Softball

 Donald Trump was thrown a very slow under hand softball. The kind you throw to small children who are first learning to hit. He was handed a bat a mile wide and given an eternity to swing. It was a pitch virtually impossible for him to miss. All he had to do was look at Chris Wallace and condemn white supremacy.

He couldn't do it. 

He couldn't because white nationalists and white supremacists are his most ardent and fervent supporters. He couldn't do it because that's his base. He couldn't and wouldn't do it because he relates to them as much as they relate to him. Instead of condemnation he sent a message that was so well received by white supremacists they publicly celebrated online. 

The discussion on who and what Trump is ended a long time ago. It can't get any clearer than this. It's time to stop playing in people's faces.

The Simple Reminders

 *I needed a day to gather my thoughts. Had I said what I wanted to say in the moment...

So just so I understand...

Discharging your weapon into another apartment amounts to wanton endangerment. Discharging your weapon and killing an innocent Black woman in her sleep is standard operating procedure. 

Seen.

I'm not surprised. It's not as if I needed another reminder of how this country views Black life. I'm angry though. It fortifies my position and belief that at the end of the day we must look after, provide for, and defend each other. We have no real allies that we can depend on and too many of us have become grifters who have sold their souls to become gatekeepers. 

So I remind my kinfolk to stay vigilant. Protect yourselves and your loved ones. Do what you must. Take pragmatic and clinical steps to ensure your health, wealth, and safety.

I don't believe in permanent allies. I don't even believe in permanent interests. I believe in my people. That which I do I do for me and mine. That's the long and short of it. These injustices are just simple reminders of the horrible naked truth of our existence. 

"He's No Hero"

I'm really trying to figure out what people are trying to say or attempting to accomplish when they talk about how not all Black people who are shot or violated by police are heroes. It's especially puzzling when they start citing their criminal records.

Do you all see how fucking ridiculous you look when you do this? Let me just clear a couple of things up. When we protest the unjust murder of a sister or brother we are not doing it to deify an individual. We are doing it to remind the rest of you that no one deserves to be unjustly murdered by agents of the state who are supposed to exist to serve and protect.

You see despite what some of you "law and order" types may think police are not judges, juries, and executioners. A DUI from 3 years ago isn't a death sentence.  A prior marijuana charge doesn't justify being shot to death.

Stop doing that shit please. If you love law and order as much as you pretend to then please remember that our civil and constitutional rights are inalienable. We protest and mourn our fallen because we know that could be any one of us. Regardless of our history. Whether or not they were "angels" is immaterial

Dick Gregory Was Right

Dick Gregory was right. You cannot reform a cop.

How do you reform someone who shoots and kills a child playing in a playground? How you do you reform someone who beats a homeless man to death as he screams? How do you reform someone who shoots a little girl sleeping on her couch and blames her elderly grandmother? How do you reform someone who feeds a homeless person feces?

You can't. No amount of sensitivity training is going to fix that. You're not fixing that with community outreach programs. You can't appeal to the morality of someone who would do such things. You can't train someone not to hate. That's not reality and despite what people say we all know it.

You don't reform police. You give them something to lose. You force them to make a choice. Do you hate Black people more than you love your freedom? Do you hate Black people more than you love feeding your family? Do you hate Black people more than you love losing your livelihood and the things closest to you?

Without something to lose racist and corrupt officers have zero incentive to modify their behaviors. Take away qualified immunity. Require officers to be insured. Prosecute corrupt police and send them to prison. Give them something to lose.

That's the only way you'll see change

To Whom It May Concern...

To Whom It May Concern, 

I do not write this in a threatening or intimidating fashion. This isn't tough talk or aggressive posturing or any of that. It is simply a point of fact. 

Black people are watching. Closely. We are aware and we are tired. Please believe that those of us who are concerned about the current climate are preparing. We will have no intentions of being victims and we have no intentions of revisiting days gone that some of you consider to be great. 

I think I speak for many of my kinfolk when I say we will respect everyone. But let me be clear: We will take care of the homefront. We will protect ourselves and our families. We will not suffer dehumanization or disrespect. At all. 

I say this with no anger, malice, or hatred. Black people will do what we must. We always have. We always will. Please make a note of it.

I'm Tired...

I'm tired of it.

Literally all we want is for police to stop shooting and killing unarmed and innocent Black people. That's it. That's literally all we asked for. For agents of the state to stop shooting and murdering unarmed Black civilians. 

Instead we get an unarmed brother shot in the back seven times. We get a sister shot dead in her home as she slept. We get a sister shot dead through a window as police crept through her yard. We get a child shot dead sleeping on the couch. We get a child shot dead playing in the playground. 

On top of that we get gaslighted and told that the shooting and/or killing of our unarmed kinfolk was justified. We watch as these murderers go unpunished. We are expected to accept it as we grieve the loss of our loved ones. 

And you wonder why there is civil unrest. You wonder why people are in the streets.  You wonder why there is protest. You wonder why buildings are on fire. It's because people are tired. 

Enough is enough

Stop It. You Are Not "Pro-Life"

Greetings Sisters, brothers, and kinfolk

Today I want to send a very clear and very direct message to those who feel compelled to defend the draconian, regressive, and barbaric abortion laws that were recently passed in Alabama and Georgia. I want them to know how I feel in no uncertain terms.

You are not "pro-life". Nothing about your position is "pro-life". Nothing you say or do suggests "pro-life". You seek to not only rob women of their autonomy but to ultimately rob people of their civil rights. I have a theory as to why you want this but I'll save that for another post. Suffice to say right now that your position is not about protecting life. It's not about protecting innocent unborn children. It's not about any of that bullshit. All of that is a lie. You are not pro-life. You know it. I know it.

I know it because I know that you're completely unwilling to do anything to aid that "innocent child". Nothing. You are not willing to contribute one cent to the prenatal care of the mother of that "innocent child". You are not willing to contribute one cent to make sure that child has even the most basic of needs. You don't even want your tax dollars, which you must pay regardless, going toward helping that child. You aren't willing to help that child eat. You aren't willing to help make sure that child has decent healthcare. You aren't even willing to help make sure that child has simple things like diapers or blankets. You have zero desire to assist in any way or contribute one shiny nickel toward that child's needs. You have zero desire to aid in that child's LIFE. You couldn't care less about the quality of that child's LIFE.

It goes even further beyond that. Because you're not even willing to invest time or emotional energy into that "innocent child". You're not going to mentor that innocent child. You're not going to help teach that child about love and community. You're not going to take time out to speak to that child. To share your life experiences and wisdom so that innocent child doesn't make poor choices. You're not going to embrace that child and help guide them in the right direction. Things that cost you nothing, save for time and compassion. But you're not even going to that. You don't give a shit about the trajectory of that child's LIFE. You have no interest in preparing that innocent child for LIFE in our society.

How do I know you're not going to do any of that shit? Because I hear you. Because I see you. I hear you when you whine about how your tax dollars are going to "lazy poor people". I see you when you look the other way when our "innocent children" fall victims to the many predators in our society. I see you when you ignore the needs of young people then blame them for what ails society. Again nothing you say or do suggests you give a damn about the LIFE of those innocent children you pretend to champion.

So stop it. Please. Stop saying you are pro-life. Call yourselves something else. Because you're not pro-life. You know it. I know it. We all know it. Stop the bullshit. Please and thank you.

Follow your big brother on Twitter @DocSinn. Support The Pavement by donating to https://patron.podbean.com/pavementmedia and follow the podcast once we get it crackin https://pavementmedia.podbean.com