Today I’d like to draw some attention and show some love to a country that I can’t help but admire and have heartfelt sympathy for; Haiti. To say as a nation they’ve had more than their fair share of hard times and bad luck is an understatement! They are the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere with over 55% of the population living in poverty well before Hurricane Matthew hit, and I’d guess that figure has now risen some. I know there are plenty of countries deserving of aid but when I think of Haiti’s history they’d be the top of my list – and what better time to reflect on this than Black History Month?….I’ll tell you a better time – IF WE INCLUDE ALL OF THE OTHER 365 DAYS OF THE YEAR!! Why are we the only people willing to accept having our history condensed to one month? #JustSaying.
Like so many other countries their problems began after being “discovered” by Christopher Columbus in 1492, bringing with him diseases such as smallpox to help wipe out the indigenous people and leave who remained to work in gold mines and on plantations. Then the French came to stake their claim, bringing with them thousands of slaves from Africa to develop and work on sugar plantations. Around this time black people outnumbered white people by about 10-1 and they finally decided enough was enough. The Haitian Revolution started in 1791 – 1804, ending with Haiti seeing off the Spanish, French and British led by a former slave and the first black general of the French Army, Toussaint Louverture. Haiti became the first independent nation of Latin America and the Caribbean and the only nation in the world established as a result of a slave revolt. All but one leader of their government were former slaves. That’s BIG, and shows exactly what can be achieved when we unite.
Unfortunately the rest of the world were not so accepting of a country run by slaves and made things hard for the Haitians to thrive with no one willing to support their nation so many fled to the US. Fast forward a couple centuries and for those who chose to remain Mother Nature and sheer greed have had a devastating effect on an island full of history. In 2010 they were hit with an earthquake that killed hundreds of thousands of people and left them in ruins. But hold up, don’t fret, it’s all good, because here comes the UN and the ARC (American Red Cross) and the likes of the Clintons to save the day…..and what a grand job they did of that!😑
Ten months after the earthquake came a cholera outbreak – the first outbreak EVER to have occurred in Haiti. What the UN try to keep quiet is the fact it began near a base where Nepali peacekeepers were staying – and guess what was rife in Nepal at the time? Waste from their base leaked into the river and it spread like wildfire. The UN still class the origin of the epidemic as “undetermined”, but even one of their own advisors seems pretty determined that they are responsible for what occurred. To top all that off, the millions of dollars collected to provide relief in the form of 700 houses and much needed shelter by the ARC resulted in them building just six -SIX!, and very little has been done to really help by the other charities so tell me – WHERE DID ALL THE MONEY GO? It wasn’t spent on or in Haiti that’s for sure.
That brings us to the most recent devastation caused by Hurricane Matthew with a death toll of 1000 and rising. Still reeling from the effects of the earthquake six years on, Haitians are urging people not to give their money to the ARC – once bitten an’ all that! There’s been a few posts on certain celebrities such as Usain Bolt, Shakira, Beyonce and Jay Z donating millions to help Haiti but so far I’ve found them to be untrue – which really is a damned shame. Maybe if they’d made a profile support option on Facebook as they did for others Haiti would warrant a little more sympathy and attention by the masses. Sorry, I’m forgetting, it’s not really a tragedy until Facebook confirms it! 🙄The mainstream media soon brushed off their misery with the struggles of Amerikkka and their dozen deaths (and rising) and people with no electricity having to be evacuated to safety. I mean no disrespect to their dead at all, I’m just weighing up the devastation caused to both countries in comparison to the amount of coverage and level of sympathy shown and it sucks!
I urge my real, conscious celebrity brothers and sisters to step up to the plate and help Haiti. Those fabricated stories in the media could be a reality, no question about it, but we live in a society where it’s more acceptable to worry about and support a woman who was robbed of millions of pounds worth of bling than to worry about and support a whole country in dire need. It’s a mad, sad world for real!
Haiti you are not forgotten. R.I.P to all those who have lost their lives.
Children of Aleppo you’re in our thoughts still too.
I know I’m repeating myself but imma say it again, the world would be a boring place if we were all alike. It’s good to have differences, our own opinion and a healthy debate every once in a while. It helps us to understand the other persons viewpoint and hopefully understand them a little more – though in most cases recently I’ve got to understand them a LOT more than they realise! It’s all good though – I’d prefer to know the real wo/man behind the mask any day! Who’s got time for let’s pretend?
Most of us have an opinion on what has happened and is currently happening to Black people and it’s amazing how many varying levels of debate there are to be had. What’s less amazing is the amount of bullshit that some people believe or are sold into. It doesn’t help when certain celebrities choose to keep working in house and promote the madness! One recent post I saw asked, what does it mean to be Black? I was mystified by some of the responses.
Hollywood obviously pays some enough to make them colourblind as they don’t see themselves as Black; they were born in Amerikkka and are an Amerikkkan human being – BY NO MEANS AFRICAN!!! They do not define themselves as Black as that is not the colour of their skin blah, blah, blahhhhh…..some will suck it all up because these figures are in the limelight and say yay, we can all live as humans and get along! There is no Black and White, we see no colour just peace and love. I suppose some could mean it, but personally I believe that it’s the colours green and gold which brings about the blindness! #JustSaying.
Thankfully I have the right credentials to answer the question for myself. What it means to be Black to me first and foremost is PRIDE – I am proud of my heritage despite the many setbacks we’ve faced. For centuries we’ve been used and abused and classed as lazy, dirty, worthless people, yet for centuries it was us who did ALL the work, cooked, cleaned and raised White peoples children whilst fighting to stay alive and keep our children alive – and the great White man did fuck all but rule us and reap the benefits of our free labour.
The truth is they knew our worth before a lot of us did ourselves and would do anything to keep us from recognising it. That’s why any great leader we have had and any attempt to truly better ourselves, i.e the 1920’s Black Wall Street in Tulsa, are wiped out without a backward glance. They know the truth of how great we could be and it scares them shitless. TIME FOR US TO RECOGNISE!
I will always stand proud and never let anybody tell me I’m a lesser person than anyone a lighter shade than myself; be they white or a fairer skinned, dazed and confused brother or sister, the same rule applies – YOU WILL BE GETTING TOLD! When you know OurStory alongside HIStory then you can get a better understanding. I’ve seen people rant on about Black History Month asking where White History Month is and I really have to laugh. White History Months run from January to December continuously – it’s all we were ever taught in school with the only mention of anything in regards to Black History being one of slavery and oppression. That’s the reason why we celebrate OurStory, because there is so much more to us than that which they choose to account of us. I understand where the concept of Black History Month came from but personally I don’t need a particular month to celebrate it, that’s not to say I won’t participate in any events at that time, I’m just saying my interest won’t end on the 31st and a lot more of us need to make the conscious effort not to let it too!
Secondly – BLACK IS MY COLOUR!…well…no…not literally – I’m more of a Nutella brown to be fair but I’m more than ok with being called Black. Considering the issues that are going on in the world right now I wonder at those who take the time out to argue this particular point. Got all the time in the world to air that out but stay silent when we are literally dying in the streets for being the same colour you would like to wash your hands of. Why? There’s no shame in it – being Black does not make us dirty and unlovable like being White doesn’t make them pure and true. I’ve seen the videos about not being black and being labelled, and how we’re all the same but in different packaging, and that’s true to a certain extent and great in an ideal world – but this world is far from ideal and unfortunately the ones who run it see our colour prominently and it’s not all love! You may not want to see it but others always will. #RealTalk.
Lastly being Black to me means a love of my ethnicity, culture and a love of our spirit. We originate from some of the most beautiful places with the richest resources in the world and we are strong, resilient and some of the most talented people on the planet. No, we’re not all perfect but show me a collection of people that are. I don’t think there’s any other culture that has influenced so many others in regards to music and dance and swagger – they wannabe us but don’t want to be us! It’s flattering and insulting at the same time but it’s all gravy! As much as they try to bring us down we still remain standing and that’s why I started with pride and will end on it too. Only those who wish to do us down and keep us down will say we have nothing to be proud of. #RealTalk.
BLACK IS MY COLOUR ~ WOULD’NT BE ANY OTHER!
R.I.P to all those who have lost their lives this week.
Good luck to those moved on from the Jungle camp. I hope you find a resolution to your plight soon.
There’s only one subject I could think of to write about as it’s STAND UP TO CANCER day. I doubt there are many people who haven’t been effected by it in one way or another and will undoubtedly be digging deep whilst being entertained by a whole host of comedians and celebrities knowing that they’ve done their bit to help.
I understand the want to eradicate this terrible disease and myself donated to Cancer Research for nearly 20 years – then I actually got cancer, and after feeling the effects of chemotherapy it led me question exactly what kind of research it is that they are doing.
After having a phone call with an advisor I advised them that they would not be receiving another penny from me. I’m not suggesting you to do the same, but I do want to make you aware of how they really roll and think hard about who you give your money to.
After months of agony and misdiagnosis an emergency exploratory operation discovered the cause of my pain and that’s when the real joy started! Looking back, once the cancer was removed and I’d had time to heal I actually felt good; a little weaker but the best I’d felt in a very long time.
I had one of the best holidays of my life in the Caribbean with the sun, sea, surroundings, good food and my peeps being the best medicine I could have asked for. I cut short my holiday to come home and start 8 months of chemotherapy and I only wish I’d known what lay ahead! Hindsight’s as big a bitch as cancer!
Cancer Research UK is the culmination of two of Britains leading cancer researchers joining together. One was the Imperial Cancer Research Fund who I first started donating to back in the 90’s.
They were the first to be founded in 1902 with the intention of providing funds to help research and find a cure. Chemotherapy came about in the 1940’s after it was found that being exposed to mustard gas significantly reduced white blood cell counts – so obviously after testing it on mice they were good to go on to human test subjects.
They found it targeted the cancer cells yet it also destroyed healthy cells but considering this was their biggest cancer breakthrough to date it was a keeper!
Now as far as the pharmaceutical companies were concerned they’d hit the jackpot! Not only could they develop a drug to help fight one thing, it has the ability to cause multiple side effects that you need more drugs to counteract. KERCHINGGGG!!!
I knew enough about chemotherapy to know it wasn’t going to be pleasant but knowing about things and feeling them are completely different.
You’re given a long ass list and booklets etc of the possible side effects and despite knowing what could happen it doesn’t compare to death – which is the picture they paint you – so you prepare yourself and crack on.
I’m not exactly sure when it was I decided to question what was being done about researching a more natural treatment.
Maybe it was somewhere between the severe diarrhoea, vomiting, neuropathy, lack of taste, lack of energy, fear of catching a cold, low blood count and blood transfusions, tiredness, hair falling out, fucked up skin…or it could have been when I was sat down on the Eden Ward watching a nurse wearing a protective apron and gloves giving me medication going directly into my body that she wasn’t even allowed to touch with her bare hands!
When I called Cancer Research to ask them what developments had been made on finding a less harsh and more natural alternative he told me they were looking into things but not enough research has been done yet. I kid you not!
I told him about what I’d heard about cannabis oil and was told that I shouldn’t use anything that wasn’t regulated and that there’s not enough known about it to know how well it works or what the side effects will be.
ARE YOU BLOODY KIDDING ME?
So your research only goes as far as looking into chemotherapy and nothing else? You’ve been raking in cash since 1902 and yet with all the billions you’ve had in that time, in 2014 (which it was then) you are no closer to finding something that doesn’t destroy you whilst fixing you? – and it is only a fix, not a cure.
The research companies originally had good intentions. They used to be about helping the victims of cancer, now they’re about themselves and the pharmaceutical companies making money – END OF STORY!
When I went on to their site I found this little gem under their section on cannabinoids and cancer:
“Virtually all the scientific research investigating whether cannabinoids can treat cancer has been done using cancer cells grown in the lab or animal models. It’s important to be cautious when extrapolating these results to real live patients, who tend to be a lot more complex than a Petri dish or a mouse.”
Can we please just take the time out to comprehend what they are saying.
They are telling us that they’ve done the research but are cautious about testing it out on humans as we’re more complex, yet they have no issues with administering and working on more drugs they know for definite are toxic to humans and cause damage and death. And nobody is questioning this?
Another article said they were discussing making a synthetic form of THC. Why do you need to make a synthetic form when the real deal can be naturally sourced in abundance? Why? BECAUSE IT’S ALL ABOUT THE MONEY, HONEY!
Yes, I’m in remission now but I’m not fully out of the woods for another three and a half years. A lot of people would argue it’s the chemo that saved me but I beg to differ, my operation saved me without a doubt – I’m not willing to give that credit to chemotherapy, sorry, not sorry!
They’ll shock you with their adverts stating 1-2 will get cancer and they are endlessly working to fix this with a little help from us. You need to question how, in this day and age, the stats are so high if they’ve been working so tirelessly.
They know the effects chemotherapy has on the body and that hasn’t changed in decades so why not look into something that’s not going to cause more pain and discomfort to someone who has suffered enough?
As the one in two I would have loved to have been given an alternative. I would gladly have been the test case because I’ve felt the side effects of their fix and I can’t see a plant based alternative doing me more damage than what their official remedy did! #JustSaying.
If you don’t believe me go online and look for yourself. Check out the dodgy deaths and “accidents ” of holistic practitioners who are seen to be proving too popular with the masses.
Realise that Cancer Research and the pharmaceutical companies don’t want us to know we could grow a cure of our own that works just as well as chemotherapy, without the debilitating side effects, because where would that leave them?
STAND UP TO CANCER by all means but STAND UP TO CANCER RESEARCH TOO!
Ask them why after nearly 75 years chemotherapy is still the only option they want to treat us with.
If you want to support cancer patients support Macmillan as they really are there for the patients and their families, I bear witness to this. They were a Godsend and continue to help me now and I will be forever grateful to them for that. I only wish I’d given them my money for nearly 20 years.
R.I.P to my neighbour and all those who have lost their lives this week.
As I’ve mentioned in my previous blog Forgive Them Father, I was raised a Christian but choose not to follow any specific religion, although I understand other people’s choices to do so and the need to have faith in someone/something, especially in these times we’re living in.
I have my own belief system and I’m all good with whatever it takes to help you make it through, as long as you don’t preach to me unless I ask you to, don’t use your position and power to take the piss and you don’t take it to the extreme.
I don’t want to focus on THAT group of people who have managed to desecrate my daughters beautiful name…well not today anyway, but after watching a clip recently of an N.E.D member (New Era Detroit) disrupting a church service by yelling “Power to the people”, it raised one of the issues I have with religion; that being those type of shepherds who like to fleece their flock!
Don’t get me wrong, I understand that a wo/man has to make a living and for many it’s a full time job, but considering what that job is, some of the wages y’all are paying yourselves seem highly exuberant! #RealTalk.
I’d never heard of New Era Detroit before and admit I still don’t know a lot about their movement but after watching an interview with the guy who disrupted the service I had to agree with his principal on this particular matter.
His objection was to the tithe being paid to the church in comparison to what was being put back into the community and what was put in the good pastors pocket. Not gonna lie, I had to google the word tithe despite being raised a Christian and then I realised it was the offering or donation.
Once upon a time they use to pass round a collection plate or pouch and you’d drop some change in, maybe a note or two from others or the regular churchgoers, but nothing major. Nowadays they’re passing round buckets and dropping in wads – I’ve witnessed it myself!😳I was honestly dumbfounded!
I know they don’t force folk to give up the cash, but tithes mean it’s at least 10% of your earnings given to the pastor or church as instructed by some testaments to provide for their services.
Now I have no objection to donations and offerings, as I said before. They are doing a job and deserve to be paid, but I believe there’s a whole heap of them who pray on their parishioners faith – or in some cases deaf, dumb and blind faith!
I’m sorry (not!) but I’ve done some research, and it’s pretty hard for me to sit and listen and not question someone preach about the life of the Lord and how we should be living our lives when they’re multi-millionaires being chauffeur driven, living in mansions and rocking private jets to help them spread the word.
The majority of their congregation could only dream of living the way they do – yet will gladly hand over their hard earned cash on a regular basis to help support their lifestyle – my bad, spread the faith. It’s a huge industry and their fingers are in many pies raking in funds from books, DVD sales and seminars etc, but it’s ok because it’s written in the bible so if it’s good with the Lord, it’s good in the hood, right?🤔
I haven’t read the bible in a while and I don’t remember everything I was ever taught but I do remember some things: gluttony and greed are sins and I’m pretty sure Jesus was more hippy like than high flyer!
I also remember that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. So tell me why someone who is supposed to love all of Gods creations and do his work would sit their ass on millions and not use their platforms to address the current situation going on in His world?
What are you doing about the shit on your own doorstep? Where are your prayers and funds for Syria and Haiti?
You know you could live a good, comfortable life on a fraction of what you have and you can’t take it with you, yet you would watch your followers and community suffer whilst telling them to pray for better days ahead as you pray they’ll hand over enough this week for that upgrade on your private jet to fly you back to your lakefront mansion.
Obviously I’m not talking about all churches and pastors, I mean no disrespect to those who are doing right and I know that some do give back to the community and live modestly.
I applaud them and what they do, but to the shysters out there, I’m praying someone takes the time out to check YOU on your 10% and then some, as I’m pretty sure your outgoings to the people would be a damn sight less than the income you reap from them.
Personally I believe there’s a reason why tithes looks so similar to thieves! I hope they’ve prepared themselves for when their time comes to meet their maker. I heard God don’t sleep!👀
R.I.P to the hundreds who have lost their lives due to Hurricane Matthew. Spare a thought for those who have lost everything in its wake.
Do The Right Thing, Stay Blessed & #CelebrateLife
Keeping it short and sweet this week. It’s been one of those ones for me – feeling rough, slightly stressed and hormonal, combined and working in unison with the mad, sad vibe of the world; and it’s seriously pushing my buttons….but it’s all good!
I know life’s not a bed of roses, and at some point we’re faced with some kind of shit to challenge us. Some are dealt more than others; as is being proved everyday for those who care to see it, yet we all have it in common. All types of people and many different causes – but it’s shit all the same!
I’m quite a strong person and I try not to dwell on the bad for long, but it does make me wonder what makes certain people tick and do the things they do without any kind of conscience whatsoever – on a personal and global level. I know we can’t all think the same way, and the world would be a boring place if we did, but waking up everyday to stories of another brother losing his life for no other reason than the colour of his skin, newborn babies left on buses to die, bullying little bastards filming their actions and thinking it’s jokes, families being wiped out in Aleppo in one fell swoop and the general level of fuckery going on has got me asking, WHERE IS THE LOVE?
Thankfully my experiences this week are nothing in comparison to the above, but no matter how big or small a pile I have to sift through I know I’m blessed to have someone to share it with. Yes, it can be great being single; and I’m all for self love, a big fan of personal space and welcome me time – but there’s also a lot to be said about being part of a couple.
It’s the knowing there’s someone that (hopefully) gets you, and you can come home to or call and know that shit’s gonna be alright. It’s amazing what a few little words can do to lift a cloud. I’ll be back on track next week but today I just wanted to show some love to my loves and to one and all.
These are some serious times we’re living in, and life is short and extremely precious. It’s not helped by the fact there are others out there who’d like to make it shorter or more miserable for whatever reason seems justifiable in their minds. We never know what’s around the corner so put a little love in your hearts and make sure you show it to the ones that deserve it. Hopefully karma will sort out the rest that don’t!
R.I.P to all those who have lost their lives this week.
Live-Laugh-Love, Stay Blessed & #CelebrateLife
I’m sure you’re more than aware of at least one of the police shootings over this past week. If you’re a fan of social media you really can’t escape it and the majority of us have some kind of opinion on it. I’ve previously voiced my own (feel free to look back on previous R.I.P’d Off!’s and Forget You to know exactly where I stand), and I can’t help but notice where certain types of white people stand too – and I’d like to respond to a few of their comments.
Firstly there’s the ‘it’s horrible what happened BUT we don’t know the whole story’ type. At this time no, we don’t know, but from the footage that is shown, as in the case of Terrence Crutcher, he was walking away slowly with his hands in the air and did not pose an imminent threat on their lives – as in acting erratically and brandishing a weapon. That should be the only reason you shoot – as a last resort after all other options have been exhausted – but that is through my eyes, and even though we can watch the exact same footage we will never see the same story; I’m watching it in full colour and they are only seeing black and white. In their eyes the Black dude – sorry, ‘bad dude’ – must have instigated it all somehow and they’ll offer up any excuse to justify the actions of the officers, even if all they can say is ‘we don’t know the whole story.’ Well, I don’t need to know the full story to know the ending.
I know enough about the characters and have my own personal tales to tell so I’m speaking from experience when I say the major issues I’ve found with them is they’re either racist, scared, power hungry or all three – and the majority of the time we’re dealing with all three; which isn’t a great combination at the best of times let alone the worst.
Then there’s the other type who would have you believe all is not as it seems and the media is to answer for everything. They cause hype and hysteria and it’s not as bad as it seems to be out there – they’re using us to cause unrest. They’ll fling statistics at you about more White people getting killed than Black and remind us that all lives matter. They’ll encourage you to research facts and look deeper. Well, thanks for that bit of advice but I’m pretty sure you can’t get much deeper than roots deep and that’s where we’re coming from. We’ve been living it but now that it can’t be hidden as easily you would try to wrap it up and call it something different or shift the focus and make out we can’t see what’s really happening. There’s never been any justice for us and that has never been an issue for you all, but now you’re getting no peace and that’s what’s really upsetting the masses. #RealTalk.
Feel free to voice your comments, but don’t patronise us with your advice as you sit there comfortably in your White privilege. Our hiSTORY is enough to know the whole story without the help of media outlets and Facebook putting their spin on it. Maybe you’ve forgotten but we haven’t. We were only ever wanted so we could be used and abused and now we’re an infestation you want rid of because you can’t control us and you fear us, so you kill us. How about YOU look a little deeper than our skin as that’s where the real problem lies. You root out the house negroes to support your cause and ask us what Obama has done for us – what the fuck have any of you done for us?
We’re not naive enough to believe he could make a change even if he wanted to. He’s the token Black face of a White House. He doesn’t run things. His strings are being pulled by a government that’s racist, rotten and corrupt to the core. You fear and call out our Black Power groups as racist murderers and thugs yet the system is rife with the same as you LEGALLY have members of the KKK and other white supremacist groups as police officers and in every form of power and control – but we have nothing to fear. They can keep their emotions in check and it has no effect on their ability to do their job. Yet I could lose my job for nothing more than having dreadlocks. Says it all!
We’ve reached our limit and are telling you enough’s enough. All we want is the chance of equality and the ability to live in peace as we go about our daily lives without the fear of losing it because someone fears our colour more. Is that really too much to ask for? If Syrians are like a bowl full of Skittles then we’re like a bucketful of M&M’s; it has fuck all to do with poisonous ones and more to do with the fact that there’s no white ones in the packet.
R.I.P Terrence Crutcher and Keith Scott