YOU ALMOST HAD ME.

YOU ALMOST HAD ME! (poem, about the existing racial climate and the one that sometimes exists at its worst in our own minds)

almost in fact, I recant
you had me right there with you, ready to march and petition
you actually set my sights until
they were perfectly aligned with your vision
THEY are out to get us
THEY are diabolical, individually cunning
focused on a sole purpose
anytime THEY saw you moving ahead...to come gunning
running
at breakneck speed
not only to be certain you'd never get what you want
more importantly, YOU'D NEVER ACQUIRE the things you need
THEY are working 'round the clock to keep you down
and all I had to do to corroborate your testimony
was catalogue the racial injustice simply by watching the news
'til I became convinced that the conspiracy you were showing me
was FACT...and not one disgruntled black man's views
and we engaged in hours long conversations about how...
no matter what you did in this lifetime
THEY would make certain you'd never receive your just due
and you almost had me
until I started making more positive moves of my own
that caused me to update my perspective about...you
like how THEY plotted and schemed until you were
successfully incorporated into "the system"
"pulled over for a routine traffic stop" you told me
and you told me through angry tears,
how being jailed would cause you to lose your job
and THEY wouldn't even listen
I later found out, what you failed to mention,
was that you weren't arrested for not obeying traffic rules
you went down because you hadn't paid child support
for your kids since four years prior...come June
but without that initial knowledge
I was right there, on the "THEY AIN'T SHIT" bandwagon
cursed THEIR birth and relegated THEM
to the status of collective, sinister madmen
and by the time you told me that your job fired you
I was convinced of the validity of your woes, upon reflection
I cursed every member of the THEY who had done you wrong
but you never told me that a background check they ran
revealed your priors for domestic violence, trafficking
and felony possession!
you always flipped it to your direct advantage
proudly wearing the pitiable face of a brotha
who was just "trying to do the right thing"
but couldn't,
because THEY found new and inventive ways to do damage
you told me about penalties on school loans THEY put in place
that kept you behind the financial eight ball
and when the next job let you go
you told me it was because THEY held a natural fear of strong, black men
mentioning nothing about all your unexcused absences from work
the excessive tardiness and being away from your desk every ten minutes to take personal phone calls
funny how all of this was revealed to me gradually
and up until that time I thought THEY were holding you down
and as a BLACK woman in a racist society, I empathized
I tell you, bruh...you almost had me
then my owns strides in upward mobility brought clarification
as I realized your current condition wasn't so much
what THEY were doing as you using THEM as justification
for one black man's ridiculous choices
that would have had just about the same consequence
regardless of color
and because so much injustice and hatred exists
it was easy for me at first, to blame your woes on another
easy for me to believe, damn near
that THEY held conference calls at night, tracking your every move
counteracting your positives with a negative, simply out of fear
it didn't seem so ridiculous a notion that THEY lost sleep
tracking your every progressive move
attempting to figure out how if you had one "win"
THEY could turn it into a thousand "defeats"
until I started analyzing my own choices
to see how often I was justified in playing the "race card" in my deck
and used that debilitating paranoia with intent, or subconsciously
then, WHOA! - I realized so many of my barriers were self imposed
having less to do with any system THEY had set in place
and alot more with how much of a challenge THEY received from...me
I'm not saying there aren't plenty of black men and women
with legitimate claims of wrongdoing based on color
having run headfirst into barriers THEY created
that's a reality that I definitely have to face
but looking back on how you've lived your life
has everything to do with the arrested development of your evolution
and ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with race
I can only pray you don't influence your peers
convincing them that no matter what they do
that they'll never succeed because of THEM, will never realize a goal successfully
because until I separated myself from you and your whining
I spent less time going after my dreams than being convinced they shouldn't exist
and I've accomplished so much since then that I wasn't attempting before
I'm good now, but...you almost had me.

TERRI '07

ONE MOMENT

THE STORY OF LIFE...

Sometimes people come into your life and you know right away that they were meant to be there, to serve some sort of purpose, teach you a lesson, or to help you figure out who you are or who you want to become.

You never know who these people may be (possibly your roommate, neighbor, coworker, long lost friend, lover, or even a complete stranger), but when you lock eyes with them, you know at that very moment they will affect your life in so profound a way.

And sometimes things happen to you that may seem horrible, painful, and unfair at first, but in reflection you find that without overcoming those obstacles you would have never realized your potential, strength, willpower, or heart.

Everything happens for a reason. Nothing happens by chance or by means of good luck.

Illness, injury, love, lost moments of true greatness, and sheer stupidity all occur to test the limits of your soul. Without these small tests, whatever they may be, life would be like a smoothly paved, straight, flat road to nowhere. It would be safe and comfortable, but dull and utterly pointless. The people you meet who affect your life, and the success and downfalls you experience, help to create who you are and who you become. Even the bad experiences can be learned from. In fact, they are probably the most poignant and important ones.

If someone hurts you, betrays you, or breaks your heart, forgive them, for they have helped you learn about trust and the importance of being cautious when you open your heart.

If someone loves you, love them back unconditionally, not only because they love you, but because in a way, they are teaching you to love and how to open your heart and eyes to things.

Make every day count. *Appreciate every moment and take from those moments everything that you possibly can for you may never be able to experience it again.

Talk to people that you have never talked to before, and actually listen.

Let yourself fall in love, break free, and set your sights high.

Hold your head up because you have every right to.

Tell yourself you are a great individual and believe in yourself, for if you don't believe in yourself, it will be hard for others to believe in you.

You can make of your life anything you wish. Create your own life and then go out and live it with absolutely no regrets. Most importantly! if you LOVE someone tell him or her, for you never know what tomorrow may have in store.

UNKNOWN

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Crazy Things That I've Seen and Heard This Week.

Psychiatrist Phone\

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Rep. Henry Waxman, chairman of the House oversight committee, said Thursday that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has issued an order requiring his approval of any corruption investigations of himself or senior ministry officials.

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GROUPS I FOUND ON GMAIL.

ChristainCowCollecting
A place where cow lovers can come together to share their interest and love of cows along with their love of the Holy Word and the Lord.


FOCUS GODWAY
Those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Women Stuff
women talking together about stuff


Bring Stuff - Meetups and social events
Organising social meetups for Londoners, based around bringing stuff to the events to recognise each other.


Pet Chapel
This is the Pet Chapel prayer circle and blessing of animals. Join this group to submit your prayer requests, to offer prayers for animals, or to discuss animals and spirituality.

The Guruz
Charisma Under Belt.

Wives that Pray
Christian women praying for their husbands and marriages.


Black Shirts
My friends and I wear black shirts almost everyday! Even if don't know it, we all wear black on the same day. We just got out of school and are going to be bored this summer, thats why I made this up. This is a FREE website and anyone can sign up (If they are invited)

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We 6

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100 GREATEST SPEECHES

For each of us, there is time in American History that stands out in our memory.

What will our children remember?

100 TOP SPEECHES contains some of the most powerful words spoken in American History and are available free to you in a form that permits easy listening.

There is no charge to you.

Just click on the site and share these speeches with family and friends.

You will certainly have some interesting discussions. (Definitely, beats discussing your neighbor's personal business.)

100 TOP SPEECHES

The Death of Black America by Eran Reya

"The Death of Black America explains the mindset of an enslaved people whose trauma induced survival mechanisms now contribute to The Death of Black America. It describes the historic roots of the arrested development of the Black male and Black female; the inability of Black males to be men and the Black female’s distrust of Black men. It dissects the class, social, economic, and spiritual errors of the black community in their fight to acquire the American dream. We bought the dream but the price is our death as a people."

Listen to an interview with the author, Eran Reya, on THE ORAL BUFFET HOSTED BY HUSSEIN HILL