Black on Black Crime...Where are our leaders?

With the tragic passing of former Olympic and boxing champ Vernon Forest, I feel a bit compelled to blog about this and drop my two cents on this issue. I know many people would say that Vernon was just at the wrong place at the wrong time; or maybe one would question his reasons for chasing after the guys who attempted to carjack him. Regardless of your opinion of this, it still doesn’t change the fact a kid has a lost his father, a wife has lost a husband, a family has lost a son, a cousin, an uncle and the black community has lost a great humanitarian.

So when is Black on Black crime going to stop? Will it ever end? As a kid growing up in DC, I heard it plenty of times when people would talk about racism and how it affects us. But what I have noticed in my adult years is that black people's biggest war is not racism, its ghetto low life black men who wonder around the streets looking for trouble. They usually target hard working black men who have done something with their lives. Unfortunately the hard working black man is also target by police because of the low life ghetto hood rat people that call themselves black. They might look like us but they are not us at all. Unfortunately these low life ghetto hood rat people are spreading their disease all over. We should try to stop the disease from spreading and eliminate them once and for all.

Now, I know many of you who have followed this on the news are questioning his motives for having a gun and while I am not sure if it was registered or not yet he felt that it was important for him to pull it out and chase these goons. As easy as it is to fault Forrest for having a gun himself, I can't blame him. It's so unfortunate that a man has to resort to carrying a weapon to protect himself from things like this. Whether Forrest had that gun or not, they would've shot him anyway. Appreciation for the successes of your fellow man regardless of color has long since died. It's hatred, spite, jealousy that motivates those to bring down people who have achieved. We live in the "BET Generation" where all that is stereotypical & negative about black people is glorified in the various forms of media (TV, music, print). It's kill or be killed, hustle this, take that and so on. These are the words, images we see over & over and a good portion of the young black community is accepting it as the way life should be. Protecting yourself like this is commonplace now as a result.

So where is Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson right now? They are so quick to jump in front of a camera when Blacks may have been wronged by Whites. But where are they when it is Black on Black Crime?

Too many innocent lives have been lost because some petty criminals think a human life is less valuable than the possessions they forcibly try to take from them. I know Vernon meant a lot to a lot of people especially those involved with his Destiny's Child Organization. Hope they don't let his memory fade in his passing because in doing do, those scums win...

Racism sucks

There’s this sign down in Miami that simply brings a lot of joy to my heart. It simply says Racism Sucks. I am totally in agreement with the sign and its connotation. Racism is one of the worst things in the world and I hate it. I hate that s**t with the same zeal as Satan hating God.

Having taken a few History courses, I simply never understood the whole meaning of behind racism. I don't see myself hating or avoiding you because you have a different skin color or hair type. It’s just petty to me and I will not succumb to such level. Yes, there are lots of white racists, they have always been and will always be; there are also a lot mullatos (wannabe whites) who are also racist, and that also will never change. But your ass must be tripping if you think that racists only come in the light shades. Some of the most virulent racists I ever met were a whole lot darker. I know many of you who ain’t never been nowhere (outside of little Haiti or your little city) cannot believe such a thing because people of color don't control the power structure.

Uh huh…that’s that intellectual bullshit right there. You need to keep in mind that racism has nothing to do with the power given but only with personal viewpoint. This is not a defense of 'YT". No, it’s just a discourse of trying to get past the stupidity of prejudging without pre-knowing. It’s been holding us down, both black and white for way too long. It’s like a barrier erected a long time ago, but still here. Still keeping everybody apart and it continues to take its toll on a lot of innocent people from both side of the spectrum.

I have seen this since I was a young lad and almost 28 years into my existence, it is still relevant. I am sick and tired of this shit. I didn’t understand then and I still don’t get it now. I know many of you would like to think of me as an idealist who’s blind and also been brainwashed by his professors, but folks this isn’t the case. I'm fully aware of our history in this country. Fully aware of what we have gone through as a community. I'm just tired of it and I'm sure that millions of others on both sides of the fence are sick of it too.

You ever see small kids playing in the playground? You ever just sat and watch them at play? They could care less about what color their playmates are. For the most part, they get along pretty well. The racism comes later and you best believe that it’s not an inherited quality.

There is a famous song in the play “South Pacific”, You Gotta Be Taught How to Hate, that song is so true. Yes , some of it you may pick up in dealing with racist asses all over. Yet a lot of it is whispered softly or loudly in those young ears. The older generation really needs to put a damper on all that nonsense. But they won't. They will do just about anything to keep that fire and hatred going. You would think that after five hundred years of racism, we would get tired of it and let it go, but they’re not. So, how long can this awful cancer go on?

I'm looking at the cemetery in thirty years tops and it’s still depressing to think that it'll go on for another two centuries at best. I wouldn't want my son or future grandchildren to have to put up with this, but they probably will. I see it dying one day and no, that is not idealism talking. It'll have to die if we are to proceed as one race; instead of several 'races'. I would like to think of us as just one race; the Human race, who comes in many different beautiful colors.

Growing up on Maple Ave, our street was surrounded with ethnicity. You had the Italians, the French, and the Germans, the Ethiopians, the Hispanics and the many Africans. We all got along pretty well. My best bud in grade school Luis was a Dominican cat; and my best bud in High school Ish (RIP) was French/African. We ate in each other's homes, attended each other's parties, the kids hung out in the summer and had snowball fights in the winter. We had crushes on each other as kids and our parents laughed it off. We went to the same grammar schools together. I have a lot of fond memories of those years because everyone in the neighborhood didn't give a damn if you a Negro or a Blanco, you were simply you and that’s all that mattered.

You're talking about working class whites, blacks, and latinos who shared the same problems and same worries. You had no time to teach racism because you were too busy trying to come up with the mortgage and the school payments etc. You don't have a fistfight in a lifeboat in the middle of the ocean. You figure out a way to survive until you either hit land or a passing ship found you.
Sometimes I wish some folks would simply let things be and embrace their surroundings. I know a lot of my Haitian people are racist too. The so-called white Haitians tend to be a bit booji but they too need to wake the hell up because they ain’t white. They’re just a shade lighter them my butthole, they too can go to hell if they feel like they’re better or more privilege that me or anyone else for that matter.

Racism sucks and the world cannot go on this way if we keep oppressing each other. We keep talking about progress and growth yet the biggest leap we can make is to negate all the nonsense that has kept us down for the past 200 plus years.
When I go back home to see my folks, it’s always nice to check in with the guys from Maple Ave. Some of them are doctors, lawyers, writers, NBA players, NFL players, and NHL player. We have had a bond that cannot be broken. Had racism been at the heart of our community, we wouldn’t have been who we are today. Our past connects us and it has been that way for many other kids from Maple Ave. I’d like to believe that Maple Ave is the most culturally diverse street in America. Maple Ave is similar to the UN summit.
The Moral to all this?.....It goes back to that sign in the window “Racism Sucks”.

It doesn't matter who practice it. Black, White, Asian, or Latino.....Bottom line?

Racism Sucks.