I am keeping it simple for this Tuesday and saving the tounge in cheek commentary, to say Happy Belated Birthday to the Reverend Joseph Lowery who celebrated his 88th birthday at Morehouse college.
Lowery was pastor of the Warren Street United Methodist Church, in Mobile, Alabama from 1952 until 1961.
His career in the civil rights movement began in the early 1950s in Mobile, Alabama.
After Rosa Parks' arrest in 1955, Lowery helped lead the Montgomery bus boycott. He headed the Alabama Civic Affairs Association, an organization devoted to the desegregation of buses and public places.
In 1957, with Martin Luther King, Jr. Lowery founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and subsequently led the organization as its president from 1977 to 1997.
Best quote:
Speaking at Coretta Scott King's funeral,
"We know now there were no weapons of mass destruction over there. But Coretta knew and we know that there are weapons of misdirection right down here. Millions without health insurance. Poverty abounds. For war billions more but no more for the poor!"
"Democracy... is a charming form of government, full of variety and disorder; and dispensing a sort of equality to equals and unequals alike."
-Plato-
Plato was a classical philosopher from Greece who is credited for being the first to write down western philosophy down, something that wasn't practiced but instead was passed down orally.
Plato's first writings were the dialogs of his teacher and mentor Socrates, before writing his own.
Socrates last lesson to Plato was not something he said but something that he did, he died, to be specific he was executed by the influential group of citizens of Athens who did not appreciate his social and moral standards and what they viewed as the corruption of the minds of the youth.
Plato was very bitter about this and he blamed the city state of Athens for Socrates death, by allowing ignorant people to take the life of one of the greatest minds of that time.
Now here is were it all comes together, Athens was a Democracy, this was not lost on Plato who later described Democracy as one of the lesser forms of government beneath Aristocracy, Timocracy, Plutocracy and just above Despotism, because it made equals of the educated and the uneducated.
He saw this as an danger as the state and the elite of society would be subject to the emotional and ignorant whims of the masses whose concerns were always short sighted an unenlightened.
When I watched this video I know exactly what Plato was talking about.
Meet The Anti-Obama Group!
You see when you look at that you cant help but shake your head and chuckle.
Look at them, they don't know what there talking about, there mad and they have no idea what there mad about.
Like a chimpanzee in the zoo who flies into a rage for no apparent reason, uprooting everything around him.
It's a sight to see.......that is unless your in that cage with the pissed off ape, but more likely than not we are kept safe from the beast by the bars and zoo keepers allowing us to curiously observe the animal and move on to the next show.
And that's the problem right there, are willingness to just move on.
You see the smart man, when he sees that he is dealing with ignorance and stupidity that refuses to drag it's self out of the cave of darkness into light, will simply dismiss the individuals and go about his business.
If they want to wallow in their own muck let them, is the thought, but that is the last thing.....the worst thing, you can do with these people.
People like these, like the chimps in the zoo if you have the misfortune to be around when the cages are opened, can rip you apart and screw up your life.
"Democracy passes into despotism."
-Plato-
And they start by taking small steps, testing the water, testing you and your commitment, your resolve, your willingness to fight.
First it's some one whispering in the ear telling them they should be mad, than the whisper turns into a shout, a rally starts, a protest begins, next time a threatening sign appears, a fight breaks out, next time some one brings a gun, a gun is drawn out, and than some one pulls a trigger, and than some one dies.
Check your history, it's happened before.
Abortion doctor murdered here, a Federal building bombed over there, and who knows whats around the corner.
This is the type of mentality that is trying to tell the rest of the country what to think and what to do.
Hell there trying to tell world what to do.
And were all sitting back watching them do it, not saying a word just shaking our heads.
Mean while they intimidate OUR elected officials, they disrupt our lives and our future so they can stay in their caves on the advisement of some Plutocratic shepherd.
That shepherd who herds them in the direction of their enemy, working them into a frenzy and pushing them into a stampede towards anything that remotely looks like change, regardless if it's for their own good or not.
Not understanding that it's those leaders of theirs who are the ones who are most threatened by change, and those leaders are willing to do ANYTHING to keep things the same.
That's why this vid is not funny, that's why these people should not be dismissed and ignored but instead force fed the truth, informed of whats going on and to hold those twisted leaders accountable for the poisonous lies mix into the Kool Aid and pass out to everyone.
Because just because people are ignorant does not mean they are not dangerous, does not mean they can not when motivated, when inspired, bring your world crashing around you.
You already know it's true, you have seem them in action just didn't see it for what it was.
A bunch of men were told by their Shepherd that to die for a God they have never seen was a glorious thing.
They were told that if they did so that God would reward them in heaven with things like 70 virgins.
These ignorant men then went and changed the world around us, the WORLD.
With nothing more than this.
A box cutter.
I don't know about you, but I am no longer amused with the Tea Baggers, Birthers, Screamers, Whiners, and their benefactors.
They start out when you are young and appeal to a deep down primitive part of your mind that seeks it out to for the pleasure, reassurance and safety.
But society has deemed such habits as poor form, not to be done in private let alone in public were it can shock the sensibilities of the decent people of the world.
Things like sucking your thumb, picking your nose, click of the tongue.
I too am afraid have been shackled by such bad behavior.
Brace yourself readers.
For what I am about to reveal to you may shake you to your very core.
I pray that you all do not think less of me for what I am about to reveal to you.
Here it is.
You are reading the blog of the undisputed champion of the self grab.
There I said it, have I blown your mind?
Have I stunned you?
Understand that I am in a elite class of self checkers.
None of this exaggerated for comedy purposes grabs, looking like an idiot.
Nope not the young kid "I don't know what to do with myself but I am sure as hell happy I got one of these joints boy" grabs.
I am talking old school, on the corner, cup it under and lift it up and drop it with the authority of a world leader, grabs.
The first time I saw this I was little kid on the basketball court and one of the local street philosophers was waxing smooth about the mysteries of the black man's life in this country and every time he made a valid point, a high light in his griot like story telling, or punchline he would scoop himself up and drop it.
That was it.
That's all it took for me to see, to adapt the habits of a street delinquent.
But that's how it is with the self check.
All it takes is one bold mutha to check his and next thing you know every dude is checking his before he knows what he is doing.
I have seen a preacher on the pulpit check his and next thing you know half the male congregation is holding the bible in their right hand and the "holy staff" in the other.
I did it every where, I thought some one with no authority over me was looking.
Especially in front of girls, right up close while in conversation about something.
Some would pretend they didn't see me, some would call me out "why you so nasty?!", but the tough ones always had a witty response like "whats up, you got some gold down there you trying to protect?", or my favorite "did you find it?".
I always was knocked down a few pegs by the tough ones but like a good horror movie they kept me coming back for more.
I remember when my mom caught me, I was walking around the house and she said something to me and I smarted off, but that's not what stopped her in her tracks it was exclamation point scoop that I use when I want the final word.
Her eyes locked in as I lifted, following my little crotch to the highest peak and her eyes followed it down as is crashed down getting bigger as if she heard a door slam unexpectedly.
I knew I was toast before my little joint had settled in.
And I knew in that split second that there was no correcting this with out a beating.
But I wasn't going to go quietly, no that's what smart kids do.
I was going to try my luck.
The question was who was going to be quicker me to the room and locking the door or her foot to my butt.
I made my move ducking low and booking through the living room.
That damn women jumped over the couch to get my ass.
She landed with one hand on the back of my neck while the other slapped me up and down senseless.
I didn't even hear what she was saying I was in total shock that she moved that fast.
But alas that did not break my habit, the next time I saw some one do it, BAM!
I was all over my own joint.
As I got older I slowed down and finally stopped, but I would be lying to you if I said I didn't miss my public self checking.
I like history books in particularly African history but the best ones are not from the United States which, outside of purchasing slaves, has had very limited involvement with Africa when compared to the Europeans and Arabs who have been up and down the continent and written extensively about it.
While looking for something to read I came across this book by Robert B. Edgerton Warrior Women: The Amazons Of Dahomey And The Nature Of War
The title and subject had me hook so I bit.
From the inside flap.
Although warfare is typically conducted by men, in various places and at various times women have fought bravely and well, and in the West African kingdom of Dahomey during the 19th century, they formed the elite corps of a successful army. Many European visitors to Dahomey commented favorably on their military bearing, finding them more impressive in discipline and maneuver than male Dahomean soldiers. When France invaded Dahomey in the early 1890s, their superior weapons won the war, but all those French officers and men who wrote about their bloody battles against Dahomey declared not only that these women warriors were superior to male Dahomean soldiers, but also that they were the equals of the French. Robert B. Edgerton describes the history of these "Amazons" (as they became known) and their recruitment, training, and battle experience. Of particular interest to scholars interested in culture and gender today, these women believed that in order for them to carry out their martial roles, they had to transform themselves into men. How this was done, how the Amazons lived and fought, and what their experiences might mean for the understanding of women and warfare both in the past and the present are the subjects of Warrior Women.
It was a very good read and I managed to knock it down in one day.
But it left me hungry later for more like Chinese food, I taught the author could have gave more details and background history on all sides, in this case he was a little to focus, if you can believe, for a historian.
Here is some more from Wikipedia
King Houegbadja (who ruled from 1645 to 1685), the third King of Dahomey, is said to have originally started the group which would become the Amazons as a corps of royal bodyguards after building a new palace at Abomey. Houegbadja's son King Agadja (ruling from 1708 to 1732) developed these bodyguards into a militia and successfully used them in Dahomey's defeat of the neighbouring kingdom of Savi in 1727. European merchants recorded their presence, as well as similar female warriors amongst the Ashanti. For the next hundred years or so, they gained reputation as fearless warriors. Though they fought rarely, they usually acquitted themselves well in battle.
The group of female warriors was referred to as Ahosi, meaning "Our Mothers" in the Fon language by the male army of Dahomey.[1] From the time of King Ghezo (ruling from 1818 to 1858), Dahomey became increasingly militaristic. Ghezo placed great importance on the army and increased its budget and formalized its structures. The Amazons were rigorously trained, given uniforms, and equipped with Danish guns (obtained via the slave trade). By this time the Amazons consisted of between 4000 and 6000 women, about a third of the entire Dahomey army.
European encroachment into west Africa gained pace during the latter half of the 19th century, and in 1890 King Behanzin started fighting French forces in the course of the First Franco-Dahomean War. According to Holmes, many of the French soldiers fighting in Dahomey hesitated before shooting or bayoneting the Amazons. The resulting delay led to many of the French casualties. Ultimately, bolstered by the Foreign Legion, and armed with superior weaponry, including machine guns, the French inflicted casualties that were ten times worse on the Dahomey side. After several battles, the French prevailed. The Legionnaires later wrote about the "incredible courage and audacity" of the Amazons.
Spike Lee has managed to piss off one of my mothers favorite actors Clint Eastwood.
The beef started over Eastwood's two WWII movies "Flags of our Fathers" and "Letters from IwoJima."
Spike felt Lee white washed the film as in now showing any black men's contribution to the effort.
Clint says he was being historically accurate (which he wasn't black were there, they didn't raise the flag but they were there.), and things got testy from there.
I didn't see the movies because just looking at the trailers they looked boring, but I didn't need to see it to know that there was a good chance they would be on the light hand side.
And that doesn't bother me because unlike the days past we can tell our stories which is exactly what Spike is doing with Miracle at Saint Anna based on a novel of a true story by James McBride.
The book of the same name is about the fate of four black soldiers caught behind enemy lines in World War II Italy in a village were the residents were massacred by German S.S. soldiers.
Years ago I would of been bent out of shape just like Spike because there would be no one championing African American cause.
But that is why we got Spike,
Denzel,
KasiLemmons,
and Danny Glover (he is doing a "historical action epic based on the life of ToussaintL'Ouverture, who led a successful slave rebellion in the 18Th century that sparked the Haitian Revolution" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0785063/)
they have a enough pull and money to tell it how it really is.
There is more room for other directors to be added on to that.
Now I am not saying directors who like to twist history should not be held accountable for it, they should cause left unchecked will have stuff like Malcom X played by JohhnyDepp or MLK starring Gerard Butler or some other mess.
I just don't get upset any more because one I am no longer surprised and two I got Spike.
I rather take black directors to task for not making the movies that I want to see than begging the white ones to think about me too.
It's easy to take people even legends for grant it, you dont go to the concerts or buy the music because in your mind you think there always going to be there, than you wake up and there gone.
And you never get a chance to say thanks for the sounds.
Diddley died of heart failure at his home in Archer, Fla., spokeswoman Susan Clary said. He had suffered a heart attack in August, three months after suffering a stroke while touring in Iowa. Doctors said the stroke affected his ability to speak, and he had returned to Florida to continue rehabilitation.
He was 79.
Critics say he was the bridge between blues and Rock n Roll and if you listen to his music you can see why.
