#martin luther king

Credit: Jordan J. Lloyd

I’ve been trying to dive deeper into politics, discover the genuine roots of our society, the origins of our beliefs, and the consequences of our economic system. It’s a big, long, wide journey and through multiple sources such as articles, images, videos and multiple social media platforms, I’ve been trying to educate myself more on important subjects.

Communism, capitalism, libertarian, conservative, the left, the right, the history, the impact. It is scary to commit to everything because once you start, you simply cannot stop, once you start waking up your conscience about the horrible reality, the lies, the truths, you cannot put it back to sleep. You can’t just ignore prejudice, especially when you’re extremely conscious of it’s omnipresence. I have continually tried to build my own opinions all while actively creating bullet point arguments in my mind because I just know that at some point I will have to defend my thinking, and I want to do it right.

Now, I am so far from being enlightened, I am a beginner and an amateur in all of those themes, but I am trying, which is the only way to start and grow.

So to tell you about my beliefs, I am a militant human rights activist, I believe in equal opportunities regardless of gender identity, sex, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, race and disability. This is a fact, not a belief, but the system was obviously not built to protect all people, its wasn’t created to serve everyone equally but to grant a privilege to some and harm others. The current state of the world is not a slip, an accident or a misfunction of our brilliant system but a testament of it operating remarkably well. I believe that equity leads to equality, and I believe that we cannot “fix” methodologies that were immorally created with absolutely no honor whatsoever. I believe in reproductive rights, in legal, safe abortions for anybody who needs one. I believe in the decriminalization of marijuana. I believe that the death penalty is a despicable punition that should be banned as soon as possible. I believe in defunding the police and the military. I believe that it is a shame that I even have to talk about police brutality, I don’t want to have to say that it is one of the most horrible things our world has originated, I feel extremely dense when I do because it seems like the most obvious certitude and I refuse to believe that this is a controversial statement. I believe that everything I have just stated, along with many more, isn’t anything grand but the bare minimum, the bar is low, and yet, we still have the fight for basic human decency.

Humanity has become an option. We have normalized supporting people that represent everything wrong in this world under the name of tolerance. The left has never claimed to be tolerant towards hateful beings, We have never accepted homophobia, transphobia, racism, ableism and sexism. We cannot, for exemple, accept nazis, as too much tolerance inevitably leads to intolerance. This picture explains it perfectly:

I consider myself a communist/ socialist. The two terms still confuse me a little, some say they are the same, some say they differ quite a bit. What I know is that socialism is the transitional period between capitalism and communism. At the end of the day, the final result and goal is a stateless, moneyless and clasless society that will provide to each his need.

Our capitalistic society has brainwashed us way more than you may think. It is the root of so many of our issues, the underground demon of our problems. Every idea, thought, belief, and misconception of ours were all affected by our current economic system. It has sold us the billionnaire dream which is one of the most toxic things capitalism has offered. We have looked up to billionaires for way too long, why are they so idolized? Most of them come from high upper class families that can easily afford to invest in their inventions and creations. After starting up their companies and occasionnaly stealing other’s people ideas to ultimately get undeserved merit, they then can start to properly exploit their hardworking employees’s labour. And for unlimited hours and a minimum wage which probably won’t even suffice you to survive, you will have to either pick up more shifts or a second or even third job, especially if you have a family to support. All while the CEO barely does any of the work and gets all the praise and money. So no, they don’t all come from really poor families and have built everything for nothing.

The worst thing is that we’ve been so gaslit and brainwashed that we’re proud of our own exploitation, we are wired to think that to be successful we have to suffer, work 10 jobs we all hate, constantly pick up extra hours, have 2 hours of sleep, have no free time to do anything we love, waste our entire youth, be depressed our entire adulthood, to finally have a few pennies to spend when we’re eighty. We so strongly believe that this is the only right way to be successful that I don’t think many of us have dared to question it’s authority, and even if we do, we quickly accept that this a truth, a fact we cannot change and this is just the way things are.

We have capitalized water, food, land, forests, oceans, space, and everything in betweeen. Money is social construct and we have deliberately let it take over our lives. To think about the wasted opportunities and the misery that we have to endure so others can enjoy life truly angers me.

Also, communism is not an ideology that has every actually taken place. Despite what they say, there was never actually a communist country. However, every nation that has attempted a socialist system, for exemple Burkina Faso, has thrived. But of course, once capitalist countries noticed that, they decided to murder it’s leader. So in conclusion, the only reason socialism failed is because of capitalism and it’s interventions.

“As President (1983-1987), Sankara initiated economic reforms that shifted his country away from dependence on foreign aid and reduced the privileges of government officials; he cut salaries, including his own, decreed that there would be no more flying in first class or driving Mercedes as standard issue vehicles for Ministers and other government workers. He led a modest lifestyle and did not personally amass material wealth. President Sankara encouraged self-sufficiency, including the use of local resources to build clinics, schools and other needed infrastructure. […] President Sankara promoted land reform, childhood vaccination, tree planting, communal school building, and nation-wide literacy campaigns. He was committed to gender equity and women’s rights and was the first African leader to publicly recognize the AIDS pandemic as a threat to African countries. Although Sankara became somewhat more authoritarian during his Presidency, his ideas, and the possibility that they could spread, were viewed by many as posing the greatest threat. President Sankara was assassinated during a coup led by a French-backed politician, Blaise Compaoré, in October 1987. Compaoré served as the President of Burkina Faso from October 1987 through October 2014, when he himself was overthrown.”

Via:https://africandevelopmentsuccesses.wordpress.com/2015/02/28/success-story-from-burkina-faso-thomas-sankaras-legacy/

Success Story from Burkina Faso: Thomas Sankara’s Legacy

I have been reading and watching some amazing human rights activists, notably Angela Davis, Malcolm X and James Baldwin. The people that were villainized, labeled as violent and radical, when every single word that came out of their mouhs were pure facts. They are probably some of the most eloquent people I have had the pleasure of hearing. Every sentence, every argument, every single detail made so much sense and opened my mind to so many new realizations. This is the perfect exemple of how the media tarnishes the reputation of wise black women and men. I would strongly advise you to research more about them.

“Socialism & communism are demonized in the west to the point of erasing influential individuals’ socialist advocacy. Heres a short list of people you may not have known were socialists/ communists:

• MLK
• Albert Einstein
• Nelson Mandela
• Frida Kahlo
• Tupac Shakur
• Mark Twain
• Malcom X
• Oscar Wilde
• Bertrand Russell
• Hellen Keller
• Pablo Picasso
• George Orwell
• Shia LaBeouf
• John Lennon
• Woody Guthrie

Socialism & communism are not dirty words. Some of the most brilliant minds of our history were socialists and communists. Embrace it.” Via @sleepisocialist on twitter

So what else can I say, capitalism has ruined our society and the way we act and think. I know a lot of people refuse to support communism because they think it’s too much of a perfect ideal utopian world for it to ever actually exist. And to that I say, first of all, so you agree, it is a wonderful theory, and second of all, a world without racism, sexism, homophobia or any kind or discrimination could also be perceived as “too ideal to actually exist”, but does that mean I’m giving up on talking, educating myself and others, protesting and trying to build a better future? Absolutely not. This is the objective, it would be so dumb to think that we just couldn’t achieve that so let’s not even try.

I want to talk more in detail about communism, theory, human rights, etc… but I don’t want to make this post any longer. I will however be posting more about it soon enough.

I know this is a little different than what I usually post, but I want to speak, tell you all my own opinions, I don’t want to just repost activism related stuff. I’ll continue to do that, but not exclusively. I know it won’t get as many interactions as my other posts, but this is what I needed at some point in my life, and if I could make understanding some basic informations easier to some people, it’ll already be a great accomplishment.

Thank you for reading.

mydailybookquotes:

“Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.”

-Martin Luther King Jr., I Have A Dream…

“In our glorious fight for civil rights, we must guard against being fooled by false slogans, as ‘right-to-work.’ It provides no 'rights’ and no 'works.’ Its purpose is to destroy labor unions and the freedom of collective bargaining… We demand this fraud be stopped.”  ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

Getting very lazy with blog posts but finally have some time! Last weekend we went to Atlanta for the night, as we had tickets to see Bombay Bicycle Club, and it was so much fun.

We rode the Megabus early on Saturday morning (6.30am, aah!), so we could get there for about 10.30, and then have the day to spend in Atlanta. It was SO cold on the Megabus, obviously we were all trying to sleep, but I was absolutely freezing as I was wearing a skirt so couldn’t really get off. Other than that the bus is great! Theres TV’s that apparently show films on the longer journeys, and theres free WiFi, so you can pretty much find something to amuse you on the way.

Once we got there we went to get breakfast and then dropped our stuff off at the hotel. We managed to get the Holiday Inn for $110 for the four of us, what a bargain, and they’re always really clean and comfortable. After we’d dropped the bags off, we went to look around the Olympic Park, which was really cool. It was really interesting as there was all sorts of monuments for the different athletes and countries. It was cool as there was a monument that included our very own Steve Redgrave!

We then went on to the CNN tour which was really cool. It takes you up the biggest free-standing escalator in the world (interesting stuff) into this massive globe, and then you make you’re way down to the bottom again through all the studios. We got to look at all the newsrooms, and watched one of the anchors hosting live.

We then went to the Martin Luther King site, which I’d already been to with my family a few years ago, but was still so interesting to see again. We wanted to walk there from where we were Downtown, but we ended up having to walk right through the ‘ghetto’ part of town, which was actually quite scary. I know that parts of Atlanta can be dangerous, but we just sort of ended up there! Anyway we got to the site and it was amazing. We went into the church that MLK grew up in and preached in until his death, which was so interesting. They have it all laid out in the same way it was when he was there, and theres a recording of his voice thats played on repeat, and it’s definitely a strange feeling as it is still sad. We went to the museum which is even sadder. I was nearly crying because there is these awful photos of his parents at his funeral which are just really hard to look at. The thought that all this was going on in my parents lifetimes is just so crazy to me, it definitely puts race issues into perspective. Here we are sat infront of he and his wife’s tomb:

After this we were (as you can imagine) VERY tired, so we went back to the hotel to get ready for the gig. I’d never heard much of Bombay Bicycle Club, but they were really really good! One of my favourite things to do is go and watch bands that I don’t really know, because I always think you like songs more if you hear them live. Also, we met one of the band members at the end, and as they’re an English band he was suprised at four English girls turning up to see them in Atlanta1

On Sunday before we got the bus home we went to this really cool underground mall for a few hours where I finally bought myself some new trainers and now all ready to get back to the gym! While we were at this mall went to Eddie Rockets which is the American diner and we had milkshake which I guess is very authentic!

On the way back to the bus stop we got to see the Captiol building which has some cool statues, for example of Jimmy Carter. Obviously we had such a great weekend but I was absolutely knackered by then and was pretty glad to get back to Knoxville!

Sweatpants & History | Rosa Parks and Her Lifetime of Activism

Today, on what would have been her 104th birthday, Rosa Parks’ contribution to the Civil Rights Movement is honored—in two states: California and Missouri (Ohio and Oregon observe Rosa Parks Day on December 1, the anniversary of her arrest). Only four out of fifty states have proclaimed a day to honor the woman often dubbed “the first lady of civil rights.” Aside from being a missed opportunity…

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Josephine Baker,

(3rd June 1906 - 12th April 1975)

Born in St. Lous, Missouri, Josephine Baker was a signer, dancer, and civil rights activist. After moving away from America and to France and leaving her husband at the age of 19, she joined a black vaudeville group. She became very popular in France during the 1920s and became one of the highest paid and most sought after performers in Europe.

During World War 2, Baker joined the French Resistance as a spy and whilst touring around Europe, she would carry large amounts of sheet music that had messages written on in invisible ink. She also used her fame to smuggle photographs of German military installations out of enemy territory. She gained the rank of lieutenant in the Free French Air Force and was awarded the Medal of Resistance and the Croix de Guerre.

In 1928, a Hungarian cavalry officer and an Italian count did just that in Budapest. According to a contemporary account from TIME magazine, “the ogling and attentions of Hungarian Cavalry Captain Andrew Czlovoydi became too fervently gallant to be stomached by La Baker’s manager, Count Pepito di Albertini.” The Count challenged the soldier to a sword-fighting duel. The duel took place in a cemetery and Baker cheered on her manager from her seat on top of a tombstone.

As a way to try and combat the racism of the time and show an example to the world, Baker adopted twelve orphaned children of various ethnicities and countries.

Baker received a pet cheetah named Chiquita to use as part of her dance show, and after the act was finished she chose to keep the animal. Chiquita traveled the world with Baker, road in her car and slept in her bed. She had a goat named Toutoute who lived in her dressing room at her nightclub, and at the same club she had a pet pig named Albert who lived in the club’s kitchen and ate on the food scraps. Albert got so large from his lavish lifestyle that he couldn’t get through of the kitchen’s door any longer and the door’s frame had to be taken off.

Ernest Hemingway once called Baker “the most sensational woman anyone ever saw.” While in Paris, Baker mixed socially with some of the most famous creatives of the Jazz Era, including Jean Cocteau and Pablo Picasso, the latter of whom called her “the Nefertiti of now” and jumped at the chance to paint the singer.

Josephine Baker was an advocate of civil rights. During a visit to America in the 1950s she was refused entry to multiple hotels (36 throughout her career) under segregation, which led to her writing articles about racial equality and campaigning with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, as well as refusing to perform in segregated venues, regardless of how much they offered to pay her.

In 1963, she joined Martin Luther King Jr to speak at the March on Washington, and after his assassination was asked by his wife to take her husbands position as the leader of the movement, but declined in fear of endangering her children.

Although she spent most of her life in France, Baker rememberd the impact of segregation and institutionalised racism from her childhood in St Louis where she left school at age eight to become a live-in domestic servanas where she was not allowed to look her employer in the eye and was once punished by a woman for using too much soap in the laundry and received burns to the hand.

When Baker died of a cerbebral haemorrhage, she received a full Roman Catholic funeral, and was the only American born woman to have full french military honours.

⭐️ another fun fact!⭐️

In the 1997 animated film ‘Anastasia’, there’s a quick camero of Josephine Baker during the song ‘Paris Holds the Key (To your Heart)’ and she can be seen wearing her iconic banana dress and walking her pet cheetah.

bungeejumptohell:

I often find it upsetting when people post pictures of trivial matters that do nothing to comment on the state of racial relations in America with the caption “mlk died for this.” MLK didn’t die for you to get coffee with your black friend or listen to Kanye and talk about how hood you are. MLK didn’t die for anything, he wished to live. He wanted to continue his fight, he wanted to see the day when his tree bore fruits. He didn’t chose to die a martyr to further his cause. He was not guaranteed martyrdom. He died because of the very thing he was trying to fight: hatred and racism. He died because a white man hated him.

Well-said. MLK would’ve preferred to live to see his legacy, and to provide for his children and grandchildren - not to become a martyr.