What's on my mind?

What's up, guys? So, what's on my mind today? Fear. Okay, guys, let's get into this.
The dictionary defines fear as an unpleasant, often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger.
This definition of fear hits home because I, too, know it. If you are the parent of a child, but especially a black child, regardless of your child's age, you also know it. 
As a parent, but especially as a black parent, you always carry this fear, and you are always ready to place yourself between harm and your child. 
Instead of the fear dissipating as your child ages, the fear only deepens as your black child ages because with age comes more independence.
This is when most black parents lean into prayer and the almighty to protect their child. Or they hope the people causing harm to their child have empathy for their child and their child's life. And when these things seemingly fail, you beg the question, "why?" to be answered.

I wonder to myself why none of those officers, black, white, or otherwise, why none of them could see Tyre Nichols as a human life, period.

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What's up, guys? So what's on my mind today? Just a boy from Tupelo. Okay, guys, let's get into this.

So what is a 'Just a Boy from Tupelo? Well, it is a 30-minute HBO exclusive special on the Elvis Presley phenomenon and the making of the Elvis movie." 'Just a Boy From Tupelo: Bringing Elvis To The Big Screen' is the short film's full title.

Do I have a problem with it? Yes, yes, I do. 

This is yet another example of this country burying its head in the sand and trying to make itself feel better. This is another form of the lie that America tells itself over and over again. Elvis, despite how poor, was not just a boy from Tupelo. Part of the short film depicts how a young white Elvis can move in and out of Black establishments, picking up skills he would use later in life.

The title makes it seems that Elvis was just another boy in Tupelo. In reality, he was just another white boy raised in the late 1930s, and throughout the 1940s and 1950s in Mississippi. Elvis' competition wasn't the other great black talent of his time. The dirty poor Elvis Presley would have been able to go into places that a wealthy, talented black boy raised at the same time would not have even gotten near.

As I read the title, my thoughts were that they could not see the privilege that a poor Elvis, having been born and raised in the most racist state in the union during the Jim Crow era, had over all the other black kids, probably many of those black children were just as talented or even more talented than Elvis.

In any self-help program, coming to terms with and admitting the horrible acts you have done is the first step on a long road that should lead to improvements. Just a White boy from Tupelo" is the better title, and we all know why.

Okay guys, that's what's been on my mind today. Peace Out.

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What's up, guys? So what's on my mind today? America's struggle, okay, guys, let's get into this.

This country has an internal struggle that most refuse to believe. What is that struggle? Easy, it is this country's identity. The U.S. identity is the essential thing that has been a failure by both the citizens and lawmakers to describe since the founding of this country. 

The United States of America's so-called founding fathers, in their declaration of independence from the English crown, set the tone for this country's identity crisis. They would pitch that this country stood for certain things that could not be challenged, right given to men by their Creator. But in reality, they would practice something else. The declaration of independence starts with the founders' words that they obviously did not believe, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is this identity that the United States of America has had a delusional relationship with since the founding of this country, and it still does to this very day.

This country's practices and deeds have been diametrically opposed to what the idea of America was supposed to be.

For example, a "self-evident" truth does not require complex reasoning or evidence to justify it. Liberty, a self-evident truth the so-called founders state that all men had, would end up as empty words because the country practiced enslavement of black people. This country's words or idea of who it thinks it is has been a lie m when contrasted with its practices. 

Each branch of government has repeatedly usurped the self-evident truth that all men were born with certain unalienable rights, including Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. This country has shown that the life of the unborn is more important than the born's. 

It claimed that freedom was an undisputed right and a self-evident truth that every person deserved. But yet, in practice, this country allowed enslavement, a directly opposite view. It forced indigenous people onto reservations and placed more value on white male and female lives than on others. 

The United States tailored laws that would assure the promotion of white male or white female people over others. These people have had a prominent seat at the table and have made detrimental decisions for others. Some of these decisions, whether written or unwritten, would include things like redlining, segregation, jim crow laws, and unfair and unequal education practices, to name just a few, which would affect black Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, LGBTQ, and indigenous communities.

It is very difficult to look at yourself in the mirror and admit that you are a monster. Time and time, the United States of America has continued to lie and sugarcoat itself into believing it is the hero of its own story. This is the identity crisis struggle of this country, the lie vs. reality.

Okay, guys, that's what's been on my mind today; peace out.

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What's up, guys? So what's on my mind today? Sugarcoating, okay, guys, let's get into this.

One of the definitions for sugarcoating is to make something superficially attractive, or acceptable or to make something else considered unpleasant or disagreeable seem palatable.

In this country's history, a long line of people, that don't look like me, were willing to write and swallow a narrative of this country that is simply full of lies or lacks the complete story. Plenty of reading and seeking people more knowledgeable than myself have helped me get to U.S. history's raw truth.

A more authentic story of the United States of America is often difficult to listen to, but having all the facts grounds us in reality and will help us avoid past mistakes. I fully understand the fear of some people, and that letting go of their privilege will relegate them to some form of a second-class citizen. These fear tactics have worked effectively in the past, and politicians from the right still use the same playbook today.  

The recent decision by Ron DeSantis, Florida's governor, to drop African-American AP courses signals that some people still need to learn important lessons here. Oh, and it's not a silent whistle when the right uses the word woke. We know what you mean.

Okay, guys, that's what's been on my mind today; peace out.

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The AAVE meaning of the word woke differs from what most conservative-minded people think. The AAVE meaning of the word woke simply means to pay attention. Pay attention to your surroundings, what you are being taught, and especially to information not given to you. Maybe it's me, but whenever I hear a conservative person say woke, it always gives me pause, if you know what I mean.

Jefferson Franklin Long was a politician that was woke and understood simple common sense logic. My interpretation of what he was saying is, "Don't let these snakes back in the chicken coop."  Yet the U.S. government failed to follow common sense and instead traveled down a road that would ultimately lead to disaster again.

In 1988 the movie School Daze premiered. At the movie's end, a young Laurence Fishburne broke the fourth wall and told the audience to Wake Up! I submit that they want you asleep (not paying attention), and you should, please, wake up.

In 1869 Jefferson Franklin Long was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. In
addition to being the first Black person elected to the U.S. House of Representatives
from the state of Georgia, he was also the second Black person elected to the U.S.
Congress. Long served the shortest term of an African American member, just three
months. But, when he spoke on the House of Representatives floor on February 1, 1871, he became the first African American to do.

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It doesn't give the energy the person that is saying it believes it does. I had a conversation about it.

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Capitalism is a powerful economic system that has brought unprecedented wealth and prosperity to the world, but when applied to healthcare, the results can be problematic. Capitalism in healthcare has the potential to promote greed
and inequality, leading to an inequitable distribution of resources and a disconnect between those who can afford quality medical care and those who cannot. This has a profound impact on individuals, families, and communities, and it is important to explore this issue in order to develop solutions that can promote health equity. I will examine how capitalism in healthcare has led to greed and inequality, how it has impacted individuals, and how we can work to create more equitable systems.

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Make America great again is an absolutely sh!t piece of "slogan." For me, it's a dog whistle calling racist people to unite. I know there are people out there saying I'm not racist. But you are, if you voted for, supported, or agree with that slogan, people running for office under that slogan, in any way, form, or fashion. You need to ask yourself, make America great again for who? For everyone? Well, we know that hasn't ever happened in this country. There is not one period in this country that America hasn't shown her ass to be racist. Pick any era of time, and I will show you where the marginalized people have had to fight against this country's racist ways. In this country, the vast majority of white men and white women have reaped the benefits and promoted racist actions and racist views. If you feel comfortable, then you probably should ask yourself if you are the problem.

Okay, guys, let's get into this.

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What's up, guys? So, what's on my mind today? Remember me? This is something that I deal with daily and probably something that will get worse. I am sure of it.  Maybe it's time for Ginkgo biloba.  The kid won't know about that drug.  I think this is poem number 213 of my Project 365.  Okay, guys, .let's get into this.

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What's up, guys? So, what's on my mind today? Hate.
It's 2013, and it's day 42 of my Project 365. The word hate had been nagging at me for days by this point. What do I want to write about hate? Over and over, I think, what do I want to write about hate? Then it hits me. So I took pen to paper, and I came up with this. A simple story, but I think it hits all the points.

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