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Missy Elliott - Gossip Folks [Video] Ok so you and I both know someone or you yourself have been a victim numerous maybe even several times of this action.  Something long as we know humans to exist will be something to never die out and long live as long as we as humans rule planet earth and that is something we like to call “Gossip”  The true definition of Gossip is- Casual or unconstrained conversation or reports about other people, typically involving details that are not confirmed as being true.

We all have been there done that we laughed, mocked, and made fun of the victim of the week the persons who’s business is being registered to the world like Lottery tickets and you engaged in a period of time you will never get back talking about  someone to escape your own reality for the moment. I myself have found myself being the gossiping queen or the person being gossiped about in life it works both ways. So here are a couple ways that I choose to deal with Gossiping Folks of the world and the beings we have to interact with everyday.

First a big part of dealing with people who gossip about you is understanding gossip and the thoughts that run through the mind of those who are gossiping about you. It has been said that the person who gossips is someone who carriers some resentment towards you and doesn’t have the courage to face you directly. Maintaining your inner piece and prestige is a very good way to dealing with gossipers, also try giving it a couple days before you react on the situation this could be a key factor so you are not acting off of emotion to the situation. People will gossip because its a new day, the sky is blue or because their sister just had a baby those people try to make themselves more worthy by saying or thinking they are better than someone else. Try to understand you cannot prevent, treat, or cure Gossip this is a side effect that will be around for many generations or until the human race realizes that this particular action really serves no purpose to the world except chaos and beef.

A tragedy has occurred! A young man lost his life and an officer is on the verge of losing his career and possibly his freedom as a result of a series of events that occurred in the wee hours of the morning.

Picture this… You’ve just got in a car accident.  You exit the vehicle and now you are moving down the street looking for help.  You stumble upon a house and bang on the door because it is late at night/early in the morning (depending on your view) and your intentions are to wake the inhabitants up so they can possibly help you.

Picture this… You’re a woman at home and it is about 2:00 A. M. and you hear someone knocking on your door.  It was loud enough to wake you from your sleep.  When you get to the door you open it thinking that it may be your husband since he isn’t home.  You are confronted by an unknown man and you immediately shut the door and call 911.

Picture this… You are a Police Officers arriving in the vicinity of a possible breaking and entering call.  Then you see the potential suspect down street.  Instead of going in the opposite direction of you he begins to come towards you.  Only you know what went through your mind but after it was over a young man was dead from gunshot wounds all from your service pistol.

After the incident Jonathan Ferrell is dead and an investigation quickly ensues.  His car is found up the street and it is evident that he has been in an accident.  There were no signs of forced entry to the woman’s house nor the attempt to do so.  The officers arrive and one felt threatened by his approach and discharged his weapon.  In the aftermath Jonathan Ferrell lost his life and Officer Randall Kerrick was arrested for voluntary manslaughter.

A couple questions immediately popped into my mind.  1.  What has happened/contributed to the public view that before a word was uttered that this man’s intention was immediately perceived as criminal?  2.    From my knowledge it is common practice for suspects to run/evade law enforcement.  So how could his attempt to approach law enforcement get him shot several times?  3.  It is evident that training needs to be done but how do we prevent this from happening again?

Is everyone in our society equally protected under the law?

 

There job is to protect & serve but are these officers being held accountable when they violate a residents right. Justice seems to be one sided & no one really cares until these incidents affect them. True crime is on the rise & these officers must uphold it at all cost. But how do we determine if a officer has crossed the line. What qualifies as being too aggressive & unjust. Take this situation for instants a 28 year old alleged drug dealer was shocked twice with a stun gun & later died. to some of you, you might say he was a drug dealer.  But anytime a officer gets away with a crime it makes them more bolder & eager to apprehend  the next suspect. Which they will use more force, more aggression. These stun guns are meant to seduce a individual in a matter of seconds. The high voltage has enough electricity to knock someone down to there knees giving you enough time to apprehend the suspect before the affects of the electricity wears off.

Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Deputy Chris Guidry shocked Javon Rakestrau  28, twice after he allegedly became uncooperative when he was questioned about a drug deal. Javon was shocked for seven second & then the second shocked was for nine seconds. now be honest seven seconds is a long time to be shocked & if you can’t gain control in that amount of time something is wrong.  With the high voltage three seconds is more than enough time to control the situation. The second shocked lasted nine seconds. The autopsy reported the young mad died from bronchial asthma but the report also states the altercation & results of the stun gun is a contributing factor to his death also.

The settlement was reached last month. The civil suit claims the deputy use excessive for & after the first shocked suspect should of been subdued. From the shock of the seven seconds before he was shocked again for a longer period of nine seconds.  Although deputies found a small amount of Marijuana on him there actions were uncalled for. Now we must embrace accountability.  We want the criminals to be accountable for there actions & it should be the same for an office. right is right. When you decide to  use a deadly weapon you must be trained & forced. everyone should have to be stunned to get control as well as everyone should have to be shot either. I use to live in Lafayette parish & this isn’t the first incident with the stun gun. there were four other incidents were someone was stunned with these guns. Ironically they all died & the citizens demands they be investigated.

Sometimes as officers get calls to come to these same neighborhoods & same areas, these officers automatically assume we are committing a crime. So as they confront us or apprehend us their mentality is that we are criminals & our right doesn’t matter. So that tend to handle the situation will force & no reguard for anyone’s rights. When you don’t feel safe in your community  from the violence as well as the corruption from the law, you want get any cooperation from the citizens. some many people witness crimes & don’t talk because there scared but also because they don’t trust the police either. Everytime you read the paper or watch the news there’s another story of a officer violating someone’s right & etc. Making it hard for the community to trust & making it easy for more violate crimes to occur.

Reguardless no one deserves to lose their lives so my sincere apologies goes out to Javon’s family. this man was a part of your family & now he’s gone.

Sugary sweet

Something big and fat in my mouth

Just blowing and blowing

Waiting for the big pop

To splatter over my mouth and chin

The sweetest taste I ever tasted

Making my head spin

So sweet and succulent, I’d love to swallow it

(yelling quickly) But I’d rather spit it out, Watch it fly across the room, like a dagger, Hit him in the back of his neck, Stinging him hard, reeeeeeeel hard!

And when it sticks, ooooh

He’ll touch it

Then his hand pink and sticky

Will be wet, with my sugary saliva

stuck between his fingers

And he’ll think twice before touching

My butt again, when the teacher isn’t looking

Because now I’m Bazooka

Flowrite

The Dream Defenders are on a mission to #takeoverfl and after 20+ straight days in the capitol of Florida their presence is most certainly felt.   What do they want?  They want Governor Rick Scott to call a special session.  Why?  The Governor has the power to call a special session to enact what the Dream Defenders termed Trayvon’s Law which would repeal stand your grand, ban racial profiling, and end the school-to-prison pipeline.  Governor Rick Scott met with the leadership of The Dream Defenders on July 18, 2013 where he listened to some of their concerns and personal stories.  Nevertheless he declined to call a special session.  Instead he said he would call for a statewide day of prayer for unity.  As a result The Dream Defenders decided to stay at the Capitol.

In the days since that meeting with the Governor several celebrities (Harry Belafonte stopped in and Jessie Jackson spent the night.), clergy, organizations, and youth from all over the country have visited the Capitol in order to show support to The Dream Defenders.   A group of my friends had a conversation in which it was decided that we would camp out in the Capitol with The Dream Defenders.  Our rationale?  If people from all over the world could reach out to The Dream Defenders and show support for the stand they’re taking then we were obligated to do the same being that we live in Florida and those crucial issues directly affect us.  So we put our actions where our mouth was and hit I-10 to Tallahassee, Florida to spend the weekend with The Dream Defenders.

When we arrived we were so excited!  I remember going through the security check point with my bags.  I took a couple things that I felt I would need to make me a little comfortable and hold my attention such as my laptop, kindle, paper and pen (I’m a writer at heart), sleeping pad, pillow, and light blanket.  After I made it in I saw some others that I knew from different seminars and trainings that I’ve took advantage of over the past year and a half and all of a sudden it turned into a family affair if you will.

As 5pm approached I looked at Renata Hannans (Author of P.S. Never Give Up Hope:  Advice from Youthful Offenders to Young America) and Yolanda Webster (Poet, Co-Founder of NuLeaf Body Care, and an Advocate for the Youth) with a look of excitement, uncertainty, and knowing that now we were in the thick of things.  We found our spot on the hard floor of the Capitol and set up our camp.

The rest of Friday was spent with various people/organizations identifying who they were, why they were there, what they do.  That session ended with Senator Bullard gave an inspiring speech on Friday night.   Afterwards dinner was served and then we continued getting to know one another and networking.

It was amazing to get to know people from all over.  We discussed similarities, differences, what worked, and what didn’t.  It was definitely a family atmosphere and you saw plenty of smiles and laughs shared.  From the outside looking in you would have thought everyone in there had been together for years.

Saturday came and the Capitol was closed for normal business.  You would think that it would be a day of rest and relaxation right?  Wrong! Time is a valuable commodity and it was used wisely.  So immediately after breakfast workshops and trainings began touching subjects such as The School to Prison Pipeline (Florida is rumored to have the largest one), Mass Incarceration, and Youth Criminalization just to name a few.  Plenty of knowledge was dispersed at those workshops.  As a matter of fact by the time I looked at my time piece it was dinner time.  After dinner we had an exercise in which we did something that often times get neglected.  We told people that we appreciate them and the sacrifice that was made in order to be there at that moment!  It was so powerful it ended with us giving an off key rendition of “Lean on Me”!  It was an epic moment to say the least.  Then we had a SKYPE session with a group of supporters across the country literally!

Sunday came faster than we thought it would.  Renata woke me and Yolanda up at 7:00 am.  We had plans to get on the road early little did we know our plans would change.  After we packed up our belongings we began to say our goodbyes and were overcome with a melancholy feeling.  It was time to go but we wished we could stay in the atmosphere just a little bit longer.  So reluctantly we left the Capitol close to 1:00 pm and only after we promised to stay in touch and return.

I must say if you heard our conversation or our inner thoughts you would see how that was truly a life changing experience.