Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 2810 BOCNEWS.com OCTOBER 2016 Disrupting The Norm If you haven’t heard by now, let me take a minute to give you the back-drop. Colin Kaepernick is the back-up quarterback for the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers. On August 14th, he began a protest where he sat on the bench during the playing of the National Anthem to protest social injustice. When asked why, he stated, “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color." Since then, others in the NFL have joined him in his protest including Denver Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall who decided to take a knee while others raised their fists in the air during the song, giving homage to Tommie Smith and John Carlos who were demonstrating for human rights during the Olympics in 1968. The backlash has been turbulent as many White Americans see this demonstration as disrespectful to the flag and the veterans who fought and died in war conflicts to protect and preserve the freedom that all Americans enjoy. White people, including the main mouthpieces; Limbaugh, O’Reilly, Trump, Peter Boyles, etc. have weighed-in on the subject and they have all, pretty much, reflected the same narrative. How dare they show contempt for the symbols that represent the freedom that they have to do exactly what they’re doing? This privileged and self-ordained class of people believe that they own the authority to define and control the depth and range of freedom in America. So, they have begun the KKK like pro- cess of attacking these Brothers for exercising their constitutional rights by contacting league officials and sponsors (brands) to reprimand, condemn and punish these players for having a consciousness about human rights. To this end, Brandon Marshall has been dropped by Centurylink and Air Academy Credit Union for his participation in promoting social justice and valuing human rights. Really!? Here’s my take. The Constitution gives citizens the right to peacefully protest but when Kaepernick, Marshall and others decided to exercise their free- dom, the White folks in positions of privilege and power and their spellbound legions cried foul. In other words, condemn and punish them for exercis- ing what the Constitution says they have the right to do. If you can’t act on the principle then why have the principle? I get it, Whites say you have a right to do it but do it in a way that is less disruptive. Isn’t that the exact same thing that White Supremacists in the South said during the Civil Rights era? If social protest does not disrupt the normal order of things then why do it!? That’s the point, to disrupt the norm because we’re tolerating something that should not be tolerated. The lack of value for Black life is disgusting but it will not change on its own because some folks are comfortable with it being that way and if tolerated long enough it will become nor- mal. Conscious people must make an effort to cause some disruption to the status quo, and the louder the better. It’s disappointing to see some of the older folks from the civil rights era respond with such apathy and indifference. Least, we forget about the concept of “civil disobedience?” Many of these folks are vets, police officers, elect- ed officials and corporate CEO’s who live in great comfort when one of that reality would have been possible without some “civil disobedience!” To fully understand the nature of this cultural climate, people should read a book called “the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.” It is a book that identifies the nature of the power class and its agenda to maintain power and control over the masses. In this book, Protocol No. 12 states, “The word “freedom,” …is defined by us as follows: Freedom is the right to do that which the law allows… all freedom will thus be in our hands, since the laws will abolish or create only that which is desirable for us according to the aforesaid program.” In other words, you (Black folks and spellbound White folks) only have the freedom that we say you have according to the laws that we create and then define or interpret to serve our agenda. Know that there is a difference between the legal freedoms that mankind designs and universal free- doms that God designs. As such, the rules that gov- ern Western culture are dictated by the power class (the 1%) who control the systems and institutions (financial, educational, law, media, religious, etc.) that then control the masses. Much like Pharaoh, they do not want you to think that God defines free- dom more so than they do. If you are awake, you’ll see that the institutions of Western culture insist that you deify and worship them and it is this control that they do not want you to be free from. So, when you exercise your God given freedom to condemn institutionalized injustice, you have to pick a side because you can’t serve two masters! Secondly, why is this contemporary America cel- ebrating the National Anthem written by Francis Scott Key anyway!? Francis Scott Key was a Slave owner who wrote the song during the backdrop of the war of 1812. During the second year of the war, many Black families took the risk to make their way to British strongholds seeking refuge from Slavery in America and a number of Black military troops joined with the British who gave them an opportu- nity to secure their freedom. Key, makes reference to these enslaved Blacks in the song he wrote as the National Anthem is actually four verses long. The other three verses are not widely known nor are they ever performed. However, the third verse of the song reads as follows: “And where is that band who so vauntingly swore, That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion A home and a Country should leave us no more? Their blood has wash’d out their foul footstep’s pollution. No refuge could save the hireling and slave From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave, And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave. Here, Key makes reference to the enslaved Blacks who sought freedom during the war and penned lyrics directed at killing the people who sought their freedom by fighting against their oppressor. In other words, what’s really changed!? Kill them ni**@gs who want to be FREE. No wonder why the univer- sal freedom of Black people is not being honored. We’re worshiping a symbol that perpetuates the degradation of our humanity. Yet, we’re supposed to pledge allegiance to the song? Thirdly, let’s not make this conflict about money. We have too many White folks and too many old-school Negros misdirecting the solution to the conflict to a question about money. These folks are challenging the players to donate their money to causes, people, and God knows whatever else. My problem is, “what causes and what people?” The answer, ultimately the causes that benefit White folks, old-school Negros and their people. For example, Brandon Marshall is now plan- ning to donate to military veterans because I guess the Federal government has failed to do that properly for the last century? 11% of vets are homeless, 49% have severe mental health & addiction disorders and 1.5 million live in poverty. The government can disrespect the people for an eternity but as long as they worship the symbols they’re patriotic? You all will believe anything. Protocol No.5, the masses are led by lies. Wealth is not always about money. The platform that these athletes decided to use to publish their protest is an act of wealth in and of itself. It takes strength (a form of wealth) to sacrifice and live Truth. The global fan base of the NFL is estimated at 410 million. Bringing this amount of attention to the institutional injustice of Black life is priceless. They achieved media coverage every day, for nearly two months, on every media outlet possible for an esti- mated economic value of 14 billion dollars. None of the players combined could have paid for that in 10 years. The economic value is already there, the rest of that madness is a distraction- Protocol No.13. Lastly, it makes no sense to sit back and watch these brothers make huge sacrifices for our com- munity and we do nothing to support them. The Church has been awfully quite on this one. I wonder if Churches ever ask themselves why, as they contin- ue to sink into an abyss of irrelevancy. Nonetheless, here’s a call to action, everyone who wants to end institutional injustice should end their relationship with the companies that support it. You can start with dropping Centurylink and if you have a dime in Air Academy Credit Union, take it out. We should all buy and wear Brandon Marshall’s’ jersey as well as the other athletes jersey’s. Finally, stop worshiping, singing and pledging allegiance to a symbol (National Anthem) that doesn’t value your freedom. And last but not least, Pharaoh, let my people go. By Randall Craven, LPC, CAC III Randall Craven Wealth is not always about money. COMMUNITY