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
In this series, we ask acclaimed authors to answer five questions about their book. This weekâs featured author is Reighan Gillam. Gillam is an assistant professor in the Department of AnthropologyâŚ
Rage is a natural human emotion that is denied to Black people. Black rage is dangerous and is washed away, laundered, as if it were an ill-gotten gain. Too Black explains in the second part ofâŚ
International law requires that reparations be made for human rights violations. African Americans certainly fall into the category of those entitled to just compensation, restitution, andâŚ
The brutal history of British imperialism should not be forgotten in the wake of the Queen's death. The South African organization, Economic Freedom Fighters, recounts the many crimesâŚ
Haiti is the first target of the Global Fragility Act. Haiti's "fragility" is caused by decades of U.S. interference, and the restoration of its sovereignty is the way to resolve that nation's âŚ
