Freedom of Speech and Censorship Part 2

Blackwolf said:Aksum Obelisk ( Axum )

Interestingly stolen by a very "facist regime"

"after the Italian invasion of Abyssinia, the former, Mussolini could not resist the temptation"

Yes , many treasures have been stolen ,
especially those with *sacred* context...

( I am not speaking "christian" , most especially ,
that does not enter my thoughtframe , nor should it )

Truly a rape of culture and *tribal heritage* and integrity...

Congratulations to Ethiopia , as it is now home...or will be...

Way to go, BW!!
Every theft is rape.
May those who rape our goods not be allowed to rape our minds.
Justice and reparation must be a form of emasculation of the crafty phalluses that rape the innocent.

said:

Beautiful response Cab
Appreciated

You are welcome, Valeriyabeyond!

Where my own words might fail, the Bible speaks for itself.
Thank you for being so generous and understanding, and therefore reasonable.

JohnnyBlaze said:

Damn!

Thank you for this education, Cabby.

That McKay poem flows with some mighty fine verse.

You are welcome, JB.

McKay was seminal to the Harlem Renaissance.

Some twenty years before he wrote this poem, W.E.B. Du Bois, another famous Harlem Renaissance poet, also wrote about the 'two-ness' of the African-American, a central issue in many Harlem Renaissance writings.

The challenge was how to reconcile an America that celebrated freedom, while at the same time constraining, via Jim Crow laws, the freedom of blacks.

Blackwolf said:We all have "everlasting life" if we choose ,
whether we believe in a particular "god" , or not...

Further , Adam and Eve is a *story* , the idea of
the *serpent* is a story , they are all stories ,
designed to trick people into acting in a particular
fashion , designed by those who want to be a
ruling elite...

It does not matter what world path you choose...

It is up to each of us to choose the path of being
inclusive...religious belief , has no place in that...

I myself , believe in many gods and goddesses ,
and I believe in forces of upper world , middle world ,
and underworld , and they all have their place of balance ,
each one of them...

We do not have to believe in any particular god , goddess ,
race , or people , and that only serves to incite division...

So , just making it clear , in this thread...

It is ***NOT*** about particular religious beliefs...

That well never unite *all* of us...

It *is* about Freedom Of Speech And Censorship...

I am *not* seeking to censor anyone , nor
to control the speech...however , by bringing *religion* in...

And *not* mentioning , or embracing *tradition* , just as
valuable , and important , including belief in what some
people would discriminate against as "dark gods" , is
discriminatory...

So , just asking :

Is this a religious thread ?

Or a politically oriented one at it's base ?

If it is religious based as well , just be
ready for my religion to be brought in...

Proud Pagan...;)

Hi, BW

I would, in no way, deprive you of your piece of the pie, in case you feel deprived.  I welcome your voice to the conversation.

Since, being a simple person, I do not pretend to understand your mysticism, however, let me just say this:

(a) "Be of the same mind one toward another.  Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate.  Be not wise in your own conceits." Romans 12:16

(b) "But the natural man does not receive the things of the spirit of God, for they are folly to him; and he cannot know them because they are spiritually discerned." 1 Corinthians 2:14

(c) "The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.'" Psam 14:1

You may think about these words:  if they are foolishness to you, I redirect you to (b); if you feel wisdom beyond these simple words, I redirect you to (a); and since you are in no way foolish, then we both know that  (c) does not apply to you.

True , Cabcool...

But a "god" is "many" things , to many people ;

It most often , in world view , does not ,
describe a christian , or otherwise perception
of "god"...

Ahavati said:Players for the Portland Thorns, left, and the North Carolina Courage kneel during the national anthem before the start of their NWSL Challenge Cup soccer match at Zions Bank Stadium Saturday, June 27, 2020, in Herriman, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)AP

NWSL players all kneel, wear Black Lives Matter t-shirts before first game back

Players for the Portland Thorns and the North Carolina Courage knelt during the national anthem Saturday when the National Women’s Soccer League opened the Challenge Cup tournament in Utah.

The players and coaches wore Black Lives Matter T-shirts in warmups before the game, which was nationally televised on CBS. The players also knelt during a moment of silence before kickoff.

“We took a knee today to protest racial injustice, police brutality and systemic racism against Black people and people of color in America. We love our country and we have taken this opportunity to hold it to a higher standard. It is our duty to demand that the liberties and freedoms this nation was founded upon are extended to everyone,” the Thorns and Courage said in a joint statement released before the game.

[ . . . ]

https://www.masslive.com/sports/2020/06/nwsl-players-all-kneel-wear-black-lives-matter-t-shirts-before-first-game-back.html

Damn I LOVE THIS SOOOO MUCH
Yesss!!

Photo shows Ola Mae Walker during her college years in the mid-1930s; she died at age 106 on June 16, 2020 in Southfield, Michigan (family photo). (Photo: Family photo)

Welcome home, Ola! Well done, my good and faithful servant! xo

Ola Mae Spinks, retired librarian, dies at 106; helped organize 'Slave Narratives'

Ola Mae Spinks, a retired librarian from the Pontiac schools who helped to organize the historic "Slave Narratives" in the U.S. Library of Congress, died June 16 at a senior living center in Southfield.

Mrs. Spinks was 106. Her age was verified by her birthdate noted in a family Bible, her children said. In 2017, she moved to Southfield from Detroit’s Boston-Edison area, where she had resided since 1959. Until age 102, she was still driving herself a mile to People’s Community Church in Detroit, and she stayed remarkably alert and active in social groups for her entire life, family members said.

It was near the end of her career in education, when she was working as a school librarian in Pontiac, that Mrs. Spinks took on a brief volunteer project of national significance. She and a friend, also a librarian, contacted the U.S. Library of Congress and volunteered to visit Washington, D.C., to help organize the "Slave Narratives."

According to published records of volunteer work performed at what is the world's largest library, and that are still on file there: "For two months, beginning in June 1972, two Detroit librarians, Ola M. Spinks and Phyllis G. Williams, labored to organize the unwieldy materials in the Archive of Folk Song."

The records about their work, provided to the Free Press by a communications official at the library, go on to state: "Mrs. Spinks and Mrs. Williams began organizing the materials for two states, Alabama and Arkansas, of the 17 states covered by the Project. In July 1972, the two dedicated librarians contacted Mrs. Oscar Mervene Couch of the History Department at the Federal City College and persuaded her and students from the college to continue this ambitious project."

The "Slave Narratives" are composed of the vivid recollections of more than 2,000 former slaves, gathered in 1936-38 during the Great Depression as a public-works project, according to the Library of Congress website. Mrs. Spinks volunteered at her own expense, family members said.

View the "Slave Narratives" (at the U.S. Library of Congress): [ see below link ]

“She received a letter of commendation from the Library of Congress for that work. We still have that letter," her son Adrian Spinks of Southfield said.

Mrs. Spinks was born Ola Mae Walker in 1914, the last of four children, to a family in rural Mansfield, Louisiana. In 1922, the family moved to the all-Black town of Vernon, Oklahoma, one of 13 such communities still in existence nationwide, according to an online history of Black settlements. She attended elementary school in Vernon, then lived with an older sister 60 miles away in Muskogee, Oklahoma, to attend Manual Training High School.

[ . . . ]

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/oakland/2020/06/26/ola-mae-spinks-librarian-dies-106-worked-historic-slave-narratives/3260792001/?fbclid=IwAR0Jt5d31z6FwRu0m2GvMgch54OFbqSc6pXiHMwjpFSf_y8QW7tD_y4k61A


Slave Narratives:

https://www.loc.gov/collections/slave-narratives-from-the-federal-writers-project-1936-to-1938/about-this-collection/

The bell rack. Contraption used by an Alabama slave owner to guard a runaway slave. This rack was originally topped by a bell which rang when the runaway attempted to leave the road and go through foliage or trees. It was attached around the neck as shown in the picture. A belt passed through the loop at the bottom to hold the iron rod firmly fastened to the waist of the wearer. In the accompanying photograph Richbourg Gailliard, assistant to the director of the Federal Museum and also a well-known young Mobile artist, poses to show the use made of the bell rack.
-  Photo by Russell, Mobile.
-  Forms part of: Portraits of African American ex-slaves from the U.S. Works Progress Administration, Federal Writers' Project slave narratives collections.

You know what, I'm going to give this it's own post because it's that relevant as well a pertinent information.  Some may even find their ancestors. There are photos, receipts of sale for slaves, official documents pertaining to slavery, etc.  

Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936 to 1938

https://www.loc.gov/collections/slave-narratives-from-the-federal-writers-project-1936-to-1938/about-this-collection/

lepperochan said:I think, like everything else once there's one side another opposing side pops up to fuck things up. it's always been the way. people need something to fight they fight everything and everyone bar the fkn system

It might have had something to do with the slogans.
“Silence is consent”
“Silence is violence”

Or maybe it was just the burning bodies and buildings.
Or was it the silencing of career people? (My reason was the poetry foundation scandal)
Or maybe it was the Revolutionary tactics, like statues being destroyed....
Or maybe it was the confusing spray paint?

I think defund the police: take their military equipment off them, the tanks, the weapons and the training.

After we put down mi5 and friends....

fund proper police training. apparently at the moment you need more training to be a hairdresser than  to be a cop. no wonder they're off their heads with aggression

Doctors kill more people by a factor of more than ten. Some are even serial killers.


fund community centres: proper rehab, counselling, medical ,psychiatric  etc

Good one, that!👍

cabcool said:

I add my hail-up to that, Ahavati!
Moderators can often be left to navigate between rocks and hard places and different rival noises.  Sometimes they have to make sense from dross and logic from blur. If, after all is said and done, we come away with even a minuscule shred of reason,  we must thank those whose nobility keeps up sane.

To my fellow participants, too:  whether you bring seed or rain or sunshine or drought or weed or bounty; thanks for your unique motifs in this expanding tapestry.  May the outcome be not merely noise and fury but reason and progress.

Absolutely, cabcool. Thank goodness we have a group of diverse mods who think differently. Some of us would be totally screwed without them and open bait for trolls.

In relation to the much needed police reforms:

After weeks of protests, meaningful police reform appears unlikely

The dramatic images rocked the nation -- hundreds of thousands of people from all races taking to the streets across the United States, demanding an end to excessive police force against people of color.

What began as local outrage in response to George Floyd's death following an encounter with Minneapolis police officers soon spread throughout the country.

From coast to coast, demonstrators chanting "Black lives matter" and "no justice, no peace" united in hundreds of mostly peaceful protests, some risking their own safety. They found themselves tear gassed near the White House, allegedly assaulted by police in New York City, and shoved to the pavement by tactical teams in Buffalo.

Despite the personal risk, their voices were heard by fellow citizens and politicians alike, as demonstrators sparked a protest movement unlike anything the country has seen since the 1960s.

But it all may have been for nothing.

Partisan politics appears to have derailed any meaningful near-term reform.

[ read more ]

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/28/politics/floyd-police-reform-unlikely/index.html

I am so SICK of partisan politics taking a front seat to the people of this country. I refuse to give up hope. And the protests weren't "for nothing". Look at the confederate statues coming down. Look at the abolition of the confederate flags. History is changing, and we are a part of that.

Looks like more letters to representatives are warranted.  Know your reps, peoples. Use that keyboard as a warrior and shoot that arrow into the heart of the matter.

Hell with *just* the keyboard ;

As we said , back in the 70's :

Raise your glass , kiss your woman's ass , and go foment revolution !

https://medium.com/politics-policy-and-prosperity/wheres-the-conservative-black-lives-matter-movement-b2fd4312f7db

Black Lives Matter couldn’t care less about Black on Black crime in Democrat-run big cities. They never talk about the problems of fatherlessness, in fact, they fight against the idea of having a husband and wife in the home. There’s nothing in their agenda about promoting the importance of finishing high school and waiting until you are married and have a job before having children. Those choices are the best ways to save you from a life of poverty, but Black Lives Matter never mentions them.
Conservatives could use this organization to promote facts and statistics that Blacks aren’t systematically being targeted by the police and that America isn’t racist. Police don’t get anywhere near the funding for training they need to handle difficult situations. Departments with more funding for better training have less chance of one of their officers being involved with the death of a suspect. The more funding for police who patrol dangerous areas in cities would increase the ability for officers to go in and build relationships necessary to keep people safe.


It’s time.

The conservatives need to represent that black lives matter to us.

#blacklivesmattertoconservatives


....


In other news:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boS5Tw4-F9U&feature=emb_logo

There goes the neighborhood in regards to intellectual and mutual respect.

Anyhoo. . .

What Matters Ep. 5: Talking Activism with Bubba Wallace

Black Lives Matter Global Network Managing Director, Kailee Scales is joined by NASCAR race car driver Bubba Wallace to discuss how he got into race car driving and what it’s been like being the only full-time Black NASCAR driver.

Kailee and Bubba discuss how NASCAR banning the Confederate flag has impacted the Black community and how the murder of George Floyd impacted him, and increased Bubba’s own activism. Bubba also shares his own journey with NASCAR and his efforts to engage more Black people to enjoy his sport.

https://blacklivesmatter.com/what-matters-ep-5-talking-activism-with-bubba-wallace/

Blackwolf said:Hell with *just* the keyboard ;

As we said , back in the 70's :

Raise your glass , kiss your woman's ass , and go foment revolution !

🍻

FYI regarding our lying Commander in Chief.

For Immediate Release, Statement by Kailee Scales, Managing Director of BLM Global

Today, Donald Trump attributed a quote to a “Black Lives Matter leader” on his social media. We have traced these comments to Hawk Newsome. Hawk Newsome has no relation to the Black Lives Matter Global Network (“BLM”) founded by Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza, and Opal Tometi — and is not the “president” of BLM or any of its chapters. Only BLM chapters who adhere to BLM’s principles and code of ethics are permitted to use the BLM name. The reason for this is simple: unaffiliated uses of BLM’s name are confusing to people who may wrongly associate the unsanctioned group and its views and actions with BLM. As BLM has told Mr. Newsome in the past, and as is still true today, Mr. Newsome’s group is not a chapter of BLM and has not entered into any agreement with BLM agreeing to adhere to BLM’s core principles. The only official chapter of BLM in New York is Black Lives Matter NYC.

BLM Global Network strongly encourages anyone interested in learning about or becoming a part of our movement to seek information from trusted, official sources — such as our BLM Global Network social feeds (@blklivesmatter), our emails, and our official Black Lives Matters website (blacklivesmatter.com) — rather than unknown or untrusted sources using BLM’s name.