On the Baltimore Riots, and WHY

After all of this mess that has been going on, you'd think people would understand the message. I mean, history tells us that Black people have been killed by various methods, lynched, burned, beaten, killed, spat on, and countless other morally reprehensible things done to them that postcards and footage from the Civil Rights marches didn't capture. They have been kept out of schools, the opportunity to own property and get loans with FAIR rates only to be met with a fake meager attempt of forced integration when it came towards getting employed.

Not only that, any time some sort of perceived success has been made, all the shade gets thrown by various methods, be it getting pulled over,somebody accusing said Black person of being an Affirmative Action case,or somebody damaging your property as a passive aggressive attempt to put you in your place. And when that isn't the case, their intelligence gets ignored, undermined and snubbed.

And THEN people want to say things like "I don't understand why they tear down where they live... I don't get it." I refuse to engage with people who don't "get it". They "don't get it" because they refuse to look at it. They don't want to get it. They just want to perch up in their chairs and survey the situation and play stupid.

Then they say " What if that was your business getting looted?" I'd say the following:

If it was my business getting tore up, I would defend it. BUT I would also make sure I am a part of the community by hiring people in it, and I would invest money into it, and I would invest in the product I bring into the community. Not only that, I would make sure the people know me, and appreciate me. That should be basic business etiquette.

People tore up the neighborhood because they pay taxes anyway and are still not being treated fairly. They figured, why pay for mistreatment, and disrespect after they've asked for it to stop over the course of many years. They don't actually own any of the stuff in the neighborhood, so they realize it isn't theirs. Taxes pay for that. Their taxes.

So a combination of paying for a bunch of shit that isn't even theirs, that's owned by people who make sure they keep reminding people about their lack of ownership, while harassing them whenever they DO get a little bit of ownership (car, decent job, etc), to the possible point of getting beaten up or killed because of it. And having to raise their children in that environment << THAT'S why they tore it up.

Last time I checked, it sounds like the people are rioting because of taxation without representation. And as long as it continues, shit will get tore up. I'm just saying.   

"This is NOT your hood. You don't own that"... << On Protest Chants.

For those who don't know. I've been active on the social justice front. Two particular chants that had been circulating around the Ferguson protests have made me cringe. That chant went as follows:

This is what democracy looks like! Whose streets?! OUR STREETS.

Newsflash people...


This article is what democracy looks like. Pay attention. These are not your streets.


This article is exactly why I cringed so hard when people were chanting about democracy and who owns the streets. Read this article and read it carefully. I've been trying to tell people about my feelings towards those chants and why people think I've "changed" a bit. I have not changed. This article clearly explains my thoughts. Think about that the next time (because we KNOW damn well, there will be a next time, after all how many people have died after Mike Brown in Ferguson?) you go to a protest and decide to chant with the people, or come up with your own chant. Think about it. That's why that chant could GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE WITH THAT BULLSHIT.That is all.

Baltimore and Freddie Gray

I will spare you from the typical rhetoric regarding riots, MLK, "destroying where you live" and "respectability politics".  All I have to say is this:


Remember how the media will portray you.

Watch how you move. Be swift, be calculating, be deliberate.

Be Smart.

Watch how people move, and move accordingly.

Consider all angles before you react, and do so with precision.

Stay safe, and follow that method, Black people (and anyone else who may be out there protesting).
Learn from everything that happened in Ferguson.

That is all.

Will Stack: I Know You're Young, BUT Courtesy Won't Save You

So apparently, a young man by the name of Will Stack weighed in on how a Black person should behave once they find themselves dealing with police officers. The people loved it. Here's a link to the article regarding how the response went viral. WMC Action News 5 - Memphis, Tennessee




Here's my take on it.

If the cop has it in his head that he wants to mess with you, he's going to do just that. Now, I was in a situation where I was arrested for a very short period of time. They took my mugshot and everything. I had a warrant for a very short time due to being out of state. Once I returned, I went to court and paid the fine. BUT not before the officers talked about me like I was a rare fish they caught last weekend while out on the lake. One had his hand on his gun, and was joking about the situation. I thought I was going to either get tazed and beaten, or killed, so I did what I thought would work in this situation: I looked at the officer whom had his hand on his gun. I looked at him dead in his eyes and then slowly looked at his gun, and then gradually raised my head to look at him in his eyes again. I paused and stayed like that for at least 30 seconds. He lowered his head as if he knew what I was trying to say. His smirk turned into a troubled frown, and he looked ashamed of himself. I remained cordial and calm. Long story short, they ended up just giving me a ticket and banning me from the area for a period of time. I never shopped at that mall again.


Needless to say, I could have been shot that day for selling cologne on mall property. I was in a situation where there were four cops in a small room. There was only one witness who could testify on my behalf, and I suspect that wouldn't happen, since she was only given a warning. I suspect that she would have just gone the easy route in order to save her own ass.


Now, granted, I shouldn't have been there. I should have been doing something else. BUT that doesn't give anybody the right to decide whether I should die or not based on the fact. I just find it funny that people will call a child abuser/molester , "troubled" and will want to seek help for said person, but will advocate death for someone who may or may not have stole some small item, had a broken tail light, not paying child support, or (insert any minor crime here).


Now they have this kid all up in the spotlight, telling people to be cordial to the police. They are making this kid some kind of poster child/young adult in order to further their agenda. They want to say "See? If he can do it, so can you. Just don't be rude to the cops." I will tell you that cops will kill you if they get it in their heads that they could, and you could be as cordial as you want to be. It doesn't matter.

The Kyle Jenner Challenge << My take on the matter.

So I saw this thing called the ‪#‎kylejennerchallenge‬. It's a method that allows a person to plump up their lips by sucking on a shot glass or something similarly shaped to the point of bruising themselves. I have to say something about this because I remember White people making fun of those with "big" or "thick" lips. In fact, they also made fun of women with big butts. The women they talked about were Black. And now, they're clamoring to get big butts and lips in order to achieve that look. In fact, when Angelina Jolie got popular, folks were saying how beautiful her lips were, but would twist their faces up in disgust whenever they saw those same lips or butts on Black people.
I just find it interesting how trends are mostly started BY Black influence, but the Blackness is never appreciated in its original form. That seems to go for ALL American art, fashion, etc that started through Black people.
I'd like to take the time to let people know (I'm sure quite a few of you already know this, so I'm probably preaching to the choir at this point. ) that Blackness is NOT a commodity

Moments of Clarity

People usually talk about their moments of clarity as if they are joyous, freeing, and wonderful. For me, that part exists, BUT no one REALLY discusses their feelings during said moment. I decided I'd do that with you in a 2 part format: Before the moment, and after the moment.

Before:  I had an inkling of what was going on before I reached my moment of clarity. I knew how things operated, and all I could see was the impending mess that was coming as things happened. It got to the point where I could predict things before they happened and move accordingly.  

But it was baby steps. 

I thought I was doing the exact correct thing at that time but in reality, I was only doing a small piece of what I needed to do to reach this moment. And it still wasn't enough, and I knew it.

So I went to work seeking out what I needed to find.

What I found was something BIG. Something so incredibly deep that I really had no idea how I found it.  The catch was that I already knew how deep it was, but now I'm just digging into the top surface. 

After:
I dug deeper and deeper, and now I am astounded, awestruck, angry, depressed, anxious, relieved, and  really fucking tired. Not just tired from lack of sleep, but mentally drained, exhausted, and feeling deflated, and I have panic attacks from time to time. 

And yet after all of that heaviness, the biggest feeling I have is anxiety. 

But my head is clearer than it has ever been before. 
I know what I must do, and my purpose before going through this moment of clarity still suits my actions. I just need to be more careful, concise, patient, thorough, and cautious. 

And I'm just in the start of this thing. And this thing is really, really BIG. I'm talking a drop in the bucket type big. Like a single person in the universe type big. And I'm pretty close. 

I'm pretty close.