Tuesday Open Thread

Posted on July 12, 2016 by rikyrah

ALL OF THIS ALL DAY, EVERY DAY……

Go GRANNYSTANDINGFORTRUTH

AM I AMERICAN
My eyes are not blue
My eyes are black
My hair is not blond
My hair is black
My skin is not white
My skin is black
Am I American?

If I am assertive
They say I’m belligerent
If I am persistent
They say I’m pushy
If I am confident
They say I’m aggressive
Am I American?

Birthed in America
Took my first baby steps
Not on foreign soil
But in America
Buried my ancestors here
Their blood stains from toil
Am I American?

I pledged allegiance to the flag
And sung patriotic songs
I baked and ate apple pie
Yet my black brothers were hung
My emotions suppressed
My black soldier man died
Am I American?

Fought for freedom
But confined to certain residents
Paid my citizen debts to Uncle Sam
I helped vote for Presidents
Yet, suffered disparity throughout life
But because I’m black
Intelligence they say I lack
Am I American?

What others think or say I am
I do not give a damn
I am who I am
An American

Written by
GrannyStandingforTruth

This entry was posted in Civil Rights, Current Events, Gun Violence, Hate Crime, Healing, Human Rights, Institutional Racism, Jim Crow laws, Justice, Open Thread, Police bruality, Police violence, Politics, Protests, Racial Bias, Racial Profiling, Racism and tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

131 Responses to Tuesday Open Thread

  1. Liza says:
    July 12, 2016 at 10:54 pm

    Not one of his better known quotes…

    “I’m tired of marching for something that should have been mine at birth”.

    Dr. Martin Luther King, 1967

    Reply
  9. rikyrah says:
    July 12, 2016 at 8:39 pm

    ummm…

    posted without comment

    https://vine.co/v/57WBZAmLAqD

    Reply
    • Ametia says:
      July 12, 2016 at 8:47 pm

      BWA HA HA HA HA HA

      I think if FLOTUS & Barbara had let go of his hand, G-DUBYA wouldn’t broke into the Electric Slide.

      Reply
      • Liza says:
        July 12, 2016 at 9:09 pm

        OMG, Ametia, you are funny. Yeah, I watched this live and noticed that Dubya was feeling the rhythm which, IMO, was inappropriate for the solemn occasion. Makes me question if he’s playing with a full deck these days.

        Reply
      • Liza says:
        July 12, 2016 at 9:12 pm

        The way FLOTUS is looking at him is so interesting. Kind of a mixture of concern and asking herself, “Am I going to have to do something about this any second now if it gets worse?”

        Reply
    • Ametia says:
      July 12, 2016 at 9:26 pm

      He’s definitely looking like one loaf short of a slice! This whole service was quite surreal.

      Reply
      • Liza says:
        July 12, 2016 at 11:16 pm

        Yeah, something has changed. I felt it last week even before Dallas. PBO tried to speak to the many sides of this current crisis, but he didn’t really succeed despite his eloquence. If an “open heart” is the way forward, then we are all doomed.

        Reply
  14. rikyrah says:
    July 12, 2016 at 8:27 pm

    Luvvie’s at it again:

    …………….

    My Melanin-Deficient Readers Respond to Negotiate Terms of #BLAXIT
    Awesomely Luvvie — July 12, 2016

    Yesterday, I published a post on what Black folks will take with us if we decided to make our exit (BLAXIT) from the United States. It was jumped off by Ulysses Burley III at The Salt Collective and basically, we are taking EVERYTHING awesome. Because we created/invented/brought them.

    My white readers realized that they will be left with emptiness, and their comments made me howl. Some negotiated, some hit their wall slide, and some insisted we bring them with us. My Asian and Latinx sisters replied too, because they will be on our side: because minority solidarity.

    Here are some of the conversations, from my comments and my Awesomely Luvvie Facebook Page.

    Melissa: Heavens, I think us white people are down to dried peas and smallpox.

    Josh: I’m just a white dude but I will miss most of this too much. Can I come along if I promise to be cool?

    Tesha: Josh, because you asked nicely (and because we might need some manual laborers in Onyxica), yes, you may join us. Just know your stay will be subject to periodic reviews and you’ll be rooming with Wayne Brady.

    Lauren: You’re going to leave kitten heels aren’t you? Just for spite.

    Luvvie: Hell yeah. We want this to hurt.

    Carly: I like kitten heels. My beauties, I will barter with you. I am going to create the IBJLC, the International Black-Jewish Lady Coalition, it will make NAFTA look like a joke. Mmmm, you’re gonna want some of this pastrami on rye, Donna Karan knits and polio vaccines. I will trade you some Law for some Jazz. <3

    Jessica: We gotta take the polio vaccine and any other medicinal breakthrough based of the use of HeLa cells. Just saying.

    Cynthia: Welp. With that, white society has been annihilated.

    Reply
  23. rikyrah says:
    July 12, 2016 at 7:31 pm

    https://twitter.com/CHlSMOSA/status/751945255671390208?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

    – – – —Pedro was 19 y/o Latino boy shot down by undercover police in an unmarked car. “The officers, driving an unmarked car, followed Villanueva for several miles into Fullerton and tried to stop him. Villanueva made a + U-turn and drove toward the officers, who opened fire, according to Fullerton police.”

    How was he supposed to know they were police? This is why doing
    undercover work is considered dangerous and illegal in some states.

    Reply
  24. rikyrah says:
    July 12, 2016 at 7:30 pm

    So, I am sitting in a meeting with three supervisors and legal. All is going well, until legal says something that I have never heard of before. And, I am like “excuse me, what did you just say? ” , because hearing right would mean a sea change for my department. I look up, ready to scowl at my supervisor, when I realize that I verbalized what they were thinking. NONE of them had a clue. I miss my old Supervisor already. She would have made sure that we knew about the change in the law.

    Reply
  32. Liza says:
    July 12, 2016 at 5:22 pm

    John Hurt…This man’s voice could calm down a Cat-5 hurricane. I listen to him so often lately.

    Reply
  33. yahtzeebutterfly says:
    July 12, 2016 at 5:11 pm

    No chance for LOVE:

    https://twitter.com/TimPaluch/status/752974589555150848

    Reply
    • Liza says:
      July 12, 2016 at 3:30 pm

      Have y’all noticed (of course you have) that hardly anyone is paying attention to this? Everyone knows Judge Barry only knows one verdict when a cop is on trial – acquittal.

      Reply
      • yahtzeebutterfly says:
        July 12, 2016 at 3:54 pm

        Such a mess. They should have been tried as ONE group because they as a group are responsible for Freddie Gray’s death. People’s trust needs to be restored in the justice system… the way this case is going is not helping to develop that trust.

        Liza, did you hear about this horrific killing of a 92 year old lady? :

        https://twitter.com/KeeganNYC/status/752654941626531840

        Reply
      • eliihass says:
        July 12, 2016 at 4:05 pm

        It’s been proven to be – and everyone including those running the sham trials, knows it’s all just a farce…designed to humor and dismiss..

        Reply
      • Liza says:
        July 12, 2016 at 4:19 pm

        OMG, no, I have not heard about Kathryn Johnston. But, sadly, it doesn’t shock me. None of these stories shock me anymore. Being old and frail is no guarantee that one will not be a victim of a race killing.

        Reply
  38. Ametia says:
    July 12, 2016 at 2:43 pm

    I don’t give a RAT’S ASS about what anyone says or thinks about what my thoughts and feeling are on the subject of these cop killers, and that includes PBO, FLOTUS, and supporters.

    My and your families are being affected by these killings. The police we encounter DAILY are not our friends. We have direct experiences with them.

    Until these killer cops are brought to JUSTICE. I’m not buying the ‘precious good cops protect & defend’ BULLSHIT.

    Reply
    • eliihass says:
      July 12, 2016 at 3:17 pm

      Can’t say I blame you Ametia…

      Like so many, I too am so exhausted and completely jaded…And these days, all the ‘right’ words and good speeches just ring hollow for me…

      Like you said, now what…what comes next…will there be a change of heart for the better…and will it last …and grow and take permanent hold…

      I pray so…we are so overdue for real progress…a progress where justice, fairness, mutual respect and a level playing field – at the very barest minimum, are permanent features…A progress that insists that every last one of us no matter our race, where we started, our current station in life, religion, has worth, and is valued and valuable…

      But even as jaded as I am these days…nothing quite pleases me like a sighting of FLOTUS taking her rightful place next to her husband at important functions such as this…

      Reply
  39. Ametia says:
    July 12, 2016 at 2:27 pm

    So POTUS has ending his sermon at the Dallas memorial service. Now WHAT, America?

    Reply
  40. Ametia says:
    July 12, 2016 at 2:22 pm

    Isn’t it just like America for the BLACK POTUS to put forth the IDEA that Alton & Philando are human beings, and to get on the side of RIGHT.

    And no I don’t need the PO PO, unless the system of racists, biased, hatefulness is dismantled and built anew.

    Reply
  41. Ametia says:
    July 12, 2016 at 2:17 pm

    OUR BLACK BROTHERS & SISTERS WHO HAVE BEEN MURDERED BY COPS NEED NATIONALTELEVISED MEMORIALS SERVICES, ALSO TOO!

    Reply
  42. Ametia says:
    July 12, 2016 at 2:13 pm

    We are ASKING THE POLICE TO STOP KILLING US, PRESIDENT OBAMA.

    If that’s asking too much, well….

    Reply
    • Liza says:
      July 12, 2016 at 1:09 pm

      Well, this is the deal Bernie cut to move the non-binding Democratic “platform” to the left. I haven’t been overly excited about the platform. I’m still waiting for the universal healthcare that Bill Clinton promised in 1992.

      Bernie did the best he could with some major obstacles from all of the forces that converged to get Hillary into the White House. I will forever be grateful to him for challenging her.

      My expectations of the Hillary presidency are very low. As a nation, we should be horrified that this has come down to Trump and Hillary for our choice of a president for the next four years. There is never a good time for an unqualified person to become president, but these times seem especially bad. God help us.

      Reply
    • Liza says:
      July 12, 2016 at 1:21 pm

      I know that a lot of folks out there think Hillary can change, that she just might surprise us. Hell, I would bet even she thinks so herself. Well, hope springs eternal, but leopards don’t change their spots.

      Reply
  54. SouthernGirl2 says:
    July 12, 2016 at 12:24 pm

    Pete Sessions says “we have to be careful with our words, our language”, says community leaders gathered w/ religious leaders and went directly to the AA community & said “We hear you”.

    Reply
  55. SouthernGirl2 says:
    July 12, 2016 at 12:15 pm

    Pete Sessions is calling for unity. Says we must stand together. ISH just got real to them.

    Reply
    • eliihass says:
      July 12, 2016 at 12:36 pm

      The pain and hurt and rage from loss, dehumanization, injustice would be lessened to some extent, if in the end all these senseless murders caused some much-needed introspection – and wrought some positive conversions…and progressive action for the greater good…

      Reply
  60. SouthernGirl2 says:
    July 12, 2016 at 12:07 pm

    In my best southern drawl..

    Drip dryin’ in the summer breeze
    After jumpin’ into Calico creek
    I was walkin’ down an old dirt road
    Past a field of hay that had just been mowed
    Man I wish you’d just left me alone
    ‘Cause I was almost home”…

    Reply
  61. SouthernGirl2 says:
    July 12, 2016 at 12:04 pm

    I’m so so sorry. I love Craig Morgan’s music. Country music is in my blood. Almost Home is my favorite.

    https://twitter.com/WLTX/status/752909176473550848

    Reply
  62. SouthernGirl2 says:
    July 12, 2016 at 11:56 am

    President Obama called #PhilandoCastile’s mother.

    Reply
  63. SouthernGirl2 says:
    July 12, 2016 at 11:55 am

    Glenda Hatchett representing #Castile family speaking on @CNN

    Reply
  64. Tyren M. says:
    July 12, 2016 at 11:47 am

    Hello Granny SFT,
    I felt that. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
    • Ametia says:
      July 12, 2016 at 12:00 pm

      That’s should be a NIGHTMARE for GOP and any other pol who uses incarceration and voter suppression tactics to deny our rights to vote.

      Reply
    • Liza says:
      July 12, 2016 at 12:38 pm

      That ex-felons should be denied the vote is outrageous. A debt paid is a debt paid. Period. Restore their rights in all 50 states.

      Reply
  68. rikyrah says:
    July 12, 2016 at 11:24 am

    From TOD:

    jacquelineoboomer
    July 12, 2016 at 11:19 am
    Iesha Evans on the Bayou

    The ones who were afraid in Baton Rouge
    Were the ones carrying the “red sticks”
    Not the warrior queen who visited from the north
    On behalf of her five-year old son
    So she might invest in
    His having a better life.

    A better life
    Than the sons of other mothers
    She had gone there to mourn with
    And stand proudly for.

    She repelled the “red sticks”
    Who were few in number
    But seemed to grow into
    A wall before her
    As she stood her ground
    Quietly in front of them.

    She was a nurse who cared for others
    Who said she was now “a vessel”
    Doing God’s work.

    The young queen arrived in regal garb
    Regal in that it adorned her presence
    Regal in that it could almost be said
    To adorn ours.
    She dressed for the moment
    So that – standing in the hot sun
    Of righteousness and pride –
    She could feel as though
    She were floating
    In God’s air
    In Baton Rouge.

    The “red sticks” took her away
    Took her away from her son
    Took her away from her duties
    Took her away from the cameras
    And the tributes.

    But the imprint she left
    In the hearts and minds and souls
    Of all of us
    Remains
    As though someone had gone out
    And built a statue
    Of a modern-day goddess
    In every town in America.

    The young queen
    In the flowing garb
    With diamonds in her closed eyes
    With grief in her open heart
    Sharing the secret:
    How to be a woman
    How to be a mother
    How to be the vessel
    How to show us the way
    To Baton Rouge.

    She stood silently on the gravel
    She never spoke
    But when we close our eyes
    We can almost hear her say
    “Ain’t I a woman?”
    So that someday her son may say
    “I am a man.”

    Reply
  69. Liza says:
    July 12, 2016 at 10:05 am

    SG2, check email again.

    Reply
  71. Liza says:
    July 12, 2016 at 9:36 am

    SG2, check your email.

    Reply
  76. yahtzeebutterfly says:
    July 12, 2016 at 9:23 am

    Copy

    Reply
  78. rikyrah says:
    July 12, 2016 at 8:15 am

    Uh huh
    Uh huh

    ………………………….

    New radio clips find more controversial Trump comments on women

    Donald Trump’s vast history of controversial comments about women is no secret — and a new trove of radio clips from the mid-2000s provides even more fodder on that front.

    The newly discovered Trump clips, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, are from “Trumped!”, a series of 60-second commentary clips from Trump that aired on syndicated radio from 2004 to 2008. In one, he suggested presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton would “make a good president”– but he also spoke frequently and extensively about other women, and in ways that will do nothing to further endear him to female voters.

    In one clip, Trump said he was surprised that most women disapproved of having one-night stands.

    “I thought today’s women were independent and had a lot of sexual freedom,” he said in a 2006 clip. “Well, I guess they fooled me.”

    Another clip focuses on a man in Saudi Arabia who divorced his wife because his wife had been alone with a man — referring to a presenter she’d only ever watched on TV.

    “There are a lot of male chauvinists in this country who really agree with what’s going on over there,” Trump said. “Men in Saudi Arabia have the authority to divorce their wives without going to the courts. I guess that would also mean they don’t need prenuptial agreements.”

    He continued: “Saudi Arabia sounds like a very good place to get a divorce.”

    Reply
  79. rikyrah says:
    July 12, 2016 at 8:13 am

    Voting Should Be Mandatory on America’s College Campuses
    Requiring students to vote as a condition of enrollment could help boost dismal youth turnout.

    by Katherine Oh
    July 12, 2016

    If historical trends hold, only about half of the young Americans eligible to vote in the upcoming presidential election will actually do so. Despite abundant media coverage about millennials fired up about their respective candidates, a poll this spring by the Harvard Institute of Politics showed that only 50 percent of 18 to 29 year olds were planning to “definitely” vote in the fall. That’s on par with the 49 percent of voters aged 18 to 29 who said the same in 2012 and the 45 percent who actually did. By contrast, 72 percent of seniors cast a ballot that year.

    “Bernie Bros” aside, youth turnout at the polls is dismal in comparison to older voters. Seeking to help counter those trends, many colleges encourage their students to vote by offering campus polling sites, voter registration forms in dorm move-in packets, candidate forums, and so forth. While those efforts are all well and good, it’s also clear that they’re falling short. That’s why it might be time to try some sticks along with the carrots to boost youth turnout.

    Specifically, colleges and universities should require their students to vote as a condition of their enrollment. Instead of just nudging students to vote, make them do it. Graduate them into voters like the schools mean it.

    After all, if Yale University can establish carbon pricing on campus to curb carbon pollution, why not establish a voting duty for its students? If Liberty University can dictate hairstyles and require all students to attend “convocation” three times a week, why not require participation in elections?

    Reply
  80. yahtzeebutterfly says:
    July 12, 2016 at 7:23 am

    Today President Obama will honor the lives of the Dallas officers killed in an ambush last week as the nation will watch and mourn. My prayers and sympathy are with their loved ones.

    I only wish that Louisiana Sheriff O’neal Moore had received this kind of national response in 1965.

    From Wikipedia:

    Oneal Moore (1931- 1965) was the first black deputy sheriff for the Washington Parish Sheriff’s Office in Varnado, Louisiana. He was a 34-year-old Army veteran, and he had a wife and four daughters.

    He was murdered by alleged members of the Ku Klux Klan in a drive-by shooting on Wednesday, June 2, 1965. He was driving home from work, when a pickup truck pulled up alongside. An occupant in the truck shot at Moore and his partner, Creed Rogers, another African-American deputy sheriff. Rogers survived the shooting with injuries, and broadcast a description of the pickup truck on the police radio. Moore had been receiving threats since joining the force, but stayed on the job. Rogers completed a career in law enforcement.

    Two suspects in the shooting were arrested in Mississippi not long afterward. One was Ernest Ray McElveen, a known white supremacist. The police filed no charges due to a lack of evidence and witnesses. The cold case was reopened in a new investigation by the FBI in 1990, 2001, and 2007, but they did not bring indictments. McElveen, the prime suspect in the case, died in 2003.

    https://youtu.be/cUw4utwDQ7g&rel=0

    Only after 48 years was Sheriff O’Neal Moore honor with a memorial plaque:

    https://youtu.be/SF_bnIbJolU&rel=0

    Reply
  82. rikyrah says:
    July 12, 2016 at 6:40 am

    Bravo Granny.
    TELL THAT TRUTH! !!!!!

    Reply
  83. rikyrah says:
    July 12, 2016 at 6:39 am

    Good Morning 😊, Everyone 😆

    Reply

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