Baltimore, America, Here We Go AgainI

       America did it again. Another riot, another several days of chaos and violence again because of a stupid act(s) committed by police officers who believed themselves to be above the law. The black victim was not shot this time but pretty much thrashed, brutalized mysteriously. He was beaten up by several  police officers. I assume he likely received the majority of his injuries through what Baltimore police officers call a "rough ride" where they lock the prisoner up inside a police van (paddy wagon) and give him a wild bumpy ride through  a neighborhood or while driving to a police station. Well this ride must have been extremely bumpy because this time the prisoner ended up not just bruised but deceased.

       On the day Freddie Gray died, I was sitting down on my chair, just recently home from work and I began hearing drops of news here and there of some kind of altercation occurring in Baltimore. I finally decide to turn on the television, turn to CNN then POW there it is. Immediate thoughts of "here we go again" plays in my head. "America has not learned", even while being led by a reelected black president. My parent in laws looked onto the television a little mystified, they visiting from West Africa, they expect better from this country but they are educated and been to the US before. They know a lot about the perils and misfortunes befallen upon many of the African Americans living in the United States. They know about the lack of education and he high numbers of crimes occurring in the major cities. They know about the large amount of drugs being sold and used, and the large number of high school dropouts, unemployed, children raised without fathers. That is one of the reasons why they travel from Nigeria to America every other year to help their daughter (my wife) and myself raise our children so that we as a team can rise atop this mess black families, individuals can find themselves in if not careful.

       Reports say that some policeman saw Freddie Gray in a bad neighborhood he then ran from them. After that I don't know what occurred between Freddie Gray and the police to have them desire to rough him up enough to give him a severe spinal cord injury. Very possibly the police simply chased after him because he ran from them and looked suspicious. From reading reports on the web he as witnessed as being dragged into a van, handcuffed by his arresting officers. A woman who knows the man said she found him screaming, she asked him if he was okay but he never said yes or no. He just said that he could not breathe and he was screaming. The police officers, there was seven of them, said that they found a knife clipped to the insides of his front right hand pocket. The knife is said to be spring assisted. Some people say that it is not illegal to carry a knife. Maryland law makes it illegal to carry switchblades of any kind, or any type of dangerous weapon (http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/22/us/baltimore-freddie-gray-what-we-know/). Now here is the obvious question asked time and time again: Was carrying a knife deserving of being beaten to death? Is flinching or even running when seeing several cops warrant dying?

       My wife saw the Baltimore riot and immediately felt disappointment in the African Americans quarreling and burning down buildings. I felt disappointed but I also understand somewhat what the rioters are going through. I witnessed similar turbulence in LA in 1992 after the Rodney King Beatings. I also saw a similar pattern in the recent Ferguson riots. On one side people say that burning down buildings and destroying businesses built to serve your own friends and families accomplishes zilch for the black community, which is true. On the other side people focus on the mistreatment of Black Americans by police officers, especially white officers who constantly harass black people and treat them like similar to how black slaves were treated in America back in the 17 and 1800's. Myself having experienced cop harassment back in my twenties can in a way relate to how blacks in Ferguson and LA feel. The only difference was that my experienced involved black cops. As I was driving with my friend down a bad neighborhood a city policemen driving nearby noticed us and so decided to pull us over. Instead of simply issuing me a warning and/or a ticket and sending myself and my friend on our way the cops continued asking me questions insisting that I was on some kind of drug or criminal mission. I kept telling them that I was on my way to church but they assumed that I was lying. They began making fun of my accent. I was born in Nigeria, raised in America so my accent does not sound African American even though I look like it should. My accent does not sound 100 percent white either though during those times many African Americans I met would say that I sounded white. I became upset at the cops and raised my voice, next thing I know I found my arm swung around my back, pressed hard. The cop holding my arms was a huge guy. I was handcuffed in minutes. I felt uptight and indignified. Why was I being handcuffed? What did I do wrong? After about 45 minutes a captain came, which, interestingly, was a woman and let me go. After several weeks I appeared in court told the judge all the horrible things the cops did and said to me. He looked back at me with a blank gaze and simply sent me home without a ticket (I showed the judge proof that I fixed my broken light). As soon as I left I filed a report with the police department against the cops who handcuffed me. A couple weeks later a received a letter from the department telling me that they found nothing wrong with what the cops did.

       Every time a Black American riot against the police occurs I am reminded of my own experience. I often wonder if I should have gotten an attorney. Maybe I could have sued those cops. Anyways I know somewhat how those people in Ferguson and Baltimore feel, People hate to be bullied. People hate to be picked own especially by those who are supposed to protect them. But there is a crime issue within many black communities and that does draw a lot of the police attention. There is a growing lack of moral growing within black families. There is a rising breakup of black families into single moms and dads with children. Many kids are being born into families without mom and dad. Many moms and dads are not married. Now Black Americans are being introduced into gay marriages and many have fallen for it. The American media has done it again. Now they are associating Black American historical trials for freedom from slavery with the homosexual fight for power and many Black Americans are falling for it.

       It is like Ray Lewis said people of Baltimore need to rise above this mess. People around them know what they are going through. Many of them have been through similar altercations. You know Ray Lewis there are many people in America who have never set their own foot in Baltimore who have experienced similar police altercations. Burning down police cars and throwing rocks at policeman will not solve the problems.  Black Americans, White Americans should come down to church open their Bibles and read how God delivered the Nation of Israel from their own enemies. Israel is a nation who had many rivalries within. Jacob and Esau was a great rivalry. The two were brothers. One hunted the other over a bitter conflict. After awhile though they were both able to reconcile. African Americans and White Americans need to reconcile. Not some phony celebrity type one where we see white musicians play with black musicians or where we watch comedians like Bill Cosby or Chris Rock tell jokes to members of the White House, but one where we as a nation get down to our knees and pray to God and afterwards have each other walk in front of our brother or sister from another race and ask this person for forgiveness for whatever crime or cruelty committed by a member(s) of our race unto them or maybe a close friend or relative.. We need to say to each other that we are sorry and mean it. The love of Jesus needs to be kept as a witness of this apology. I know a lot of atheists in this county would be offended by mentioning Jesus but this country is in a mess. This mess is not going to be saved by education or money. Only one Savior can save this country. And His help does not require paying back a ten thousand plus loan.

Reference

Fantz, A., Botelho, G.  (April 29, 2015). What we know, don't know about Freddie Gray's death. CNN. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/22/us/baltimore-freddie-gray-what-we-know

       

What Has He Done?

       After finishing viewing news of Nicki Minaj's engagement to Meek Mill the yahoo.com UK screen immediately jumped to news coverage of "Orange is the New Black" star, Laverne Cox posing nude for Allure magazine (Willis 2015), as I watched him pose and try to act as if he is some kind of gorgeous woman it was hard for me to believe that this man actually thinks he looks like a woman and not only a woman but a very foxy one. The narrator of the short news film kept referring to Laverne as a "she" but the person portrayed on the photo is obviously no she. The eyes staring at you in what appeared to be in desperation was definitely not a she. Dude has big eyes, a big head, carrying arms packed with muscles. He looks big enough to play safety for a professional football team. I have seen Laverne pictured as his manly self, with and without makeup both in television and print. I know how he looks when not trying to behave feminine. When portraying his true self he looks like a guy who is probably good looking enough to lure a hot looking woman toward flinging herself toward him. Why he would bring such punishment into his life by denying himself this joy? Why he would deny himself the pleasure of being one with a gorgeous woman? One would have to know the facts surrounding this man's childhood and further personal history in order to discover some answers to these questions. Who is his mother and how did she treat him? More importantly, did he grow up with his dad and if he did how did they relate with each other? How did his siblings, especially his male relatives treat him? How did his friends treat him? Did he have many male friends and were they supportive of him? Some people will respond: "Who cares?" "Why should it matter?" Well the fact is, it does and by simply not looking into it we only make the problem worse. Look at Laverne (https://uk.screen.yahoo.com/hollyscoop/orange-black-star-laverne-cox-145032572.html), does he really look happy? I don't see real happiness in his face and I remember relaying the same thoughts to myself when seeing him previously on television shows like Entertainment Tonight or Hollywood Reporter. I have witnessed the unhappy facial looks when I viewed other transgender individuals like Chaz Bono, Candis Cayne, Amanda Lepore. Not only do they appear unhappy their facial and bodily image emerge into one's view as absolutely atrocious. The television interviewers and program hosts always heap praises on them, calling them "beautiful", "fabulous", "sexy". But when one hears these huge compliments one can't help but think to themselves this person giving one (or several) whopper(s) of a fib because there is no way this person can look anywhere close to fabulous. Look at the lips protruding out for miles similar to those famous often famously cartooned lips of Mick Jagger.  And the body, Chaz Bono's most noticeably, humongous. While looking at Chaz one can easily figure out that the doctor injected way too much hormones in her body. When I look at Chaz ,Chastity Sun Bono's, pictures before her operational mess, I immediately think to myself, "what was wrong with that?" No, she was not the most attractive woman in the world but she was much prettier than this penguin like figure. And I am sure that if she would have put a smile on her face during those poses, wore some decent make up, dressed herself up attractively she would have made herself appear much better. I have seen much less attractive women do wonders to themselves after a day of shopping and some makeup. At times you can never know what is hidden inside, the plain face. You might just discover something you never knew exists. But the person must desire, be willing to pull it out. The person must not just like themselves, not just like life, but have a reason beyond themselves to desire to dress their best. Because other people are watching them and they want to appear good for others as well as themselves. Maybe people like Chaz and Laverne don't have anyone in their life creating that burning fire in them to desire to appear their best.
       Jesus is a lifetime partner who is more than able to pull it all out, neatly together for somebody who is struggling in life, yes people like Chaz Bono and Laverne Cox. Because even in those times when one is lonely, those times when everybody abandons the individual, or when one feels completely nuts, Jesus will never leave that person. Laverne Cox and Chaz Bono appear abandoned. Chaz Bono appears to be missing her father. Her dad, Sonny, was a famous singer who tagged team with her mom Cher Bono. He tragically died during a skiing accident in Nevada. Nobody in the media mentions this fact but Chaz, then Chastity did not actively defy her gender while desiring to be a man when her father was alive. While her dad was living she was mostly out of the spotlight. Maybe her wanting to be a man is a response to her father's death, maybe her dad had the ability to compose her, to calm her down whenever she gave out emotional outbreaks or expressed thoughts of depression? He may have talked her out of it or the thought may have never entered her mindset from the beginning if he was still alive. Her mother (Cher Bono), from her reaction to her daughter's mess, does not seem to care. Her mother appears to be morally irresponsible. She has publicly given Chaz her support but has seldom commented on her daughter's change of a appearance since the operation. Who knows what type of conversations may have been whispered between those two. But remembering the appearances of those awful negligee, part disco, part rock and roll type Halloween drabs her mom used to wear on those MTV rock videos one can't help but assume that her words were far from morally helpful.  What type of mother would give her daughter (or son) the support to commit such a crime toward themselves? What kind of a mom would provide approval toward a desecration of the body and face of someone they gave birth to? If Chaz Bono was your daughter would you be able to honestly look in the mirror, or better yet, to God and say you are thrilled at what she became?
       Bruce Jenner is another name among many to throw into the pot of characters within the celebrity pool who have messed up their lives while following this transgender route. He along with the others just does not appear happy and their manufactured faces appear ugly beyond description. Bruce Jenner was once a hero amongst many young American boys. An American olympian, he won the gold medal in what was once the US most favorite olympic event, the decathlon. America was proud of their athlete posting his pictures on Wheaties cereal boxes. He promoted products on television commercials. One wonders what happened to this guy? What made his life so unhappy? Kim Kardashian? Well that will take more research, probably enough to write a nice sized book.
       Now Bruce Jenner wants to be a woman, Why? Well this blog will likely be published before viewing his interview to be shown Friday night, April 24th. I am going to say that he most likely simply is not happy, probably feeling miserable. Somebody, thing, a thought, maybe dream, somehow convinced him that trying to change himself into a woman will provide him with whatever it is he is looking for to make him feel complete, to provide answers to that confusing or nagging feeling he has about himself. Maybe he was sexually molested when he was young? Maybe he had a difficult relationship with his father? That is another article. Maybe he provide answers to his audience during his interview April 24 or another one in the future.
        Unfortunately the media has bamboozled these people. The media provided them with the false idea that this transgender thing was going to make them happy like the media has with abortion, homosexuality, frozen embryos, spending fortunes on education, idolizing celebrities, engulfing die drinks, the list goes on the media has done it and many have taken the bait. Chaz Bono, Bruce Jenner, Laverne Cox, Candis Cayne, Amanda Lepore all have taken the bait. The media is not going to tell them the truth. Their interview hosts, newspaper and magazine writers, publicists will continue lying to these victims, pouring false praises at their feet in order to con them into parading themselves in these producers' carnival, circus shows. "Here it is audience, in the right ring we have the puffy penguin like character who is the daughter of Sonny and Cher." "Look at what she was done to herself!!" But make it appear as if they truly support them as to keep their true side from emerging as too obvious. But don't you dare come out and just say the truth. Don't dare speak up and state that this individual has done great harm to him or herself or you will be called a "bigot", accused of "discrimination", or being on the "wrong side of history".
  I am not controlled by the entertainment opinion censorship program, nor by the Liberal opinion watchdog. I can pretty much say and write whatever I want, within reason, and nobody is going to threaten to sue me or fire me like they have so many. And the world desperately needs people who can and will speak up honestly regarding what they see. hear, and have learned in the world. The world, more importantly need those who can more likely become sued or get fired show courage in speaking out despite the great risks involved. Fact is people in this world, in the American society have seen many people dressed up as the opposite sex appear miserable, become depressed, and commit terrible acts against themselves and others. Instead of blaming all these horrible conclusions on "bigots" people, society needs to be honest with themselves and look truthfully at what they are seeing. Instead of taking Liberal media's bait and simply assuming that every transgender that attempts suicide was pushed into self destruction by a religious extremist or some anti transgender maniac let's show these individuals some real love. Ask yourself, ask them.....Are they really happy?

Reference

Hollyscoop (2015) 'Orange is the New Black' Star Laverne Cox Poses Nude in Allure Magazine. 

       Retrieved from https://uk.screen.yahoo.com/hollyscoop/orange-black-star-laverne-cox-145032572.html