Truth

First and foremost, Jessica should be commended to having interviews with people and showing the facts as it pertains to this issue. It is definitely true that AIPAC and other entities fund both parties. Certainly, we have to study how money is passed around in candidates, politicians, and other political entities. The occupation of the West Bank has been dehumanizing, exploitative, and harsh. Also, I read about segregated buses in the region based on ethnicity. This has been reported by an article in Hareetz and other sources. That policy is evil and that’s apartheid. There is no other explanation to conceive of this action. I am in support of peaceful negotiations with Iran. Netanyahu’s speech was filled with anti-Iranian paranoia and faulty rhetoric. He or Benjamin Netanyahu wants to win re-election. Many Democrats who left Congress out of protest did so not because of disagreement with Israeli policy, but they wanted loyalty to the President. The meetings continue among Iran and the P5 + 1 (or the UN’s permanent member state including Germany). It is very hypocritical straight up for him to condemn Iran for the potential of having nuclear weapons when Israel has hundreds of nuclear weapons (and refuses to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty). For him to equate Iran to the terrorist ISIS group is an example of his hyperbole. It is morally obscene for him to invoke the injustices of the Holocaust as an excuse for him to promote potential military strikes in Iran (which can kill many innocent Iranian human beings). There are many progressive Palestinians and progressive Israelis who are on our side. They want peace not apartheid and they want the human dignity of the Palestinians to be respected. War mongering and neo-colonialism must be condemned and opposed without question.





The reasons why some don’t get married are diverse. One major reason is fear. Some fear divorce, which in many instances can cause economic disputes, and other problems (among both spouses). Some decide not to get married because they just don't want to become married. Some individuals want to define their relationships on their own terms excluding marriage. Some people have a skeptical attitude about the importance of marriage. In other words, some view marriage as old fashioned or not necessary. Yet, when I look at many marriages, I see a great deal of love, commitment, and care. We don’t believe in authoritarianism. I don’t believe in forcing people to be married, but some people want to be married. Marriage can be a blessing for many human beings. Also, marriage can be lovely, but it should be taken seriously. Marriage is not a game, therefore both partners should have a great preparation before they get married (if they want to be married). At the end of the day, we want stronger relationships in general. That comes by discussion or real communication, learning, studying things, and treating people right. We have to not only discuss information. We have to be introspective and improve our strengths and eliminate our weaknesses. Loving our identity is important too. We can never love others without loving our own beings. I do believe that one issue contributing some not being married (marriage was more common back in the day) is about structural problems found in our economic system. The massive neoliberalism, the prison industrial complex, and the great recession have stripped a large portion of the wealth out of the black community. Many of us are one pay check away from poverty. We have to have economic justice if we are to be truly free as one people. I do encourage people to be married if they want to voluntarily. Also, we have to allow people to make voluntary decisions in how to establish their own relationships as well. Some people will get married and some will not. We have to accept that reality.


The video is graphic and tragic. A homeless man was killed. Even with videos, many officers have been totally acquitted "legally" of any wrong doing. While, it is important for the activities of cops to be recorded, it is not a guarantee that any officer who does wrong will be truly held accountable. There should be an independent investigation (not done by the police) to find the real truth. For me, shooting a man 5 times when he's on the ground in that fashion is excessive. I have great empathy for the family of the homeless man. I have read some low things in my life. The action, done by the city of Cleveland in demonizing an innocent child, is one of the most disrespectful, low, and offensive actions that I have ever seen in my life. Tamir Rice was a Brother who was living his life and his human life was cut short by a brutish cop (who has issues and he shouldn’t have been a cop in the first place). I feel for the family of Tamir Rice. The crooked cops are trying to cover up their own evil deeds. The murderous police officer is responsible for the murder of Tamir Rice. This epidemic of police brutality and police murder should be fought against. Domestically and internationally, the human rights of black people are violated in a tyrannical fashion. We all want racial and economic justice. Our freedom should be ours by birthright, yet we aren't free. So, we have no other option, but to struggle and to fight for our rightful freedom as black human beings.
RIP Tamir Rice.


Her (or Michelle Rodriquez's) comments are ironic. There is a Justice League cartoon series with the Green Lantern shown as an African American. Her comments to say that a black man playing the Green Lantern as “dumbest thing she ever hear” shows what we need to know about her. It is not dumb or stupid to see black people playing heroes whether it is based on cartoons or if we develop our own unique characters as a community. Michelle Rodriguez ought to know something called the freedom of speech and the freedom of expression. Fictional stories (not historical stories) are by definition fiction, therefore if black people want to play fictional characters; it is not immoral. That is not evil. She knows better. She knows what it is like to experience racism and being stereotyped by people. There is nothing wrong with black people showing our own unique stories and mythologies, but many European mythological stories have their origins from African culture. Cubism has its roots from African culture. Many Latin American musical expressions have origin from African culture. Therefore, culture is complex and many white supremacists have stolen our culture for economic exploitation. If we want change, then we have the right to express our stories irrespective of the expectations of Hollywood or mainstream systems of control. We develop our own Matrix. Yet, that doesn't mean that black actors playing fictional characters is equivalent to our culture being stolen by extremists. I disagree with Michelle.

I have listened to Madonna's words in the video. Society is heavily sexist. Ageism is wrong and evil. We have to fight sexism and ageism. Yet, institutionalized racism, then and now, has brutalized black people in immeasurably worse ways than ageism has ever done. The current power structure in Western society is controlled mostly by white middle aged and older males. Therefore, many celebrities want to minimize the emotional, physical, and social damage that racism and other forms of bigotry have done to black men, black women, and black children. Racism is still accepted in many circles of society. Bill O’Reilly has said racist comments on his show all of the time. He’s not fired. Madonna is a multimillionaire. She has adopted black children. Throughout her career, she has gotten away with making a lot of controversial videos and controversial activities before. She has great privilege and the denial of white privilege is one part of the agenda to deny the legitimate concerns of black human beings. Many people love Madonna and some don’t. I don’t believe that she should be disrespected, but many white folks can’t stand legitimate critiques of their thinking, of their attitudes about social issues, and about their minimization of the aspirations of black people. That is the point. When people called her out for using the N word, she had to issue an apology. Older white people collectively have never gone through the Maafa, Jim Crow (where they have been deprived of their freedoms in a massively oppressive fashion), and other massive injustices as compared to black people. At the end of the day, we (as black people) have to move forward. We have to see each other as people not aliens. We have to build trust, condemn evil, and advocate for justice. We have to see that there is nothing wrong with unity, discernment, and egalitarian values. We have to work as a community and advocate independence for us and for our descendants.


By Timothy