What Is Love?

“What Is Love?

Oh baby, don’t hurt me

Don’t hurt me

No more

Oh baby, don’t hurt me, don’t hurt me

No more

What is love?” – Haddaway

If we were in a room with ten people, five males, and five females and we asked all of them what does love means to you? They all would more likely give different answers because “LOVE” is what we learn either from our household as we were brought up, from our peers, from watching T. V., and or movies.

We also learn the thought/idea of “LOVE’ from songs. Some people think love is how you make them feel, if you give them gifts, you are spending time with them, and or how good the sex is!!

I heard a lecture by The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan said in the lecture, (Love is Duty). He said, “a man can tell a woman that he loves her, but the bills are not getting paid. He said a man shows his love by being a provider and a protector.”

According to American Psychological Association, “Marriage and divorce are both common experiences. In Western cultures, more than 90 percent of people marry by age 50. Healthy marriages are good for couples’ mental and physical health. They are also good for children; growing up in a happy home protects children from mental, physical, educational, and social problems. However, about 40 to 50 percent of married couples in the United States divorce. The divorce rate for subsequent marriages is even higher.”

According to the United States Census Bureau, “Of the 11 million families with children under age 18, and no spouse present, the majority are single mothers (8.5 million). Single fathers comprise the remain 2.5 million single-parent families.

Married couples make up 68 percent of all families with children under age 18, compared to 93 percent in 1950.”

The point of the of this blog is “LOVE” is the answer!! To build strong families we need strong LOVE, but we must obtain strong love by courting/dating and eventually marrying the right people. Even though half of all marriages end in divorce but as you read the stats it is proven that marriage is better for children, for adults, and for every one mental and physical health.

Do you believe in LOVE and to you what is LOVE?

Reference

American Psychological Association (n. d.). Marriage & divorce. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org

United States Census Bureau (2016). The Majority of Children Live With Two Parents, Census Bureau Reports. Retrieved from https://www.cenus.gove

What is Love song by Haddaway written by Dee Dee Halligan/Junior Torello

What is Love lyrics @ Warner Chappell Music, Inc,

A Message To Gangs And To Youth

I have been writing my blogs weekly, but I decided to only write them when I am inspired just like I would write a rap, a song, and or a poem.

This blog has been on my mind for several days just like a rap. I would think on the subject, the context, and how I was going to word/say my rhymes.

People ask me, why you do not you have a YouTube page and record what you want to say?

I do have a YouTube page, but everyone has their own gift/talent. I will rather be the songwriter than the singer. Everyone cannot sing and everyone cannot write songs.

I said all that to say, I rather just write and let you all who chose to speak my words.

This blog is dedicated to all gang members and our youth. Most gang members are youth. The average ages for gang members are 9 – 25. The ages for youth are 12 – 25.

Those that know me or may have heard of me. I am a former gang member this is were the name D – Holmez comes from. It is my former street name/rap name. I chose to use my alias name due to suggestions from a couple of people so my blogs can be read with an open mind.

As a former gang member, I work with the youth in various communities as a Mentor. I strive to assist our youth and those that are involved in gangs in the right direction.

I know a lot of youth get involved in gangs because of life circumstances. A lot of youth is being raised like I was in a single-parent home. Even though I have a good mother and she was a hard-working Black woman until she retired.

A lot of my peers (homies/friends) did not have it as good as me. Their mothers were probably on drugs. I thought I had it bad but to them, I was living well.

So, some of my homies had no chose to bang they were from generations of gang members and some of them had no choice to slang dope (sell dope), steal, and rob people. I had a choice but there were times, I chose to be a follower instead of a leader.

I just want to encourage you, (youth) to make a better choice. Find a righteous hustle like Easy – E, Jay – Z, T I, and other rappers.

Find something of good that you love doing and make that your hustle. We are killing each other, and we also have racist police officers that are killing us. Some of them only joined the police force to do their wickedness.

Become (color blind) like a song by Ice Cube and tie your rags together. When you mix all colors together they become (Black). Black is universal. As the rapper, Askari X said in one of his rap songs, “Everything comes from Black and Everything returns to Black.”

Let us return to how our grandparents and great grandparents were when they used to give up the Black fist and say out loud, “I AM BLACK AND I AM PROUD!!”

Blacks And Mexicans Should Police Their Own Communities

Opening

As of 2019, 24 percent of all police killings were Black Americans when they are just 13 percent of the U. S. population. Mapping police violence it showed 99 percent of all the officers that was involved in all the police killings had no criminal charges pressed against them (Roper 2020).

What I believe is the solution to the above problem

 I believe the solution for the above problem is for  Blacks and Mexicans to police their own communities. Therefore, if, anything occurs they would be held responsible. In the 1960's the Black Panther Party of Self-Defense began policing their own community due to police brutality back then.

The Blue Wall Of Silence

Just because there are Blacks and Mexicans that are on the police force do not mean they have their community's best interest. Some Blacks and Mexicans suffer from self-hatred. A great example is the movie “Boyz n the Hood.” The Black police officer in the movie referred to other Blacks as the "N" word. I could tell that he suffered from self-hatred. The police force is not dedicated to race or nationality. They are dedicated to their uniform and that is how they are taught and trained.

They have a blue code: “The Blue Wall Of Silence.” When their fellow police officer does something wrong, regardless, if, they agree with it or not they cover for their fellow officer. An associate of mines who used to be a police officer told me, (police officers are taught to cover for their fellow officers no matter what)!! I was also told just like the military has friendly fire on the battlefield that could happen with honest police officers during the line of duty. In other words, as they say on the streets, “snitches get stitches.” That is the secret behind “The Blue Wall Of Silence.” See no fault and hear no fault with your fellow officers.

Who would do the hiring and firing?

Community leaders would be in charge of hiring and firing. The candidates would receive their training from organizations and religious groups like the New Black Panther Party, Peace Keepers, 10,000 Fearless, Black Hebrew Israelites, the Brown Berets, and the Nation of Islam.

My opinion

I personally do not believe in carrying weapons. I agree with The Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad. He said, “You Live By The Gun, You Die By The Gun.”  But in the idea training, community officers would learn how to use a weapon, self-defense, first aid, and proper handling of people (how to deal with people firmly but respectfully).

Community Officers Duties

The community officers will conduct foot patrols and meet with the community leaders and residents once a week. This meeting would address any problems or concerns and collectively they all would work together to find the solution. The community officers would wear body cameras that they are not able to turn on or off. The body cameras are controlled and operated by the officers at the community base station. The officers at the community base station are able to view and listen to what is going on.

Closing

The community officers would be a little similar to the National Neighborhood Watch Program that was started in 1972. The only difference is the residents are community officers and they are getting paid to establish peace in their neighborhoods.

Reference

Roper, W. (2020). Black Americans 2.5X More Likely Than Whites to Be Killed By Police. Retrieved from https://www.statista.com

Who Cares About The Black Man's Pain?!

On average, Black men live 69.1 years, which is five years less than the average of other men .

Who cares about the Black man's pain?!

A new analysis also shows black males in the U.S. face the greatest risk of dying at the hands of police.

Who cares about the Black man's pain?!

Black Americans are an ethnic group of Americans with total or partial ancestry ... AIDS is one of the top three causes of death for black men aged 25–54.

Who cares about the Black man's pain?!

Some estimates placed the average longevity of Black males at 21.

Who cares about the Black man's pain?!

Black males accounted for 37% of the total male prison population, white males 32%, and Hispanic males
22%.

Who cares about the Black man's pain?!

The homicide rate for Black male victims was 37.12 per 100,000.

Who cares about the Black man's pain?!