by BAR's poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner
Video, as police and military malefactors frequently remind us, is two dimensional.
What The Video Shows
by BAR's poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner
Baby, donât do it
Baby, donât you do it
Baby, donât dare do it
Donât trust your lying eyes
The officer drove 6 min.
Like Mario Andretti impersonating
Evel Knivel on Chicago streets
The officer alighted from his vehicle
Firing and fearing for his safety and
The safety of his fellow officersâŚ
Baby, donât do it
Baby, donât you do it
Baby, donât dare do it
Donât trust your lying eyes
After being struck by several rounds
Fired by the responding officer, the
Suspect assumed a combative prone
Position and began resisting the officerâs
FireâŚ
Baby, donât do it
Baby, donât you do it
Baby, donât dare do it
Donât trust your lying eyes
Notice the suspectâs body refusing to
Stay still; notice the suspectâs body
bouncing, twistingâthatâs resisting
Notice the suspectâs body refusing to
Just dieâthatâs resistingâheâs resisting!
Baby, donât do it
Baby, donât you do it
Baby, donât dare do it
Donât trust your lying eyes
The officer feared for his safety and
The safety of his fellow officers whose
Guns were holstered
The officer feared for his safety and
The safety of his fellow officers and
The safety of the suspect, so they let
Him âbleed outââa splitâsecond decision
this workâs hard enough without second-guessing
Baby, donât do it
Baby, donât you do it
Baby, donât dare do it
Donât trust your lying eyes
Well, on second viewing, the officer may
Have used poor judgment, may have over-
Reacted; the officer may need more training
Baby, donât do it
Baby, donât you do it
Baby, donât dare do it
Donât trust your lying eyes
Videoâs two dimensionalâwhat you think you
See is not what you really seeâtake that hospital
Bombed
In Afghanistanâit wasnât really bombedâit only
Looked bombed. It only looks like splattered blood
on ICU walls. That head only looks like itâs detached
from its torso. It only looks like 32 people were killedâŚ
Videoâs two dimensionalâwhat you think you
See is not what you really seeâso repeat after me:
Baby, donât do it
Baby, donât you do it
Baby, donât dare do it
Donât trust your lying eyes
Raymond Nat Turner Š 2015 All Rights Reserved
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The North Atlantic Treaty Organization claims the African continent as its "neighborhood." NATO is certainly not the defensive organization that it claims to be. Expanding imperialism is always itsâŚ
Black politics in Pennsylvania and the mid-term elections, the Play Cousins Collective serves Black families in Louisville, Kentucky, and in New York City, Dr. Al-Fatah Stewart fights for justice andâŚ
Dr. Anthony Monteiro is a Duboisian scholar and founder of the Saturday Free School for Philosophy and Black Liberation, which recently celebrated its 10th anniversary. He joins us from PhiladelphiaâŚ
Kristen Williams is Executive Director of the Louisville, Kentucky based Play Cousins Collective. Play Cousins Collective develops and facilitates programing and curriculum centering Black children'sâŚ
