truth is from the inside out. not the outside in.
"During times of deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act." George Orwell.
so true. you know so many people walk around with big vocabularies and engage in discussions where they try to intellectualize everything at Brown BUT in the real world, life is about survival or at least for me and most the world. my friends ask me if their poetry was at the level of so and so, or another if her speech sounded "smart." it is about that? people dont speak from the heart. i turn to her and said you spoke from your mind and from your heart. you expressed. who cares about the rest. insecurity/ others' opinion is the devil i think. and competition. like lauryn saids why dont people just let their belly out. when a friend tells me he doesnt want to go to the human rights film festival, i think why? because to be anti-something/ apathetic is cool or hipster culture rejects it so you must too? i am not denying that people can have their reasons but at least tell me why. i want truth. and when she asks if she sounded smart, i say why does she care? isn't the point to speak of about your culture and reveal your people's oppression and beauty. why do we care what people think? i swear. thats why i love katherine or anyone else who walks around in life like fuck you. seriously fuck it! because isn't that what real freedom is? ridding of social bondage?
went to the legends of the sea show. i saw a friend i didnt expect there. i hope it inpired her to embrace her identity. that is judgmental of me but what i mean to say is that we live in society in which we are rejected to the extent we try to remove ourselves from our own identity.
went to the women's spiritual circle for women of color at ruth's house. katherine and kristin were there. we talked about men. and their oppression over women. you know, feminist shit. we went around the room and did check-ins. their house was real cool. it was very rastafarian-esque. haha. we talked about how people think they know what bob marley's music means or like his music....ruth said it best... they think they know truth. they don't know what real is. she said that the circle was unique because in other gatherings you wouldnt have a group of girls who would discuss life in this way. and i think she is right. those other girls talk about shopping and guys they hook up with, but what about life. is it that maybe only those who have gone through oppression/ struggle/ adversity know what is up? i'm starting to think thats true. and im not making this is a race thing, though typically certain people do experience similar life stories of poverty, abuse, foster care, etc. i mean don't get me wrong. women of color could very well not talk about it either.
ruth says you try to have "them" get it. and you try to explain but you cant and then they respond "well, i tried. i asked you to explain. and you cannot. so it must not exist." and then they think it's about guilt. or when people respond well i am not a racist or an oppressor so dont speak for me. and it's like again. it's not about you. why do you have to play the victim? the only thing i dont understand is how white people are to "get it," (really) understand and empathize with the lives of many people of color. they said they hate it when people wear dreadlocks who shouldn't, take africana but then what r they to do to try? i always appreciated white folks that tried. but maybe i can understand. it's like when malcolm x told that girl dont help me. because college liberal students try to intellectualize and analyze everything when really most of the time it's like what the hell you talking about? survival and intellectualism. two diff. worlds to me.
katherine talked about her hatred towards white people and how eventually she will get over it. but we accepted that anger fuels passion and change. however, we brought it back to love. whereas katherine believes you dont have to like everyone. i think like bob marley, that life is best with one love. because as jennifer said everyone is the way they are due to experience. so even those we dont agree with have a reason. and it takes patience. and i believe you cant be happy with yourselves unless you not angry.
but yeah i really enjoyed it, especially all that ruth said. about everything. oppression, the part about digging into the past where our land was stolen. because thats how it started. europeans took over communities of culture, land, and cooperation. shit hippie is ethnic. and what most people overlook-is that they are reactions to struggle. im not saying culture necessarily exists outside of aesthetics, but at least understand the meaning/ roots of cultural practices & music.
so true. you know so many people walk around with big vocabularies and engage in discussions where they try to intellectualize everything at Brown BUT in the real world, life is about survival or at least for me and most the world. my friends ask me if their poetry was at the level of so and so, or another if her speech sounded "smart." it is about that? people dont speak from the heart. i turn to her and said you spoke from your mind and from your heart. you expressed. who cares about the rest. insecurity/ others' opinion is the devil i think. and competition. like lauryn saids why dont people just let their belly out. when a friend tells me he doesnt want to go to the human rights film festival, i think why? because to be anti-something/ apathetic is cool or hipster culture rejects it so you must too? i am not denying that people can have their reasons but at least tell me why. i want truth. and when she asks if she sounded smart, i say why does she care? isn't the point to speak of about your culture and reveal your people's oppression and beauty. why do we care what people think? i swear. thats why i love katherine or anyone else who walks around in life like fuck you. seriously fuck it! because isn't that what real freedom is? ridding of social bondage?
went to the legends of the sea show. i saw a friend i didnt expect there. i hope it inpired her to embrace her identity. that is judgmental of me but what i mean to say is that we live in society in which we are rejected to the extent we try to remove ourselves from our own identity.
went to the women's spiritual circle for women of color at ruth's house. katherine and kristin were there. we talked about men. and their oppression over women. you know, feminist shit. we went around the room and did check-ins. their house was real cool. it was very rastafarian-esque. haha. we talked about how people think they know what bob marley's music means or like his music....ruth said it best... they think they know truth. they don't know what real is. she said that the circle was unique because in other gatherings you wouldnt have a group of girls who would discuss life in this way. and i think she is right. those other girls talk about shopping and guys they hook up with, but what about life. is it that maybe only those who have gone through oppression/ struggle/ adversity know what is up? i'm starting to think thats true. and im not making this is a race thing, though typically certain people do experience similar life stories of poverty, abuse, foster care, etc. i mean don't get me wrong. women of color could very well not talk about it either.
ruth says you try to have "them" get it. and you try to explain but you cant and then they respond "well, i tried. i asked you to explain. and you cannot. so it must not exist." and then they think it's about guilt. or when people respond well i am not a racist or an oppressor so dont speak for me. and it's like again. it's not about you. why do you have to play the victim? the only thing i dont understand is how white people are to "get it," (really) understand and empathize with the lives of many people of color. they said they hate it when people wear dreadlocks who shouldn't, take africana but then what r they to do to try? i always appreciated white folks that tried. but maybe i can understand. it's like when malcolm x told that girl dont help me. because college liberal students try to intellectualize and analyze everything when really most of the time it's like what the hell you talking about? survival and intellectualism. two diff. worlds to me.
katherine talked about her hatred towards white people and how eventually she will get over it. but we accepted that anger fuels passion and change. however, we brought it back to love. whereas katherine believes you dont have to like everyone. i think like bob marley, that life is best with one love. because as jennifer said everyone is the way they are due to experience. so even those we dont agree with have a reason. and it takes patience. and i believe you cant be happy with yourselves unless you not angry.
but yeah i really enjoyed it, especially all that ruth said. about everything. oppression, the part about digging into the past where our land was stolen. because thats how it started. europeans took over communities of culture, land, and cooperation. shit hippie is ethnic. and what most people overlook-is that they are reactions to struggle. im not saying culture necessarily exists outside of aesthetics, but at least understand the meaning/ roots of cultural practices & music.