Thought of the Night... 

I know its uncomfortable. Truth is uncomfortable. The way things are, even when they suck, are hard to let go of. Thats why so many of us stay in crappy relationships, jobs, state of minds, etc... But when we finally let go, the change that comes is so liberating isn't it?! Liberals voting for Hillary... You gotta let go. You gotta allow yourself to be uncomfortable. Bernie makes us feel weird. The truth is so immense, and world shaking, and scary, but its still the truth.

There is a reason why the young people are all about Bernie. Young people see what could be, but some of us older people can only see the way things are. We say the media is biased, but then let that media convince us of the B.S.! We say we want more equality, but shudder at what that means. We make excuses and negotiate with our ideals... 

You can't make a better society if you can't see and fight for a new paradigm on the horizon. You can't baby step towards fixing climate change, poverty, police brutality, unemployment, sickness, war, hate... You have to be bold to make real change. I know it is uncomfortable my friends. We are so far down the rabbit hole and we all know it, but when Bernie throws it all in our face we get real weird. We try to ignore it, make up excuses, retreat into our normal. STOP!

Let's be BOLD! Let's push for real change and stop making excuses! NO ONE should be sick without insurance, jobless, unable to get education, homeless, abused, disenfranchised! Aren't we tired of this crap?! Aren't we tired of being told "thats just how things are?!!!" Why should a few people own the world? What about us? Shouldn't every one of us have a shot at a healthy and happy life? Let go. Let go of the normal. It isn't real. It was made up in a corporate office. Let's embrace truth and discomfort and ride it all the way to real change! Let's take our democracy back! ‪#‎feelthebern‬

Daisun Cohn-Williams, Human

The Blackness of RG3

ON BLACKNESS...

From my time as a social studies teacher I was surprised to learn just how intermingled the understanding of concepts of race, ethnicity, and nationality are in a high school classroom.  Then again, sociological theory is not often formally taught until college, and only people enrolled in sociology 101 really get the goods. Others (sometimes) learn to differentiate through experiences, and common sense.  Those who take the time to question the hierarchical paradigms of our society recognize the that the history and present value of the concept of race is limited to how we discuss racial theory and how it is exercised in our world. Race serves no helpful purpose outside of recognizing how we have and still separate ourselves from one another based on looks, and the consequences of such actions.

So what is "Black" then?  Is it a race? Is it a culture? Is it an ethnicity?  Black, in the traditional definition, is a Race, and thus concerned with physical appearance.  However, at the end of the Civil Rights Movement, it was embraced by brown-skinned folk as more. It became an expression of self love and unity. Black, became a statement of culture and counterculture, thus, transcending the limited use as a racial designation, consciously intermingling it with ethnicity. Which made sense, as in America, for African descendants, it always had been.  Having browner skin is centrally linked to the the concept of Blackness, tied to the external circumstances that help to define one's experiences, and in response to them, culture. Blackness is more than race, while intricately tied to it. Blackness is about a shared experience of being counter-norm, which in this country has historically meant "counter-white."

Is Robert Griffin the 3rd less Black if he is a Republican, or less Black if he dates a white chick?   The brotha' is dark, and when people look at him they see a Black guy.  Does he culturally associate with his blackness? Who knows? In the traditional sense, ethnicity deals more with culture than race does.   The interesting thing about being Black though, is that whether you are RG3, or President Obama, it doesn't really matter how you identify yourself culturally, because you are still rocking the Tan! Racially, people see Black in all of its shades. Culturally it is a personal decision (partially based on upbringing and exposure to said culture) to identify with the experience of having that tan, or not.  So while Rob Parker may question how much RG3 ethnically identifies with his Blackness, it still don't change how Black the man is.  Only one man is the exception to the rule, and his name is Clarence Thomas.

http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/8747379/espn-suspends-rob-parker-robert-griffin-iii-comments

See Ya Sammy

7/20/2011

Life is precious, epic in its triumphs and its let downs.
The smiles, they turn to frowns, back to smiles, such a sad clown.
Desperately needed cycles, for depth, richness, and self-progress,
A cry so we can laugh and dance, the tears are paying homage.

And through the through, the fluctuations, friends are allies through it.
Energy between connected, though sometimes we never knew it.
Brothers and sisters, walking, stumble, help you up, keep movement.
Witness the growth, the pain, the love, away for years, yet fluent.

And times some fall, too soon for sure, the knife it strikes, it kicks us all,
And time it creeps into our hearts, nostalgia soaked, with feelings stark.

Confusion swirls, the weeds un-kept,
And sweet songs find their needs unmet.
We lose our beat, a lonely sleep,
Potential gone, no food, no eat.

Then flowers come, or scattered wind,
With soulful words, we'll hear again.
A sadness with a hint of cheer,
For passed on greatness, drinks are dear.
There's celebration for the time,
We had before the Great Unwind.
Yet missing from reunion's gladness,
A Member of our summer's madness.

Truly the dance is different now,
As we soak in our peaceful pal.
I'll take a piece and one for you,
To honor spirits that we knew.
That we know, and be better for it,
Reminded of the winter forecast,
That life is full of fluctuations,
Robust today, then shriveled raisins.

Still hurtful as this transition is,
I'll live my life like it was mine, and his.


In memory of Sam McNulty... One dope dude.

An Uncle Tom, a Fab Five and a Sports Writer Walk Into a Bar...

Was Grant Hill an "Uncle Tom?" Was Jalen Rose the poster-boy for what is wrong in Black America? Is Chris Broussard the "Black Ambassador?" Perhaps, and perhaps not...

On ESPN's 1st and Ten yesterday, NBA columnist, Chris Broussard responded to a two decade old comment made by Former NBA player and analyst Jalen Rose about his one time adversary Grant Hill. The comment, in which Rose called Hill an "Uncle Tom," for deciding to play at Duke University, has resurfaced in a new documentary about Rose's time playing in college at Michigan. Broussard used this opportunity exclaim his own interpretation of the situation and its reflection of larger Black American issues.
Broussard was a little "tiradical" in the clip. Sure, some of his points were right on, but he does not touch base on the whole truths. The debate over what is Black is an old one. My answer was always congruent with De La Soul's: "Black is Black."

A huge and complicated issue indeed, Broussard seems to get lost in his passion. Is he attacking the history and institutions that enslaved and oppressed Black people and planted the seeds of doubt in self worth? Is he attacking Black people? Is he attacking white people? He attacks rappers... Rappers that he usually gives dap to in the public forum as setting poor examples, but he doesn't attack the record companies that create and sign off on the image and message of these rappers. Why is that? Is Broussard an... "UNCLE TOM?"

I'm joking of course, and some of his examples do support his analysis, but not as thoroughly when you look at their entire circumstances. For instance, Broussard mentions the Cosby show and people's criticism of it not representing "Real" Black people. While the landmark television show may have represented some Black Americans, and certainly what we are all capable of, which created a positive image, it did not represent the life of most Black Americans. When one takes into consideration the status that the show went on to achieve in reaching people on a massive scale, world-wide, it is also viable to conclude that it helped many White Americans and foreigners develop an idea that we indeed did live in a "post-racial society" where Blacks were doing great. This of course was completely untrue for 90 percent of Black people in the early and mid 1980's.

I'm not knocking Broussard's effort to enlighten his viewers to his passion for the need of Black people to move past their identity and self-esteem problems, however, he doesn't talk about the exterior forces that perpetuate these problems. In addition, he goes on to comment about how brothas' who go to prison or who aren't there for their kids are the "real" race traitors, because they perpetuate negative stereotypes about the race...

Again, Broussard forgets to discuss the ramifications of living in a society whose institutions and basic socio-economic model have prevented universal upward mobility for its former slaves. With no other options, "Black" market economies become necessary to survival... Not to mention the fact that many Black men who receive prison sentences do so at far higher and more severe rate than their white counterparts. I could run down the statistics of Black economic power in America, or lack thereof, but most educated and integrated people recognize that American diversity concerning economic success is still "token" based. The rest of you feel free to make some more some minority friendships for more info (and that includes with women).

Personally, I understand why Rose made these comments... It was a period of great racial anxiety and division in America (not that we are ever two feet out of that door). He came from the inner city having nothing and watched these very select Black kids being let into what he considered to be the "all white club." Duke is a historical wealthy and racist institution.. It's hard to imagine these players at Michigan not having some real thoughts about Black kids choosing to play at Duke. Does this make Grant Hill an Uncle Tom? No. Was Jalen Rose wrong to say it? No. Don't the poor and under-privileged have an innate right to criticize the wealthy in any society that accepts extreme inequality? Isn't the price of being one of "The Haves" to deal with it?

Regardless, Broussard was not careful. When you have a soap box from which to reach a great many people, especially when acting as a spokesperson for your race, it is important to think about how your words (and the ones you omit) with impact others, not just how you hope they will. Broussard speaks from his heart and I respect that, but he is far more dangerous that Jalen Rose, because his diagnosis and his conclusions are half developed, whereas Jalen's were simply immature.

And that's how you know Chris Broussard is a sports writer talking about race and not a social scientist writing about sports.


Original video link: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=6224395

Martin Luther King Cries For Us

MLK DAY

Martin Luther King Cries for Us

"I woke up this morning with my mind set on freedom..." Today is Martin Luther King Day, how could I have not? My first urge of the day was to get online and check my email. I'm not sure what drove me to do so before my eyes had even had the chance to adjust to what seemed to be a beautifully sunny day, but generally I like to read my emails before Google has sent them to the government.

A former colleague of mine must have awoken in a similar condition, because my "in-box" contained an email familiarly titled "Remembering Martin Luther King Jr." I groaned, wondering if this would be a recycled urge of remembrance many of us have no doubt endured each year from our parents, teachers, and network television stations. But, then I remembered who had sent me the email and opened it with a renewed sense of curiosity. I'm glad I did.

I'm glad I did, because every now and then I forget... I don't forget the changes in compassion and responsibility that MLK helped inspire in the Americans who listened to his words and the truths they represented, but rather, all that we chose not to listen to, all of the changes we chose not to enact, and all of the responsibilities we still do not fulfill to the detriment of all.

The email contained a link and the link contained a web page with both an audio file and a transcript of a speech that Dr. King delivered on April 4th, 1967, at Riverside Church, right here in New York City.

http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/45a/058.html

The speech was not about the little Black and White children of the south holding hands in peace and harmony, but far more reaching and dangerous. The speech was about all of the children of the world, and their parents, and everyone else holding hands in peace and harmony. It was against the war in Vietnam. It was against poverty. It was against imperialism. It was for peace and the love that makes peace possible.

If only I could have awoken on Martin Luther King Jr. Day with a stretch and a yawn, and a glass of orange juice which I would lift to the sky in a toast to a world with less sorrow. A world with less mindless violence (even if it meant no "Rambo" part... whatever), with less hunger (even if it meant I was forced to eat my dinner leftovers each day for lunch), and more care for all life (I know, I know the U.S. GNP might suffer). What a day that would be...

As I read this speech, the parallels between the 1960's that Dr. King spokes of and our own time were almost too obvious... shockingly obvious. Poor Americans are still being sent to other countries to kill other poor people. Billions of dollars are being borrowed and spent on war under the guise of democracy creation. Simultaneously, millions still live in poverty here in the U.S., without health care, jobs, some even homes, and our own democratic rights are being stifled. All that's missing are some assassinations (good luck Obama) and a presidential impeachment (The Republicans once again control the house…). How can this be? How can the similarities be so clear and yet the people who were alive at that time and are still living have allowed it to continue? How did they allow us to get back to this place? Or perhaps we never moved past it?

My parents, and others from their generation, always talk about the 1960's like it was a moment of breath in a drowning world. They had so much hope back then... back before most of them got complacent, or acceptant. The youth of that time honestly believed that the world was changing for the better and many of them fought hard for that world and me, their future who would inherit it.

It seemed like a magical time even for those who gave their lives for this future. Hell, I actually grew up in a post-civil rights era in which the nostalgia for the 60's and their icons like King, and X, and Kennedy x2, convinced me that being a "Martyr" was a worthy career ambition.

But then again, watching the parallels of today moves me to wonder what they actually accomplished, these fighters of freedom and their murdered iconic leaders? We celebrate MLK day each year as if equality arrived and became as interwoven into the fabric of America as the racism and oppression that preceded it.

The Black people know better (except for maybe Justice Thomas and Bill Cosby), so do the Latinos, and the poor, and the "Gays" (the happy people? I don't get it... ), and the women, and don't forget the people who began their lives and cultural history on this land thousands of years before the first Africans and Europeans disembarked from their ships. And I haven't even begun on how the U.S. treats the rest of the world.

For many people, their first response to this line of thought seems to usually be something like the following: "But things are so much different and better now compared to what it was like before, don't you see that?" If this is your first response I have the following questions: Are you white? Are you wealthy? Are you male? I could go on. The farther you exist from the power norm the less likely you are to look at U.S. progress as "the glass is half full."

There is that old saying, "The time for justice is always now" (or maybe I just heard that in Denzel's, last movie, but either way it sounds good). For a man like MLK, the American glass of justice, of equality, compassion, love, and freedom, is not just half empty, it's almost been drunk dry! Where are we? How long will we wait?

The power of America has always been its people, if this was not true how could MLK even have a national day dedicated to his work? But the people like our parents, even if they still fight, are far less hopeful than they used to be, and our fellow "citizens" are less educated as to what that title means now than they were fifty years ago, a clear sign that all of our progress has not be progressive enough!

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s true greatness came from his ability to remind "the people" that they had the power to create whatever world they would; all that was needed to change the world is courage. Not money, but courage. The truth is that what are really needed are visionaries with enough charm to gain followers. Isn't it sad how the ones who actually seem to care about everyone are the ones who usually die young? What a coincidence no one wants to take up the reigns...

How we could use a man like MLK today. He understood so clearly the idea that underlies all of the largest religions of the world; the true test of character of any person or nation continues to be in not how we treat our own, but how we treat others, whether they be enemies or simply a different shade of color from ourselves.

On this day of remembrance, I search within myself for the courage that King would ask of me. Courage, the only thing that I can see changing the wrong of the world into right, easing the suffering of billions of brothers and sisters and mothers and fathers of mine. Of yours.

Today is a day to honor not just one man, but what he stood for. It is the same thing that Mrs. Tubman stood for and that Gandhi stood for. It is the same thing that Buddha stood for, the same thing that Jesus stood for and all of the great leaders of women and men since we began this thing we call "civilization." Peace, love, unity, and freedom are all obtainable now. It only depends on how much courage each of us has...

On how much courage each of us is willing to have to give up a possession or two, in standing up and saying "NO" to oppression even when we benefit from it. Courage to stop wasting food and water, and the courage to pay higher taxes and vote on substance and not looks. Courage to hold onto the responsibility to never stop fighting for the struggle, and of course, the courage to forget that which could divide us in favor of what binds us together, without the fear that we will lose that which makes us unique and special; Courage not to feel we are better than others.

On this day Martin Luther King cries for us, his family. Let us honor him and all those who came before us and attempted to pave the way towards progress. Let us have the courage to make it so that there is no "glass is half empty/ glass is half full" discussion. Let us fill this glass, not with the tears of sorrow of our honored, but tears of joy.

Happy MLK day... let's try stretching it out a bit longer this year.


Daisun Cohn-Williams
Human

Some More Bull From the Donkey and Elephant Show...

They Same Son

Let me tell you bout the Dems, they just Republicans,
Draped in camouflaged clothing of friends, they need depends.
Their pledges are bare and leaky, they could have made change,
But they're afraid, shook, intimidated, losing the game.
And the poor and middle class feeling the brunt of the pain,
Cause some dude's thing is tiny, he's feeling too plain.
So he buys an nice new Beamer, from stock profits from Wall-Mart,
With a small heart, more jobs lost, too focused for afterthoughts.

Today we could have had equality in our fighting machine,
And forced the people we made rich to give us back some green,
But these phony-baloney cronies, were to weak for that,
So instead of affording apples, I’ve only got Apple Jacks...
-Daisun C. Williams, 9-24-10

I don't want to make this post about Obama. He's the top dog and it's hard to resist, but the complexities of a President's job have an enormity I can barely comprehend, and in the end, he is but a reflection of his nation. So this will be about America, and the America that voted Obama into his office. I'm talking about the America that suffered through perhaps, the least productive eight years in its history. The same America that has spent the last three decades watching its middle class slowly shrink, its poverty levels, grow, its Economic power depreciate, and its corporations gain more and more power, legally, to shape what this whole "freedom" thing looks like.

I'm talking about the America that has a short-term memory and an even shorter attention span. The one in which people are afraid to think for themselves so they consistently put their faith in leaders who sell them on dreams they will never see manifested. The America that takes the resulting anger from this inability to achieve these fantasies and misdirects it towards any group that is different , or “other.”

Do you know this America? The one exploiting and destroying the industries and livelihoods of other nations so gas is a few cents cheaper per gallon? The one that has so many people writhing in poverty, that these small savings necessitate this destruction? Do you know the America that goes to war, because it cannot afford to provide comfort and find jobs for all of its warriors back home? The American that isn’t developing industries to provide new jobs for its average citizens let alone the unemployed, war-damaged youth that will eventually return home if peace ever reigns? The America that cannot afford another post-Vietnam, while setting itself up for something far worse… Do you know this America? Are you willing to acknowledge it?

I know this America. I see it for what it is. The 1970's-80's all over again. That makes Obama another Jimmy Carter (good thing for him he doesn’t mind this): A great man with great ideas, and very little room to follow through on them. In other countries, poverty is normal and it is a far more “impoverished poverty” than most of us envision ever existing here in the States. But here in America, when times get tough and force us to share a car with our family, or live in an apartment instead of a house ,we scream, we shout, we cry and we forget, just how privileged we are as a nation. We have this America, wherein, we can actually come together and try and make a change if we don't like the path we are traveling on. An America where we can choose to be healthy or sick, productive or lazy, forward thinking or fear embracing… So why do we often opt for the sick, the lazy and the fear embracing instead of their progressive counterparts?

I suppose being spoiled it is easy for my nation to forget how wonderful life is compared to most other places on the planet. And when you have too much at the expense of others, you will do anything to keep from losing that which was so “easily” obtained. We forget that the devil whispers of Heaven as he drags you down to Hell.

This is the America I know. The one that is hated by other countries, not for our freedom, but because we think we are free. Free to hold back progress in other hemispheres, and free to indulge in our most primal urges and emotions: Greed and Fear. They hate the America that chooses flash over substance, and T.V. over a good book. They know an America that would sell itself for a dollar.... and it has.

Last week our leaders could have easily ended "Don't Ask, Don't Tell ." We did not. They could have ensured that the wealthiest two percent of this country gave back a little more to the recession hit masses who make them a little (or a lot) richer each year. We didn't. The leaders choked, but we gave them the bone to choke on.

In the end, Americans don't even have faith in themselves. The liberty and freedom that we supposedly treasure is rarely utilized in productive ways if at all. We pray to Gods who only love people like “us” and our only true faith is in the green in our pocket and the idea that somehow, we may see more of it one day. We elected a leader to create change and never gave him the tools to lead us towards change. This is because we are children, taught and raised to be spoiled and to feel entitled, by corporations who quest for the ultimate power: The power to shape how we perceive the reality of this life. But change takes time and a strength that we, quite frankly, may not have. We have been tempered by the video game controller, and the power ranger action figure. The Amazon.com application on the I-Phone is the greatest technological creation ever, and we no longer smile, we say "LOL."

When the culture of a society becomes so consumed with media created urges, and how to fulfill them as much and as easily as possible, a leader is restrained. What can Obama, do when no-one is willing to acknowledge the truths that exist outside of their individual realities. We’ve never been big on the concept of the “Collective.” We were taught that the word was synonymous with Communism and Socialism. We were taught to honor individuality over everything else. The questions we ask ourselves daily are “What do I want,” and “What do I need?” Thus, every thought and belief we have is more important and more truthful than those of everyone else... Unless, of course, they agree with us. Sound familiar? It may be “why they hate us...”

This is America, we built it, we nurtured it, we bought into it, we sold it, we perpetuate it, and now we hinder its evolution... Too depressing for a Friday? Perhaps, but there is a silver lining. All power is derived from the people and so change is always possible, but first it must begin within each of us. Then we can go talk to the President.

ODE TO GODDESS

Walking through life whistling,
Laughing, loving, glistening,
Accepting paths because they call,
No question...
Roll with my light's flavor:

Recalling parts of energy that permeate my everything,
I understand that all I am from start till after: Goddess.

Life spawning, universe awing, reason to strive forward: Goddess.
World-shaking, love making, essential, elemental: Goddess.

Ancient, ancestral sources of wisdom and might,
Eternal Gaia, the bringer of life.
Isis the mother, Aphrodite the lover,
Indian Devi, Ishtar and there's Mary.
With co-feeling earth-sense that completes "we,"
Brilliant energy flowing, it's love, their Shakti...

Admitting, from time to time,
Forgetting, slash, ignoring,
This source of our divine potential,
Despite the constant fixation,
The primary motivation...
Forgive.

Such selfish inconsistency,
Constrains a more beautiful collage from forming.
Fuzzy vision, colors faded,
Chained, culture abbreviated.

Still, while walking whistling, glistening in my light,
Can be seen a transformation to man, potential bright.

See the flowers sprouting through the cracks of
Early concrete surroundings and,
Survival tactic instructions formed through affirmation and hugs.
Grown to stand with green life, and blue skies and seas,
I see through the gift of eyes of she who shaped the good in me.

My mothers, my lovers, shapers of all.
Glowing Goddess, of ancient goodness,
Fury filled with temperance
Lightning rod and calming touch you will me...

Wisdom flows both ways, but Goddess born the idea of me.
Taught me learning, raised my spirit,
Up towards forward, self-actualization!

As long as you're strong the world has a chance,
As the primary source you balance the dance.

I treasure your sustainment of life and love,
And evolution towards truth,
And keeping me free.

And, with appreciation of your respect
For my worth and regal manner,
I know you are the keepers and protectors of this thing.


Happy Mothers day to all the "Are's," "Will Be's" and "Someday" life-bringers out there. And thank you to Goddess for the start and helping me stay in the right...

D.C.W.