Optics of Defeat

I did not care for any of the  Charleston coverage it was offensive observing Black Americans in that posture....I resented the absence of Black anger being articulated by Black activists in South Carolina.....I tired of Black folks in a prayer/surrender mode ..I tired of the impotency and optics of Black people looking passive and beaten down.....


I rejected the nonsense of prayer as being some miracle when prayer did nothing to save the lives of those when they were confronted by a depraved White killer fueled by the ongoing reality of racism in America....


Finally I tired of the obligatory White media patronizing coverage form the endless use of the same quotes and images of Black Americans and dead Black civil rights leaders

Under Peril Again

So this is America circa 2015. Our nation has a long and ugly legacy of violating sacred places and venues of Black Americans from churches to kitchens of Black Americans. At some point during this era of acute and lethal Negrophobia there must be a national and political acknowledgement of this reality in our nation.


We must confront yet another period in our country where Black Americans are under siege , in peril and in mortal fear for our lives. We must craft a series of national laws, national policies and plans that can be implemented timely to protect Black Americans.

The FBI has issue warnings to Jewish and other religious facilities when threats have made against their places of worship as such I expect Black Americans should be given the same threat level alerts given that our visibility is more apparent and makes us more in peril than any other group or collective in America since slavery.


We must have the chance and opportunity to protect and save the lives of our families in this era of acute and lethal Negrophobia in America circa 2015.

Uncivil Wars in America

Is there ever a moment in time in our nation where a collective of people are not under siege? Of late the scent of discord and confrontation has returned to air waves of our nation.  The nation’s air  and atmosphere of humanity  is toxic and unhealthy for all of our senses including our spiritual aura.





Today the slings and arrows of misfortune are being waged against those seeking to expand the boundaries of gender and sexually. An uncivil war is being waged on numerous fronts some of them with foot prints braved by the weary before and others are incarnations of depravity we hoped was ending .  The uncivil war of today is aimed at gays and the transgender and of course Black Americans are in the center of this uncivil war yet again  with the national epidemic of police executions of unarmed Black Americans under the color of the law and without due process.





Our nation continues to struggle and evolve  as it pertains to humanity and civility. America has returned  to the failed  formula of hate and intolerance all at the expense of harmony and cultural congruency.





We must find a way to end these  uncivil wars against ourselves. Our children are watching .Our seniors are weary. Hope must return to the battlefield……

 

 

Post 9-11 -The Era of Collective Guilt

Far too many racial narratives here in America demand that Black Americans as a collective apologize for the evil of a few Black people. Black Americans encounter this offensive posture often whenever a Black criminal commits an ugly crime our community is confronted with the demand for a collective guilt genuflection.




This is the part of the legacy of being a minority in a country with a vile racial legacy as America we catch from all sides from the racism to collective guilt demands.




I reject the narrative of collective portrayals and in turn collective guilt. Humanity is not always a collective

Voting Rights to Not Vote

For Americans political elections bring a barrage of campaign literature, commercials, speeches that never end. For Black Americans political elections always bring besides the campaign materials and endless speeches, we also get disinformation, propaganda and a flurry of candidates seeking our vote but never our respect and long time concerns


Black voters also get the usual crisis pleas and hysteria over our right to vote. Our ancestors deserve better than some obligatory compliance during elections. Voting is worthless without concrete outcomes.  Political posturing and slogans do not change the arc of life nor alter the outcomes of living . I have of late now opine that not voting is a good option and deserves as much attention and focus as voting. I have matured and evolved to now give credibility and argument to the position of not voting has deep merits and real time value and currency. The Black electorate has for decades and decades been hostage to the Democrats  and invisible to the Republicans. Instead of having these two parties compete for our votes and clout we surrender  and retreat and make our electoral clout worthless and impotent.

One can take a principled position by opting put of a flawed and corrupt political system. One can argue by voting they are contributing to a corrupt and immoral political system. The jury is in the acts of omission ( not voting) equals the acts of commission ( voting)


My advice for this election is simple BE YOU vote as if your vote reflects your value and concerns not the agenda of political parties and political candidates who only care about you when they want your vote.


The Black community is long over due for a radical change in how we live to  how we vote or not vote. Reality is the truth and right here and right now Voting has not created the outcomes we want in fact staying the course and voting for the DEMS and the lesser of two evils is a script to nowhere..

Disarmament in the Hood

Recent media accounts have reported and documented that during the Obama presidency unlike any other modern day presidency the gun sales in our nation have been brisk with sales of guns in the millions.. The overwhelming purchasers of these guns have been white males. The proliferation of guns in our society has been stunning and staggering . America even before the election of it's first person of color was and remains the number #1 Arms Merchant on the planet. Our arms industry is the greatest manufacturer in the world when it comes to armaments and weapons of destruction. The gun lobbies from the NRA to those who shill to supply the Defense Department is unparalleled and alarming. There is right now in the country a frenzy surrounding guns it stings the air with fear and in many venues a giddy aroma.

America is where democracy is exported often at the barrel of a gun. Our  Department of Defense budget comes close to a trillion dollars a year every year. Our society is a culture where violence is worshipped and exported . In America the gun is worshipped as a sacred artifact. The fervor for guns is beyond any sense of reason and borders on insanity. Gun violence not only destroys lives but the health costs of gun violence is in the billions. The reality of suicides and gun mishaps in the homes of families is tragic and senseless.

It is critical that as a nation and culture we must take a life altering posture and position towards the possession and ownership of guns especially in communities of color where the carnage of guns is creating killing fields. Some have even uttered the words that in many Black venues folks are engaged in a self destructive community inflicted ethic cleansing .

For Black Americans  in many venues across the country we need to have a calibrated examination and analysis of gun ownership.We have to ask as a change agents which is safer and more secure for us as a people and a community, Disarmament  means a longer mortality for the living in our venues public and private . Our communities are more secure and safe from gun violence with the absence of guns than the ownership and possession of guns in our homes and in the community .

We are safer as a community when NO ONE OWNS A GUN! Disarmament saves lives in both normal and crisis situations in our country.It is critical that the Black Community in America come to the reality that the proliferation of gun sales simply is not in our best interest and puts all of us at risk! 

Even the raw notion of the government taking away and confiscating all guns is still a more secure and safer proposition than the presence of millions of guns in a troubled and uncertain post industrial racial era.

Disarmament is the best practice and policy in the new  post industrial era of America. We must disarm our nation and our communities. We must be advocates for the sanctity of life in America in all communities.

Disarmament Now!!








Greg Thrasher
Director
PLANE IDEAS

A life of life......

One of the truths I have learned from my activism in the area of civil rights is the ability to evolve beyond seeking racial parity and equity with the majority society . I now understand that it is critical to evolve beyond a sense of validation and affirmation .

My maturation must take me to a place where I elevate my personhood and begin to become an architect to create a life which encompasses more than parity but a higher state of existence. A platform where my quest is no longer limited by parity and equality but an attitude that elevates my personhood.

A life full of life…..