Category Archives: USA

The Precedents We Set We Are Responsible For

Ethics and Morality, USA, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The continued refusal to acknowledge and respect indigenous sovereignty and right to self-determination, many such rights guaranteed through treaties is establishing, for this generation and this society, the precedent that an individual or a people is only entitled to sovereignty and self-determination if they can be taken and/or protected by force; i.e., having an army who can, will, and has killed and murdered to protect those rights. The precedent being set for this generation and society boils down to asserting that murder or the threat of murder is the only way to assert sovereignty and self-determination as the United States and other Western Civilization countries or so apt and efficient at doing. If this precedent is disagreeable and is not a precedent that we seek to establish as a generation and as a society, then why do we continue to deny these rights to those without the physical and violent might to oppose the United States’ and other countries impositions of control over indigenous peoples?

 

In many cases and for many peoples these precedents have a long and treacherous, and often painful history, but it is also the case that these very same rights are being denied today to people both in the United States and to other people globally.  There are sovereign nations within the borders of the United States, Mexico, and Canada today whose sovereign rights are being violated. That means that we as people today are responsible for those rights being violated and the precedent that we are setting as a generation and as a society is that treaty and sovereignty rights, which entails the right to self-determination are only valid if a people has an army to defend those rights.

 

You either, believe in self-determination or, you do not; there is no middle of the road position for this belief. It is a 100% deal. It is a contradiction of definition to propose 90%, or 75%, or 15%, or 0% self-determination. From the belief in Liberty, this entails self-determination, with the qualification that this determination does not harm others, springs forth the understanding that all people are owed this right and that they possess it from birth.

 

However, our actions, as a generation and a society today, do not match our system of values in the United States because our behaviors and our laws and our toleration of the U.S. Congress to ignore the Treaties the U.S. Government has signed reveal otherwise. We have a duty and a responsibility to protect the rights of human beings, and we are obliged to set new precedents when the ones in existence are precedents we disagree with.

“The Real World” (Backing Track & Mix by Scott Paul Johnson )#RappersEqualNerds

Music, Poetry, Politics, Rapolitic, USA, , , , , , , , , , , ,
Verse #1

Livin a dream…
Nah, I’m livin the way that it is
Cuz there is something I’m bound to miss
If my head is up in the mist
Like a fist to the gut
fisticuffs
riskin to rush
cuz I’m missin the bus
missin her love
cuz I’m trapped in the lust
In the land of the lost
betta do what you must
Cuz… this is the land of the real
where cats squeal
caps peal
Bad deals, rap sheets, not rap deals
but real bills and missed meals
Where poverty comes with a blank, check
Where is the rent, betta make, that
Racial Profile, skin is BLACK
Cops they hatin, that a fact
hood they renovatin that
Gentrification, they phasin, balzin away the relations
raisin the rents to erase’em
this is the land of the real
not the land of the dream and appeal
not the land of the cream and the fill
but, the land they tax and kill…
Using the people, breakin their backs
to make them dollars in stacks
legal contracts
sealed with wax

Verse #2

In the realm of the Dream
Life is served on a palter
the work, it doesn’t matter
add-up, laughter come cheaper than Präda
Worries and Woes are absent
flaccid, pass it by,
with a flash of the passion
but if you ask’em
how lonely the mansion
he’ll lack an answer
cuz the fact is a phantom
holdin him ransom
runnin in tandem, droppin in random
arbitrary standards
magination damned him
cuz… this is the land of the real
Where hard work
pays perks, quench thirsts, and hurts
time bursts, through curse
and friends are survivors
Standing and walking the road there to shoulder
the weight of the burden,
defendin the verdict,
your struggle is worth it,
a hint is emergent
that hurdles averted
and, outcomes are real
tangible the feel
hold them in your hand
like them cards you have to deal
and you get what you’ve got
but have to use your skill
cuz nothing comes cheap
In the land of the real

Chorus

So, this life, may be harder
May be shorter, may be farther
May be richer, maybe poorer
In the Land of the Real

Might die early, Might die later
Could be broke, or just make it
Could evade it, could just take it
In the Land of the Real

You might be black, you might be white
Either cower, or you fight
What you choose, will be your life
In the Land of the Real

You can make it, you can fake it
You can try to, fabricate it
But your dreams, are just that
In the Land of the Real

 

The Real World

“The Real World” (Verse Two)

Music, Poetry, Politics, Rapolitic, USA, , , , , , , , , , , ,

In the realm of the Dream

Life is served on a palter

the work, it doesn’t matter

add-up, laughter come cheaper than Präda

Worries and Woes are absent

flaccid, pass it by,

with a  flash of the passion

but if you ask’em

how lonely the mansion

he’ll lack  an answer

cuz the fact is a phantom

holdin him ransom

runnin in tandem, droppin in random

arbitrary standards

magination damned him

cuz… this is the land of the real

Where hard work

pays perks, quench thirsts, and hurts

time bursts, through curse

and friends are survivors

Standing and walking the road there to shoulder

the weight of the burden,

defendin the verdict,

your struggle is worth it,

a hint is emergent

that hurdles averted

and, outcomes are real

tangible the feel

hold them in your hand

like them cards you have to deal

and you get what you’ve got

but have to use your skill

cuz nothing comes cheap

In the land of the real

 

 

https://renaissancethepoet.wordpress.com/2014/06/14/the-real-world-verse-one/

“The Real World” (Verse One)

Music, Poetry, Politics, Rapolitic, USA, , , , , ,

Livin a dream…

Nah, I’m livin the way that it is

Cuz there is something I’m bound to miss

If my head is up in the mist

Like a fist to the gut

fisticuffs

riskin to rush

cuz I’m missin the bus

missin her love

cuz I’m trapped in the lust

In the land of the lost

betta do what you must

Cuz… this is the land of the real

where cats squeal

caps peal

Bad deals, rap sheets, not rap deals

but real bills and missed meals

Where poverty comes with a blank, check

Where is the rent, betta make, that

Racial Profile, skin is BLACK

Cops they hatin, that a fact

hood they renovatin that

Gentrification, they phasin, balzin away the relations

raisin the rents to erase’em

this is the land of the real

not the land of the dream and appeal

not the land of the cream and the fill

but, the land they tax and kill…

Using the people, breakin their backs

to make them dollars in stacks

legal contracts

all been sealed with melted wax

Skilled Labor

image

Throwback selfie, to the days when I worked in construction. This picture was from when we built an 80′ concrete wall with a steel-plated face at the South Park Transfer station for the City of Seattle.

Not only did doing construction work for RJ Richards throughout my 20’s build my character and strengthen my integrity, but it also provided me with an intimate knowledge of City Planning/Urban Planning and the Skilled Work/Skilled Crafts class of citizens that maintain the function of our cities. They are intelligent, hardworking, dreamers, but they are also not fully respected, and live lives full of anxiety because of all the uncertainty surrounding whether there will be enough work to feed their families. The point is that, these people serve and fulfill an important role in our #society and as such, both they and their concerns should be highly important to us all.

All of this serves as a framework to fill in the information I am garnering from my education at the University of Washington, they are not just empty theories that lack import to me. So, it seems that the life-experiences I gained during my 20’s were neither a waste, nor without purpose, but those years were actually some of the most informative years of my life.

The Importance of a Name: A Hypothesis about local Graffiti

Essays, Politics, Rapolitic, USA, , , , , , , , , , , ,

image

Graffiti:

I have been doing a lot of thinking about graffiti lately,  especially since viewing the graffiti in the Middle East that started hitting the walls during the Arab Spring.

Many of the images were political in nature, attacking a regime or ideology, or were likenesses of martyrs. In essense, it was one of the methods in which an active and disatisfied sub-culture who lacked access to mainstream media and who were dealing with the suppression of their ideas,  utilized to propogate messages. And when I saw this collective and active revolt against the system wherein, the suppression of ideas was not tolerated, I thought it was beautiful and inspiring.

Then, I looked around Seattle for those same types of messages, but mostly all I found were names, tags, monikers and so forth, unless they were sanctioned by some business or institution. And at first, I was dissapointed because I was looking for what I saw in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Iran. But then I asked why all I was seeing were names, and it hit me like a ton of bricks.

image

The society in the United States is a credential society, that is, without documentation like a bachelor’s degree or higher, this society disregards our credibility. Entailed in that classicist ideology is the profound impact of a name: Kendrick Lamar, Jerry Springer, Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, BarakObama, Tom Cruise, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Halle Berry, and so on. Microsoft, Google, Wells Fargo, Chase, Levi, Ross, Nike, etc.  It seems readily apparent how important it is to have a popular name.

image

Another phenomenon that is entailed in both the credential and nomenclature society is alienation. Without credentials, and without a name a person may grow to feel less than average and dislocated from their  fellow citizens. Most importantly, people in this group are often ignored by mainstream society and lack any real means to be noticed by society at large.
image

I think all this reveals something, although not asimmediately apparent as with the Arab Spring, but nonetheless, simarlarly profound in its own yet, different way. What we observed about the graffiti in the Middle East, was it was a means to overcome the suppression of a message. And I am suggesting that the repeated and reiterated tagging of one’s name is just that; a revolt against society as a whole and battling against the suppression, battling against not mattering, of being forgotten. The tagging of their names on as many walls and in as many places as they can find is an active protest against society treating them as insignificant and sending the message that their name and by extension, they themselves, the graph-artist, do matter.

image

Do I Doom My Kids To Poverty? ((SONG))

Diaspora and Apartheid: Study Abroad Research, Education, JSIS/Hellenic Studies Program, Music, Poetry, Politics, Rapolitic, USA, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

To Support Diaspora and Apartheid Research in Athens this Summer:

http://www.gofundme.com/Diaspora-and-Apartheid

This summer I will be participating in the JSIS/Hellenic Studies program hosted by the University of Washington in partnership with Harvard University in Greece, which is a research project that will analyze how #apartheid and#diaspora have and continue to impact the people in the Baltic region.

The situation that migrants face is plagued with injustice from beginning to end, from their reasons to migrate to their treatment after they migrate. However, in order to make the types of changes in policy and social behavior that will actually make a difference in regard to diaspora and apartheid we have to have accurate data about what the issues and concerns are from all the parties concerned. This is necessary if we are to make any arguments about the harms being done and further, to suggest plans of action to mitigate those harms. That is why we are traveling to Athens, we are on a social fact finding mission to ascertain the truth about the situation and are going to make recommendations based on the evidence we gather about how to address the problems our nations face. The results of the research will be evaluated and summarized in research papers and there will be a formal presentation of that material prior to leaving Greece before the parties that can make a difference in these people’s lives.

 

Lyrics

Verse #1

 

I have to find a way to make these ends meet

I’ve got myself, my wife and three kids to feed

Now this wouldn’t be a problem, if there was work to be done

But the Dictator, confiscated, at the point of a gun

The resources, that we need, to keep, our families fed

And we’re lacking Agriculture because the Markets are dead

Not because we can’t farm, but rather, because these Subsidized

U.S. Industries, have straight up neutralized us

But Irrigation, will only suffice, if and when there is Rain

But now, we’re dealing Droughts, as one of the effects, of Climate Change

And we can’t rely on aid because that mess is a curse

And The Coups and Civil Wars for power make matters worse

My baby’s crying, screaming cuz she needs something to eat

And I feel like half-a-man because I am living in defeat

I’ve got nothing to give because there is nothing to get

But, do I Doom my kids to Poverty, or risk Escaping it?

 

 

Verse #2

 

Immigrating, is easier said than done

Cuz it seems that everything is set to keep us where we’re from

Passports, Visas, Customs, and on and on

And everything costs the type of Money we ain’t got

Our options for a better life are limited and dangerous

Trudging Deserts, crammed in Ships, jumping barbed and guarded Fences

Risking life and Health, to get at better Chances

Suffering, is nothing new, but here ain’t got the answers

My daughter wants to go to School so she can learn to Read

Cuz she wants to be a Scientist to make sure all can eat

But, that will only happen, if we make it to the West

And as her father all I want is to give the best

But protected, their Feudal Privilege, keeping us at odds

Walls to Separate us, Segregated by the Laws

So, yes it’s Illegal, and it’s Dangerous

But, Doom my kids to Poverty, or risk Escaping it.

 

 

Verse #3

 

So say we make it, beat the odds, this is what we’re facin’

Aliens, like we’re not humans from this race and

We don’t bleed the same when beaten for tying

To take advantage of Opportunities you squander, while lying

Claiming that you care, but don’t want us sharing

Land, Food, Work, or Health Caring

And instead make departments like the I.C.E.

And Detention Camps to stop us from being free

Where we’re tortured, starved, deprived of Human Rights

Forced Free Labor and Deported at night

Shipped back from whence we came, like, that is more humane

As if to say, we deserve the cards laid

And my daughter deserves to not be educated

My son deserves to starve, and I to live depraved

But there is a small hope that we just might make it

So, do I Doom my kids to Poverty, or risk Escaping it?

 

 

 

To Help Me Fund My #Diaspora and #Apartheid Research, Please Follow the Link Below:

 

http://www.gofundme.com/Diaspora-and-Apartheid

 

 

For More Information on Diaspora and Apartheid, Please Follow the Links Below:

 

https://renaissancethepoet.wordpress.com/education-is-key/study-abroad-in-athens-2014/

 

https://renaissancethepoet.wordpress.com/education-is-key/study-abroad-in-athens-2014/help-me-pay-for-diaspora-and-apartheid-research-in-athens-this-summer/

Do I Doom My Kids To Poverty?

Diaspora and Apartheid: Study Abroad Research, Education, Ethics and Morality, JSIS/Hellenic Studies Program, Poetry, Politics, Rapolitic, USA, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Verse #1

 

I have to find a way to make these ends meet

I’ve got myself, my wife and three kids to feed

Now this wouldn’t be a problem, if there was work to be done

But the Dictator, confiscated, at the point of a gun

The resources, that we need, to keep, our families fed

And we’re lacking Agriculture because the Markets are dead

Not because we can’t farm, but rather, because these Subsidized

U.S. Industries, have straight up neutralized us

But Irrigation, will only suffice, if and when there is Rain

But now, we’re dealing Droughts, as one of the effects, of Climate Change

And we can’t rely on aid because that mess is a curse

And The Coups and Civil Wars for power make matters worse

My baby’s crying, screaming cuz she needs something to eat

And I feel like half-a-man because I am living in defeat

I’ve got nothing to give because there is nothing to get

But, do I Doom my kids to Poverty, or risk Escaping it?

 

 

Verse #2

 

Immigrating, is easier said than done

Cuz it seems that everything is set to keep us where we’re from

Passports, Visas, Customs, and on and on

And everything costs the type of Money we ain’t got

Our options for a better life are limited and dangerous

Trudging Deserts, crammed in Ships, jumping barbed and guarded Fences

Risking life and Health, to get at better Chances

Suffering, is nothing new, but here ain’t got the answers

My daughter wants to go to School so she can learn to Read

Cuz she wants to be a Scientist to make sure all can eat

But, that will only happen, if we make it to the West

And as her father all I want is to give the best

But protected, their Feudal Privilege, keeping us at odds

Walls to Separate us, Segregated by the Laws

So, yes it’s Illegal, and it’s Dangerous

But, Doom my kids to Poverty, or risk Escaping it.

 

 

Verse #3

 

So say we make it, beat the odds, this is what we’re facin’

Alien status, like we’re not humans from this race and

We don’t bleed the same when beaten for tying

To take advantage of Opportunities you squander, while lying

Claiming that you care, but don’t want us sharing

Land, Food, Work, or Health Caring

And instead make departments like the I.C.E.

And Detention Camps to stop us from being free

Where we’re tortured, starved, deprived of Human Rights

Forced Free Labor and Deported at night

Shipped back from whence we came, like, that is more humane

As if to say, we deserve the cards laid

And my daughter deserves to not be educated

My son deserves to starve, and I to live depraved

But there is a small hope that we just might make it

So, do I Doom my kids to Poverty, or risk Escaping it?

 

 

 

To Help Me Fund My #Diaspora and #Apartheid Research, Please Follow the Link Below:

 

http://www.gofundme.com/Diaspora-and-Apartheid

 

 

For More Information on Diaspora and Apartheid, Please Follow the Links Below:

 

https://renaissancethepoet.wordpress.com/education-is-key/study-abroad-in-athens-2014/

 

https://renaissancethepoet.wordpress.com/education-is-key/study-abroad-in-athens-2014/help-me-pay-for-diaspora-and-apartheid-research-in-athens-this-summer/

GREED

Poetry, Politics, Rapolitic, USA, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

greed,

the mightiest force in the world

the only truth that I see

the only reality I can afford

head strong

a daunting scene

the death sentence that I plead

your lies wont pay my rent

nor mouths will they feed

bomb shells to sky rises

deficit to price rises

the cleaner the city

the darker the ghetto

the quicker to pull the stiletto

meek are the sizes our checks render

our bosses despise us

hello

expendable workers

slaved till they dirt us

The Word “Nigga”

Poetry, Rapolitic, USA, , , , , , , , , , , ,

These Rhymes

Carry with them

Explosive obnoxious notions

And inoculations to erosive emotions

 

So pay attention with your best ear

Because this world is vicious

With its conspicuous ill-nutritious

& Victim-us mentalities

Dishing us pity me card sicknesses to our realities

 

 

Me

I’m just way too wild to be a Sisyphus

Held down by this society

 

The plot is thus…

 

I am a BLACK MAN

With the will to be free

Like Galileo

My mind will expand the universe

But I am just a tree from a seed

You see

The beach is but a part of the sea

It’s just harder to see

That using a stereotype to my benefit will only feed the greed

And even though Sun Zu marked that as a definite factor to a wars victory

Making my enemy think I am weak, when I am not

But that’s not the case in this plot

It’s a vasectomy

& I’ve been stripped of my pride

Like, inject the beat

Intravenously

That bullshit would have me stripped of my dignity

Crawling on all fours

Begging with pleas

 

The MAN

Has been disrespecting me

And however,

Incorrectly put it may be

He has miss-took me for a lesser being

The knife of his oppression- held half in my back

Held, half in your back

And he would have had more,

But the people who identified as Black

Took a stance and pushed him back

 

The script was flipped

But somehow we’re still off track

And while these “Uncle Tom Rappers”

Continue to profit on the exploitation

Of our modest situation

Doing the MAN’S work for him

Spewing his poisonous dominion

Into the minds of our behavior negative

Perpetuating the hate within our children

 

So many of us LOVE the rap

The Cadence and the flavor of

The heart of the speech in our people

Clearly there here

Where are you, my people? (repeat until they answer)

Yeah

We’re here

Standing

In defiance to the oppression we hear

 

Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

They bring our culture back

Better yet they give us a scope of culture to aspire to

Our mentors

Who remind us of what it means to be black

And furthermore what it means to be a people

And why the word nigger

YES

& the word Nigga

Will forever and always

Be whack.