OCTOBER 2007

thedish@ga.net

Intuit's Vibe
Dogs of War
www.darklyrics.com/



Come to the reaper sing the song,
bringing death to everyone
Once the earth was calm and safe,
but now the land's a battle place
Firing shells into the air, where they land, no-one cares
Now the blood flows like a stream,
widowmaker reigns supreme



Dogs of war, no surrender (*)
Dogs of war, I kill the defender
Dogs of war, Scream into battle
Dogs of war, it's the day of the jackal



Nothing seems to ease the pain,
the reaper's shadow still remains
Sniper lets the bullet fly,
in the distance someone die
The town becomes an empty shell,
come and spend a day in hell
Forgotten what we're fighting for,
no-one wins this bloody war  [Repeat *]



Lay the wreath across the flag, fill another body bag
Guard of honour standing proud,
put your son into the ground
Did they die for you and me, a sacrifice for liberty
A generation dead and gone,
the reaper sings his deadly song   [Repeat *]




"Robert Frost coupled poetry and power, for he saw poetry as the means of
saving power from itself. When power leads man towards arrogance, poetry
reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the areas of man's
concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of his
existence.  When power corrupts, poetry cleanses. For art establishes the
basic human truth which must serve as the touchstone of our judgment." 
John F. Kennedy's Speech at Amherst College on 10-26-63

Hood Notes
Race : A Power Relationship
By John Burl Smith




The first priority of the United States of America (USA) is to maintain
power. The US began as a power grab by colonials who wanted to run their
own show. Great Britain had power and used it to benefit England. The
colonies didn't have power, so they provided Britain raw materials,
markets, tax revenue and manpower, especially during wars. Rights were
privileges granted by England's sovereign; colonials couldn't make demands
on colonial governments, even though they paid more taxes than citizens in
England.



Revolution in 1776 changed not only the power relationship between Britain
and its renegade colony but the power relationship between citizens of the
new nation. Beginning with Article I Section II, the 3/5 Compromise, the
Founding Fathers created a "republic," which limited rights and
representation. Liberty, justice and freedom were incidental to the goal
of acquiring and maintaining power. Property ownership became the
American ideal and greed its number one symbol. The Founding Fathers were
not egalitarians; nurturing democracy and equality were not their real
considerations.



All rights were granted to white men of property and denied to slaves,
woman and Native People. Controlling the vote, white men have maintained
power exclusively. A self-perpetuating system of white supremacy, through
racism the US continues to deny blacks any semblance of power.



Article I Section II, the 3/5 Compromise, made blacks property – bond
slaves. To maintain that power relationship, white men developed a system
of terror – hanging, burning alive, rape, breeding, breaking up families,
random brutality and other forms of domestic terrorism – to induce
learned helplessness in slaves. From the 1890s until the 1970s, lynching,
Jim Crow segregation, discrimination and the hostile environment those
conditions created forced slave descendants to accept injustice, denial of
rights, inferior education, black and white signs, which restricted access
to public accommodations, etc., as a way of life.



It is imperative today that blacks understand that the 3/5 Compromise is
still the law of the land. A major part of the US Constitution, it is the
foundation of the Electoral College, which determines who is elected
president; it is an institution based on not counting 2/5 of the votes
cast by slave descendants. That is how whites maintain power and white
supremacy in the US.



White lawlessness and murder replaced the legal system in regards to
blacks, allowing whites to establish symbols that represent their power.
These symbols remind blacks that they are helpless and powerless to change
their conditions, further reinforcing learned helplessness. The aim of
such symbols are to make blacks accept being on the bottom as their
rightful place in life.



Events such as those involving Abner Louima, Amadou Diallo, Genarlow
Wilson and the Jena 6 are important because they demonstrate the
importance of symbols to white power. The power of whites to take
something as innocuous as a tree and make it symbolize racial hatred,
while terrorizing people who have no ability to resist is a testament to
US racism.



Genarlow Wilson and the Jena 6 are victims of US racism today, not 1939.
Their examples reinforce learned helplessness in slave descendants.
Symbols, such as these, make black and white signs unnecessary.
Emasculated, blacks lack political and economic power to prevent these
kinds of incidences. Resoundingly over the last two months, whites have
shown they care more about dogs than justice for black men, who are being
killed like dogs by police that are sworn to protect us.








Power or Powerless
By John Burl Smith



A brash loud-mouth skinny kid known as the "Louisville Lip" (Kentucky),
emerged a hero following the 1960 Olympic Games. Crowned world
heavyweight amateur champion, Cassius Clay wanted the professional title
held by Sonny Liston. Very flamboyant and considered a braggart by many,
Clay lipped his way into top ranked boxing matches, but made good on his
rhetorical boast and poetic barbs. Defeating Liston with the "phantom
punch," Clay claimed the coveted prize of the world's most brutal sports.



As long as Clay played the buffoon and consummate jester, the USA loved
him. Once Clay became Mohammed Ali, he created a different power dynamic.
No longer telling jokes or reciting poetry, he became a megaphone against
racism in the US, colonialism in Africa and South America and spoke
continually about problems of have-not nations.



Determined to shut Ali's mouth, the US government drafted him. Ali
refused induction. The US government and boxing associations colluded and
stripped Ali of his titles. They used every means to prevent him from
making a living. Holding onto his principles, Ali became a rallying point
for thousands of blacks that shared his beliefs and supported his stand
against the Vietnam War. He became a black leader because he stood
against racism. Ali communicated clearly what it meant to be a slave
descendant and no matter what whites did, he would stand up as a black
man.



Today another young black man, who gained fame and fortune as an athlete,
is in the cross-hairs of racism. Mike Vick's circumstances are different.
He did not take a stand against racism, as the reason he became the
target of white ire. Drafted a quarterback by the Atlanta Falcons of the
NFL, rather than by the US military, Vick became a hundred million dollar
man. Rich beyond his wildest dreams, he also became an itch white sports
talking heads and white fans couldn't scratch.



A black quarterback, nothing Vick did pleased white fans. Victims of the
double standard of justice in the US, most blacks ask when Vick's troubles
began, "If he was a white quarterback would the response have been the
same?" Put another way, "Had Vick been Dany Heatley, the Atlanta Trasher
hockey player, who pleaded guilty to second-degree vehicular homicide,
would the public outcry have been so loud?" Heatley killed his teammate,
a human being, as a consequence of drinking and speeding. Rather than
receiving a 3-15 year prison sentenced, the victim's parents urged the
judge not to send Heatley to prison. He received probation and community
service and is still playing hockey. If one only receives probation after
killing another human being as a result of illegal behavior, why are the
public and the NFL rabid over Vick's involvement in dog fights?



Black males are lynched for incidents white boys barely get slapped on the
wrist. There are thousands of black males across the US that victimized
by racism, much like Vick. They are awaiting trials and/or languishing in
jails, while whites who have committed murder go free.



Finally, Vick is a victim because he is an example of the kind of
"justice" blacks receive. If justice was equal and blind in the US,
George W. Bush and Dick Cheney would have been impeached and tried for
treason. For that kind of justice, the power relationship established in
the US Constitution in Article I Section II, the 3/5 Compromise, must be
repealed.


The DISH Vol. 10 No 35