Shifting Keys Gets You Capital

"Wings begin to emerge, breaking the cycle of feeling stagnant. Finally free, the butterfly sheds light on situations that the caterpillar never considered, ending the internal struggle. Although the butterfly and caterpillar are completely different, they are one and the same"

[practicingprose]

wrote half of the night.

Trying to turn that into writing the whole night. But progress is progress nonetheless. I’m getting words down on paper. That’s what matters. 

We working.

The sun’s coming up. Time for me to lay down.

[practicingprose]

I recently had an opportunity to attend the Black Writers Weekend here in Atlanta. As a cat who just keeps to himself locked in his office, this event gave me a chance to fellowship with other creators of color. I go off of energy these days. I left the day of workshops and symposiums refreshed by hearing stories from published authors offering their encouragement.

This one author wrote 18 books in a year. And I’m just sitting there like...

It was cool to see my homeboy from undergrad on a panel of male authors at CreativeCon. Shout out to Kelsey Maynor, man.

It was interesting -- especially considering my background -- that I hadn’t given much thought to the business aspect of writing. Maybe I’m just focused on actually getting the story down right now. Once the first draft is complete, I’m going to have to start looking forward past writing and how to get this thang printed and sold.

I can feel it.

Actually knowing what my next steps are is pretty helpful. Now I actually have to let people read my work.

Getting feedback from people is pretty important though. Current life lessons are teaching me to be open. I can say that I’m now tapped into a network of writers. I just have to go out and grab coffee at PCM one of these days.

I just have to keep going. Put this restless energy into something productive. In the meantime, I’m living life. Experience impacts perspective and I’m never trying to come from a place of willful ignorance. Remember that.

The Marathon Continues.

[practicingprose]

If I Was A (White) Boy

I vividly recall my 18th birthday. My senior prom was the night before and I was doing my “grown man” thing. That morning, my friend [Chase] hit me up to hang out. Before I pulled up on him, I bought a cheap cigar just to say I could. He gets the bright idea to go to Cracker Barrel. At the time, both he and his girlfriend worked there. His plan was to leave her a little love letter in the car. Simple enough....and then the cops got called.

What I wouldn’t have given back then for the benefit of the doubt. “They might not be causing trouble. It is Sunday, the busiest day at this restaurant during the post-church rush...Can’t nobody be THAT stupid.” But, nah.

That’s what makes it so interesting to see that way certain young men are coddled and protected. No matter the damage they’ve done or how old they are, they are to be helped -- not held responsible. 

So when Brock Turner rapes a woman, he gets months in jail because they wouldn’t want a rape conviction to sully his future. 

When Billy McFarland scams millions out of people, her’s still considered a “kid” and given a chance to defend himself. 

When a crowd of kids surrounds a Native elder, we see the narrative shift from their aggressive behavior to the Black Israelites who had previously riled them up. No mention at all about any of the group -- who were there counter protesting against the Women’s March -- and their rowdy behavior even before the stand off. We’re given every reason to excuse their fangs. We’re told that dog don’t bite. And now this boy is trying to profit from his actions by suing publications for portraying him as a racist. 

The Washington Post should be more responsible for his portrayal than he should.

Throughout time, there have been thousands hundreds of thousands millions countless examples of the disparity of judgement of white males and black males. 

Black preschoolers were 3.6x more likely to be suspended than their white counterparts. A study released by the Government Accountability Office last year found that although black students made up only 15.5% of the student population, but accounted for 39% of students suspended from school.

Students with learning disabilities or histories of poverty, neglect, or abuse are particularly vulnerable to removal-style discipline that leads to the "school to prison pipeline," according to the American Civil Liberties Union, a national trend wherein "children are funneled out of public schools and into the juvenile and criminal justice systems."

Why can waves of white boys crowd and surround this elder and these “aggressive men they were so afraid of” and be seen as children when black boys can’t walk in groups of 4 or more in the mall?

Why are MAGA hats -- which are quickly becoming seen as kindling to an everlasting ember -- allowed to be displayed so prominently, but ordinances get passed just so I have to pull my pants up?

Whenever a white man commits a crime, he’s always depicted in the press as a really nice person who no one knew had this dark side. Or they snapped. This is often despite countless people who had gone on record with concerns. Sometimes, they have a long record of offenses overlooked or played off. We’ve seen this with the terrorists -- let’s call it what it truly is -- in Las Vegas,  Sutherland Springs, Parkland, Thousand Oaks, Pittsburgh and Santa Fe.

This isn’t even unique to America. It’s been less than 48 hours after the mosque massacres in New Zealand, we have sympathetic articles being written about the shooter by the Daily Mirror -- a tabloid in London. Stark contrast to their coverage of the Pulse shooter in Orlando:

Meanwhile, black boys and girls shot dead by anyone* don’t even get to grow cold before their names and images are torn apart by the media and racists worldwide -- those both unrepentant and “unknowingly” [wink wink]. The fear of some big black person attacking you is often seen as stronger than the need to uphold “the law.”  

*[Ed. Note: One day we need to have a conversation about how white vigilantism ranging from Permit Patty to Zimmerman levels stem from their inability to mind their own business.]

It happened with Oscar Grant. Trayvon Martin. Jordan Davis. Michael Brown. Dontre Hamilton. Sandra Bland. Tamir Rice. John Crawford III. Ezell Ford. Laquan McDonald. Akai Gurley. Jereme Reid. Renisha McBride. Charley Leundeu Keunang. Tony Robinson. Anthony Hill. Meagan Hockaday. Eric Harris. Walter Scott, Freddie Gray. William Chapman. Samuel DuBose. Jeremy McDole. Jamar Clark. Alton Sterling. Philando Castile. Joseph Mann. Paul O'Neal. Korryn Gaines. Sylville Smith. Terence Crutcher. Keith Lamont Scott. Alfred Olango. Deborah Danner. 

We say the names because these people should forever be remembered. 

Walter Scott’s Killer got 20 years. Laquan McDonald’s got 6.75 years. Mans who shot Oscar Grant did like 7 months. That’s it. The people are currently awaiting the sentencing of Nouman Raja, the officer who killed Corey Jones as he was waiting for a tow truck on the side of the road. Raja was not uniformed when he approached Jones at 3am. Raja claimed that Jones pointed a gun at him before he fired. This was disputed by the fact that Jones was on the phone with with roadside assistance when the officer approached unannounced.

Even with all of that evidence, it wasn’t a slam dunk that there would be a conviction in the case. Many police officers are exonerated when being investigated by their peers. They’ve got to present a unified front. These then become the cats who get fat and take pride in the system they’re perpetuating. Remember when the Fraternal Order of Police in California sang a song shitting on Mike Brown at a fundraiser? 

Look at the list of names again. How many never made it past grand jury? Isn’t it crazy that the police perform more due diligence to plan for the civil unrest after no conviction than they do during the investigation? How many names not listed here have been lost throughout history because of the justice system we can now see isn’t protecting all of us everywhere?

“Why all of the attitude against police officers?”

I don’t know, officer. Maybe he knows. He knows that had he been someone else, he would be home right now. He knows that despite what you’re saying to both he and his mother, you’re not just “doing your job.” Perhaps there are some actual violent crimes that the Violent Crimes Unit could be investigating. Mans went to the store for a slushie and got handcuffed for an improper turn?

There’s something to be said about the fact that it’s being done so blatantly yet people refuse to address these issues. Why do you think it’s so important to control the internet? Or that shaming people talking about issues is where we’re at as a society. There are two realities in America and when attention is brought to an issue, it’s called “racebaiting.” FOH. How do we engage in a dialogue about things we’re choosing not to discuss? When has an out of sight, out of mind approach ever fixed an issue?

That’s what’s got us to this point -- where the people being oppressed are being told that everything is fine by those doing the oppressing. And everyone else is on the fringe dancing along to the beat. People automatically believe that people who look like them act like them. They’re able to extend those people the benefit of the doubt. “I wouldn’t behave that way, so I know he wouldn’t behave that way.”

Remember that young girl who sued the University of Texas over their Affirmative Action policy? I wonder how she feels that the entire time she was looking at black people being the reason she didn’t get into school...whole time, the actual culprit was people with deeper pockets who looked just like her? 

But somehow this will be overlooked. Another week in this high speed newscycle and this will become a joke to some. Those are the people far removed from single mothers being jailed just for trying to get their children into better schools. Somehow one of those is a justifiably incarcerable offense. The other...the verdict is still out. But something makes me think that money, fame and influence will play a factor.

The rich are buying their underachieving children’s way into elite schools and high society networks while others are busy trying to protect their kids from the school-to-prison pipeline. 

This is America. There are definitely two sides.

[practicingprose]

let's begin.

[practicingprose]

Stuck holding on to the last vestiges of a trance, I ask myself if this headwind is sustainable.

It has to be as these winds seem to come from within a cavernous place that hides from the plains. Within that space, regret echoes off of the wall. Untold versions of myself know all too well the feeling of having just missed a moment. 

Each moment breeding contempt as it finds itself being repeated. Which version would inspire a different thought? A different path? Each one branching off to an unexplored universe.

Until one day it’s not...

[practicingprose]

Thanks For The Memories

September 7th has had a weird energy to it for rap fans for over 20 years. Eazy E was born on this day in 1964. Many feel like he had much more work to do and his death from AIDS really put a face to the epidemic that was marred by ignorance on the subject.

Tupac was shot in Las Vegas on this day 22 years ago. I remember my Dad driving around that night listening to “Picture Me Rollin’” over and over the night after the shooting. We were stationed in Maryland. It was weird to me how my Dad -- the embodiment of Black Male Braggadocio -- was completely silent. Nine-year-old me swore that I saw tears fall down this man’s face. 

At the time, I thought it was weird. It’s not like Tupac was going to die, right? I was young enough to be forgiven for my naivety. But everyone just assumed that since he survived one shooting and came back better, Pac could survive this one too. Throughout all I just remember being astounded that this man who rarely showed any emotion was crying over a rapper.

Then 2018 happened and I found myself crying in a bar while eating a chicken pesto sandwich.

The impact of music is like no other medium. Let’s establish that fact right now. The ability to communicate emotion through song is one of the most envied. In every recorded culture, there’s a deference to the musicians and bards that isn’t exactly far off from a tribute to a deity forgotten by time. 

Its in that vein that fans have felt a tremendous loss over the last few weeks. When news of Mac Miller’s death started wafting through the twittersphere, more than a few were quick to call bullshit. [For what its worth, false death rumors run rampant on the internet...that’s weird, dawg.]

I am just like the trillions of music fans that came before me and the gazillions that will come after me. The real talent of a true artist is the ability to convert a thought--a tangent--into a tangible object for others to consume...and they actually understand what you mean. Either because of their own experiences or the mastery of the artist themselves.

I heard KIDS the year I finished undergrad. I liked a couple of songs on the tape, but by the time Mac Miller dropped Blue Slide Park, I was good on it. There was just so much going on both in my life and musically to listen to music that didn’t move me at the time. But you could never knock dude for making the music that reflected who he was at the time. 

In life, we all go through our learning periods. For some, that is when they’re young. For others, it can happen later on in life. I’d like to think that for a while Mac and I were on similar arcs in our life stories. 

Faces. Watching Movies With The Sound Off. GOOD:AM. My dude was getting better with every release. Not only was he flexing in his rapping, he was also digging deeper into his artistic bag. What could his early detractors have to say when he evolved to be much more than what they despised about Blue Slide Park?

Thinking back to that chicken pesto sandwich, I don’t even remember if it was actually good or not. Much about that afternoon and evening was a blur. I do remember the waitress though. Bless her heart. Can’t be every day that a dude cries at the bar while eating. I think the loss that has stuck with me was the fact that although we got to witness Malcolm growing, we’ll never see what he grew into.

...

And for a month, that was the prevailing emotion listening to his music. Each release was really a snapshot of that moment. Not just who he was at that time, but also who I was. 

Bumping KIDS thinking I was grown.

Playing GOOD:AM on the way to my partner’s funeral.

Searching for something real with The Divine Feminine as the soundtrack...

Trying to stop treading water and boss up bumping Swimming.

I thought back to the numerous moments I enjoyed dude’s music or found myself taking something from it. When the concert was announced, it was a no-brainer.

The thing about grief is that its an incredibly personal feeling. You’re thinking of this other person or thing you’ve lost in relation to your memories and your emotions...but with entertainers, no matter how private your mourning is, there’s thousands of people going through almost the same thing.

The show was amazing. The fans there were all very subdued. I think the time between his passing and the Oct. 31 show was spent by many coming to grips with this loss. But it was another thing to see all of these artists whom I love and respect mourning their friend. This wasn’t an industry thing, it was a personal thing to all of these people. 

I realized then that I’d mourned Mac Miller -- the musician, but hadn’t managed to mourn Malcolm McCormick -- the man.

Something that stood out to me in the past couple of months was that no one had a negative thing to say about this cat. As an artist or entertainer, you could always find someone to be a contrarian, but the emotion that stood out here was love. Loved by his family. Loved by his friends. Loved by his fans...Mac was loved.

And that love is going to last.

Rest easy, Mac.

[practicingprose]

[practicingprose]

State of the Community [2 of 2: Solutions]

When you hear politicians talk about an entire race as if they're lazy and don't want to succeed at anything. "Pull yourselves up by your bootstraps!" As if an entire class of people ultimately decided to trap themselves into a system of poverty and crime. Where does this even come from? 

In the reconstruction era, many black men were arrested on trumped up charges of loitering, walking on train tracks and not being employed. Though it only takes a cursory glance at the court proceedings [Where Blacks were poorly--if at all--represented] to see how rigged the system was, many people took it as if these men truly were guilty. To them, you would have to be guilty to be convicted. Never mind the fact that they were filling a void in unpaid labor.

Those laws and practices were the first in a long line that stretches to today to benefit off of the skills of Blacks. I've diagnosed problems in the Black community; now is the time for solutions.

Education

The idea of a uniform system of education may have been very beneficial for the schoolhouse to be a place where everyone [regardless of race, class, religion or creed] is taught the same thing and should have the same starting point leaving high school. We know that this is a myth.

The educational system is failing us. But who are we to think that the same system that benefitted off of the captivity and exploitation of a segment of people would then allow them to be on the same level as them?

Along with the education that is being provided in schools, we a people should be teaching our children about our heritage. Not slavery. Not the stuff that get recycled during Black history month. But about African Kings and Queens. About Nat Turner. About the Black Panthers.

Teaching a child more about people like them is more likely to instill confidence in them than teaching them that all they ever contributed to history was blood, sweat and tears. It teaches them to have a sense of community. Something we're severely lacking.

Assata Shakur said, "Today, young people have to be highly informed and acutely analytical [traits that aren't regularly taught in urban high schools], or they will be swept up into a whirlpool of lies and deception."

We also need to teach our children about the options they have. There are so many avenues that we can explore, the blinders that have been placed upon our eyes keeps competition low for some and very high for us. It's more than just school, low-level jobs, sports or hustling out there. They can be anything they want to be, not just the bullshit they see on TV.

Demanding Proper Representation

Don't get me wrong: the legacy of Black comedians is rich and something we should be proud of. But that's not all we are. We don't have to resort to being the comedic relief or the menacing criminal in movies and on television. Up and coming actors can be tired of the roles, but ultimately audience taste dictates what happens.

People eat that shit up. You can see it on the face of women walking alone at night. You can hear it in the tones of people expecting you to get their joke or cosign their humor. 

There's more power in our attention [and wallets] than we can imagine. We don't waste a moment giving our hard earned dollars back to someone else. If we kept money in our community like The Black Wall Street, there's no telling how powerful we could be.

Why shows like Love and Hip-Hop keep getting renewed while great programming like Save My Son gets canned is an issue of access and of viewers.

If no one watched Stevie J use women each Sunday night, Love and Hip-Hop would be a nonfactor. But we love the drama. We love it so much, we don't notice it creeping off of the television screen and into our personal lives. 

Holding Ourselves Accountable

As previously stated, people of other are quick to tell us to grow up and do something for ourselves. While their comments may be rooted in ignorance, it's the truth.

Hear me out.

We as a people need to stop allowing our boys to make mockeries of themselves hanging out with their pants on the ground. [Really though. I sag my pants but some of these cats' bare thighs are exposed while they're walking around holding their pants]. We as a people need to hold our men accountable when they have children they try to abandon. We as a people need to teach our young women to have pride and love for themselves, without the need of a relationship. We as a people need to stand up to the sociopaths in our community and fight for our children's future.

We have a very ingenious spirit, collectively. Making something out of nothing is just what we do. They gave us scraps to eat and we made Soul Food out of it. They gave up "scraps" in the housing sector and we [used to] make tight knit communities. When they gave us BS jobs, we created our own economy.

It's a shame that those same things are killing us now.

That Soul Food, when eaten regularly will clog your arteries and cause high blood pressure. On top of that, there's a reason there's fast food joints on every corner in Bankhead but not Buckhead. Those communities are now hoods where people die over blocks that don't belong to them. There's a reason that the killing of black men by black men goes unmentioned outside of urban areas. The underground economy is now seen as the only means to money when it's actually the gateway to more problems. There's a reason why there's no Crack is Wack commercials...In other communities' eyes, they're our problems. We have to come together to fix them.

We can't continue to wait for someone to look at the situations that they've caused and suddenly have a change of heart and now want to fix things!

It's not going to be easy. Fighting for freedom, albeit from the hidden shackles of systemic repression, never is. But it's a fight that must be fought for generations to come. We have nothing to complain about. Millions of people suffered for years. Many died for us to enjoy what sense of freedom we have. We can't do the same for our children and descendants?

On this day 148 years ago, Union troops rode into Galveston, TX to claim the state and declare slavery as over. I can't imagine the joy that those people felt, knowing that things wouldn't have to be so grim for their children. What a shame they may feel that many of us choose to remain in this situation when we have more means to fight than they ever did.

If we don't wake up and take a real look at things around us, we'll never notice when we've become a distant memory of a proud and worthy people.

Happy Juneteenth.

[practicingprose]

State of the Community [1 of 2: Problems]

Back in the Antebellum South, Blacks didn't have access to real methods to getting and education and obtaining wealth. Like other areas of life, they took the scraps that they were given and made the best they could with them. Instead of being doctors and lawyers, an entire race was relegated to serving people who--less than a generation before--outright owned them.

As the years have passed, reletively small strides have been made. Even with a Black president, the growing number of Black men going to college instead of prison shouldn't be a celebrated recent development. It should be an established way of life. Why are there different expectations for children depending on which race they are?

My people have not only been given the short end of the stick--they've learned to accept it. We've been shepherded into poverty and there seem to be more of us getting comfortable to the dysfunction than striving to change things. And why should we? It seems that everyone who stood up has been cut down. From Nat Turner to Malcolm & Martin, we've got a list of examples telling us to stay in our place. Though slavery was "abolished," our mindset has remained almost the same.

I'm no scientist. I haven't done much any sampling of the following statements. Instead of trying to prove or disprove anything, I want to provoke thought:

Why do Black folks value shoes so much? Were we so affected by not having shoes that we'll spend a week outside of a shoe store in order to pay 500% more for a pair of shoes?

Why are there so many absentee fathers? And why is that acceptable? Is it because of the fact that we were bred and traded like cattle and some men have lost the ability to connect and cherish their families?

Do we accept the mass incarceration and brutal killing of our men by police and whites simply because that's what they've been doing since the day that the very first slave ship docked on dry land in Africa?

Or is it all because we've systematically been beat into accepting these pitfalls as a necessary way of life?

Dumb questions to some, but we would be in the same boat as our oppressors if we denied that the psychological aspects of slavery have never been tended to.

Consider schools. The educational system functions in a way where affluent children receive a quality educational experience that prepares them for college--a place they're expected to go. On the other side of the tracks, poor [which in many instances because of historic makeup of neighborhoods, means Black ...but not always] kids suffer through dangerous neighborhoods and outdated textbooks & curriculum all while dealing with issues that are a lot more pressing than Pythagoras' Theorum.

How do you expect a child to sit and learn about something that happened 200 years ago when they're living in the dark now? Kids shouldn't have to worry about where they'll get their next meal or how they'll get home safely past the gangs and pushers...but they are.

While all of this is happening, their parents are working their asses off for poor pay. They know the job doesn't pay enough, but what can they do? Most shuffle from one low-end job to another. Little thought can be put into going back to school and investing in themselves. Bills are due. Kids have to eat.

All of this conspires to limit an entire community's options. We focus on the carrot that's right in front of our faces instead of the fact that we're running in circles. The track will go on forever. The purebred races until its heart implodes. Then its replaced.

View part 2: Solutions, here.

Well...what do we do?

[practicingprose]

America is killing its people. It's robbing them blindly without a care in the world. I'm not talking about racism or classism. Capitalism is a disease. The "rat race" that most Americans run through on a daily basis makes them work harder to achieve success at work to get paid more to buy more things.

Through radio, television, movies, print and [especially & increasingly] online Americans are targeted for advertisements for things they don't even need.

Sure, iPods and BMWs are nice. Do we--as people--need the newest version as soon as it comes out? No. Keeping up with the Joneses has completely replaced connecting to other people. Humanity is becoming disconnected with each other and as connected as they can be to things.

For all the help that technology can bring to one's life, there is a line that is often crossed where help turns to obsession. People prefer posts on Facebook rather than interaction. [Honestly, now that we have Facebook, do you even remember your friends' birthdays?]

It's nice to have nice things. I enjoy my Xbox, iPhone and TV. But even in appreciating those things, you can't forget about the bigger picture--Humanity as a whole. Islam has this concept of the Ummah, or the collective community of Islamic believers. [Not to be a blasphemer or offend anyone, but] Let's take this concept and expand it to the whole of humanity. Do you shun your mother for a Lexus?

It is human to have desires. Corporations slyly play on these desires to make you think you need things. Every year, companies spend billions to perfect their marketing pitch. In 2011, companies spent $464 billion to get people to buy their products/services. And this is while people are on the streets starving. I guess since those people can't afford cars and shit, they don't matter.

Before a commercial ever airs, it is played privately before a group of individuals comprised of that specific ad's target demographic. This ensures that every diamond ring commercial has that "Awwww..." factor with women. It keeps guys' eyes glued to the car commercial with tits and ass. You know it's a good commercial when you don't realize you're being pulled to buy that thing.

As much of a shame that is, nothing is more shameful thank how they're targeting our children. Kids are being sold to with each episode of Spongebob and with each online game they play. Disney is the only company whose audience isn't attacked with ads for bedazzlers or slip-n-slides...because Disney keeps their promotions in-house. Meaning on the Disney Channel, you don't see ads for anything other than Disney shows/movies/theme parks.

This has basically been modus operandi since I was younger. What has changed is the exposure time kids have with ads. Don't quote me on this, but the ratio of actual show time to commercial time has shifted slowly but surely over the years. It gets worse the closer you get to the end of the show. "Didn't it just come back from commercial?!"

There are horror stories of parents receiving their phone bill from the month and being prison raped by charges racked up by their unknowing children in games. Developers have gotten so slick as to disguise a microtransaction in a game as something that seems like a fantasy. But that business model is here to stay as the gaming industry looks for new ways to cash out.

At the time of this writing, I was cruising at an altitude of 10-20,000 ft. over Florida returning from a Caribbean cruise. The thought crossed my mind as I was jetskiing over clear blue Bahamian waters [/humblebrag], "How much different would the world be if people spent their money creating memories and stockpiling experiences rather than shoes, cars and clothes?"

Why do we continually give our money to corporations that value a bottom line rather than our health? McDonalds continues to sell death at an alarming rate. Obesity and high blood pressure plague America, but not only do we clamor to accept their corn byproduct passed off as beef, but the FDA looks the other way. If I frequented fast food restaurants, I'd be concerned about the UK's Horse Meat Scandal.

My generation has forked over so much money to Apple that they have the economy of a small country. Not because they were helping people, but because of hype. Steve Jobs was the master of creating an event over the smallest thing. Planned Obsolescence. That's how they can sell you a phone and within months have you back in line for that same phone but with a front facing camera...and again within a matter of months awaiting another model with a new bell or whistle.

I find it completely ironic that Apple's most recent "innovation" is Siri, a robotic assistant/personality that you can talk to and will answer...Isn't that what friends are for? Even while disconnected from humanity, we're steady trying to connect to something.

[practicingprose]

A Look in the Mirror

You're feeling yourself aren't you? You've hit a little stride and have completely forgotten from where you came and from who you've grown. Just as a snake sheds its skin, a person sometimes grows bigger than what they're used to and has to shed parts of themselves that aren't likely to benefit them in the future.

Like the kid who wants to make the Varsity basketball team one year and doesn't make the cut. It doesn't make sense to him. In his mind, he was the best player on the court. How could they not pick him? What could they see that he couldn't? The key here is "Is it something he couldn't see or wouldn't see?"

So the kid works and works and toils and grinds until the next tryout comes. The kid makes the team. He goes on to play ball for North Carolina and eventually wins 6 championships with the Chicago Bulls.

Every sports fan in the world knows the story of Michael Jordan. When it's all said and done, MJ will go down as the best player of the modern era. [Bill Russell, the legendary Celtic has 8 rings for anyone going off of championships alone.] He wasn't the best just by showing up. He was the best because he made himself the best. 

It wasn't easy. Jordan was playing in an era where many players that we now consider legends were also vying for championships. How did he get six when many got none?

He had the drive. You don't get to the top of the food chain by being a slouch. You've got to set goals for where you want to be and how you want to get there. Proper Prior Preparation Prevent Piss Poor Performance. Make plans on what you'll need and even plan ahead for random setbacks.

Growing is something that is necessary for everyone to obtain goals. I play video games [much to the behest of my significant other]. Each stage has a boss who is tougher than all of the other bad guys. In good games, the only way you can beat the boss is by utilizing a skill or technique that you just so happened to discover during that stage. With each stage, the foes get harder to beat. You cannot advance unless you "level up."

He had a great coach. By the time I started really getting into basketball, Phil Jackson was the head coach of the Los Angeles Losers Lakers. While I won't knock Phil for taste, it was with this organization that he won 4 more championships. That's 10 for those keeping count. One more than Celtic great Red Auerbach, making Jackson literally "The Greatest NBA Coach of All Time." During games, Phil would see plays that the opposing squad would run and how his players would respond. From there, he would make adjustments. His players would execute these adjustments and, as is the case with his teams up until his last year with the Lakers, win rings.

Sometimes your skills and expertise can only carry you so far. Traits that may have benefited you for years may begin to betray you at one point in your life. A choice begs to be made. Do you carry on doing what you've always done to get by and not make it? Or do you make the necessary adjustments to succeed? Sure, you've gotten through triumphs, tragedies and trials with your current playbook. But familiarity breeds complacency. If you want to make it to the promised land [your goals], you have to come with something that is fresh and new. Remember, to get what you've never had, you have to do what you've never done.

He had great teammates. Jordan alone wouldn't have been able to lift his team to glory once, let alone for 2 separate three-peats. Look at Lebron in Cleveland and Derrick Rose right now. He had Scottie Pippen along for the ride. Dennis Rodman contributed to his '96-'98 championship run. Along with those Hall of Famers, thee were also Horace Grant, Bill Paxon, Steve Kerr and others. These players all had roles to play. Jordan couldn't play all 5 positions on the floor. He had  to rely on others' abilities and strengths to be effective enough to win. Through their perspective, they could either set up MJ for a nice play or take the shot themselves. 5 sets of eyes can see way more than one.

In life, you have people on your team that can see things about you that you may not be able to. Being around these people may even bring the best out of you. While typing this up, I've been watching Man on Fire. In this film, Denzel starts out as a mean old curmudgeon. Through interacting with a young girl and her family, he evolves into caring and loving individual. The girl was able to see and eventually bring out traits that Washington's character, Creasey, wasn't able to see for himself. Because of this evolution, the audience was treated to quite an intense display of affection of the girl.

Evolution is a part of nature. Giraffe's evolved in order to reach the foliage. Chameleons developed the ability to blend into their surroundings to protect themselves from predators. A young boy evolved into a young man in order to experience feelings he never felt and go places he couldn't imagine at the urging of a deserving woman. Trust me. I know firsthand how resistant a person can be with removing themselves from their comfort zone. It's something that I might not have been able to see the worth in at first. The benefits pay off though.

When I look into the mirror at the person I am today, I'm not admiring myself. I'm admiring the fact that I could be living a life of lesser quality than I am today. Everything that I have, I have worked for. That work ethic wasn't something I was born with, I decided to develop it. It all started with a thought. Change is a slow process and I am still changing and developing myself into the person I deserve to be. 

If I can, I know you can do it.

[practicingprose]

PoliTRICKs As Usual...

If you're anything like me, you're eagerly anticipating November 7th. The day after the election. I like to think of myself as a pretty educated voter. Even with that, I find myself tired of this election cycle's news items being shoved down my throat at every turn as many people around the country may be. The danger of being an uneducated voter has increased tremendously.

The political game was changed into the current beast it is in 2010 with the United State Supreme Court ruling on the Citizens United v. the Federal Election Commission. The court decided that...

it was unconstitutional to ban free speech through the limitation of independent communications by corporations, associations, and unions, i.e. that corporations and labor unions may spend their own money to support or oppose political candidates through independent communications like television advertisements.

Meaning, corporations like Marriott (where one of the candidates resided on the Board of Directors) could funnel their money in support of their favored candidate. This is the reason that battleground states are being gangbanged by political ads. There is no limit to the money that is being funneled through Super PACs in order to use ads that play on people's emotions/livelihoods/prejudices in order to gain an edge for their guy.

Money can only bring you so far. Also a major factor in ads targeting voters this year are LIES. Yes, we all expect politicians to lie to us, but within the past year the lies have been more blatant and bold. Whether it be:

Falsely representing an auto company as taking bailout money to ship jobs to China.

Blaming Romney for a woman dying from cancer due to a Bain Capital "Buy-& Close" though she died 5 years after the company was bought.

Claiming that Obama wants to funnel millions out of Medicare.

And how could we all forget Paul Ryan's speech during the RNC which was a House of Lies [No disrespect to the Showtime show].

Even with all of the lies, the truth should shine through. It should shine through all of the attempts to block people--who you don't think will vote for you--from voting, whether that be through voter ID laws, limiting early voting dates, and companies with ties to Bain owning voting machines. At face value these attempts seem to block all voters equally. But when you come to understand that Democrats take advantage of early voting more and are more likely not to have valid ID, it seems as if Republicans are looking for an edge. The voting machine thing...that's plain cheating.

Then, there's the elephant in the room...

[Howard] and others freely talked about a looming race war if Obama was re-elected. The KKK and other groups call it "the storm."

"Oh, it's going to happen. And I fear it. ... And it ain't just me. ... If he gets four more years, Barack Obama will ruin this country. And white people will be in concentration camps, and if you don't think that white people [can] be in concentration camps, [you] are sadly mistaken."

-Source

Let me start with a fact. In 2000, there were around 600 white supremacist groups in existence in the country. As of last year, there were 1,018. How much of a factor do you think a Black president had to do with that? Nevermind the fact that his wife is constantly disrespected. Nevermind the fact that Obama is called the "Welfare President" even though there are almost as many white people (38.8%) on welfare as there are blacks (39.8%). People are hanging effigies of this man like that's alright! Post racial, my ass. We're not that far removed from times where people were actually hung for being black. Emmett Till was murdered in 1955. James Byrd was drug behind a truck in 1998. 

Many people will use the political system to hide the fact that they're racist or at least extremely prejudiced. People are still claiming that Obama wasn't born in America. People are still claiming that the President is Muslim. Donald Trump tried to corral the President of the United States into proving he was qualified to get into Harvard Law School. [Personally, I'm hoping Trump takes Stephen Colbert up on his offer.] The phrase that has been spoken time after time during this election, "Let's Take This Country Back!" has racial overtones more than political ones. Take it back from who? Doesn't the country still belong to it's citizens? 

There's a tumblr called White People Saying The N-Word. [Let that sink in for a minute.] A good portion of this blog consists of tweets and Facebook posts calling the Leader of the Free World a nigger.

Then we have the candidates...

When it comes to Mitt Romney, these things do not make sense to me.

As of yet we have heard no real details about how Mitt plans to execute his tax plans. It doesn't take an expert to realize that if a candidate is hazy about something up until Election Day, it's because they know you're not gonna go for it.

This guy panders so hard, junkies who ask people for cash should study him. Where ever the party leans, Mitt leans. He was for abortion in MA. Now, he's against it unless it's rape, incest or endangering the mother's life. And I think that the only reason these exceptions exist is due to Republicans getting their collective dick caught in their zipper and not because they care about women.

Ayn Rand Paul Ryan wants to turn Medicare into a voucher program during which seniors would receive a fixed subsidy. If costs go up, those seniors would be forced to foot the bill, but since they're probably not working, there's no telling where that money is expected to come from.

This guy is the champion of COMPANIES. "Corporations are people too, my friend." When was the last time a corporation had to explain to their kids why they had to make concessions at Christmas time. Never saw a corporation starve or get foreclosed on. What makes you think that if he's looking out for Chase, Marriott & Bank of America now that it'll suddenly change tomorrow?

And to be fair, it isn't that rosy on the other side of the ballot.

Four years ago, I voted for a guy who promised to be the exact opposite of what I'd seen from the President for the last eight years. What I got was someone somewhere in the middle of the road. I can appreciate his efforts to provide healthcare to everyone. I can appreciate the fact that he wishes to help out the middle class and seems to actually care. 

What I can't appreciate are robot planes blowing up houses full of people to get one person. The way the debate is skewed is, "Would you rather we send people over to potentially die?" It's a catch-22. I come from a military family so asking someone just like me to be okay with their father risking his life to execute a mission is hard. But I also can't gel with someone innocently being at the wrong place at the wrong time and there not even being a second thought about all of the collateral damage.

Secondly, this campaign has been in full swing for a minute. Other than enlisting Jay-Z to perform with him in Ohio, how has Obama reached out to the black voters? He didn't show up to the NAACP Convention; he sent Joe. Even Mitt had time to show up to the convention [although he did so to even further polarize the political scene.] Dude's been in all through the midwest and swing states. I guess since we're your base and you expect us to vote for you regardless, you don't have to directly address the community? Calling into the Tom Joyner Morning Show doesn't directly count. [I'm literally laughing that that article is called "The Big Chief Calls Home"]. I'm not expecting Obama to be "our" president, but I am expecting for him to address problems unique to our community.

I guess that's why I voted for him again. Call me a glutton for punishment if you'd like. I'd like to think that I'm investing in the future. Not just for myself but for everyone. There's a three-year-old in my life that I want to be able to enjoy life to the fullest. I want her to be able to get a great education and not be forced to settle for a subpar educational system because of where she lives. I want her to be able to make her own mind about what she does with her body and not be treated like a second class citizen because she doesn't have a Y chromosome.

People are out braving the cold rain in my city to cast their votes. People in New York and New Jersey are voting despite not having power or not having a home anymore. This is important. Don't let anyone convince you otherwise. It's easy to be cynical about politics and not vote. But if you don't vote and things go to shit, you're effectively advocating that. Advocating hate. Advocating fear. Advocating division. I can't be part of that.

I guess what I'm trying to say is...go vote.

[practicingprose]

Gettin' Grown [Happy 25th]

Today is my 25th Birthday.

Damn. It’s crazy how quickly time flies. The concept of time completely changes as soon as the structure provided by grade school is no longer there. Once the ball is in your court, the clock starts ticking. Moments that you thought took place a year ago were actually 5. Younger siblings grow with or without you looking. Without noticing it, you grow. You change.

In my mind, I’m not too far removed from the kid that I used to be. The kid that shut out the world’s ills with a thick book or by blasting music. The kid who was satisfied with himself no matter the situation. My…how things have changed.

It’s not that I’m dissatisfied with myself these days. I’m unsure of myself. I’m at the crossroads right now. Decisions I’m on the verge of making could change the course of my life dramatically. I guess its the vanity in me to think that no one at any point of their life had to make decisions. As much as I may forget, I am not alone. Fear of failing is strong as a mug though.

Cause I wanna be free, completely free Lord won't you please come and save me I wanna be free, totally free I'm not gon' let this world worry me

Goodie Mob [Free]

But fuck that. If no one else, who can I rely on to get things done right? Myself. Growing have doesn't mean changing who you are as a person; it can make you better without having to sacrifice what makes you you. 

I used to have the prevailing thought that I might not have been able envision myself making it to this age. After thinking about it, I realize that I just didn't see what I was supposed to be doing at that time. It's my destiny. My decisions shape it and it is mine to make. I have to believe that anything I'm doing with my heart in and good intentions, God will bless as long as I have faith in Him as well as myself.

Hey, Lord I know I'm not here to stay But thanks for wakin' me up today Prepare me for what may come my way Say, young man, there's no need to cry Because I know you will get by Look your destiny in the eye Everyday my heart burns to try You got to walk before you learn to fly And we all got to earn to die

Cee-Lo [Gettin' Grown]

I can't act as if I don't make mistakes. There were times where I was participating in wildness. I was fortunate enough that I got out of it however it may have been. People have had my back through thick and thin. While I may inquire about and respect their opinions, decisions I make are my own. [Being objective, at times I've had difficulties assessing what decision someone else should make without knowing all of the factors, brevity of the differing potential decisions, having some sort of personal bias, etc.] Its up to me to weigh the various factors that ultimately will dictate my future. 

The ability to get back up and on the right track is key. It won't be a cakewalk to get where I want to be. The only thing I do to avoid feeling like I'm in over my head is to take it step by step. Like fighting inertia on the hamster wheel, my decision to stop merely "running the race" was the first step to pursuing something more. 

All I can ensure is that if I want to achieve something, I'm going to go for it. I know myself better than anyone in the world. Confidence in one's abilities is a gift that comes from being able to see your potential work toward it. I have to realize that, even through missteps, I've kept trucking. Why would that stop now? Through the highs and lows of the life I've lived, I ironed out the life I want to live.

Resolved. I shouldn't doubt myself because through all of the static and interference, I know what I can do and will base my decisions upon such information. 

I may just be figuratively rambling at myself in the mirror though.

I got this here.

Big K.R.I.T. [I Got This]

[capns-log]

Sophisticated Ignorance: Revisiting Justice

911: Are you following him?

Zimmerman: Yeah.

911: Ok. We don’t need you to do that.

With the release of the 911 tapes from the night of Feb. 26, it has become apparent to those listening to the chilling audio that George Zimmerman was aggressively pursuing Trayvon Martin the night he killed him. 

Only through the filter of following the law to the “T” could one come to the conclusion that George Zimmerman could possibly get off scott-free for taking the life of a young man. 

The actual law in question is Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law. Stating that citizens have the right to shoot if they feel that they’re in danger, it gives a broad spectrum under what it constitutes as self-defense. On today’s “Starting Point” with Soledad O’Brien, CNN Senior Analyst Jeffery Toobin said that the law makes it so that “if you’re hit with a fist, you can reply with a gun.”

My question is, how can someone who pursued another individual consequently causing a confrontation then claim that they felt that they were in danger? Is the color of a man’s skin as dangerous as the loaded gun Zimmerman was carrying? Let’s not forget that Zimmerman got out of his car to confront Trayvon, who was mere feet from his destination: home.

For now, let’s take the racial aspect out of the situation. A young man was killed after being pursued for doing nothing but walking home. Fight or no fight, a boy was killed. That’s enough grounds to at least hold someone in custody until an investigation either clears their name or proves them to be at fault for the death.

Not only was Zimmerman allowed to return home that night, he wasn’t even tested for drug or alcohol usage that night. Some experts even state that they can hear Zimmerman slurring words on the 911 tape where he called in to report a “suspicious person.” The drug/alcohol test is routinely done during a homicide investigation.

Does that scream racism? No. Not by a long shot. What it shows is a gross negligence on the part of the Sanford Police Department. When you also factor in an account of a witness claiming that when they described Trayvon screaming for help, an officer of the law corrected them and told them that they heard Zimmerman asking for assistance. 

Feeling like the police are protecting Zimmerman rather than thoroughly trying to provide justice for Trayvon. That’s part of the reason his parents have asked the FBI to step in. The other part has everything to do with race.

In the Black community, there’s the long standing feeling that the police are not acting in our best interests. This cannot always be true. But…the times where they’re genuinely trying to help solve crimes that happen in our neighborhoods are continuously outweighed by situations where murders go unsolved or even go on without a proper investigation. 

Add to that the fact that racial profiling exists. A disproportionate stake in the prison population. Black people in certain areas and the police have the same relationship as citizens of occupied countries and the occupying Army have. This has inspired the “Stop Snitchin’” campaign which is presented as a community solving its own problems but is actually a vehicle that perpetuates crime not being reported out of fear. [More on this later.]

And then the media…

Mediaite’s Frances Martel says:

Several reasons exist for the divide in black and white media regarding how they approach this story. For one, the reasons for Martin’s death necessitate an understanding of racism that only black people—particularly black men—fully understand. As a white Latina, I can say, without a doubt, that no one looks at my skin (or my name, for that matter) and feels fear. I can understand bringing that out in people for immutable traits— I know what it’s like to forget I’m in a rural place and speak Spanish, prompting bad service at a store or “this town is going to Hell” comments from locals. I know what it’s like to see your dad stopped by a cop for having a mustache. But, for the most part, no one knows I’m not “the right kind” of white without an extra clue. People like me don’t have to deal with “it,” usually. Given that my family barged into the American history narrative almost a decade after the Civil Rights Act passed, they likely could have avoided dealing with it had they been here, too.

Trayvon Martin, like so many “suspicious-looking” young black males with similar fates, did not have that luxury. No one can hide his or her skin color and, in the context of vigilante violence, the false threat of black skin is a uniquely black male problem. That doesn’t mean that those who have not experienced it cannot see why it is so obviously troublesome, nor does it exonerate non-black people from the responsibility of demanding a more just legal system that sends a clear enough message that murders like Martin’s are so unacceptable that they will, for the most part, go away. That lack of joint responsibility may be the single most troubling part of this story.

When Caylee Anthony disappeared, Nancy Grace almost single-handedly decided for us that this was America’s Problem. For a good year, this was America’s Problem. This was America’s Problem despite the fact that, by the time Caylee’s mother was arrested and acquitted, there really wasn’t anything anyone could do about it. Black media leaders had to cover Casey Anthony’s trial, too. And Joran Van Der Sloot’s. And Amanda Knox‘s. The lack of reciprocity, particularly in cases with black victims, is stark and needs to be addressed.

When I wrote my final paper in my Journalism Methods & Theory class, it was about racism. I came to find out that some whites don’t see something as racist unless it is outright so. I challenge Caucasian people everywhere to this: Instead of seeing racism as just a person calling a black guy a “nigger,” realize that there is also a systematic approach as well. Look out the neighborhoods, schools, services [or lack thereof], or job options that we have available to us. Know that if they’re lacking, its not because we chose to live in crime-ridden areas or places where the school are failing their students. Know that its like that for a reason. As much as there is overt racism, there are also covert manifestations of racism.

This comment stood out to me on the Orlando Sentinel’s storyon the situation.

Sorry, Darryl, you’re publishing to the unwashed mass on this forum. They don’t understand. They won’t understand. They can’t understand.

History provides no bearing for the unwashed, therefore history has no bearing on cultural development of any nationality, society, or race. Your examples are merely opening of old wounds which bear not in the least on today’s world events.

It is sad, but ignorance is the root of racism, and we’re still awash in both - ignorance and racism.

Frankly, publishing your premise - a premise forwarded by a black journalist - should have been a wonderful opportunity for white citizens to delve into your even deeper understanding of the black community, but that was not to be. Truly regretful.

The truth; it is simply much easier for us white folks to shirk any responsibility, move right on down the same road, doing the same old same old, all the while expecting different results. Forget black slavery, forget all of history, forget white inhumanity regarding our treatment of blacks in this, the Land of The Free. The Emancipation Proclamation seems to have set us white folks free as well.

Certainly the negative noise level found on this forum is not indicative of the general readership of the Sentinel. In that light, you will have reached many whom understand what you intended. I did and I thank you you for it.

GingerTop gets it.

As for other comments about “Where was the outrage when …. happened?” It’s like this. If the community stands idle while George Zimmerman sits free, they’d be condoning his actions. If nothing is said about the unjust killing of a young man, it’d be like a starter pistol to those who have been searching for a reason to kill our already endangered male population. 

I’ve got younger cousins that are in the same age group as Trayvon. Lord willing, I’m going to raise a young black man one day. I don’t want them to have the same fear of being at the wrong place at the wrong time that I have; thinking that if I’m leaving work or home at an inopportune time that I could “fit a description.” In order to change the situation, you have to speak up at some time. The time is now.

[practicingprose]

On Justice

When 17-year-old Travyon Martin decided to make a quick run to 7/11, he asked his little brother what he wanted from the store. His brother told him that he wanted Skittles. Who would have fathomed that this would be the last exchange that the pair would have?

While returning home from the store, Martin was spotted by a resident in his father’s gated community in Sanford, Fl. 911 was called an alerted to a suspicious person by George Zimmerman, leader of the neighborhood watch. By the time the police arrived to the scene, the teenager was dead from a single gunshot wound to the chest.

This incident occurred on February 26th. To date, Zimmerman has not been charged with the murder of the teen. "Lack of evidence," is the official reasoning that the Sanford Police Department has given as to why Zimmerman, the only other person involved in the situation, hasn't been charged. 

Why? 

Zimmerman called the police when he saw a suspicious person in the gated community. We're not going to avoid the 600-pound elephant in the room. Zimmerman thought Trayvon Martin was suspicious because he was a black teenager walking around after dark. Why would Martin not think he could walk to the store and back home without being questioned? His father lived there. 

Global Grind, who spoke to the family's lawyer, Ben Crump feared that Zimmerman would be allowed to walk by claiming self-defense despite likely going against police orders

Crump said the family was concerned that police might decide to consider the shooting as self defense, and that police have ignored the family's request for a copy of the original 911 call, which they think will shed light on the incidents.

Family spokesman Ryan Julison said:

"If the 911 protocol across the country held to form here, they told him not to get involved. He disobeyed that order." 

Its being reported that there was an altercation. When you have an overzealous Neighborhood Watch captain [for all intensive purposes, he can be imagined as the aggressive rent-a-cop at the mall] and a young man who believes he's in no way wrong for walking to the store.

Any way you look at the situation, Zimmerman was wrong. Wrong for assuming that a black man was out of place in his community. Wrong for calling the police. Wrong for not following the instruction that the police likely gave him. Wrong for confronting the kid. Wrong for getting into a fight with him. And definitely wrong for shooting him in the chest.

This can't simply swept under the rug. A young man is dead because of this guy's actions. To do anything but charge the man with murder is perpetuating the thought that a black man's life is expendable. What kind of message is that to send to young men every where? What kind of message is that to send to young Chad Martin? For him to know that his brother just went to grab an Arizona & some skittles and ended up dead and the man who killed him is potentially getting off scot-free?

Rest in Peace, Trayvon Martin. We will not let this go.

[practicingprose]

On The Religious Persecution of Muslims

The reason that the pioneers of this country set out from England was to establish settlements free from the King and Church of England's scrutiny over their religious beliefs. Its a shame that at a time that presidential candidates are claiming to be more like their forefathers, they're acting more like the old country's king. The Crustades continue...

It recently came to light that the NYPD used money given to them by the Obama & Bush administration to monitor Muslim communities in the northeast. Yes, that means that a city police department went outside of their jurisdiction to keep tabs on people solely because of their religious background. O.o 

How can actions by the police department be applauded by NYC's Mayor Bloomberg? Sure, it was horrible that the 9/11 attacks occurred and that the devastation has changed the lives of New Yorkers forever. Does that mean that from now on, all people of Muslim faith or Middle Eastern descent should be tracked due to the actions of extremists?

I -- like every other American who was old enough to grasp the brevity of the attacks-- remember where I was on that fateful day. Here we are 9 years later and I, personally, feel like many injustices have [and are] been/been carried out instead of actively pursuing the factions that were actually behind what happened. An entire religion is not to blame.

Add to the fact that recently, after Qurans were burned in Afghanistan by American soldiers, people took to the streets to protest. Unfortunately, the protests have turned violent. Military leaders have all but shirked taking responsibility for the gaffe and tried to frame the protesters as violent people.

If we've learned anything from the 2005 incident where a Danish newspaper included an illustration of the prophet Muhammed among its political cartoons, it's Muslims do not play when it comes to their religion.

Violent mobs took to the streets in the Middle East. A Somali man even broke into the cartoonist's house in Denmark with an ax

The fact that the Taliban is trying to capitalize on the incident to incite even more anger at America isn't surprising. It's not like we have a great track record with the Afghan people. We've been occupying their country for 10 years much to their dismay. It doesn't take much to piss them off and we went for the all-time high score.

When President Obama apologized to Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai for the incident, he was criticized. I'm going to hold off on my thoughts about anyone attempting to chomp off the leader of the free world for another peace [Politricks as Usual], but there has to be something said about the people vying to the chance to lose test their political mettle against Barack Obama in this year's presidential election.

To claim that because the act wasn't deliberate, it doesn't deserve be apologized for, Rick Santorum, you prove to the American people that if we elect you, it'll be like putting a feeder fish into a shark tank. For Newt Gingrich to call Obama an appeaser--when realistically, [along with strides for peace,] he's continued the previous administration's practices for pissing off the Middle East [Attack of the Drones, anyone?]--is straight pandering for anything to attack the president on.

Kirsten Powers does a great job of taking the GOP to task for their attacks.

Back to New York. While followers of the Islamic faith were marching in the streets against the Danish newspapers in 2005, The mosque attenders here that the NYPD were secretly keeping tabs on were calling for peaceful boycotts. 

"They're viewing Muslims like they're crazy. They're terrorists. They all must be fanatics," said Abdul Akbar Mohammed, the imam for the past eight years at the Masjid Imam Ali K. Muslim in Newark. "That's not right."

To be fair, acts of terrorism across the world have been carried out by Christians of caucasian descent for hundreds of years. When does that investigation begin?

[practicingprose]

On Faith...

Sometimes you just don't have a logical explanation for things. A lot of people want to attribute some occurrences to to chance. However, if you examine some things, even down to the molecular level, you couldn't find a "real" explanation for it.

Why is it so hard to believe that a higher power has some influence over our lives? In my mind, I ask how could you not believe? My purpose here is not preach or convert atheists into believers but to provide my thoughts on faith--a testimony, if you will.

Faith is sometimes not definitely knowing something will happen, but believing that it will.  That may be hard for many people to do: giving up having complete control over a situation. But really, outside of your actions, what situation do you have complete control over? You can't control circumstances. You can't control people. [Which is why they say you shouldn't put your faith into other people, as they're sure to let you down, but I believe that you should believe in people until they give you reason not to. A person can do much better knowing that someone believes in them than not. Have faith in your kids. They will prosper in school. Have faith in your loved ones. That phone call will come.]

What you can control is your thinking. You might not know how you can make it to payday at the end of the week with an empty tank. All you can do is think positively and ask for help some how. There is as much a chance you will somehow receive a blessing and get a little closer to your goal as there is that you'll run out of gas and be stuck. And even if that were to happen, there still may be something in the works so that you won't miss work. That's why there's the saying that, He might not come when you want him to, but he's always right on time.

A month after I graduated college, I was in a rough place. I had a degree; no job. When it came time for my rent to be paid, I had most of it due to my former boss doing me a favor [Something completely out of her character and an instance where I see that He worked through someone around me.]. I was exactly $100 short. I had already asked for an extension and the due date was coming up. Each day I woke up racking my brain as to how I was going to be able to stay in my apartment. 

One day I was on my way downtown to hang out and something told me to check my mail. I was 23 and lived alone, nothing came in the mail except for bills and junk ads. For whatever reason I went to check the mail. In it was a card from the neighbors of my grandparents. When I went home, I waved and spoke, but we were never particularly close. The card by itself was an awesome gesture. The $100 bill that fell out of it as I opened it was a blessing.

I had never been a religious person coming up. I barely went to church. I felt like when I prayed for something and it didn't happen, that was just cause not to do so anymore. As I got older, this behavior continued. Believing that I was in control of my life. I never took the time to think about all of the times I drove around the city in the pouring rain with no windshield wipers and actually made it home. I never took the time to think of the times that my friends and I were too drunk to be driving home from a party but made it. I lived in a rough neighborhood for a while and literally saw shootouts and people's homes be broken into but was kept safe from that.

When you think of the world we're living in today where people are so desperate for money or clout that they'll rob, steal and kill without a second though, every day that you're breathing is a gift. Anything could happen at any moment. Personally, I'd rather live as if there is a God than not and die and realize I was wrong. 

The song below is indicative of how deep this thought resonates through not only me, but other people who might not be in the best of places in their life--yet. And it's dope music. What else could you ask for?