Tribute to Aaliyah

I know I'm a few days late from the anniversary of Aaliyah's death, but I'd still like to dedicate this blog post to her career and memory. Let her death be a reminder of how the decisions we make now can affect our lives and the lives of others tomorrow.

The Science of Police Abuse Part 1

A billboard along Hwy 290 in Texas. You already know what that flag really represents...

  

In light of the recent police shootings in San Francisco and London, I though I'd do a post on my most recent run in with the laws(police). For those who don't know what's going on: in late July, San Francisco police shot a 19 year old (Kenneth Harding, Jr.) who tried to run from them after he was confronted about not having a bus ticket. There are viral videos all over youtube with the aftermath. In London, members of the working class have been rioting all week due to the shooting of an unarmed man (Mark Duggan) while working. Bored police are a dangerous police, and they are trained to be suspicious and intimidating, they're naturally paranoid, and have the benefit of the doubt when it comes to the law.

   Yesterday a coworker and I were driving home from work. We were on the road around 2am, since we work the night shift. A car that was in front of us suddenly pulled over at a crossover on the highway. The car didn't turn, it just waited for us to pass it. It turned out to be a Texas State Trooper. He pulled out and started following us. He would pull up close behind me, then give me a little room. When I changed lanes, he pulled into my "blind spot" and then backed up. Then he pulled up next to us (looking in the car) then backed into my blind spot again. I'd seen it before, usually with officers working at night. I knew better than to drive straight home, so I drove to the closest gas station (5 miles down the road) where I knew there would be lights, cameras, and witnesses to whatever it was he ws planning to do. He followed us the whole way, driving in my blind spot.

   When we pulled into the parking lot, the officer stood in front of our car waiting for us to get out. He asked where we were coming from, and we said we had just got off work. He asked where we worked; I told him and asked if I needed to call my supervisor. He said no and asked where we were headed; I said "in the store". So the officer opens the door for me and follows me around the store. When I go to check out, the officer goes back outside, gets his flashlight out and starts looking in my car. My coworker went outside to ask him what he was doing. After I finished checking out, I asked the cashier for some paper and a pen. I got the officer's name, badge number, and his license plate number. I'll file a written complaint soon.

   I started off with the story, now let's look at what was going on between the lines. The officer had no valid reason to pull me over, which is why all he could do was follow me then wait until I stopped to ask questions. The way the officer was driving when he first started following us was his way of making his presence known. he wanted to see if he could provoke me to act suspiciously (ie. ducking onto a backroad off the highway, speeding off to evade him, or throwing shit out the window) to give him an excuse to stop us. I acted like I wasn't paying him any attention and kept the same speed.

  When we got to the store, the officers initial approach was legal. He asked questions and I answered. Usually, I won't answer any of an officer's questions. I say "I'm going to remain silent" from the jump, even to the most trivial questions. Legally it puts me at a slight advantage, but out there on the street it can usually make things worse. I've learned from experience that you have to be able to tell when it's best to answer the (trivial) questions and when not to answer any questions at all. I/you should never answer any of an officer's questions or statements that imply criminal activity or probe for signs of guilt (It doesn't matter if you're doing something wrong or not). Now, once the officer let me go into the store, legally, that should have been the end of the encounter. Since I wasn't being detained I could've gone straight into the store from the start, but again, you have to pick the best strategy dealing with bored police officers. In the store, the officer pretended to shop, but always moved to keep me in full view. Stalling, I walked around picking up items, putting them back to get others, and getting stuff I knew I couldn't afford. When I got to the register, I had about 3 or 4 items. I used my bank card to pay first (which I knew didn't have any money on it), then paid for only 1 of the 4 items with change and left the rest.  After my coworker went to see what the officer was doing he said the officer was checking the door handles (to see if they were unlocked). After I got his information my coworker and I went back into the store to talk with the cashier and another local resident until the officer left before heading home. This was clearly racial profiling and harassment, but the situation played out a lot better than what could have been. I could be in the hospital, in jail, or dead.

   The officer crossed the line when he started looking in my car while I was at the register, especially trying to open the doors without my consent. Once he let me enter the store, that should've been the end of the altercation (I was free to go), but he decided to see if there was anything he could find as an excuse to harass us some more, and hopefully make an arrest. Though the police are sworn to protect and serve the citizens of the country, their functional purpose to date has been to serve and protect the interests of the ruling class. Other than that, many of them serve and protect not a goddamn thing. Of course there are plenty of individual exclusions to that statement, the general, practical, function of law enforcement on all levels says otherwise. I've got plenty of stories like this and I tell them to people all the time because there are a lot of people (especially foreigners and upper class, or conservative blacks) who just don't believe or are naive to the nature of police, the affect they have on our communities, or the fact that these conditions can be changed if more people get involved with finding solutions to issues of police abuse.

Part 2 coming soon.

The African Renaissance: The Greatest Story Never Told Part 1

Aya - symbol of endurance and resourcefulness

  

In Destruction of Black Civilization the author,  Chancellor Williams, discusses the economic, social, political, and environmental factors leading up to the destruction of the ancient civilizations that our African ancestors had established. In short, environmental and political issues (ie. soil becoming  unfavorable for farming, Arab, Asian, and European invasions, etc.) caused the inhabitants of these established societies to migrate.

  As the people became further engulfed in the nomadic life these large groups of people began to splinter off into smaller groups to the point that each group had its own spoken language, customs, and territory. After some time, few of them realized they had once come from the same civilizations. Over the generations the old written languages were forgotten; they had little time to develop written languages as they were always on the move. Eventually, some groups would begin to conquer another, or they would willfully combine to form larger groups. Some of these large groups would often settled to establish new civilized societies, while others continued their nomadic lifestyle (and began to splinter again as a result).

  Once nation in particular was Kuba. Kuba was a nation located in central Africa, southeast of the Congo. The nation was founded as the result of alliances between the Bushoong tribe and 17 other smaller tribes. Between 1475 and 1630, Kuba developed a democratic republic state, and  which included a king(comparable to the president) and councils of Elders and chiefs representing their respective tribes and clans(families). The tribes within themselves were also democratic. The idea of Kuba being a melting pot of cultures would put the US to shame. Individual tribes were praised if their group excelled in a particular area with techniques or customs that were unique to that tribe. These customs would become adopted as part of the mainstream Kuban culture. Although the Bushoong tribe made up roughly 80% of the population each group was also equally represented under the government. There were a type of checks and balances that prevented any tribe from having the advantage of a "tyranny of the majority". 

  One of the greatest achievements of Kuba was its economic revolution. This revolution was started by Shyaam the Great who became king of Kuba around 1630. Before Shyaam Kuba's Economy was on the level of subsistence, the nation only produced what it needed in terms of goods. Whereas previous kings(and queens) had focused on conquering land, Shyaam turned the national focus inward to improve the economy. Shyaam set the momentum that led to the success of his successors in establishing Kuba as the most advanced African nation of the time.

  The people of Kuba began to experiment with a larger variety of crops. Many of these crops had been grown in the territories of respective tribes and were now being grown on a national level, being grown in different areas of the nation. New and more efficient methods of production for crafts and tools were developed. Better yields of crops and higher production and new styles for the arts and crafts led to surplus production, which opened the door for national and foreign trade. Caravans began to form. Except for agriculture, masters of every trade began to form guilds. Farming was common, everyone farmed the land in addition to their own professional trade. Although agriculture was important, more emphasis was placed jon the professional trades since they were what strengthened the national economy.

  One of the most interesting, and maybe the most important, fact about this renaissance is that it occurred exclusively in Africa. For Africans, by Africans. Although the Europeans and Arabs had gradually conquered the coastline surrounding Kuba and the rest of central Africa, the people of Kuba had never had any contact with any other races. Their nomadic ancestors who had adopted the nomadic lifestyle before settling in the 1470s were the last to come in contact with Arabs or Europeans. The whites would not come in contact with Kuba until the 1800s. By then, Kuba had since been on a gradual decline from its revolutionary spurt of political, cultural, and economic development of the1630s.

A history lesson for those who think the Africans were better off being conquered and enslaved... Part 2 will discuss the problems the Kubans faced that eventually led to the downfall of the civilization.

BlackMind (Game) Development

The first step in creating any kind of video game or phone app is a game design document (GDD). For the bigtime game companies the GDD is usually 30+ pages typed. Right now I'm brainstorming and developing a design for a game. No development team, sponsors, or partners yet, and still working at the dead end day job. There's about 15 pages etched out in a notebook, I haven't started typing it yet. It's still a ways to go with the GDD before development starts, but when I'm done I'll have enough plans to make a text-based(that means no animation) or graphic computer game or phone app. Can't afford to make a console game yet, you need to buy a license from the manufacturer. I'm new to the business of game development, but I'm going to keep news of my progress in the business, on the game I'm working on, and information I learn along the way here for others to use. Beginning C++ Through Game Programming is one of the books that got me started.

Another site that's good for references is Sloperama.
For more info on game development companies in your area you can also go to the International Game Developers Association's web site.

The Ballot

Today I wanted to talk a little about voting and how we as a people can use it to our advantage. Whenever election time rolls around (for anything) we all hear the average person on the street, and people in the "conscious" community say "I don't vote because voting doesn't work" or xyz excuse. Really, if you understand how the system we're living in works, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. We as a people get screwed over between elections (and every other day), so we don't vote. Since we don't vote, the people who DO vote are the ones who either make the decisions, or choose the people who will make the decisions. And 9 times out of 10 they aren't going to work with our best interests in mind. So, we get screwed over and voting doesn't work (for us)... because we didn't vote. Nothing happens TO us. Only what we did or didn't prepare for.

There are different ways to vote, different issues to vote on, and different areas of life where voting and elections are a part of the decision making process. The 2 that I focus on here are government and business. In government, we vote for the candidate we believe will represent our best interests. That's the idea we're told at least. The candidates may not live up to the "word is bond" principle by doing everything (or anything) that they said they would do, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't vote.  Don't like Democrats or Republicans? On all levels of government (local, state, national), there are many other parties besides the Democratic and Republican parties. There isn't much difference between the 2 parties anyway, they just have different ideas on how the same goal should be achieved - overextending America's influence... aka dominance. The other parties usually don't get as much airtime in the media because people don't look into them, or look for them, like they should. Other organizations and parties have other methods of resolving political issues. Some with candidates who may be more open to listening to our demands and working with us to make them happen.

As a people our past experiences with voting have been bitter sweet. From poll taxes to reading tests and threats, to "zoning", registration, and ballot issues we have had to struggle for our right to vote from day 1.

But, whose fault is it when their elected official's fail their word? It's ours. Because they are elected officials, they are suppose to represent us in the government. Politicians work for 2 things, money and votes. If you're not giving them contributions to their next campaign, sponsoring a program that they came up with, or voting for them, then your opinion doesn't really matter. Part of "civic participation" involves keeping your elected officials in check. Attending meetings, contacting them, telling them about the problems you have in your neighborhood or community (and possible solutions), fighting for minority businesses to be contracted by the government on all levels - all of those fights are fights that voting citizens have the influence to fight. If you put a politician in the position where he has a choice between being reelected and a pissed off voting bloc, he will work to solve their problems. Elected officials are supposed to, or claim, that they serve us, so it's up to us to make sure they do that.

The next method of using the ballot to our advantage is in the business world. When you buy stocks, you become a partial owner of that company. Many businesses allow for stock holders to vote on certain decisions the company will make. The issues shareholders can vote on depends on the company, but some of those issues include selecting the executive board/board of directors, deciding on company policies such as whether to develop reports disclosing their spending habits and political support. Just as in the political world, the more people you have voting together for the same cause, the more power and influence that group will have. Buy stocks, and vote.

Stop making excuses to not get involved and stay on top of what the people who influence your life are doing. If you leave someone else to make life-changing decisions for you without checking them, then you can't say anything when they reap the benefits of your work, too. Government and business are supposed to be here to serve us, not give us toys and dreams to chase while they take off with the spoils of our wok in the process.

Child Support Aint No Punk

As much as our celebrity and individual cultures glorify promiscuous sex, very few of the music, movies, or any other industry we get ourselves into have much to say about what happens after all the fun and partying is over with. The most we get from these industries is "watch out for the traps some women set" and to "strap up". Very little of it goes into detail describing what life is like once "complications" come up, after the AOP (Acknowledgement of Paternity), or birth certificate (depending on where you live) is signed. If those complications prevent you from staying with the mother, chances are you will end up paying child support.

In Texas, child support starts out at 20% of your check, before taxes are taken out. Every 3 years, or whenever you get a substantial change in your income (large increase or decrease) you will go to court to have your funds and sources of income reviewed, and you will be assigned a new monthly child support rate. The woman can also ask for more money if her financial situation changes. Whatever the case may be, the matter is taken to court, where a judge will decide whether to raise, lower, or maintain the CS payment rate.

Don't have the money? Well, the judge can give you time to get it (usually 30 days, but then again, it's up to the judge). Still don't have it? That's a felony with 6 months jail time. What kind of jobs are out there for felons? You can (or will) also lose your driver's license or any other kind of license you have (commercial driver's license, hunting license, conceal and carry license, certification, etc.), and take hits to your credit. After you get out of jail, you will still owe the woman the original amount, plus 12% interest to the state, which can also be compounded. (That $5000 can turn into $10k real quick.) And remember, all of this is taken out of your check BEFORE taxes. You may not even get one. Then whose car, house, business loan, credit card, or student loan can you get with no money and bad credit?

Also, even if the woman doesn't put you on child support right away, she can still file to place you on child support at any time up to 3 months before the child turns 18. You will have to pay child support for all the years that you "missed", plus (again) the 12% interest to the state, per month. There is also no guarantee that the money will be spent on your child(ren) - but that depends on the woman. What if you could PROVE in court that she wasn't spending the money on your child? You still have to pay. You might not enjoy seeing that new car, jewelry, TV, etc. that she bought for her and her new boyfriend, but if all that is what "coming up" means to you then you should be proud to know that you bought it for them. You can try to fight for custody if you want. If you have permanent custody of the child, but 97% of the time, you will spend a lot of money losing that case. Most of the resources I found on winning a custody battle as a father involved dramatic and (legally) unreliable or irrelevant arguments. (Example: writing own what times you picked the child up, what time you read to them, which books, and how long, etc.) You also still have to pay child support even if the mother refuses to let you see the child, including if she moves out of state.

With all the horror stories (that I've heard from people on child support now, and a brochure from the government) where does this leave us?

1)      Watch where you stick your d*ck. If you’ve gotten to know the woman well enough to jump in the sack, you should know if she is the type to put you on child support, or not. If so, you should know if she will put the money to good use or if she will use the courts to cut your manhood to make a living off you (and/or whomever else she gets pregnant by).

2)      Be present to educate your kids. The boys need to know how to avoid putting themselves in that position in the first place. That means going past their feelings to learn about the women that they form relationships with, since they all have their own patterns and habits. and how to handle the situation if he slips up and falls for “the trap”. For the girls, they need to know how to live independently so they don’t have to depend or prey on any of the men that they form relationships with. Child support was originally meant (or should only be) used against parents (women can be placed on child support, too) who aren't living up to their responsibility.But to know that, that boy and/or girl needs to know what a man taking care of his family is supposed to look like. That example should come from you, and others in the community.

3)  Fix your own problems to maintain your family. We all have insecurities and vices that we fight every day. When we beat one, another comes up. The key is to be aware of how and why these vices and insecurities cause problems, and how to resolve them. At the least, keep them from interfering with ou own growth and family life.

Although we should be trying to maintain our own families, child support can be seen as a fire being put under our asses to make sure we at least make an effort to maintain them. Is the state doing this because they care if our families stick together? Honestly, only to the degree that stable families (or dysfunctional families for that matter) either help or have a neutral affect on the state itself. We should use the pitfalls explained in the stories above as motivation to rise to that occasion once we enter a relationship, or become parents. If not fear of the pitfalls, then the children and their future. Maintaining the family structure is part of how the Black community is to get its power and freedom.

*The details used in the description of child support came from stories of men on child support, and from the state(Texas) issued brochure on child support, custody, and visitation rights of noncustodial parents.

A Discourse on Black Power

Fred Hampton, Jr., Immortal Technique, and the Watsonville Brown Berets

The other day I had a conversation with a friend of mine from high school (who happens to be Hispanic). I had told him about the blog and we had a discussion about the purpose and content. He wished me luck, but was concerned about the blog being specifically made for Black people, saying that it seemed exclusionary or separatist.  I compiled my responses to his questions and comments into one post.


Being Black, and seeing the condition we're in, I feel an obligation to work on improving our condition. I was nurtured into thinking this way, and naturally drawn into it. My mother taught me about the danger I was in as a Black man in this country, as well as how to read and learn about my history. I took that and ran with it (since the age of 7). I study and appreciate all cultures worldwide, but I make it a point to study my own. No one says anything when Asians release a video game or movie strictly about Asian history and culture, or when whites release a TV show with only white actors, or if they release a video game with all white characters. They are dealing with subjects related to their culture.


BMD is the same thing.


Although the bigger issue is class, each minority group has its own problems that are unique to that group with respect to its history in this country, or wherever they may be. No one is more qualified to talk about your problems and how they affect you than you are. Stokely Charmichael speaks on this in his book Black Power : The Politics of Liberation. You can't have a partnership with anyone else until you are secure and independent yourself. On an individual level, a person who can't help themselves can't help anyone else either. They have to have some level of independence. Otherwise, that partnership would become either parasitic on the individual's part, or predatory on their partner's part. If both parties are independent, prey/predator and parasitic relationships are less likely. And the same applies to any type of relationship. It is the same on a group level. Black people can't work with other races until they are able to function on their own. So yes, working with other races is, or will become, necessary because the real problems are social and economic class conflict (which goes above race and gender). But we can't have successful partnerships or ally relations until we get own out sh*t together.


Another example (in wake of the immigration issue): I work with Asian and Hispanic immigrants. Many of them speak their own language when talking to each other. The Hispanic guys also play the Latin station on the radio from time to time. They are doing what they're supposed to do, holding on to their original culture. Would it be right for me to tell them (when it is not work related) "Hey, you guys need to speak in English because I can't understand what you're saying" or "You guys need to change the station because I can't understand what the people on the radio are saying." Or "I just don't like Latin music." I can either A) Be parasitic and constantly ask them what is being said, B) Listen to the station without knowing what's being said, and appreciate the music for how I am able to see it. C) Listen to the music, not understanding it, and wishing someone would change the station, D) Be predatory and force them to change the station, or E) Learn Spanish so that I could understand what's being said both in their conversation, and on the radio.


Black Power, in it's original sense, doesn't mean having power OVER anyone else. It's about being in control of yourself and your environment. If you look at the content of the blogs, the things that I'm talking about are something everybody should know; the stuff that isn't culture specific. I'm discussing different avenues that we can us to get economic, political, and social power. Even then the content that is culture specific isn't or shouldn't be offensive.  If it is, you can't please everybody. You can either learn about it so you can understand in the future, or leave it alone.