contours of a tragedy

Point of Order: 1] Somebody inform Jones how he can correct an error in Wikapedia. Suggesting that Euclid was Greek when he was born in Africa, died in Africa, and never left the continent a day in his life.

2] Shouts out to my folk at Just Kiss N make-up for giving me the Kreative Blogger award.

I hate to do this but I am gonna leave the pestilence of politics for a moment to dive into an area I love greatly, well two really, history and math. I was reading someone’s blog yesterday and I am sorry I cannot provide the link. But in essence they were talking about the incarceration rates in NYC. I was taken back by their conclusion for although true, they were some what fatuous in their implications. In addition, they seemed to just be thrown out into the blogosphere for no other reason than that (my opinion) but it was a good read.

Without a firm historical presentation, the numbers in social research seem to, really often end up meaning nothing. For me, through the Euclidian structure of how I visualize thought, it is possible to decussate axioms of outcomes, both in time and practice. And I use Euclidian for it references the understanding of relationships with respect to distance (history) and angles in both planes and space. This is constant regardless of geography, region or time if space is seen as the constant. For this it says that prison and slavery are one in the same.

In the blog post, the author seemed amazed. But one should not be if a descent purview of history and thought is held in command. The Spanish government for example started out with the prohibition of having to many male slaves and in 1503, around the start of the Spanish Caribbean Empire, they enacted by philosophy and math a design that would approximate one slave for every three free white men. This was under the reign of Emperor Charles V. Other countries desired an even higher ration of white me (one African slave for every four free white men).

These actions tended to dictate not only population and how slave institutions (including prisons) functioned numerically, but also the philosophical beliefs that would maintain such disparities as evinced currently with prison populations. From David Hume, the supposedly noted philosopher to Thomas Jefferson, we can see how such transpired. Especially if you read Hume’s essay “Of National Character” (1754) or Jefferson’s “Notes on Virginia” (1781). Both claim the natural inferiority of the African with Jefferson even suggesting that Africans were barely above the level of thought of narration. Both said a lot more foul shit but I will not venture any further while attempting to make my point that the numbers we see are the result of historical practices and have been consistent since the days of Alexis DeToqville.

Moreover, such has been manifest by views as the previous to the extent that the belief in natural inferiority and dimness of Africans obviously would mean that education would be impossible and that a system of education, based on the liberal arts (European culture and history) would result in what I wrote in a blog post in February 2006:

If more than 50% of students drop out from high school generally, speaking, how many do you think will be coming from our schools in our neighborhoods? Take it a step farther, if 80 percent of high school drop outs end up in prison and 40 percent of all inmates are darker people, yet these people make only 13 percent of the population, what kind of educated populous will remain to do battle, represent and demand that what we put in we should get back?

There will be none for they will be enslaved, this time in prison. In actuality, I astonished myself at how simplistic the trigonometry regarding these angles connect. So in summary, this is why we see the numbers we do regarding black males in prison; this is why we should not be astonished; this is why we should not be amazed when we see more of us in prison than graduating high schools or attending college. These unfortunately are the contours of a tragedy from a Euclidian perspective, for prison is the higher education in many respects in the US for men of African descent. For with prison, they can maintain a 1 to 3, or even 1 to 4 ratio - for we outside the walls may as well be slaves too. vote

LIVE spelled backwards

Staying with what I was trying to assert in CAN U DIG IT via my subtle reference to David Hume (how many yawl picked that up – slappz , BuelahMan's, Jackie, love babz , Curious, Badtux and Kelso not included, LOL), I have come to the conclusion that some folk just cant deal with kindness and even hate those that are kind? Albeit I have yet to thoroughly ponder this, I have made some cursory judgments regarding the aforementioned thesis. So I will attempt to give my take on such as a function of life and as well as living.

Hume’s (1711-1776) major philosophical works to me was Enquiries concerning Human Understanding although I know some would suggest A Treatise of Human Nature or Dialogues concerning Natural Religion. In summary he wrote about cognitive attributes of human behavior in terms of philosophical naturalism (my purview and I may be wrong). I think he may have been responsible for the dramatic change in Kant’s view of the world which suggested in essence that our own individual representation of things is what provides meaning and perception (I may be wrong on this too). But if not, I would venture to say that this is how I see evil. Not as a man with a red three piece and a pitch fork, but rather the representation of such.

Personally I have had a lot of good and a lot of bad things happen to me. More good than bad and even with the bad, I have always been able to find something good out of it. Truth is some folks can’t deal with bad and even worse cannot connect their actions and how they treat others to the negative outcomes in their personal experiences. They will continue to do wrong per say, treat others as they themselves do not desire to be treated and even worse, build upon lies until they have no way to control what they have amassed.

So caught up in themselves and their selfish attributes, they evince the me first position and are often so needy that they cannot see or observe or even respect the needs of others. So when others are kind and caring regardless, it festers more mean spiritness within in them because they desire others to hurt as they do, when they should desire not to hurt and focus on being considerate and caring. Yep, this is what I get when I try to understand meanness and hatefulness in others. I realize the true object of such is themselves.

To put it bluntly, evil is just live spelled backwards. Those that are afraid to accept the cards they are dealt, and fail to love themselves, are more likely than naught to be reflective of evil, for they, in my humble opinion are simply afraid to LIVE, or see their lives as a blessing.

Approaching the Bench: 1] Shouts out to my new Blog roll fam: go get it girl, k i s s, trouble ink, disturbed stranger, change within, y paisley, go zack,cliffs crib,black folk don’t swim, gotta have faith ,words n music, married 2 the game, jameil, ms. sula, spiritual-vitamins, waiting 4 zufan, nia naturally, trula, only my opinion, taffy ,silence between the words, socal muchacha, let it b the truth, coup de coeur, b hippy chick, da pewviews, ivory blossom, theophania, cordie b, seven, ambular, lina & curly curvy nervy

2] Blog Fam I met this week for first time at book signing and otherwise: the rich house, capacity 4 private eyes, str8 from d A, skoolboisplayground, Gee Gee - Made Over, b12th planet, bittersweet symphony & Literary Felonies. I already knew tony oh and Miz.

can u dig it

I lied. Looks like the enthusiasm of hustler genes revisited conglomerated in my being will have me talk about something a little bit more, meaning I’m finna (i'm country) talk about loot again, and its accumulation there of, in ways that impose upon thinking and personal communal responsibility. And communal responsibility being that which shows no harm, that which elevates and drop that hammer of beneficence on a (I wont say).

And as I said before, me and mine, folk that is, is a tight set. I mean especially the Memphis Cats, Morehouse Alum, or fellow pay your own self folk. Whether they be white black, Jew, Christian or what have you. See we are protective, and basically know that we are few in number as the knights of Templar or the Dogon Priest that protected the temples (libraries) of Timbuktu.

We extend our selves in life to extend the olive branch first as opposed to extending a weapon of calamity such as the Axe (my preference followed by hammers). As such we are protective of one another as bonded by our personal obligation to our community, family being first.

With that said, my folk from the crib and who attended Morehouse with me stopped by my shop. Heard from him recently when he left a comment on my post GIVING WINGS TO ANGELS. We greeted, drank, chiefed and talked.

First I never realized how many folks watched the WIRE, and how one video clip that he described to me of a cat executing jones in his store, could get folks so upset. Me never seen the show. Second, never new how much love so many folk had for folk here. He said I was like “Malcolm X King Jr.” and that I was a rare breed and that kats from the crib and especially Morehouse wasn’t gone be with Petsmart no more but that they were “T-smart” now. He peeped the spot and said I was like the dope man and had the corner on lock and that cat’s aint on thinking like this. He also dropped 200 plus on food and clothes and in particular an 85$ hand-made studded collar.

As we talked, before he left the convo went something like this.

Folk: “Jones, you hit it mane, this the lick. You got the perfect place and you got the corner on lock, you like the Omar of the dog world.”

Me: “Straight, good look folk – Bald fist dap.”

Folk: Jones, you the Omar of the dog world, except you got no comp.”

Me: Laughing.

Folk: Jones, we got your back, let the haters hate; they don’t know how we get down. You got me to hit them books. I’ve been in business for myself for 9 yrs now.”

Me: “I see like that Black range Rover.”

Folk: For real though Jones, cause I live in Marietta, I’m coming back, and you serving free wine, don’t need no Liquor License for that. A head of the game folk.

Me: Brain cells jones.”

Folk: I’m coming back, hold it down, Omar – can you dig it?”

Me: Stood up, put gat in back of my pants, Bald fist dap. “Alright Love, good look folk.”

Folk: “high post bruh, higher than most”

Me: “Think about it, Special Ed.”

He made me smiled. So fellows, represent. If I succeed u succeed. If I fail, you fail. Let’s hold hands, talk to each other and put it on the table. Let’s hold down the fort and make certain that we all eat, that we all provide and that we all give. Let’s handle ours first, in our homes in our schools, PTA’s and take control of what is really real – and aint talking reality TV, lottery tickets or the NBA finals (but ‘m down with that too).

And I aint just talking to the African American men, You white men (in the case of buelah man a self professed redneck-lol), Asians, Africans, Caribbean’s or what have you. Let us represent as men folk. Let us show government and big business America is not one spelled with three Ks in substitution of the C, but a stalwart for family, family rule, and that neighborhoods rock – dude.