“So the lord sent down the rainbow sign, no more water the fire next time”.
Langston Hughes
People of color have been talking for years of the inequalities and injustice in the United States, but main stream America constantly counters with – you’re just paranoid. They say slavery was in the past and racism hardly exists anymore. There forefathers were poor, came from Europe and made a good life for themselves and families through hard work! They never take in to account that our U.S Government legalized and supported discrimination against people of color, and separate but equal was the law of the land.
But I’m Paranoid!
We’ve been telling people for years, there can be no peace without justice. The struggle is not just about race, class, sex and color, but mainly the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. Remember Enron, World Com and especially those preachers like Jimmy Swaggert and Jim Baker spouting the scriptures, ripping off poor folks and pocketing the money.
A black man was sodomized with a two foot broom stick by members of NYPD, for no apparent reason, and another shot 42 times. What crime did they commit? Have you ever heard of a person of color accidentally shooting a police officer and getting off! But there have been hundreds of people accidentally shot by the police with no consequence. I wonder how many of them were wealthy. Listen up people!
But I guess I’m just paranoid!
The levees break, the houses shake, the whole damn thing is a big mistake!
Mistake? The army Core of Engineers predicted years ago it could happen, but there was no money. Would it have made a difference if it was Hollywood or Crawford Texas below sea level? Recently, during images of the water this time in New Orleans, the news media portrayed black folks looting while white folks salvaged food. How about showing the looting when thousands of homeowners and businesses turn in inflated insurance claims.
But I’m paranoid!
A radio talk show host said, “Why should millions of our tax dollars be wasted repairing homes destroyed by an act of nature, maybe they shouldn’t be living there!” How about the billions of tax payer dollars we spend blowing up houses in other countries? Meanwhile, rich people’s homes outside of Los Angeles are threatened by the fire this time and it’s called a catastrophe. I wonder how many of them will have to stay in a homeless shelter!
William Bennett, who’ supposedly represents the American mainstream, the moral majority, says, “You could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down.” He says his words were misconstrued. He was merely musing about a hypothetical argument. Who even thinks like that!
Paranoid? I’m getting mad as hell! and we need to keep spreading the message on the Southside, Westside, and Worldwide – no justice, no peace!
Young men and women are dying in Baghdad, Kabul and countless towns whose names I have never heard and can barely pronounce. Many of the casualties are kids who only enlisted as the means to affording and education or one day purchasing a home. Maybe if rich folks and the lawmakers kids got drafted, we wouldn’t be ignored and laughed at. But I guess I’m naïve!
We’ve been talking forever about the injustice around us.
What will it finally take for America to take heed!
Maybe they are listening, but there favorite TV show is on, there iPod is blasting and they really won’t care until the fire next time!
Winston Burton
