Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

R2P: Responsibility To Protect
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
02 Feb 2022
🖨️ Print Article
Source: hedearnell.medium.com
Source: hedearnell.medium.com

Unhoused sisters and brothers, Civilian 

Casualty-Collateral Damage,  

Ol’ Schmo’s sounding Sam and Dave-ish— 

“Hold on, I’m comin’… 

Hold on, I’m comin’…” 

from high alert into harm’s way of your sidewalk  

sleeper cells—your encampments, tarps and tents 

sprung up like multi-colored mini-mushroom clouds 

Unhoused sisters and brothers, Civilian 

Casualty-Collateral Damage,  

Ol’ Schmo’s sounding Sam and Dave-ish— 

“Hold on, I’m comin’… 

Hold on, I’m comin’…” from high alert to coordinates  

of borders between Berkeley and Oakland where you’re  

Amassed. 

He’s comin' boots on the ground—Special Forces—brave  

fighting men and women platoon/battalion, heavily-armed— Amish-style—ready to raise roofs and grow food… 

Capitalism’s putative leader knows the Golden State’s home to half his nation’s unhoused. And he’s hopping mad—R2P: Responsibility To Protect—humanitarian intervention—MAD! “What lousy dictator would do this to his own people?!” “Own people!” he mumbles “Will gas be next?!” “Gas?!” he babbles… 

Unhoused sisters and brothers, Civilian 

Casualty-Collateral Damage, 

Ol’ Schmo’s sounding Sam and Dave-ish— 

“Hold on, I’m comin’… 

Hold on, I’m comin’…” from high alert, deploying good guys with nail-guns, hammers, saws, 2x4s, rebar, bricks and concrete— Weapons of Mass Construction—Build Back Better ain’t bosh! He’s comin’ ‘cause housing’s a human right; 

Comin’ to get bogged down in Structural Adjustments; 

Comin’ Slick Willy-ish: “I feel your pain—it’s the economy stupid!” Comin’ Drone Ranger-ish: with spare “Change you can believe in…” If your eyes well up when handed your keys it’s 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: “Support the troops!” “Support the troops!”

It’s OK to let good guys with Weapons of Mass Construction board planes before babysitters, teachers, midwifes, nurses, doctors and dentists as you chant, “Thank you for your service” over and over… 

Unhoused sisters and brothers, Civilian 

Casualty-Collateral Damage—  

Spoiler alert: 

Ol’ Schmo’s changing his tune. He’s saying he 

Tolt you from da git—from da jump: “Nothing 

would fundamentally change…He’s saying he 

has a right to sing the Blues— a right to try to 

sound more and more like Lady Day each day: 

“Hush now, don’t explain… 

money waits in Ukraine…” 

 

Š 2022. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.

 

War and Empire

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles? Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.


More Stories


  • A Revolutionary Lens on U.S. Elections
    Netfa Freeman
    A Revolutionary Lens on U.S. Elections
    09 Nov 2022
    The electoral system alone doesn't bring about change that benefits the people. People-centered political formations must be part of any political process.
  • The ‘Collective West’ Declares War on the World
    Black Alliance For Peace
    The ‘Collective West’ Declares War on the World
    09 Nov 2022
    The U.S. remains committed to its efforts at securing hegemonic control of the world, but as always there is resistance domestically and internationally. The Black Alliance for Peace explains in its…
  • Don’t Greenwash Your Climate Crimes by Greenwashing Egypt’s Military Dictatorship
    Y.Y.H. Al-Askar
    Don’t Greenwash Your Climate Crimes by Greenwashing Egypt’s Military Dictatorship
    09 Nov 2022
    As Egypt plays host to COP27, Y.Y.H. Al-Askar – writing under a pseudonym – draws attention to the plight of the tens of thousands of political prisoners in Egypt.
  • Colombia’s New President Reverses US Coup, Visits Venezuela, Pledges Unity in ‘Spirit of BolĂ­var’
    Ben Norton
    Colombia’s New President Reverses US Coup, Visits Venezuela, Pledges Unity in ‘Spirit of Bolívar’
    09 Nov 2022
    Colombia’s first-ever left-wing leader Gustavo Petro took a historic trip to Venezuela, pledging regional unity following the anti-imperialist model of Simón Bolívar. Meeting with President Nicolás…
  • NATO in the Amazon: Petro Plays with Fire
    Roger D. Harris
    NATO in the Amazon: Petro Plays with Fire
    09 Nov 2022
    The US military will operate in the Amazon region of Colombia under the guise of protecting the environment. Gustavo Petro, the newly elected president of Colombia, agreed to this questionable…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us