Attack by Stratagem: Troy Davis and What Black People Lack

*WARNING: The following content may be offensive to those who read it; if this is the case, please comment. I welcome it, I encourage it and I am eager to receive it.*

I have to change the course of my discourse for this posting. I didn't want to do it at first because it delays what I intended to write. This is inconvenient in a way, too, because I feel like I am about to "say" things that people already know. And unfortunately, I have to specifically address black people because I have a bone to pick with the collective. 

Just in case you've been out of the loop of what's currently important in black news, innocent inmate Troy Davis was executed yesterday evening at 11:08 pm. Yes, you read that right...innocent inmate. The witnesses of his trial recanted their testimony, no evidence links him to his "crime" and yet, the Supreme Court refused to stay Davis' execution. News and other media outlets are asking black people to react to this atrocious crime that has been committed by the United States government, such as: How can this be? How can an innocent man still suffer from the ultimate penalty of guilt in the United States? Black people are remarking that we live in the year 2011 We have a black president now. Everything is all good-we are not living in the days of segregation. We have better jobs and better opportunities than other blacks before us and will be able to leave more to our descendants. 

But here in lies the problem.

What are you leaving for our descendants, black people? My observations do not seem to equate to your perspective. I see that debt, malice and hatred, avarice and a deficiency in a collective pride are the only things that are being passed from one generation to the next. You can't really say that my observation is too far fetched, can you? You mean to tell me that you don't see that we are accumulating more and more debt because we are trying too hard to be like white people or because we are trying too hard to putting on airs? You can't see that we as a collective are quick to sell each other out or not even care about our fellow black man or woman because we are too concerned with our own individual well being? You can't see that we are more and more concerned with materialism and less and less with morality and truly taking care of our individual and collective emotional, physical and spiritual well being? Can't you see it?

This is not to say that these generalizations apply to everyone-that would be a truly ignorant thing to say. However, the majority do ruin it for the minority; its the majority that people use to stereotype, its the majority that are seen the most and its the majority that slow down the upward progression of the the entire collective.

How does this all connect to the Troy Davis execution? Don't worry, I haven't gone off on a tangent. I haven't forgotten his senseless death. I haven't forgotten that many, many people yesterday were concerned over whether or not people called and e-mailed radio stations and other social mediums to communicate their anger and frustration with this whole ordeal. I haven't forgotten how I've heard the name Troy Davis multiple times over the past 2 weeks or so when hearing about his case. But what about next week, next month or a year from today. I know I will remember-what about you?

Will you remember the anger you felt when you heard about Troy Davis? Will you even remember whether you talked about his case with your family members and friends? Will you remember what action you took when you found out about this horrible injustice......

Wait a minute, I think I skipped a beat. Did you do anything? Did you do anything to try to call attention to the horrible injustice of Troy Davis' execution? Did you even get angry when you heard the news?

Let's wake up here, black people! Let's examine the events leading up to the Troy Davis case. Troy Davis was in prison for 10+ years, right? YES. Did his story make national news once it was determined that his trial was irrelevant? NO. Did more and more black people start jumping on the bandwagon within the past 2 weeks to try and "save" Troy Davis? YES. Did black people call attention to the rules and regulations that made it possible for the state of Georgia to wrongful hold Troy Davis in prison prior to these past 2 weeks? NO. Is Troy Davis the only victim of this atrocious legal system? NO. Have there been any type of nationwide petition that attempts to eradicate those who are in position of power out of office? NO. Are organizations that "stand up" and represent the needs of the black community continuously working on alleviating the community of wrongful laws and penalties that are affecting them the most? NO. Is there anyone who you know that are asking these types of questions and calling it to the attention of others? Are there? I'm guessing, well...NO!

Let's wake up here, black people! We need to finally admit the fact that we have not overcome and we shall not overcome unless we start being honest with ourselves. We shall not overcome until we create our own destiny and stop letting others determine for us. We shall not overcome until we unite together and devise a strategy on how to be proactive, rather than reactive to the problems that affect our people (which will lead to many more). I know that I don't know all of the answers but I do have one that can help to avoid there being another Troy Davis. Black people are lacking strength: strength of unity, strength of thought and strength of heart. We cannot continue to use the same methods of petitioning, complaining (and honestly the lack of effective complaining) that we have in the past. Those methods aren't working. And why should they? We are asking the corrupt and arrogant to correct their mistakes and right their wrongs. What motivation do they have to do that? Because you're asking them (nicely)? Because after you've asked, you complain amongst your friends and end your pursuit of justice. And then the next person comes along and the process repeats all over again. And again. And again.

Let's wake up here, black people! When are we going to see what's right in front of us? When are we going to get the fire that we need to change our ways? When are we going to adjust our methods with the times? How long do you think it will take? How many more Troy Davises will have to die?

Waging War...It Hurts (Part 1)

You would think that this concept is simple, right? That it makes so much sense that everyone should understand, right?

Wrong!

War, and therefore warfare, takes much more than the ordinary person is willing to accept. There are, to put it simply, three aspects of war that must be understood in order to participate in it (and don't think for a second that you, reader, are immune to war-you're not, however, we'll get into that a little bit later). First comes the Spiritual level, next comes the Mental level, and last, but not least, comes the Physical level. This order is crucial-make no mistake! I'm willing to argue this point until I'm proven otherwise, but for now, just go along with me to understand my rationale.

But first, we must go make to the earlier statement that was mentioned because I think it needs to be repeated: YOU ARE NOT IMMUNE TO WAR. Just because you are not an enlisted solider doesn't mean that you are not at war. Just because you are a faithful practitioner of a religion doesn't mean that aren't engaged in warfare. You exist in this world. You are obligated to follow the laws of your city, state, and/or country because you are its citizen. You are undermined by a hierarchy are laws (from the mundane laws of your job to the monthly laws of your rent and car payment) that you are vaguely intimate with and are not able to fully articulate their rationale with great detail. You must, therefore, understand that in some way (voluntarily or not) you are in war and more often than not, you are unaware of its existence. 

So your homework tonight (if you choose to complete it) is to think about as many ways as you can of how you are engaged in warfare. Hopefully, you will begin to realize how much of a tangled web you are caught in. And if you think about it a little deeper, you will realize that you're not alone. And maybe, just maybe, you'll come up with some questions about why you (and we) exist in this condition (or state of being) and you'll have some possible solutions to ending the war. 

After all, war is meant to be fought, right?