It's the Boom Show on ChicagoNow

Hey Good People,

I've been quite busy working on all things great. I even posed really hard (32 selfies later) to give you 'sexy sweet snark face' in my Little Boom Ridinghood raincoat!

My writing is really taking off and I will no longer be blogging here on blogspot. You can now find me blogging through ChicagoNow as well as a featured voice/blogger of The Chicago Defender.

So here is all the info. Make sure you subscribe!

New Blog home:
http://www.chicagonow.com/boom-show/


Here is the 'It's the Boom Show' Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/itstheboomshow

Instagram and Twitter @itstheboomshow 

Yours,
Boom

Yes, I Swear like a Sailor

Every now and then a friend, family member, Soror, elder, or associate will say to me, ' We love what you say and do, but can you do it without all the bad words?'. To that, I politely decline. I understand that some people are offended by the language that I use. Many feel that I can say the same things without certain adjectives. I fully understand that the language I use may not appeal to some of my peers and older generations. I also understand that everyone won't be able to digest my thoughts and delivery and that is okay. What tickles me the most is when people say 'only ignorant or unintelligent people swear because they have a limited vocabulary (or can't think of a better way to say something)'. *insert hysterical laughter* Yeah... OKAY! I probably have higher  'vocab equity' and a better command of the English language than half of the people who feel that way. Now please understand, if I am at your family dinner I am not going to be in your grandmother's face spewing all kinds of vulgarities and epithets. Absolutely not. By profession, I am charged with the responsibility to write in various capacities and styles. I do understand discernment and the importance of following mandated guidelines of whatever entity I am writing for (be it proposals to foundations or articles for various publications). However, I will not censor my personal writing for anyone's comfort. My words are my tools, they are chosen strategically and for a reason. You can't use foam to hammer a nail, just like you can't use the wrong words to drive certain points home. So people will not only understand, but FEEL what I'm saying by the tools ( in this case adjectives) that I use. And sometimes yelling 'FUCK' is the healthiest alternative to punching another human being in the face (because I hear that is frowned upon). My face (when people ask me not to use certain language) Also, Let us not forget that if I were a man no one would tell me I swear too much or to 'watch my mouth'. I guess my feminine brain didn't get the memo, and since it's too late for me to grow a penis and be a man, I'll just have to be a woman who swears. Sometimes never, sometimes every other word. Sometimes online, sometimes in real life. I'm okay with not being who and what everyone wants to associate with because of how I communicate my thoughts and ideas. The truth is, these are not polite times. If my words make people uncomfortable then good. That is what they are supposed to do. They are needed to jar people out of the comfort of not caring about what is going on in the world around us. They are fearless. They evoke emotion, passion, sincerity, and an authentic tongue. This country has become so pussified. No one wants to call things what they are and it is tiring. I am not here for minimizing the atrocities going on in the world by softening how we describe them. I am not here for making ugly things sound pretty... Not at all.

Chicago: The Post-Traumatic Stress that comes with Living in this City

Beautiful Chicago...

This year there have been 2,271 shooting victims in the city of Chicago

A place where on a summer day, even the ocean would envy our lake. Where the food is amazing, with a skyline that could make the poorest person feel rich. But beautiful Chicago is a tale of two cities. There is Chicago which is reserved for tourists and those who can afford to never have to cross certain city grids. Then there is SHITcago. Where the rest of us dwell…

Where there is socioeconomic hodgepodge. Where you can have a mansion blocks away from low income projects. Where there is life, death, beauty, and the ugliest of humanity all co-habitating like one big dysfunctional family. Living here is like loving an abuser. No matter who you are, how much you care or give, you will always end up hurt in some way shape or form (be it the violence, political corruption, and/or medieval ass taxes imposed by our feudal Lord Rahmpoleon and his Great King, Rauner).

(Me) Seated next to Senator Carol Mosely Braun at 2011 Mayoral Debates

Funny thing is, I remember when I was a panelist for the 2011 Mayoral debates at DuSable Museum. I remember leaving feeling so sad because I knew he would win and I knew he didn't give a fuck about poor people (especially the black ones). He didn't have any answers then and he still doesn't now. None of the high royal court of the City of Chicago do, nor do they care to. No telling how many of them might have stock in the prison industry and are simply lining their pockets with money generated from the blood that fills our streets. They pretend to care when the cameras are rolling, but I can look into their eyes and hear what isn’t being said. It's loud, and it's always the same, ‘why should I care when y'all don’t even care about your damn selves’. Neither do our own self-proclaimed ‘leaders’ (and please believe I am using that term quite loosely). I mean, I live about 2.5 miles from Jesse Jackson Sr.'s house, could show it to you, yet still have to worry about the crossfire on my side of the street.

You all know I'm very vocal about how much #BlackLivesMatter but fuck, it's so frustrating when black lives don't matter to other black people. And although Black on Black violence is a separate issue, its so hard to mentally split between the two when it seems like you just can't win either way.



 
What’s harder to digest is that many of us and our parents generation know this was all part of Mayor Richard J. Daley's plan to 'take the city back'. 'They' were tired of the commute from the suburbs. Tired of us squandering this prime real estate along the lake. So a decision was made to take back the city many years ago. One aspect was to make it a financial strain for poor people to stay (tax hikes) forcing them out. Another was to change the dynamic of our environments causing self-sabotage within our own communities. They knew what the fuck they were doing when they tore those projects down. It was timed up until the exact moment. Then incentivized  subsidized housing for landlords in stable black communities to de-stabilize these communities. And its been working perfectly, with our own people playing into it so well.

 Now let me be clear, in no way am I saying all people who are low-income or receive subsidized housing are to blame. However, I AM pointing out the correlation of violence in UNDER RESOURCED communities. Under resourced or closed schools ( compliments of your Mayor), under resourced businesses and employment opportunities in our communities, under resourced access to mental health facilities, parenting programs, grocery stores, etc. etc. etc. I AM pointing out the predisposition of certain activity that some people of under resourced communities are more likely to engage in. Violence being paramount.



As a teenager I watched my neighbor Tommy get shot in the head right before Christmas. 3 weeks ago I saw my neighbor lying in his own blood after being shot multiple times at 10:00am on my way to work. Last week, I could have lost my sister on her birthday when the restaurant she was in was shot up. I have seen so much death, so many people shot and killed in my life that it would make you cringe at how numb I have become. But today, having to hold my 10 year old son as he cried seeing his first homicide hurt. That is an image that no matter how much love, nurturing and support I give, can erase. And its FUCKED UP. So please understand when I write, I am writing from my soul. I say the things that aren’t pretty because 10 years from now people will need to know the truth and it won’t be in the history books.

While I am usually very much for my people, I am not there right now. I am not feeling positive. In this moment I am not giving a shit about all the factors that afflict our crime infested communities because at the end of the day we all have choices to make. They may be hard but they are choices nonetheless. I am angry and hurt. I am tired. I am beginning to feel that some people are just too far gone and I wish they would all drop dead so the rest of us could live (literally). 

So Fuck these zombie ass motherfuckers. Fuck these assholes who don't give a fuck about anything or anyone. Fuck these nothing ass motherfuckers who will shoot someone right next door to a daycare while people are picking up their children on 72nd and Exchange. Fuck all these already dead ass motherfuckers who just the other night shot a baby, the mother, and grandmother on 53rd and Aberdeen. Fuck these simp ass legislators and their lax efforts on gun control. Fuck these nothing ass negligent mothers and deadbeat dads who have these young people out here hurt and acting like this in the first place. Fuck this stupid ass genocide drone music that amps them up to act out this stupid shit. Fuck these fake ass pastors and politicians who do nothing, but had issue with Spike Lee shedding light on this shit that we live EVERYDAY. Fuck Rahm Emmanuel for faking to care. Fuck Garry F. McCarthy for making my civilian ass feel like I could do a better job as Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department.

Fuck Beautiful Chicago and the people who are oblivious to how ugly it really is.

Africunts: The Ankara Edition

So recently there has been big debate on the 'innanet' about if it is possible for black people to be perpetrators of cultural appropriation (as it pertains to African aesthetics). The fact that there was even debate about this had me laughing my ass off (and trust, it’s a lot of ass)! There was a particular article where an African sister (Click Here for Article by Zipporah Gene) wrote of her annoyance with what she perceives; “violation is committed against us Africans — all under the guise of tribal fashion and connecting to The Motherland.”

This has to be the most ignorant and elitist shit I've heard in a long time.

So let me get this straight Ms. Gene, you have a problem with black women choosing to wear beautiful head wraps (versus those HORRIFIC satin bonnets)? Do Fulani earrings annoy you because in your mind black women should only wear bamboo earrings (at least 2 pair)? I bet that grinds your gears as well.  Those damn blacks and their fake asses, perpetrating African culture with their African blood. The nerve!

Thankfully, my African friends don't feel or treat me this way, but I have seen and been exposed to others who share the same sentiment as Ms. Gene. Some of these same skin bleaching Negropeans didn't have a problem when it was in style for black women to rock henna, bindi's, and look 'Indian', but let a black woman want to look more African... Oh no, can't let that ride. It's only when we embrace OUR OWN SHIT that anyone seems to have a problem with it (including some of our own brothers and sisters, which is sad ass hell). Where were the complaints about cultural appropriation when Beyoncé was dressed as an Elizabethan Queen or when brotha’s used to wear Asian inspired clothing and become Martial Arts Masters?

  “Yes, I know that African-inspired prints are poppin’ right now and many African designers have chosen to showcase certain styles to the global fashion scene, but it appears to me and my African friends that it’s been taken a step further”-Zipporah Gene

So damn what. When our ancestors were thrown in the bottoms of slave ships they were not separated by ethnic backgrounds, languages, or tribes. All of that became muddled once they reached the plantations. Then they were at risk of being killed for identifying with ANY particular group they came from. Few people of African descent in this country will ever be able to find out their EXACT African lineage, so the juxtapositioning of varying pieces of African anything is our right as well. There may very well be Fulani, Malinke, or Gabonese blood running through my veins in addition to the Yoruba that I already know of and identify with. Who knows. It is because of these factors, that no African person has the authority to validate or invalidate how black people choose to express themselves as it relates to anything African.

While this may come off as simply ‘aesthetics’, did it ever occur to some of you people who feel ‘violated’ that for many of us, incorporating African art, clothing, music, and belief systems gives us a better sense of self? For one second did it cross your mind that some people are actively living a culturally based lifestyle?

So WHAT if some folks are only being trendy and nothing more. 
  
There is a new wave of 'Say it Loud, I'm black and I'm proud' amongst young black people. This is one of the ways it is manifesting. Disdain and annoyance with African based pride doesn't surprise me. However, I am tired of fence-riding African people who one moment want to claim and reap all the benefits of 'black culture', then the next moment are looking down on black people who wish to connect with what their African counterparts already have. I understand the frustration when you see things being 'misappropriated'. There are certain things I see that bother me at times, but what are you doing to educate someone who clearly seeks and desires to know more?

Truth is, black people in this country are like Orphans who know who their mother is but still feel the disconnect. Many crave some type of connection no matter how minuscule. What is wrong with appreciating the beauty and acceptance of anything African? At the very least it is a reflection of feeling a little bit more connected to our ancestral origins (even if subconscious). If it's not YOUR thing that's cool. However, don't rag on individuals who are visually drawn to, appreciate, or feel some type of pride or connection to Africa and choose to express it in dress, mannerisms, thoughts, or beliefs.  Let them fucking be.

If society can accept someone with a penis saying that they are a woman, it should not be an issue or grievance for a person of African descent to accept other people of African descent wanting to express some type of connection to African anything. I think the bigger picture is the fact that people are starting to exhibit more pride and a desire to embrace African aesthetics. This is wonderful because for so long we were taught it was 'primitive', ugly, and undesirable.

“You take a cultural dress, mark or trait, with all its religious and historical connotations, dilute it, and bring it out for occasions when you want to look trendy”-Zipporah Gene

No. Actually that is what the famous designers that Ms. Gene spoke of do. We literally had every iota of African ANYTHING stomped out of our psyche and overall existence. Africans had colonialism, but still had culture, familial structures, their languages, and traditions intact. So native or first gen Africans don't get to judge this either. These 'expressions' and cravings for African trips, fashions, and art is the beginning of our healing as a people.

So… if my American born, Yoruba ass with an Egyptian name wears Fulani Earrings and dances Azonto, I have every right. If my girlfriend only wants to wear a headwrap every now and then because it makes her feel pretty, she has every right. If a brother likes to wear those dashiki print shirts he found at the corner store, he has every right. If your cousin's Grandmother ONLY wears one African outfit every February 28th at the Church Black History Celebration, she too has every right. No one has a right to tell ANY black person in America what part of African culture they should feel most connected to, choose to identify with, or how they are to express it. No one. The time will come when people are more educated and informed on the lineage, history, and cultural context of what they are doing. This is the beginning stage. Things are never perfect in the beginning of anything.

People of African descent can never appropriate what is already intrinsic and maybe some Africans don't get that. Maybe they only see the surface, the aesthetics, and for whatever reason it annoys them. However, it is not possible to culturally appropriate something that you are the natural descendant of, no matter how far removed. One can be ignorant to certain things and the proper context or application but even still, you can't appropriate something that is your birthright.

Mary Motherfucking Mitchell

Mary Mitchell of the Chicago Sun-Times ( Click here to see article)

 Yesterday, I was mortified to read an article by Chicago Sun-Times writer Mary Mitchell (who we will from now on refer to as Mary Motherfucking Mitchell because of the absolute audacity). In the article, she basically compared the rape of a woman to petty theft because that woman was a prostitute. Now my last open letter was written with love, this one not so much, because Mary Motherfucking Mitchell should have known better than to imply that because a woman may have ever been a prostitute (or being prostituted)  that she was incapable of being ‘raped’.

 Dear Mary Motherfucking Mitchell,

 RAPE is RAPE. Now say it with me… Rape is rape.

Before we begin, since you are not exactly clear on what rape is, let me help you out. Rape can happen to anyone (male or female). It is not age, race, or culturally specific. It IS a violation of the victim in a sexual manner.  It is not always sexual for the rapist. Sometimes, it is about overpowering or control for the rapist. It IS always sexual for the victim (which is how in some cases inanimate objects have been used to rape victims). Virgins and whores alike can be raped. All it takes for a rape to occur is the victim to refuse the rapist and they take ‘what they want’ anyway. Refusal can be verbal or physical. These are just the basics because somewhere along the line you never learned these things.

While there are a million scenarios of rape, I will give you 3 so that you have a better idea of what rape is *insert sarcastic tone*:

Rape Scenario 1:

If a girl has a boyfriend and they have sex all the time, but one particular time she doesn’t want to and he still forces himself on her. Guess what? That’s RAPE.

Rape Scenario 2: 

If a husband and wife are married for 25 years and she does not want to have sex and he forces himself on her. Guess whaaaat? That’s RAPE.

Rape Scenario 3:

And if a prostitute tells a man NO for WHATEVER reason, be it fiscal or otherwise, that too is rape Mary.

These are the reasons your argument is null and void.

“It’s tough to see this unidentified prostitute as a victim. And because this incident is being charged as a criminal sexual assault­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­--- when it's actually more like a theft of services--- it minimizes the act of rape”-Mary Mitchell

Newsflash, you’re wrong.

Unfortunately, when it comes to rape, there are levels to this shit. No two victims are the same. The circumstances under which the assault occurs should never negate the violation itself. I am perplexed at why you wouldn't understand that. If someone told you to do something that you had initially planned on doing (but changed your mind), then put a gun to your head and made you do it anyway, I'm guessing you'd still see it as your decision huh?

“But when you agree to meet a strange man in a strange place for the purpose of having sex for money, you are putting yourself at risk for harm”-Mary Mitchell

I’m sure you really felt yourself when you wrote that line. Like you were ‘telling it like it is’. Get the fuck out of here. What really blows me about you is how you arbitrarily just cast off the victim --- as if she was responsible in some way for being violated because of how you view her personally without considering if other factors were at play before you said that.

Are you aware that Chicago is one of the top 20 U.S cities for sex trafficking? Did you know that many pimps and traffickers use websites like backpage.com to prostitute children and women against their own volition? These people are hiding in plain sight everyday. Did it ever occur to you that the woman you judged so harshly might have been needing more help than criticism?

For you to insinuate that just because this woman may have prostituted previously therefore exempting the assailant of any wrong doing (at that level) is the absolute highest form of fuckery. There is so much information these days on sex trafficking and how a majority of those involved are not operating at-will regardless of how it may ‘appear’. Heaven forbid any young woman in that predicament looking for a way out reads that demeaning shitfuck of an article you wrote. It would literally kill someone's hope of any abusers involved being  held accountable. Thank God the investigating officers got the charges right (sans your skewed ass opinion).

While I am not the National Prostitute Spokesperson, I am a woman who is highly disturbed by your stance. One would think as a woman yourself, you’d be a bit more compassionate towards the predicament this young lady found herself in. One would think that as a journalist you might have attempted to scratched past the surface and see if there was more to this.

I am still so deeply saddened by your commentary as a ‘seasoned’ writer. You are clearly OUT of touch with the harsh realities and various crimes involving the sex trade within our very city ( not to mention your ideas and delivery are dusty and antiquated). Maybe the Sun-Times should hire me instead. At the very least I won't go telling rape victims they weren't raped. 

If you or someone you know is dealing with any type of sexual violations (past or present), here are some resources:

National Human Trafficking Resource Center

1.888.373.7888

The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN)

www.rainn.org

Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation

www.caase.org

Mary Mitchell of the Chicago Sun-Times

Jungle Fevered

  
Because apparently Black women only behave when they are with white men...

Click here to View the actual video

A very dear friend asked me to watch this video and to list my top 10 thoughts on it. Now usually I stay out of certain discussions simply because it's neither black or white (pun intended), but curiosity got the best of me and I watched it.

So while I am going to do my best to not be irrational or judgmental, I am going to offer my perspective.

Here it goes:

1. I know many black women who are loving, affectionate, and respectful with their partners. So this comes off as a bit biased.

2. Unfortunately, a lot of black men are often encouraged by society, music, media, friends, and sometimes family to be promiscuous, be a player, not just have one woman, not marry, and not commit to the woman (or women) he has children with. A lot of this has affected interpersonal relationships within the black community, but this is not everyone.

3. On the opposite end, many white men are taught and see monogamy as valuable once they find a good partner.

4. There are many instances when black women have been submissive, loyal, loving, and respectful to their black partners only to be repeatedly disrespected, cheated on, lied to, abandoned, and or abused by the men they have chosen, so instead of choosing better they write off their race ( men do this as well).

5. It's not about black and white, but more so about hurt. People gravitate towards who they feel will hurt them the least. In some instances, interracial relationships can be a 'safe place' for both parties involved based off of how they may have been treated by their own. This is not limited to just relationships but overall experiences. If a man or woman is constantly told 'you're ugly and no one wants you' by their own people, its not hard to see why they might be attracted to the person of a different race who exclaims how 'beautiful' they find them.

6. Sometimes... It's just a matter of who you fell in love with. Nothing more. 

7. I actually have many examples of healthy happy black couples in my life as well as interracial ones so I kinda think this video is bullshit. I've seen some spitfire ass white women going to town and emasculating their men as well. It's just no one makes a big deal about it or makes it their 'thing'. No one is out here perpetuating the ideology of 'The Angry White Woman'. 

8. Now, if we are going to sing the 'Angry Black Woman' mantra, why do we never want to address the 'why'? How A LOT of why our sisters are the way they are goes back to slavery (and the mental mindfucks passed down to us generationally through the years). How some black women don't respect black men because they were blatantly and/or subconciously taught not to. How from day one the man she loved 1) could not protect her when his master repeatedly raped his woman 2) was publicly beaten in front of his woman and children (who he had no control over as they could be sold at any moment), 3) was not allowed to show affection for (because his only lot in life was to 'breed' and work for master). 3) As years passed, He could be dragged from his dinner table and hung in front of his home just because someone felt like it. 4) Oh and let's not forget when Reganomics hit and the Welfare system was readjusted incentivizing black women to not marry their men, because by having a husband/man in the house would put you at the risk of loosing benefits (but I don't have the time it would take to break all this shit down right now). 

All of these factors and more forced black women to become 'harder'. Be at peace without a protector, without a male presence, be both. A balancing act while being imbalanced is a hell of a feat but we did it and subconsciously passed these 'do it yourself' mentalities to our daughters. Encouraging them to be resistant and aggressive, while teaching our sons to be passive because their survival depended on it. So with these ideologies ingrained, the moment your average black woman comes across a man whose actions reinforce any negative stereotype that she may have in her mind already, it becomes 10x harder to convince her that it's just that one particular guy and not all brothas. 

9. More than any other group of women, black women need to feel safe. They need to subconsciously be able to entrust their bodies, emotions, and heart with someone who will not fuck them over. Many times black women will stay with black men no matter what the man does. This wears away at the integrity and faith a woman has for many brothers. Most white women will act a plum ass fool and leave her white man if he cheats. It's the end of the world and they will take you down ( Just Ask Tiger's Wife). White women and men are taught to approach relationships differently than Black people were so I can understand why some people might feel more valued in an interracial relationship. It doesn't mean the majority of black people don't love their partners. It's just that as a people, we have a lot of healing to do within our community. In order to heal, Our women need to start making better choices and holding the men we love accountable ( through respectful interactions and honest communication). Our men need to see the value in team, take responsibility for their actions and not operate as 'breeders' with babies scattered about like grains of sand. 

10. Lastly, I don't really like the implications of this video. Whoever made it might have some deep seated issues connected to black women that probably stems from an over bearing, possibly abusive black mother. It may have driven the paternal male away early on. The creator may have also had some negative experiences with being teased or rejected by black girls in their adolescent years thus a very seasoned contempt and generalization of all black women entirely...  and yes, I did just hit y'all with that behavioral analysis and I doubt I'm wrong on that.

Is 'Dead' the New Black?

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 #DITNB

Am I to believe that ‘Dead is the New Black’…?  Is killing black people the new ‘craze’ (pun intended)? Living in this country as a black person will surely have you feeling that way sometimes. Maybe I need to change my race and become ‘TransArmenian’ or something so I don’t become a hashtag one day. I know… what a terrible thing to say, but when terror becomes truth should we not call it what it is? So I’m calling a few things out.

The Shooter

I will not say his name, he is nothing more than his action to me, but the members of the KKK who sit on court benches and government and law enforcement must be immensely proud. One of their soldiers did his duty willfully and proudly and for that, he will be rewarded (its already happened if you just look more closely). Most black people know there will be probably be no real jail time. We know that there is no such thing as justice or ‘due process’ (especially in the good ol’ boy club of South Carolina). We’re already mentally preparing ourselves from snapping when he will simply be 'treated' for his 'mental illness' (which one of the Klan’s court appointed psychiatrists will sign off of on).  We know these things because this has been our reality.

Special Treatment

A lot of people were in outrage with how the shooter of The Emmanuel African Methodist Church was handled during his apprehension.  Personally, I was mad that he was apprehended at all. It would have brought a special joy to my soul to hear reports of how he was found dead laying in a pool of his own blood. Because then, I wouldn’t have to watch the bullshit ass ‘Wag the Dog’ style spin on ‘mental illness’  that will ensue and be propagated by the media. You know, cause only angry murderous white boys suffer from mental illness, no one else.

But the truth is, he did not receive special treatment. He received a Hero’s welcome and it was done in plain sight. Follow me for a moment:

·      He was not being manhandled or called out of his name for murdering 9 people, instead body language to me almost looked like the hint of a pat on the back

·      I wonder what sweet consolations and ‘don’t worry kiddo, you’ll get through this’ was whispered into his ear

·      By putting the bulletproof vest on him, they were not concerned for his safety (they knew he would not be harmed, because if a black person did pull out a gun in retaliation, they would be riddled with bullets).  My guess is they were probably covering up something incriminating that might have been on his shirt (strengthening that defense)

·      While all the of American flags at state building and institutions in SC were flown at half-staff for the slain victims, the Confederate Flag which is STILL flown at the State House of South Carolina (a government institution mind you) was still high in the sky. This was because it was a day of honor and celebration for those who respect that flag. That spoke more loudly than anything anyone could ever say.

·      I wouldn’t even be surprised if he was instructed to get high by his chain of command (because please believe he is not acting independently,) so that the drugs use would show up (building the defense)

No Coincidence

The time, date, and location of this heinous act was calculated, planned and methodical. This is and was clearly a hate crime and I don’t even know why there are still some people who refuse to grasp this concept. Funny how racists know our history better than us:

·       This was Denmark Vesey’s Church

·       This church was a historic landmark

·       There was a Senator there as well as pillars of the community (this was not random)

·       It was the 193^rd Anniversary of a planned slave revolt

·       The day before many Juneteenth celebrations commemorating slaves being aware of their freedom and walking off of plantations in droves

You can research more yourself

The Media

Fuck you. No like seriously, Fuck you. Fuck you for the misreporting. Fuck you for the under-reporting. Fuck you for the slanted negative implications you always seem to impose upon us.  Fuck you for the unfounded justifications you give to those who commit crimes against us. Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you… and yes, Don Lemon, that lady was correct ‘You ARE an Uncle Tom’.

Covert Operations 

There is a reason why the Klan remains hooded, Why Navy seals do not announce themselves, and why in war ambush is one of the best strategies. Covert operations always yield the most effective results and black people need to start grasping that concept. We do need to act, but we don’t need to publicly announce every move and plan we make. That wasn’t how slaves were able to run away and it won’t be how we bring about change. We don’t need to put our most valued fighters and organizers on the world’s stage (because there is a history of them being killed). Just secure your home (in the same 2^nd amendment manner as ‘others’) and be prepared to protect yourself if need be (as is your legal right).

Prayer

Prayer is great on the micro and personal level, but just like you can’t pray away mental illness, you cannot pray away the hate someone else feels towards you.  It’s no different than being angry at someone who isn’t even thinking about you. It’s not affecting them. Pray is vital, but it is not the resolution to everything. If my son's say's 'Mom, I'm hungry, is dinner ready', I can't go tell him to pray away the hunger. That's not how this works. All those times we’ve jumped to defending those who hate us have gotten us where? Think about that black woman who shielded the Klansman at that rally a few years back, who was about to have his ass handed to him by a group of people, guess what?… He still fucking hates black people and is more than likely still very active in his homegrown terrorist activities. Stockholm Syndrome at its finest. Fuck that.  Pray, but protect yourself, your family, and your interests.

The Great White Hype

I have white friends who have no problem with my anger and uproar on black issues because they are just as upset. Which everyone should be at the incessant crimes, murders, and violations against humanity (specifically black people) in the form of institutional racism supported by ideologies of white supremacy.

However, my frustration is with the many white people who intrinsically see, know, and agree that this shit is wrong, but continuously remain silent. Those who felt broken, confused, ashamed, and helpless when 9 black people were shot in a church yesterday. Those who are still in disbelief at all the slain black people who should have been apprehended instead of killed, but would rather just not ‘get involved’. Hell, there are white people in this country who express more sympathy, rage, and public outcry over abused and homeless DOGS and CATS than they do for dead black people. To me, that in itself, is an indicator of mental illness.

The Walking Dead

 Yesterday goes down in history as an all time low for social media. I saw one of the saddest, most disturbing images I have ever seen in my life online (and I've seen some pretty gruesome shit). In the photo, there was a group of boys in what appears to be a hall or gangway. They can't be older than maybe 12-15 years old. At the front of the group, one of the boys has another boy performing oral sex on him, another boy is right next to him preparing to pull his penis out as well. Then it becomes clear. The boy on his knees is to repeat this act on at least 4-5 other boys 'waiting their turn'. All this being captured by the one girl present who took the 'selfie' smiling with this going on in the background. As horrific as this already is, it gets worse.

If you look closely at the boy who the act is being performed on you realize... There is a gun in his hand and he has it pointed at the head of the boy on his knees. The boy on his knees is being forced to perform felatio on this group of boys with the threat of being shot in the head if he doesn't comply with whatever they request of him. You painstakingly realize that you are now privy to and witness of the sexual assault of a minor by minors. Many of you saw it as well. It was removed and reported ( as it should have been) but that doesn't solve the bigger issue. 

I've been around children who operate this way, children who only know pain, abuse, and neglect. It is a harsh reality but some kids (not all) are too far gone to help and they are out here damaging other people at light speed. When images like this go viral, it validates all the terrible things 'they' say and insinuate about 'us' being savage animals. What is even scarier is that I have to worry about what type of interactions my child will have with these apathetic empty beings out here. This shit rips at my soul.

I spoke to a nurse from the University of Chicago who works in the neonatal and pediatrics unit. She had been there many years and told me something very sad and interesting. She said that the crack era of the 80's affected more than people realized. She said that you couldn't always see what was wrong with a baby because so many looked and appeared normal in spite of the mother or father's drug use. She went on to tell me how when those babies had babies ( many young) there was something very eerie that many of the nurses noticed. What they noticed was not with the parents (children of addicts), but the grandchildren ( this current generation after millennials) of former crack cocaine users. 

She said they all noticed that from a very young age many of those children were apathetic. Emotionally, many of them were cold. She spoke of a lack of empathy that was chillingly unnatural and a certain emptiness in their eyes (as if there is nothing there). There may or may not be research to support this but I believe this woman and the other nurses who have seen and birthed multiple children from the same communities and same family lines through generations, witnessing this first hand. I am not saying that this applies to all children of those particular circumstances, but I too have noticed certain disturbing patterns with this most recent generation. A general numbness. Unfortunately, there have always been children who were taught miscreant behaviors and have in turn inflicted them upon others, but with the rise of social media, never before has it been brought to the forefront in such a wickedly prideful manner. It is both sad and disgusting to think of what those boys in the picture were doing as they smiled for the camera as well. If that doesn't signify a disconnect I don't know what does.

So as I write this, with tears burning down the sides of my face in anger, I too, like many of you, feel helpless. I think of the dysfunction of the girl who happily took the photo as if nothing was wrong with what was going on. As if this was normal children's behavior. I think about what was done to the aggressors by some pervert fuck that made them want to assert their 'dominance' over a peer in that manner. I think of the mental, physical, and emotional issues the boy who was assaulted will now deal with. The shame and anger, the embarrassment, guilt, and helplessness (or what he might have to deal with from family or community members if now labeled 'gay' as a result of the sexual assault). I wonder, will he now become one of them doing this to someone else or will he be ostracized and regularly abused. I think of the young boys in Parkway Gardens, not far from where I live, who run trains on other young boys because they've been taught this prison culture behavior and I can't take it. 

There are so many of our youth who from day one were neglected, told they were nothing; treated like they were nothing, given nothing, so LIFE means nothing. They respect nothing, care for nothing, and feel nothing inside. The zombie apocalypse is now and the children who are killing and doing these heinous things are our walking dead. 

Sigh....