(NOT)GUILTY BY ASSOCIATION

          INVOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER....... The words entered my ears and bounced around my skull with the velocity of a ..38 caliber bullet which had not yet found solid tissue in which to lodge itself producing a deafening high pitched ring. My stomach turned instantly as I fought off the the urge to vomit. I opened my mouth with the intention of spewing a barrage white-hot curses which would fall on a million ears, none of which were within hearing distance and only 5 words emerged in a breathless whisper. "Involuntary Manslaughter..... This is Bullshit..." It was a sickening reminder that our status and value as Black Men in America hasn't increased too much since we were loaded up in the bellies of cargo ships like livestock and brought to this country. I was disgusted with at the fact that once again, the blind whore of a bitch they call justice had wandered through her self inflicted darkness, dragged her frozen fingers across the walls and managed to find her way to the side of her opposition. This is truly a sad day and a bitter defeat for the black community.Yet it's far from surprising and just the beginning.
     
         As I speak, Oakland is restless with a collective rage which produces a tension that is not simply confined to the streets of downtown, but seeps through every open window, and slips beneath every door of each home in the ghetto. And it forces us to ask the question... "What is the value of a Black Man's life?". The answer however, clearly escapes us as quickly as the question is asked,  Not just due to the actions of white America, but our own actions as well. We've reduced ourselves to moving targets, not only for Police, but ourselves. And we seek to blame, yet we lack understanding. We kill each other daily, yet we are mortified when someone of another race does it? We exhibit the anger of an abusive parent whose child has been abused by another adult and we actually act surprised at the outcome.  Where is the sense in that? Better yet... Why even express outrage if in a couple of days life will go on as scheduled and Oscar Grant will slowly but surely become yet another forgotten hot topic on last week's news?  Ask yourself that... 

          What saddens me even more than the blatant injustice and the lack of regard for  Oscar's life and family, is our hereditary self-hate which ultimately has allowed situations like this to occur for generations. Somewhere between the Black Panther movement and the Regan Era we completely lost our sense of self as well as pride in our race. This is an issue made all the more evident by the fact that our heroes are no longer men of honor and values, but criminals whose namesakes are made legendary by grown men who build music careers by emulating them.  We don't stand for anything anymore. We no longer exist as a unit which means we'll continue to be individually picked off effortlessly and at alarming rates. And the most tragic element of all is the fact that if Oscar Grant wasn't murdered by Johannes Mehserle, the odds are extremely high that he would've been murdered by another Brother. Not based on his character as a person. Just based on Oakland as a city. Don't allow your jaw to drop too far... You know I'm telling the truth.

           The pitiful truth in the matter is, this isn't the last time this is going to happen unless we stand up stop it from happening. Not for a day, not for a week, not for a month, but indefinitely. Latinos rally what seems like every other week and are almost always rewarded with media coverage. Their presence has been made so strongly that they managed to completely shut down the state of Arizona over an immigration law yet we can't even muster a 2nd degree murder or voluntary manslaughter conviction with video footage. Of course this should have never been allowed to happen but neither should gunned-down teenagers, shot-up funerals, or candle-light memorial drive-by shootings. We act like savages and murderers but we're appalled when we're treated that way. In all honesty it was a far fetched fantasy to believe Good ol' Mr Whitefolks would  fry one of his own for the sake of one of ours, This is why we must band together not just in the wake of this verdict, but in anticipation of an uncertain future. True... There's strength in numbers, but the strongest number of all is 1... 1 Race... 1 Voice,,, 1 Goal... Until we can achieve such unity there will never be justice. Not for Oscar Grant. Not for our children. Not for our children's children. As long as we choose not to care, the world will continue to do the same....

AND THAT'S JUST THE WAY I SEE IT....

         Rest in Peace Oscar Grant....