Gangbangers

On the track entitled Dogg Pound 4 Life, off the Above the Rim:  Motion Picture Soundtrack (1994), embodies present day ‘culture of violence’, and demonstrates the mode of personality ‘innovator’ as described by Merton.  The culture of terrorist and secret agents dominated the scene during the 20^th century, but since the 1980s (Y2K)  up to present day, the subculture of gang violence within the continental United States has taken over from the international activity of terrorist and secret agents; this is evidenced by major events from 2000 up to present day.  Gangbanging is a subculture that has many distinctive ‘types’.  In the first verse of the track, Kurupt is going to ‘clear out[1]’ a spot[2], occupied by a rival gang or another group, which is apparently profitable in drug sales.  Also he is out to prove to himself, his OGs[3], fellow members, and ‘hood[4]’ that he is willing to commit ‘murder’ for his ‘set[5]’ or betterment of the hood.  In the hook you hear them say, “This is Dogg Pound fo life…I just don’t give a fuck”.  Daz Dillinger in the second verse raps on ‘coming up[6]’ in the dope game.  He starts out as a street level drug dealer, but moves up from ounces to kilos of cocaine.  Situational violence is evidence here because he also talks about how he has to carry a ‘strap[7]’ to protect his newly acquired spot of sales.  In the third verse Snoop Dogg talks about how “…yo, boy it’s a G with a blast degree.  187 ain’t shit but a misdemeanor.  I seen a lot niggas “come up”, a few niggas “done up[8]”.  Some rest in peace with they Khakis heavy creased…”  This song embodies Miller’s focal concerns[9], but Human Ecology[10] best explains this subculture of gun violence.  Viewing the city as a growing organism, the heterogeneous contact of racial and ethnic groups in the city often leads to competition for status and space, as well as conflict, accommodation, acculturation, assimilation, or amalgamation (Hagen, 2013, p. 165).

In her report on gun control  Nancy Cordes ( 2013) reported that a new bill would be written that would close the loop on ‘gun show’ purchases, and stregnthen mental health reporting in background checks from the states to the feds.  “Current gun control laws in the United States are varied by state; federal level laws are most often very broad, widespread rules.  Title I of US federal gun control laws is the Gun Control Act of 1968. This gun control law prohibits certain categories of individuals from possessing firearms. Some of the categories include convicted felons, fugitives from justice, unlawful drug users, and those who have been dishonorably discharged from the military.  This gun control law also prohibits people younger than 18 years old from "possessing handguns or handgun ammunition with certain exceptions for employment, target practice, education," and certain outlined defensive purposes.  The next most important gun control law is the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act.” (LAWS.com, 2013)  For the first time mental health will be instituted into background checks for individuals who want to purchase hand guns.  This is a good thing because it furthers the reach of keeping guns out of the hands of those that are mentally unstable, and will perpetuate workplace, school, neighborhood, event, or some other type of violence where mass murders can occur.  One piece of legislation that will be missing is for Hadiya Pendleton whom was killed by a stray bullet as two rivals shot it out with one another.

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[1] Clear out – to remove all persons and property from a certain location by some method of force, usually a drive-by shooting or some other form of gun violence

[2] Spot -  location in which individual is making large amounts of money from an illegal activity

[3] OGs -  original gangster

[4] Hood – the organization or group that an individual is affiliated with through birth, loyalty, or affiliation

[5] Set – the gang in which an individual is affiliated or the gang in which he or she claims

[6] Coming up – being successful or a success in some form of hustle, acquiring all material possessions along with acquired respect

[7] Strap – a hand gun, usually a 9mm, .45, .380, 50 or 40-caliber

[8] Done-up – to kill everyone in sight with your gun; usually occurs when clearing out the spot or gaining respect

[9] Focal concerns – Miller’s theory of crime that reflects an overemphasis on lower-class values

[10] Human Ecology – the study of the interrelationship between human organisms and the physical environment

Ethical Conduct in Crime and Punishment

Every state, governmental entity, and corporation has an in-house policy on ethics.  Ethics are mere

directives to public officials to avoid conflict of interest, providing broadly stated, aspirational
 
guidelines to conduct themselves with respect to the rightness or wrongness of certain actions; and to
 
the goodness and to the badness of the motives, and ends of such actions.  Ethics in Criminological

Research deals with the social science of criminal justice, but is individually tied to deep moral

judgments.  Judgments that come from the bench, in the prosecutor’s office, in the field with law

 nforcement, corrections, or our public officials and their employees.

Ethical policies and statutes are responsible to protect the democratic process, hold public officials responsible for their negligent actions, ensure the safety and sanctity of members or employees of an entity, and for the public to hold each official accountable for their actions.  O.C.G.A. 28-11-2 states:

  "...to foster the knowledge, professionalism, and standards of its membership."

 

The Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS) and the American Society of Criminology (ASC) created a code of ethics to govern research for criminal behavior.  Ethical conduct in criminological research as stated by Frank E. Hagen,

“Ethical horror stories in criminology and the social sciences include both biomedical and social science example (F.E. Hagan, 2013).”

In WWII, Nazi’s tortured, maimed, and murdered innocent people in the name of research.  There was the Tuskegee Experiment, The Guatemala Syphilis study, and other experiments that occurred in history that brought about a meticulous code of ethics that researchers had to adhere to or face arduous consequences like criminal charges for violating these codes of ethics established by ACJS.  Several other studies include Stanly Milgrim’s 1974 research of how “normal’ people come to commit monstrous acts; Zimbardo’s simulated prison study, where male undergraduate students role played guards and prisoners in a mock prison setting in the basement of a Stanford University building; or Laud Humphreys’ 1970 involved studying secret male homosexual activities in public restrooms.

As a Muslim I cannot make allowances for judgments that are not sound in situations where life and limb are determined.  Stress and anxiety causes us to react to situations in an incorrect or unethical manner, but in those life-threatening moments we call upon our experience, knowledge, and resources to bring us through those intense moments.  Recently Miriam Carey was driving with her daughter in the backseat, when she rammed a security barrier at the Whitehouse.

“At mid-afternoon, Carey's car was surrounded by police on Capitol Hill.

The officers tried to pin the car against a sidewalk barrier, but she rammed a cruiser and sped away. Numerous officers opened fire.

"I heard the gunshots, and then the car tore out of the area back, you know, toward this direction with the police cars following," witness Peter Plocky told reporters.

The vehicle raced around the west front of the Capitol building and then a short time later the car jumped a curb and came to a stop on the east side of the Capitol.

The driver was shot multiple times by Secret Service and Capitol Police officers. She was later pronounced dead.

The driver was not armed when she engaged police in downtown Washington, but investigators say she was clearly using the black coupe as a weapon, and officers responded, opening fire, ending what they saw as a threat.”

 

Charlissa Hunter of Facebook commented on the CBS link:  “What was wrong with shooting the tires?  If the woman was unarmed who shot the officer?  This looks like nonsense.”

 

Policy is written in the form of Administrative Regulations and Standard Operating Procedures, dictating to public officials and their employees what to do concerning those individuals under their supervision or control.  The policy is the how to guide on how to best manage, treat, control, talk to, relate to, and what type of programming is needed to be better effective or maximize profit. 

Back on April 16, 2013, John Hopkins University's Human Rights Working Group hosted a workshop called "Legality, Politics, and Ethics of Militarized Drones.  They discussed how police in some cities profit from incarceration from the people that they are policing, so peace is not in their interest.  When profits are a part of this equation then senseless shootings will prove harder to curb due to the objective of the individual officer, the officer’s motivation for performance, and the object of the officer’s desire. 

 

In Yankton, South Dakota Federal Prison guards are not getting paid due to the shutdown, but the inmates that they are guarding are.  Working on an IOU from the government, frustration and lack of funds can bring ethics into question.

"It gets frustrating when you've got a group of individuals sitting in Washington getting paid, and they're basically doing nothing for us right now," she said.

"We just would like to be compensated and have Congress just pass a bill, pass a budget, get us some money. I mean, we can't operate forever," Kunkel said.

This prison is only one of many that are affected by the government shutdown, and they will be compensated for their missed wages, but what about those people who make unethical decisions without being under the stress of a government shut down?  Like those prison guards who bring in ‘illegal contraband’.

  Another example of ethics is in a video I seen on Youtube, posted by Rafeal Smith.  Rep. Chris Van Hollen, (D) Maryland, was using House rule 22, clause 4, which is a standing house rule, to try to bring an end to this government shutdown, but was rebutted by Rep. Jason Chaffetz, speaker pro tempore, who used House resolution 368 to justify altering the operation of the standing rule.  If you listen to the video you will see how Rep. Chaffetz trips is at a loss for his own words.  Ethically he doesn’t seem to have the best interest of the American people in this situation and would rather go into default. Mariella Elita Amanda Browne of facebook commented on this video, "Democracy has been suspended!" All of a sudden House Rule 22, Clause 4 is no longer applicable. SMH. That Speaker and the republicans who on that bulls**t are the biggest of disappointments. The World is looking on and just shaking their heads. Real talk.

  Based on the International Crime Victim Survey and the National Crime Victim Survey, I think that

the differences in ethical conduct is the different interest that each law enforcement agency has in the

criminal element that they deal with forming a deterrent effect in some unethical conduct that can

easily occur. The movie Brooklyn’s Finest, 2010 chronicled the ethical and moral values of police

and criminals as they act and interact, in their everyday lives.  Every scene had a moral to it, but you

 had to either be a gangster or a police to see that moral.  Ethical behavior cannot be termed

androcentric, which means male-centered overwhelmingly, because women and men hold equal

positions of power and influence, and each are prone to the commission of unethical behavior when

faced with a moral dilemma.  Lack of financial resources has been equated to less power.  With less

 oney, individuals have less of a voice in our society.  We commit unethical behavior to obtain

more wealth, to ensure that our voice is heard.  Ethics violations usually involve public officials and

their staff or employees, but good judgment equals out to be good ethical conduct, and good ethical

conduct makes for better relations with the community that law enforcement is policing, better

productivity and performance from staff and employees, and better feedback from members of

governmental entities in the city and state.

Graduation and Guns

  Every time I watch NBC Dateline and 48 hours it is a case of violence that erupted from mounting frustrations between loved ones or so-called loved ones with ambitions, personal desires involving money, drugs, prestige, love, and other incentives. 

The 2016 Olympics could have been hosted in Chicago just as the 1996 games were hosted in Atlanta, but with violence bringing the focus to Chicago, Olympic International Committee (OIC) were concerned about the Centennial Park bombing happening on the scale of Munich, or something much worse.  With the death of Osama bin Laden, and the death of his potential replacement, Anwar Al-Awlaki, there is no set enemy to come against.  Al-Awlaki (http://youtu.be/xsGFWJQkosg) would have replaced Osama bin Laden, he was in charge of internet tutorials to sleeper cells throughout the countries of the world, mainly the US.  With the possibility of an imminent threat from Al-Qaeda on American embassies and consulates in the East and Middle Eastern regions, it shows that after US Special Forces assassinated Osama bin Laden that Al-Qaeda either anticipated the assassination of their beloved mujahaideen, or counter moved upon the first intelligence they received about US Special Forces raiding Bin Laden's compound.  If I search through court cases, media footage, and arrest, I will find countless numbers of justified and unjustified cases of violence.  The 20th century was full of advancements bringing us to present day internet, and the new gatekeepers called social media;  now, with nowhere to advance, no new enemies, no game changing scandals, nothing but the unknown here on earth and outer space.  Since the time of the Mounted Inspectors, and them having to use their own horses, guns, ammunition, supervision, and rations, the increase in violence in trafficking has brought about a sophisticated development of Border Patrol weapons, supervision, transportation, surveillance tactics, and methods of force.  Human trafficking is cruel and unusual punishment for the people who purchase passage, but the reality of this illegal act is that it provides jobs for the people who run the trafficking ring, and a way to a better life for those who purchase passage to America.  Malala Yousafzai (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2366851/Malala-Yousafzai-Taliban-commander-Adnan-Rasheeds-astonishing-letter-apologising-Pakistani-girl-shot.html) was shot in the head at point-blank range by Taliban fighters, because they believed her writings were "provocative", and that she was running a smear campaign against them.  One of the members of the group that shot her stated, "When you were attacked it was shocking for me,..." he said.  "I wished it [had] never happened".  As a Muslim I believe in what the insurgents are fighting for, but I cannot make allowances for incidents like Malala, that are contrary to the Qur'an.  President Obama stated on immigration reform,  "There is no law that solves 100% of all problems...", this eludes to gun violence and gun control.  

Violence occurs every day on a local level, from strong armed robbery and forced intrusion to murder.  The memorials found curbside in Columbus, Georgia's housing projects are examples of not only violence, but gun violence around the country that statutory laws can only delay until the real provisions of gun control: morality, ethics, and common sense can be included in a comprehensive bill. 

The Relationship between PTSD & Sensory Deprivation

Exploring Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome and Sensory Deprivation is only me revisiting the post on my blog entitled, Numbers v. Letters on a more precise explanation of the inner workings of the criminal justice system, and A Person Misunderstood that explored the mind of why a young man with promise became a cold blooded killer.  Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and 22-hour lockdown, all show a relationship of new forms of perceptual isolation.  Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome and Sensory Deprivation have been in existence since the late 1800s.  In WWII, there was a profound connection between soldiers at war and inmates incarcerated in the nation’s prisons.  The wounded warrior project of today embodies a breed of orthodox soldiers that proves a very insightful connection with the convicted felons of present day. 

 

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a type of anxiety disorder. It can occur after you have gone through an extreme emotional trauma that involved the threat of injury or death, or something that has shocked the senses.  Most soldiers in the armed forces have experienced some traumatic event that has altered their state of being.  In U.S. v. Ferguson, 2013 WL[1] 627145; February 20, 2013.

 

“The charge was based on Ferguson's involvement in a scheme to secure lines of credit through unauthorized use of the retail store Coldwater Creek's banking account. At sentencing, Ferguson requested a downward “variance” from the advisory 10–to–16-month term of custody calculated pursuant to the United States Sentencing Guidelines. More specifically, while the government urged the government to impose a sentence within the guidelines range of 10–to–16 months custody, Ferguson asked the court to sentence her to probation only. The court found a variance was warranted in light of, among other things, a recent and substantial redirection from the United States Sentencing Commission on the sentencing of mentally ill criminal defendants. The court thus imposed a sentence of probation with the special condition of eight months of home confinement along with mental-health treatment specifically tailored for Ferguson. This opinion sets forth in detail the court's reasons for the sentence imposed.

 

Ferguson told Dr. Lokken that she hallucinates on a regular basis, approximately every other day. She hears voices telling her to hurt herself, and she hears the voice of a man speaking in a language she does not understand. She sees dead relatives standing at the foot of her bed and a tall, strange man who wears all black.

 

In Clark v. Colvin, Slip Copy 2013 WL 787127, the Administrative Law Judge, after following a five-step sequential inquiry, ruled that Mark Clark was not disabled due to his severe impairments.  Perceptual Isolation is more obvious in a prison environment because it is the goal of penological objectives. Inmates languish, typically alone, in a cramped cell, for 22 and one-half to 24 hours a day.  Lock-up in most prisons are designed for the purpose to house those inmates with disciplinary problems, Disciplinary segregation; Administrative segregation is where inmates are kept until the committee decides to allow them back into population.  The primary objective of the maintenance of governmental and corporate entities and institutions within the free world system, is to provide quality accessible education, training and consulting services for a globally competitive diverse workforce with community relationships with secondary and post secondary institutions, businesses, industry, community organizations, government agencies, and individuals to foster community pride and unity, the ‘primary objectives’ are not penological objectives.  The stressors inherent in a prison environment would frustrate the goals of rehabilitation.  In a secular environment these same stressors would cause a normal person to turn to some form of ‘criminal activity’ eventually leading them to prison, as in the case of Kaitlin Michelle Ferguson.  One inmate at Pelican Bay prison states:

 

“I’ve seen guys lose their minds back here,…”

 

How many contacts do you have in your cellphone right now?  How many of those are personal contacts or business contacts?  How many jobs have you held in the past 5 years?  Are you still doing the same exact thing that you were doing last year?  Are you being targeted on social media? Are you being targeted everywhere you go? 

“The solitary confinement regime at Pelican Bay, which renders California an outlier in this country and in the civilized world, violates the United States Constitution’s requirement of due process and prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment, as well as the most basic human rights prohibitions against cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. Indeed, the prolonged conditions of brutal  confinement and isolation at Pelican Bay cross over from having any valid penological purpose into a system rightly condemned as torture by the international community.”

Rio de Janeiro beat Chicago out for the 2016 Summer Olympics because of politics and controversies, but most importantly it beat Chicago out because it is a city ripe for great spiritual development.  Pope Francis just left Rio, and had the whole 4-kilometers of Copacabana beach covered with people and parishioners alike, as he spoke at the World Youth Day:

“Nearly the entire 4 kilometer (2.5 mile) crescent of Copacabana's broad beach overflowed…”

 

 

In the London Summer games Lolo Jones placed fourth in the100 meter hurdles, she was hurt and devastated at the fact that she did not win first place.   This was a traumatic experience for her because there was all this hype; she had all these endorsements because she was the favorite to win the gold medal in the 100 meter hurdles.  Will she win her gold medal in the100 meter hurdles in 2016?   Ariel Castro is the first person, since the term was coined in the 1930s, to actually have the book thrown at him with a 576 page indictment, containing 977- counts.  He will actually spend the rest of his life experiencing what those three girls felt for 10 years in his basement, Sensory Deprivation.  Improvement in our world does not always mean better, just improvement from the old.   In my unpublished novel, The Day of the Mongoose, I speak of how the United States has been let out of solitaire confinement of the 20^th century, and released back to population in the 21^st century and new millennium, because we as a country have gone whole.  With the U.S. Supreme court making landmark decisions on cases like Edith Windsor (2013 WL 3196927) and Dennis Hollingsworth (2013 WL 3196928) that deal with DOMA and Proposition eight, we have come to see now what was once shunned and outcast in the 20^th century is now normal everyday living.  Are we going down the same path as Sodom and Gomorrah? Or have we created a new normal that raises our level of tolerance and forbearance preparing us for a new, stronger, and more powerful enemy, one unlike Osama bin Laden and the Taliban. Pope Francis asked this question: 

"If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?"

God is the best of planners, and whatever use he has for homosexuality, I am not the one to question what he plans.  I only hope I am here to see it come to fruition.

Primary Objectives are more deadly because they perceptually isolate individuals in an uncontrolled environment, as in the case of Jared Lee Loughner.  They cause more damage and more collateral damage to civilian life and property than penological objectives. It is primary objectives at work when four out of five U.S. adults struggle with joblessness, near-poverty or reliance on welfare for at least parts of their lives. It is primary objectives at work when babies are the intended victims of murder; this is a sign of a deteriorating economy and society.    When men commit murder because they have a desire or urge, and are acquitted of it at trial because the evidence, in relation to the law, says that they are not guilty; it is primary objectives at work.  PTSD and Sensory Deprivation are the working tools of Primary Objectives.  Juror B29 gave a right and exact answer to what was going on in the Zimmerman case: 

"You can't put the man in jail even though in our hearts we felt he was guilty," she said. "But we had to grab our hearts and put it aside and look at the evidence."

When we begin to do this on a regular basis, then will more innocent men be acquitted, and guilty men be sentenced to long prison terms.    

"The church needs you, your enthusiasm, your creativity and the joy that is so characteristic of you!" he said to applause in his final homily of World Youth Day.

May Allah bless you all!

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[1] WL – West Law citation

Al-Khaf (The Cave)

In the name of Allah the Beneficent, the most Merciful.

I thank Allah for Moses and the Torah; Jesus and the Gospel; and Muhammad and the Qur’an.  I cannot thank Allah enough for coming in the person of Master Wallace Fard Muhammad, to whom praise is forever due.  I thank Allah for raising up in our midst, our saviour and Christ, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad.  I thank Allah and his messenger for leaving us a holy comforter, for without him, I would not be here today.  The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan.  It is in there holy names that I greet you in words of peace and paradise.  We say in the Arabic language--- As-Salaam-Alaikum!

Watching the news one can see there are a great number of events occurring that show humanity the present direction we are on.  I want to wish brother Nelson Mandela and his family well in his final homegoing.  To the young ladies in Ohio whom were found after they were abducted, and held captive for 10 years, we are glad that you all are home now.  We love you all.

To the families of the nineteen firefighters that lost their lives battling the fire in Colorado.  We send our deepest sympathies. 

In the Qur’an, Mary gave birth under a fig tree to her newborn baby, Jesus.  She placed the baby Jesus in a cradle, under that same fig tree.  The parable goes on to say that Jesus ate from the tree, and spoke wisdom to the men from the cradle.  Not only did he speak wisdom to men from the cradle; he spoke it from the cradle to the grave, and even beyond that.

We have arrived at a time in history for humanity, where we have evened out on thousands of years of learning and discoveries.  The area of water is 139,685,000 square miles; the area of land is 57,255,000 square miles; the total area of land and water of the entire planet earth is 196,940,000 square miles.  There are still things in and parts of the depths of the ocean that we don’t understand or know about.  Still parts of the land that we don’t know about or understand.   Master Fard Muhammad, in the Problem book, said that Mars contains life.  We have not even figured out how to eliminate poverty, suffering, and needless death, so how can scientist land a rover on Mars and begin to comprehend anything about this planet?  Jesus was the burden bearer that represented the best of humanity, and all things that surrounded him.  The tree is a form of cover that we seek shelter and protection under.  We seek shelter and protection under that which is strong, properly flourishing, beautiful looking, over and long reaching, but most importantly, deeply rooted in all that surrounds us.  The stronger the trunk, the deeper the roots.  When we are properly rooted in god, we are properly rooted in Jesus, then will we be better rooted towards perfection.  How the tree is rooted determines the type of figs it bears.  There are sexual assaults taking place in the military on female soldiers.  Out of love and duty for their country, and a love for the men in their lives they joined a branch of the armed forces entrusting the very essence of who they are to their commanding officer.  When the commanding officer, the tree of refuge, betrays that trust because he, in his moment of weakness cannot control his sexual desires for his subordinates uses his authority over her to try and force himself on her sexually then the to her the entire military has betrayed her.  Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York, stated on the news to Andrea Mitchell, “When you enter the military, you may expect to lose a limb. You may expect to even lose your life. But no one should be expecting to be assaulted or raped by one of their colleagues.” Your colleagues are supposed to motivate you, to make you a better soldier, a better woman, a better human being.  The commanding officer is the tree that covers you, and as you eat of the commanding officers figs, the training and nurturing, you become a perfected fig; ripe for battle, ripe for civilian and military life, ripe to become a tree yourself for others to seek cover under. 

Mary gave birth to Jesus and placed him in the cradle where he ate and spoke wisdom to the men of his time.  Ripe means, “ready” or “perfect state”, but something can be “overripe” or “past a state of perfection”.  Jesus ate figs at precisely the moment in time that they were in their perfected state.  Jesus in the cradle, under the cover of perfection was nourished by the perfected figs which made him, not a replica, but a perfect embodiment of that which he took refuge; the tree of God.  If perfection was going into him then the excrement of wisdom that came out of him was perfect.  To all women whom have served in the armed forces; to single working mothers, and mothers in general who were or are under some authority that you have trusted or are currently entrusting your essence too, you have bore children like James Holmes, Adam Lamza, Mckenzie Cowell, and her attacker.  You and their fathers are the authority that they are under, and I must ask, did you know the exact moment the figs were ripe, and did you tamper with god’s intended nourishment?  Did you give them a fig that was over ripe or under ripe when you should have given them one that was perfectly ripe?  If you want perfection out of them then you must feed and nourish them with perfection. In Surah 18; ayat 18 it says:

 And thou mightest think them awake while they were asleep, and We turned them about to the right and to the left, with their dog outstretching its paws at the entrance. If thou didst look at them, thou wouldst turn back from them in flight, and thou wouldst be filled with awe because of them.

 

Sen. Ayotte is working on passing a bill on gun control.  She spoke at a town hall meeting telling the people of Sandy Hook exactly what was happening, exactly what she was doing, and why it was taking so long for the bill to pass.  She told them what points were being debated and why she felt they needed to be debated or modified.  In a time of crisis like Sandy Hook, Sen. Ayotte is a politician for the people, by the people, whom is accountable to the people she represents.  How do you write mental health background checks into legislation when some mental health people have no record of mental health?  Adam Lanza obtained access to the guns he used through his mother whom had no mental health background.  How do you write that into legislation as to prevent sick individuals from obtaining weapons to hurt others and themselves?  To white folks:  Your children are not slave masters trying to manage a plantation.  They are not out to demean another human being because they feel that they are superior.  They are not trying to perpetuate William Lynch and his methods.  To blacks:  Our children are not digging ditches or clearing the ways for railroad tracks.  They are not digging up tree stumps, sharecropping, or going to the butcher for the day’s meat.  They are in the barbershops and beauty salons grooming themselves, discussing everyday politics of the community, state, and nation.  They are in the clubs at night after doing business in the “streets” all day, relaxing, socializing over an alcoholic beverage and a blunt.  White or black, our children are trying to become masters of themselves, so that they can resourcefully manage corporations like Lehman brothers, and other businesses in the community.  Offer effective solutions to a down economy, unemployment rate, gun control, sexual assault in our armed services, medical, and other technological advancements, staying effective solutions in our everyday actions.

SURVIVING CHER KHAN

Want not [1]between your legs, but what it be, vivacity;

Can a man be re-born lest he re-enter the womb?

Like a powerful ray, the force shoots out at the slightest cavity;

Your body sketched in tomb;

The muddle of your mind shows me that you can’t see what I say;

Combine our ecstasy and your screams tear through four inch steele;

[2]Grinding you all night, knowing that in the morning I can count my recompense;

No [3]memoirs, just mass killings in the theaters our intelligence;

Cutting you up with a [4]brand new blade into twenties, nickels, and dimes;

My [5]dope boy knot is like that ass; that is why—I hold it so tight!

Knowing to save;

Smoking [6]weed and drinking beer all night;

My soul vibrates, faster and faster;

Paranoia is the pleasure that you bring me in the darkest hours of nightfall;

No silver linings just [7]frost brewed,

So I take another [8]hit, [9]smoking muthaphuckas, placing the entire [10]fifty on the [11]can;

Can you see my broken heart?

It mirrors my financial rank;

ªTrapping in isolation, no hope---just dope;

Develop into the morning coffee in my life, the antioxidant removing poisonous people from my life;

No erections, just hard times plus hard ass people, equals out to be…

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[1] between your legs – a woman’s vagina.

[2] Grinding – selling crack cocaine all night, making your initial investment back, and more profit then expected.

[3] memoirs – the everyday  life of a street-level dope boy.

[4] brand new blade – single edge razor used to cut-up crack into working pieces

[5] dope boy knot – a wad of cash composed of mostly one-dollar bills as well as fives, tens, and some larger bills.

[6] weed - marijuana

[7] frost brewed – the linings inside the cans of coors light beer.

[8] hit – when a crack addict places a rock of cocaine on his apparatus, places fire to it, and inhales

[9] smoking – (1)doing drugs by the process known as freebase; (2) killing people with a gun

[10] fifty - .05 grams of cooked cocaine

[11] can –  a type of apparatus used by a crack addict to smoke their rock. Usually a drink can bent to shape with small holes and ashes

ª Trap – the domicile where the dope boy works out of, grinding!

Numbers v. Letters (185830 v. Doctorate)

     I could have wrote this piece about two years ago, but it was not the right time to put this out there.  People out her in this world spend years of there lives juggling home, work, school, kids, extracurricular activities all while trying to pursue there degree.  Whether it is a BA, BS, AAS, Masters, or a Doctorate they spend years of their lives putting in the work necessary to achieve a level and status in life that takes maybe 20 or plus more years.  In the process of getting these valuable letters behind their names,a certain arrogance of arrival comes with it that is masked by a confidence called achievement.  They may not know everything, but what they do know they will find out.  As is the case of one of the Defendants in my civil suit against Columbus Technical College.  Here is an individual with a Doctorate in Education, multiple years of experience as an educator, and a very good grasp of the community and the people who inhabit that community, but she did not know anything about due process of law dealing with a disciplinary.  When one has those letters behind their name it says that they have not only put in the credit hours at school, but that they have maintained a not so easy lifestyle while juggling the problems of that lifestyle along with school.  When one is  about to receive their Masters or Doctorate they must write a thesis, and that thesis is graded with such scrutiny both before and after the receipt of the degree, that the individual can be stripped of that degree and dragged through a long drawn out legal process that starts in the administrative phase and ends up in the Supreme court of the United States.   I have read countless cases where individuals had written their thesis, and years later was stripped of that very degree.  The taken of the degree came after they had celebrated, bragged, and received much acknowledgement and respect for their accomplishment(s).  To spend ten or twenty years of one's life only to be robbed of everything you have every worked for.  10 to 20 for what?

     In April of 2006 I was locked in a one-man cell, in the lock-up, at St. Claire Correctional Facility.  This was the night that Stanley "Tookie" Williams was finally executed for the crime that he committed.  Here was a man that paved many paths for an individual like myself as well as many others.  I never knew about Tookie until I read about him in a Source magazine in that same lock-up, but he was only a number in a system designed to destroy the very core of who we are.  "Big Took" was a tiger to me, but to the guards at the Facility in CDC where he was at, he was inmate number, fill in the blank.  This man was one of the founders of the "Crip" gang as well as, the gang lifestyle in Los Angeles, or the "Gangs of L.A.".  From the Black Panthers to the explosion of what is now known as the present day "West Coast" lifestyle the streets for African-Americans is our greatest education.  How to cut-up crack cocaine in nickles, dimes, and twenties.  How many grams in an ounce, how many ounces in a bird, what is a bird, brick, or a cake.  Math at its finest.  I guess english came when I had to read those papers that the police had me sign when they arrested me or when the bondsman came to bond me out.  I guess I became well versed in criminal law when I began my journey through the court system fighting drug, assault, and weapons charges.  Finally when I arrived in the penitentiary, you only have time on your hands so when you are not fighting for yours, then you are engulfed in a book.  The Holy Qur'an, The Parsifal Mosaic, a Federal or State reporter.  Bo Lozoff said that we are all doing time, but it takes people in prison maybe six months to learn and obtain what some people in the world strive for in a lifetime.  My Alabama Inmate Serial(AIS#) number is 185830.  Even though it is not something to brag or boast about, believe me it is not, those numbers represent a degree that was obtained through being sentenced to hard labor and forced isolation in a penal system. 

     Who is better, the person with the numbers behind their name? or the person with the letters behind their name.  Scenario!  A 47-year old woman with 3 kids ranging from ages 3 to 9.  Her husband is a full-time sub-contractor.  She is in the process of writing her thesis, so that she may receive her Masters.  What are the downside to this? What is the upside to this.  Scenario!  A 41 year old man has finished doing a total of 25 years on and off.  5 the first time, 8 the second, 10 the last time.  He started going back and forth to prison when he was 16.  He has been with the same girl every since.  He has 4 kids by her.  He was locked up for drugs and assaults.  He is out for good this time, but he is selling drugs, lives in a very lavish house with several cars, loving family, a great reputation on the hood and with the community.  Makes business investments in legitimate ventures.  What is the down side to this? What is the upside to this?  My answer to the first scenario is a question.  Is the woman truly happy with the totality of her life? My answer to the second scenario is will this guy every get caught and go back to prison for drugs?
These are only scenarios and questions, but you decide Numbers v. Letters.  Some fail at the expense of others success while others succeed at the expense of others failure.  You decide which is better, which is the truth.