a thousand words

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

The Elasticity of Hope

Black Americans have much to be angry about but one choice to vent that anger has not surfaced and it is not likely that it ever will.

Many political pundits and writers are asking why Black people do not seem to hold President Obama accountable for our current state. Despite the so-called recovery, Black America is at its worst point in half a century according to some.

Journalist don't seem to want to answer this question. Then again, "journalists" these days can't find their own asses with a GPS.

So, here's the answer:

To so many of us, Obama's Presidency is symbolic of our acceptance by this nation and just like many of our lives, his six years has been one struggle after another, always having to overachieve just to be branded a failure, surrounded by smiling, grinning faces that mask subversiveness and resentment. He's been insulted, threatened and disrespected as a politician and as a man. Therefore, this intractable opposition that seems at its core, to be rooted in race, can explain any failure.

And tell me, can anyone say that Blacks have no basis to believe that even a Presidency could be hobbled by prejudice and racial discord? We all know the history, so there's no need to go over it here. But when oh when will America look at itself and just admit who we are? When will we stop all the flag-fucking and talk about exceptionalism and count the bodies in our past and the abandoned lives in our present? Until we do, Blacks will always have a basis to countervail the missteps of any Black person holding high office within the power structure.

And so it this elasticity that these pundits feel. Black America embraced the President but our condition has not gotten better and yet we still support him at 90 some odd percent. It is the nature of politics to fight dirty, name-call and work against the opposition. But to Black people, how can we tell when it's just politics as usual or the filth of racism? We cannot and not knowing the answer is sometimes more frustrating than knowing it.

And in the most amazing irony of all, our unwavering support of Obama comes in part from the fact that we give a loving pass to other Blacks, empathize with their struggle and look outside of the race for much of our validation and their criticism.

And so I don't wonder why there isn't more anger toward the White House. It is as clear as the skin on the President's face. But it does leave me to wonder if we are saving our wrath for skin of a different color.

Copyright 2014

Saturday, September 20, 2014

BEWARE THE JOCK-OCRACY


Professional Athletic Monsters 
Are  Not Born, They Are Created

Roger Goodell is not the cause of NFL player misconduct or arrogance. The reason for all of the fuckery in professional sports goes back a long time, way before Jackie Robinson, way back when the NBA was white and there were no black quarterbacks.

There is an organization that takes young boys with sports potential and puts them in a bubble where everything they do is praised and they are constantly told that they are better than other men, the rules of life do not apply to them and women are not worth the panties they are printed on.

The Jock-ocracy.
Jockocracy (`jok-ok-ray-cee) - noun 1. A group of people, organizations and corporations who conspire to protect the bad and/or criminal acts of professional athletes.
The Jockocracy is composed of public and private school coaches, high school sports leagues, the NCAA, sports agents and managers, sports writers, athletic-inspired companies, colleges, TV networks, video came manufacturers and of course, professional sports leagues. They all combine to form a billion-dollar Third Reich of asshole protection.

And the irony is they work to create these bullies, felons, rapists, wife-beaters and murders and then work just as hard to protect them--- as long as they are playing. Because as usual, it's money that drives the Jockocracy and professional sports. If Ray Rice was 37 instead of 27, Roger Goodell would have physically thrown him out of the NFL himself.

In the black community, so many athletes have come from poor and broken homes, with overwhelmed mothers and absent fathers. These kids have a gift and they are told that it will save them and their families and give them everything they want.

And of course in this world, where they are celebrities at 15, women don't rate. Women are something to be used for sex, status and having your bastard children that you beat every six weeks when you see them. And because you are a cash cow, no one will tell you it's wrong and if you get caught, they will suspend you with pay and drop you from your shoe deal-- for a year.

The Jock-ocracy is real people and it is out to get you. It wants to take your sons, turn them into arrogant, privileged dicks and then have them beat your daughters in elevators.

And oh yeah, they want to take your money while you cheer them on.

Copyright 2014

Sunday, August 24, 2014

PLANTATION FERGUSON

PLANTATION FERGUSON

Hands up
We hate so much in this nation to talk about slavery and yet its progeny is with us each day. And periodically, it reaches out from the grave and claims lives, wreaks havoc and reminds us who the goddamned boss is. And not just black lives are lost but the lives of those who continue to work for this most malevolent of American spirits.

The town of Ferguson is a modern-day plantation, only the chains are not made of iron but of ignorance, the slave quarters are boundaries of class, color and opportunity, the big house is the state house and the discipline is not the whip but a policeman’s bullet.

If this imagery makes you nervous or angry, then really, you’ve proven the point. Slavery ended only 148 years ago, barely two generations and yet we are so tired of talking about it. Western Union is older than that and they are sitting in the modern age right next to the 7-11 and Pizza Hut.

And why are we so tired of it? White people are ashamed that each day they live with the legacy of this sin and they seem to be pissed that they can't enjoy their wealth and superiority without people (black and white) reminding them that it is ill-gotten gain and myth respectively. 

Black people are ashamed of stereotypes and the sad truth at the root of some of them. And while we desperately want to be free of this stigma, we keep asking the descendants of slave owners for permission to be released. And the answer is "Sure, be free, I don't care." And then a foot is stuck out to trip you as you walk away. And then we get up, look around as if we don't know who made us stumble and ask again.

And so we run from the legacy of slavery in words, while holding on to it in actions and sentiment, hiding behind “tradition” or “culture” while the stench of it bleeds through these thin wrappings. And this is how you end up with a racially riot-torn town with a sitting Black President.

So in this time, do not look at the people who are the loudest, look at those who say nothing, do nothing and divert their interests to diversion and pretend that nothing is going on. These are the people who continue to support the plantation; only this one enslaves everyone who wants to be free of it.


Copyright 2014 

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

THE FIRST COMMANDMENT

God's First Law Was Really 
The Only One He Needed.

I don't like to write or talk about religion and the reason is simple: most people stop thinking when it comes to religion. They fall back on superstition or bible quotes. So, before you read this, keep in mind what religion is: It is the human process by which we endeavor to understand God. It is not God, which means it is not perfect or divine. And I know you may think the bible is the divine word of God, well, it just isn't. It's the interpreted word of men.

I watch The Ten Commandments every year in part because it's a good movie and in part because I love watching white people portray Egyptians. And I like how there are actual black people in the movie who are servants and not Hebrews. And then there's Edward G. Robinson, the Egyptian from Hoboken. But my favorite part is when God tells Moses The Ten Commandments and we listen to them counted out in spectacular fashion.

All of the Commandments are good but I think that most of us don't understand the first one. It seems simple enough. "Thou shall have no other Gods before Me." So think, this was the first thing God said, His First Rule of law. He gave us life and he just wants to be #1. Seems fair and easy to do.

Well, we all break this Commandment almost every day of our lives.

Now, I'm not talking about golden calves or snake-gods. I'm talking about the supplanting of our will and judgment before that of God using the very religion which supports the law.

"But how Gary? How am I breaking God's first law every day?"

Each day we decide which sins are acceptable and which are bad. We also condemn and place our earthly judgment over that of God, withdrawing from faith as if we don't even believe in him. We also pervert and bend His Will through earthly interpretation to our own convenience.

For example, men and women agree that murder and adultery are a sin and yet both men and women continuously fornicate and lie, which are also sins. We just decided that one set of sins was worse than the others, placing our judgment above that of God who says, all sins are equal.

Here's how that conversation will go on Judgement Day:

YOU: Hey, Pete I'm here to enter Heaven.
ST. PETER: Sorry but you fornicated hundreds of times and lied thousands of times.
YOU: Yeah but I never murdered anyone or slept with anyone's spouse. High five!
ST. PETER: Sorry, those are sins too.
YOU: Yeah but I decided that adultery and murder were worse because you know, I would never want anyone to do that to me.
ST. PETER: Uh huh. Go to Hell. It's that way. Fall in behind Congress and the reality show people.

Many Christians fight against sin in the name of God, even though these acts should be judged and forgiven by God, not men. But we decided that we should judge them because that whole "love thy neighbor and waiting for afterlife" thing doesn't make us satisfied that God's Will is being done right now while we can enjoy it. By the way, elevating the earthly realm over the covenant for the next life is also a violation of rule #1.

And then there is money, the actual god of man. We all worship money and even talk about it with the same reverence as God. Hell, God's name is on the damned money! This is the worst violation of the First Commandment. The fake money god has us all by the spiritual balls and won't let go because we won't admit it. We give money to fake ministers who build giant churches and fly around in private jets. We try to buy our way into Heaven with money and now, we are told that if we give the church money, God will give us more money, oh wait they never say that. They say you'll get "a blessing" which could be anything from money to your diarrhea going away.

Look at how money and God are the same to us:

1. You can't see God. You have to have faith. You can't see money either. The paper or the coin just represents the wealth that backs it.
2. God is powerful. Money is powerful too. Just ask any billionaire, Bank of America or the Supreme Court.
3. God is mysterious. So is money. I defy anyone to tell me what The World Bank, IMF or The Fed do and who runs it.

So some of you are all hot and bothered right now with a full clip of bible quotes ready to fire. Save it. Your bible quotes mean one thing to you and 8 billion other things to the 8 billion people on Earth.

In closing, I believe the answer to all spiritual questions lies in the First Commandment. The problem is, if we practice it literally, it would bind us to a very strict pattern of behavior which would nullify just about every fun and pleasurable thing in life. If we ignore it, then hypocracy looms. Somewhere in the middle, as usual, lies the right path. Putting God first really just means putting everything else second. In that sense, this was really the only law God needed. The other nine commandments could be easily interpreted from the first one. In fact, everything in the bible is kind of a subset of this first divine law.

Brilliant, right? Well, that's why God is God.

And if you are worried about your behavior and the First Commandment, don't. Remember, God will always forgive you.

Now excuse me while I go off to consider how coveting an Ox and donkey applies to the present.

© 2014

Saturday, May 31, 2014

The Cowboy, The Billionaire and The Murderer

Three men, three different walks of life, one recurring theme.

Stop me if you've heard this one:

Cliven Bundy, Donald Sterling and Elliot Rodger walk into a bar. A Black bartender asks them what they want. They all say: "A white bartender."

Here we have three very different men and three very different stories, yet they all have one thing in common : Race.

Some time ago, I wrote another blog you probably didn't read called "Everythang Is Racist." which discussed how race is fused to the bones of America. Well, as usual I am right. This is a very delicate and complex problem and we treat it like a joke. It is not just a problem of visual and cultural differences but one of image and powerful imagery that works in the subconscious.

So, when people? When are we going to stop this ridiculous dance we are doing around the issue? How many more idiots like Bundy and Sterling will we have to suffer? And how many more racist murder spree letters will we see before we address the problem?

Let's stop pointing fingers at each other. Let's stop trying to rewrite history, like the geniuses in Texas who want to take the word "slave" out of the history books, because you know, Texans aren't quite ignorant enough yet. And let's stop making these retrograde, "Save A Negro" films, where white liberals get to wash their guilt and black people get to wash white peoples' dirty floors.

The good news here is Bundy and Sterling are old. The bad news is Rodger was in his 20's and it makes me wonder how many young white men are out there holding hatred of blacks in their hearts, hiding behind smiles and handshakes but seething with resentment.

For centuries now, Black people have been the repository for this nation's fear, hate, and failures. We are the cause of everything and yet we have nothing.

I think that maybe we need the conflict, that if there were no niggers and racists that we'd have to invent them, because we are still basically these little hairy animals fighting for the watering hole and ignoring the shiny black obelisk holding the power of our enlightenment.

Sterling is now shamed and stripped of his team. Bundy is forgotten and Rodger is dead, but the thing that linked the mall together still lives and we ignore it at our peril.

© 2014


Wednesday, May 21, 2014

GET STERLING

I don't like Donald Sterling.

It seems he is an evil, greedy, bigot who has made a fortune through savvy and ruthlessness with an amiable assist from the continuing powers of the Old Boys Club. I detest men like him and for a long time they have been the bane of our existence. But one thing is clear:

Donald Sterling must be sacrificed.

Because if he is not, then we will have to face and maybe take action on the comfortable racism we've all allowed to exist.

Let's get Sterling, so white people will not have to accept that the problems of black people are not in our minds, that it's not a coincidence that black men are targeted and black women marginalized and "racheted" in the media giving continuing truth to harmful stereotypes.

Let's get Sterling so blacks will not have to accept our measure of guilt for squandering the proceeds of the Civil Rights Movement, turning away from our children and responsibilities and using the lingering racism of this nation as an excuse for failures that have nothing to do with race.

If Sterling keeps his team, maybe the black NBA players will wake up and see that Sterling was allowed to buy the team for a paltry $15 million and it wasn't the money that was an impediment to black players but the other owners who only wanted white men to own teams.

If we don't get Sterling, white people will realize that Donald Sterling is their father, uncle or their boss at work or the man or woman standing on the other side of their bathroom mirror. You know, the person who thinks if their vile thoughts are never uttered, then they can harbor them, even act on them as long as there is no proof.

If we don't get Sterling, black folks would see that racist thoughts and words offend but they can be ignored until they are put into action. Maybe we would see that the best guard against racism is to clean up our own house and stop following religious charlatans and start demanding value for our citizenship.

But Sterling won't keep his team because it might start something no one wants: thinking. No, it's better to crucify him, take his team and give it to the black celebrities who covet it and who will make the rest of us feel like there has been some justice served by Oprah getting another feather in her well-feathered cap.

So sorry Don, you lose because the bigger loss comes if you win.

Copyright 2014

Monday, May 5, 2014

THE GRAVITY OF IMAGERY: A REAL LIFE CONVERSATION

This is a real conversation. It happened earlier this year at a little cafe in LA. It has been polished a little or maybe this is just how I remember it.

MY FRIEND: Aren't you happy about 12 Years A Slave?

ME: I'm happy for the winners. They all seem like good people.

MY FRIEND: I meant the Black people. Don't be cute.

ME:  They would be included in "the winners." But don't you see the larger symbolism in this year?

MY FRIEND: Oh God, you are not going to throw salt on this, are you? You know, you think way too much about stuff sometimes.

ME: Something I would never accuse you of.

MY FRIEND: Smartass.

ME: I'll take that. My mother would just hit me.

MY FRIEND: A good woman. Okay, Captain Salty, what do you mean by symbolism?

ME: The two movies 12 Years A Slave and Gravity perfectly illustrate the relative positions of the two races in modern pop cinema. 

MY FRIEND: So? They are both good movies. But 12 Years is our movie.

ME: But think of what they are about. One takes place in space, above all of mankind, raised by superior intellect, technology which three hundred years ago would have seemed like alchemy. The other takes place, well three hundred years ago.

MY FRIEND: I don't get it.

ME: Our movies, as you say, are still very much earth bound. We seemed to be stuck in this perception of the pain and wretchedness of our past as if the Industrial, Manufacturing and Computer Ages never happened. While movies have soared to the limits of imagination, orbiting the world, we are still riding the same Cinema Comedy and Guilt Train to the same destination like it's the only thing we've ever done. We have been slaves and kings, heroes and villains, geniuses and fools, poets and scoundrels and our history starts at the dawn of man. Why can't it extend to the stars?  

MY FRIEND: Can't you just be happy for the damned movie? Dang.

ME: Of course I can, but I would have been happier if Django Unchained had won the year before. It was heroic, romantic and imaginative. That would have been progress.

MY FRIEND: I didn't like that movie. Too much violence.

ME: Because 12 Years A Slave was a feel good film, right?

MY FRIEND: That was different. It was based on a true story.

ME: And pretend violence is worse than real violence?

MY FRIEND: (laughing) I really hate you right now.

ME: Thinking way too much will do that.

Monday, April 7, 2014

THE HUMAN DEBT CEILING PART 2: THE OCEAN OF EVIL


Greed, Faithlessness and Ignorance are the Unholy Trinity of the modern age's decline. But what connects and exerts their influence? An ocean of evil.
In the original Human Debt Ceiling, I discussed how three aspects of societal behavior: Greed, Faithlessness and Ignorance were ripping apart our society. 

It was hard to conceive of this as an ordered phenomenon. It seemed random, like the world unraveling in a wind storm. But it is not. 
After due consideration, I now know that there is a definite connection to these aspects and it was right in front of my face: Money.
Think of our faithless society, our greed and our ignorance as blocks floating on a sea of liquid. That liquid is money, commerce, wealth, however you want to define it. All of the major economic systems of the world use fiat currencies and market manipulation to oppress and control people, so it is simple that this is the connective tissue: a core of corruption, an enabler of evil, a matrix of malevolence.
Think I'm being dramatic? Let's do the math:
Equation 1. 
(Greed + Faithlessness) x Money = Pernicious Behavior

Mega churches, prosperity ministry and Money as God is now the way of our society. People now believe that wealth is the evidence of God, that earthly currency means God loves you. Fueled by their greed, many believe that any means to get paid is justified because God wants it. 

This is axiomatic in America where all the wealth and land we have was taken by force in the name of God. It is then only logical that all is forgiven if it ends in money-- even murder. Look at all the killers who have gotten off because they are wealthy. Even a man who raped a five year old got away with it because he's loaded.

And in everyday life, people are becoming more hateful, jealous-hearted, and envious than ever before. We have redefined pop culture by this tenet where we admire evil whorish people and write off any virtuous person's behavior as weak or silly. 

The Money/God, demands condemnation for good behavior, tithes of vile action, and redemption for anything that results in a cash out. 

Nowhere do we see this more evident than politics where money buys Presidents, Senators and now controls the entire process. Media now literally counts the money and decides who wins. And we, the obedient children of the God of Money, say only "Amen."

Equation 2. 
(Ignorance + Faithlessness) - Money = The Bastard Nation

We now produce more children out of wedlock than ever before. The government reports that 40.7 percent of all 2012 births were out-of-wedlock. Leading the trend, as usual are Blacks, at 72.2 percent. 


When any people are denied work, opportunity and the ability to make a decent living, they fall to despair, and in this despair we revert to the only power we have: our reproductive system, the ability to procreate.

Deprived of work, a man falls to sex as a pastime and a refuge from embarrassment and failure. The hunt for sex takes the place of the hunt for employment and distracts him from the failure of not attaining money to care for himself or his children.

Women have it even worse, as biologically their bodies make them want to have children as a natural consequence of being female. Add to this, a society that tells them on the one hand that a man should "take care of them" and on the other, that they "can have it all," and you get women who have children out of ignorance and hopelessness because in this time, people rally with sympathy and the government rallies with the money that they (the woman and the father) failed to attain. 

And the women who try to have it all, get passed over by men then feel they have no choice but single motherhood after they fail to find a suitable mate.

And in the balance of these choices, we have millions of children, born into the void of their parents' love and society's indifference. And now they are growing up to be the soulless, hopeless and faithless instruments of our failure, a human harvest of doom.





 Equation 3 
(Greed + Ignorance) ÷ Money = Violence, War and Death.

All American Wars have been about money. We know this to be true and yet we continue to believe that defense, honor or human rights have something to do with them. And yes, the desire for the wealth we kill for is created by our old friends greed and ignorance. 

Take away a man's ability to work, force him into servitude and watch how quickly he joins to violence to alleviate his situation. Back him into a corner and he will certainly kill to get out. 

Our Prison Industrial Complex created the way for violence through lack of economic opportunity, condemned the violence, punished the perpetrators in the justice system and then incarcerated men for profit.

Let's take a moment here, because this is where logic joins together: This equation shows the truth of the first two because: 

The product of Equation 1 gives you the 
false morality to take The sum of Equation 2 
and turn it into slaves for profit using Equation 3.

This same process turns men and women into soldiers who die in the money wars and the men and women who flood our streets as the homeless.

So now what, people? How do we counter such strong measures in our lives. What equation fights these others and can defeat them? This time, I will do a call to arms because this one is personal. Each of us can effect this change with simple effective logic:

Intelligence + Righteousness + Benevolence = Hope.

But the trick of this equation is that it varies with the individual and the Unholy Trinity above constantly fights against it. Still, we all have the healing numbers in our hearts and heads, getting to them is always the problem. 

But don't take my word for it. 


You do the math.

Copyright 2014

Thursday, April 3, 2014

DAWN OF THE SUPER CITIZEN


All Animals Are Created Equal. But Some Animals Are More Equal Than Others. 

      - George Orwell, Animal Farm.

Now that the Supreme Court decided that corporations can exercise religious beliefs, in the Lobby Hobby case, we have another limb added to the Frankenstein monster that is over a century in the making: The Super Corporate Citizen.


A brief history: (cue Superman theme)

In Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad Co (1886), the Supreme Court held thusly:

Defendant corporations are "persons" within the intent of the clause in section 1 of the 14th Amendment of the Constitution of the United States which forbids a state to deny anyone within its borders Equal Protection of the law.
And thus, a single judge changed the course of American and human history. Corporations went on to be treated like people but had none of the detriments. They lived forever, had limited liability, were not held liable for murder, paid no taxes and never had to suffer watching reality shows.

Later, more geniuses on The Supreme Court in The Citizens United case, established companies can spend money as free "speech." This was the next step in creating The Super Citizen. Now Corporations exist with incredible powers and can say what they want. And just recently SCOTUS in McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission removed the limits on how much "speech" an individual can contribute. What next?

Religious freedom, of course. Because religion makes everything better.

These corporate super citizens will be Christian at first, so that ideologues can hide their bigotry and discrimination behind a corporate veil that regular people don't have. "Hey don't get mad at me. General Foods called you a nappy-headed ho." But make no mistake, Jewish, Muslim and Buddhist corporations will follow and inevitably, we will have a Satanic Corporation... wait, we already have Goldman Sachs. Nevermind.

In Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. the SCOTUS decided corporations can hold religious values which will let them discriminate against other people. Of course, the "corporation" in question, is controlled by real flesh and blood people with specific and subjective notions about other people who are not like them. 


Let's get by the fact that this is another maneuver to allow some people to continue to discriminate against others without legal consequence. We know these people have made a life out of working and doing business on a field tilted to their favor. Why in God's name would they ever want anything to be fair?

No, the greater threat is that corporations are now better than flesh and blood people because certain forces in our society and our SCOTUS keeps allowing this particular charade to continue.


Soon, companies will be able to kill you and the punishment will be what? Incarceration? "Put these cuffs on AT and T." Or will they sentence the corporation to death? Well, of course not and even if we could, another could be created in minutes on Legal Zoom.  No, they'll be issued a fine and the value of your life would be determined by a jury. Good luck with that in Florida and Texas.


We always wonder how in those bleak, dystopian novels, our society falls to a horde of sheepish citizens who have passively given up their rights and live under the long shadow of fascist corporate/governmental control. Well, this is how it happens, in small increments, tiny steps that seem like small concessions until you put them together and see they are an epic journey from freedom to bondage, the equivalent of dropping a boulder on your head, one pebble at a time.


Normally, I end these pieces with a call to arms but I am tired of that. 


Screw you if you don't see how bad this is. 


Get ready to be fitted with your tracking chip, categorized by your DNA and put into the Hunger Games lottery for the amusement of The Super Citizens.  But don't worry. 


I hear the odds are ever in your favor.



Copyright 2014