Hey guys, sorry for the delay, this was originally a Trylemma day but he had some family stuff go down. I hope everyone is taking the time to think about their freedom, and specifically how others haven't achieved theirs yet. You've been hearing it everywhere but it bears repeating, especially today. Thanks to a loophole in the 13th Amendment, slavery is still legal and alive in America in the form of prison labor. Juneteenth was a step in the right direction, but not the whole journey. I know there are so many protests and gatherings planned for today, if you can consider joining up and showing your support.
If you can't protest, or even if you are Bandcamp is donating their fees to the NAACP Legal Defence Fund today, so consider buying that $25 EP you've been holding off on because the price is outrageous and you know someone's gonna post it, but they haven't yet and you're getting annoyed. It's for a good cause.
I had to rush out something so I thought I'd give you an album by a black artist that I can almost guarantee you don't have. My understanding is this album was only given out hand to hand by Irie himself, 15 years ago or so. No idea if he still makes music, or if there are other albums. The production was handled by a local DJ, I believe he was in high school at this point. Track names were not included and there was no art, so the titles written here are just so I know which song is which, feel free to change them or if you know Irie then please let me know what they should be.
Room Fi Rent? is a very solid conscious rap album with reflections on hip hop, spirituality and capitalism, West Coast flavored and intelligent. And probably one of the rarest albums we've posted thus far, if only because this guy had such a low profile.
I wanted to share something here. I am, as far as I know the only white male employed at my current place of work, and it's given me the chance to reflect on something. Most of the other employees are of the same ethnicity and bi-lingual, which means if they wanted to they could have frozen me out easily simply by not speaking English and pretending I didn't exist. That has not been what's happened. A lesson in being the outsider for this Caucasian, and the experience of acceptance from people different from me. I'm trying to be receptive and soak up any experiences like that I can, I'm definitely not an alt-right bigot but I recognize that I should try and improve my understanding of racism and my unintentional role in it every day. That's what I've reflected on today. Enjoy your weekend!
Note: Oh and to the police in Atlanta, what the fuck?! Have you been paying attention to what America has been telling you, or did you just need to shoot someone in the back THAT BADLY? And the rest of you calling out sick? Police, we recognize you have a job that is often difficult and sometimes dangerous. We appreciate you for being willing to do that, if you're doing it because you want to protect Americans. But we do not work for you. It is not our job to make your job easier, or to really do anything at all for you. We do not need to call you sir, or show you any respect at all. We should because it's good manners, but we don't have to and shouldn't treat you better because you'll murder us if we don't. It is YOUR JOB to protect the health and safety of ALL AMERICANS, that's it. Sometimes you have to make judgement calls, but you do not get to murder us with impunity because you have guns and we don't. And guess what else? As taxpayers, we ARE YOUR BOSSES. So when your bosses are telling you you are not doing a good job, you need to listen or expect to be fired. You may think you're making a point by sticking up for your fellow officers, but what it looks like to us is you are no longer capable of doing the job we pay you for, and are probably never going to be.
So if you're a good cop who doesn't kill black people and you value the role you play in society, recognize that officers like Chauvin and Rolfe are going to get you fired and stop associating yourselves with them. That's one man's opinion, take it if you want, or don't.
Note: Oh and to the police in Atlanta, what the fuck?! Have you been paying attention to what America has been telling you, or did you just need to shoot someone in the back THAT BADLY? And the rest of you calling out sick? Police, we recognize you have a job that is often difficult and sometimes dangerous. We appreciate you for being willing to do that, if you're doing it because you want to protect Americans. But we do not work for you. It is not our job to make your job easier, or to really do anything at all for you. We do not need to call you sir, or show you any respect at all. We should because it's good manners, but we don't have to and shouldn't treat you better because you'll murder us if we don't. It is YOUR JOB to protect the health and safety of ALL AMERICANS, that's it. Sometimes you have to make judgement calls, but you do not get to murder us with impunity because you have guns and we don't. And guess what else? As taxpayers, we ARE YOUR BOSSES. So when your bosses are telling you you are not doing a good job, you need to listen or expect to be fired. You may think you're making a point by sticking up for your fellow officers, but what it looks like to us is you are no longer capable of doing the job we pay you for, and are probably never going to be.
So if you're a good cop who doesn't kill black people and you value the role you play in society, recognize that officers like Chauvin and Rolfe are going to get you fired and stop associating yourselves with them. That's one man's opinion, take it if you want, or don't.
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