Slim palm trees stretch outward like fingers, but those, as spectacular as they are, aren’t what I’m interested in seeing. My tío has a banana tree that he harvests annually, and a special place packed with mysteries and natural wonders my tío chose to cultivate and preserve. At least, that’s what I’ve conjured whenever thinking about it. I’ve only seen it through photos; one with my nephew beaming with his straw jíbaro hat on as he prepared to discover the secrets locked within it for himself.

I remember dreaming about finally visiting them, seeing the majesty of El Yunque, hearing the melodic songs of the coquí that are almost indistinguishable from birds, seeing the shores of Puerto Mosquito glow brighter than neon lights while an ocean of stars shimmers above it every night in reciprocation. I feel my skin tingle as the tides tickle my feet, the first time I’ve ever touched water in years since the onset of my Epilepsy. I have no fear of drowning from a seizure as I swim through the currents, for I’m one with them; I become a mermaid, a child of Yemaya Herself, returning to my home.

I remember dreaming about the air’s stickiness, a mist that permeates it in the rainforests like a curtain, and waterfalls pouring through walls of moss-covered stone that towers above me in the shape of a cul-de-sac; foliage peppers its mountains and I imagine it’s an Impressionist painting. Then, I notice something moving in the trees, but it’s just a small gang of parrots with feathers evergreen like the canopy they’re perched within. My eyes never grow tired of seeing them.

I remember dreaming about visiting Cabo Rojo and Las Salinas with my cousins; giant dunes of salt are taller than any buildings dotted around them. There are lagoons there with rosy, crystalline water that reflects the clouds hovering above; the sky bleeds into its surface. I hear thousands of birds travel here, feasting upon shrimp in its mangrove swamps, and make it a point to observe them for myself. Fuck the gentrified tourist resorts; these natural wonders are the true marvels.

I remember dreaming about Loíza; there’s a building there painted in the likeness of the Puerto Rican flag, and countless others in barrios with murals on them. A sea of Black faces in myriad shades abounds here. Vejigantes in brilliant, dynamic costumes with intimidating trickster masks are present at a festival taking place. If my health ever improves and my Meniere’s diminishes, I’ve often thought about trying to become one. As an Afrolatin@, this place is especially important to me, because it, like many places in Puerto Rico, proclaims that our nation is just as Black as it is “Brown”.

I remember dreaming of Museo El Cemi in Jayuya, rife with histories and narratives preserved within a building carved like the idols of its namesake; Taíno hieroglyphs chiseled into la piedra escrita; portraits hewn in stone that remind me of the people whose presence is indelible in this space. It’s even named after a Cacique, like many of our nation’s places were: Hayuya. They, however, are not the only ones whose presence is felt in this municipality; a bombing occurred here. A revolution that could’ve been is woven into every street corner. Yet, there are some, it seems, who’ve forgotten it.

I remember dreaming of San Cristobal in Old San Juan, a fort centuries old that overlooks the sea. An old, ivory church is also found here, although I’d never visit beyond the sentimental. Instead, I find myself traveling past colonial walls and obscured pathways into La Perla while I sip juice from a coconut. This place has history as well; freedmen and other non-whites were once forced to live here, segregated from the rest of the city, and that legacy shows. It took a music video beloved internationally for people to actually care about it, and even then their interest is questionable. But that’s another story.

I remember my prima showing us an aerial photo of La Parguera in Lajas, covered in greenery that buried the town adjacent it. Then, I remember Maria, that wraith of a hurricane that stripped the region bare. All I saw were demolished trees amongst the soil and a town pummeled by it; nothing was spared.

I remember hearing that Aguadilla was “destruida”; wondering if my relatives in Caguas and other places were okay, many of which were flooded; homes without roofs being subjected to seemingly endless rain; ICUs failing in hospitals, many of which, like the rest of the island, lost power; nights without the Coquí­ to comfort us with their songs. The military and FEMA neglectingour people, despite claims otherwise; mothers without milk to feed their children; disaster Capitalism rearing its head.

Of course, there was also the legion of outraged articles written by people that claimed to care about Puerto Ricans, but did not care for our brethren in the rest of the Carib. They were amazed by diet-Underwood’s indifference, but we’d long known him to be despicable. They claimed to care about the Jones Act, but did not care about the people holding our infrastructure hostage. But these are their stories, not ours. This was not my dream.

My tía and tío have a home in Aguadilla. I’ve often dreamt about it since my childhood. In my dream it has finally been restored — we’ve even planted new banana trees — although it is forever changed. All of the island is. We reported, reimagined, and revived our community. We refused to allow our oppressors to tell our narratives for us. We survived, like we always do.

I walk beaches barefooted for the first time in many years, cherishing every grain of sand that sticks to them. They will not be privatized; they will always be free. I admire the sound of the coquí in the forests at night, the timeless music and voice of the Eggún heard in Ifa drumming sessions; the looks of approval my relatives give when eating my handmade pasteles and arroz con gandules — not to forget the recaíto I made just for them. I may or may not be enjoying my prima’s coquito.

The Union’s military will never have a presence here again, and any aid they offer will be at our discretion. A board of robber barons we did not elect will no longer close down our schools or slash healthcare and the minimum wage for the employed; the police will not operate like a mob in low-income, predominantly Black communities, more will accept those like me who are LGBT, and the politicians obsessed with assimilating to further their destructive Capitalist interests will no longer have a chokehold in the political conversation.

I remember dreaming that this place will not be a colony, a “Commonwealth”, nor a state. It will not even be Puerto Rico. It will be the nation it was meant to be, with a name its people once gave it. It will be the Land of the Noble and Valiant. It will be Borikén.

– Mwatuangi

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None has epitomized the “Post-Truth” trend better than Donald Trump, whose debunked claims about seeing thousands cheering on 9/11, Obama planning to accept 250,000 Syrian refugees, Blacks killing 81 percent of white homicide victims, and/or Mexico sending “the bad ones over” have only elicited adoration. A cursory examination of Politifact’s file on Trump reveals a dissertation-worthy habit of mythmaking, and he’s only getting more popular, with a mind-boggling 36 percent approval rating among Republicans, according to a recent poll. Now consider that this mogul has never held an office in politics, yet continues to be taken seriously on matters of gov’t policy. And he’s not the only one.

Instead of integrity in politics, we’re witnessing a cultural zeitgeist in which xenophobic propaganda and anti-intellectualism are once again prioritized in favor of protecting the status quo. “Telling it like it is”, no matter how oxymoronic in retrospect, overrides personal accountability. Anyone who disagrees is simply being “PC” or afraid to be responsible for their actions. Throw cries of “censorship” in there somewhere in addition to tired lines about Respectability Politics and what assassinated Civil Rights leaders would do, as well as the occasional token spokesperson for ___ community, and you’ll cover the gist of their mentality.

This era of Post-Truth, of naked lies and fanatical narratives, is why we can have a woman deliberately lie in a viral video about Planned Parenthood and use “liberal bias” as a scapegoat when she’s criticized after a terrorist attack. It’s why Trump, whose modus operandi borders on pathological, can continue to magick facts from thin air without consequences. It’s why All Lives Matter but Black ones.

I read the stories about Trump et al daily, watch clips of his outrageous antics, and mull the articles published by major sites, featuring so-called intellectuals pondering why — without a single shred of irony — the GOP has two serious candidates with nil political savvy. I smile when they lament the obvious ineptitude of Carson or his wife’s cringe-worthy singing voice. I may have even cracked a joke once about how Cruz’s erasable pen was a metaphor for his presidential campaign (hint: they smudge easily, and always leave a nasty mark). Beneath all of the gossip and the outrage; beneath the satirical memes and skits; beneath the commentary from critics awestruck by the bigotry, my reaction remains the same:

So fucking what?

Or, as the saying goes in pop culture, “water is wet.”

Any person of color is aware that we live in a society openly hostile toward us. We’ve long known that one’s proximity to whiteness and heteronormative ethos is often the difference between a mass murderer being labeled a“troubled loner” and a 12-year-old being mistaken for 20. We’ve mourned the likes of Hadiya Pendelton and others lost to needless violence, whose deaths have been exploited to excuse state-sanctioned killings. We’ve protested for the Grants, the Boyds, and the Circle Bears, and watched the media put their lives on trial after their deaths. A single flaw merits our execution, and even those ruled “innocent” by the Court of Public Opinion are buried underneath the next hot topic: Drake memes and/or Bryant’s basketball legacy.

The “Truth” has only mattered when it protected the interests of the system that allowed or enabled these atrocities to happen. It’s why the public is largely silent about the Holtzclaw case, with some even insinuating that all of the women raped by him are somehow lying. It’s why the mentally ill, despite being more likely to harm themselves or be victims of violence, are routinely thrown under the bus in conversations about gun control. It’s why a segment of people continue, in the face of legions of evidence, to believe that President Obama is a Muslim sleeper agent that was never born in Hawai’i.

It’s why people can pass bills policing a woman’s body based on well-documented falsehoods. It’s why we have a flagrant racist — and mediocre president — on our 20 dollar bill and a holiday devoted to a man who murdered countless of my Native ancestors when he “discovered” us. It’s why we haven’t even had a semblance of equal rights for a century despite slavery being “so long ago”. It’s why my father’s homeland is a colony whose infrastructure is being sold to the highest bidder. This country has long been plagued by false narratives. The folks surprised have simply had the privilege of never having to challenge them.

So what the hell does Donald Trump have to do with this?

In academia, there’s a habit we have as far as woo and pseudoscience is concerned; we ignore it. Wasting one’s time to debunk some troll obsessed with conspiracies about the powers of melanin and pineal glands, or more popularly, Young Earth Creationism, lends credence to their ridiculous claims. We know, as people aren’t monolithic, that there will always be a segment of people who believe with an unflinching fervor that Muslims are inherently terrorists, that the poor are mostly lazy welfare queens and crack addicts, or that the mere presence of Queer folk signifies the erasure of straight people. We also know that no amount of criticism or lengthy treatises on the deception of Trump and his ilk will halt his rise as a cultural signifier of the very privilege and oppression minorities have battled since the Union’s inception.

So we fight and we protest, even despite the violence and ugliness laid bare in the political climate. We shout that Black Lives do matter, and move to challenge the system that created a society where our lives don’t. We check the people claiming to be our allies when they get out of pocket, and we welcome those who are willing to listen. We roast the caricatures clearly being used to patronize us, and we persevere by keeping the memories of those we love and/or have lost to state-sanctioned violence alive. We admire the progress made for marriage equality, yet honor Islan Nettles, Fred Martinez, and the myriad neglected transwomen murdered or jailed for defending themselves.

We don’t, however, play the Trump card. We’ve long known his playbook, and he’s not the first to use it. It’s high time people remembered that.

– Levon DeMarquis Valle

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NEW YORK — Bill Cosby’s legal team is not going to take it anymore. Last week, a new public face appeared in Monique Pressley, defending the once-beloved comic performer now beleaguered by allegations of sexual assault from dozens of women. The Washington, D.C-based attorney, whose specialties include civil litigation, became the main legal spokesperson after a…

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LOS ANGELES — Defying dire predictions about health insurance rate shock across the country, California’s Obamacare exchange negotiated a 4 percent average rate increase for the second year in a row. The modest increase for 2016, announced Monday, may be welcome news for many of the 1.3 million Californians who buy individual policies through the state…

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I have seen so many people awaken over the last few months and weeks.  A realization that we must “do something” to address persisting issues within aspects of our criminal justice and law enforcement systems.  Many are awakening from a period of complacency.  The disillusionment and feeling of despair comes from pulling back the shutters and seeing the magnitude of a problem long forgotten. Others simply remain in denial with their heads buried in the sand.  While others have never missed a beat, continuing to plug along fighting the good fight no matter how small the reward.  There has been some change in circumstances but at the same time failure to continue to hold those in positions of authority accountable, has exacerbated the challenges we were already facing. The 24/7 news cycle and social media just helps us put the magnitude into perspective.  Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr have become an organizer’s dream.  The Hashtag has allowed hundreds, even thousands, to show solidarity and share the message.

Instead of understanding why people feel the need to collaborate and stand together, there are those that choose to antagonize and be divisive.  People who push back at a need to stress how or why “Black Lives Matter” fail to understand the systemic issues which have allowed for black people to be continuously subjugated in multiple venues.  This isn’t whining, or disruption of “good” Americans. People are taking a stand and demanding this country live up to its promises of Liberty and Justice for All.  A country that was founded on the premise that individuals were entitled to live free from tyranny of the oppressor, cannot now turn its back on that basic right. Calling for accountability and reform among law enforcement and the criminal justice system is not synonymous with being against those two entities.  A person can be in favor of reform and also respect the law.  They are not mutually exclusive.  Yesterday’s ambush and murder of two unsuspecting NYPD officers was tragic.  No sane person would wish that on any family.  Likewise no sane person would equate exercising the rights of freedom of speech and peaceful assembly, cornerstones of our democracy, with murdering police officers or any other member of law enforcement.  People are frustrated, and tired of continued abuses of civil liberties and constitutional rights.  However, no matter how angry or frustrated we may feel, violence is never the answer.  Neither is overgeneralization.  It is time we take the braces of our brains and think about what is at stake for our democracy.

As the so-called bastion of democracy and human rights, we must take care of the persisting issues that continue to pop up in our communities.  Saying “Black Lives Matter” does not equate to hate.  Self-determination is not now, nor has it ever been a call for acts of terror.  The point has been to raise awareness of how Black people are disproportionately subjugated to gestapo style tactics which fly in the face of the very law our “protectors” allegedly serve.  If serve and protect is the motto, how can one advocate for all-out war on the masses?  If you swear to uphold the laws of this land, how can you be against freedom of speech and the right to peaceful assembly?   The founders placed a high premium on freedom of speech and the right to peaceful assembly.  And we need to continue to exercise those rights while simultaneously advancing dialogue along a clear and thoughtful course of sustainable action.  Saying that police need to be held accountable for abuse of power and brutality does not mean their lives and good work in the community do not matter to us.

All over the internet people are throwing around phrases like “race war” and “race baiting.”  Even allegedly reputable cable news outlets have engaged in this unsavory behavior.   Any fringe entities advocating violence of this nature have been renounced time and time again.  Even indulging in chants advocating violence at otherwise peaceful protest should be shunned.  It deters from the overall message.  This isn’t a movement that is anti-police.  Like with any grouping of diverse individuals, there can be factions with different beliefs.  Regardless of our differences in ideology, there need to be basic rules of engagement to protect the overall message.  Conversely, the reaction to the tragic killings of Officers Wenjin Liu and Rafael Ramos is unbalanced in comparison to killings of officers by white anti-government/anti-police individuals.  In June 2014, two alleged supporters of Clive Bundy were responsible for the murder of five people, including two police officers in Las Vegas, NV.  In September 2014, a “survivalist” with anti-law enforcement beliefs was apprehended after weeks on the run.  He targeted and murdered one officer in PA.  Police describe him as being dedicated to killing police officers. Or recently in Tallahassee, FL when deputies were ambushed resulting in the death of an officer.  Where were the news pundits and Police Union reps calling for “war”? Just like these incidents are not reflective or indicative of any particular movement, ideology, or brand, neither should the horrific murder of Officers Liu and Ramos be imputed to those across the country pleading for greater accountability.  Saturday’s tragedy is antithetical to everything people are working toward.  We need balance in our approach, restraint, and resolve.  Hate mongering and digging in our heels does nothing but further divide people when we all want the same thing…to return home to our families.

“Good” cops should stand with us and work with local communities nationwide to ensure that everyone regardless of position is playing by the rules.  “Good” cops and their supporters should want to make sure that all laws, including those that protect against abusive and intrusive action by authoritative bodies comports to the constitutional protections provided to us at birth.  If the founders simply sat quiet and let the red coats do whatever they wanted, we would all be drinking high tea and honoring the crown.  We have to remember the values and virtues upon which this country was founded, and not let individual political persuasions derail us from living up to our full potential.   I teach my children to respect authority but to also speak up against injustice and blatantly bad behavior.  When you look back on this moment, will you be able to tell your children and grandchildren you stood on the right side of history?

Reposted with permission of  Anoa J. Changa, Esq  : Hard working mommy trying to make some sense out of the madness in our world.  Inspiring collective action and intellectual development. I hope to contribute insightful information about a variety of issues

The post #BlackLivesMatter : Protest Movements, Reactionary Violence, and Why the Two Should Not Be Confused appeared first on Madness & Reality.

Nashville-Middle TN is home to numerous public and private colleges and universities with thousands of students. Those students are becoming easy picking to a scam that has serious consequences.

“Cracking cards”, with origins in the Southside of Chicago, began creeping down south about a year ago with activity on many campuses around Middle TN. Card crackers start with an innocent question to unsuspecting college students, “Do you want to make easy money fast?” Rarely is there a “no”. They are roped into the ‘quick money, no work’ scam.Students are told to loan the scammer their debit card and PIN to deposit a counterfeit check into their account. The card cracker then goes to another institution like a Check Advance Company and withdraw the funds the next day before the bank returns the check for being counterfeit. Most banks state the process takes about two days.

Students are promised a cut of the money and scripted to tell the bank that their debit card was stolen or lost to justify the amount that was withdrawn from their account. The students get shafted and are not given any of the money. Their account is in the red for the charge back, returned check fees, AND they have committed a serious crime. The amounts deposited are thousands of dollars. College students add even more misery to their life by lying to the bank and feds when they are questioned about the counterfeit checks. Lying to a federal agent can get you more time than the actual crime itself. By the time they do confess up, it is usually too little, too late as they sit staring across the table at bank corporate security, local police, Secret Service, and the FBI.

I have spoken to several parents who have experienced the above dilemma first hand. Most of their stories are very similar and the parents have been left dealing with the possibility that their children they sent off to college, to get an education, are being charged with a felony and facing serious jail time. Several parents are dealing with the financial repercussions of having to pay off the bank debt and the mounting legal fees to help protect any future their son or daughter may have.

Parents are usually blindsided with the news that their adult child participated in a criminal activity when their purpose in life as a college student is to go to SCHOOL. Many stated over and over, “I raised them better than this.” But this is not about how they were raised or judgement of anyone. The reality is, students are putting themselves in situations where they could get a federal sentence longer than a drug dealer or a murder. It is that serious.

Very few college students have thousands of dollars in their checking account. The promise of getting a few hundred dollars for allowing someone to put a bogus check in your personal checking account at an ATM is a temptation that cash strapped students find hard to resist. But not every student is cash strapped. Some are just stupid to put it plainly; easy targets for professional thieves that seek out naive students who are willing to cut corners to buy sneakers.

Most students are met at clubs, intramural sporting events, and over Facebook. Before the card cracker strikes, they sum up who will be a willing participant. Students who want to be accepted by others, loners, and those who are careless with their personal identification are vine ripe for the picking. Some students have been known to have their IDs stolen. Students can be recruited by buddies who were initiated by other members of the card cracking crew. As in other gang recruiting activity, easy to coerce is first choice. Card crackers are usually young black males but card crackers are not exclusive to any race or even age. Young female college students are recruited as well and can rise up the ranks to be mid-level leaders by being the bait to lure college males.

 Another group that has been infiltrated by the cracking card crime industry is the military.Young enlistees are promised a quick buck and they think “what harm” because they are ready to be deployed or move around often. But cracking cards crime travels and usually catches up with a member of the military no matter what part of the world they maybe stationed. This can cause them to lose their rank and they are often prosecuted as well. Being prosecuted for a federal crime as a member of the U.S. Armed Forces could lead to a dishonorable discharge and jail time.

Perplexed and wondering what can be done?

Become educated about cracking cards and spread the word throughout your community. Knowledge is power. Read as much information as possible and talk openly with your children about card crackers. As parents, our children will always be our children. It is a lifetime commitment. Listed below are words of wisdom that several parents shared with me that they wished someone would have shared with them to talk with their adult children.

1. Emphasize that cracking cards is criminal. Discuss this crime with your college bound, current college students, or young adult. No matter what the world may tell us, parents still have influence in their children’s lives. Let them know the dangers of even thinking about it. And share with them real life consequences.

2. Know your college student’s friends. An old saying, You are known by the company you keep, is relevant today. I am an advocate for knowing who is my children lives whether 5 or 25. Sudden friends out of the blue? Remember when we used to ask “Who are your people?” Unusual activities? Friends flashing money? Be watchful and be aware.

3. Ask questions. Nothing is more revealing than asking questions. Too often, parents see things out of the norm but brush it off. Trust your instincts. Did your son or daughter go on a shopping spree and you know they cannot afford the items? An inquiring mind finds answers.

4. Check your college student’s bank records. Keeping tabs on what is deposited and what is withdrawn can help your students to manage their funds better but it also can give you the heads up if there are unusual activities. Be a co-signer on the account.

5. Teach your students the value of having good credit. Once a good name is ruin, it is hard to get it back. Bad credit is costly; higher interest rates, higher insurance premiums and can even cost a student future job opportunities.

6. Gangs are gangs. Parents can easily think that because their adult children escaped being recruited into gangs during their high school years, they can breathe a sigh of relief. Not so fast. Card crackers are gangs. They operated with the same hierarchy and are known to become violent if their livelihood is threaten or they fear their run is about to come to an end.

I believe being aware of threats that hinder building a great community is the best offense. I also believe that criminal activity flourishes when we look the other way or put out heads in the sand as if it does exist. Knowledge is power. Please share this with others.

— Genma Holmes

Genma Holmes is a writer, blogger, and entrepreneur who publishes her work at GenmaSpeaks. You can follow her on Twitter @bugsact. She is a resident of Nashville, TN who writes from the heart as her spirit moves her.

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This ‘other’ was once the  ‘ barbaric Red Indian’, later the ‘commie ‘, and now the ‘terrorist’. Black people on the other hand have always found themselves targeted by this fear of the ‘other’ in the American psyche. Whether it was the propagated image of ‘the black rapist’ after the Civil War in order to justify lynching, to the modern day fear of the black male in a hoodie as a no-good criminal. What a way of repaying those whose labor built America’s infastrcture?

The physical attributes of this modern day ‘other’ are now currently those, which resemble my own personal appearance. Brown skin, beard, Pakistani-born and Muslim heritage. Lady luck must surely like me…

Do individuals exist that wish to harm the West? Yes. Are they capable of doing it at every given turn? Questionable. Forgive me for my cynicism but it is a writer’s passion to question.

Nonetheless, in 2008 when an eloquent, well-spoken State Senator was sworn in to be president of the United States not much seemed far from the norm in terms of his route to power. Except that fact that his father was black and his middle name was Hussein. It was at this point, and thereafter, that the American psyche had to confront its fear of the ‘other’ – how could they not? The ‘other’ was now in their face.

In 2008, at the height of admiration for Obama, 10% of Americans still believed the president to be a Muslim. Fast-forward to after Obama’s ‘honeymoon period’ (a prolonged honeymoon thanks to the work of a Southern cowboy) and another public expression of the American fear of the ‘other’ took place before the watching world.

While driven by the right-wing, a more general ‘fear of the other’ was evoked when, in 2011, the president felt pushed to produce a paper copy of his birth certificate as proof of his American citizenship. This event was not only embarrassing for the ‘leader of the free world’ but also reminiscent of a confused child having its prejudices further inflamed by a cunning adolescent.

What struck me as significant in this fiasco was the fact that the situation turned from a mere conspiracy theory to a full-blown ‘Birther Movement’

Imagine you are being chased and eventually find yourself at a dead end, with the assailant hot on your tail. Your fight-or-flight response kicks in for self-preservation. This is what the ‘Birther Movement’ signifies and reminded me of when I imagine that scenario. Here, suspicion regarding the President’s ‘otherness’ was so severe that at the first given chance some citizens jumped into action and created a movement.

At the same time this form of xenophobia indirectly promoted the ignorant idea that Muslims could never be authentic enough citizens to be worthy of elected roles. They are not ‘one of us’ surely.

This rather broad fear of the ‘other’ works much like a domino effect. For if Obama is an ‘undercover’ Muslim then he surely must be taking America towards Socialism, another of America’s great fears since the Cold War era. The fear became so overt at one point that in 2011 the right wing called for a boycott on one of Obama’s speeches after it was considered to be spreading ‘socialist ideology’. Now it would be common to blame the right-wing for this incident. However, would they be able to create such a circus if, along with general fear-mongering, they couldn’t also tap in to a longstanding apprehension of the ‘other’?

Those of us aware of the President’s actions recognise that Obama is not a Muslim (at least not one who devoutly sympathises with Muslim states), for otherwise he would not drone civilians in Muslim states. Neither is he a socialist for he has furthered the grips of capitalism through his fervent support of big business. Most importantly Obama’s foreign policy promotes terror through the use of terror. Such irony it is for Obama to be called a socialist and a Muslim. The question now is what accusation from the American paranoia surface against Obama next?

-Taimour Fazlani

The post Obama, America, & the fear of the ‘Other’ appeared first on Madness & Reality.

From this do-nothing Congress and puppet of a president, who are all literally playing games with the lives of those they claim to “represent,” to their bought-and-paid-for media parrots and badge-wearing murderers — I think it’s safe to say, white supremacy, deciding whose life matters and whose does not, is enjoying their greatest heyday since Jim Crow.

I’m sure everyone’s seen the video below with Tom Foreman’s noxious, “tremendous amount of training actually, in that circumstance, for police to not fire sooner” commentary.

And if, as you say, she was “truly using the car as a weapon” (same meme used when they murdered Sean Bell), rather than just trying to get the hell out of there — how come she didn’t just mow down ALL those fools who were standing right in front of her?

And tell me Tom, what tremendous amount of training did they have that taught them to fire off seven shots at a fleeing vehicle on a public street with pedestrians obviously present?And don’t say there weren’t any — it was a pedestrian that shot this footage! Please, stop being so patriarchal, trying to frame this tragic incident for the “white gaze.” Some of us can manage to think for ourselves you know!

Words matter, Family. And how they’re used matters even more. As you peruse the links here, I’m certain you’ll see what I mean.

Oh and Tom, about that tremendous amount of training? Guess we, the people will neverreally know how “tremendous” it is since according to this, all the law enforcement folks involved have closed ranks — letting their own foxes guard the henhouse {smdh}:

Brian Leary, a Secret Service spokesman, declined to provide a copy of his agency’s use-of-force or chase policies. Lt. Kimberly Schneider, a spokeswoman for the Capitol Police, did the same.

Leary and Schneider declined to comment on the incident at all, including whether their officers knew that Carey’s 1-year-old daughter was in the car when they fired into it, killing Carey. The toddler was unharmed and is in protective custody as authorities work with Carey’s family to properly place the girl.

The shooting is being investigated by the D.C. police department’s Internal Affairs Division. The Secret Service and Capitol Police will determine whether officers followed their departments’ use-of-force policies. The U.S. attorney’s office will decide whether the agents broke any laws, a D.C. police spokeswoman said.

When I read this stupid piece over at Roll Call, talking about how the Capitol Police were “protecting and serving without pay,” I immediately uttered a few WTFs as I thought, “Protecting & Serving without pay??!! How ’bout MURDERING an unarmed woman with her child in the car without pay??!!”

Disagree if you want, but I don’t, for a second believe, this woman intended to deliberately breach any barriers with malicious intent toward the Changeling or Congress — but it sure was Joseph Clifford Reel’s intent in June of this year! Family, the video at the link is a definite, must-see. I promise you, it leaves no doubt at all about his intent (not posting it here because that’s exactly what he wanted).

Joseph Reel, 32, of KetteringThis 32 year-old white male, purposely rigged his Jeepto breach those same barriers Ms. Carey was accused of trying to breach on Thursday. But, unlike the nothingfound in Ms. Carey’s car, they found 100 rounds of live .45 caliber ammunition; 100 rounds of live .22 caliber ammunition; eight knives of various sizes; two machetes and one hand-held spotting scope, in his Jeep— at the damned scene!!

And again,unlike in Ms. Carey’s home, where they found a letter to her boyfriend which purportedly contained a white powder and discharge papers listing medication for treating schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and an anti-depressant — when they searched HIS home,they found those items over there on the right, which included two handguns (a Glock and a Taurus); a baseball bat with spikes on the barrel; a sword; a spear; two ballistic vests; four hunting knives and a gas mask!

While Reel faces 10 years in jail and fines, at least he’s alive — and his now, seven or eight-month old son will one day get to know him. Not so in either case, for Ms. Carey.

Over at OpEdNews, Rob Kall wrote the interesting and on-point, Another Murder by Police which raised questions that no one in the MSM even saw the need to ask as they blabbed on incessantly as if they actually had an original thought, ie:

…whether this was the right thing to do.
…who gave the orders to shoot to kill.
…what efforts were made to determine whether there were any other passengers, let alone a one year old child, in the car.

He made this very astute observation as well — “Today we live in a police state, where the police, every day, get away with crimes, get away with killing people, usually poor, often black.”

Truer words have never been spoken.

In a nutshell, Mr. Reel’s white life merited a restrained response. But, as usual, they decided —after her car was stopped — Ms. Carey’s Black life did not. Tell me Family, what more will it take for us to recognize that, from top to bottom and from sea to shining sea — we continue pledging allegiance to a nation run, and “protected” by murderers for whom the lives of “Others” are expendable?

[Originally posted at Let’s Be Clear]

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As odd as it may sound, I can fully imagine Miriam Carey’s state of mind when she acted on what has been reported as “delusion” and postpartum depression.

One thing I can state with certainty, as someone who has battled chronic major depression for 20+ years, is medication interactions and incorrect dosages can lead to erratic behavior and mood swings. Often it’s not until weeks of taking a medication that one realizes the odd changes that in no way mirror their true temperament and personality. Upon hearing a news report that Mirian was prescribed both an antidepressant and another med for schizophrenia it all started to make sense.

I’ve taken nearly every medication created to alleviate depressive symptoms, I know how frustrating and seemingly hopeless the process of finding one that “works” with your body chemistry can be. Irrational thoughts, heart palpatations and manic behavior are some of the side effects experienced when seeking relief through medication. Often, just when a medication appears to be effective, one can experience an extreme descent back to a flat-lined furrow.

Many who deal with depression are skillful actors, masking disinterest, a severe lack of energy and an inner emotional rollercoaster. It’s not an exaggeration to say most days are spent dealing with depression in silence. When we keep this condition to ourselves, the changes tend to be seen as an attitude problem, introversion and a myriad of other polished descriptions that are often way off base. The truth is that we desire to wake up with a positive outlook, make the day work in our favor and enjoy the fruits of life….feel what we consider “normal”. Yet, when you’re in a barren valley void of understanding and support, weeks and months may pass before those around you muster up the interest and/or concern to ask how you’re feeling. That’s not to place the blame on others, but to say we have to do a better job at recognizing mood changes, not having a “get over it” reaction and being unafraid to lend a helping hand.

The magnitude of health disparities prevalent among Blacks is overwhelming. Millions of dollars fund research and statistics, yet the core issues remain, we’re over-medicated and under-educated in this area. Thankfully I’ve been able to maneuver the health system maze because of my background (20+ years in the field), but I fully realize there are countless others suffering due to the stigma of 1) acknowledging the need for help and 2) the mere presence of a mental health issue.

I’m sincerely thankful her precious daughter was unharmed and police officers were not mortally wounded, but can’t help but wonder how we failed her. We who, you may ask? We, as a community and nation, have to work towards eliminating the stigma through education amd general openness, remove barriers to accessing mental health services and care enough to reach out when we witness obvious signs of distress.

Will this tragedy be seen as an illogical act or what seems closely akin to suicide? When will we stop judging based on actions and address the core issue of why so many suffer without appropriate clinical treatment and counseling? Something tells me this won’t happen in my lifetime, but I’m determined to take action.

May Miriam’s soul find the peace it could not in the past couple of years.

The post Miriam Carey, Depression, & Mental Health: A Personal Story appeared first on Madness & Reality.

It’s no secret that the FLOTUS does not handle as well as her husband the disrespectful ways in which her family’s been treated while her husband’s been in office. She admitted as much at least three times when she and the POTUS appeared on Oprah last year. Is it possible Sturtz then knew exactly who she was messing with and heckled the first lady hoping to get a rise?

Over at Policymic, feminist activist Laura Rankin has a provocative, well-reasoned post about the first lady’s confrontation with Sturtz. Rankin’s post is entitled “White Lady Heckles Michelle Obama — What Happens Next is Something Black Women Know All Too Well.” And at The Root, Tracy Clayton’s collected tweets from some black folks on Twitter about the incident under the headline “Why heckling Michelle Obama doesn’t pay.” These two writers have pretty much covered all the angles, including how quickly black women, even the FLOTUS, gets slapped with the angry, black woman label, and they’ve linked to others. So, I won’t do a rhetorical analysis here.

Instead, I’ll discuss what occurred to me as I listened to the audio of the exchange between the FLOTUS and Sturtz.

When I found the transcript of her at Whitehouse.gov, I discovered Mrs. Obama had been talking about the plight of black youth at Harper High School on Chicago’s South Side, where she grew up.  Sturtz’s decision to interrupt the speech at that point is worthy of contemplation. Why did she think it was okay to heckle the FLOTUS while the FLOTUS talked about black youth in crisis? Why did Sturtz deem that discrimination against gay people deserved more attention than black children under threat daily, living in communities overridden with drugs, gangs, guns, and murder?

Perhaps Sturtz placed her cause above black children and youth in crisis in American cities because she knows that in this nation she’s destined to assume a higher place. I won’t go so far as to say that she doesn’t give a damn about black youth because I don’t know her, but I do think that if she cared at all about black children–if she didn’t think gay rights in the workplace were more important at that moment than the rights of black children and young people on the streets–then she would not have chosen to heckle the FLOTUS during that particular speech.

I say this as someone who’s helped plan political strategy before and as someone living in New Orleans where we face the same kind of crisis Chicago is facing. Just last month I observed how quickly our problems fade from the headlines. We had a  mass shooting on Mother’s Day. By Monday night, the story had vanished from national news. Such fleeting interest in even a bleeding lead makes me think that not enough powerful, privileged people care what happens to black children and youth in urban communities. But drawing attention to this crisis is personal for me and apparently it is personal for Michelle Obama as well.

I also speak here as someone who thinks there’s nothing wrong with citizens protesting and sometimes heckling officials and as someone who disapproves when one minority is pitted against the other in the battle for Civil Rights and social justice. So, then, you may ask why bring up the words Sturtz chose to interrupt if those words force us to look at race? Why don’t I just applaud Sturtz’s right to heckle and shut up?

Well, I won’t because I can’t. I must recognize the moment Sturtz chose to heckle the FLOTUS because Sturtz failed to recognize the moment herself. She failed to recognize that the moment did not belong her but to those children, and she took their moment because on some level she must know that white privilege, even shielding the body of a gay rights activist, still trumps blackness in America.

Here is what Sturtz cut off:

MRS. OBAMA: Now, Harper is located in one of the toughest neighborhoods in the city, Englewood. You all know Englewood, right? A community that has been torn apart by poverty and hopelessness; by gangs, drugs, and guns.

And that afternoon, I sat down with these 25 students — and these kids were the best and the brightest at that school. The valedictorian, the football star, kids in ROTC. But let me tell you something about the kids at Harper. Every day, they face impossible odds — jobless parents addicted to drugs; friends and loved ones shot before their very eyes.

In fact, when the school counselor asked these young men and women whether they had ever known any who had been shot, every single one of those students raised their hand. So she then asked them, “What do you think when the weather forecast says ’85 and sunny?’” Now, you would assume that nice weather like that, a beautiful day like today, would be a good thing. Not for these kids. They replied that a weather report like that puts fear in their hearts, because in their neighborhood, when the weather is nice, that’s when gangs come out and the shootings start.

So, see, for these wonderful kids, instead of reveling in the joys of their youth — college applications and getting ready for prom and getting that driver’s license — these young people are consumed with staying alive. And there are so many kids in this country just like them -– kids with so much promise, but so few opportunities; good kids who are doing everything they can to break the cycle and beat the odds. And they are the reason we are here tonight. We cannot forget that. I don’t care what we — they, those kids, they are the reason we’re here.

And today, we need to be better for them. Not for us — for them. We need to be better for all of our children, our kids in this country. Because they are counting on us to give them the chances they need for the futures they deserve. (Applause.)

So here’s the thing — we cannot wait for the next presidential election to get fired up and ready to go. We cannot wait. Right now, today, we have an obligation to stand up for those kids. And I don’t care what you believe in, we don’t —

AUDIENCE MEMBER: (Inaudible.)

MRS. OBAMA: Wait, wait, wait. One of the things —

AUDIENCE MEMBER: (Inaudible.)

MRS. OBAMA: One of the things that I don’t do well is this. (Applause.) Do you understand? (Applause.) One of the things — now —

(Inaudible audience interruption.)

The FLOTUS finished her speech, calling for more gun safety laws and reminding listeners that voters should be active in every election not just the presidential election.

Sturtz must know that she possesses a level of privilege that escapes Mrs. Obama even as First Lady of the United States. If nothing else, Sturtz’s outburst and the way she discusses its aftermath show that white privilege blinds and deafens its beneficiaries. She couldn’t see or hear the emotion pouring through Michelle Obama in that moment of her speech. Consequently, Sturtz failed to identify with the very people the gay community repeatedly challenge to identify with them, African-Americans.

African-Americans have been asked to see gay rights through the same lens that blacks have seen their own struggle for Civil Rights. This plea became most strident during the Proposition 8 campaign when African-Americans were erroneously blamed for the gay community’s loss.

I don’t know whether race played a role in the FLOTUS’s reaction to the heckling or not, but I do know that after nearly six years in office, Michelle Obama is still black and must suspect that there are some things people will do to her that they would not have done to other first ladies, especially supposed allies. Wow. I bet she never thought she would get heckled at a Democratic Party fundraiser.

It’s possible, too, that the FLOTUS had simply had a difficult day; Sturtz’s heckling may have felt like a boulder landing on her last nerve. Nevertheless, whatever the reason she chose to confront Sturtz rather than ignore her, it’s become clear through the way the media and the blogosphere have reacted to Mrs. Obama facing off Sturtz that many people in this country still don’t understand black women in the context of power dynamics.

I support legislation to stop discrimination based on gender identity and orientation, but I cannot support Sturtz heckling Michelle Obama as the first lady addressed the needs of black youth in crisis. As the FLOTUS said, “Today we need to be better for them. Not for us — for them.” If Sturtz had been listening rather than planning her own moment of protest, then perhaps she wouldn’t have been “taken aback” as she said she was when Mrs. Obama walked over and looked her in the eye. If Sturtz had been listening, maybe she would have said instead, “Please, Mrs. Obama, forgive my bad timing.”

Editir’s Note: Nordette Adams is a poet and freelance writer in New Orleans. Her blog is Whose Shoes Are These Anyway.

[ORIGINALLY POSTED HERE]

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