"Reasonable fear for his life?" -- a pack of skittles, and a can of tea vs. a damned gun with a bullet, racked in the chamber? Please!

I swore to myself that I would not write a single word about this trial until it was over, and I won't.  But I just cannot hold it all in.  Hell, I have society-identified Black sons -- older than Trayvon, but Black nevertheless.  My soul and heart are just completely overloaded with the fear that this murderer will go free.

Why?  Because it gives the "legally recognized" stamp of approval to a genocide that's been operating in plain sight, but ignored, for eons.

I won't be long here but, my oldest son said to me today, "How is it legal, that a person, carrying a gun, with a bullet racked in the chamber, can follow you, walk up on you (a citizen in these alleged united states) -- and shoot you dead,  just because??!!  Why isn't the state continually hammering the plain illegality of that point??  What about Trayvon's right to defend himself??"

Sadly, all I could say to him was, "Because of the game that is the just-us system in this country, Son."  Lauryn absolutely nails what's happening in the Zimmerman trial right here...



...which is why, like Sister Lauryn:

"If I have to die, oh Lord, that's how I choose to live."  

Slowly but surely, I've realized there is no other alternative...

The "History of Iniquity"...

Though James Byrd's killer was executed in late 2011 for his brutal dragging death behind a pick-up truck in 1998, the legacy of white supremacist hate behind the wheel endures -- as the faces of the perpetrators get younger and younger: Anthony Hill in June 2010, James Craig Anderson in June 2011 and most recently, Johnny Lee Butts in July 2012.

The local District Attorney's comments at the 6:20 click, made me think of a recent discussion I had with a young brother about, depending on "the courts,"as a means for us to see justice served.  I told him:

"Does it work? Yes, sometimes it does -- but wa-a-ay less than it doesn't. Can it work more? Absolutely! But that depends again, on KNOWING that crooked system and using what we KNOW to fight against the injustices built into it! But trust me, there are plenty of us who are lawyers, more than willing to buy into that system for them "dollar, dollar bills," instead of, fighting its injustice (Exhibit A? The Changeling)!"

And as noted toward the end of the video -- there are probably more attempts, and successes than we can imagine. As I told my young brother in another, earlier conversation, I'm squarely in Lauryn Hill's "court" when it comes to the judicial system in this country:



I'm convinced she's onto something very important to consider, as she beautifully follows-up at the end of the above, with this:



(My young Sister, I hope you're still writing powerful words like those above -- because Lord knows, I miss you!)

Related:
- Kentucky neo-Nazis charged in gruesome murder, dismemberment

The "Transcendent" Mrs. O

“For Barack,” said Michelle Obama in her wildly acclaimed speech tonight, “these issues aren’t political – they’re personal.”

That reprise of the shopworn feminist slogan — “the personal is political” — was the essential premise of her entire speech. In a cloyingly theatrical modern tradition, first ladies attend the national conventions to testify about biography, not policy; they talk about the man as only they know him. But Michelle Obama managed to effortlessly marshal both to tell a story about change in America — with the promise of more to come — and to deliver her speech transcendantly. (emphasis mine)

I watched Michelle Obama's speech last Tuesday and my take-away was nowhere near Salon's take on said speech, Michelle Obama: Beyond mom-in-chief.  My first thought was, "There goes that word again!   Why are Black "achievements" always described as transcendent by our alabaster brethren (they certainly used it enough in the run-up to, and selection of, the Changeling)?"  Answering my own question I said, "Because they only consider one of Webster's definitions of the word when it comes to some, former 'savages' -- exceeding usual limits : surpassing.

Discarding the white racial frame, Webster's second definition seemed a more apt description of the Mom-in-Chief's speech to me as I talked back to the TV like one of my great aunts used to do -- beyond comprehension.  This wonderful piece by Saswat Pattanayak, posted over at voxunion last weekend, captured most of my reasons why most eloquently in, Michelle Obama and American Status Quo Action Plan:

Michelle Obama’s convention speech has been both applauded and criticized for being too emotional. Those amazed at her love towards her husband have shed a tear or two, while the detractors are disappointed at her personal narrative lacking statistical substance.

A critical inquiry would reveal that her speech was anything but emotive. It was a carefully orchestrated rehash of an old American fixation with individual merits, family values and competitive prosperity. Her speech was a blueprint for humanizing capitalism. It was a justification for the status quo politics that has uniformly strengthened a populist cry for American hegemony; decade after decade, regime after regime. Michelle Obama’s speech has merely colored the template acceptable.

Then this week, Black Agenda Report Editor and senior columnist, Margaret Kimberley succinctly and skillfully laid waste to the white-framed idea of "transcendent" in her, Black America Stands Down for the Obamas:

The best example of foolishness masquerading as substance was the overwrought reaction to first lady Michelle Obama’s speech. She gave what has become a traditional address asking voters to support the candidate because his wife tells funny stories about him which will make voters determined to vote for the good husband/dad/one time poor student who loves his country. The only difference between Michelle Obama and Ann Romney’s speeches was in the quality of delivery and fashion sense. Apparently there is still nothing like a beautiful woman in the right dress to make otherwise intelligent people lose their common sense.

I, for one, certainly appreciate these "canaries in the coal mines," who (with facts), exposed the white-framed description of Mrs. O's "transcendent" speech for what it was, politricks as usual -- "with the promise of more to come."

That in mind, Ms. Hill's searing, "When the, Son of Perdition is Commander-in-Chief..." shouldn't be ignored:



Yet the beat goes on...

My first-born son turned 30 today...

... and because I will always feel this way about him in my head and in my heart - to him, from my beautiful sister, Ms. Lauryn Hill...



It's stange, how sometimes you can remember exactly what you were doing when a given thing occurred.  I was here in 1996 at a club, when the DJ stopped the music - and announced the death of Tupac Shakur.  He would've been 40 yesterday.  Sending a "Mama-love" hug out to my sister, Afeni.)

Now that it's all over but the shoutin'...

...I'm gonna make this short.  Note to the Changeling-n-nem:  If you don't stand for something, you will fall - period! 

There were few surprises for me in these mid-term elections - but there were a couple.  First and foremost, my home state of South Carolina (one of the of the original 13s) - which propped Strom Thurmond up in Congress until he was a-damned-100(!) years old (those last couple years were pretty scary.  Watching him in Congress, I was convinced he'd already passed, but had somehow been dyed and shellacked (Let's be clear here - I mean a type of lacquer that becomes as hard as a shell.) to his seat in his Sunday-go-to-meetin' suit by some upstart mortician.) - "elected the first black Republican to Congress from the Deep South since Reconstruction."

County Councilman Scott - whose district had encompassed the Sea Islands, where the Gullah roots of my family lay; the city of Charleston, where I was born and raised; and North Charleston, where I've also lived on a few separate occasions - defeated the Shellacked One's SON in the June, GOP primary, paving the way for his victory on Tuesday!  As leery as I am of politicians in general, and Black Republicans in particular - I must admit a clearly discernible feeling of schadenfreude in that irony (What?  I keep tellin' ya'll I am human!).

Real Change? Or, more games? 

Though he can legitimately claim more in common with "the party of Lincoln and Frederick Douglass" - instead of just using it as a convenient stage prop and sound-bite, as the Changeling did during his, "I'm gonna run for president speech" on the steps of the Old State Capitol in Illinois - being a Carolina girl myself, I'd definitely choose the latter.
 
I don't know Mr. Scott, but according to three fellow councilmen in this piece that I do know, or know of  (and I am considering the sources) - it seems a toss-up as to what the Palmetto State will get, once Mr. Scott goes to Washington.

The other surprise?  That Sen. Harry Reid managed to hang onto his seat.  I guess I can partially understand the support from the Latino community, given they were literally voting for their lives and freedom from illegal arrests, after Harry played his games (I wonder why Charlie Christ's efforts to get Meek out in FL was a bigger story than what Harry was doing in Nevada?).

I do believe if the Tea Party's, Sharron Angle had been elected - she would have definitely posed a way more "clear and present danger" to their very existence in this country in the short-term, than Ole Harry probably has in his very, long-term.  We shall soon see what his brand of payback looks like.

I said I'd keep it short, and I am.  But as you consider the ramifications of the mid-terms, as well as the upcoming presidential election in two years, I ask you to also consider my sister's words below - for all our sakes:

"Shoop, Shoop, Shoop..."

Whew-w-w! Man, oh Man! I've been waiting to exhale since I left D.C. on Wednesday, the 22nd!!

Finally, finally I get a brief moment to do just that - before it all begins again (waiting on furniture, staying in a hotel).

I have to say though - I'm feelin' a whole lot like Voltron right now! He's the big guy in the photo.
For you younguns out there, let me just be clear. Before the slick "Transformers" of today (as well as their predecessors from the mid-to-late 80s), there was "Voltron Force," a team of five pilots who commanded five robot lions which combined to form the evil-fighting, big guy - "Voltron: Defender of the Universe" (What can I say? I have two boys - born in 1981 and 1984. And yes, Voltron absolutely lived in our home! Those babies loved that thing!!! As a matter of fact, I think we still have it in those plastic tubs of toys I've been saving for their kids (or a serious toy collector - if the kid thing doesn't work out).

First, I drove to South Carolina for my annual trip to clean my mother's grave and put in some new flowers on July 24th - the 13th anniversary of her death (oddly, I miss my Mama more now, than I ever have). I only stayed long enough to visit a dear friend, some family and get that accomplished. As I left the church yard, I couldn't shake the sense of urgency I felt. I needed to get where I was going! As I told my friend "ea" in a comment on another post, "My family - the one that my husband and I had created - needed a hug!"

Apart, we were like the five robot lions of the Voltron Force - strong, and on some level, basically effective, but not - a "Unit." I'm tellin' you, as I drove through the evening and into the night to meet my husband at the previously agreed upon rest stop in Tallahassee (the movers came for our house in Florida on Thursday, he left on Friday), all I could think about was that damn toy!!!

Happy Birthday today to my first-born, Gemini Son and Happy Belated to my Aries Baby

I'd begun a post in April for my Baby-boy, but as life continued to happen, it remained a draft.

Today, I honor both my beautiful sons on the 27th birthday of the oldest and the 24th birthday of the youngest - just passed (Spring and Summer are pretty busy around here!). I have so much faith in their promise!

I hope you both will always, always know the depth of my love for you!!!

Mom