THOUGHTS ABOUT BLACK BLEED OUT AND REPARATION

THOUGHTS ABOUT BLACK BLEEDOUT AND REPARATION – stopping the blood not the pain Time was well into the 1970s before the American Government and most white people grudgingly began to accept American Descendants of Slaves in the economic political and educational areas of the most powerful country on earth. For hundreds of years White American built a fortune on the misfortune of Black Americans. For hundreds of years whites were the only people paid for the work they did. Justice was the exclusive possession of white people. That justice was made possible by the injustice issued to black people. In short black people paid for the privilege white people enjoyed and still benefit from. For those hundreds of years black people bore the cost of injustice without benefit. The injustice heaped on black people has ripped the fabric of their humanity to shreds – their bodies and souls have been torn and left to bleed out. Even the most well intentioned white person is reluctant to grant black people the opportunities they have had and still enjoy. There is a deep fear in these whites of too many blacks having more money and material benefits than they have. So when the American Government moves to remedy the effects of injustices done to black people white people invade the courts in protest. In the past their protest was demonstrated through mob vengeance. Reparation is intended to at least stop the bleeding in the American Descendants of Slaves (ADOS) communities. Black people have borne the cost of injustice too long and the debt is too high to ever be paid in full. The American Government should authorize reparation and White Americans should stand aside and let justice take root in injustice that is centuries old. ADOS

FIRST NOVEL OF A TRILOGY

HARVEST THE DUST: Trailer – please share https://youtu.be/Ud4KyD3YKVI For Ebooks: http://www.amazon.com/Adolphus-A.-Ward/e/B00OSDSSRC, For Soft Cover Price and Delivery: adolphusward@aol.com – Give Book Title ADOS

THOUGHTS ABOUT BIRTH AND DEATH

THOUGHTS ABOUT BIRTH AND DEATH – death comes with birth My alter ego is an ET kind of person. He allows me to travel throughout the solar systems galaxies and universes – I am not earthbound. I strive to think outside the limits of our planet. I avoid being slave to the same conversation in the same way. I don’t find comfort in repeating one answer to a question especially when that answer is mine. There is something sickening about mothing the same response over and over again as if it’s the only one I’ll ever have and I’m holding on to it for fear of having nothing else to say. There is one thing I’ve found to be true and bears repeating without hesitation and that is everything that comes into existence eventually dies. Some have cynically said that everything is born to die. That might be true metaphorically but in reality it’s not. What is true is that birth and death are one; there is not one without the other. Another truth is that everything that comes into existence is unique – no one thing is exactly the same as another; cloning may be an exception. Out of the billions of human beings, animals, flowers, stars, galaxies not one is exactly the same as another. The inevitable death of all of these can be seen and felt through the process of ageing. Science tells us that all thing are made of star stuff; just as stars eventually die so too will star stuff. My balding head wrinkling and sagging skin greatly contributed to me choosing the identity of my alter ego. One morning before dressing I caught my full body reflection in the vanity mirror. It was the first time I took an up close view of my aging body. When I was younger my star stuff was packed tight. There was definition in my muscles and my back didn’t stoop as much. Now the hair was leaving my head and growing around the nipples of my sagging tits; parts of my once solid body seemed to be melting. The reaction to my new image was and still is: ain’t this a bitch shit fuck!! ADOS

SURFER

SURFER Her chin scoops into cleavage then with mouth agape in muted scream snaps upward sending violent surfs undulating along lean limbs to reach her hysterical toes. A deep breath and she paddles to meet another wave. ADOS

THOUGHTS ABOUT VIOLENT RACIAL CONFLICT

THOUGHTS ABOUT VIOLENT RACIAL CONFLICT – focus in black and white I was having coffee with a small group of retirees and conversation flited about from the election results to a mass shooting at a club in our area of Southern California to the asylum seekers now entering Mexico on the way to the US and the race and economic divisions dividing in our country. A few in the group seemed to be totally reliant on fate, God’s will, as if they are helpless in changing the course of events destine to cause negative outcomes. Our little group may not be a representative sample of all US Citizens but one can be sure it is probably symptomatic. A growing number of Americans, black and white, see violent race conflict as inevitable. Some whites have tried and will continue to try and create optimal conditions for a Race Riot. Some whites do in fact hate black people; they will do whatever they can get away with to make the lives of black people miserable even to death. Fortunate for our country there are citizens, black and white, who think independently and not with the heard following the lure of propaganda. Independent thinkers know the power of expectation; they know that expectation can lead to reality – especially when one only relies on fate or the will of God. It is what race haters and independent thinkers do each day that becomes the recipe for racial coexistence or madness. adolphuward.net

THOUGHTS ABOUT REPARATION FOR DESCENDANTS OF AMERICAN SLAVES

THOUGHTS ABOUT REPARATIONS FOR DESCENDANTS OF AMERICAN SLAVES – for Government sanctioned slaughter of African Americans If you are an American and consider yourself a descendent of slaves you are eligible to be part of a group being formed to submit a formal petition to the Government for reparations. “BREAKING BROWN “ is the name of the group – see You Tube – and its leader is Yvette Carnell. Subscription is Free. The groups’ primary goal is to secure reparations for American Descendants of Slaves, DOS. As a member of “Breaking Brown” you would be adding your voice to a petition demonstrating the love respect and duty to our ancestors, and to the present and future descendants of slaves. Reparation IS NOT a gift; it is not SOMETHING for Nothing. It is just payment for the harm done to us as a people. Reparations will not suddenly undo the irreparable devastation inflicted on us but it will help us gain stable psychological and economic footing in a highly competitive world. Go to “Breaking Brown” and subscribe – do it now. PLEASE SHARE adolphusward.net

THOUGHTS ABOUT CONCENTRATING AFRICAN AMERICAN POLITICAL POWER

THOUGHTS ABOUT CONCENTRATING AFRICAN AMERICAN POLITICAL POWER – scattered parts weaken the whole, PLEASE SHARE The complexity and pace of life here in America, moreover the world, has increased the necessity for black Americans to concentrate their effort to increase political sophistication and power. Working only to survive individually or as a unique group is no longer beneficial for all African Americans. The reason is that competition is intense for federal dollars and policies among racial groups and the political sophistication and number of groups is increasing. Vital resources – jobs, education, reparations, income, affirmative action, healthcare etc., that flow from our federal and state governments through taxes is finite and will go to those persuasive groups who are organize with a single political voice. African Americans do not have a single political voice; we are a scattered people – we are creative, intelligent but scattered. Religious, political, and secular groups typically define themselves by exclusion. Those inside the group see themselves as correct in their point of view and those outside as incorrect and failing, lost, condemned. Group insiders tend to be obligated to take the opposite view to that of outsiders. Some insiders view outsiders as an enemy to be destroyed. African American groups and individuals must develop common political objectives irrespective of group identity and goals. This will take creating alliances across group and individual lines. We don’t have to love or agree with one another to aide in the propagation of a common political objective: it doesn’t take creating or joining a group to be in political solidarity. The question that should be asked and answered is WHAT IS THE POLITICAL OBJECTIVES VITAL TO THE HEALTH AND WELBEING OF AFRICAN AMERICANS now and in the future. Turn the answers to this question into a political mantra to be propagated by the mouth and pen of every group and individual. Direct the mantra to all branches of government, private and public organizations, including the media. A group or individual can kill the influence and impact of the mantra if it is conditioned upon the accepting of a politically conflicting group or individual goal. Individuals attempting to acquire a more effective political voice may find benefit in subscribing to a group whose primary goal is to develop a political agenda that best serves African Americans – Descendants of Slaves, DOS. I have subscribed to the organization BREAKING BROWN, Yvette Carnell, You Tube, as a vehicle for developing and amplifying my political voice. PLEASE SHARE THIS and OFTEN adolphusward.net

THOUGHTS ABOUT LATEST SUPREME COURT CHANGE

THOUGHTS ABOUT LATEST SUPREME COURT CHANGE – even more of the same The latest change in the court’s makeup will further divide the country in gender, race, and wealth. The principle driver for these changes is and has always been rich powerful white men. Most people who devote time to thinking rather than relying on the benevolence of a God and men who present themselves as caring individuals are aware of this fact. Thinking citizens were not fooled by the thousands of women demonstrating that the will of the rich and powerful white men would yield and take a more favorable course. Thinking black women should be aware that their pain and that of all African Americans will be more intense and lasting than that experienced by Caucasian Americans. This is true for all blacks across all indicators of growth: jobs, education, income, and physical/ psychological health. African Americans, more now than ever before must look away from what separates us toward those things vital to our earthbound wellbeing. Prayer will only have some benefit when it is followed by a physical person planning, gathering necessary resources, employing those resources, and evaluating the outcome. Blacks should make alliances with whites only when it benefits black people, no exception. I picked up a spin from a black community leader, Yvette Parnell –BREAKING BROWN on You Tube, to an old notion of mine. I have often said that to identify ourselves as African is inappropriate; African American is a little clumsy to me but comes closer to a usable identity. Yvette added something to African American that defines us more clearly. We, blacks are descendants of slaves and slave owners; we are DOS – DESCENDANTS OF SLAVES. Some of us wish to take slavery out of the equation of our lives – we get real silly trying to define ourselves as persons and cultures viewed by many as contributing most to the growth of mankind. Blacks occupy pages in those contributions but we didn’t write the whole book. It is absolutely correct to think that African American ancestry reaches into antiquity – a time when life was coming into the knowledge of itself. adolphusward.net

THOUGHTS ABOUT REPARATIONS FOR AMERICAN BLACK PEOPLE

THOUGHTS ABOUT REPARATIONS FOR AMERICAN BLACK PEOPLE – slavery and government restrictions to black development Commentators and pundits have saturated the American public with enough information of the subject for every literate or semiliterate American to know what it is and whether or not they approve or disapprove of it. I don’t expect this post to move you one way or the other. What I do intend is for you to consider a pundit’s point of view I witnessed just the other day. I should let you know that I have read a considerable amount of information on the subject, both pro and con. I have known for some time that there are black literate Americans who are against reparations – I’ll let them explain why because I’ve tried but still don’t understand their rationale. I think the case for reparations is engraved in black slavery and the government sanctioned laws and enforcement baring black American development. Grave harm has been and continues to be done to black Americans at the hand of our American government. The pundit Yvette Carnell of the video program Breaking Brown gave reparation a spin I hadn’t heard before. She said, I’m paraphrasing, that black people paid and is still paying the cost of slavery and the government restrictions to black development – slavery has a monetary and emotional cost as does government discrimination on the bases of race. American black folks have borne and are still bearing that costs all alone. WE’RE SORRY has no account at a bank. REPARATIONS! adolphusward.net

THOUGHTS ABOUT TAKING TIME TO LIVE

THOUGHTS ABOUT TAKING TIME TO LIVE AND NOT JUST REACT – just reacting gives others control In life shit comes to us that is irritating and designed to knock us off balance. Some of the shit brought to us is delivered by other human beings and is intended to keep us off balance. When we’re off balance we don’t think well – it is easy to control us when we’re off balance. Reacting to every irritant will leave us exhausted and vulnerable – could lead to losing our lives. If the shit is being delivered on a regular base we have to decide which of the shit is most harmful. I have found that most shit deliveries can be returned to sender – don’t even bother opening the shit. Deal with only the shit that puts you in harm’s way. Check with others to see if they’re dealing with the same shit – shit has a way of fucking with more than one person. Plan how you’re going to keep the shit off you; I mean plan – define the shit, what it is, how it affects you, what is its source, what are its strengths and weaknesses; plan how you will irritate the fuck out of the shit deliverer so he/she doesn’t bring you more shit. The other day and I was on my way to a coffee shop in West Hills when a traffic light gave reason for me to stop and admire a sunset. The hills were in silhouette and the sky, fellow nature lovers, was a pallet still under the creative brush of an artist. The clouds had been stretched across the canvas and given a gauzy texture imbued with colors to confound the senses. I don’t have words, at the moment, to tell the colors but if you’ve ever gone to a place to witness the full fall colors then you have a hint. I often take time to live; doing so enables me to handle the shit. adolphusward.net.

THOUGHTS ABOUT CHURCH AND OPIOIDS

THOUGHTS ABOUT CHURCH AND OPIOIDS – a twin relationship So that you understand the way in which I use these twins a brief definition follows. I do not mean to say that one is the same as the other; I do mean to say that church and opioids serve the same purpose in that both seek to relieve anxiety and quiet pain. I use the word church generically – I mean any person(s) who has faith in an all knowing god; a god who has a heaven and hell and the power to destroy the universe. I also use the word opioids generically to mean all substances (drugs) that alter reality. I grew up well before the age of the internet and social media; I welcomed their coming and use them regularly. As a writer much of my research is done on line. The vast amounts and variety of information and the speed at which I can retrieve it still amazes me. The speed at which new information is coming into being is like the exponential expansion of our universe – impossible to keep up with it. When I was much younger the sources of information was periodicals the library radio talking with others and a bit of tv. There was another important source that I used all the time – that was observation. That brings me to the reason for this post. The once vibrant neighborhood I grew up in was gutted by employers leaving, expressway ripping the heart out of the community, and population density out stripping available resources. I began to observe a strange occurrence that at first I found hard to believe. The neighborhood was dying but new life was beginning; that new life came in two forms: church and opioids. At first that made absolutely no sense to me – then the light came on. When a person or a people have increasing levels of anxiety and pain they seek to rid themselves of what is driving the anxiety and too quiet the pain – church and opioids hold out a promise to do both: but the down side is likely to lead to addiction. adolphusward.net

THOUGHTS ABOUT WHITE FAMILY AND FRIENDS

THOUGHTS ABOUT MY WHITE FAMILY AND FRIENDS – no equivocation I love my white family members and friends – I really don’t give a fuck about those who might condone or condemn it. It has taken time to develop these relationships and they have grown to have value. A mature thinker knows that I could not give what I don’t possess. The love for my black family and friends reaches infinitely farther back in time than that for whites; the reason is obvious: I and my ancestors are African. Because whites enslaved me, tried to strip me of my humanity it is not possible for me to love all of them. Monogamous relationships with a white person can be frustrating for most black people and their white significant other; since the past and present of the black experience is fraught with white injustice anxiety is a constant emotion in black people – venting that anxiety will either embarrass or anger their white partner; to keep the peace a black voice may be muted or silenced altogether. I know that the progeny of black-white blood mixing have made it easier for me to openly love some whites; but only when a white person reciprocates that affection. I don’t love anyone who hates me or mine; I will harm anyone who tries to harm me or mine. I don’t share the mindset of those who want to separate the races; human activity is forcing some form of integration whether we like it or not. All of us share common services and spaces: public facilities, banking systems, water systems, road systems, transportation systems, communication systems, communities and more. There are those who try hard to avoid contact with other races and cultures but that’s becoming increasingly difficult as populations move and mix about the earth. I don’t see the eventual browning of humanity that some fear; most cultures will retain unique indicators. I think all races have more to think about than building walls to separate and isolate ourselves. We’re losing the fucking planet whose death will kill us all.

THOUGHTS ABOUT BARBARIC VIOLENCE TO CHILDREN

THOUGHTS ABOUT BARBARIC VIOLENCE TO WOMEN AND CHILDREN – AFRICA, Democratic Republic of Congo Like all humans I have a dark-side – my dark-side is really dark. Even when I was trying to do the Christian thing I never considered turning the other cheek or praying for a motherfucker who was trying to kill or harm me or mine. In a film the actor Ving Rhames was about to give payback to a bad guy who had tortured him: he said, “I’m about to go medieval on your ass.” My paraphrase to this is I’m about to go postmodern on your ass. Drones were a part of my dark-side pay back long before they became a reality. Ethnic cleansing remains a practice in too many cultures. There ought to be an immediate international response to this practice; the response should ignore sovereignty and brutally squash those who are doing the killing. There should be no room for negotiation. Anyone who’ll take a pleading child and chop them into pieces while the mother is made to watch and then do the same to her, should not be granted any human rights – a most wicked torture should be fair treatment.

THE RENT RELIEF ACT - KARMALA HARRIS

THIS IS POLITICAL Congresswoman Karmala Harris has announced important legislation for renters in California: THE RENT RELIEF ACT is designed to provide renters financial help to offset high rent cost. At 83 I applaud Kamala Harris for the RENT RELIEF ACT and its intent to help me maintain my quality of life. If you rent I urge you to contact your legislator and request their support for THE RENT RELIEF ACT.

THOUGHTS ABOUT PRESIDENTIAL POWER AND STUPIDITY

THOUGHTS ABOUT PRESIDETIAL POWER AND STUPIDITY – mama and daddy should have taught him better It’s a personal insult when a man, particularly a white man known to abuse his power, come into the sanctuary of my race pride and loose his tongue to blaspheme the sanctity of a revered elder, particularly a female elder: IT WOULD BE BETTER THAT HE WERE NEVER BORN.

THOUGHTS ABOUT HUMAN TRADING

THOUGHTS ABOUT HUMAN TRADING – US Government as trader – Please Share Our US Government is expert at trading human beings in exchange for some valuable commodity: like black bodies for labor, human beings for land – for political gain, black bodies for votes, and human beings for domination. Current immigration babies being traded for political gain although sickening is not new – just think Indian, and Black Slave. A close look at the trading process in the US reveals a consistent beneficiary; you will find either a small group of white beneficiaries or white people as a whole. Consider the celebrated end of slavery and you’ll find blacks were traded from one form of slavery to another thus quieting white anger for losing their human property. To insure white purity our government, states, courts and legislatures upheld separation of the races not just in the south but the north as well. Anything that looked like a government benefit for black people was and continues to be legally gutted to be sure whites maintain the superior economic/political position. For example blacks were kept out of lucrative employment legally reserved for whites until recent; but that didn’t stop whites from burying Affirmative Action in the courts. The Welfare System for women and children traded black men away from families and into prison labor. It was and remains illegal for a black man to be in the home of a recipient. Yet today fatherless homes are thought to be a choice made exclusively by black men. There is another trading of black people that has nothing to do with white people or courts. Black people often trade each other to stagnation – this is done by having few or no common goals leading to group progress; blacks waste time debating things of little consequence: such things as the best religion, the skin color of Jesus, abortion, homosexuality, blacks are or are not the real children of Israel, having a black country, being called Black or African, and others. Until blacks stop trading each other, agree to common goals, set unalterable courses for reaching those goals, determine the required resources and methodologies, we will remain vulnerable to being traded by others. adolphusward@aol.com

THOUGHTS ABOUT WHITE FEAR OF BLACK PEOPLE

THOUGHTS ABOUT WHITE FEAR OF BLACK PEOPLE – another view – PLEASE SHARE It is true that an idea repeated often enough will eventually be accepted as fact. It’s become almost fashionable to justify the killing of an unarmed black man out of a justifiable fear – that fear is assumed to be both rational and legal. I have found nothing remotely close to facts that support this assertion. I have another view of why unarmed blacks are killed by white law enforcers and those protecting their whiteness – the killings are driven not by fear but by impunity: nothing’s going to happen. There will be no fine or time in prison; a killer of black life is in fact rewarded with public commendation. Not too long ago the killing by torture and lynching of black people was a public event; a spectacle attended by jubilant crowds of white families – men women and children. Jubilation has not suddenly turned to fear in White American culture. I think that jubilation has been replaced by a conscious effort to put black life in harm’s way. There is a conscious regard for white life. That regard is intensified when a person is young or female. There is a conscious disregard for black life whether old or young or female. A white citizen’s call to police for suspected mischief by a black person is believed to be fact – it’s as if an order has been given by a senior officer who has eyes on a crime being committed. The same call to police for suspected mischief by a white person is first verified before any action is taken. Verification is a must before lethal force is used against a white suspect. Black life does not share the same conscious regard by white law enforcers nor adjudicators. Racism on the basis of color is still in White America’s (the world) blood. www.adolphusward.net

THOUGHTS ABOUT AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURE

THOUGHTS ABOUT AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURE – still evolving¬_ PLEASE SHARE In the strictest definition of the word culture – that is, people with a common language place art belief sense of oneness awareness of the diaspora – the Black Americans culture is still developing; it is not yet mature. Some black folk find it difficult to say they are an American. As a collective, we do not see ourselves Americans. Most of us don’t consider ourselves Africans even though we admit having African roots. We are not a homogeneous group of people. We are clumps of black people scattered about the United States with each clump having only a vague notion of its relationship to other clumps. The African Diaspora is little more than a cliché to most of us. We neither have a collective consciousness of other Africans scattered about the globe nor they of us. Without shared common goals a collective consciousness can never be developed. We are ambivalent about calling ourselves Americans. Our social and political views are all over the place. Until we agree on essential goals designed to benefit all African Americans our culture will not mature to the point of benefit for all. Our place in this country has been bought and paid for by the involuntary and voluntary labor and blood of our fathers and mothers, our fore-parents and our African ancestors. The mortgage has been burned. We maintain our citizenship by serving in the defense of this nation, by maintaining our homes, our neighborhoods and paying our taxes. We don’t have to ask permission to be here in America: it is our home. And everything around us should speak to that fact. We should pay our artist and architects to make that abundantly clear in all of their works. Their works should inspire and inform all who live or set foot in these United States that we are a proud people; that we live here; that this is our home. adolphusward@aol.com

THOUGHTS ABOUT IMMIGRATION

THOUGHTS ABOUT IMMIGRATION – illegal made legal As a black man whose ancestral presence in America was not by way of legal or illegal immigration but by force – I did not choose to be here. It’s difficult for me to kindle pure empathy for those striving to make America their permanent home. I can, however, empathize with any human being who strives for the opportunity to have a better life for themselves and their kind. I can also empathize with the desperation felt when the opportunity for a better life is suddenly made unattainable. Freedom and prosperity enjoyed by white people was in sight of a slave but unattainable. During slavery and the extended period of Jim-Crow laws and accepted social practice black people were not allowed to share in the benefits of their own labor – enforcement was justified by law. This ambiguity in the law has, for a very long time, prevented my blind obedience to it. I think the rule of law is a good thing but the BUT is always there. There may still be a few Americans who believe our country is a kind a melting pot – a jolly jumble of all kinds of ethnic groups. It is in fact a predominantly white country and was intended to be that at its inception. Yes, there were biases between white ethnic groups but that was short lived and more social than legal practice. Beginning with the so called Founding Fathers, white ethnic groups colluded to restrict the populations of Non-Europeans both by social practice and law. Immigration Laws is but one way that enables the government to control our country’s population balance. Illegal immigration is the reason why the subject is such a hot political issue. It messes with the government’s effort to control populations. The illegal numbers are pumped up with propaganda to make it seem the country is over run by non-whites. This hype scared the shit out of some white Americans and helped Trump become president. Some of the hype was directed to black workers saying that illegals were taking jobs away from them – as if blacks were in competition for jobs no one else wanted. During my days of social activism I knew an activist who left me with an indelible Axiom – when the government and major media says it’s true, it’s probably a lie. www.adolphusward.net

THOUGHTS ABOUT WHITE FEAR OF BLACK MEN

THOUGHTS ABOUT WHITE FEAR OF BLACK MEN – another view It is true that an idea repeated often enough will eventually be accepted as fact. I have the habit of examining any idea supported too often by too many people: particularly when the idea is repeated with the same words in the same context. It’s become almost fashionable to justify the killing of an unarmed black man out of a justifiable fear – that fear is assumed to be both rational and legal. Some voices of authority have gone so far as to state that the white fear in rooted in the injustice heaped upon black people by whites and that the specter of a black man is seen as an avenging demon. I have found nothing remotely close to facts to support this assertion. I have another view of why unarmed blacks are killed by whites – the killings are driven not by fear but impunity. Not too long ago the killing, by torture and lynching, of black people was a public event; a spectacle attended by jubilant crowds of white families – men women and children. Jubilation has not suddenly turned to fear in the American culture. However, jubilation has been replaced by a conscious disregard for black life; there is a conscious regard for white life. That regard is intensified when a person is white and young – that disregard remains the same for black people whether old or young. A citizen’s call to police for suspected mischief by a black person is approached as fact – the same call to police for suspected mischief by a white person is approached for verification. Verification is a must before lethal force is used against a white suspect. Verification is subjective when a black is suspect. Black life does not share the same conscious regard as white life. www.adolphusward.net

THOUGHTS ABOUT MISSED MOMENTS OF LIFE

THOUGHTS ABOUT MISSED MOMENTS OF BLACK-LIFE – millions of lives billions of moments This thought has come to me in many forms so I’ll attempt to give it coherence in this post. What I want to focus on is those moments missed while struggling to stay alive. The American government has robbed black folk of more than their labor pride heritage culture freewill family-hood spirituality and self but has also prevented them from experiencing those moments that could have enriched and given purpose to their lives. Following my four years plus of service in the Marine Corp my Father arranged for me to be hired at a large steel manufacturing company in Milwaukee, a company he would retire from after more than thirty years. I’d never been inside dad’s workplace while growing up and it was fascinating to me. Starting out I was a GOFOR, you know, go for this go for that. I worked my way up to assistant press operator; huge machine as tall as a three story building that shaped steel into frames for trucks automobiles and farm equipment – including siloes; during WW-II the company manufactured bombs tanks and other war material. I went to the company’s welding school to learn rod and gas for line work. Line welding is a blend of humans and machines producing parts at a high rate of speed – this is piecework: more parts meant more money. Each person on the line pushes the other to go faster. Repetition gave me and the other workers rote memory – meaning we didn’t have to use a lot of brain power to do the job. That was particularly true of me. I planned my development and that of my family while working on that line. Now I’ll give a morbid twist to my story. A slaver sells me to the company, the company puts me to work on the line for no money, the company hires a driver with a whip whose job is to make me produce lots of parts all day every day into the night, the company allows me to stay in a shack with my wife and kids but the company attends to their needs – they look to the company for everything. I can’t protect my family, I can’t buy my kids candy, I can’t give my wife flowers, I can’t have time for romance, I can’t walk in a park, watch the leaves fall, watch a sunset, speak my mind, I can’t choose to live and at the same time stay alive. We owe it to our ancestors to mend our broken lives – to heal the pathology (sickness) that still plagues us. www.adolphusward.net

THOUGHTS ABOUT LIFE

THOUGHTS ABOUT LIFE – through my eyes and mirror Sunday is my day for assessing what I said I’d do or continue working on, and what I actually did. Lately some weeks my DO STUFF sucks – perhaps its age as in older age. Even though my mind says do my ass says fuck-it. This past week was a fuck-it week. I really don’t know how to do nothing, even when I’m doing nothing. Meaning, when I’m not doing what I said I’d do I’m always doing something; it’s just not what I said I’d do. I said at the beginning of the past week, or more like the past few weeks, I’d work on my memoire and continue work on merging my three novels into one book. I also said I’d do more preliminary work on getting more jobs in film and telephone. Instead of this DO STUFF I’ve been following local and world news events, reading books, sitting in coffee shops and drinking cappuccinos with soy – before my recent heart attack I would drink double espressos. I call what I’ve been doing CREATIVE AVOIDANCE. I haven’t added my voice to those in visual and social media defending or attacking the actions of our President. I frankly don’t think I’m able to add or take away anything significant. I do think some of his actions intentionally divide the country along racial line – in that sense he is a racist. I think we do need to keep close watch on white race haters in order to protect black people, families, and neighborhoods from harm. I also think we need to join hands with black elected officials and black think tanks in fighting to repeal or block the enactment of laws that harm black people. Some black African countries (peoples) are moving to confiscate land and take back control of their natural resources from former white colonizers. More black Americans should come to realize that slavery and discrimination based on race has a value that can be interpreted in dollars, land, and other resources. Black American must come to realize that America owes black people an enormous debt that must be paid. REPARATIONS is not just an empty word it describes actions to be taken to heal the harm, the injustice, done to a people – making them whole and not remain broken. www.adolphusward.net

THOUGHTS ABOUT THE FILM BLACK PANTHER

THOUGHTS ABOUT THE FILM BLACK PANTHER – a story in cinematography I saw the film on Monday following its opening. The theater was near capacity and my mind was captive of the story from beginning to end. My thanks and congratulations to author and director Ryan Coogler for seamlessly creating a tapestry of fiction and reality, of the past present and future – all in a mesmerizing fantasy that both hypnotized and pleased my 6 senses. I bow to Chadwick Boseman Angela Bassett Forest Whitaker Andy Serkis and John Kani for living the soul of the story. My thanks and love to all who contributed to the tapestry. BLACK PANTHER reaches far beyond what is seen on the big screen – it challenges one to go to that place. www.adolphusward.net

THOUGHTS ABOUT MY CURIOSITY

THOUGHTS ABOUT MY CURIOSITY – the why of things I’ve always questioned the why of things in my life or that which influenced my life in any way – love, people, animals, trees, birds, stars, solar systems, galaxies, universes, gods, devils, angels, and aliens. I read a lot so it may be the engine that drives my curiosity. I lost the fear of asking questions about my curiosities some time ago. No one person gives me the last and only position on anything, no one. Love, for instance, has been defined in many ways – some with flowing eloquence. I don’t believe there are many kinds of love. Love is simply an animal emotion where one considers another as themselves. The emotion can be imbued with many intentions: a mother’s affection for her child, affection of one person for another – friendship, sexual, marriage. Some love is imbued with affection for nature, animals, plants and flowers, even for stars. Some love is strong in its intent some weak. The flip side is the hate emotion. As an atheist I don’t believe in a God of any kind. It follows that I don’t believe in a Devil, a Son or Daughter of God or Devil, a Heaven, a Hell, or a Place in between. The people who believe in these phenomena might be right – but I don’t share the belief. What seems to be of more importance to me, than Gods or Devils, is how the human animal will create more love than hate for humans and all else. Our solar system will one day go BOOM!; taking all life with it. The human Hate emotion can now end all life on this planet long before our Sun runs out of gas. Humans are really the only Gods and Devils we’ll ever know. www.adolphusward.net

THOUGHTS ABOUT AUDACITY OF RACISM

THOUGHTS ABOUT THE AUDACITY OF RACISM – unchecked racism fosters violence Bold racism is not a new thing to black people or those of color – slavery, the indiscriminate slaughter of non-whites; the legal deprivation of basic human rights is still fresh in the minds of black people; it is even evident to clear thinking white people. It’s really good to see so many white people take visible stands against our racist president. This behavior, however, has not been consistent; and that makes me wonder if the white reaction is more out of being embarrassed by the vulgar racist behavior of a white president than a genuine concern for the well-being of black people. Extending this notion a little further, history shows that when whites stand to benefit from racism their voices grow weak. I am not one of those who believe racism is like a common cold – love, hot lemon tea, an aspirin and bed rest will cure it. I’ve come to believe that people do what they want to not because they can’t help it but because they perceive a benefit. A racist seeks to dominate and control anyone not like him; a racist, left unchecked, will physically destroy anyone who stands in the way of his complete domination and control. This brings me to the necessary use of violence. More than a few white men have tried to provoke an all-out race war they see as inevitable. When one has intentionally harmed another there is fear and expectation of retaliation. Because of the overwhelming power in white hands blacks have wisely followed a non-violent path of retaliation. But racist should not be deceived by our perceived passivity for we not only die well but also kill well. Our racist president is continuing with his vulgar provocation to create race and class conflict in order to deflect the attention of Americans and the world away from his blatant ineptness for the seat he shits on. www.adolphusward.net