So on this day that celebrates the struggles of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, I can’t help but to think about something my mother said to me last year after the demonstrations to get the Jena Six a fair trial caused more threats. When my mother was growing up, Black folks couldn’t sit in the regular seats in the old Robin’s Theater downtown and it was unwise to be in certain parts of town when the sun went down or you’d catch hell from the police. She was alive during the Civil Rights movement so it’s not some weird abstract concept to her. What my mother said was, “It feels like we’re going backwards.”

I’d been thinking the same thing but I figured it was skewed by my limited perspective. I’m 34, so I haven’t seen the same level of racism she saw. Right now it’s not as bad locally as it was when I was younger. I have stories from the 70’s and 80’s that could easily derail this whole post, but a lot of what I deal with now is stuff like going into a store with a white friend while explaining why employees are suddenly following us everywhere and not going to remembering which stores to avoid because they have prejudiced staffs. What’s messed up is that it’s always seemed like it was getting better up until around 2001 or so.

Back in 2006 I vaguely mentioned on my sites that I had a paid website assignment that I never explained or pointed to. What happened was that someone came to me to put together a website that detailed the workplace discrimination that they were fighting. I can’t go into detail and the website never made it onto the internet, but I saw photocopies of the threats and police reports filled with things that most of America claims to be a thing of the past. I saw things that, excuse my language here, pissed me off. No, not pissed off at white folks but by the fact that the other people in the company didn’t seem to give a crap until it could hurt their public image. Then I was mad that nobody was talking about stuff like this. You’d find more news reports about the squabbles between pairs of iced-out, shirtless rappers than about an innocent lives being threatened.

As irked as I was about that discrimination case, I can’t even imagine what it was like to live in the days of Jim Crow and Sundown towns. Then imagine being Martin Luther King and fighting for the equal right of all people while being the target of both the lawless and the law itself. How do you shoulder that kind of weight when you become one of the focal points of the movement? I heard that the person who performed the autopsy on him said that he was stressed out to the point of having the heart of a 60 year old man. He and the others around the world who fought (and fight now) for equal rights endured a lot of pain in the hopes that those who followed wouldn’t have to know that same strain. So instead of this being just another holiday, this is a day to think about them and thank them for what they’ve done for this world. Sounds cheesy, but I think they deserve far more than that.

January 31st, 2007 will forever be the known as the day that the Mooninites tried to take away our beautiful, wonderful freedoms.

Boston devices a cartoon marketing ploy
FNC dedicates an entire hour to it
On Slashdot

Then, the authorities kick it up a notch:
Arrest Made In Boston’s Hoax Device Incident

I hope whoever planned the whole thing has proof that they alerted the authorities before it happened. By proof, I mean proof that they have in their hands since the police can just throw away any embarassing evidence on their end. Well, evidence more embarassing than an Atari 2600-styled alien flipping them the bird. And besides the fact that the other cities that they did this in (and notified the authorities) didn’t go apespit.

I think TestPattern has my favorite description of events so far:

It’s been pretty hilarious to read the national media coverage of this, especially watching reporters who obviously have never heard of “Aqua Teens” try to describe it. They try so hard to be formal, to be precise, to follow AP style, even with the most ridiculous content. The resulting language makes it sound like no one in the mass media even owns a TV.

Sure, it’s not as funny as Evil Bert cold lampin’ with Osama Bin Laden but this really has made my week and it’s not even over yet.

The Playahata Awards 2006 edition brings the acclaim and shame like Huey and Caesar did back in the Boondocks comic strip. It gives love where it’s due and hits below the belt when it’s more than deserved. Between Playahata.com and Davey D’s sites, my faith in Hip-Hop survives. To tell the truth, I want that t-shirt that Naomi Campbell’s wearing. I’m sure there’s a funny, suggestive line to follow that up with, but I’ll leave that up to you.

Speaking of Davey D, his is one of the sites where I’ve been learning about this RIAA-inspired SWAT raid on a DJ:
Digital Music News
Davey D’s blog
In other words, it took 30 SWAT guys to take down a guy that makes mixtapes.

Finally, farewell to wrestler Bam Bam Bigelow who passed away Friday. He was a favorite of mine back in the day, especially as a big man that could move much faster than you’d imagine. I’ll have to watch that match he had against Taz tonight in his memory. As I thought, Lance Storm has a great tribute to the man on his StormWrestling site. Beast of the East, rest in peace and thanks for those matches and overall coolness.