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.

Moving on...

Peace all,

I've been away for awhile, conjuring up new things to bring to the table. Things are happening so fast and so much that one can lose sight of the bigger picture, however at least I can say most of these things that are happening are on a more positive note. I usually balance my blogs so to give the reader the ups and downs, and not just a lot of fluff involved. I have a couple of blogs in mind coming soon, but in the meantime, kick back and relax while I smile a bit....LOL.

Still no word on the job status, and it is getting more frustrating by the day as I travail through this terrain trying to seek out some employment( ALL THOSE T'S...LOL)but I feel the end of the search is near, and pray that something good comes along. I can't help but feel apprehensive however when I find myself filling out an application for a call center position, knowing the last 3 jobs I've had were in those environments, and they have done so much to my mental that I can truly say I don't know if I can be effective in such an environment anymore. But I keep looking and applying. Anyway...

During my time away I am gaining more confidence in working with Photoshop Elements and with a pen tablet, yeah you've guessed it, Q is into digital arts too! I use to have some apprehension to technology as a whole, due to believing that it was not as "pure" and "natural" as maybe other forms of visual artistry, but now I feel it can only enhance my repetoire, especially in mixed media which can use a lot of photography and clippings, so stay tuned! Ol' Q looks to switch it up a bit here!

I've also been asked to give another BlogTalkRadio interview, more to come on that later.

Gotta go all, the library is closing up and I gotta get back home to watch the rest of The Wire....Until then..

Peace all...LOVE YA!



PS...This piece here has yet to be finished...I can truly say it has been my most troublesome piece, trying to find what can complement this piece...I'll get to it, God Willing..

Stunting the Creative Process....

Peace all,

Lot of events happened the past week, most of them having to deal with sickness...lol. I have a few things on tap, good friends of mine wanting to do a spotlight on me, and I just got word of an upcoming show from another friend of mine who also happened to dig my poetry as well. We got some things cooking up, and as soon as everything has been made more concrete you will get the scoop...

Talking with a good artistic friend of mine last week she mentioned that she now understands where I'm coming from when I mention how stress and sickness can stunt the creative process...Sickness not being the main focus here, but how stress from everyday things hinder creativity. Many times in the past I've made very crude statements about my job(especially on facebook..lol) most were funny and jokingly, but in reality it is frustrating when dealing with situations that you really have no control over, and it affects the creative process. The madness continues as the jerk in charge continues to make moves and come up with formulas that put the employees in stressful situations, and most of all tries to keep his stature with the upper execs on a good level. Moreso he tries to psyche the people into buying his theories, which all fall flat on his face, only to find this arrogant idiot pointing the finger at the employees and not at himself. He keeps re emphasizing on who wants to work here and who doesn't, but it's not the case, the real issue is how people are making the workplace a living nightmare...

Yeah I know you're saying "just find another job!" but think about it, isn't this a recurring theme in most jobs today? Why jump out of the frying pan and into the fire?

Some of my friends say quit looking at the glass as half empty and start looking at it as half full....I have.....but I have to say that the water in this half full glass is quickly evaporating.....lol.....I HAVE HAD ENOUGH!

In the end my art has suffered tremendously. Coming home and having to change modes is a very hard task, especially when there are other factors involved. I pray for the day when my priorities and passions will one day mesh, instead of being two totally separate entities. It's really beginning to take its toll on me.

But through it all..... Believe and Keep smiling....Take care all, Love Ya

Here's something that made me smile today....Old Skool Ditty..Makes me wanna go soak up some good Asian culture..All I have to go on now is going to the Asian stores to buy some cuisine....Love it...but want more(smile)

Why Me?

Peace all....

It's 8:05am, here I am with this pile of wood in my front yard waiting to be picked up by the shady city department. These crooks are talking as if they're going to charge us extra because of something we had no control over. Rumors have been spreading around the neighborhood that the city will pick up only a certain amount of the broken branches and trees that fell during last month's winter blast. After that they will begin to charge for any extra amounts.....Oh by the way, they've reduced the trash days to ONE DAY a week.... I tell you these fools get creative to steal tax dollars....

Anyway, I was distracted this week from an incident that occurred at my job, where the jerk that sits next to me put himself in a position where somewhere not as peaceful would have simply whupped his a**. I don't see myself as important or special, yet people seem to waste their time trying to diminish other peoples reputation. I wanted to speak with one of the supervisors at my job about this and other incidents this guy has pulled especially in an attempt to get me in trouble or get me angry and blow a fuse, however,I changed my mind, talking has gotten me nowhere at this place, where people only care about kissing butt and moving up. I feel that the end is near here, and it's just a matter of time.

Then I received my review which wasn't pleasant in any way shape of form, people are trying to convince me that my confidence is lacking, however it's not my confidence that's lacking, it's more that I hate the job period. The whole concept of call centers(although they try to convince us it's not a call center)sticks in my throat, but no one says a thing about it. This place is micromanagement at its worst, and they insist on trying to make it work. Why, because of the execs, and the chance for senior managers to move up, that's why. They don't really care. People's stress levels have increased tremendously and they don't care.

Now this trainwreck that sits next to me is really losing it and it's only matter of time before he either quits or is fired. It was nice to see him lose his freaking mind yesterday when one of the clients called him a liar, which is exactly what he is. This fool got so bummed out he had to take the rest of the day off. He takes multiple smoke breaks and spends about 20-30 mins smoking himself to death, then when he is working, he smells like an overused ashtray,. He talks to people very disrespectfully, and talks about people behind their backs, but it all seems to be catching up to him, such as the case yesterday.

The rest of the day was plenty peaceful and I got alot accomplished. I pray for the day I can walk out of there with my head up high, not giving a care about spineless weasels like this fool who complained and whined more than anyone, but tried to accuse me of having an attitude, simply because I disagree with the direction of the company which I think has hit sewer status right about now, mixed in with the rats and feces that pervade the area. People can smell the funk, but very few are complaining. But complaining really does nothing anyway, as I learned from my last job, so I've learned to look within myself and try to use my talents. Maybe that's why some people don't like others who take chances and strive to use their own resources, whereas others rely on kissing up to other people and stroking egos to get ahead.

In the end it doesn't work, so I refuse to kiss anyone's butt...Besides I know where my sustenance comes from anyway....


Take care.....Love ya!

Oh Pardon my manners! Check out the new piece, I used lots of textures and fabric for the face....I'm falling more in love with mixed media...It opens up another avenue to throw my textures all over the place.....I feel rejuvenated now that I have transportation and I can go visit various galleries....



LOOK OUT Y'ALL! HERE I COME!

A Lil' Sumpthin'

Peace all,

Blog is on the way, but just wanted to fill ya in on the happenings here. I will be releasing some wearable art very soon, so stay tuned. I am working very hard to break from this place of work which is very draining and stressful, and keeping deadlines whether I made them on myself or someone else made them becomes chaotic. I have pushed the dates back so much that even I myself is getting tired of hearing about something that has yet to come to fruition.

Which makes me wonder.....What the heck ever happened to the NEA, the National Endowment of Arts association? I mean far beit for me to believe that Sam is going to fund me some money to make social commentary art, but it's just amazing when I read about how supposed millions of dollars are supposedly allocated to the arts every year, yet no one really gets to see the results, well at least us po' folks don't.

I'm getting tired of witnessing people who can contribute to the upliftment of society in an artistic manner, but have to scrap and scrounge just to get noticed. Who knows how many great poets are lurking in the midst of the cafe lounges trying to be heard, or visual artists trying to get their expression out to the public, but also have to clock in the morning after.....Talk about a kill joy!

More on that later, but in the meantime here is a nice vid I saw about graffiti art and one of my favorites, Mohammed Ali. I'll be back....Peace

Burnley Murals from Mohammed Ali - Aerosol Arabic on Vimeo.

THE POINT OF NO RETURN......

Peace y'all

It's 10:09am, I just went out to my car, and it was dirty again from the storms that came from the recent arctic blast. I washed this thing last week from all of the dirt that had collected from the storms before. My car was beginning to look like I had just competed in a Monster Truck exhibition. Now it looks a repeat performance.

Anyway, I was unable to attend the exhibition at the South Dallas Cultural Center last week. The weather was brutal. I'll give it another swing this week. I want to get to it before they go to another exhibit in February....

I am feeling much better since the cold/flu thingy has subsided. This one lingered longer than usual, keeping me from having sustained sessions with my artwork. Thank God I was able to finish a piece to be revealed in the near future, but this working at another job, then coming home to work on another piece is really becoming a strain on my body. It is one of the reasons I get sick more often, as my body does not take time to regenerate the immune system. On several occasions my body gets wrecked from stress, and by the weekend I feel like I played extensive hours of football without any padding. I learned at my job yesterday that I will be moving to another team, due to my present performance. When they brought me into the office, I thought they were going to complain about my recent work, so when they asked me how's everything going, I let them know I was feeling serious burnout. They told me the team I am going to will be more focused on one client, so the stress factor would be considerably less. The less stress that I really need is the less stress of switching modes that I endure on a weekly, if not daily basis. Switching from one mode where I have to hear constant complaints without the ability to respond except in what they say is a "professional" manner to a mode where I get to say whatever is on my mind is not an easy task; thoughts have to be gathered, and time to reflect in this Bluetooth Society that I call it(I'll explain that later) is at a minimum. There have been times I have thought of hanging up this art thing, but then I think of why I named myself and my artwork Quwwa...Determination... Will Power....Maybe I'm being tested to see if I practice what I preach..

I've come to the realization that I have reached the point of no return. I have met people who have become touched by the work, and since that is part of the objective, I feel I can't go back. This thing has become a part of my being. I have started something that needs to be finished. I can't think of chumpin' out and going to hide in the corner now. Plus I got a family at Iseecolor that will hunt me down and find me if they ever heard of me puttin' it away.

Maybe, God Willing, just maybe I will be able to make this full time. Then all of the stress and anxiety endured will be a purification for my soul. People at my job comment on my demeanor and stated that although I expressed burnout, they never saw it. I read during the past Ramadhan that one of God's attributes is that of forgiveness, even to the point of not letting the troubles and afflictions we put on ourselves become obvious to the people. One young lady commented that they have never saw me sad or upset, they always found me smiling... God is Great..



SHAKE IT OFF......Take care y'all