AFFIRMATION.

I believe in living. I believe in the spectrum

of Beta days and Gamma people.

I believe in sunshine

in windmills and waterfalls,

tricycles and rocking chairs.

And I believe that seeds grow into sprouts,

And sprouts grow into trees.

I believe in the magic of the hands.

And in the wisdom of the eyes.

I believe in rain and tears.

And in the blood of infinity.

I believe in life.

And I have seen the death parade

march through the torso of the earth,

sculpting mud bodies in its path.

I have seen the destruction of the daylight,

and seen the bloodthirsty maggots

prayed to and saluted.

I have seen the kind become the blind

and the blind become the bind

in one easy lesson.

I have walked on cut glass.

I have eaten crow and blunder bread

and breathed the stench of indifference.

I have been locked by the lawless.

Handcuffed by the haters.

Gagged by the greedy.

And, if I know anything at all,

it’s that a wall is just a wall

and nothing more at all.

It can be broken down.

I believe in living.

I believe in birth.

I believe in the sweat of love

and in the fire of truth.

And I believe that a lost ship,

steered by tired, seasick sailors,

can still be guided home

to port.

-Assata Shakur

ALL-TIME LOWS.

Proof that there's something very wrong going on when ...

• colorblind, post-racial, self-perceived liberalism shuts out necessary productive, pragmatic, and progressive discussion on race relations and justice.
• celebrities & the elite believe and get treated like they're above the law.
• bougie white boys can't get jobs, meaning the rest of us are really screwed.
• the World Cup becomes the Euro Cup.
• cops have a God complex on top of their already bulging ego.
• a convicted murderer gets charged with involuntary manslaughter and only gets 5 years in jail.

... this list doesn't even begin to scratch the surface.

Now, all of this is extremely disgusting and disappointing ... but in my classic cynicism, doesn't come as a complete surprise. It's just kind of a slap in the face that all of the above have materialized in the past day/week/month/year. That's not so easy on the nerves.

"And true, sometimes it seems that anger alone keeps me alive; it burns with a bright and undiminished flame. Yet anger, like guilt, is an incomplete form of human knowledge. More useful than hatred, but still limited. Anger is useful to help clarify our differences, but in the long run, strength that is bred by anger alone is a blind force which cannot create the future. It can only demolish the past. Such strength does not focus on what lies ahead, but upon what lies behind, upon what created it – hatred. And hatred is a deathwish for the hated, not a lifewish for anything else." - Audre Lorde

ACCEPT THE NEW.

SO AMPED!

WHERE HAVE ALL THE FLOWERS GONE?

Where Have All the Flowers Gone - Pete Seeger

Where have all the flowers gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the flowers gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the flowers gone?
Girls have picked them every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?

Where have all the young girls gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the young girls gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the young girls gone?
Taken husbands every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?

Where have all the young men gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the young men gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the young men gone?
Gone for soldiers every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?

Where have all the soldiers gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the soldiers gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the soldiers gone?
Gone to graveyards every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?

Where have all the graveyards gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the graveyards gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the graveyards gone?
Covered with flowers every one
When will we ever learn?
When will we ever learn?

OH, MAKER.

THE ARCHANDROID | JANELLE MONÁE

I've always had an appreciation for art, but especially for art formed by the people, for the people.
Now, I talk about the lovely Janelle Monáe a lot, not just because she's extremely talented, but because she is at the front lines of a Renaissance in 21st century music. Her latest album The ArchAndroid is a mindblowing, danceable, thought-provoking fusion of hip-hop, R&B, soul, rap, funk, rock, and the sweet sounds of the future.

In a recent interview with BET's 106 & Park, she described the overarching meaning behind The ArchAndroid. She says,

The ArchAndroid. I speak about androids because I feel that the android represents The Other, and I feel that sometimes, like I'm The Other. At one point in all of our lives I think we've all felt that, whether we're part of a minority or the majority. So The ArchAndroid is very similar to the archangel or Neo from The Matrix - the mediator between the haves and the have-nots, the oppressed and the oppressor, and so that's where the name comes from.

Watch the rest of the interview here and another one here.

Hallelujah.

RELEVANT READINGS.

Just perusing the interwebz and collecting interesting goodies as per usual.
An assortment of news, politics, social commentary, fashion, art, and culture.
Enjoy! (Actually, I'm just bookmarking these for myself.)

Week of May 17, 2010

• Rand Paul and Civil Rights | Alas, a blog

• stinkfish* in Oaxaca | Wooster Collective

• Can We All Get Along? Black-Asian Tension Won't Go Away | change.org

• [¡Ask a Mexican!] Special Arizona Buycott Edition | Gustavo Arellano

GENERATION HOPE(LESS)?

Droppin' some Shepard Fairey wisdom for your rainy Wednesday ...

Obama Check

Check out this critique of Obama. I agree with the writer on 90%. However, I think he fails to recognize the climate Obama must operate in. I disagree with the Afghan war escalation, but it does not surprise me. In general, the tenor of “normal” or moderate political conversation on issues has shifted so far to the right that Obama is being called a Socialist! Good ideas need to have a receptive audience to take hold and right now they don’t. Obama’s faults are in many ways reflective of a retarded audience. Maybe more people should serve in Iraq etc… to gain the writer’s perspective on war. That was not necessary for me… I’ve been a believer in the MLK approach for years. I think the realistic goal is to change the attitudes of the people, causing the leaders to fall in line. The leaders are credited too much with being the cause when they tend more to be the effect. Bush was atrocious and was still re-elected in 2004. I’m disappointed in Obama, but even more so in Americans. I’m working on a healthcare graphic right now, not waiting for Obama or congress to fix things without pressure. 

-Shepard (via OBEY GIANT)

 Word.

(I started writing this back in December .... Why has it taken me so long to formulate my thoughts?)

Although I was born and raised in one of the most liberal cities in the US (i.e. The People's Republic of Cambridge), I've never really even tried to align myself with any particular political party or school of thought. Frankly, I hate politics, despise theory, and tend to skirt around "friendly" debates, especially with the premise of mainstream American dirty politics.