On That Beyonce Video Called "Formation":

So people are going wild over Beyonce's video, and some are not enthused. I see why people are excited: They're excited because she showed people that its okay to accept themselves (complete with big nose and natural hair) regardless of respectability politics. She addressed the gossip around her and her family. She said there is nothing wrong with being from the South, and Black at the same time.  The imagery in the video got people so riled up, it was enough to cause people to want to boycott the Superbowl.

You'd probably think I'm going to tell the boycotters to GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE With That Mess, but I'm not.  In fact, I don't think I even need to tell you why because if you've been following my blog, you already know why. Be that as it may...

I can definitely support what she's saying. But Red Lobster gets no love because they don't actually cook their food. They use microwaves to heat it up, and you could buy the biscuit mix at the grocery store (which is not the point of this discussion, so I'll stop being petty). 

BUT just because people are buzzing around her song doesn't mean they are distracted. They're just happy to see all of that Blackness for one night. Sure, the Superbowl in general is not really my cup of tea, but her performance was what people like myself wanted to see, and since I don't care for sports, I went straight for the performance, no commercials, no fluff, and I clicked the play button. 

And it was glorious! Here's why:

Who knows how  many Black women she will get to finally accept themselves all the way? She might even get women to stop getting plastic surgery in order to conform to Eurocentric beauty standards.

Plastic surgeons will see a dip in their profits, and they could quite possibly end up with zero Black customers. Black modeling agencies and photographers will pop up and will showcase Black features in all their entirety. Its only a matter of time when we see no more 'strange lighting' that almost always needs an 'explanation'.  This could be the end of Black makeup tutorials where the makeup is several shades lighter than the actual complexion of the woman. 

Black people with "Jackson 5 nostrils" will no longer feel some kind of way about having a wide nose.  How many little Black girls and boys will see the clean version of her video and will feel comfortable with their Black features, because we all have that one family member or 6 that has something crazy to say about Black features as if they never saw a mirror in their entire lives? I'm talking about:

• That one relative who claims they're light skinned when they're complexion is looking like a Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate bar. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with dark complexions, nor is there anything wrong with light complexioned Black people, or dark chocolate. I'm just calling out those fake light skin-ded folks who always have something extra to say about different Black skin tones (you know who you are).
• That one relative who tells you your baby came out light, or that your baby has 'that good hair' as if that's a badge of honor.

• That one relative who tries to give you tips or tricks to prevent that baby's nose from getting too wide, or has to help you not get 'too dark' when you're busy being a kid in the summer. 

I can't help but respect Beyonce for clapping back at people like those since they are responsible for passing down and or fostering anti-Blackness in Black families. Getting at them was long overdue, and let's face it. Those of us who have clapped back at their own family members who say stuff like that are still looked at kind of funny. Maybe its wishful thinking on my own part but if a famous person busts back at them in a different format and it reaches them then it could be possible they won't have shit else to say since somebody else is saying what you've been trying to say all along.

On the other hand, I see why people are not enthused as well. That money her and her husband earns comes from mainstream media. That's the same media that won't endorse Black artists for real. But that's okay. We learned the Oscars aren't for us, and they won't ever be. We learned the Grammy's aren't for us either, nor is any award given to people at the discretion of gatekeepers who are out of touch with the audience, or the people doing the creating (I'll give you a hint. Those gatekeepers ain't us.).

And donating to Black Lives Matter was a bad move on their part because that establishment isn't doing anything for the people in Ferguson. In fact, the last thing they did was endorse Hillary Clinton, whose husband is responsible for the same high incarceration rate Blacks are more susceptible to being on the wrong end of. That same high incarceration rate is what kept the government of Ferguson and other St. Louis municipalities shaking down the citizens. The fact that Clinton stood her arrogant ass up in a Black church in Missouri so she could tell the people "All Lives Matter" will not be swept under the rug any time soon with me.  Black Lives Matter also created "Campaign Zero" which is supposed to be a "blueprint" to hold police accountable (which had already been attempted during the unrest in several cities across America, most notably, Ferguson and Baltimore, even though it has become common knowledge that one must be able to trust the officials in power in order for accountability to take place, and it had become painfully clear that Ferguson's government is completely rotten to the core, right up through the entire state of Missouri. 

That's why I can't fault people for being mad at them for donating to DeRay and Company like that either. Yes, Jay Z and Beyonce are in the music industry, but she did use her platform for positive Blackness as well as clean up the gossip for their family. They also bailed out the kid in Baltimore who was being held for five hundred thousand dollars as well as some Ferguson protesters with no thanks to Talib Kweli after he raised $112,600 through the Ferguson Defense Fund through Indegogo even though $35,000 was donated to MORE, which left $77,600 unaccounted for. He went on to say, 

“We gave $35,000. That still leaves a lot of money. So you all know what happened with the rest of the money, we gave $3,800 to Fellowship Of Reconciliation. We’re in the process of funding several youth organizations on the ground. We’re going to vote on the rest of the funds very shortly.” 

I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but after subtracting $3,800 from $77,600, that still leaves $73,800.  That's still a lot of money. Where did it go? Hmmm.

That being said, I don't consider  myself a longtime fan of Beyonce's music like that. I don't even own any of her albums, and I haven't listened to her music since Destiny's Child.  But she did what she was supposed to do with Formation. No mainstream Black artist has even dared to bring up what she brought up, especially on nationwide television during a time where the most people would be watching the same event. That takes some serious ovaries.

At the very least, in Beyonce's defense, you can't win for losing and vice versa.  Just ask Cam Newton. The media did him so wrong, and people still showed him love. There was no mention about Cam being a bad team player on my feed unless it was people going to bat for him. Men and women went to bat for Cam, but Beyonce was a whole different story. The women were there for her, but men... not so much. I fake wonder why that is. Anyway, that's another topic for a different time. 

She still slayed though. 

Population Control, Abortion, Planned Parenthood, etc

Disclaimer:

Okay, I know I'm about to come off as a Pro Life conspiracy nut waiting with baited breath outside of your neighborhood clinic to call a woman a hoeish heathen in so many words with the title I chose for this blog entry, but please hear me out because it's not even like that, I promise.

That being said,

In our beloved woke community, there is much buzz regarding Planned Parenthood and the use of abortion to commit genocide against our people. Many people are very upset about the fact that a woman, a BLACK woman would want to deny the life of her future Black baby whose going to have a Black life in a Black neighborhood, and go on to make Black babies in their distant future. The very act of destroying that Black baby is genocide because Black women are supposed to make sure they don't have a baby they can't take care of. They are supposed to not have sex until the right man comes along. They are not supposed to have one night stands, they are not supposed to have any recreational sex at all. They're supposed to keep their legs closed and their eyes open, in which to find herself a king. A Black king, especially if he is woke because that will earn her the rightful spot at the the highest tier on the Hierarchy of  Blackness Scale © . 

Well, I'm here to say one thing. It's one thing to abort a baby for the sake of aborting one, but if we want to talk about how planned parenthood is a scheme to commit genocide to our people, then we must talk about protection. Yes. You heard that right. One must wrap it up if they don't want any unwanted babies. The man  must protect himself from bringing unwanted babies into this world. Unbeknownst to a lot of people, Planned Parenthood offers birth control as well, and if she wants to use planned parenthood in order to get birth control, then that's her businesses. But if a person is anti-Planned Parenthood, then one must take the necessary precautions in order to avoid this establishment like the plague:

This means making sure you don't help bring any unwanted people into this world, because in the end YOU will be helping to raise a child, be it through DCFS or through co-parenting, or both. 

This means going to your local drugstore and purchasing some condoms with spermicide on them, and spermicide for the woman to use as well.

This means respecting the woman's decision when she says no. 

This means it is not solely on the woman to make sure a man can  control himself enough to where he doesn't get anybody pregnant, which is entirely up to his discretion simply because a woman can not own a man's penis, nor can she take responsibility for it or the man attached to it. That is his job and nobody else should have that task put upon them. No woman can make him insert his member inside her no matter how enticing she may be.* 


You must view it like this: All of your seeds have the potential to be a future king or queen. Therefore, you must be careful with your seeds, and you must make sure that young seed has what they need to flourish, There are so many unwanted children who were born out of circumstances that no child could grow up in. That needs to stop.  Control your seeds, and you control your population the way you would like it to be controlled.  And this can be done without the help of corporations with ulterior motives. 

To make a long story short, stop walking away from your children. Control your population by raising the little kings and queens you bring into this world. Give those babies what they need to survive. Love them. Breathe life into them. Don't let the only life you bring into their world be the sperm you used to impregnate her.  He who effectively controls their population can control their world. Period.


*If she does, then that's rape and it should be dealt with accordingly, ESPECIALLY if a potential child becomes the product of said incident.

On Gossip and Money

I wanted to write about something from a different angle.  I decided I'd tackle gossip and money and how it relates to racism. See, everybody in America comes in contact with  some form of media everyday be it TV, social media, magazine, advertisement,etc.  We have an idea of the purpose of media and how it works. We know the mainstream media outlets can be very bad, especially if you're Black in America. Black people  know the media is racist, but we don't really understand what the point of racism is and how it affects us, and why. I've gone in extensively on the blog regarding supremacy and how it's tied to respectability politics. Now I'm going to tie it in with gossip and money.

Take a look at this story, and watch the video.

This video has over two million views. I won't lie. I watched it too. But I noticed two things about videos like this:  The first thing is the fact that many people will see this and say disparaging things about her because of her presentation. Some people will turn her into a joke.  In fact,this could be why the video has over two million views in the first place. I used to see videos like these and get mad because they serve as joke material for people who express anti black sentiments. Then a light came on and I figured the following:

The people running all forms of mainstream American media are like children on the playground when it comes to Black people. It's like little kids pointing and laughing while huddled around a crude drawing of a penis. The crude penis drawing (which is represented by what they think Black people are) gets televised.   If you include money, then this is what the masses will get to see. And that's what gets them laughing.That's why things like that video become highly publicized "stories" . It's the same reason why videos designed to highlight so called 'negative characteristics' in Black people are just gossip dipped in money. That is their main focus. It could also explain why any time a Black person is put in the media for all to see, there will always be racist comments for viewing purposes at the end of the article or video.

This is also the same reason why WorldStarHipHop exists. The person who created it knew what the people want to see, and they wanted to monetize it. And unfortunately, a lot of Black people bought into it (there's that supremacy again!).

But the second thing I noticed was that the effect of this video is also the exact opposite of the first:
The woman in the video speaks like she's cool with everybody and anybody. She isn't afraid to be herself. So many people are afraid to be themselves, and that's why respectability politics exist. I can respect her for her candid-ness.  I can respect anybody who can present themselves as they are regardless of who is in front of them. 

So I'm glad I got to see the video. It gave me a chance to write this blog and shine some unpredictable light on mainstream American media and what they're trying to do. 

So if you're tired of negative images of Black people in the media, our only choice is to change our perspective so it doesn't match theirs, question mainstream media's motives, create and/or support our own media outlets designed to mold our own great narrative as a people, and keep it moving. 

Expanding on Random Thought #6- On Being "woke" and solutions

I saw this on my feed yesterday and I felt the need to say something about stuff like this:



My heart broke in several pieces, and I was in shock. I was in shock because the person who posted this picture used this woman's situation to shame her for her situation. The person who took this pic did NOT try to help that woman. They didn't try to find out who she was, nor tried to find out what's going on with her case, nor tried to get something set up so she'd be able to get her babies out of the street. But I know this picture is out here like that, and so is her business for the sake of shaming her and her situation. The person who took this picture is the problem. On top of that, somebody took this picture to put out a self serving meme to make them look like they're doing good. Instead, they got this woman's business out here like this. In the comments, some people went so far as to shame her for being pregnant as well.  I went through as many shares as I could in order to find out some information on this woman to see if anybody knew who she was. I found nothing, so, I took it upon myself to do a Google image search  (where you can save an image to your computer, and then drag and drop it into the Google image bar)and it turns out the picture is from the Dominican republic. She is Hatian and has been forced out of her country. But the person who took the time to type that caption over the pic for the purpose of shaming folks and getting likes is problematic.

Maybe, just maybe if people would quit doing this type of shit (taking pictures just to shame Black people instead of trying to help said people) something great could happen. But naw. People want to take pictures and put people's business out there like that under the guise of being "woke". On that note, today, somebody asked me the following: When did I first become "woke"?

That term is something I struggle with. Here's why:

I guess I could say it was in 2006. And it was a very slow and steady awakening. And I still can't say that I am actually "woke" because back then, I found out some stuff, and that was just the tip of the iceberg. I had no idea about what I didn't know. Looking back, I thought I was BIG. But now, I feel even smaller than before, and if I fast forward several years down the road and look back at 2015, I might say I was still asleep then, and I might say that I'm dumb now. I can't really call it.

These past few years have been very scary for me. They have left me feeling like the literary description of a person detoxifying off of hard drugs after many years of use. They have left me sick. They have left me tired, dried up, beat up, confused, angry, and a host of other feelings. I've been questioning a lot of so called "woke" people and the methods they've been using in order to try to wake people up. I've been feeling pissed off, irritated and depressed for a while now. And then this showed up on my feed:




I have to remember this myself. And it's a lonely road as well. And the more I learn, the more trouble I have.

BUT I think the problem could be with people who call themselves "woke" most of all. Because they want to be the teacher in some cases, but don't want to learn anything new. They want to be the all knowing one, but won't expand on it at times. I think those are the people I have the most trouble with. I think we need to learn to teach each other instead of going for the student/teacher role, which I feel may be a bit Eurocentric at best, because some of those who use that model will find a way to talk down to people they don't think that fit the description of awake. They look at those who aren't awake as "sheep" or "lesser than" and it shows in their teachings . That outlook is essentially enforcing Supremacy once a person gets right down to it because they want to reach down from their podium or pedestal and give to those they feel are "lesser" than them.

And the self proclaimed teachers aren't willing to accept questions raised by the pupils, should they decide to ask questions in the first place. It's like they just want the pupil to absorb information and agree with them for fear of making the teacher feel or look dumb because the pupil forced them to think as well. As a result, the teacher gets irritated with the student, and says something mean. They might cuss them out. As a result, nobody learns. The teacher thinks the pupils are dumb, and the student is left feeling like, "Fuck all of this. I'm through." And they tune out. Or should I say "drop out".  And that right there is what we're dealing with.

This is the very same problem with the school system. They present this teacher, pupil , woke/sleep superior/inferior, subordinate/insubordinate model that we emulate unknowingly. We can all learn from each other. And we can learn from different approaches. We can ask questions, not to be mistaken as being contrarian, but to gain another approach or find a way to approach something from another angle especially due to the complexity of the topic. Now one must be careful not get that confused with someone who just wants to debate and not learn anything. Those situations are easy to spot, and can be weeded out.

 Google "Concern Trolling" to see what I'm talking about. Basically, it's when somebody asks a question or presents a situation they really don't want to know the answer to for the sake of feeling "right". A great example of that is, "Why can't there be a White only television channel? Black people have one. If we had one it would be racist."  

Or it could come in the form of a backhanded comment or post. It could come in the form of passive aggressiveness. These are tools used to keep any real conversation or action from happening.  As far as the first picture goes, not only does it enforce Supremacy, but it's a method of concern trolling because a bunch of people shared it but nobody tried to find out anything else about her.

For those who ask me what I'm going to do about this I'll tell them the following:

There are solutions sprinkled throughout this writing. Change the teaching method and people will learn better. I use this to teach children, and I learned it when both of my parents tried teaching me math. One of my parents tried to beat the lesson into me, and the other was able to successfully teach me in five minutes. I learned two lessons: I learned math, BUT I also learned to never ask the abusive parent for help ever again. The same thing happened with learning how to read. These methods could be used to teach anybody regardless of whether they are a child or a senior citizen as long as they are open to it. Teach them while they are young for best results, but always remember that grasping concepts is not something that should be limited to children. They will grow and their foundation will be strong, or they would be able to strengthen and repair that which is faulty. Make the lesson fun. Learn from each other. Accept questions. Look for answers together and share them with each other.

And for God's sake, whenever you see some posts like the first pic shown, do a Google Image search. Try to find out who they are and what's going on with said person. Don't shame them, and also find out any information you possibly can to help said person and to raise awareness. Relaying information and taking action could save several lives. If we all did this, the possibilities would be better than where we're sitting right now.

As far as the family in the first picture's situation goes,  I'm not sure what we can do over there, when we have a lot of problems over here in The States. There's an old saying that if a plane is crashing and the oxygen mask comes down, we need to breathe oxygen first and then let other people use it. We've got to save ourselves before we can save others because we have to be alive to do it.

We also say it takes a village. We need the village back. And once we rebuild the village, we need the town, and the city. THEN we might be able to pool our resources together to build other countries, because we're hurting over here. We can't follow America's model. They run around without fixing their own shit first. Once we fix ours, then we can do that. Until then, we'll always be scattered and running around.

But where is the village?  At this moment, it looks like our villages are online. But how do we make self sustainable physical brick and mortar villages without succumbing to: being priced out by overcharging for utilities and using that to seize property, absent landlords buying up property and letting it fall into disrepair so a big developer could buy it for cheap, driving up the taxes and push the original residents out? 

That sort of thing has been done in several cities including Baltimore, Philadelphia, Detroit, and St. Louis. I think that right there is our biggest hurdle.

Random Thought #6

On Being "Woke"

I ran across this poem, and it brought up some feelings. Some feelings I've had for a bit of time, but have become extra apparent these past two years. Take a listen and then continue reading:

A few days ago, I had a conversation about the idea of being "woke" with a friend of mine. I noticed things about people who say they're "woke" and I paid attention. In fact, I paid so close attention, I started seeing things that didn't really make sense to me. I noticed a lot of people actually think they're kicking knowlege,but in reality, they're just regurgitating stuff.

Stay with me here, trust me:

 If those who say they're "woke" really do some research beyond youtube videos and conscious facebook pages, they'd find out some crazy stuff. Stuff that'll scare the shit out of themselves. They'll find out that White supremacy is so invasive that even the most so called conscious person will echo the same sentiments and not even notice. They'll find out the extent of it, the depths in which people have gone to defend it, and they'll find out their role. And they'll be confused. Confused because of what they thought they knew is a lie. They'll be mad, they'll be anxiety ridden, tired, and depressed. And when they think they're done feeling like that, they'd find out that's just the beginning.

Waking up isn't fun. It's very scary. It's a hard road to hoe, and it's a long dark road. And there is no finite depth to it. And they'd have to really untangle themselves from the fuckery. And that's not easy. And when they think they're finished, they're still just waking up from that particular sleep. There is no turning back.

A lot of people who think they're "woke" just want an echo chamber to spread vague concepts of what they think being "woke" looks like. That's not what "woke" is. That's a circle jerk.

For the record, I am not proclaiming myself to be "woke". However, I will say that I will always be learning,paying attention to my surroundings and people. I'm learning some really cool stuff, but I'm also learning stuff that's horrible. Stuff so horrible that I can't even begin to explain the depth of it because I'm still trying to figure out where I sit in it and what I'm going to do about it.

That being said, I can not call a person a sheep. Because everybody is and was there at some point. I'm just a sheep whose done a bit more research through reading, as well as internal reflection. I can't proclaim to be fully knowledgeable and grown without knowing exactly what to do in this framework I'm stuck working with. I'm not sure I even want to work within this framework anymore.

I can't say where I'm going, or where is up. But I can say that something different is needed.

But what, where, when , how, and which will need to change? I think I have a very firm grasp on what needs to change, but the how is killing me because each solution I come up with, I'm met with an obstacle that I'm not sure I could make my way over. I don't think it's possible, to be honest.