal life seems to COEXIST as one entity. It seems that there are whole societies that sit, study and police the every word and moments of tweeters. A Big Tweeter Consortium dedicated to "Getchu". So much is this becoming past-time that Twitter has become, at least by my perception, no different than TMZ or some other tabloid rag. Having an account by a recognizable person and hoping to avoid Big Brother, one would need to have a DL account, an Anonymous presence so that they can speak free and clear protected by the the virtual Constitution and the laws governed by free speech and expression.
I didn't find Roland's comments offensive. Maybe because I don't care about Beckham, the sport of soccer, a tattooed man in granny panties, about the overall Superbowl-mania or the fact that this issue was born out of a mix of some of the worst Superbowl commercials to date, but I am beginning to side with a lot of other Americans, many whom are Racist, Sexist and Homophobic .... "&#$%@ GET OVER YOURSELF". The Ad was Gay. If you take a Poll of Gay men (which no one has done thus far) you'd find that even they would say .... "That Ad was Gay-esque" or at least Gay-Sexy. Women who were Polled voted over 60% that the Ad was sexy and "Facebookable enough to "Like".
Yes, Martin Roland can be an ASS. I have experienced this first hand but one thing I can say, he is an honest Ass. He doesn't mix words with the truth which is why he, I and many within the industry gives him deference and respect. So if he said he was making fun of David Beckham as a soccer player and the sport .... it is safe to say the man doesn't respect the sport or Beckham. Reading his "tweet" and exercising basic comprehension skills, it was very clear as to his intent. The H&M ad was very different and unexpected for the typical Superbowl barrage of drink more, eat more, buy more, treat women like sex objects more. To throw in a naked man in booty-chokers as if he was auditioning for Victoria Secrets .... I mean REALLY? Who were you really trying to impress with brief (no pun intended) peeks and glimpses of crack and crotch? I guess my comment of, "OMG, another Hooker commercial!" after the tenth scantily dressed woman in a bikini was shown, I would be primed for being insensitive, misogynous and needing firing destined to intense sensitivity training. In America under the Constitution, Free Speech, Expression, blah blah ... its my perception, my reality and I spit in the face of anyone who tries to campaign any degree of penance upon me to make me apologize. And for the record, I DON'T LIKE SOCCER EITHER.
At a fundamental level, this is how we begin to fix what is broken in our community, specifically with young talented Men who fall between the cracks of our broken educational system. Too often, Black boys are ostracized and profiled as not interested in learning when the obvious is that the standards and methods for learning are outdated for the advanced minds of contemporary youth. Children embracing the "other" America, the one that is easily attainable by shortcuts, guile and imitation, a lifestyle where it requires those of weak resolution and determination to be rewarded, kills all chance for innovation, true creativity, collective work and responsibility to self-determination as a society. To be better than all Peoples as well has creating a legacy much like royalty to pass down like wealth and pride, we need our talented to be elevated, matured and ready to be better than the generation before them. We need to consolidate our geniuses.
How to become a genius:
Consider yourself being a genius and act like one in every moment of your life and you will very soon feel that you are one.
Work out your time in such a way that every hour is properly utilized and put aside as much time as possible on becoming better.
Established a good skill on recognizing data that is valuable and vital.
Learn something new and valuable each day.
In anything you read or observe, make sure you understand it. Clear up the words you don’t understand and ask or look up anything at the moment to understand observations which were not understood. Never pass by something you don’t understand.
Carefully choose a profession in which you earn your money for living and at the same time enables you to enhance your skill and abilities.
Read a lot and carefully select which literature to read in which to gain the most valuable and vital data.
Evaluate, look and make conclusions on anything you read and observe.
Expect much more of yourself than what is expected from others.
Help people around you to the best of your ability and establish friends who can support you if needed.
Be very self-confident and certain but on the same time be open to listen, look and reevaluate to make new conclusions.
Know that no matter how good or skilled you are you can always become better and never cease to become more skillful in anything you have selected to do.
The true genius knows that it is not enough for himself/herself having reached sky high levels – he has to take the rest of mankind with him up and has dedicated his life in making it happen.
Never refer to yourself or others as being "smart". Intelligence and Smart are polar opposites in meaning, intent and potential and should be considered an insult.
Leave a record of your evolution for others to follow and or continue. This is your gift to humanity.
As defined:
Genius - an exceptional natural capacity of intellect, especially as shown in creative and original work in science, art, music, etc.
Intelligence - capacity for learning, reasoning, understanding, and similar forms of mental activity; aptitude in grasping truths, relationships, facts, meanings, etc. The faculty for understanding. Evolution in aptitude and potential.
Talent - a capacity for achievement or success; ability
Smart - having or showing quick intelligence or ready mental capability, socially elegant; sophisticated or fashionable. Witty.
There is no difference between the Privileged and a Blind man eating steak, for no matter how savory, succulent and tasty the meal is, the blind man will never see how the meat is a product of slaughter and butchery. Neither will see this reality upon the first bite nor will either one care. The only interest would be to thank the chef for the time and dedication for its proper preparation.
There are many examples of repealed and non-government regulation and its effect on people, communities, society, Nations. The examples exits but are not in the public eye because if it were, Americans would question its principles and morality. The very fact that our private sector is dancing around the World looking for nations to exploit to the level of “pennies per slave” just so that they don’t have to pay Americans a decent wage, benefits for top executives and maintaining a system of trading imaginary capital and empty financial trades is and should be reason enough to stand up and support more Government (People) intervention. But to do that, you might have to slightly consider the fact that people might have common sense to pay attention to the details.
We can name random countries different in structure and ideology as confusing and possessing corrupt aspects of government, socialist, terrorist or just evil in comparison with our nation’s Republic structure; Republicanism at its core, and we can embrace a “free market” with its self-appointed superiority above the principles of equal barter and trade when in truth, it exploits people just as cruelly and effectively as any corrupt system of apartheid, skewed theocracy or terrorist society. An inherited mark placed back upon the World inked deep by Cain's legacy for deviating from his humanity.
Cuba, pre-Castro, and its economics is a prime example as well as many Pacific and Malaysian Islands, South American, African and Asian nations where America and the Western World exploited people for cheap labor with zero regulations. Once done, they all left those countries devastated, war torn, resource drained and desolate. The economic practices on the surface flourished and looked good on the reflective side of the mirror but in every society that had been done, the division of wealthy to poor increased tenfold. Why? Because you cannot have a growing free market where everyone is a winner and in a capitalist society to maintain this, you will need to have a significant number of have-nots to control, to bottom feed just enough to be used as hors d'œuvre and simple appetizers. What keeps all the people from becoming completely indentured are government regulations. Historically it is because of this that American slaves were freed, children emancipated from sweatshops as well as women, immigrants and migrant workers given protection and an established legal retirement age for the elderly from being exploited into their graves was instituted.
We live in a world of “assumed” privilege where the illusion of “working hard” is greatly rewarded. Only now are Americans seeing that what they thought was the American Dream is just that … a REM induced dream as deep in mythology as Dante's decent into the Inferno. It is only when we agreed to fall asleep did we dream of a reality where waking up to a world that is either living to be the exploiter or being the exploited was real. Unfortunately, the rest of the World is wide awake and beginning to catch up to exploit us right back with vengeance, retaliation and purpose (i.e. China, the Middle-east, the European Union, Brazil, Russia). You can thank the Bush years for this accelerated evolution and Obama for setting the alarm clock to get up.
"The best way to kill an idea, a movement or attention to an injustice in America is to turn it into a Fad. Then and only then can you make it cool to ignore and turn in a profit as well." - the poet Shazza
As a person involved with OWS, most of the opinions of its demise, its lack of organization and especially people's opinions of its lack of focus is bogus. Much of the disparaging is due to the innate and limited attention span of the American people and their inability to get their fat-asses off the couch and do something. Yes, I took it there because I needed to shock you just enough to have those potato chip crumbs fall out of your mouth. So sit up, turn off Housewives of one of the 50 States and wipe the chicken and pizza grease off our lips, fire up the laptop or Ipad and let's get to work, the LESSON THUS BEGINS.
OWS is not a traditional movement and it embraces its "non-traditional" methodologies. Even if you were somewhat knowledgeable about civil disobedience or movements, this is an important point to know. Much of it is a combination and collection of effective and successful civil disobedient practices globally. The very nature of how we use communication, media, social media and word of mouth is uniquely different and specific to the moment. Just think, in war, do leadership use the same strategies over and over again or do they use a combination of what worked in the past and newer, innovative and more advance plans and methods? Most likely the latter is applied. So why would a modern day movement not apply the same practices? But then again, you wouldn't think as such because in Actions movies and Forensic TV, the goals to solutions are formula motivated and usually comprise of 43 minutes and 18 commercials plugged straight to your World consciousness. Yes, I know, I have a lot of deprogramming to work with.
This is what frustrates the typical masses whom are use to being spoon feed their information or wanting someone to explain it in 32 characters or less. Part of what OWS does is to make the individual make a concerted effort and to subtly make people do the work themselves by simply asking, "What is the one thing that you feel is most important for getting this country back on course?" Then we show them just how simple the solution is by pointing them to Washington DC and Washington to Wall Street. It's a simple straight line. Not complex or subversive, the evidence is practically in your face. The facts of the deed, done in blatant arrogance. No matter what people's basic concerns are, it all goes back to Washington DC and Wall Street's direct connection to each other and the unaccountability of their actions.
I know it's taking a lot longer than taking one of those Matrix pills to "Free your mind" but this isn't Science Fiction, it's life. The top 1% in America is a population in the millions and the 99% is a population in the billions. Their crimes, the stealing, the misappropriating, the legal gerrymandering of financial access and almost barring people's Right to basic economic means to prosperity is in the Trillions. Contrary to popular belief, not one OWS participant or member wants a "handout" or special treatment, the focus is to MAKE Congress repeal the laws that guaranteed through guile and political subterfuge the gluttony of their greed at the expense of the stability of the entire American economy and the World.
Trying to force a Modern Movement to adopt Old Standards doesn't work but at the same time, and uniquely so, the modern standard allows for past methods to work thus the movement allows for all peoples with a variety of issues and concerns to be part of the whole. OWS is THE PEOPLES MOVEMENT.
People like to have "opinions" about OWS. Some might even go to look at the groups as if its social entertainment, or the zoo or to say, "I was there and I spoke to a participant, I even took pictures" but the truth of the matter is, unless you are truly doing your part, looking, condemning, dismissing and writing about OWS faults and missteps is moot when the successes far outweigh what few minor goals it didn't meet.
Few people have even commented on how OWS has exposed members of Congress by name for their offshore and lobby connections and their insider trading based upon the laws they help pass, how Congress has moved legislation to limit OWS activities on peace gatherings and information distribution, how plans to have the military be employed as a policing (Militia) unit for OWS activities, the assigning of undercover agents to find and exploit OWS leadership, threatening public figures if they are even in association with OWS or giving assistance, OWS having moved the pace of investigations towards solving the secret banking of Trillions of dollar deals in Washington, the Federal Reserve and abroad, OWS occupying people's homes to prevent them from being foreclosed upon, amassing large numbers of litigation suits for constitutional violations during non-violent rallies and protests, bringing back to the forefront Human Right violation of past Civil Rights activist from the 60's, 70's, 80's that were fighting for the same issues as OWS today and many more. To force OWS to pick and choose a handful of agendas and keep to it isn't the point and it WON'T HAPPEN. The very fact that Congress to local law enforcement are violently threatening the silence of people whom are simply telling the America people the truth about its government should outrage you. The evidence that Corporations, many whom would trade your family's future for an all expense paid trip to the Cayman Islands in order to deposit its profits in tax free and asset hidden offshore accounts, should make you want to storm all Capitals. But, in its place, Americans watch as young people get beat with clubs, knocked off their feet while standing with signs or sprayed in the face with chemicals for the Right to have something as simple as a "job". There is a disconnect for sure.
Only ONE AGENDA is needed; the fundamental addressing of economic inequity in America the 99% that are marginalize out of it. It's simple. Adding anything else would complicate it and that is pretty much what media is doing. Even when you ask the question, "Why not protest in Washington DC?" The answer is, the power and decisions aren't made in DC, as it stands, they are made on Wall Street. This is the capital of our Nation and has been for the past 30 to 40 years. Once you understand this basic fact, the movement becomes less complicated and the agenda and the issues, crystal clear. All other issues, the 5 that lazy ill-informed people want OWS to choose so they can have peace of mind and an easier ability to dismantle the movement or the open agendas that effect everyone and is tied to Wall Street's influence, its all the same movement. Not to mention, the public OWS Movement is only 3 months old, and in that 3 months it has become a global movement and branched off into several extend groups working on larger and more specific agendas (i.e. MoveYourMoneyProject.org).
Its easy to point fingers and pontificate Shoulda Woulda Couldas but what you don't know about OWS is only because many are either skimming for the details or they are just looking at the pictures of the whole story. THUS THE LESSON IS ONGOING.
Every now-and-then I get excited when I see, hear or read about someone, just anyone that stands up and say, "I'm not taking your &$#@ anymore!" A person that gives it back righteously and no matter how big, how powerful or entitled their aggressor is, that one person casts a shadow over them and puts fear and shame to them. Do that, just once, and you are my HERO OF THE DAY.
Well today, Dylan Ratigan, you got your official hero gear, cape and all. You did what I want all other News casters to do on the hair. You weren't commercially interrupted, no one dared to challenge you, you got your point across and you didn't care. Even with the Peanut Gallery you sat across from. You even gave it to the watching audience and every political pundit and pseudo-analyst out there collecting a BS paycheck for pushing the same weak agenda day-after-day, week-after-week, year-after-year, decade for decade. Dylan didn't give the choice of a "blue pill or red pill", he straight up just said, "Open up and take it!" He didn't want to hear a comment back once he said what he did. He didn't want applauds or adulation and you didn't dare. It was the tongue thrashing one would get for braking the lamp in the living room after being told "no ball playing in the house". To even try to defend yourself would have been suicide. Even more so, you'd come off the idiot because you wouldn't know where to start with justifying MADNESS. Simply said, you had no choice but to say, "You are right Dylan." The facts were on the table, in your face, names were named and dates drawn on calendars. Clearly Dylan said, "You are busted and it's broadcasted live, now come for me."
Of course MSNBC will have some kind of follow up for stepping "OUT OF LINE". From the top brass, there will be some lecture or proposal for a time-out session and the executive corner. Maybe a warning for his OVERTLY PASSIONATE or ALMOST OVERTLY AGGRESSIVE manner. Maybe make note how the people working in the background couldn't do their work (a matter which is somewhat dumb because the idea of doing a live show in an open office setting is bizarre and trifle) or even better, "Dylan, you intimated the two female pundits and that constituted sexual harassment." You know something is going to jump off. You just can't expose the under belly of the dragon showing its weak spot; that missing scale which exposes its heart. But regardless of the end results, Dylan put it out there and it was GOOD!!
You are my hero and I don't have a problem with how much damage you needed to do to get the job done because damage is what this system needs. Its not functional and you told us the who, whats, when, where and hows about the villains and masterminds behind the plan to take over the World. Now all we need is a Justice League or at least The Avengers once its all said to be done.
I struggle with human nature daily or at least its impact in the Western World. Standing consumed in its need to be in higher stations than the person next to itself so much that its nature alters its "state of mind" even within its own family. The consciousness to out do, out perform or relish in the fall of others can be described no different than vultures waiting for the sick or injured to die so it can strip it of its self worth and dignity. We all stand revealed in the end.
I say this only because I was recently shaken to the core and into a state of surrealism, sitting on a train ride home with the World around me moving in slow motion. A truth, an verbal epiphany that revealed a flaw in my humanity, the hope that defines my spirit. It hurt my heart and will as well as my sensibility. I was humbled by a friend who today told me, "You know what your flaw is? You expect everyone you meet to be equal to you in common sense and intelligence and the truth is, people aren't. You'll never enjoy living for you if you don't accept this."
Photo by Shazza Nakim 2011
The moment hit me hard when he finished the sentence. If this was a total stranger, a passing association or a bitter enemy, the moment would have been just that, a moment. But this is a trusted friend. Someone who has equal integrity and fortitude and is brutally honest. He demands his friendships to be honest and will not cut cause or pause with those he equally respects. So when his criticism of the World is spoken, I rarely, if ever disagree because we are like-minded in our desire to see a better World with better people, absent the myth, pageantry, serenades of BS that humanity would like to soft sell its consciousness allowing it to sleep at night. Only thing is, the vision, truth and honesty was directed at me. And it hurt only because it was true. I do see everyone I meet as being an elevated intellectual or possessing a degree of workable common sense, decorum and respect. And when I don't see it, I get depressed, angry, stressed and to a point confused. I deeply question how is it that people can survive being in their state of mental and spiritual absence. My frustration become paramount when I can find no answers for myself and the end result, I departmentalize it and absorb it into my being and work that much harder to try and elevate people through my art, my lecture or my living example. And again, my disappointment becomes more and more apparent when I see that people don't care; often turned off by the notion that someone exists wanting to make them better by bringing knowledge, hope and or inspiration in the living flesh. In a sense, "No one is Jesus or Jesus-like".
There are certain experiences in life as well as sayings that stay with you forever. Those that define your character; to the level of self worth and actualization, can be the deepest of cuts into the psyche. How do I continue to justify the blank slate I give to people when at each turn, the initial colors on it will be dark and murky. Few vibrant and bright chosen pallets to keep and display as I go through my journey in life. My standard greetings to the human spirit and humanity, or at least I thought, allowed me to keep a degree of peace of mind for hope that we can all be better and yet in the briefest of moments, I was shown a mirror reflecting a flaw in my personal philosophy that in the end, deep within my subconscious, I agreed with. In my hidden reality, I had a seed that I kept from fostering into the fertile parts of my mind so that it couldn't grow and my friend unlocked that door and exposed it.
"I can tell you this because I am the same way, but I am learning to let go and allowing people to just be people."
That was his follow up statement before he changed the subject.
I just read an article that is weighing heavy on my conscious. Heavy because there is this movement, so subtle and so insidious that if you aren't aware, or you choose to ignore it, you'd find yourself within a movement of people who are brainwashed into thinking that their skewed logic and flawed data is the TRUTH.
The article in question is from the Blog, "the Root". Specifically, "Black Men: Death Rate Lower in Prison than Outside it?" Normally I'd read it and debate it within myself, research it and or debate it among my friends but this particular article I needed to take a way-back stance and look at the Big Picture. What is going on that is not seen or spoken. Where is the information trying to take me or "us" what matters. Who was this article for? And ultimately why?
As a researcher and historian, I have found that noting the person, group, institute and the sponsors of a study is very important and should be presented before quoting its data. I do not believe these statistics are applicable to the whole of Black Men nor do I subscribe to the notion that the application and gathering of the data is non-bias. Granted that People of Color are disproportionately incarcerated than Whites, the elements of prison life; depending on the prison (minimum to maximum security), would determine the health and welfare of individuals. Also consider that within the Industrial Prison Complex, resources such as medicine, health care, physical conditioning may be available but the mental health of prisoners are always a matter of concern and debate.
Michele Bauchmann recently made a statement that Black Families were better off during slavery for having a stable two parent structure than during a time when there is a Black President. Looking at the statistics and numbers, that may be true but the data is flawed because you don't take into consideration that there were outside elements which adds to and or prevents families from staying together or taking in extended family members as it was during and post-slavery. During slavery you had direct families, extended families as well as adoptive families collectively together. Within the US, there are laws as well as economics that prevents this or make it difficult to do. To use this type of misrepresentation would be like stating that Black employment was better during slavery than under a Black President thus using him as the cause of Black unemployment. This being said, the data for this study is flawed because elements such as education, family, environment, social structures both within and outside, the diversity of Prisons studied and their resources and the core comparison of those whom are/did serve time in prison over an extended period of time and those that haven't was not presented in an actual academic setting.
Do I believe that there is "some" truth to the study? I believe in a small way yes but with all things being equal, with health care, physical conditioning, access to education, a healthy diet and the like, Black men on the outside would live longer due to better Mental Health. This article not only encourages but give credence to the existence of the Industrial Prison Complex as it relates to Black men and other Peoples of Color and frankly as a Black man I am offended especially since the articles doesn't address that once many of these Black men leave, they either return (mental illness), they suffer from addiction (sustained and or acquired in the prison), are or have become HIV positive, or in need of medications that were freely given to them but become unavailable once they leave the system. I could easily say that Black children do better in Summer Camp than those that stay home. Does that mean we should consider removing all Black children from their homes and have them live in perpetual summer camps? Some would say that's what our modern day MILITARY is for. Collect all the Black men in America for Summer Camps, Military duty, Colleges and Universities, the employed and Community Active and let's do a real comparison and contrast ... you'd have to show me all of the data and the people who signed the checks for this to have this study done. Then again we can allow the subliminal messages sink in and eventually live in the world of the researchers and Michele Bauchmann and have Black male unemployment at 0% as slaves and have a child and a wife in every shack under Massa's care. Life was so much better for Black people then.
Lately I have been calling the Sisters out on the Bashing of the Brothers. Since I consider myself a Good Person, one with quality, integrity and commitment as defined by my upbringing and reputation, too often I have to defend myself or justify why "OTHER" Black Men are ______ (You fill in the blank). It would seem the older I get and move in circles, the more I get from the Sisters. This phenomenon and the emerging younger generations are taking this reality to levels unheard of with their socially exceptable culture to disrespect Women.
Recently, a good person, whom has come into my life, had sent me my answer and a calling card as a female's response to understand what I now deal with from the opposite side/opposite sex's perspective so that I can accept that this is a new and different reality for relationships.
I am sharing this on my blog in hopes that those that question can understand and or share in my feelings/belief that its not all about the Men or even Me. It is a shared responsibility as well as our ownership as a Black people to maintain what little is left that made us able to see, love, live and survive needs to be unearthed and used.
This isn't us because I've seen what can possibly be me. - Shazza Nakim
"It's a funny thing about the modern world. You hear girls in the toilets of clubs saying, "Yeah, he fucked off and left me. He didn't love me. He just couldn't deal with love. He was too fucked up to know how to love me." Now, how did that happen? What was it about this unlovable century that convinced us we were, despite everything, eminently lovable as a people, as a species? What made us think that anyone who fails to love us is damaged, lacking, malfunctioning in some way? And particularly if they replace us with a god, or a weeping madonna, or the face of Christ in a ciabatta roll---then we call them crazy. Deluded. Regressive. We are so convinced of the goodness of ourselves, and the goodness of our love, we cannot bear to believe that there might be something more worthy of love than us, more worthy of worship. Greeting cards routinely tell us everybody deserves love. No. Everybody deserves clean water. Not everybody deserves love all the time." — Zadie Smith
People are scared. Especially Black people. We have been conditioned to want, wait, need and depend on another Malcolm, King and now Obama that we can't get a focus on the individual work that needs to be done. Sheep and Sheparding is in our DNA and we can't let it go just enough to know that we can freely move around our own field.
In Memorial: The Body is the Shell and the Spirit is the essence which is released back into the Universe. Michael Jackson's need to release the purity of his spirit is now a reality which we all can drink from like the Fountain of Youth. We were all thirsty for what he was, we are all sated in his passing. I will miss Michael Jackson’s Music, the lessons learned in his Legacy, and I will pass down the experiences to all those that are still here and those to come.
Draped in black she walks across desert sands Sun hanging high The air rippling from the heat. She trails footprints that disappear in time As the winds push Saharan grains That carpet the far and beyond. Searching for water she taps and stabs ground with her spear of hoary worth. Deep until the Earth bleeds Clear, Giving up its blood to the woman in shadow. And she drinks. Quenching the thirst of a throat dried and cracked crawling towards the cut in the ground the decayed, the emaciated, the carcasses of the land struggled and strained to the oasis of life. As the shadow stands and watched thirsty no more. She waits until they all approach for a drink. And as skeletal remains part lips burned and blistered for a drink, to taste the nectar of nature's cool essence, the woman withdraws her spear licking its tip of its last drop. Tauntingly swallowing life's most precious elixir. And it is all gone. Washed away into the vastness of the desert. Only to become a mirage of happiness, a silhouette of life which gathered the scorched remains of the land
Rock of Gibraltar heart of diamond like the blades of Zuar, it’s the center of passion. The speed of swing and a Zulu's call, cherish the stare hollow but true. In the end it’s OK.
It’s the song that causes tears to move. A hand, which wipes them away, clearing them for insight. It uncovers the memory of futures past and rises to stand in magnificence. It’s the cost of being the boss when masks reveal the identity of the spirit King.
Setting internal rules -the reality that we live in, bodies austerely hacked and cut away in all the important parts. And it heals, it does grow back in places. Sometimes fast, sometimes strong. But in the end, it becomes the salt of the Earth and the breath of a windless sky, on a starless night, a hand, on a timeless clock kept for forgotten heroes, lost in battle since their closing bid for freedom.
heat it stir it place it on top of the burner. put the lid on tight. pressure cook the Hell out of it. watch it boil, bubble, and bounce around falling one over the other over and over until a big wooden spoon splits and whirls it to the sides of a big black cauldron as it fights the final meltdown from an intense flame underneath. baked, boiled, and burned. broken up, broken down to its basic elements. transformed from heat coal into diamonds in the rough cut so fine so we all can shine.
I have been off my personal GAME for a minute and I needed to get back to my online friends and start blogging. I know you have missed me but to be honest, I had lost my focus a bit and it was beginning to scare me. The past year was a bit stressfull with issues of sex, money and time; the CURSE of any relationship “personal” or “committal”. You know how that can be when you concentrate on one, at the expense of the other two. And the feedback you suffer when you try to balance out the other, that chain reaction of combustible energy build, overflow and eventually explode takes so much out of you. In my case, my creative energy was pretty much F*%#'ed.
I exploded and spent the last few months in deep recovery.
So what happened?
Well I did what a wise woman told me one day. “When you find yourself lost or off your Path, go back to the point where you got distracted and start over again.”
And that is what I did; I reconnected with some friends I haven’t spoken to in YEARS. I literally did a hardcore search for some. I Google, MapQuest, Reunion.com and broke out all address books to see if numbers and addresses were still the same. It was amazing how a voice from 10, 15 and 20 years ago can fill you will an energy you through lost by time.
That time of reflection, nostalgia and melancholy may sound like crap but to someone who felt that he lost his Mojo, it was the medicine of LIFE. The relationship that I had ended took more out of me than I wanted to admit. The drain from that not only affected my views about relationships (mine personally since I will always be an advocate of good and strong monogamous relationships) but on a serious subconscious level, it played havoc on my health. My spiritual was broken and I needed healing. Once I decided that I didn’t need a bunch of Hymns and Handclaps, Off-key Divas and reminders of Fire and Brimstone wasn’t going to be key, no lectures or Self Help manual, no Ancestor from the Past or Dime Store Saint selling Lucky Charms couldn’t help, I decided to put on the Nikes and did some serious ME TIME with a walk. I walked a lot. I MEAN A LOT. I got rid of the camera and the music, the backpack and all other distractions and walked the boroughs of New York City, its parks, special events and watched the People. I watched it all in its pure Beauty and deep down Dirt. And then I did the most astounding thing …. I didn’t try to make sense out of any of it. I watched it all like a Non-caring Man stepping on a colony of ants in the middle of a road. In essence I just shut down the WHY side of my brain and let it just Be. My eyes became a camera for the World, my mental and spiritual Black and White Documentary on “What is.” I even turned off the television. No CNN, CSPAN, FOX or MSNBC. It was a total blackout of Jerry-cultured information. I planned quite in my head and allowed that emptiness to set and prepare for the flood of information that was coming like a weak damn before the storm when I turned my mind back on.
Ladies and Gentlemen, that was my summer. My mind was on vacation and my body was on auto-pilot. I became that American in this New America, the other America that had replaced what once made sense.
Now don’t get me wrong, I was still active in my daily life, I still participated in my community events and seminars but I took a more passive backseat stance. No speaking or galvanizing of the troops. I just sat back in my Mrs. Daisy ride and talked to the driver who took me where I wanted to go which was often called a place call "Anywhere".
With all the energy invested in the election, the Clintons vs. the Obamas vs. the McCains, it didn’t matter because in the end, we all know how it is going to end. So like in arguing …. I mean debating, with a fool, sometimes it’s best to just LET IT GO.
Now I wait. Wait until the truth comes to the surface and allow for that little bit of feeling to flow into the void I created in my mind to plant its seed that I need to get back my focus; my Mojo. And I am OK with that.
There is the Truth and the Bold Lie. Florida, the Media (paper, local and cable) and those that just want to oppose what is obvious have, since the day of the shooting, been trying to find justification and (fictitious) evidence to exonerate David Zimmerman. The events and actions were clear from the start. It was very cut and dry. The more the other side pushes with their desire to apply justification for an innocent child's murder, the more uber-evidence comes to the surface. Almost like an erupting volcano. Just this video alone shows that the reports of a "life-and-death" struggle fall flat. 
