Music Video Mondays

Boston, Bombs, and Bigotry

When tragedy strikes in our country, it has an uncanny ability to bring us all together in a moment where we tear down any politically or socially constructed divisions and grieve together as a nation. During that rare moment, we are all the same people, sharing the same pain. There is no Black, White, Hispanic, Gay, Straight, Conservative, or Liberal. There are only Americans… unless of course you are an Arab or Muslim or anything else that might “look it”.

When tragedy strikes in our country, the immediate reaction for most of us is to send our thoughts and prayers to those who are affected. We try to bear the burden with those directly affected so we may help our nation heal and move past it. For the rest of us however, we become immediately overwhelmed by a relentless anxiety brought on by the fear that whoever caused this tragedy might look like us, have a similar name as us, speak a similar language as us, eat the same foods as us, or pray in the same manner as us.

When tragedy strikes in our country, our immediate reaction is to pray to God in the name of all that is holy and heavenly that whoever did this unspeakable act does not bear even the slightest resemblance to us in any way.

“Please God do not let the guy be an Arab”

“Please God, just please do not let him be Muslim”

“Please, Please, PLEASE don’t let him look like me or my brother or my son”

We aren’t given the privilege of grieving with our fellow Americans; rather we must first grapple with the fact that we are automatic suspects by virtue of the B’s that our parents use in place of their P’s, or the ever-present trifecta of hummus, pita, and olive oil in our kitchens, or inability of our names to be properly transliterated into Latin script. Our first reaction is to become flooded with fear that some misguided soul might blame the tragedy on “our people” and attack us in retaliation. Our first reaction is come to terms with the fact that there is no reason for us not to be a suspect and be detained for no reason. Only after that, if the rest of the nation allows it, can we join in the grieving.

This week’s horrific events in Boston were no different. As the whole nation got together to grieve, many Arabs, Muslims, Sikhs, Indians, Pakistanis, and anyone else who might fit into the carefully constructed stereotype of what a terrorist might look like first had to ready ourselves to become a place for America to rest its cross hairs upon. A process only made more frustrating by the initial reluctance to label the attack as an act of terror due to the lack of a suspect who might fit the bill. This of course is not anything we aren’t used. Yet, we who are all too familiar with the “random” search at the airport know that this discomfort, like the kind brought on by the touch of a TSA agent’s blue rubber gloves, is one that we can never get accustomed to. But it is important to understand where these expectations of what the terrorist will look like come from.

See, in America we are deliberately selective when throwing the “T” word around for any random attack on the public meant to instill fear or terror. There seems to be a set of guidelines that dictate the how this label of terrorism is used in the media and by politicians.

If we take a look at the past and compare two seemingly similar attacks that occurred with the purpose of spreading terror and taking lives. We can see just how different the two cases are and how they are perceived accordingly:

1) If we take the case of the Columbine High shootings in 1999, we can see that a pair of students at columbine high school carried out an attack that killed 13 people.

2) On the other hand, about a decade later in a Fort Hood, Texas military base, a member of the army carried out an attack that killed 13 people.

In the case of the Columbine shootings, we received a narrative of two mentally unstable kids pushed to the edge by constant bullying and ridicule; for all intents and purposes they were victims as well. In the case of the Fort Hood shooting we received the narrative of a deranged bloodthirsty terrorist, nothing more.

So we are left to wonder what made one shooter a terrorist and the others just your run-of-the-mill criminals. The difference is that one shooter was a Muslim, Palestinian Arab whose name was Nidal Malik Hassan while the others were white teenagers from American Suburbia named Dylan and Eric.

When it comes to the labeling a horrendous attack on civilians, our own government plays this game as well. The day after the attack, President Obama bravely declared that any time bombs are used to kill civilians, it is terrorism. But when we apply his own logic to his foreign policy in Afghanistan and Pakistan, it doesn't quite add up. In what is a rare case of true journalism these days, one reporter spoke truth to power by asking White House Press Secretary Jay Carney if the US Drone strike that left 11 Afghani children dead earlier this month constitutes terrorism. It seems a logical association if we use the Presidents own words. Of course the only difference is that the loss of life was caused by our government, in the name of national security making the drone operator who pulled trigger while tucked away safely in a Syracuse military base a national hero, destinction that didn't give Mr. Carney the confidence not to dodge the question. So it really begs the question: of what a terrorist actually looks like?

The fact is there is no answer. You might ask any anyone in, lets say, Ocala, Florida, what a terrorist looks like and they'll probably give you the answer that fits in with the media's masterful proliferation of the the bearded man with a head wrap and explosives strapped to his chest. But ask any child in Pakistan what a Terrorist might look like and he is likely to describe a middle-aged man with a charismatic smile, wearing a crisp blue suit, brandishing a eagle pinned to his lapel. 

When we take a second to look back, we see that there have been a large number of terrorist attacks in this country over the past few decades. A closer look at these attacks shows us that the vast majority of these attacks were carried out by people with names such as McVeigh, Rudolph, Kaczynski, Mathews, Hughes, Crocker, Dillard, and many more that look like they might have been pulled out of a Nebraska phone book. But we forget these Terrorist attacks because we write off the terrorists as anomalous cases that are unrepresentative of the entirety of White America, people who were likely thoroughly unstable as far as sanity is concerned, unlike the Arabs and Muslims of course who are just naturally predisposed to violence.

These stereotypes are further placed in our collective mind when either the FBI or the NYPD fabricate a terror plot by pushing a young, unstable person who “fits the bill” to develop enough aggression to plot an attack on a public space. They then foil their manufactured terror plot just in time to save the day and justify the unending abuses to our civil liberties done in the name of maintaining our security.

It is all of this and more that has its hand in creating the environment that makes us guilty by enculturation when Tragedy strikes. It is these practices used in the media that make it possible for a victim injured in the Boston Terrorist attack to be considered an instant suspect simply because he was running away (like everyone else who was in the vicinity of an explosion), but more so because he was Saudi Arabian and thus suspicious enough to be tackled as he ran (much like a young Black or Latino male walking down a street in Brooklyn is suspicious enough to warrant a his eighth Stop-and-Frisk search in the span of 3 weeks).  This carefully constructed imagery of terrorists, acts a barrier in allowing our country to truly unite in the face of tragedies such as that which occurred in Boston. It creates a second set of potential victims who could fall prey to bigoted attacks made in retaliation to terror attacks, and further opens the wounds we’ve already sustained. These preconceived notions of what a terrorist looks like should be put to rest so that when tragedy strikes in our country, we all can join together to support one another as a nation, rather than having some of us have worry about becoming targets ourselves, or if any one of us happen to fall victim to an attack like this, we can receive the same condolences, thoughts, and prayers as the rest of the victims instead of suspicious looks and implications of guilt.

Never Give Up

No matter who you are and how comfortable you might be in your own skin we have all had that God questioning moment. That moment where the worls just opened up and attempted to swallow you whole. Your parents told you no matter how bad you got it someone out there has it way worse, but sometimes you felt like damn if I had it any worse I would I would quit. I will tell you just like a personal trainer would your mind quits 1000 times before your body does. The truth is a weak mind quits 1000 times before your body does. Same as a rational mind. In the event you have taken your mind past the rational threshold then I must warn you quitting no longer exists because failure is the only outcome other than success. At that point I tried doesn't exist there is only I did it or I died trying. So keep fighting for every inch every foot and never give back what you earned. Earn your keep and protect your earn. Until next time keep it LYM

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Wisdom Wednesdays

If you can keep your wits about you while all others are losing theirs, and blaming you. The world will be yours and everything in it, what's more, you'll be a man, my son. -Rudyard Kipling   

As we grow with life's experiences, it is often difficult to remain restrained and oh so easy to let loose when we come upon a perceived injustice. We respond swiftly sometimes with a sharp edged tongue and sometimes with a harsh action in order to "set things right".  Often, when we have time to reflect or when others have time to correct we are able to view the experience in a new light. If we are open to the learning we come away with not only a greater understanding of the person, but also a greater understanding of ourselves. In this instance, we use the outcome to exercise our capacity for growth. Then there are the times when we allow ourselves to "dig our heels in" and hold on to anger and disappointment about how the person should have behaved in the first place. In this scenario, we walk away and wait for a full apology that may never come or may not come in a form we recognize. One might say we were blinded by our hurt feelings. Kipling would say "we did not keep our wits about us". The difference between a child and a mature adult is how we utilize our experiences to adjust our perspective. When we maintain our self control we are able to stay our course and achieve our goals. Furthermore, we display character worthy of our best selves. As we strive to leave our mark and leave the world a little better off for us having been here, we must remember to keep our wits about us as exemplary men and women. Until seven sunsets, "keep your wits about you" as you LYM (Leave Your Mark)..

                                                                                                                          -Mother LYM

Know Your Worth

In the movie Batman there is a scene where Bane appears and is arguing with the CEO of a large corporation. The CEO abuses his power by talking down to Bane. Knowing Bane is not a man of many words bane simply tells the other man in the room to leave them to speak in private. Upon realizing that he has crossed the line the CEO tells Bane "But I have given you lots of money" Bane simply asks " And that gives you power over me?" This small statement speaks monumentally to those who claim Civilized Savagery. We are not moved by the money of rich men.


In all my years of life I have known my worth and not once have I put a monetary price on myself because I am priceless. My soul cannot be bought and seeing as slavery has been over anyone who goes to cross that line is sure to face a truly painful experience. Its a hard lesson in humbleness. I will not bow to men who have money and I will never bow for money. If that was the case LYMLIFE would have been popular by now. We would have sold stock and our souls to this thing people claim "Illuminati" whenever someone reaches a certain level of fame. My mother always told me I'm special as do many good mothers across the globe but you can only make this true if you carry the statement in mind on a daily basis. If you allow the petty nature of people in power who abuse it to change what your parents raised then you might as well let your mother eat her words for you have sold yourself short. People call me extreme because my mini revolutions are very absolute. They are only absolute because I do not fear the unknown. Men think because they sign my checks they own me. I would rather be a homeless man with a good heart than a wealthy man with no backbone. They think because I am employed by them they can tell me what my life is. They believe themselves demi-gods. I am here to say all men are created equal and as long as I live no man shall ever reign supreme over me. We either break bread as equals or you find some other kingdom to run. Call me socialist or a true Marxist and I will tell you I am neither. For once you allow yourself to put a label on me all the negativity that goes along with that label will be associated with me. Instead I am a savage of the civilized kind. I am a dreamer a LYMLifer who believes hard work and good deeds can carry me to the promise land. I am that which makes true evil shudder in its sleep.

I once met a man by the name of Ramen Kootala. A man who had seen the downside to working in the corporate world. We had many conversations on the caste system in India and the equality of man. Funniest thing Ramen told me was "Joshua you cry for the Untouchables but me and you are the Untouchables of the corporate world". That's when I realized they got me. They had caste me right under my own nose. So I started demanding the respect for both me and Ramen when any higher ups approached. We were not minions we were men and we must be treated properly. At the end of my internship Ramen told me "Joshua You are a good man and to keep fighting the good fight, never give up". Those words have never left my thoughts not for one day. I will continue to fight this fight because there are many hardworking men and women who just don't have the energy to keep fighting. For them I continue to show the world that kings walk among you and they do not wear crowns or badges. They are just good men making their way through the waves of mislead, oppressed, and tired people out there. Trust in these men for they do not concern themselves with selfish pleasures of power. They seek to show you that you are what makes the world go round. Petty men are in power, they are the CEO's, owners, politicians, and managers. They forgot that without us they would have no job. Know your worth and never go on sale. Jump off the damn clearance rack and show me what you got. My one voice is not enough we must be each others echo. The moral of the the story is be good and your attitude will ripple through those you interact with. Until next time keep it LYM....