IGNORANCE IS NOT AN OPTION

Now I'm not usually one to deal with racial stereotypes and all that jazz about white man, black man, but this was something I found noteworthy and worth sharing. While browsing through blogs I posted on myspace, I came across this post. The fact that the essence of it is still true is truly disappointing. But then again, The Truth Hurts... that is unless you are able and willing to change it.

Please Note: This is a heavy piece and a Caucasian wrote it.

THEY ARE STILL OUR SLAVES We can continue to reap profits from theBlacks without the effort of physical slavery. Look at the current methods of containment that they use on themselves: IGNORANCE, GREED, and SELFISHNESS.

Their IGNORANCE is the primary weapon of containment. A great man once said, "The best way to hide something from Black people is to put it in a book." We now live in the Information Age. They have gained the opportunity to read any book on any subject through the efforts of their fight for freedom, yet they refuse to read. There are numerous books readily available at Borders, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon.com, not to mention their own Black Bookstores that provide solid blueprints to reach economic equality (which should have been their fight all along), but few read consistently, if at all.

GREED is another powerful weapon of containment. Blacks, since the abolition of slavery, have had large amounts of money at their disposal. Last year they spent 10 billion dollars during Christmas, out of their 450 billion dollars in total yearly income (2.22%). Any of us can use them as our target market, for any business venture we care to dream up, no matter how outlandish, they will buy into it. Being primarily a consumer people, they function totally by greed. They continually want more, with little thought for saving or investing.They would rather buy some new sneaker than invest in starting a business. Some even neglect their children to have the latest Tommy or FUBU, and they still think
that having a Mercedes, and a big house gives them "Status" or that they have achieved their Dream.They are fools! The vast majority of their people are still in poverty because their greed holds them back from collectively making better communities.

With the help of BET, and the rest of their black media that often broadcasts destructive images into their own homes, we will continue
to see huge profits like those of Tommy and Nike. (Tommy Hilfiger has even jeered them, saying he doesn't want their money, and look at how the fools spend more with him than ever before!). They'll continue to show off to each other while we build solid communities with the profits from our businesses that we market to them.

SELFISHNESS, ingrained in their minds through slavery, is one of the major ways we can continue to contain them. One of their own,
Dubois said that there was an innate division in their culture. A "Talented Tenth" he called it. He was correct in his deduction that there are segments of their culture that has achieved some "form" of success. However, that segment missed the fullness of his work. They didn't read that the "Talented Tenth" was then responsible to aid The Non-Talented Ninety Percent in achieving a better life. Instead, that segment has created another class, a Buppie class that looks down on their people or aids them in a condescending manner.

They will never achieve what we have. Their selfishness does not
allow them to be able to work together on any project or endeavor of substance. When they do get together, their selfishness lets their egos get in the way of their goal. Their so-called help organizations seem to only want to promote their name without making any real change in their community. They are content to sit in conferences and conventions in our hotels, and talk about what they will do, while they award plaques to the best speakers, not to the best doers. Is there no end to their selfishness?

They steadfastly refuse to see that TOGETHER EACH ACHIEVES MORE (TEAM).

They do not understand that they are no better than each other
because of what they own, as a matter of fact, most of those Buppies are but one or two pay checks away from poverty. All of which is under the control of our pens in our offices and our rooms.Yes, we will continue to contain them as long as they refuse to read, continue to buy anything they want, and keep thinking they are "helping" their communities by paying dues to organizations which do little other than hold lavish conventions in our hotels.

By the way, don't worry about any of them reading this letter, remember, THEY DON'T READ!!!!

Wow, I don't have many words to follow that. Just, PROVE THEM WRONG.

Yours Truly,

The Reader

Carpe Diem!

While loitering in G.R. this past summer, looking for a reason to make use of my camera, I came across this.


Scribbled onto a door of an abandoned mystery, somehow it spoke to me.

Yours Truly,
The Photographer

Dead Silence

As our children drown in blood baths of murder,
witnesses keep silent.
Pride is found in not being a snitch
and criminals rely on it.
For every mother left without a son,
for every brother left standing alone,
for every child left without a father,
your voice could be their closure.

Copyright (c) 2008 Ms. A.T.L.S.
...

It disturbs me the way people are murdered everyday and we just accept it as a way of life. Kids killing kids, teenagers killing their friends and more often than not, no one ever pays for the crimes they commit. Another one bites the dust. Another news story, just like the one I saw last week, last night. Is there no remorse? No fear of consequence or retribution?

Where is the hope? Where is the direction and correction? What will you do to make a difference?

Yours Truly,
The Hopeful One

Lost In Time

The clock on the wall strikes twelve
The wrist watch reads one
The phone only rings when extra digits are dialed
Melodic voice tones are entrancing.

Intensified love with no visual association
Separation is the motivation
Fighting hard to hold on
through verbal communication

The sun begins to rise before it completely sets
Divided by different destinations
Scattered in search of success.

The degree of separation between two points;
Distance
In mathematics, the process of discovering
How many times one quantity is contained in another;
Division.

In dreams, thoughts and pictures alike
Memories provoke tomorrow's future
Loneliness is crying a river of tears.

The winds mix in heaven,
the rivers in the ocean
One love on two sides
makes empty of a full notion.

Come home soon.

Copyright (c) 2000 Ms. A.T.L.S.

Yours Truly,
The Writer

Give It a Try

You have a 100% chance of losing if you never play the game.
Yours Truly,
Wishen Euell

I Hope You Dance

I must admit, I have not always been one who enjoys reading a lot. Often I would loose focus and put down a book before I could really get started and blame it on lack of creativity in the writing or something or another. And then I found this book. Being a dancer, I was automatically attracted to the title and being a human I was furthermore attracted to the content.

I Hope You Dance is my all time favorite book. Written by Mark D. Sanders and Tia Sillers and made popular by Lee Ann Womack, I Hope You Dance is the most uplifting and inspiring book I have read in a long time. A short read, it is sure to become everyone's favorite. Read it now. Read it often. Keep it forever. Then buy another one to give to someone else to read (you wont want to give them yours).

I know you will be inspired.

Yours Truly,
The Reader

Versiz

I am a huge fan of poetry and the spoken word. One of my all time favorite spoken word artist is Jamaal Versiz May. I would go on and on about why I love this man so much, but I figure you should see for yourself. Appreciate the craft.




I knew you would like it.

Yours Truly,
The Student

A Day for Change

Today is the day. Change has come.

Throughout the past year, as a nation we proclaimed "YES WE CAN". Trust and Believe, WE can. But more important than the words CHANGE and CAN is the word WE. This change will only be effective if WE change. Please, do not get caught up in the magnitude of this moment and believe that things change overnight. Today is the day for a national change of power. However, Change will only happen for you if you change. Let this be the reason you do something noteworthy. Do not sit back and wait for change to come. Get up, get out and help change happen.

YES WE CAN!

Yours Truly,
The Hopeful One

Just a Thought

My Internet has been out of order for a minute and I'm not a big fan of doing this on my phone but I know someone has been waiting for more...


Thought for today:

If tomorrow never comes, will you be satisfied with what you have done up to this point?


Think on it, but try not to sleep on it.

Yours Truly,
The Mirror

Give and Take

I give, you take.
I work, I make, I pay.
You take, you take, you take.
I give, you take.
You take advantage, you take your time, you take your responsibilities and make them mine.
I give, you take
Then you think all is forgiven because at church you tithe and pray.
I give, you take.
I give, and seldom do I complain.
You take...
Just like your father.


Tours Truly,
The Giver

Where Do You Wear Your Wealth?

When I realized that some of the wealthiest people I know drive hoopties and dress in slightly tattered clothing, I reconsidered my next shopping binge. There is no use getting all dressed up on the outside if on the inside you are as naked as a newborn. When all the designer labels don't matter anymore, when the only label that makes a difference to you is the one you put on your heart and soul, then you will have acquired great wealth.
In my career as a wardrobe consultant, I would always say, "When people look good, they feel good, and I like to make people feel good." True, in it's purest essence, afterall, I had to make some sense of why I was working in retail instead of the human service field as my degree would recommend. But deep down, I knew that feeling good was more about what's on the inside than what's on the outside. What good is a million dollar wardrobe if you have a two dollar spirit?
True wealth has nothing to do with financial gain, bank accounts nor flashy clothes. True wealth is worn on the inside. It is woven in the fabric of our soul. Are you wealthy because of what you have or because of who you are? Where do you wear your wealth?


Yours Truly,
The Mirror

Any Given Moment

Any moment can be the moment that changes your life forever. At any time, you decide which direction to take. You decide what happens next. If you had the opportunity to change your life, to do whatever it is that you desire, would you? Could you? Any moment can be that moment. Your life is ultimately in your hands. The only thing keeping you from being the best you is you. So what are you going to do about it? Any moment can be the moment that changes your life forever. So make this moment count. Make every moment count. Make a decision today that makes a difference tomorrow.


Yours Truly,
Wishen Euell

The Shadows

I'm a closet poet and I know it
so I sit silently in the shadows of the village,
hoping my face doesn't show it.
So paralyzed with fear
I don't even try to prepare,
Instead, I just sit there, thinking...
I should be up there...
But I just don't know if I'm ready to share.

Maybe I'm stingy in part,
definitely shy at heart
I'm sure I can do it,
I just don't know where to start.

So until I build up my courage...
I'll just keep all I have in storage.


Copyright (c) 2008 Ms. A.T.L.S.


This year, I'm coming out of the shadows. Promise.


Yours Truly,
The Writer

Better In Mind

I am a lover of great quotes, the pearls of wisdom that say so much without saying much at all.
Great for motivating, inspiring, uplifting, educating, etc. I keep them in my mind and my heart always.

Here is my favorite quote this week.
God answers all prayers. Sometimes He says "YES", sometimes He says "NOT YET", and other times, He says, "I HAVE SOMETHING BETTER IN MIND".

This is to you receiving God's "BETTER IN MIND" everyday you live. Trust Him, he knows what He's doing.

Yours Truly,
Wishen Euell

The Gift of Words

As children, we have no idea that the things we like to do, the things that we are good at, are considered talents, or gifts. For me, writing was one of those things.

I'm what most people would consider an introvert. Rarely would I ever verbally express what was going on in my mind. Instead, I would just write, and write, and write. It was like my second language, or maybe my first, who knows... If my hand and pen were my mouth and tongue, then maybe I would have been a lot better at talking to people.

Regardless to how many times I've heard it before in my lifetime, it wasn't until recently that I realized that my creative writing ability may just be a gift from God. But I guess there have always been signs; like when I was in third grade and my music teacher gave me a failing grade on a creative writing assignment, insisting that it was plagiarized. Or the way I always got good grades in English and was always recognized for my writing. Maybe the poetry contests in high school could have been a dead giveaway, or my college professors telling me that my writing was unlike any others' that they have seen in a Composition class.

But I never took it seriously, I just wrote because I liked to write.

In high school, as a writing assignment, I wrote Metamorphosis. Inspired by an Oil Painting called Evocation of Butterflies created by Odilon Redon.
Metamorphosis

I was a caterpillar
Isolated, deserted, and abandoned;
A lonely soul in a world of company.
Deplored, lamented, ugly
I was hidden in the shadows of subjectivity,
A caterpillar, clinging to a chrysalis's world.

I began to be revitalized, transfigured.
I became more because I was tired of being less.
I was altered;
Diversified into a hypnotic rainbow
And carefully placed into the atmosphere.

Now, I am circuitous, amorous, tenacious;
A disembodied soul devoted to nature's devised dream,
A passionate love-colored creature with wings,
Six flanks of fuchsia feelings and
A slender body in which my former identity is lost.

I am a butterfly,
A magician with a mystical heart,
A provocative pleasure-pursuer sent from a witch's mouth.
I create contentment;
I destroy disconsolation.
I am a butterfly,
A spellbinding seductress.

Copyright (c) 1999 Ms. A.T.L.S.
Published in "Igniting the Sky" and displayed in The Detroit Institute of Arts for a short while.
...
Thanks for reading...
Yours Truly,
The Writer