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The Raw Truth of Michael Brown, Knowledge strikes first.

Autopsy_diagram_HANDSUP_zpsc18f1deeLook, this is a rant pure and simple. No subtlety, no well thought out points and no researched facts. If you want nuance and my honest feelings about the situation, check out NFL Tight End Benjamin Watson’s post about the entire situation. As for me, I am sick and tired of people who don’t give a fuck about black on black crime (and related criminal statistics), random cases of police shootings that are not white cop/ unarmed black man, or any other bullshit argument to try to detract from the Mike Brown/ Darren Wilson “situation” or the outraged that has followed. You don’t follow urban crime closely enough to know whether or not there is an outrage in any of these cities in which you are pulling these statistics from. And we all know that local Chicago crime will not get consistent play on Baltimore TV and New Orleans crime will not be shown on Detroit TV and Oakland gang violence will fall on deaf ears in Washington, DC. Fox News doesn’t give a fuck about curbing inner city crime because it’s not in their demographic. CNN just wants to throw talking heads at the issue to try and generate buzz. And MSNBC will show whatever will get ratings and black people are only 13% of the population and somewhere, there’s some unfortunate white girl/ woman who was the victim of a crime, and that’ll always get ratings. There was no national coverage of Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton organizing and attending anti-violence rallies in Chicago. But it happened. And if you gave a rats fuck about black on black crime, you would already know that. And if you want to get upset about a black cop shooting a white guy or a white cop shooting a white guy, please, by all means, draw attention to the situation. Cause a stir. BE FUCKING OUTRAGED. There’s nothing stopping you. But stop pretending that all your red herring arguments are nothing but a cover for one or more of the following truths: 1) you don’t care about Mike Brown or black men vs. police in general 2) you support the police and think the shooting was more likely than not justified or 3) you just plain ole don’t like or don’t trust black people as a whole. You may have a black friend or two, went to school with some, even had sex with this black guy one time, maybe, but on the whole, your world is white, middle class, and fairly mundane. If you aren’t speeding on the highway, you don’t have police interaction. Your neighbor/ significant other/ relative is a cop and he/ she is a good person. But these thugs running the street need to be stopped and the police are all that’s standing in the way between me and the big bad black guy. And if you are a non-white minority female, you are one white guy away from being assimilated and “protected” in white America.

To be clear a major portion of this backlash against the Ferguson, Missouri outrage is this undercut feeling of “I’m not outraged, why should you be?” These are the same motherfuckers who 1) post their political beliefs on Facebook all damn day and seemed shocked that the whole world doesn’t agree with them 2) are too obsessed with their sports teams and take way too much pride in the accomplishment of others 3) live in a fucking cocoon 4) know 3 or less black people (and may have even 1 close friend) but rarely, if ever, have that heartfelt race conversation or 5) think police brutality is not an issue worth discussing and would rather talk about their hobbies (it’s hunting season!!), their mundane lives (‘tis the season, Happy Holidays) or their uninteresting kids (it’s amazing how average people have superstar kids who grow up to be average people… rinse and repeat). Fuck it, I’m firing shots, and if you don’t like it, ignore it. It’s always your choice to ignore what you don’t like. Just like I don’t like the cops, but I wish I could ignore them. I wish I could feel like I would be protected and served by the police instead of punished and enslaved. I wish that it wasn’t open season on black men for the last 150 years (or to use a historical marker, I’m referring to the end of the Civil War). And I wish NFL Tight End Benjamin Watson wasn’t 100% correct in his assessment of the situation. And I wish you would stop pretending to give a fuck about things that you know you don’t care 1 ounce about.

 

#CivilWar2014 #Michael Brown # Ferguson #EnoughisEnough #PersecutedKnowledge #KnowledgeResponds #PersecutionisInevitable

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Cowardly Shepherd, Knowledge responds to Alabama Aids Factory Juan McFarland

Cowardly Aids Factory, Juan McFarland

Cowardly Aids Factory, Juan McFarland

Sometimes in life, things are exactly what they seem. There’s no nuance, no hidden meaning, no double entendre and no ulterior motive. This is one of those moments. A man who intentionally exposes women to HIV by using his position of influence and leadership to engage in a sexual relationship with them is a coward. There’s no other side to Pastor Juan Demetrius McFarland’s story. Here’s a man who upon learning he was infected with the virus took no steps whatsoever to protect his subsequent partners or even inform them of his status. This is a man who cared nothing for the health and safety of the community at large by failing to realize that HIV/ AIDS is an epidemic that can devastate an entire region for generations. This is a man who co-opted his position as a religious leader to go on a one man crusade against women because he felt some kind of way about being infected. This is a man who claims to be a Christian but has probably never lived by any of the lessons taught in the Bible, lest he should be in this position in the first place. This is a man who couldn’t help but fall prey to his demons and exhibited no moral character whatsoever in the face of adversity. This is a man who failed to exhibit any inkling of common human decency with a group of people he was supposed to uplift. This is a man who failed to actually be a man.

The funny thing about religion is it can bring out the best or worst in human beings. Mother Theresa is an example of the best. Osama Bin Laden is an example of the worst. To be a preacher is to be the shepherd of a flock. But when the shepherd is leading the flock right to the wolves and refuses to even pretend to give a damn about the lives of the flock as they fall victim one by one, there’s nothing positive to be said about said shepherd. There was no mandate for this man to become a preacher. Nor was he forced into this position. And not only did he accept the mantle of leadership, he used his position to prey on women by taking advantage of their spiritual vulnerability and desire to be a part of something bigger than themselves.

Cowardice is not always about running away from the field of battle. Nor is it always about failing to show bravery. Dictionary.com defines coward as a person who lacks courage in facing danger, difficulty, opposition, pain; a timid or easily intimidated person. There a few things in life more difficult than a HIV diagnosis. There are few things harder than telling someone that you care about that you are HIV positive. And there are few things more painful than watching as people whom you felt you could trust or could depend upon distance themselves away from you because you are HIV positive. To be HIV positive is a battle physically, as your immune system slowly dies; it’s a battle emotionally as people refuse to deal with you; it’s a battle spiritually as you question whatever god you believe in as to why he would inflict such a blight upon your life. And to run away from those battles and simultaneously force someone else to go through the same battles solely due to your inability to face your own situation is the height of cowardice. And a cowards actions never fail to leave collateral damage.

Sometimes, the hardest thing to do in life is exhibit common human decency. It can take courage to do something simple or refrain from doing something simple solely because it’s right even. And it takes a special kind of coward to not only refuse to exhibit common human decency, but to do it over and over and over again with no ounce of remorse. It’s not hard to refrain from a sexual relationship with dozens of women. It’s not hard to use protection while engaging in sexual intercourse. And it’s not hard to realize that HIV is a death sentence and to intentionally inflict someone with this virus is tantamount to murder in the most insidious and dastardly way possible. And that is why this man is a coward.

#JuanMcFarland #PersecutedKnowledge #KnowledgeResponds #PersecutionAvenue #PersecutionIsInevitable

To read the original article, Eyes Wide Shut , published October 15