Today Was A Good Day...Well Sorta (PART ONE)

Last week was a momentous week for certain residents of Highland Hills, a small community located in Southeastern Dallas. For the past 8 YEARS the area lacked among other basic necessities a grocery store. Imagine 8 YEARS without a grocery store. Imagine having to go to another city to get food. Imagine having to ride the bus to go to another sector of Dallas, to go to a store and get fresh food. Imagine having to walk as much as 45 minutes to an hour to and from an adequate supermarket to get food. Imagine having to bring backpacks on your journey to load up with groceries to take back to your home. Imagine having to hop on the bus or walk with a couple of bags of chicken, a 15 pound bag of potatoes, a gallon of milk, bread, veggies among other things. I did all of that, and wore out numerous pairs of shoes in the process.

The previous local store, E-Zee Shop, which existed even before my parents arrived here in 1972, had become a shell of a supermarket until it closed around '07/'08. The atmosphere was dreary to say the least, and most of all meat, fruits and veggies were not up to par, the refrigerator equipment had become well outdated, causing meat and fruits/veggies to lose their freshness. Bread was rumored to have mold and droppings in them. I say rumors because I didn't witness it myself, but I clearly remember seeing Flour Weevils in a couple of cake mixes I purchased. When I went to the owner/operator to tell them what happened, they informed me of a switch in warehouses, mostly likely an older warehouse, as the reason for the change in the quality of food. 

Plus the people there were not always the best when it came to customer service. Some people had run ins with them. The old man who owned the building was somewhat cool, but after his death, it was off the hook. The story as some folks tell it was they closed up because they were robbed at gunpoint. Typical hood story, yeah I know.

However a neighboring tenant who ran her own tax service stated they were not only mean to customers, but also to her as well, and cited that mistreatment among local citizens may have actually caused the robbery, as an act of retaliation and not just some attempt to get money.

I can agree with that analysis, because after closing shop for several months, the same people came back as another so-called grocery store, this time they called themselves Value Giant, promising to open up as a totally different store, even promising to open a deli, and allow customers to rent DVDs. Doesn't sound to me like the robbery attempt affected them that much. 

Within days, maybe less than a week or two, Value Giant had to close down, selling off their meat at prices like 25 cents a pound. Did another robbery cause this to happen? Not at all. What happened was Value Giant was using E-Zee Shop's old outdated equipment (since they were the same people anyway), including the refrigerator, causing the meat to become brown and aged, and ultimately they could not operate any longer. My question is simply why would you try to re-open a store using the same antiquated, broken down, substandard equipment anyway? What does that say about your perception of the community you claim to serve?

Well you know how it is in the hood right? It's never their fault as to why these areas become targets of urban neglect, right? It's not the city's fault as to why a prison was built in the surrounding area before the crime actually came, right? It's all these damn criminals around here, right? Even if crime was not a problem at all, even when Highland Hills was considered a lower-middle class neighborhood designed and built especially for African-Americans who were looking to move their growing families into actual homes they could afford to buy, before the crack and drug era, before the proliferation of street gangs, but hey, let's not blame them, and definitely do not bring up the subject of racism. Racism and Dallas, Texas does not go together at all, even if in 2010 they allowed a casino named after a Native American tribe to post an offensive giant size advertisement in the middle of Downtown Dallas.

It's always the citizens' fault, and we blindly jump right on the bandwagon, with our self-hating, one -bad-apple-spoils-the-whole-bunch, believe everything they say about us, selves. Can you believe local ex and current politicians actually believed that developers refused to assist in "revitalizing" and investing in the area because of a few young Black men who wore baggy pants, and the supposed crime in the area? 

During a talk about art in 2013 one ex-politician tried to challenge me on not believing such an idea, leaving me to present the flyer that the city of Dallas was sending out in 2010, encouraging local residents to vote yes to allowing liquor and beer to be sold in local stores, claiming the money accumulated would help build roads, parks, and aid in the police force.

For more information on this please read my blog "Sobriety Is The New Enemy." Here is the link: http://realquwwa.blogspot.com/2010/10/sobriety-is-new-enemy.html

So imagine this community being persuaded to allow a store that we don't have, because nobody wants to invest in such a "crime-ridden" area (code word for "a place filled with niggers") to sell a DRUG which contributes to up to 20,000 road deaths ANNUALLY, but not good enough to actually put a STORE with FRESH, QUALITY, AND REASONABLY PRICED FOOD in a neighborhood to aid and assist its citizens? And don't tell me nothing about paying taxes...We all know about taxation without representation...

Now that's gangsta nigga....

(TO BE CONTINUED)

Still At It....

12 x 16 Pastel painting entitled Safe and Sound. 

Just when I got into the groove of blogging, other things pop up, and blogging takes a back seat. I'm preparing for a showcase coming up in which yours truly will exhibit my work to my local community, something I haven't done in 5 years, and it's been long overdue. This one here promises to be somewhat different than the previous showcase, due to changes in certain areas, especially in the rebuilding of the local library. This is a big plus for me, because not only do I get to exhibit my work, I can also access classrooms with projectors and screens, and trust me, I do have something planned for that as well. I don't want to spill all of the beans right now, but just to inform those who started getting into the habit of reading my blog regularly that I would be off the social topics for a while, but only on this platform.

 I know I had not finished the blog concerning Leslie Jones and Milo Yiannopolous, but in this age of fast food information and hot gossip, it's become passe' anyway, not that it's no longer important to discuss the issue, but one with much insight will see this issue pop up in another way shape or form, and the Leslie vs. Milo incident can be used as a reference point. But that's for people who value critical thinking and reasoning, which is not what our world is concerned with. 

Anyway an extra special thanks to those who take the time to read my lil' ol' blog, it is greatly appreciated. Not to get too involved with stats and metrics, which brings me back to my old customer service rep ways (UGGGH!) but last month set personal records for my blog in terms of views and readership. It's only fitting that I show gratitude in some form for those who take the time out of their busy schedule to come and See What I See (CWATIC). 

Until next time, take care and hang tight, we're only getting started here. 

Peace. 

Leslie and Milo Part 2

TO CONTINUE: This past week I went to an event held at my local library where the poet, Jamaal May, recited a few poems and spoke briefly about certain aspects of his poetry, and current events surrounding us. He touched on something that impacted me in my blogging approach, where he stated that things happens so fast and are captured by social media outlets so quick, what could be news today will be considered old and irrelevant in a matter of days.

That is one of the main reasons why I try to approach my blogs differently, not just focusing on what just happened, but the lingering after effects of what occurred, and to see if there were indicators that would have led to incidents like this. The situation with Leslie Jones and Milo Yiannopulous was to me not just an event that happened on social media, then came the ouster of Milo from Twitter and so forth. This had been building up apparently, when one research both individuals past, and how it was really only a matter of time before something like this would occur, for both Milo and Leslie.

It just seemed that no one cared when Milo went on to defame Islam, while acknowledging on Joe Rogans' Youtube Show that this world will be better off if people adhered to Judeo-Christian values, which he happens to be a frequent violator of.  Some of the values he blasts Islam for holding are parallel to values he claim to espouse, especially the prohibition of homosexuality, sex outside of marriage althogether, the man being the head of the household, among others. That's what makes him suspect, the obvious pandering to the Judeo-Christian community, while accusing Islam of holding the same values. It should be considered shameful to see some conservative groups and outlets use this person as some form of resource to debate and attack others' beliefs as well as signifying a sign of desperation. This is not the first time this happened. Remember The Cold War?

This form of bigotry would ultimately catch up with him when the Twitter catfight took place, prompting several other unintelligent minds to hurl the most hurtful of slurs at Leslie Jones, especially the reference to her as an ape. Milo's continuing rants and antagonistic ways opens the door for the most insidious of racists and bigots to hurl insults at those they hate, all the while confirming the backwardness of this society, as well as the world itself, despite the so-called advancements in technology, proving that people can still degenerate and stoop to the lowest forms of stupidity, and behave in levels of ignorance one could never imagine.

But don't think for one minute that I'm pro-Leslie here. Although the incident was sickening and uncalled for, I cannot say this caught me by surprise. Not to toot my own horn, but in March of this year, after watching the Ghostbusters trailer on Youtube, I found myself adding Leslie to the list of Black women being protrayed in the media in some of the worst ways imaginable.

And this was before I did any true research on Leslie, but more on that to come.

                                         TO BE CONTINUED...

Click Here for Part One http://realquwwa.blogspot.com/2016/07/leslie-and-milo-two-branches-off-same.html

Leslie and Milo :Two Branches Off The Same Tree (Part One)

Hatred has already appeared from their mouths, yet what is in their hearts is worse.

The Holy Quran, Surah Ali Imran (Chapter 3) verse 118

...the most effective form of propaganda is when the subject moves in the direction you desire for reasons he believe to be of his own.

The Cultural Cold War,  by Frances Stonor Saunders

The intent of this blog is much more far-reaching than just focusing on that hideous Twitter cat-fight between Milo Yiannopulous and actress Leslie Jones, star of Saturday Night Live and the recent remake of the movie Ghostbusters. This blog intends to go into depth about two individuals, whom although they appear to be entirely different, actually have more in common than you think. Both are attention seekers, deal with the mind-warping media, relying on unfunny jokes, wit (dim-wit is more like it), and rely on stereotypes and misinformation to butter their bread and garner attention. The only real difference is while Leslie involves herself with what is called "ethnic humor" and comedy, Milo just focuses on making fun of other's beliefs and ethnicities.

Milo is a strange breed of all sorts. A self-proclaimed Jewish/Catholic who is openly gay, claiming to acknowledge Christianity's prohibition of homosexuality on Joe Rogan's Youtube show, yet claims he can't cure himself of it, and yet this same individual blasts Islam because of ITS prohibition of homosexuality, using the suspicious Orlando, Florida massacre as a pretext to accuse Islam of homophobia, whatever the hell that means.


SIDE NOTE 1: Islam is the Way of Life prescribed for those who submit themselves to God, referred to in Arabic as Muslims.  Despite the propaganda by bigots and liars like Milo, who infest all forms of media, the prohibition of homosexuality in Islam is reserved only for MUSLIMS. Islam does not concern itself with the sexual mores of those who do not claim to be Muslim, unless either one lives in a society where Islam is the Rule of Law (in which those who have sex outside of marriage even if heterosexual are also punished as well, Muslim or non-Muslim) or try to undermine the Islamic Way of Life with their personal mores and beliefs. Besides that, non-Muslims in general do not fall under this prohibition, especially those who live in Non-Islamic societies. 

SIDE NOTE 2: The people of Prophet Lot (AS) were not destroyed for their disobedience, but they were destroyed for their disbelief and denial.  The Quran clearly speaks of this when it says;

And We said "Go down all of you. And when Guidance comes to you from Me, whoever follows My Guidance, there will be no fear for them, nor shall they grieve. And whoever DISBELIEVES and DENIES My Signs, those will be the Companions of the Fire, they will abide in forever... Surah Baqarah (Chapter 2) verses 38-39

And Lot, when he said to his people, do you commit such immorality as no one has preceded you among the worlds? Indeed you approach men with desire, instead of women. Rather, you are a transgressing people. But the answer of his people was only that they said "Evict them from your city, indeed these are MEN OF PURITY."   So We saved him and his family, except for his wife, she was of those who remained.  Surah Al Ar'af (Chapter 7), verses 80-84.

SIDE NOTE 3: There is no evidence in the Quran or The Sunnah in any way to justify or validate what happened in Orlando, Florida as being Islamic, especially considering these facts;

1. The people were not Muslim.

2. They were not in an Islamically run environment.

3. There was no evidence showing any of them were hostile to Islam, nor even heard of Islam. Islam concerns itself with calling the people to its Way, not killing.

As I stated in my last blog, when someone does not like you, there's nothing you can do to change them. All you can do is take control of the narrative.

Anyway, I took the dubious and unpleasurable task of watching certain excerpts of this dialogue between Rogan and Milo, concentrating on the part where things got really heated, and being a former Christian, I felt Milo was not being sincere in most, if not all of his responses, but was in fact very patronizing of Joe Rogan, and the Christian religion, talking about his alleged sexual encounters with Catholic priests, and proclaiming that if he could in his own words, "cure his homosexuality", he would.

I came out of that wondering if Joe knew when somebody was playing him for a fool.

Even more troubling are the conservatives who employ or support this guy simply because of his "logical" arguments against feminism, the Left, his racist beliefs, and his undeniable bigotry towards Islam, which had him rubbing elbows with fellow propagandist Pamela Gellar, the co-creator of the Prophet Muhammad cartoon drawing contest disguised as "free speech", and founder of the pseudo-patriotic American Freedom Defense Initiative, supposedly dedicated to stopping the "Islamicization" of America, a phrase which along with radical Islam, Islamic extremism, and fanatical Islam I have yet seen defined by these propagandists. Together with sites like Answering Islam, with its rabidly inaccurate article 164 Jihad Verses In The Quran, it seems that these people will stop at nothing to have their idea become the dominant thought or belief in America, and throughout the world. Even if it means lying and deceiving, something supposedly abhorred in the Holy Bible...

Do not steal, do not lie, and do not deal falsely with one another... 

The Holy Bible, Leviticus 19:11

It just seems nowadays The Truth Don't Matter.

Consolation Print - Quwwa Artworks

Please have a look at my ArtPal webpage, to see my latest work entitled Consolation. It can be purchased as a print on this site, as well as other pieces and articles of clothing. Thank you.


Consolation Print - Quwwa Artworks: Art gallery of Quwwa Artworks. Buy Textile & Apparel, Paintings & Prints, Digital Art.

Interview with MARK HUGHES - MISTAKEN Dallas Sniper

Peace...Just a lil something to marinate while I put my next blog together....

The Softening of the Sting...More Harm Than Good CONCLUSION

To Conclude: The purpose of digressing from the main topic of this blog serves to show that regardless of any attempts to use Muhammad Ali's life and death as a glowing example of a more "peaceful" ,"progressive" and "moderate" version of Islam and a beacon of American values, the PR campaign does more harm than good for Muslims in America.

The reality is that Muslims, like other marginalized and fringe groups in America, must come to understand they are in the middle of a battle of ideas within American society, mainly between conservatives and liberals, to which neither side Islam has a total alliance and affinity with. Both philosophies express White supremacist thoughts and ideas with regards to other races, cultures, creeds and religions, although the approach and tactics may differ. Since the rapid growth of Muslims and the Islamic Way of Life in the 1990s, especially among the indigenous population, America has had to come to grips with the reality that Islam in America is growing and is not going away anytime soon, so attempts to stifle, diffuse, and neutralize its potential growth, influence and power have become a priority, despite the huge amount of statistical evidence to prove that the fall of the American society is a product of its own undoing.

Accomodating Muslims will always find themselves ping-ponging on both sides in a futile effort to assimilate into a society that has not fixed its internal issues, beit structural racism, government corruption, crime, drug abuse, failing educational system, or the decline of societal values and priorities which has some people valuing the life of dogs over humans. Homicides, suicides, deaths by alcohol and other drugs, along with death by diseases continue to plague the country, reaching newer heights almost annually, yet all of that is trumped by claims of a so-called global terrorist group seeking to "Islamicize" a country in which Muslims only represent 2.5 to 3 percent of the population.

SIDE NOTE: Islam sees the life of this world as a test, as stated in numerous versus in the Quran, such as the 67th Surah Al Mulk, verse 2: 

It is He(Allah) Who created death and life in order to test those who are best in deeds...

Islam does not encourage any forcing of the religion on one who does not believe on one's own volition. There is no need nor use for forced conversions, as some claim, for they do nothing for the soul in the Hereafter.

To Continue: Conservative propaganda continues to range from the overtly bigoted sites such as Answering Islam to all forms media which basically tells its readers that ALL Muslims cannot be trusted, and are potential terrorists, that Islam is to blame for the destruction of the Twin Towers, to discount dissenting opinions among American citizens regarding 9/11 as conspiracy theorists, how Prophet Muhammad(PBUH) encouraged everything from suicide bombings to domestic violence without giving actual evidence, or using gross distortion of texts, such as the article 164 Jihad Verses in the Quran, where any verse containing words such as kill, fight, die, blood, retaliate and so on are listed as a verse allegedly proving Islam's preoccupation with fighting and killing. No such evidence exists in such texts, however despite the Religious Rights' claim to The Ten Commandments in The Holy Bible, in which one of those commandments levy stern warnings against bearing false witness against thy neighbor, conservatives continue an assault filled with distortions and blatant lies to their Muslim neighbors.

Liberal propaganda against Islam is of a different substance, yet it wishes to produce the same results. Claiming that "Truth is relative", "All religions hold truths" and "All religions encourage people to do good", liberal propaganda seeks to destroy the notion of an Absolute Deity and an Absolute Truth, as long is the notion is pertaining to their conservative counterparts. Allegations of possessing phobias such as the recent Orlando, Florida shooting, which has new twists and turns to the story appear daily, claims of misogyny and inequality among the sexes permeate throughout. Adding to this is the support and propagation of Sufism, a self-proclaimed, mystical version of Islam( to which Muhammad Ali had dedicated himself to in his latter years) that claims to look beyond mere Sacred Text, and finding the personal connection with the Divine. This sect is supported by such people as Oprah Winfrey, who along with the rest of the liberal contingency, like it's conservative counterpart, wishes to rid Islam of its essence, which is encased in Shariah, or Islamic Law.

Neither of these approaches have sufficiently given any definition of what Radical Islam means, but instead flood the media with pictures, videos, soundbytes, and distorted writings about what it claims to believe, but as of yet has not given a definition of Radical Islam itself. If one doesn't believe the bloggers' claims, then Google it for yourself. You will not find a clear cut definition, but instead a description which at best is merely subjective, and in the eyes of the beholder.

But in closing all of this would be for naught if the Muslims did not believe in the propaganda pushed on both sides, and not use the subversive terminology which floods these airwaves, intended to cause division, dissension, and dissolution of the True Islamic Way of Life. Some Muslims have taken it among themselves to align themselves with groups and organizations that are contrary to the Islamic ideas in an attempt to placate and diffuse an already ignorant and/or bigoted society, ready to attack and scream extremists and radical at the first instance of an alleged ISIS attack, even if no evidence is found to support such an event.

It is of the utmost importance that Muslims establish credible venues and outlets that give a clear definition of Islam, using evidence from the two main sources in Islam, the Quran and the Sunnah of Its Last Prophet Muhammad(PBUH) to dispel all rumors and accusations, and to set forth a premise so non-Muslims can see for themselves, instead of holding circus acts, such as Muhammad Ali's funeral, which should have been a few days after his death, and holding memorial services with eulogies by politicians and so called interfaith groups claiming tolerance and diversity. Islam is in no need of such PR campaigns to prove that it is not intolerant of other beliefs and ways.

Muslims who use words such as fanatical, radical, extreme and the like to distinguish and distance themselves from what the media says will not stop others from attacking Islam, nor will fatwas (Islamic rulings regarding a particular issue) from accommodating scholars. If someone does not like you, there is nothing you can do to change that. Only the wresting of this terrorist and radical narrative from the liars and media magicians, along with giving a complete and true analysis of Islam can one give a true perspective as to whether or not a group is treading the True Path or has deviated, or has become a misguided and disbelieving group, and in some cases a hypocritical group (Munaafiq, a term for one who feigns Islam but wishes to destroy it), and the person will have a true account in place.

In other words as the Nigerian proverb goes, "Don't let the lion tell the giraffes' story." 

Click here to go to Part One:

http://realquwwa.blogspot.com/2016/06/more-harm-than-good-making-muhammad-ali.html

To Read Part Two, Click on the link;

http://realquwwa.blogspot.com/2016/06/more-harm-than-good-making-muhammad-ali_15.html

To Read Part Three, Click on the link:

http://realquwwa.blogspot.com/2016/06/the-big-switcheroomore-harm-than-good.html

The Big Switcheroo...MORE HARM THAN GOOD CONTINUED.

To continue: Labeling someone a deviant indicates there was an established system already in place, yet for whatever reasons, beit ignorance or willful deception, some people wish to tread a different path. Islam strongly denounces such actions, as well as sectarian groups who attempt to create their own niche. The methodology of implementing the Islamic Way of Life came only through the Prophets of God, ending with Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Only he and God(Allah) alone can sanction any action with the intention of servitude, or in arabic ibaadah.

But in efforts to distort and manipulate, appropriate terms such as deviant, inventor (mubtadi), liar (kadhab), transgressor or sinner (faasiq), wrongdoer (dhaalim), and astray (dhaaleen) are replaced with extremists, terrorists and such to intentionally mislead, and from there comes as the late psychoanalyst Edward L. Bernays coined as "The Engineering of Consent". The creations of "anti-Shariah" laws in certain states, which have now been renamed as "anti-foreign" laws to disguise bigotry towards Islam, as well as the Patriot Act, which allowed spying on American citizens all come from this social engineering and social control.

To further illustrate the point, looking at the profiles of the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, and the current so-called khalifah of the group ISIS, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi (which is not his real name mind you), Wikipedia classifies both individuals as "Sunni Muslims" (another descriptive term that does not exist). This implies that all of their actions have their basis in core Islamic principles. That means when one hears reports of suicide bombings, or internet beheadings, kidnappings, all which are designed to antagonize the so-called "free world" and challenge the "free world" to come and fight, it has it's roots in  "Sunni" Islam, although there is absolutely no evidence to suggest such actions are permissible or even make sense, especially in the constant proclaimation of committing such horrendous acts by certain so-called groups.

Wikipedia also has a site entitled WikiIslam, a page dedicated to discussing Islamic topics only. On this site I found a horrendous article intent on discussing a statement made by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) regarding men who are killed for the religion receiving 72 virgins in Paradise as a reward. Using an array of information, mostly not attributed to the Quran and/or the Prophet(S) himself, as well as unauthenticated statements reportedly made by him,  this article goes to great lengths to 1) describe the Islamic concept of Paradise as a pleasure palace, complete with orgy-esque and free-flowing sex amongst the men and 2) Show justification of the modern-day concept of suicide bombings, or some refer to it as "martyrdom operations".

For the sake of digressing even further, I plan to address that particular article in the very near future, but what I can state now with surety and clarity that there is no evidence that Islam sanctions such actions, and how can such actions be attributed to "Sunni Islam" when there is no such concept mentioned by the Prophet of killing oneself in order to kill others, nor was such actions even possible during his time? History tells us that explosives and gunpowder were invented two centuries after his death! So if "Sunni Islam" is to follow the Way of Prophet Muhammad(PBUH), how can he give such directives without knowing what is an explosive?

 It represents an excellent case in point with regards to the quote "A lie can travel halfway across the globe, while the truth is putting on its shoes." Truth sometimes require extensive research, and those who show so much animosity towards others so much so that they are willing to lie about another's lifestyle or culture can realize the tedious task of finding out the truth in a matter by looking up several sources, and going to the official text to ascertain the truth.

So why the long drawn out digression from the initial topic of Muhammad Ali? 

     (To Be Continued)

Click here to go to Part One:

http://realquwwa.blogspot.com/2016/06/more-harm-than-good-making-muhammad-ali.html

To Read Part Two, Click on the link;

http://realquwwa.blogspot.com/2016/06/more-harm-than-good-making-muhammad-ali_15.html

More Harm Than Good: Making Muhammad Ali The Face of Islam CONTINUED

Blogger Note: This blog entitled MORE HARM THAN GOOD: Making Muhammad Ali The Face Of Islam began construction a few hours before the Orlando, FL shooting took place, where a young man, now being fashioned by the media as another "radical Islamic" terrorist, allegedly opened fire in a crowded gay club, and single-handedly killed as many as over 50 people, and injuring over 50 more.  It is the sincere belief of the blogger that one should not try to deconstruct EVERY incident that is blamed on the Islamic Way of Life, because the accusations are plenty. Rather than spend precious amounts of energy trying to deconstruct ALL claims produced by the media and non-Muslim entities bent on propaganda, the blogger believes it is much better to create a premise to use as a reference point, so that the people can see for themselves, and make up their own minds. That is one of the primary intentions of this specific blog about Muhammad Ali. It is not just a commentary about an individual or an event, but also a statement and a premise regarding the Islamic Way of Life, as well as a critique and a reflection regarding the tactics and methods some people use to distort and besmirch another's way of life, and finally a reflection of those who try to placate and diffuse an already misinformed and/or bigoted audience. So for the sake of continuity, the blogger wishes not to dedicate an entire blog or blogs regarding the Orlando shootings, and the recently alleged attacks in France. 

To continue: Answering Islam is a crystal clear case of people openly and intentionally misleading its readers with obvious distortions of Quranic verses and Islamic concepts, in an attempt to defile and defame the Islamic Way of Life. If one had the time and resources, it would be very easy to respond to such a vicious website, and clarify matters regarding its content, particularly 164 Jihad Verses in the Quran, but here one piece of clear evidence should be enough to destroy its credibility, and affirm its clear bigotry towards Islam.

But not to be outdone by the likes of Answering Islam is the so-called free online encyclopedia Wikipedia. Boasting free and robust content on almost any relevant issue, Wikipedia tries to symbolize democratization of information with free and accurate information regarding its discussed topics, and the supposed ability of anyone being able to edit its content. This in itself poses a serious problem, for what could be here today may be gone tomorrow, and what appears today may be totally inaccurate. What could be removed due to inaccuracies may not be reported and re-issued as a retraction and/or a correction.  Looking through Wikipedia's content regarding Islam, one finds bountiful distortions and inaccuracies regarding Islam in need of re-editing.

Type the words "radical Islam" in the search box, and you're automatically linked to the topic of Islamic fundamentalism. This represents a subversive attempt of describing the basic fundamentals of Islam, encased in a construct known as Shariah, often translated as Islamic Law. In other words, one is automatically connecting Islamic law to radicalism. The problem with this is severalfold. For starters, when you add words to Islam, especially words like radical, extreme, militant, etc., it automatically becomes a descriptive noun. A descriptive noun serves to indicate a specific person, place, thing or idea in an evocative or descriptive manner, rather than general. (source WiseGEEK)

Descriptive nouns can fall under two main categories, objective and subjective, and those who refer to Islam as extreme, militant, intolerant, radical and such usually fall under holding subjective opinions of Islam. Examples such as the woman's form of dress when in the presence of men not closely related, gender roles of the sexes, the permissibility to fight back when attacked by opposing forces, the declaration of absolute truth, and others are usually lumped into these descriptive, opinionated forms of Islam by its detractors. Unless the reader is aware of what is going on, and does not study the information on their own, one may find oneself holding the same opinions expressed by the propagandist using such  persuasive techniques. 

This propaganda usually results in what you're witnessing today when you hear of Muslims being thrown off airplanes, although they've passed through more intensive security screening than the average non-Muslim flyer, the Ahmed Mohamed clock incident that occurred in Irving, Texas last year, the numerous states attempting to pass anti-Shariah laws, using radicalization as a false pretext, to the shooting of the Muslim students in Chapel Hill, NC by a confirmed atheist, to other sad conclusions affecting the Muslim community, psychologically, economically, and in some cases, spiritually. 

Through the use of propaganda and modern technology, the word extremism has become so synonymous with Islam, it's as if you're saying the same thing. Sites like Wikipedia throw this word around very liberally when it comes to Islam, and the masses consume this with no regard to truth or validity. 

For instance, the Khawarij is a sect that has its roots in early post-Prophethood history. They held some views contrary to the core beliefs outlined by the Qur'an and the Sunnah(the Prophetic Explanation of Revelation consisting of actions and statements made by Prophet Muhammad(S). In this article you will find the words radical and extreme, like other articles in describing the Khawarij views, but they, like other media outlets they have suspiciously refrained from using the one word that describes them best, as well as other groups who don't tread the straight and narrow Path of Islam. Deviants. 

There's a simple explanation for that. If one is referred to as a deviant, it automatically denotes that one is off the established course, or Straight Path, and one is forced to research the true Islamic position of any issue. But when you classify something as extreme or radical, you're implying that there is something there that can be taken out of context. 

       (To Be Continued.)

Click here to go to Part One:

http://realquwwa.blogspot.com/2016/06/more-harm-than-good-making-muhammad-ali.html

More Harm Than Good: Making Muhammad Ali The Face of Islam(Part One)

Over the past week and a half we have seen a constant stream of articles, mostly paying tribute to the late boxer and humanitarian, Muhammad Ali, who passed on June 3rd from complications regarding his long-time bout with Parkinson's disease, which he was diagnosed with shortly after retiring in 1980.

While no one can deny there was a time when Ali was the most recognizable human on Earth, as well as the most recognizable of Muslims, some of the articles seem to have gone to great lengths to place him in a league of his own, referring to him as the face of "real Islam", or "America's first Muslim Hero." Such lofty accolades are given, considering the fact there was a time when Ali rubbed many Americans the wrong way, mostly White Americans, with his critique of race relations, his refusal to enter into the military service, his relationship with Malcolm X(Al-Hajj Malik Shabbazz), his defiance, and his constant rants and never-ending taunts of his opponents inside the ring.

Three articles come to mind, two of them similarly titled; one reads Muhammad Ali: America's First Muslim Hero, by Dean Obeidallah, a comedian of Palestinian and Italian descent, the other Muhammad Ali: America's First and Last Muslim Hero by Lorraine Ali, a journalist of Iraqi and French-Canadian descent. Together with an article from Al-Jazeera, a satellite channel based in the country of Qatar, entitled Muhammad Ali; The Face of "real Islam", these articles attempted to portray Ali as the  "true" image of Islam, with his promotion of peace, love, humility and supposed grace, his humanitarian ventures. Lorraine Ali tries to express in her article his "embracing American values" of hard work, fighting against racism and bigotry, and still becoming a beloved figure in the American mainstream.

What all three articles also intended was to portray Ali in the image of "moderate Islam", contrasting with "militant or radical Islam" in light of the mega-blitz of bigotry against Muslims in America and throughout the world, mostly generated by the media. This portrayal has had very negative effects against Muslims in the Western world. Having experience persecution, murdered, unjust incarceration, threats, laid off from jobs, and having laws being made against them using a suspicious claim of  "terrorism" ,"radical Islam" ,"radicalization" or as some would say "Islamicization". This is intended to caste Islam as an intolerant, belligerent way of life. The propagation of such beliefs give rise to some of the most despicable deeds such as the protests whereas people stand around the Muslims' place of worship, some carrying firearms claiming to "protect themselves" from the evil, bad, terrorists, and their "forced" conversions and Islamicization of America.

The articles also attempt to portray Islam as having values in line with "American values". The problem with such an attempt is that it fails to take into consideration the constant war of ideas taking place in America, as well as the rest of the Western world, where once conservatism ruled the political, social, and economic landscape, but is now being fiercely attacked by the liberal contingency. So these American values that Islam share a commonality with seem ambiguous, and Islam in America finds itself caught in the middle of trying to align itself, if ever possible, with whoever seems to be winning the war of ideas. The latest examples being that of feminism (often called women's rights), same sex marriage, homosexuality, and the transgender issue.

But the biggest problem with these articles is that the authors give the reader the assumption that there is such a concept of radical Islam, a concept not really fully described by anyone, especially since most of the articles, videos, reports and documentaries about radical Islam comes from outside the Muslim community anyway. Just Google the phrase radical Islam and you will come up with so many articles which discuss the concept, but none can ever give clear definitions of what radical Islam is. And where there is such definitions, it's usually provided with such outrageous distortions of the foundations and fundamental beliefs of Islam, that it seems inconceivable that such claims can be made without checking all of the facts. One cannot possibly think that such individuals who pride themselves as being "thinking", "intelligent" beings will stoop so low as to reintrepret Islamic concepts to fit their bigoted conclusions, but alas the propaganda is plentiful.

Take the website Answering Islam, a Christian website designed to prove the "brutalness" of the Islamic Way of Life. This site has an article entitled 164 Jihad Verses In The Quran, an outrageous claim that these verses in the Quran all relate to Jihad, a grossly distorted concept propagated by some non-Muslims, and even some ignorant Muslims. What is found in this article is a hodge-podge of misinformation, whereas the author/s took great liberty at redefining Jihad as simply holy war, then took verses out of the Quran which contained words like kill, death, fight, retaliate, and so on, with the intention of casting Islam as a religion of violence. Regardless of the context, these verses were posted as evidence of Islam's preoccupation with fighting and death.

One erroneous example given can be found in two verses from the second chapter, Surah Al Baqarah. The verses involved, verses 178-179 deal with the concept of Qisaas, or retailiation. The verses clearly apply to the event in which a Muslim intentionally kills another Muslim without right. The victim, or the victims' family in the case of murder has the option of either retailiation, or compensation (diya);

2:178-179 Oh you who believe! Retaliation(Qisaas) is prescribed upon you in the matter of the slain; the free for the free, the slave for the slave, and the female for the female. But if any remission is made for you by the aggrieved, then the diya(blood-money) should be made according to usage, and payment should be made in a good manner. This is an alleviation from your Lord, and a mercy, and whoever exceeds the limits after this, will suffer a painful chastisement.

Clearly these verses relate to dealing with the matter of Muslims killing other Muslims, yet Answering Islam chooses to display this as one of the verses relating to Jihad, which means to struggle on all fronts, not holy war. One would like to think that this is merely an oversight, but one can only make excuses for so long before suspecting other agendas.

                                                          (To be continued)

To Read Part Two, Click on the link;
http://realquwwa.blogspot.com/2016/06/more-harm-than-good-making-muhammad-ali_15.html

What's Good For The Goose...(More Sick Puppies RE-EDITED)

Just when I thought I was finally over with the One Sick Puppy blogs, another incident to use as an example pops up. I guess that what happens when you're dealing with one sick puppy, huh?

This incident involves a 24 year old female teacher who recently turned herself in to authorities after fleeing, following allegations that she not only had been having sexual relations with a 13 year old male student, but was impregnated by him until recently aborting the baby.

It seems the teacher, who taught at a middle school in Houston, Texas, had been having sexual relations with the student for quite some time, even at the cognizance of some fellow students, as well as the parents, who supported the relationship so much so they even allowed the teacher to come and pick up the boy (because that's what he is...a boy) on occasions and spend the night at her house, in order to take him to school the next day.

But again, we took the allegations against Bill Cosby and Afrika Bambaataa,  broadcasting them nationwide, and presenting them as some twisted form of promoting some type of dialogue aimed at combating sexual abuse, misogyny, and other forms of sexual deviance, as if only men, or Black men, are capable of committing such unscrupulous acts.

I noticed the reactions from most of the people, and didn't bat an eye over the fact that very few, if any of the comments used words such as pedophile, predator, molestation, rape or assault in such an instance. Such words are not commonly used in cases where women are the accused. Those words are usually reserved to be used as ammo in the gender wars, mainly perpetuated and propagated by the modern-day feminists, designed to give the impression of victimization at the hands of the brutal, savage, male and his hetero-patriarchal empire that he designed and imposes on the masses of the people.

Just as bad was the response by some of the men who took one look at the photo, and gave the teacher a pass. This type of response is a reflection on the state of the modern day male(not man, but male), prone to look at things from a superficial perspective, being at least influenced, if not addicted to different levels of porn, and being conditioned by a media flooded with sex, sports and superhero movies, giving him at best a jaded look on life. This is the same media that is now promoting the girl-power anthems (especially Beyonce and Black feminism) that Kay Hymowitz, author of Manning Up: How The Rise Of Women Turned Men Into Boys goes into discussion in her book.

Some of the people tried to use twisted logic in this instance, citing laws regarding permissibility for one at such a young age to marry as a way of justifying such a relationship, yet how many of those people would consent to such a relationship if the situation was reverse?

Take a look at what happened last year when ex-Baltimore Ravens cheerleader Molly Shattuck, 48 years old at the time,  was charged with serving alcohol and having sex with a 15 year old boy, carrying a 15 year maximum sentence, with no mandatory minimum. What was the result? She basically gets probation, spending every other week in a work-release detention center. What are chances that she will be labeled a sex offender, and treated in the same respect as men who are convicted? Phrases such as molestor and statutory rape seem to elude situations that involve women.

Back in the day when the preponderance of evidence suggested men were more susceptible to commit such acts, it was much easier to sling terms and phrases like rape culture around, but now we are force to look at the fact that rather than labeling this a rape culture, we have to look at the reality for what is really going on. The increase in incidents like these are indicative that we are living in an over-sexed or a hypersexed society, not a rape culture. Incidents like this only give a reflection of where our priorities lie in this society, where true feelings and emotions are caste out, arousal, lust and desire take center stage, and one night stands and booty calls become mere corner talk. Where sex and love become misrepresented and redefined to a point where no one can tell the difference between the two.

This is a culture that finds nothing wrong with the concept of casual sex, as long as one uses protection. A culture that sexualizes everything from sporting events to even religious holidays. Halloween nights are now filled with grown-up women dressing as French maids, hookers, vixens, promiscuous nurses, and the like. A culture that attaches the words porn and gasm as suffixes to practically anything from food to shoes, such as the Facebook page entitled Shoe Box's Porn, a page cluttered with some of the most outrageous shoes created, usually seen on some of the most raunchy of women.

A culture like this cannot ever foster healthy relationships between men and women, but contribute to the growing divide between the sexes. Men and women will always look towards each other in disagreement, based on media-induced propaganda designed to keep the two at odds. The never ending cycle of hurt and mistrust will engulf the masses, and the masses will continue to tread the path of hurting each other, and all that will be left are damaged goods, trying the make the best of a bleak situation.

The advent of "sex-positive" feminism does nothing to help solve this issue, with women now being encouraged to "redefine" and "embrace" their sexuality, influencing other women to adopt this schizophrenic notion of being sexually liberated, while maintaining their "dignity", intelligence and "respect". As long as the woman seems to be in control of the situation, like feminist pornography, they see nothing wrong with such issues. Many Black feminist see nothing wrong with the popular TV show Scandal, although they speak of man's misogyny, patriarchy and such, yet the idea of a White married patriarchal figure having an affair with a Black woman seems not to bother them, as long as they feel that she exudes some form of perceived power.

It must also be noted that such situations like these should not in any fashion be taken as some badge of honor for the young man, or BOY, who through the act of sex can simply misinterpret what being a man is as simply being able to sexually satisfy an adult woman, nor should it be taken as a rite of passage for a young man. Such acts can cause as much psychological damage to the young man as to a young woman, regardless if the woman is willing and attractive, and the parents give consent to such activity.

On a side note, it should be duly noted that those who show disdain towards the movie Sweet Sweetback's Badass Song, starring Melvin Van Peebles, along with the writings of the late author Iceberg Slim, particularly the autobiography Pimp: The Story Of My Life should at least recognize the fact that despite the graphic sex and violence, and the portrayal of pimp life, both narratives started with a common theme not usually talked about. The sexualization of a young boy at the hands of an older woman.

Read Between The Lines: One Sick Puppy Continued

I really wanted to end the conversation on Afrika Bambaataa's sexual assualt allegations, however after listening to a couple of interviews on the subject, I felt like elaborating a little further on my stand that I took in the last blog.

My main point of contention took place when a Facebook friend shared an article dated May 4, 2016, entitled Dear Black Men, It's Time For Us To Talk About Afrika Bambaataa,  which appeared in an online Black celebrity gossip website called Bossip (I can only assume that's fusing the two words boss and gossip together.) This article attempts to exhort Black men to discuss the accusations against Afrika, regardless if they are true or not.

Bossip is owned by the Moguldom Media Group, which also owns Madame Noire and Hip Hop Wired, all three dealing primarily with celebrity gossip geared toward African Americans, with Bossip and Madame Noire focusing particularly on Black women. One is left wondering why would a website who is obviously preoccupied with gossip and patronized by more women than men just by reading most of the titles of the stories presented would all of a sudden turn advocate and exhort Black men to engage in a community forum to talk about one individual's allegations against him.

To drive home this point the article raised the Bill Cosby sexual assault allegations as some sort of example of how Black women "rose to the challenge" via social media in calling out Bill's misconduct, while most Black men refused to discuss the issue, and some accused the women involved of conspiring against Bill and/or Black men for many reasons. This gives the reader the idea that Black men's silence toward this issue either represented cowardice, shame, or worse tacital approval, which is what feminists have always tried to prove about men in the first place, especially Black men.

It left no room for consideration of men being cautious against speaking out of term or out of ignorance before all of the facts come in. Nope, it was either this or that, which is kinda funny when you think of people who speak against absolutism, yet would draw up their own absolute conclusions when they feel like it would benefit their argument.

Late last year I produced a video regarding Ebony Magazine's November issue entitled "The Family Issue" which was reported to raise "dialogue" of whether one could separate Bill Cosby from the fictitious character he created on The Cosby Show, the father figure Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable. Using a video clip taken from a CBS News interview with Kierna Mayo, recently appointed editor-in-chief of Ebony and self proclaimed Black feminist, and comparing the Cosby allegations with what happened with Willie Horton by conservatives in the late 80s, along with articles from The Root.Com, a Black feminist website owned by Univision, I set out to prove that there was more to this Ebony article, which even today remains unchallenged by so-called Black media. Due to the large file, I was unable to post it to the blog, but the Facebook link is below.

https://www.facebook.com/quwwa.davis/videos/10206244885695048/?l=5155088739720063097

The final point I want to bring up regarding the article is the claim made that one in six black men have been sexually assaulted as a child, a claim based on supposed research by author Robin D. Stone, author of No Secrets No Lies. I can't comment on the whole of the book, due to not having read this book, but I can express a level of wariness concerning these figures and its usage, especially in light of the attack by feminists and the propaganda of "street harrassment" "rape is about power and not about sex" and "rape culture", common phrases and terms used by feminists to demonize men. It coincides with the claim made by moderate feminist Christina Hoff Sommers, author of Who Stole Feminism, and The War On Boys, that a rape culture does not exist, but gender propaganda aimed at men and advocating laws that actually promote irrationality, double standards, and downright oppression of the opposite sex.





Afrika, Bill Cosby, or any other public Black male figure's personal issues should not be used in any sense to indict a collective group of men, especially when the advocacy comes from a celebrity gossip website, or any other crap the media pukes out. Unless that entity is implying that this indicative of ALL Black men, which Ebony and any other Black feminist or publication that focuses on women has tried to assert.

Creating hysteria and paranoia around one individual's allegations will do nothing for any community but hurt it tremendously, as it did with The War On Drugs, The War On Poverty, and The War On Terror.

Although I read this article after publishing the initial blog One Sick Puppy, it corroborates with every statement I made in the initial blog, of how a corrupt and mind warping media, mixing a few truths with a truckload of falsehoods, bent on sensationalism, and controlled by corporations and special interest groups preoccupied with propaganda, profits and power, can infect and corrupt an either unaware or uncaring public with lies and gossip, and how such an ignorant society can easily fall for such filth, and succumb to such nonsense that ultimately leads to suppression, and even genocide.


If you turn on the TV, all you see's a bunch of what-the-f***ks
Dude and dating so-and-so, blabbering 'bout such-and-such

And that ain't Jersey Shore, homey that's the news
And these the same people supposedly telling us the truth....

lyrics from the song "Words I Never Said", performed by Lupe Fiasco

One Sick Puppy...

Usually I don't speak on personal issues, or personal allegations, however the issue of Afrika Bambataa's allegations of sexual misconduct has deteriorated exactly how I expected it to when compared to when I initially read the story. What was initially presented in the press by Ronald Savage as an issue of principle with regard to a statute of limitation has now turned into an all-out tabloid-esqe, TMZ inspired assault on ONE individual, with people now taking sides, accusations now being thrown around, courtesy of the mind-shaping media.

Now my Facebook news feed is being populated with virtual soapbox speeches condemning those who they say "sit idly by and say nothing regarding pedophilia and sexual abuse." It's as if they're trying to shame (it's funny how that word takes a different tone when you attach it to liberals...side note) people for not saying anything, or for not condemning Afrika regarding this subject, which for all we know as of right now are mere allegations, and regardless of guilt or innocence, should be handled in a court of law, not a court of public opinion. I've said the exact same thing regarding Bill Cosby's personal allegations, and I will say it regarding any person's personal issues. 

Courting or trying to shape public opinion regarding an issue is not always the best thing to do in this society, and eventually you risk the chance that it may come back to bite you in the ass. Especially for marginalized and disenfranchised people, who have seen rogue police get away with murder and brutality despite damning camera footage, recorded voice messages, as in the case of Kenneth Chamberlain's death in White Plains, N.Y in late 2011, witness accounts, and a barrage of social media comments, these people walk the streets unabated, and some even received publicity, compensation and funding from television networks and internet funding outlets.

We must never forget the words of the late Malcolm X (Al-Hajj Malik Al-Shabazz) regarding the hypocrisy and double-standards of this society when he stated"

"They sell you liquor, then arrest you for getting drunk. They sell you a deck of cards, then arrest you for using them."

You may ask "why is he using this quote in this context? It doesn't seem to make sense." But allow me to expound.

Malcolm was commenting on the double-standards of this country where some things that harm and contribute to the destruction of individuals, families and communities are legalized and marketed by this country, however one is punished in crimes where such objects may have been contributory. We see this yearly with alcohol-related deaths in the 15-20,000 range in this county, yet the issue regarding prohibition of alcohol can never come up again, because those same people will tell you "you can't legislate morality."

Let's take a look at how public opinion was shaped, leading the federal government to declare the now-infamous "War On Drugs." The propaganda surrounding that topic, leading with "this is your brain on drugs", "Just say no" ads on TV, news articles and TV features showing crack addicts, prostitutes, and gang members, the violence and mayhem, all lead Black community leaders to give the go-ahead on laws that we know now wreaked havoc on the Black community, and hasn't been able to recover from it since. Black men were profiled(and still are), arrested and charged with huge sentences, sometimes in triple digits, while others returned back to society only to experience what we now know as "The New Jim Crow". 

However, what happened to the REAL gangsters, the real criminals, who lived outside of the inner cities, who brought the drugs in, who profitted off the lives destroyed by the sale of drugs and guns, and the mass incarceration of young Black men, sent to prison and made to work for slave wages?

This is an excellent example of how the public opinion of an uneducated and uninformed community can come back to haunt them, and the real exploiters of such opinion can get away with virtually anything they desire.

In a 2005 book entitled Pornified: How Pornography Is Transforming Our Lives, Our Relationships And Our Families, the author Pamela Paul discussed how she interviewed several men who watched porn, and discovered that a majority of those interviewed expressed some interest in child pornography, regardless of the level of the interest, and despite knowing the illegality of it. Many who were interviewed expressed that initially they had no interest in child pornography, even finding it repulsive, however they found themselves gradually harboring an interest in such form of "entertainment". 

But if I was a betting man, I would be willing to bet the house that you could not garner enough public opinion to see a possible connection between pornography and pedophilia. And don't even mention advocating its' prohibition, for the notion of banning pornography would label one "prude" or relegate one to being "conservative" or "religious", and the howls of "censorship" would forever ring out, and one would be cast off as infringing on one's "constitutional rights". 

And in an even more stranger twist of fate, despite the claims of "rape culture", "street harrassment", "misogyny" and "patriarchy" that flood the media now,  modern-day feminists now do not see any harm in pornography, nor do they see it as a contributory factor in how some men view women as sex objects, and will defend its usage and purported purpose, although the one exception would be that they are in control of the content, production and manufacturing of the material. Such a strange change of events, when just a few years ago anytime a rapper showed strippers on a video, or called someone a bitch or a ho, the calvary would come in, men who didn't "speak out" were labeled and shamed...Go freaking figure.

If you're still reading this blog, by now you should know that the title "One Sick Puppy" is not a reference to Afrika Bambataa, but to the society as a whole. A society that picks and chooses its heroes and enemies, its angels and demons, its vices and virtues by way of a mind-warping media and an unknowing and/or uncaring public, filled with hypocrisy and double-standards, harboring a cake-and-eat it too attitude, and susceptible to view the latest gossip or satire website as some form of actual news. 

After all, many still believe Beyonce performed a tribute to the Black Panthers in the Super Bowl....




Just be careful of what you're advocating....

Rights For Who?

We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with unalienable rights, that among these are the Right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.

That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

   The Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776...

   Have no faith in Constitution...

                    lyrics from the song "Spirits In The Material World", sung by The Police

I'm trying to think how long I tolerated the movie The Pursuit of Happyness, starring Will Smith, before ejecting the DVD and placing it back in the case. I think it was somewhere around the 30-40 minute area. The last thing I can remember was this man accepting a full-time, no paying, intern position, while his living conditions greatly deteriorated, causing internal strife within the family, and ultimately leading to his wife leaving he and his son behind. He also spent the course of a year homeless while he pursued his quest for "happiness."

Today Chris Gardner, the protagonist of the movie, is touted as some type of shining example of "initiative", or as conservatives say "pulling up the bootstraps" and all that mumbo jumbo. Personally, I saw the movie as another scapegoat of avoiding the rights of the people upon its' government,  which is to insure justice among its citizens, by using media to persuade the ignorant masses that access to the basic necessities is a "privilege", and not a right.

What if this guy was unsuccessful in his pursuit? Would we have a movie entitled "Ni**er, Have You Lost Your Damn Mind?!" ? How many of us have been chastised or questioned for "quitting our day job," to follow our dreams, and pursue this ever-elusive "happiness"?

Looking back on this piece of propaganda now, and how it upset me so much, I think about the title itself and what it entails, and I think about the omission of the other "unalienable Rights" not mentioned in the title, which to me are more important than this "right" of the "Pursuit of Happiness", a vague "right" which was declared at the expense of the genocide of Native Americans, and the multitudes of African slaves who were exploited to the utmost degree while a few European immigrants sought their slanted interpretation of this pursuit, and to fulfill this "manifest destiny".

No Right to Life, and definitely no Right to Liberty for them. So don't even bother mentioning happiness.

Today when I look at this nation and its pursuit of happiness, I think of the constant propaganda campaigns by some liberals used to persuade people to be more concerned with legalizing certain drugs and certain lifestyles, same-sex marriage, instituting transgender bathrooms and gentrifying areas the local or state government neglected, forcing the current residents to flee due to the inability to afford high rent and property taxes, while neglecting what this nation seems to be doing to those who don't have access to the basic essentials of life itself; food, clothing, shelter, general health care, and so on.

Yasmin Nair, an LGBT activist, spoke last year about what she felt was the real intention behind this push for same-sex marriage. 

TRNN Video: Gay Marriage Victory Is Not About Equality

At the same time I see some conservatives denying people of colors' Right to Life, defend the killing of unarmed Black men, criminalizing the poor, justifying mass incarceration and disenfranchisement of Black men, using this so-called War on Drugs and the profits generated from it, legalize mass exploitation of people through banking systems, using Big Gov to fund their imperialistic endeavors, inflate prices upon the populace, and demonizing other governments and beliefs by accusing their way of life as backwards and barbaric in an effort to assure no one would look for alternative ways of life.  

In all of this furor, these "Rights" endowed by Creator, as the Declaration claims, seem to look more like privileges to those without any political voice, means, and definitely no media to articulate their concerns.

And BET and TV ONE do not count as Black Media...and definitely not OWN...so don't begin to kid yourself.

Deep in the heart of Texas, more people on food stamps are being "re-orientated" to get back into workforce, obtain jobs, or to get "better paying" jobs, in an effort to make themselves "self-sufficient". Recipients are being sent blue sheets of paper which state that it is a requirement for those on food stamps to look for work. This scheme requires a collaboration between the State Department of Human Services and the Texas Workforce Commission.

In this program people are being required to submit a certain amount of entries to businesses every week for a number of weeks in order to keep their food stamp benefits. Those who are working, but not working a required amount of hours are also being placed in this program as well.   

In order to sell this, propaganda, or PR was used, and you know the usual culprits; racial anecdotes of Black people and their "treacherous" ways of manipulating human services, selling their food stamps for money to buy drugs, abusing their Section 8 privileges by allowing uncertified people to live with them, and so on. This propaganda perfectly fits the analysis given by Mumia Abu Jamal of how the impoverished are portrayed in America as possessing "character flaws", or a "defect of the spirit".

While many may think this orientation process is admirable, the reality is that this scheme's ultimate purpose is to reduce the state's' "burden" of  having to provide access to decent nutrition to its citizens, a "right" or "entitlement" to the citizens of the state. The fact remains that the overwhelming majority of those on food stamps are not on it due to lack of employment, or of substantial employment, but the inability to afford sufficient nutrition for themselves and their families. 

But when the masses of people hear the constant rumblings in the media about LaQuita and her 5 children by 4 different men, the tendency of Americans is to welcome these "reforms" presented to the nation as a way to get rid of this "welfare state", or as Bill Cosby put it once, a "culture of poverty".

 Edward L. Bernays, the late psychoanalyst and nephew to Sigmund Freud called it "The Engineering of Consent."

So forget the statistics that show most food stamp recipients in America are White, you can't use them as the boogeyman, that won't go over too well. You need to reach deep down and pull out the most sinister culprit to remove people's entitlement to the basic necessities of life. Sorta like when "radical Islamists" are used to remove people's entitlement to privacy.

Oh, and I forgot to mention, under this program those considered able to work but unable to find "gainful employment" are subject perform "community service".  So now not having a job sounds like a misdemeanor. Just like the Black Codes. And you know what that lead to.

No wonder so many disenfranchised and poor youth either take the grimy road of hustling, or voice their displeasure of the way things work here in America, such as lyrics like these:

F**k your American Dream

That sh*t's not real

It's really more of an American Scheme

Cuz ' When I think of the American Dream

 I think about

Student Debt, Inflation, and how my Ancestors screamed

Look the corporations really hate you

and almost every institution is tryin to rape you

 But they don't care...

 lyrics from the forthcoming song "Like Us", performed by Knoxie-Ty.

Quwwa Artworks | Textile & Apparel, Paintings & Prints, Digital Art

Quwwa Artworks | Textile & Apparel, Paintings & Prints, Digital Art

Ayesha Curry: How To Make A Mountain Out Of A Molehill (Part 1)

Okay, I know this incident occurred in December of last year, so sue me. But I have my reasons for bringing it up now.

First of all, until three weeks ago, I didn't even know who Ayesha Curry was. I mean I'm on social media, but not on the magnitude that some people are, commenting on EVERY LITTLE THING said or done, and commenting on what so-called celebrities have said and done is definitely not the move for me.

However, some things have to be addressed, and this is one of them. Not just because of the ultra-sensitivity black feminists exhibited on this issue, but also how this reflects the tense environment concerning Black male-female relations on the whole. Yes, I am very critical of feminism and it's meteoric rise in the culture and psyche through all media outlets, but truth is truth, regardless of who delivers it.

A couple of weeks ago I was shown a blog post entitled Ayesha Curry Is A Threat To Black Feminism, written on March 9th, 2016, by one Ali Shakur, aka Hannibal X, a Youtube blogger and host of a podcast show called Hannibal At The Gate. Seeing that I was busy continuing with deconstructing the Beyonce Super Bowl performance, I put it over to the side, still curious as to what it meant, but not curious enough to interrupt what I was already working on. To be honest I wondered who was this Ayesha Curry, this woman who from my initial impression openly opposed feminism, and their pundits.

When I finally read the article, I was kinda taken aback, expecting to hear damning statements about feminism from this Ayesha The Feminist Slayer character that the title insinuated, but what I seemed to have gotten was a sensationalized article, taken out of context by virtually all parties involved.

First off, when I realized Ayesha Curry is the wife of All Pro Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry, my enthusiasm quickly turned to skepticism, because I usually don't perceive supposed celebrities or their spouses to make comments about political issues, especially when they concern the Black community. And after reading this blogpost, I rest my case.

Seems that this "threat to Black feminism" made comments in late December concerning certain unspecified attire that she considered to be trendy, and stating her opinion that although wearing barely anything in public seems to be the trend, she'd rather "save the good stuff for the one that matters".

Somehow the super-duper-ultra-sensitive felt shamed, and therefore a flurry of responses flew, reading more into what they felt Ayesha was implying, and immediated accusing Ayesha of feeling herself, and attacking women who wear provocative clothing in public. This seems commonplace for certain people who tend to read into everything as some type of shaming, or the new word "micro-aggression" against feminism, accusing others of being judgemental while they themselves exhibit the same tendencies, as shown in the last tweet, where the word "patriarchal" is used to assert that Ayesha is not thinking with her own mind, but instead is "indoctrinated" with what they consider "male thinking."

Now where the "slut shaming" accusation came from I have no earthly idea, but again, that's feminism for you. Or better yet, that's what liberalism is about...

TO BE CONTINUED...

Why All This Energy? (Beyonce, The Police and The Panthers Part Four) (contains graphic language)

By now you're asking yourself  "Why so much energy on this ONE event?"

My response would be: Something's in the air, and it's not just that funky weed smoke I keep smelling in public nowadays. We have been witnessing a sociopolitical climate change that I feel intensified during 9/11 and Obama's Presidential elections. These are just two telltale events that conservatives use as fuel to recruit new believers and as they say "Take back America" in this war of ideas between conservatives and liberals, although the War on Ideas in America can go back to 1925 with the Daniel Scopes trial.

Today in America attention is being directed to 2.5 to 3 percent of the population who identify themselves as Muslims, being demonized and accused of attempting to take over this nation and "Islamicize" it, whatever the hell that means.  Using "terrorist" attacks, alleging plots of biological terrorism that has been trumped recently by the events in Flint, Michigan, and the latest boogeyman, or in this case a boogeygroup with an English acronym and a mysterious khalifah as a pretext to demonize and ban a lifestyle that has very little if anything to do with those who don't ascribe themselves to being Muslims in the first place.  It should be strongly noted that forcing people to adhere to a law when they don't believe in the way of life is nothing short of foolish, if not flat out stupid, and there is nothing in the Holy Qur'an to support this idea anyway.

Yet we hear of the big, bad, radical Muslim, severing heads on the internet, calling to a distorted definition of jihad, blowing up him or herself and for some strange reason publicize their intent to kill, maim and destroy, in an effort to Islamicize the entire globe, starting with America, whether anybody likes it or not. This scare tactic then becomes fuel for the likes of conservatives Donald Trump, Dr. Ben Carson, and any other conservative to use to rally America and the rest of the so-called free world to rid this menace. So now so-called patriots stand outside mosques, armed with weapons because of a claim, without looking deeply into the evidence, and asking who really benefits from such terrorists attacks?

Never mind the growing liberalization of America, especially in the areas of marriage, family, morals, something conservatives always pride themselves on. Never mind the abortion issue, the rise of feminism, the prevalence of pornography and the harmful effects, the fact that 20,000 people die annually from alcohol related issues, and the same sex marraige victory in the Supreme Court in which one conservative voted in favor. Never mind the secularization of America, and the growth of atheism. Nope, Islam is Public Enemy No. 1 here.

SO WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH BEYONCE'?

Simple. Since the movie Birth of A Nation, Blacks have always been portrayed as savage-like creatures, who if freed with wreak havoc on such a "blessed" nation, especially on White women. This technique was used to justify the creation of a White group, claiming to adhere to the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Holy Bible, to keep the "savages" in line. It was eye-candy for racists who had never perceived Blacks as human beings in the first place, even if White men in Black face were used to get their point across.

And since that time any attempts made to either intergrate, assimilate or simply receive justice and self-determination in this society by and for Black people has been deemed as subversive, and detrimental to this nation by conservatives. Go figure. The demonization of the Black Panther Party by certain agencies serves as a reminder that America's melting pot and social status quo never meant to include Black people, regardless of certain "concessions" made in all spheres of American culture.

Rudy Giuliani exposed himself in criticizing Beyonce's Super Bowl performance by proclaiming what he saw as an attack on police by women in provocative getup, gyrating to a song proclaimed to be a Black pride anthem, sung by a self-proclaimed "bitch-slaying" feminist, which includes certain graphic sexual lyrics like;

When he f*** me good, I take his a** to Red Lobster, because I slay
If he hit it right, I might take him on a flight on my chopper, because I slay


Wow...How could Giuliani or anyone see an attack on police with a song like Formation is beyond me.  A video of a Black woman seductively sprawled on top of a sinking police vehicle is by no means revolutionary nor empowering to me, nor is a child in a black hoodie defiantly dancing in front of cops, who eventually raise their hands in submission does anything for me either. If anyone found that threatening, my belief is that they'll buy anything.

But some concern also goes to those who took this as something positive for Black people, that a feminist who would tell "bitches" to bow down, would promote hetero Black male figures that are now being dragged across the coals by Black liberals in some of the most disgusting ways is even more troubling for me.

Yep...Something's in the air...

But going back to Rudy, it seems he has a history of histrionics, creating or contributing to contrived events garnered to grab attention, such as the convoluted display of heroism during the 9/11 event. His constantly appearing in front of the cameras, posing to give off commands during rescue efforts, and his "take charge attitude" and "sincerity" won him the Time Magazine Person of the Year Award in 2001. Boy, you gotta give it up for propaganda.

The media circus that surrounded this event is just one of many ways some groups use to engineer consent to spread further injustice on an unknowning, unaware or unconcerned community of people, many who are either too preoccupied with frivolity or too uneducated to figure out what's in store for them. The recent repealling of key parts of the voting rights act of 1965, combined with the rise of right-wing militias, and the acquittals of the likes of George Zimmerman, Darren Wilson, the Charleston, South Carolina shootings and others in the deaths of unarmed Black people indicate that things don't seem to look very bright for people of color in the United States in the near future, regardless of who takes the Presidency in this year's election.





Beyonce's Bogus Black Power tribute being criticized and protested by some shows that certain sectors of the American public will read into anything as some form of justification to take America back to its' early years. When people of color were held captive in chains and enslaved. But why would the liberal media take this event and broadcast and parade it as such is even more puzzling.

Now I'm really beginning to understand the meaning behind this recent plethora of slave movies.

Just like those Prophet Muhammad cartoon drawing contests.




Yep...Something's afoul in the air here... and it ain't just the weed smoke.