Unhoused sisters and brothers, Civilian
Casualty-Collateral Damage,
Olā Schmoās sounding Sam and Dave-ishā
āHold on, Iām comināā¦
Hold on, Iām comināā¦ā
from high alert into harmās way of your sidewalk
sleeper cellsāyour encampments, tarps and tents
sprung up like multi-colored mini-mushroom clouds
Unhoused sisters and brothers, Civilian
Casualty-Collateral Damage,
Olā Schmoās sounding Sam and Dave-ishā
āHold on, Iām comināā¦
Hold on, Iām comināā¦ā from high alert to coordinates
of borders between Berkeley and Oakland where youāre
Amassed.
Heās comin' boots on the groundāSpecial Forcesābrave
fighting men and women platoon/battalion, heavily-armedā Amish-styleāready to raise roofs and grow foodā¦
Capitalismās putative leader knows the Golden Stateās home to half his nationās unhoused. And heās hopping madāR2P: Responsibility To Protectāhumanitarian interventionāMAD! āWhat lousy dictator would do this to his own people?!ā āOwn people!ā he mumbles āWill gas be next?!ā āGas?!ā he babblesā¦
Unhoused sisters and brothers, Civilian
Casualty-Collateral Damage,
Olā Schmoās sounding Sam and Dave-ishā
āHold on, Iām comināā¦
Hold on, Iām comināā¦ā from high alert, deploying good guys with nail-guns, hammers, saws, 2x4s, rebar, bricks and concreteā Weapons of Mass ConstructionāBuild Back Better aināt bosh! Heās cominā ācause housingās a human right;
Cominā to get bogged down in Structural Adjustments;
Cominā Slick Willy-ish: āI feel your paināitās the economy stupid!ā Cominā Drone Ranger-ish: with spare āChange you can believe inā¦ā If your eyes well up when handed your keys itās OK; OK if you burst into tears during your first shower in two years; OK to wake up in your warm laundry-fresh bed babbling: āSupport the troops!ā āSupport the troops!ā
Itās OK to let good guys with Weapons of Mass Construction board planes before babysitters, teachers, midwifes, nurses, doctors and dentists as you chant, āThank you for your serviceā over and overā¦
Unhoused sisters and brothers, Civilian
Casualty-Collateral Damageā
Spoiler alert:
Olā Schmoās changing his tune. Heās saying he
Tolt you from da gitāfrom da jump: āNothing
would fundamentally changeā¦Heās saying he
has a right to sing the Bluesā a right to try to
sound more and more like Lady Day each day:
āHush now, donāt explainā¦
money waits in Ukraineā¦ā
Ā© 2022. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.
On October 18, US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield raised her hand to veto even so much as a āhumanitarian pauseā to Israelās war on Gaza.
In this eulogy for dub poet Michael āMikeyā Smith, Amiri Baraka asserts the need for Black and Third World mass organization against the ravages of neo-colonialism, imperialism, racism, andā¦
The United States still has the dubious distinction of having more people behind bars than any other country. The population of local jails continue to rise and is a bellwether for mass incarcerationā¦
The Black political class is not made up solely of politicians. Celebrities and athletes like LeBron James are given access to corporate dollars and their politics reflect their class interests.
Cory Booker has been a favorite of right-wing interest groups ever since he first ran for office to become mayor of Newark 20 years ago.
