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IAC Prime Member
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Psyche's Muse
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9/26/2017 6:58:12 PM
YES !!! TAKE A KNEE AND BOW YE DOWN UNTO OUR FLAG !!!
This "SHOULD BE" the way that we show our honor and respect... "NOT" standing there defiantly, head lifted and looking up. Our flag "SHOULD" make one feel like bowing down. And it's such a shame that this is not the case. Maybe these protests will cause us to re-think what "Honor and Respect" looks like! And then we can work our way toward "making it proper" to treat our flag like the "Holy Relic" that it is. COME ON AMERICA WAKE UP!!!
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Stoneman
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9/28/2017 2:11:21 AM
There is nothing holy about the damn flag. its just a symbol of some crap that people claimed to believe many years ago. But, they don't believe that crap anymore. Now they believe some new crap that is even worse than the former crap they believed. You know? Shit like equal protection under the law. They only believe that crap is for White people. Thats what happens when you get a new Grand Puba. New crap comes with that. But don't worry. The old crap always comes back eventually. That is the nature of crap. It leaves and then it come back just as stinky as it was before it left. Racism is like that. It's poularity wanes from time to time but it always seems to come back. That's because its crap. Crap always stinks man. That is why the toilet bowl was created. To get rid of our crap. Problem is, when politicians are spewing it out of their mouths it is hard to capture their crap. It is called deceptive crap. It is meant to look like something other than what it is. You know? Crap like insurance legislation and stuff like that. They know its crap before they present it. But it is up to us to find out how crappy it truly is because there are levels of toleration of crap. We tolerate a whole lot of crap just because we tire of rebellious smelling crap. Rebellious crap has a very distinct odor as it is that "in your face" pungent smelling crap that makes you wish people would quit the crap! Jeesh this whole thing I just wrote is probably a bunch of crap. Oh well, anyone can spread crap. Fuck the damn flag though. As a veteran I can attest to the fact that the flag ain't all that they make it out to be. That shit is all a bunch of......yep......you guessed it.....CRAP!
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Psyche's Muse
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9/28/2017 8:43:06 AM
I agree with ya, Stoneman. I was being sarcastic toward all the flag hooplah... and assumed most critics might be shocked to know that the "protesters" are actually showing "more respect" toward their sacred relic than they do themselves. Apparently, people forget all the "FLAG BURNING" that went on in the early seventies... some of which was done by Vietnam Veterans. Of course the cops were a lot more "free-handed" when it came to taking physical action against protesters back then... their billy-clubs and night-sticks routinely bashed in the protesters' faces and teeth!
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Stoneman
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9/30/2017 3:25:58 PM
Yeah, I remember those days. I came off the gang plank off my ship in San Diego with my sea bag over my shoulder and my Purple Heart hanging off my chest, I was so proud of myself. Walked towards the gate to get a cab and I noticed a huge commotion of people. I walked towards it and realized that people were chanting slogans and shit. I walked past it all in my uniform not quite realizing that they were protesting the war I had just come from. But then it hit me. Right on the chest of my uniform. Someone had hawked up a big lugee and spit it on me. It took several MP's to keep me from getting to those fuckers. I was so pissed off! I went to the airport, found the nearest bathroom and took my uniform off. I left it in the trash can and never wore one again. Such a warm welcome home huh? What gets me is that a lot of these people who are so protective of the flag and shit consistently vote against funding to help veterans transition back into civilian life. They are against any programs for veterans but they are all gungho for a flag that never dodged a bullet or killed a man in defense of our country. But I get your point about what the flag should inspire in us. I think honor and respect is something that is earned and not just given freely because a bunch of folks say we should. It also should be reciprocated. I tend to respect those who respect me. The constant double standards of government, police departments and court systems concerning race are a sore spot that leaves me unwilling to honor the flag or the institutions that it represents any longer. If I see change then I will change but at this point I could care less about the flag and all that bullshit they claim it represents. Bunch Of Crap!
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9/30/2017 9:18:32 PM
---- Updated 9/30/2017 9:20:09 PM
You know when I started doing music again around '96 I took a job with a taxi company so I could plan studio time around my own schedule and still make fairly decent money to pay for that. We were located just above 8 mile rd, the dividing line between Detroit and Suburbia and many of the regular travelers were people going to work from the city into the surrounding suburbs, mostly AA, many working 2-3 jobs. Clinton was still president, the economy was good and anyone who wanted to work could usually find a job. They were all good people, came from humble circumstances but were rich in spirit. They didn't worry about the police though a few were somewhat nervous about moving out of Detroit and closer to where they worked which I often encouraged them to do as rents were often cheaper in the suburbs. One I recall had an incident with local police and he felt he came to their attention because he was black but I assured him it wouldn't happen again, they just wanted to know who he was as they often did to anyone new in their area regardless of their background and it seemed I was right, he had no issues after that. Wouldn't the NFL players and other concerned parties be accomplishing more if they encouraged this type of exemplary conduct along with protesting official misconduct if and when it happens?
Being a person who was nearly shot dead by two white undercover police officers because they thought I was reaching for a gun, that experience suggests to me it doesn't really matter what color you are when these tragedies occur. You don't even have to have a gun as in my case, if they think you're about to pull something it will never end well regardless of your background. And that cop who nearly shot me.. He was a good guy as was his partner. They were looking for illegal guns because of the high number of shootings in the area. They were trying to maintain a safer living environment for all the residents, that's what they were doing. (And it almost got me killed..)
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Stoneman
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9/30/2017 9:52:57 PM
You know something? When I moved to suburbia I stopped worrying about the police also. They are very different here. There is no systemic racism to worry about until I leave my town. All the police here know me. They know my name and address. I am the only brother around. Once they got to know me and I them, things were just fine. I see them everyday when I do my morning 5 mile walk. They always smile and wave hello. My point is that I never knew that police acted this way until I moved here. The police in Los Angeles are extremely different. They are rude, brash, cocky and racist. This has been proven over and over again. Also, this is part of the problem. White people have a totally different experience with the police. I know because I live among them and can see the difference. I originally come from one of the most poverty stricken areas in California. Its a place called Watts. The police in Watts could not exist in Clayton (where I live now). Their daily practice of beatings, murders and harassment would not fly here. You speak of a one time thing you had with the police. I am speaking of a daily thing. Imagine going through what you went through every single day of your life. Magnify your experiences by over 7 decades of experiences and you will see through the eyes of someone that is my age. Then imagine seeing countless videos of these atrocious acts by police while noting that most of the police were never even indicted. Then, consider that people get angry at you for having a peaceful demonstration because of a stupid piece of cloth. This is where I get very frustrated. If we go out and loot burn and pillage we are called animals. But when we have a peaceful protest against the racist policies of this nation we are once again villainized. I agree with you that it is time for America to wake up.
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10/1/2017 9:11:49 PM
I've known police who leave the force because there's no point in arresting people, the judges won't convict them. And from what I've heard, that's when some go rogue and start enforcing their own justice, still that should never happen. And back in the taxi days I refused to do the drug runs though I was assured they were the safest because the police were guarding the drug houses.., and sometimes that did seem to be the case. And I've also met some inner city cops who really do care about all the people they serve but as they say, they can't save everyone. And then there are bad cops who shouldn't be in uniform. I recall at about age 19 I got pulled over and had just enough of a green leafy substance to put me in prison, back then an ounce was some pretty serious time. That cop let me walk and from then on I felt I owed them and still do. And I have met a few no one wants to know and that's all I'll say about that. But still.., we all need to respect authority, the young people especially must be taught this. And try to avoid illegal activity whenever possible, that practice has served me well as it did the people mentioned in my earlier post. It can be done.
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Stoneman
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10/5/2017 3:13:03 AM
Not sure of where you are from but here in Cali they convict at alarming rates. So much so that we have more people imprisoned than some major countries do. I worked as a prison chaplain for over 20 years and I have seen the overcrowded conditions escalate to the point that every crevice in the prison has a three tiered cot. Warehousing people is all they do now. There is no rehabilitation, retraining or trade skills or anything like that going on anymore. The private prisons are mostly run by honored inmates. They don't even want to pay for correctional officers. You say you have met a few that no one wants to know and I am telling you that almost everyone of them I ever met was like that. Not sure if it is the riggers of the job or just poor hiring practices but every single time I have ever been stopped by the police I was forced to get out of my car at gunpoint and to lay down face down in the ground with my hands behind my back until they confirmed that I was not the guy they were looking for. Once, even after I pleaded with them to get my wallet and look at my drivers license and state Chaplains ID, they still continued to call me out of my name and one asshole would kick me in my ribs each time he passed by. I was so embarrassed to see my neighbors passing by looking at me with my face down in the ground. I have worked around a whole lot of cops but I have seldom met one that I liked or thought was someone I would like to get to know. My experience has been that they are a bunch of egotistical racists. No, not all, but I would say that most are. The Black ones are the worst. They are so filled with self hatred that they exact revenge on their own people by overreacting to everything in front of their White co-workers. I have seen men beaten so bad that you could not recognize them as human beings that were brought into the system without even being given medical treatment. I could talk about the things I have seen all day but that probably would not sway you or anyone else who sees the police as the great citizens you think they are. My very first encounter with the police was seeing them beating a man to death in the alley down the street from where I grew up at. I was only 8 years old and and my friend and I were just walking home from the store when we came upon that horrific scene. That man begged them for mercy but they just kept beating him and calling him the N word until he was no longer moving. Then, they pulled out their penises and peed on his body and drove off like he was a worthless piece of meat in the dirt. They did all of that just because the man stole a chicken out of Safeway to feed his family. But yeah, I know I am wasting time talking about this because a Black mans life has no value in America. That is why they keep murdering us and getting away with it. If they started murdering White men or women like that there would be changes made immediately. They certainly wouldn't be giving them paid vacations and grand juries would not be acquitting them after reviewing clear footage of the murders they commit. If you lined up all the graves of all the young Black men that have been killed it would look like a military graveyard. This has been going on even before I was born and still nothing has been done about it. That is why we protest. We protest the loss of so many lives to police murderers. I am talking about thousands of unarmed men that have been gunned down by the police. They don't serve and protect us. They serve and protect White people. The rest of us get beaten, murdered, framed for crimes we didn't commit and disrespected because of what we look like. I have always respected authority, it is authority that has not respected me. In all the times that I have been forced to lay face down on the ground with a cops gun pointed at me, I have never even been charged with a crime. So, WTF? For me and many people that look like me there is nothing more we can do. We treat them with respect. I mean, shit, they have guns man and we know they won;t hesiotate to kill us. Especially us. To imply that we don't treat them with respect is to imply that we want to get beaten and killed. They talk to us and treat us like we are criminals. I have known Black policemen that were treated like that when they were off duty. The double standards in treatment are institutionally ingrained in the officers. It starts with the court systems that have judges who sentence Blacks to far greater time than they do Whites for the same crime or even lesser offenses. I have seen this over and over for many many years. It is disgusting what goes on in our court systems. The disparities in justice between Whites and Blacks is a disgrace. Since people are so eager to stand up for something. Why don't they stand up for real justice and not the "just us" shit that has prevailed all these years.
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Psyche's Muse
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10/6/2017 8:29:19 AM
A friend of mine at work once told me of an experience he had when he was about five years old. His father was driving as his family was returning from a family reunion in Mississippi. This was back in the 1950's. It was about 2AM and they were about at the Louisiana state line when police lights appeared behind them. My friend was scared to death. He "KNEW" his daddy was about to die! He was certain! Scared to death and looking out the window, he watches as his father shows his license to the officer. A muffled conversation takes place as they talk about a ring his father is wearing. Afterwards, the officer says "Thank You" and "Have A Nice Night". My friend was so shocked and amazed. How did this happen? Thank GOD!!! Later he found out that his daddy was a "black" MASON... and that the cop was a "white" MASON. The BIGGEST IMPRESSION this story has on me is "THIS FACT"... A BLACK CHILD OF FIVE BEING SO SCARED THAT A COP WAS GOING TO KILL HIS FATHER... "IS A HORRIBLE CHILDHOOD"!!! AND A HORRIBLE "TRUTH"!!!
I remember the cops here in the 70's as being pretty "cool"... especially the ones that worked at concerts. If they noticed you were being nervous and not taking any hits on all the joints being passed around, they'd make a point of grabbing one and offering it to you... just to let you know that they were "cool" about it. My oh my how "THINGS HAVE CHANGED"!!!
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Stoneman
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10/10/2017 10:30:09 PM
Yeah, I remember a time when the LAPD came to my elementary school to give a presentation aginst drugs and drug crimes and when they walked in we all started crying. We were so scrared they were going to kill us. But they were actually cool. Shocked the hell out of me because I had never seen a nice cop. I didn't see another nice cop for over 40 years until I moved here to Clayton Ca. Go figure!
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Psyche's Muse
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10/19/2017 2:26:05 AM
Stoneman's offering:
My very first encounter with the police was seeing them beating a man to death in the alley down the street from where I grew up at. I was only 8 years old and and my friend and I were just walking home from the store when we came upon that horrific scene. That man begged them for mercy but they just kept beating him and calling him the N word until he was no longer moving. Then, they pulled out their penises and peed on his body and drove off like he was a worthless piece of meat in the dirt. They did all of that just because the man stole a chicken out of Safeway to feed his family. But yeah, I know I am wasting time talking about this because a Black mans life has no value in America. That is why they keep murdering us and getting away with it. If they started murdering White men or women like that there would be changes made immediately...
Does it still feel "THIS WAY"( or "THIS BAD") unto you personally, Stoneman? Today? And if so, has it been a steady stream of "SAME OL' SHIT" or did "it" actually get "better" and then, now has "taken a turn for the worse???
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Stoneman
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10/20/2017 2:02:13 AM
Actually, right now, it feels worse than it ever did. I say that because I am sitting here watching all hope for change slip away. This is not the America we strove so hard to build. This is a sham of the America I thought we could be. Men with power are sitting around justifying the actions of cowards with code words and excuses. The message is kill a Black man and you have earned a few months paid vacation and a sure acquittal. Hell, in most cases you won't even be charged and even if you are charged and there is video evidence of your crime you still go home scott free. So, yeah, personally, I am appalled and alarmed at the situation. Nothing has changed statistically. They are still shooting Black people down in the streets and getting away with it. What happens when we start shooting back. An all out war will begin. That is why this stuff must be stopped. "IT" has been the same or worse for the past 7 decades. Nothing has changed except for the fact that so many have cell phones now that several of the incidents have been caught on camera. But what about the thousands of incidents that happened so many years before cellphones. What about all the Black men that were arrested and found dead in their cells while in captivity in Los Angeles? That was a common occurrence when I was growing up. I witnessed many beatings and was a victim of a few when i was growing up. They would pick you and take you to a remote spot. Then they would try to force you to admit you fdid a crime that they needed to be cleared. If you would not sign the confession they would beat you into submission. I knew several kids that happened to. They wound up being in the system for the rest of their lives. But me? I was use to beatings and they couldn't turn me into a criminal. I refused to confess to a criem so I got beat down and bloodied up. No big thing, just more of the same shit I had always been through. They were bullies with uniforms on. Bunch of cowards who liked to grab my hair and yank on it knee me in the face. I would laugh at them and say you can't hurt stone motha fucka but inside I was crying from the pain. I hated them and they hated me. It was mutual and I still don't have any love for them. They terrorized our neighborhoods then and they still terrorize our neighborhoods. Bunch of punk assed beotches.
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Psyche's Muse
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10/20/2017 6:45:34 AM
Wow! That feed-back is much appreciated, man.
And to think that I'd assumed your name had the connotation of "I'm stoned man!(mainly as if to say "I Get High" or "I Like Smoking Pot"). Little did I realize how immensely important the word "STONE" actually IS to your name though( It's like Bob Dylan says).
I think you have expressed the situation at hand very adeptly too... much better than listening to any of those shitty talking heads on the boob-tube! I feel what you are saying.
What I think is.... NO! ...Hell No! ...I KNOW!
"IT" has started!
I can FEEL IT in my bones!
Hate sayin' this, but...
"WAR !!!"
It may not come "Full Force", but we are in its presence non-the-less.
And It could get a helluvalot worse BEFORE it gets any better too.
FUCK!
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Stoneman
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10/22/2017 11:20:31 PM
In my mind, there is no doubt that your words are true.. My name never had anything to do with drugs. When I was 12 years old I was "jumped" into a street gang by about 20 guys who beat me until I was unconscious. The leader seemed to be impressed with the fact that I never stopped getting back up until I was out. So, he started calling me the "Man Of Stone". Eventually that was shortened to Stoneman by the crew. That nickname stuck with me even until today. However, it is also a derivative of my real name which is Stonewall. Most of my friends call me Stoney though. But, to be honest, I do smoke a lot of pot. I prefer that to the opioids the Veterans Administration keeps trying to force feed me. Plus, it is legal and free because I grow my own.
Respect,
Stoneman
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Psyche's Muse
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10/24/2017 3:42:15 AM
Wow, wish it was legal here... "FREE" would be nice too!
Uh... WITH RESPECT man(please don't read too much into this)...
but my two FAVORITE Civil War Heroes were STONEWALL Jackson and Abraham Lincoln. Yeah, BOTH! I was in second or third grade at the time. The teacher wanted the class to do a "report"( or write something... anything, whatever we might know about it) on a voluntary basis. Almost half the class took a pass on the assignment. Me, on the other hand, already knew about Lincoln and Booth(could even quote first part of the Gettysburg Address which I did at that time before the whole class). The teacher thanked me and then was surprised that I wanted to do more. Went to the library and read up on Grant(did not like because of his "scorched earth policy"), Lee(impressed), Stonewall Jackson(thrilled by all of his "outmanned/outnumbered" victories... never turned out like Custer's Last Stand). I hadn't a clue at that time that the Yankee Army was mostly being manned by immigrants who were conscripted and granted citizenship by their serving. That would explain all of those "fantastic" victories... one side had hunters and marksmen defending their own land; the other side had mostly "indentured servants"... some of whom had never even "seen" a gun, much less knew how to use them effectively.
As far as "PEACE" goes... when people are slinging shit around without thinking it out are showing their TRUE colors. I've seen Stephen Colbert "bashing" Trump numerous times making jokes about his lust for "grabbing" women. And then he speaks with Seinfeld about Bill Cosby saying that he cannot in good conscience listen to "ANY" of Cosby's jokes anymore. Seinfeld disagreed at the first and then changed his mind, saying he too probably wouldn't be able to listen to Cosby without being disgusted. Both of them making the "PERFECT ARGUMENTS" for why they shouldn't be supporting the Clintons anymore. Bill(yeah... the "White" one... or maybe... "Right" one?) for his long history of "SEXUAL HARASSMENT" and then Hillary for her successful defense of a Child Rapist in her "first case ever". She even made the little girl cry on the stand(and laughed about it later). Now, all that they had said about Bill(the "black" one) Cosby should be as aptly applied unto those hideous Clintons, both of them lying for a living just like any good comedian or politician should(haha!). So, I wonder if either Seinfeld or Colbert could be led into seeing that their "discriminatory" beliefs against the "black" BILL might be viewed as potentially "racist". Would they dare speak of the WHITE Bill in the same fashion as they did against the BLACK one? I doubt it... making them "Hypocrites" at the very least. I'm trying my best to be "HUMEROUS" in writing this, but as is usual, depending upon the topic, a thing will be received based upon the size of chip residing upon one's shoulder. And the damned "PROPAGANDISTS" are creating bigger and bigger "chips" upon our shoulders, driving wedges in between us, and inciting extremist views by extracting and extolling the extremes. And this "WAR" of words is surely a sign of all the "sticks and stones" to come. I hope not, but it smells like it, looks like it, walks and talks like it.
Anyway, THANKS for the response "STONEWALL"(and Much RESPECT!)
-M-
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Stoneman
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10/26/2017 11:08:13 PM
Oh, you were referring to my real name "Stonewall" That was given to me by my father who was also Stonewall just as his father was. We are not sure of where it comes from but we have surmised that Stonewall Jackson may have owned my ancestors and that is where the name comes from. But there is no proof of that yet. Me, being the 3rd, means that it goes way back. Doesn't make sense for a family of former slaves to name themselves after a confederate general. However, it was customary for slaves to take the former masters sir names because they had no idea of their African names. Upon arrival to the new world, the slaves were banned from even speaking their native languages. Naming was the job of the overseer or the slave master. But my great grandmother told me that the family saw it as a name of strength and character. I hated it though because I had lots of fights about it when I was in the military. Plus, my father abandoned me when I was little and I never had much love for him. Having his name wass sort of an insult to me. But int he military the confederate flag waivers had lots of jokes and my shoes got very shitty. Unfortunately, my wallet was a lot thinner from all of the fines I had to pay every time I punched somebody's nose out the back of their head. I know, an exaggeration. But, I really tried to and it made them stop fucking with me. The only way to stop a racist bully is to whip that ass. At least that has been my life experience. Make them fear you! But now days, as a senior, I get lots of respect about my name. People always tell me that it is cool. Oh well, Stonewall pays the bills and Stoneman gets the cool points. Go figure. I also had the Gettysburg address memorized as a kid. Guess we have something in common there. I couldn't recite the first line these days. My memory has been damaged because of brain surgery I had last year and I am old as shit. Can't remember to take my pills without a gentle reminder from my heart or my pacemaker/defibrilator.
Much Respect Back Atcha!
Stoneman
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