Another one bites the dust

I fully applaud your quick response to Michael Brown's RACIST DEATH and the implications it has for all of us. Have you heard J. Cole's song "Be Free"?

Thank you, candycrier, luv :-*. Admittedly, I am incensed. The release by the police of that video as justification did it. I could remain silent no longer.

I have not heard the song, luv. Tell me more, please. I will go a-searching.

Go to soundcloud.com/jcolebefree. It's a powerful eulogy. I heard it last night.

Thank you, luv, I will. :-*

Such a powerful write hun.

I bow to u for using ur voice n such a way
I applaud u for voicing ur anger n such an eloquent way. I am not capable of doing that once im truly disgusted n enraged.

Hugs
Belle

Thank you, lilsouthernbelle, luv! :-*

I had to re-record several times, I admit. It was difficult to calm enough to voice this well. :-p

Again, thank you, luv. :-*

MKULTRA indeed...

in a police state who's free?

enjoyed...

Thank you, Fireglacier, luv! :-*

Excellent query, that.

I'm glad you came by and let me know, luv. :-*

listing d audio keenly

Thank you, Tantric Acolyte, luv. :-*

Groovy  groovy groovy
I am so enjoying your style

Thank you, blackhyde, luv! :-*

Groove on, man. :-*

Great title! I LOve Queen.   I love your passion for the issues of today but I have to say this on science and atomic theory.  Marie Curie died for her own experimentation for the betterment of mankind no doubt; much impure science has gone on and does go on in the world.  It has an interesting history.  There is a book that is entitled, Impure Science, if you're interested in government lab issues. It covers much of what goes on today; monkey labs taking rides off government grants; case histories and the classification rules that goes along with it.  Psychology is another branch of science that is riddled with guilt.  They use to drill holes in folks heads to drain the insanity.  What I truly want to say is this, if it were not for Oppenheimer, Feynman, and Los Alamos, and countless others that don't come to mind, then there would be no Atom Bomb for US.  I don't know anything else, but I know this - no Manhattan Project, no America.  Science, reason and logic, keeping the integrity of good science moving in the right direction, as slow as it seems sometimes, is all we have.  War itself is a paradox.  The thing about a paradox is that they're not actually mysterious, they are only mysteriously true.  Would the world be better off if atomic weapons were left in the hands of Hitler to develop...  the rest is great...:)

"From April 10, 1945 to July 18, 1947, eighteen people were injected with plutonium as part of the Manhattan Project.[65] Doses administered ranged from 95 to 5,900 nanocuries.[65]

Moss, William; Eckhardt, Roger (1995). "The Human Plutonium Injection Experiments". Los Alamos Science. Radiation Protection and the Human Radiation Experiments (23): 177–223. Retrieved 6 December 2013." Retrieved 17 August 2014.

Thank you, Pishashee, luv. :-* Perhaps, some of these things could have been done in more ethical ways, ne c'est pas?

I doubt not the veracity of your statement, but this idea that there is not sanctity in all human life, nay life itself, well, I'll not hold with that, luv. No more of that.

Manhattan Project is a big word where it started nor ended....many things that stretch the breadth of reality.  I think that you're really sweet; I truly do.. :) If it were my wish come true, nary a rat would falter in the name of nothingness.  Science, in weighing reasons with logic, is the best we have.  I appreciate your understanding. You're a good writer.. :)

This is why I stay out of the middle of the country.  It's fucked up here too but at least here everyone is already mourning and wearing black.  As a mantra and a lifestyle.

I don't understand your language a lot of times, but this smack down is welcome and long overdue.

BRAVO

Thank you very much, Granite, luv :-*!

You keep it real (keep keeping me real, luv, too :-*) and I love you for that. :-*

It's been long past time for me to move...

I'm with you...

Hashman, luv :-* ~

Thank you! Short, sweet, succinct, yet always powerful and complete: that's you, luv, in a nutshell. :-* Thank you, again, sweet luv. :-*

I Love the way you ink sweets!!
Powerful write!!
LOVE that voice of yours!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sir Lancelott

got a new one

Thank you very much, Sir Lancelott, luv! :-*

You are most kind, luv.

Had to read this a few times, love the way it flows, some of the meaning is over my head but I think I get the jist... I think the ending summed it up perfectly. good stuff, Sav :]  

Thank you very much, SugarSkull, luv! :-*
 
For once, I recognize the flow and meant the deliberate rhyme scheme! Yea!!! :-D (No sheepishness for me this time! :-p)
 
Thank you for recognizing the end is ultimate summation here.  
 
Again, thank you, luv. :-*

U speak n the world SHOULD wanna listen...
Powerful, intensely probing stuff my friend, another impressive spill!

Thank you very much, Erotic Ninja, luv :-*!

It makes me feel pretty special that YOU feel that way, whose pen is so powerful and oft-times inspirational.

There is much that needs to be corrected in our society but we've come a long way and we need to go farther to find equality.  

Yes, xmar82, luv :-*, I believe what you say is, despite periodic setbacks, an accurate assessment of our society (at least, I firmly hope it is). There are major issues needing to be addressed, yet we have come an incredibly long way; we have much work still to do.

Thank you, luv, for your insightfulness. :-*  

 Savaja, I appreciate and respect your opinions, always
expressed with such eloquent style. Well done.

 I must propose two questions.
 If the same tragic result were at the hands of a black police officer, what becomes of the racist view?

 A young man's life is terminated. Black, white or other, makes no difference. It is the loss of life. Heartbreaking.
 The tragedy is very likely due to overzealous actions, or reactions by the officer. White or black, the officer is first a human being. One capable of overreaching, overreacting, making a mistake, demonstrating improper training and, or poor judgment.

 Is the same not true of those who choose to violently protest, loot and commit arson in the wake of this tragedy?

 A bit of background. I currently have six family members,
two uncles, four cousins, serving and protecting in the DC area.

 Two uncles and two cousins, residing in the same area, have retired from law enforcement.

 I pay an annual visit to one cousin in DC at a location across from the FBI building.
The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.
 His name is forever engraved in marble, killed in the line of duty at the age of twenty-six.
This, at the hands of a black assailant who pulled a revolver from the back of his belt.
He emptied the weapon, six shots at close range. Five shots struck my cousin.
 His wife and two young daughters were left, many years ago without a husband, and their father.

 The shooter remains alive, imprisoned for nearly twenty-five years thus far.

Yes, we as a family could have applied a racist view. We could have said, "If our beloved family member had been
the same color, the assailant would not have opened fire."
We chose to remain calm, see it for what it was. It was a very unfortunate chain of events,
and poor judgment demonstrated by both parties. The assailant for choosing to shoot.
My cousin for never drawing his weapon.

 Tragic. Unfortunate. Colorless.

 Let us keep in mind, the media will exploit, magnify and spin these
types of terrible events far longer than necessary, and often inaccurately. For ratings, profit, gratification, notoriety -- in some sick sense.

Respectfully and sincerely,
VP

Ahhh, VegasPoet, luv :-* ~

The questions you pose are valid and difficult and I would say, of course, it is the loss of life that is the tragedy and heartbreaking. I would also say that the media definitely exploits the news for sensationalism and what is inflammatory. One of the reasons I chose to utilize many differing examples of unethical human research within this poem was to illustrate that these poor treatments, these disparities occur across the board, that this is NOT solely about race. That this is a question of and for and regarding humanity entire.

Indeed, what is critical here, the crux of it all, is our fundamental interconnectedness and the interconnectedness of all things. Perhaps, I was not nearly as adept as I wanted to be at articulating that, but in the end, I believe we must find a way to interact and interrelate, to solve these issues of hasty action, poor reaction, inept training, inadequate or over-response together with wisdom and compassion.

Thank you for your queries, discussion, and critical thought, as well as sharing your deep pain, luv. :-*

Savaja, I've always let it be known that I do not discuss religion, politics, social media and society's bullshit on the internet, because of all the opinions, beliefs, stance etc... that comes with it's public debate. Reason being; I'm too darn passionate about whatever I truly believe in. So I won't response to your piece because this story is one that has consumed me completely and become the topic of subject in my home with my husband and other family and friends.

I'll just say, Bravo! Your voice was heard! Injustice, is injustice, no matter the color...Xo

I understand, RainC, luv :-*. And, I concur this is often a wise stance. :-)

Thank you for hearing my voice, luv. :-* We all need to hear each other.

I love the history you've interwoven here going back to Tuskegee and those god awful experiments ... which got me to thinking about Henrietta Lacks and what was done with her life cells ...

We've been mutilated with ropes ... bullets and scalpels ... All for the preservation of insanity ...

Brilliant work here Sis!

Thank you very much LobodeSanPedro, luv :-* ~
 
That whole scenario with Henrietta was wrong on so very many levels; however, I will say this: I am earnestly grateful to her. It is my sincerest hope that she has not suffered in any way all these years since a portion of her remains alive. We really can say that of no other in human history so we do not know, truly...
 
My aunt said a thing to me when I read this poem to her: she said that when studies have been done of countries and the health of those within, what has become increasingly clear is that no matter the wealth of the wealthiest of the nation, the greater the disparity between their health and the health of those with the least access, least health, the less healthy even those who were wealthiest were.  
 
The key, apparently, is in the disparity -- in the inherent interconnectedness.

I'm glad I got a chance to read this again in the competition ... I'm using the Henrietta Lacks story as a springboard for another project I'm working on.   It all reminds me of something Chris Rock said, "You know why they'll never be a cure for AIDS? ... because there's no money in a cure; the money is in the medicine." Bravo! Sis