Friendship is Love

I've have had the same best friend for over 25 years and through thick and thin we have been there for each other.  Now as older adults, things change and I find our lives going in different directions.  This blog is dedicated to her and the discussion of relationships in general.

Friendship has many different meanings to different people, it is defined as the following:

• wanting the best for the other
• having sympathy and empathy
• honesty
• enjoy each others company
• trust
• reciprocity- a give and take

Friendship is the beginning of lovers, partnership and marriage thus it takes two to make it work and put forth the same effort.  But what happens if there is no reciprocity? or the other not truly wanting the best for you?  When a friend, lover or partner is not honest therefore the trust is broken how productive is the friendship?  At what point do you bail ship, or remain loyal?  Do you resist the sinking like the Titanic (thus friend SHIP), is that person holding you back?  Out of loyalty do you let go and go down with the ship realizing you are on different life paths, when do you let go?  Can you truly love someone at a distance?

Communal friendship is when you are only there in a time of need, this works for some people. Best friends tend to have a higher level of intimacy than traditional friendships so there should be a little more loyalty and commitment.  Frenemies is a friend that is actually a enemy, you never really know.

Healthy relationships improve mental and social health.  Although studies suggest 25% of people have no close confidants, is their health in jeopardy?  Children who don't develop emotionally have difficulty with intimacy and friendships as adults, this explains why some people cannot be true friends to others.

I like the following quote "a true friend is one who walks in when others walk out"

Moral of this story, the vitamin for friendship is B1.

Peace, Love and Strength

T. Davis

Dedicated to the memory of Ray Anthony O'neal

Let's start out by saying this post is about Trayvon Martin and all Black men and families that suffered murder at the hands of ignorance and racism.  My grandmother's baby, Uncle Ray was murdered in Seattle, Washington at the hand of  a white apartment manger who during breaking up a party of University of Washington students, shot and killed my uncle Ray.  He was acquitted of all charges for self defense, a easy claim by white men who fear Black men and kill them.  Thus this is dedicated to him and all the families and  victims from Emmit Till to Trayvon Martin.

Feb. 26: Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old Florida high school student, is found shot and killed in Sanford, Fla., a community north of Orlando.
Several eyewitnesses report to police that they heard a scuffle, then a cry for help, and then a gunshot.
According to the Sanford police report, George Zimmerman, 28, a self-appointed neighborhood watch captain, is found armed with a handgun, standing over Martin. He has a bloody nose and a wound in the back of his head.
Martin is unresponsive and pronounced dead at the scene. He has no weapons on him, only a pack of Skittles and a bottle of iced tea.
Zimmerman tells police he killed Martin in self defense.
Zimmerman was not arrested, nor tested for drugs or alcohol as procedure calls for in a fatal shooting.
March 9: Trayvon Martin’s family demands that police release the 911 tapes or make an arrest nearly one month after Martin was killed. Police declined to comment at the time, but told ABC News the tapes would be released the following week.

March 19: A 16-year-old girl tells Benjamin Crump, the Martin family’s attorney, about the last moments of Trayvon Martin’s life. Martin was on the phone with her when George Zimmerman began following him. She recounted that she told Martin to run, then she heard some pushing, then the line went dead.
The U.S. Justice Department announces it has launched an investigation into Martin’s slaying.
ABC News also learns that Zimmerman violated major principles of the Neighborhood Watch manual, which states, “it should be emphasized to members that they do not possess police powers, and they shall not carry weapons or pursue vehicles.”
The State Attorney’s office in Seminole County, Fla., announces that a grand jury will review the evidence of the case on April 10.

March 22: Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee announces he will “temporarily” stepping down amid accusations that his department bungled the investigation into the shooting death of Trayvon Martin.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott also announces State Attorney Norman Wolfinger, another key investigator tied to the case, has agreed to withdraw.
Martin’s family meets officials from the U.S. Justice Department.
The Lead homicide detective, Chris Serino is the only one who seems to have some sense in Stanford, he recommended manslaughter charges but the state attorneys office said there "wasn't enough evidence" and they and police department believed it was self defense, Florida law supports deadly force if self defense.
Now if you are a 17 year old teenager and some grown ass man with a gun is stalking you, I'd say fight for your life!  Lets compare the victim vs. murderer:

 Lets also compare my favorite quarter back Micheal Vick, whom I have also blogged about his injustice. Vick received 23 months in federal prison for dog fighting.  Georger Zimmerman was not even arrested, detained tested for drugs or alcohol as would in any deadly shooting investigating.
CNN interviews with eyewitnesses stated "police sided with Zimmerman from the start" they reported seeing and hearing Zimmerman pin Trayvon down, then heard a gun shot and the "very young whining and crying stopped immediately". 

Bottom line is Zimmerman should be arrested immediately and investigated to the fullest extend of the law,everyone deserves equal justice because every life is precious.

Please continue to follow this story and speak out on injustice and racism!
***update**

Now we know why George Zimmerman didn't get arrested......According to court records George Zimmerman is the son of retired Supreme Court Magistrate Judge Robert J Zimmerman, his mother Gladys Zimmerman is a court clerk....He has three closed arrests 7/18/05 for resisting arrest with violence and battery on a law enforcement officer div 10........8/9/05 for domestic violence div 44..... And again on 8/10/05 domestic violence div 46  

Stanford has a history of police misconduct and racism, a lieutenant's son was accused of beating a Black homeless man , chargers were not filed until there was public outcry.  Stay Tuned...........

Take Care..
Peace, Love and Strength

T. Davis

Felipe Andres Coronel (born February 19, 1978), better known as Immortal Technique, is a rapper of African and Peruvian descent as well as an urban activist. He was born in Peru and raised in
    Most of his lyrics focus on controversial issues in global politics. The views expressed in his lyrics Harlem NYC. his rap lyrics are largely commentary on racial and social issues.
Immortal Technique has voiced a desire to retain control over his production, and has stated in his music that record companies, not artists themselves, profit the most from mass production and marketing of music. He claimed in an interview to have sold close to 200,000 copies of his three official releases.
Me being a activist myself, I use hip hop to reach our young adults and I loooove the revolutionary rappers who talk about more than hoes, sex, bling, materialism but real shit that affects our community.  He is my featured artist with his song Reverse Pimpology, here are the lyrics and you tube link.


"Reverse Pimpology"
(feat. Mojo)

[Immortal Technique]
Hypocrites, hookers, sex offenders
Y'all niggaz wanna be pimps and players?
This ain't 1997 nigga

I'd rather be rich and unhappy than broke and miserable
Cause the game don't give a FUCK if you lyrical
And that's pitiful, so my position is pivotal
You can hate me all you like but you worship the principle
I inspire revolution, the government's not invincible
Vietnam to Venezuela, trick knowledge, they pimpin you
All up in the hood like McDonald's and liquor
Selling AIDS medicine, when we know you got the cure nigga (woo!)
You leery of conspiracy theory but hear me
Throw a business perspective, it makes more sense clearly
Cause moreover, that's what we go to war over
And numbers don't lie unless we do Bush and Gore over
Free markets make money disingenuously
But I invest in agriculture, biochemistry
Smart nigga from the hood, pussy, what type of crime is that?
But exec's are like, "You from Harlem? Where your diamonds at?"
Stupid

[Mojo]
Can't dodge the game
If you lookin for the money or the fame (oh-ohh)
The players and the rules ain't changed (oh no)
But see we tryin to leave a name
So we're turnin out

[Immortal Technique]
Yeah, this is how pimps get pimped and players get played
Rich people get robbed and, broke niggaz paid
New York, London, Chicago, Philly and L.A.
Miami, D.C., B-more and out in the Bay

[Mojo]
We're tearin it out of the frame
See we deserve to stake that claim
If we didn't it's a cryin shame
What we're concerned about is how to turn it out

[Immortal Technique]
Show me a pretty girl, with the world stuck to her
And I bet you there's a brother that's tired of fuckin her
Lots of niggaz girls is someone else's one night stand
I probably made some bitches nervous listenin with they man (ha ha)
And if that offends somebody, I'm sorry, fuck you!
What you think, revolutionaries don't like to fuck too?
You just gotta beware of dangerous coochie
Cover ya head like a kufi, some rappers think that they live in a movie
Until they get herpes or clap from a groupie
And I don't need to shout you out, nigga you know who you be
Look, most people are only players cause they got played
And have not, let go of that, shit since the 7th grade
Yeah you got your heart broke, life sucks, doesn't it?
But you shouldn't fuck up someone else's life because of it
Someone did your mother like that, that's why you fatherless
Before jail or racist cops, that's what the problem is

[Mojo]
Recognize the game
See who's the one to place that blame
We gettin trapped in a cycle of pain
With a generation headed down the drain
Time we turn it out

[Immortal Technique]
This is how pimps get pimped and players get played
Beautiful women get, cheated on and gangstas sprayed
Jersey, Detroit, Denver, Phoenix, Atlanta
Texas, Vegas, Seattle and fuckin Louisiana

[Mojo]
Regardless of money you payin
Just spendin, hold a watch and a chain
But can't offer your children a thang
What the hell is goin on in your brain?
We gon' turn it out

[Immortal Technique]
Yeah, I'm not a crack rapper, I'm not a backpacker (ha ha ha)
I'm not a wack rapper, moonlighting as a bad actor
I treat labels like the projects, cause I'm a hater (what!)
Go to the Sony building and piss in the elevator
Cater to hustlers, crooks and cheap smugglers
Bootleg my own album, to reach customers (yeah)
Every city, state and country, the hood love me
Even Aborigines, in Australia bump me
They say underground fans are all the color of talcum
But who the fuck you think buy 50 and Jay albums?
Who the fuck you think made Snoop and Dre platinum?
Call up any major record label and ask 'em

that belong at Republican fundraisers with Kid Rock (bitch!)
I hope one of my fans has one of your kids shot
And blames it on Acid, Prozac and Slipknot
You a pussy actin hard like a bitch cop
I'll drop you to the floor like a reverse wristlock
Eat your food and shit on you, like a highway pit stop
And make, revolutionaries out of kids that used to flip rocks
The government, pimped 9/11 to go to Iraq
And history, repeats itself right on track (how?)
First as a tragedy, and then the comedy begins (why?)
Cause it's funny, motherfuckers don't see it come around again

[Mojo (I.T.)]
Where, can we be free? (FUCK we gon' be free man?)
We only wanna live our lives
Live our lives, with our eyes open
Open your eyes – open your eyes
You stupid motherfuckers - you stupid motherfuckers
Open your eyes, before you die





Peace, love and strength.

T. Davis

Celebrating Black women in American history

Marva Nettles Collins born in Monroerville, Alabama she founded the Westside Preparatory School in Chicago in 1975 to educate the young children of Chicago's mean streets.  Using her own pension funds from sixteen years teaching in public schools , she built a schoolroom in her home. Her motto is "Entrance to lean, exit to serve"  Knowledge is power.  Her motivation is educating the next generation for success and giving every child the education and equal opportunity to learn which came out of her disillusioned after teaching in the public school system for sixteen years, Collins decided to open a school that would welcome students who had been rejected by other schools and labeled disruptive and "unteachable." She had seen too many children pass through an ineffective school system in which they were given impersonal teachers who did not challenge their students to excel.

Let's celebrate Black women in American history who have done great and extrordinary things and be inspired and encouraged to do the same!

Peace, Love and Strength

T. Davis

 

Celebrating Black women in American history

Madam C. J. Walker (December 23, 1867 - May 25, 1919) was an inventor, businesswoman and self-made millionaire. Walker was an African-American who developed many beauty and hair care products that were extremely popular.
Madam Walker was born in Delta, Louisiana, on the Burney family plantation; her name was originally Sarah Breedlove. Walker's parents were ex-slaves who had both died by the time Sarah was seven. Sarah was married at age fourteen to Moses McWilliams. Widowed at age 20, she moved to St. Louis, Missouri, and supported her daughter, Lelia, by washing laundry.
In 1905, she moved to Denver, Colorado, and married Charles Joseph (C.J.) Walker, a newspaper sales agent; they were divorced in 1912, but she kept his name. Madam Walker started her cosmetics business in 1906. Her first product was a scalp treatment that used petrolatum and sulfur to heal scalp disease and to grow hair. She also softened the hair with an ointment she called Glossine,and straightened the hair with a metal comb. She did not, however, invent the hair comb.
She added Madam to her name and began selling her new "Walker System" door-to-door. Walker soon added other cosmetic products to her line. The products were very successful and she soon had many saleswomen, called "Walker Agents," who sold her products door to door and through beauty salon. In 1917, her agents came together in one of the nation's first convention of businesswomen. She settled briefly in Pittsburgh in 1908, then established her permanent headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1910.
Madam Walker eventually became a millionaire from her business, which was at its peak from 1911 through 1922; she employed thousands of people. Walker moved to New York in 1916 and became active in influencing the arts and philanthropy. She contributed to many organizations ad educational institutions, including the NAACP, the Tuskegee Institute, Bethune-Cookman College, the YMCA and the YMCA. She also helped spur the Harlem Renaissance through her support of black artists and musicians. The Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company is no longer in business.

Note: For more information on Madam Walker, please read, On Her Own Ground: the Life and Times of Madam C. J. Walker by A'Lelia Bundles (Madam Walker's great-great-granddaughter).

Celebrating Black Women in American History

Dr. Alexa Canady at age 30 became the fist black women neurosurgeon in the U.S., and only one in her home town city of Detroit.   She completed her medical degree in pediatric neurosurgery at the Unv. of Michigan.   She said "her mother is her role model, because she's bright, energetic, and committed, and has a sense that getting up each day is an adventure.  My grandmother is also a role model because always treated me like I was a person who was worth listening to even when I was a little person not worth listening too." 

Dr. Canady believed in hard work, education and ambition.  She is not only inspiring to other Black women but men and women as a whole. Let's celebrate her place as a Black women in American history!! 

Peace, Love, Strength and Happiness

T. Davis

Celebrating Black Women In American History

 

Maxine Waters(D) Los Angeles~  was born in St. Louis with twelve brothers and sisters.  She loved the Bill of Rights and U.S. Constitution which led her to explore a career in politics.  Her role in politics have changed the lives not only of her constituents but Black (Americans) as a whole, she challenged the crack epidemic in sentencing and most famously the Iran Contra funding through the American drug trade.  

"Poor people have not ever really organized to use their numbers and power to force the government to do very much for them.  People who don't make alot of noise don't get very much.  All of us deserve a system that works for us not against us, this syemt does not simply belong to the wealthy."

Let's celebrate Black Women in U.S. history and the contributions they have and continue to make for this country.

Peace, Love and Strength.

T. Davis