These tragic times have reveal humanity at it’s worst
Melanin and pandemics become hot button issues
Humanity and compassion have become hidden treasures of sorts
As bigotry has been king for over 4 centuries despite having elected officials
Those in solidarity have been a surprise on so many levels (hopefully, there are those more genuine than not)
I just hope those treasures can be excavated sooner than later
I wasn’t aware about this story until just yesterday. Boy, do I need to talk about this. In Lawrenceburg, TN, there was a double murder suspect named Sebastian Arzadon who was finally caught by police. What did the cops do while he was detained? He got free bottled water and medical treatment! Wow, if I saw that video out of context and with no commentary, I would’ve thought they were treating some person who saved a child or animal from a fire or an emergency situation. I’m sure people like George Floyd for example got similar treatment despite not killing anyone, right?
Oh, wait. He’s dead!
Lawrenceburg PD, thank you for proving the anti-racist organizations right. If you wonder why people chant “Black lives matter”, this is one of the reasons why. I’m also glad Phil brought up the similarities with Dylann Roof whom as you remember killed 9 people at a church and got free Burger King from the feds. This is unbelievable. Some may argue that it’s a different police department in another state or that Arzadon didn’t resist arrest.
Neither did George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Philando Castille, Terrence Crutcher, Alton Sterling, Tamir Rice, and so many more. That argument is invalid.
That police chief in the video who said they would treat anyone the same way regardless of race is such an obvious lie that if Pinocchio said the same thing, his nose would grow a foot longer instantly. I have NEVER seen a Black person get treated that way ever in my life in America. If someone argues that this country treats murderers better than innocent people or at least those with non-violent crimes, then this is one example. You can also add Brock Turner, Ethan Couch, Niklaus Cruz, and others on that list, too.
I do tip my hat off to the internet and Snoop Dogg for calling this stuff out and meme-ing this clear double standard.
I’m sure some of you have been aware about various statues of racist devils being taken down recently due to the protests. You have the Edward Colston statue getting “swimming lessons” in Bristol, England and you have Confederate statues taken down across the South. I wondered if Belgium was going to step up to get rid of one of the biggest genocidal maniacs you weren’t taught about in school.
Special thanks to Petrel41 for telling me about this!
I’ve mentioned King Leopold II in a few past articles, but this information bears repeating. For those of you that don’t know, he was the king of Belgium since the late 19th century. Him and other European heads of state participated in the Scramble for Africa starting with the Berlin Conference. His piece of the colonization pie was getting a part of the Kingdom of Kongo in a landmass that would become the Belgian Congo or by it’s modern name of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Even after the annexation, that country is still far larger than Belgium from both a landmass and population standpoint. When Leopold got control of that part of Africa, he turned the entire country into his personal slave plantation since it’s still a resource-rich nation even to this day. The biggest things were oil, rubber, and gold to name a few. Leopold and his brutal regime forced the Congolese to take these insane quotas for the resources and if they didn’t meet said quotas, they would get their hands chopped off. You know those chocolate hands they sell in Belgium? That’s where the inspiration came from. Cannibalistic implications much, Leopold? He did wicked things like shooting the Congolese on site and starved them out away from their communities AKA The Elephant Graveyard Treatment much like what the 2nd Reich did to the Namibians in the 1900s or the Native Americans dealing with the Trail of Tears after being abused by the colonizers. This had a result of killing over 15 million Congolese people during his reign! At that time over a century ago, this was HALF the country’s population. To give you more context, that’s over the same amount of people living in the nation’s capital of Kinshasa (also the 3rd most populated city in Africa, by the way) and Chicago COMBINED! Most people know about Adolf Hitler, Pol Pot, and Joseph Stalin which people should still be taught about for their atrocities, but Leopold always slips through the cracks of history classes. I didn’t even know who he was until after I graduated college which is sad. Even more angering in hindsight to me is that I have Congolese heritage…Leopold could’ve abused and/or killed MY ancestors that I may not have known about! His punishment for what he did was relinquishing control of the Congo. Oh, cry me a river.
Hopefully that brief history lesson should suffice to my readers. Leopold makes Colston look like an alter boy by comparison. I’m so happy that they took the statues down that glorify racist demons like that tyrant. Major props to the Congolese-Belgians who were hardcore protesting about that situation. I also hope this leads to Belgium paying up those reparations for that genocide against that Central African nation. It’s been a long time coming.
Leopold azali zabolo! Nzambe yaka Osunga Kongo! Mosembo na boboto ekolonga!
I don’t feel like doing anything poetic. I need to let off some steam about the chaos going on. This climate has made me sad, furious, and nervous among other things. Some of the answers should be obvious to some of you when I ask these questions.
How insane is it that reporters are getting assaulted and arrested just for doing their jobs? People know it’s violating freedom and the press and the 1st Amendment, right?
How is it that the Third Amendment would actually come up in conversation outside of the confines of a US government or citizenship class? The fact that it was invoked to get National Guard troops out of DC hotels in my lifetime is mind blowing. It even trended on Twitter of all places, too!
What does this say about society when Sesame Street characters can show up at a CNN Town Hall and address the issues of racism, police brutality, white privilege, protesting, and reconciliation better than any politician of either major American political party during my lifetime?
How is it that plants and instigators of the peaceful protests get treated better than those who are legitimately protesting nonviolently? Also, why isn’t mainstream media going hard against the undercover agents looting and just blame every black person they see who happens to be nearby?
How is it that the Buffalo cops can still lie on an elderly white protestor, get caught lying when the video came out, or how 57 officers “resigned” in support of the police who pushed them? Once the video dropped, white America for one second got to see what it was like to be black when they saw someone who could be their grandfather, father, brother, or even them have his skull crack on the pavement and bleed while the authorities walked by like nothing happened.
How come “Reopen the State” Covidiots can threaten governors, policemen, and can show up willy-nilly with AK-47s and AR-15s on government property and no one does anything yet unarmed anti-racism protestors get met with batons, rubber bullets, flash grenades, or even military forces?
So teachers can be punished (suspended or fired) for yelling at children, yet a cop in Fontana, California can get paid leave for raping a minor 4 years ago, and just NOW get charged for it? I’m sorry, but if anyone doesn’t get fired and arrested for such a heinous act, then NOBODY should be fired!
Why aren’t Breonna Taylor’s killers even charged yet? She really needs justice and those murderers shouldn’t be able to get away scot-free for what they did.
How is it that whatever good cops are there get punished and/or bullied for calling out against police brutality or trying to stop abusive behavior, but the ones who do the abusing get protected?
A football player can conflate anti-racist causes with “disrespecting the flag” and one’s just right to have an opinion, but to call out against systemic racism and they should just “shut up and dribble”? Double standards much when it comes to athletes of certain complexions?
What does it say that people are more offended by people wanting equality than Mark Wahlberg actually committing hate crimes in the 80s against black and Vietnamese people? Boy, does this make Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch look like vile cultural appropriation in hindsight, don’t you think?
How is it that some Republicans can jump ship to support a Democrat? I’m an independent and even I was like “Wait? WHAAAAAT?! How is this possible?”. This makes no sense.
Why is it that the same people who try to stock up on arms in case there’s tyrannical activity in America are eerily silent about legit unconstitutional attacks on peaceful protestors and reporters?
How can so many countries actually protest against racial injustice at once regardless of their demographics?
Those are a few observations I’ve noticed over the past couple of weeks. Hypocrisy, bigotry, and mass confusion has been rattling my brain.
I just saw this impactful video done by British indie pro wrestler “Big Wavy” Roy Johnson. In less than a minute, he really breaks it down on how privilege works without even saying a word and just letting a recording to emphasize this point. You can even do this real time by holding all your fingers up and seeing how many of them are still up at the end of the video. Major props, Big Wavy!
Also, he’s the main person responsible for Wrestling Resurgence’s Everything Patterned show which was their Black History Month project last October (that’s when the UK celebrates BHM as opposed to America celebrating in America). That show surprisingly inspired me so much with not just the matches, but the positive representation going on. What does that say when a small British indie federation did something more racially progressive in the context of pro wrestling than anything in America? Let that sink in. Recently, the proceeds of the Everything Patterned video ($3.23 to rent or $6.46 to buy) will go to BLM in solidarity with those against the killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and many more. Here’s a link to that show.
Also, here’s the match between Roy Johnson and Rampage Brown if you’re interested.
The very allegation of a fraudulent Andrew Jackson didn’t warrant an execution
The globe saw how vile the act was
Earlier on, others in the same profession acted with extreme restraint against tooled up whiners who threatened them and politicians
What stark irony and hypocrisy
That was undeserved in the land of 10,000 lakes
May justice remove her blindfold and for olive branches to renovate this society
[Dedicated to George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and many more…]
I’m sorry I haven’t been talkative on my blogs over the past few days. I’ve been dealing with different issues. Some are certainly miniscule in hindsight, some are about my emotions, and the current state of America REALLY hasn’t helped. I needed to calm down before posting something very irrational. Is it that hard for people to have human decency? What did surprise me was how many have been saddened about what happened recently. You know that’s something when even mainstream figures of different class and political backgrounds are condemning this. My silence over the past few days was not me ignoring these atrocities. Trust me, I’ve been reading up on these things. I can’t lie, I had to break it up with lighthearted stuff, books, and even the occasional film so I don’t go stark raving mad or dangerously depressed.
I don’t picture myself posting as frequently as I usually do as of recently on this blog. This isn’t just because of the current climate. I also have other things to do like some constructive projects and even educational things.
As sappy as it sounds, I just want justice, peace, and people to just love as well as freaking accepting the humanity of others. It’s certainly a miracle that I have enough compassion to wish for such things.
It’s been a long time since I did some kind of food post even though it’s not a cooking blog. I’ve been trying to do some more cooking to step my culinary game up as well as to keep me sane during this anxious time to say the least.
I recently saw a documentary about Manchester’a music scene as well as learning slang from that Northern English city. Apparently a butty is a type of sandwich. After doing some research, I discovered a thing called a crisp (potato chip for Americans and Canadians) butty that has chips in the sandwich. I wanted to put my own spin by cooking an egg and using some Zanzibar spices. Because of this, I combined the word “Zanzibar” with “Mancunian” (term for someone or something from Manchester) to come up with the name. I used buttered toast for the bun and served it with pickles as well as potato salad.
I certainly come up with unique takes on recipes.
Fear hides in my mind
No way to mold the unknown
I’ll hide behind smiles
I’ve been doing my best to check out a few things when I have some downtime especially after multiple long days at work. I have to stay sane even with the state of the world and the negative news or opinions pop up.
Benjamin Clementine’s music:
If you follow my Iridium Eye blog, you might recognize this name from my last Top 7. He’s a recent musical discovery who just astounded me with his talent, musicality, and has a very unique voice. I know I’m a sucker for experimental music and avant-garde stuff, so Benjamin Clementine’s music really moved me. Here’s the video for his song “London”.
Social Isolation Match Pt. II: Chuck Mambo Vs. Eddie Dennis
I’m liking how this is becoming a thing with the guys in Escaping the Midcard. Some of you may have seen the first video with Chuck Mambo and TK Cooper, but this one involves the former taking on Welsh wrestler Eddie Dennis in this hilarious match. This stuff is hilarious and they take it over the top with guitars, cats, and weed whackers. The editing was superb and they looked like they had so much fun having a “wrestling match” despite being in their homes in England and Wales.
“Roses are Red” by The Mac Band ft. The McCampbell Brothers
While I would be too young to know about this song, I admit to being a sucker for new jack swing R&B. Hey, I’m from the 90s, so I definitely remember hearing some of that stuff when I was little. Yes, I do admit that the chorus is based on one of the cheesiest rhymes, but dang it, these guys just sell that emotion. It feels romantic and not sleazy like a ton of modern music. I was even pleasantly surprised to see some class with how everyone was dressed in the video despite the dated videography and awkward dancing at points. I’m not sure if this song is still a guilty pleasure or bordering on me liking this unironically. Oh, wait. Things have been contradictory so far by putting an avant-garde singer and a social distancing wrestling match in the same article. Who am I to judge?
Stevie Wonder Isolated Vocals
I know this song and I’m sure most of you have heard “Sir Duke” at some point in your lives. One day, my mom of all people messaged me this video. Hearing the isolated vocals just blew my mind. This was done in one take which I didn’t realize. I’m starting to appreciate older music more often. Remember when singers actually recorded their vocals without the “safety net” of Auto-Tune? Pepperidge Farm remembers! Am I part of the last generation of people who actually remembers popular music being made without that technology? Wow, I must be getting old…
The Lion King Lie:
Special thanks to Scott from Mechanical Anime Reviews for showing me this video. I don’t want to repeat myself given my tendency to bash this Disney movie for ripping off that 60s anime or the problematic cultural appropriation and bigoted crap associated with Mickey Mouse’s “creation” (I used that term loosely), but there were things I didn’t even know about or realize like some of the quotes from Disney’s side of things which only fuels my anger towards them. Also, I feel stupid for not realizing the similarities between Gargoyle G. Warthog’s “ashamed” dialogue and part of Pumbaa’s lyrics to “Hakuna Matata”. Definitely interesting even though there is some Disney bias there. However, I was pleasantly surprised that even Lion King fans in a bunch of the comments are FINALLY admitting that this movie literally wouldn’t exist without Kimba. That would’ve never happened years ago.
Hope you’re doing alright.
Here’s the other new song that’s on the DFxO split album. I multitracked some bass tracks while playing it unplugged. I played some riffs as well as using that instrument in unconventional ways for extra sound effects when layering them. I used a hand drum to provide percussion for it. Despite these anxious times, I wanted to have a message where people can still be creative. I’m not sure if anyone else noticed this, but I reference a certain emo band in one of the lyrics.
This song was also an Ospreyshire first. It was the first time I had a guest vocalist in a song and it was Dave from Dystopian Futures himself who wrote and performed his own verse. He did a great job and I liked how he tied in references to all the songs as well as making an extension of some of the lyrics I say in this track.
