Stand Up To Live

I was recently asked where my interest in activism originated. I never really thought about it, but I replied my thoughts on the fact that, I think, some people are just born with an activist's mind and spirit. I know the things that I am passionate about, and I am very firm in my convictions, but a lot of my beliefs are very different from those of my family members, and even some of my close friends. And they've always been.

I've always been interested in Black leadership and human civil rights. I've always been crazy enough to believe that if enough of us wanted to make change happen, it will happen. I've always believed that if you aren't willing to speak out and against wrongdoing, then you are silently allowing it to happen. I've constantly spoken about my proud roots in nerdom; but I think that intelligence without the willpower to motivate any form of change or without the slightest bit of social labor is meaningless and selfish. Henry David Thoreau said: "How vain is it that you have sat down to write when you have not stood up to live." This is one of my favorite quotes. I love applying it to politics and the rule-makers, especially in the ongoing debate on health care, because many of the people who are in charge don't know the needs of the people because they've not been there. I do think that writing is a beautiful form of activism; blogging is still an evolving process. To inspire people who have traditionally cared little about moving forward in resolving the issues of the world is one of the most fantastic things about the internet. Sure, you have to push past a lot of bullshit before you get down to the good stuff, but it's there and people are, at the very least, becoming advocates in their minds; delivering words of encouragement, motivation, revolution. People should do what they can, and if writing is all that they are able to do, so be it.

In the last year, I met two of my sister-inspirations. On separate occasions, I met SisterLegend Angela Davis and SisterWarrior (heh, I stole that from her) Aishah Shahidah Simmons. Over the course of my life, several other sister-inspirations that aren't "famous"(?) for their social activism have come into my life and I've always been attracted to forcing change and balance into a world that has, for too long, lacked both qualities. Many people don't know that I was considering studying History in school (after my stint as both a Music and Creative Writing Major). I always enjoyed learning about slavery and civil rights in school, and you know what? I've never had a problem arguing with my teacher about the supposed "truth" that they fed me versus what my Dad schooled me on at home.

I wish I could say I developed this spirit in high school or college like most people I know (and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that), but the truth is I've thrown my fist in the air without regard to when and where; I've burned a bra before I wore one. Even though my mother chose to straighten my hair when I was young, I've eternally internally maintained the spirit of my nappy roots (and proved it when I cut my long, straight hair off in high school).

Why should anybody else care to be an activist?

1. It not only helps the people who need it, but it improves the quality of life for people who do not directly benefit from it.
2. It's a challenge, and something that people can commit to for the rest of their lives.
3. For the next generation.
4. For the generation that has yet to be born; who wants to bring children into a world stuck in social desolation?
5. Because Black people/women people/bi-gay-lesbian-trans(sexual AND gendered) people/Immigrants (legal or otherwise)/Native Americans (who were here before any of us)/poor people/abused persons/children/victims of crime/people who are looking to change their lives after committing crime/the religious AND secularists/atheists/religious minorities/any other disadvantaged group of people are still people. It doesn't matter if you "don't agree" or think it's "okay as long as they keep _____ away from you"; disagreeing isn't your business and by contending that someone else can live a certain way as long as you don't have to see it forces people into boxes and closets.
6. It could always get worse.
7. If you allow it to get worse, you could be directly affected.
8. Being complacent in a situation where you have and always directly benefited only makes you a perpetrator of the wrongdoing.
9. If you don't care now, will you care when things get drastically worse?
10. What did the historically disadvantage fight for? For THIS?! Would they be disappointed?
11. The progress that has been made is great, but is it enough?
12. Your great-great-great-grandmothers were slaves , Black people (not even that many "greats" for some people). And white people, you are also related to this slave; you know why? Because your direct great-great-great-grandmothers were nursed by her and your great-great-great-grandfather raped her and had kids with her too.
13. Because people are still discussing whether or not the first Black President is a citizen, only to avoid saying flat out that they don't think he's capable because of his skin color.
14. Because no great movement is a movement of one person; they have to have back-up to move forward against the people who don't want them to.
15. Because there is a Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh.
16. Because far too many people are unaware of their rights!
17. Because the media disproportionately reports crimes occurring to young, single, white, females far more than they report Black women that have gone missing.
18. I know if feels safe to not be involved and not feel obligated to question what is spoon fed to you, but I know seven words that should dissuade any person's complacency: Who is in control of your mind?
19. The "big" movements were not that long ago; my mother was a young child when Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated.
20. We take for granted the little things that we have in life, like clean air and water.
21. The world's natural disasters are scary enough without having to be concerned about whether or not people respect you behind closed doors.
22. To teach someone who "doesn't know better" to feel, think, and act better.
23. Because hate speech motivates hate acts, especially among those who aren't able to distinguish the difference between reality and entertainment.
24. Because if we continue to fight each other, the job of the person that expects failure from us is done without much effort on his/her own part.
25. Because far too much bullshit gets taken seriously (and as such, serious issues are regarded as bullshit and, eventually, ignored).
26. The people who are really in charge (forget all that official stuff) are more concerned about their money than your rights.
27. Because people are ingesting toxic food daily, and fast-food chains and supermarkets are allowing it to happen.
28. All people are still not regarded as equal in the eyes of the law!
29. For the people who have died on death row before advancements in DNA evidence, and for people who are STILL being exonerated. I met a death row exonoree two years ago and it changed my life. How the fuck would you feel after you've been on death row for over 18 years for a crime that you had absolutely nothing to do with?
30. Because people still use religion as a reason to harm other people.
31. Female genital mutilation.
32. Because so many people don't even know that there are conflicts and civil wars currently happening that people do not know about.
33. People still think that only gay men can contract and spread HIV/AIDS.
34. Because I have been called a nigger in my lifetime. I was three, and it was by my three-year-old white best friend who, by the way, was the daughter of a preacher.
35. Because even if I didn't know gay people, I'd still have sense enough to know that they are people.
36. Because minorities are disproportionately affected by the recession.
37. Because when I began typing "Black people" in my google search, the first prediction was "Black people jokes". Word?

38. Women only gained the right to vote in 1920. That's less than 100 years ago.
39. Rosa Parks was not the first or only arrested for refusing to give her seat up to white people; she's just the most famous. If it weren't for the others, though, Rosa wouldn't have become such an influence. Believe that.
40. Because of police brutality.
41. Because people who take rape jokingly are laughing all the way to to bank, while you're broke and laughing at their tv shows.
42. Violence against women starts young and often goes unreported.
43. Because being involved with something positive is the right thing to do.
44. Activists and advocates live longer because they feel as though they have something to stick around for.
45. Thousands of people are killed by drunk drivers every year.
46. Because life is beautiful; how do you know how good yours is if you don't know how bad it has the potential to be?
47. To be someone's role model. I love feeling like I've inspired someone, and it's an even better feeling when they tell you that you have.
48. To be remembered when your time is up.
49. Because democracy is defined by nearly every source who knows the word as: a political government either carried out directly by the people or by means of elected representatives of the people.
50. Because if you don't stand for something, you're bound to fall for anything. And fighting doesn't have to be physical to make an impact.

Be Righteous.

You Better Tell the Truth!!

Going through my reader this morning, and I found this gem re-posted over at Sociological Images. Loved it so much that I felt the need to re-post it here...but, the aforelinked blog is a good one, so I think everyone should check it out. I've been subscribed for quite sometime. =)

This video was also a part of the same post. I am so on board with this brotha; very well articulated points. I am now also following his site.

Meet Me in Osaka!

As far back as I can remember, I've always been a Jack Jill person of all trades; I previously wrote about my parents pushing me into everything (and my lack of resistance, clearly) and I've always had a very broad spectrum of things in which I was both interested and good at. I hate explaining that to people because I feel like it always sounds a bit assholish saying "oh yes, I can do everything", but my intent is not to boast of my omnipotence, smile.

As a matter of fact, while I was into the Backstreet Boys, Hootie and the Blowfish, Tupac (since he never died), and Korn all at the same time, my dad told me I should narrow my interests (and this devastated me for up to/after ten years later, when he had no recollection of it and claimed that he must have been joking).

Coming up, my family did not have a lot of money and as such, I've never really traveled anywhere. I mean, besides up and down the east coast. My dad is from Nueva York, so multiple times a year we would drive up to visit my grandma, aunts, cousins, and childhood friends (which may include what is disputably my first long distance boyfriend, unngh). My New York cousins spent summers with us in North Carlina, and we'd travel the state. One year, we went to Florida and went to Sea World, Wet 'n Wild, and Universal, where one of my biggest fears was solidified. I was a fresh 23 when I visited Disney World for the first time, just months ago, and I probably appreciated it a lot more than I would have as a kid. Especially since I had to pay my way...lol. This is beginning to sound a little Everybody Hates Chris-ish; I love my parents and everything that I've experienced thus far. But, as the kid who was born a woman of the world, I am certainly planning on seeing more than I have. As a matter of fact, my aunt is encouraging me to accompany them to Egypt next year and I'm considering it.

Last night, I was watching an episode of a favorite show No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain and he was visiting Osaka, Japan. My oldest maternal aunt, the only one of three maternal aunts currently speaking to me, lived in Japan for sometime before I was born. And every where else. Visiting Japan never really crossed my mind; I mean, when I got excited about going to Japan, I texted my best friend and she made it clear that she wasn't into Anime or Harajuku-anything; I did explain to her that there's more to a culture than two things but she told me that she's rather go to Darfur or Afghanistan. At any rate, I've never really been into anything Japanese besides food (and I'm talking homemade from my mother's Japanese-raised Korean students) and Pokemon, but the episode of No Reservations really rounded it out for me. The show is primarily about food, but he generally discusses a lot of cultural traditions and tourist-type things.

Having practiced Buddhism for a few years, some of the other things about the episode really interested me: the Kiso Forest and the spiritual(?) rituals relating to it.

I've never been on an airplane before. Or anything bigger than a fishing boat (and I'm not talking about a shrimp'n boat, Mr. Gump), I'm talking about the one that you row-row-row gently down the lake stream. I feel a little embarrassed telling people these things since people in my circle have, at the very least, traveled to a different time zone.

Anyway, I kind of decided yesterday that Japan will probably be the first on my list of international experiences, and that, if I am able, I would be interested in going by the end of next year. Of course, there are many factors that affect whether or not this will actually happen, but it's a goal. Sure, I'd love to visit Egypt and the many other parts of Africa, Italy, Ireland, and Greece. Those places all seem amazing too. I even think I want to go to Toronto sometime soon-ish. But something about Japan seemed incredible as a first trip.

What Can I say, I don't believe in doing things half-way; when I intend to do something, I have to make it a big deal. I guess we'll see what happens!

Attempted Double Etheree: Still Writer's Blocked.

Flit.
Not safe,
Yet embracing.
Overwhelming.
Imagination.
Trapped deep inside the mind.
Closed eyes. Deep breath. Vacancy.
Cold outside, damp, dark, and lonely.
Oh, stars, I wonder how you are.
Twinkle twinkle to the jazzy hearts.
Effortless attempts at optimism.
Tick-tock, flying without a safe landing.
Red blushed cheeks fading, gasp but no exhale.
Feel your way through it; naturally.
Confined without a clear thought.
Soulless, whisper to me.
What do I give now?
Listen. Closed eyes.
Supplicate.
Succumb.
Lulled.

It took me three days to get this attempt at a poem out. I'm (obviously) really struggling. Curse this writer's block.

I can't help it.

The other day I was driving and flipping through channels, and landed on this gem. I could have wrecked the car from laughing so much! I guess I was sleep deprived, but I was seriously so very tickled! Enjoy.

...and to think, I almost turned the channel because I was afraid it was genuine Christian country.

The night was...

I'm a movie fan, and I have lots of the most random movies that I've enjoyed throughout the course of my twenty-something years. One of these favorite movies is "Throw Momma From The Train", from which the title for this post was taken. That's right; I might be the only person who actually thought to purchase this move on dvd, might I add, in the year 2000-and-something. In fact, this movie is one of very few that will make me laugh so hard I'm crying every time I watch it.

In this movie, Billy Crystal plays Larry, a failed writer who teaches a class at a community college and in his class is Owen, played by Danny DeVito, a mama's boy who is often downright tormented by Momma. Larry's unhappiness roots to his ex-wife stealing his novel and becoming rich as a result of publishing it...

Owen spent a good bit of the movie begging Larry to read his story, and Larry encourages Owen to see a movie which involves two men swapping potential murder victims to get rid of the alibi. Owen then gets an idea: Owen kills Larry's ex-wife, Larry kill's Owen's Momma. The perfect crime. Now, now; it's quite comical because Larry didn't actually sign up for it. No one is actually murdered.

What brought the film to mind is the fact that throughout it, Larry comes down with an extreme case of writer's block. He sits down at his type writer and writes: "The night was..."

"The night was..."

"The night was..."

"The night was hot, wait no, the night, the night was humid. The night was humid, no wait, hot, hot. The night was hot. The night was hot and wet, wet and hot. The night was wet and hot, hot and wet, wet and hot; that's humid. The night was humid."

For six months this goes on.
This line to begin the book of his, the next chapter of his life, plagued him throughout the course of the movie. In fact, he begins reading Owen's story in class and Owen's story began with "The night was humid" and he abruptly ends class, disgusted.

I want to bang my head against the wall. I have a serious case of writer's block. It's painful to be stuck on "the night was" when I really have the time and motivation to get some good things out; nothing seems to move me right now.

Sigh.

In the final scene of "Throw Momma From The Train", Owen, Larry and Momma are on a train and Larry is giving Owen one last lesson in writing. He explains the writing process and the importance of great beginnings, and Larry ends the thought in pondering, "what do you say, the night was humid or do you say the night was moist?"

Momma interrupted with "The night was sultry." (I nearly die laughing every time I see that scene...starts around 1:32)

Depression

You were incredible for my poetic heart
but forced my growing mind to mend with tear-filled puddles
Depression was, by far, the most consistent aspect of my life
Throughout my life
And it will never rule me
Or ruin me
Again.

I found post that I started a little while ago, but it wasn't finished. I don't think I can, which is ironic; something that consumed so much of my life is now falling under a category that is very characteristic of the non-depressed version of myself: short, sweet, and to the point. I don't know whether to feel silly for not being able to finish writing this "poem" or proud for having no desire to.

Be Righteous.