March Madness In Justice!

For the last several weeks I was being the sports fanatic that I am and was completely submerged in the madness that is March Madness- screaming at the TV and clenching to my destroyed bracket. I posted and tweeted, and reposted and retweeted my pain… but while I would hit Twitter and Facebook to tweet and post, I noticed a name that kept reoccurring in my timeline and newsfeed--Trayvon Martin. I don’t watch the news much or pay attention to the media as I get too emotionally involved on matters that break my heart and I end up sitting, watching, listening troubled yet unable to do much, so I don’t watch the news often but with Twitter hashtags such as #JusticeForTrayvonMartin and #RIPTrayvonMartin gripping my attention, I decided to Google and explore for myself what the issue behind these hashtags was all about. 

As I read, watched and listened to the horrific 911 calls, I became enraged with anger, frustration and resentment. I was crying uncontrollably…because I too am a mother of a young African-American male and I just couldn’t imagine what Trayvon’s mother and father were going through. I have heard and been a witness to “social perception” and have had the “talks” with my son. I became so emotional listening to those 911 calls, that I couldn’t think and couldn’t as a person who loves to write, bring myself to formulate the words to appropriately express myself for days. There are countless, nameless Trayvons out there. This incident is not the first, however, unless we take accountability and make some much needed changes, hopefully it can be the last. I took to Twitter and Facebook as usual to vent and express my opinions and my outrage; clearly pissing someone off enough for them to report my personal page to Facebook. I have a pretty good idea of who it was and like George Zimmerman, this person is a punk!!! But I’ll tackle the punk and Facebook later in the blog…back to Trayvon Martin.

I’m not a police officer, though I have friends that are and I think they do a fine job. I’m not an attorney, though I have great friends that practice various areas of law. I am however, a person with common sense (though I know that nowadays as my dear friend Pastor Reid would say, “Common sense is uncommon.”) and I am a humanitarian; so with everything that I read and heard, I was appalled but not shocked that our so called Justice System FAILED us yet once again!

It really isn’t rocket science, though after speaking with my ex, a criminal attorney, I can see why everyone is trying to dot their “i’s” and cross their “t’s” in regards to this case. Let’s get the facts straight though:

• a)   Trayvon Martin was minding his own business grabbing a pack of Skittles and an ice tea from his neighborhood store, in his neighborhood.

• b)   Trayvon Martin was walking to his home from the store again, in his neighborhood.

• c)   Trayvon Martin was the one being pursued and somewhat stalked for being in his neighborhood.

• d)   Zimmerman calls 911 and reports a guy looking suspicious.

• e)   Zimmerman is asked by the 911 dispatcher if he is following the kid and Zimmerman responds, “yes.” If you listen to the 911 call you can hear Zimmerman breathing hard on the phone and you could tell that he didn’t stop following Trayvon.

• f)    Zimmerman is told by the 911 dispatcher that he should NOT follow Trayvon and to wait for the police to arrive.

• g)   Zimmerman clearly states on the 911 call that the kid is running from him, which tells me he was following Trayvon. So how does he see Trayvon again??? Clearly he had continued to follow Trayvon.

• h)   Another 911 call has a kids voice crying for help and then there is a gunshot and the voice goes silent.  

I understand that the media is trying to spin this; to make Trayvon look like he was some sort of a troubled kid. He was a NORMAL TEENAGE BOY so I don’t want to hear about what happened to him at school or what was in his book bag! Let’s stick to the facts of the actual night in question please!!

Now let’s say you are Trayvon Martin, and a dude is following YOU. You are on your way home and the dude is approaching behind you…do you not turn around? Could Trayvon have feared for his life? Could Trayvon have thought that this dude may be out to rob him or kidnap him or be up to something malicious??? So let’s say Trayvon confronted Zimmerman and tried to swing at him…would he not be well within HIS RIGHTS to defend himself?? Does Trayvon Martin have no rights here?? Trayvon did nothing wrong to warrant a crazy, wanna be cop, nutcase following him except…WAIT…WHAT??? OH…he “LOOKED” suspicious!! How does one LOOK suspicious?? I look around too when I’m walking or jogging. I tell my son to be mindful of his surroundings at all times because you never know when and where you will encounter a crazy nutcase. So if Trayvon swung on Zimmerman, he would have been well within his rights. If he would have whopped his @$$, Zimmerman would have deserved every bit of it…Zimmerman was the one in the wrong and the one tailing Trayvon!! Trayvon had no gun, no knife, no weapon whatsoever, and was found face down shot in the chest at close range with a pack of Skittles and an ice tea. Zimmerman is pleading a self defense case. I’m NOT buying it!!! The only person that should have defended himself here is Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman is guilty of murder!!! If Trayvon was fighting with Zimmerman and the only way Zimmerman could protect himself from a fist fight is with a gun then lawmakers WE HAVE A SERIOUS PROBLEM!!! This brings me to another point, these Gun Laws and this Stand Your Ground Law. 

Gun laws differ by state. In most states you have to be 21 to carry and at least 18 for recreational use. Stand Your Ground basically states you have the right to defend yourself if you feel threatened. Really?? What if the person did not come at you with deadly force? Does that give you the right to kill them?

We are becoming a nation based and divided by fear, ignorance and social injustice. We are providing weak people the right to bear arms and kill innocent people. This world is in great need of a Kumbaya moment. Instead of spreading self love and love for one another, regardless of race, religion, class, gender, sexual preference, we push fear and breed ignorance throughout the media.  These are sad times and we as a great nation should stand up and want to grow mentally, spiritually and fundamentally for a better tomorrow to exist. We MUST want better. We MUST do better. WE MUST BE BETTER.

R.I.P. Trayvon Martin. I am a very spiritual person and I don’t feel your death is going down in vain. WE must call for JUSTICE and WE MUST LEARN FROM THIS AND BECOME A BETTER NATION.

As for the hater that reported me and my page to Facebook, I really need for you to get a life! If you don’t like what I post on MY PAGE, kindly delete yourself from my friends list as I have asked you to do so before. Yes, I know who you are and trust me, I won’t miss you or hurt over you! I will be taking my personal site down at the end of the week so enjoy it while it’s up.

And Facebook, you should be ashamed to listen to a nutcase complaining about what someone is posting on their personal page. First of all, you should state who the person is because anyone can say anything these days and you should do a better job of investigating as clearly, you too as an organization are clueless on how to effectively investigate a matter. I think that unless a person injects their opinions on someone else’s page and spams the other party, their page shouldn’t be affected. If someone doesn’t agree with ones opinion they have the free will to unfriend that person and you, Facebook, should not get involved with such petty nonsense. I feel that I am being CENSORED and this is a VIOLATION OF MY FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHT!!! I have emailed Facebook and have yet to receive a response. I’m very disappointed in Facebook and feel that my rights were violated.

“Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life; love illuminates it.” ~Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Please read this POWERFUL Sinead O’Connor article on the death of Trayvon Martin: http://kulturekritic.com/?p=2601

Namasté,

~Amani Abdul

Penn State’s Disgraced Code of Ethics

When you think of a teacher, a coach, a school, a college institution and its faculty, you think that your kids are safe; you assume that those teachers, professors, coaches, counselors, administrators are there because well, they must care, right? As a single mother, and an over protective one who threatened to shut down the frat house at the MSU campus if her son or other children decided to pledge a particular fraternity had the fraternity decided to practice unethical methods, I believe that we should ensure that the welfare and wellbeing of our children, as a whole, are in the hands of those that are assuming the responsibility of their care at that moment. You would think that someone would have the moral stance to do the right thing….think again…not so much!

Penn State: There’s a humanitarian and human rights violation here and I for one am holding the entire heads of the institutions faculty responsible.

Someone said to me the other night that they couldn’t understand why the media and majority folks were out for Joe Paterno’s head. They had no idea exactly why Joe Paterno, a very well respected NCAA football coach of the fine collegiate institution of Penn State got fired? Even Ashton Kutcher  (without all the facts) tried to stand up for Paterno on Twitter and was almost virtually slaughtered.

Let me break it down for you twenty-five percenters out here that may not be sport fanatics or may not care for college athletics, this of course has nothing to do with Ashton Kutcher, as not only is he an avid sport fiend but an advocate against child trafficking. So again, this is for you folks out there that just don’t know the complete facts and are not glued to ESPN and News Channels.

As a fan of sports and the Big Ten, I was literally appalled that Joe Paterno, a respectable coach with 46 years of coaching the Penn State Nittany Lions football team didn’t feel the “MORAL OBLIGATION” to protect innocent kids from a predator. Can you imagine, if someone came to you and said, ‘Hey, your assistant coach or whomever, is in the shower with a kid, molesting or sodomizing them..” and you do nothing but tell someone else?? Let’s get this straight, JoePa runs Penn State, period! So don’t tell me that he told the Athletic Director and that’s it; sorry, I expect more from the man who is proclaimed a humanitarian. Paterno was known as a humanitarian…STOP! REALLY??? By whose and what standards?? Because to turn your face and allow this disgusting, vile, disturbing behavior to continue, to me, makes you an accomplice and a coward. Personally, I would flip out!! Not only on Sandusky, but I would see to it that the situation was handled appropriately. Paterno never so much as asked Sandusky if he had a problem, as a matter of fact, Paterno, never asked Sandusky anything! Let me reiterate, The Man, Thee Coach, The MAN that runs Penn State, The Man that has 400 wins under his belt, the man that is worshiped by the entire institution, its faculty and student body, NEVER questioned Sandusky or his inappropriate behavior…EVER!! Joe Paterno was an enabler! He and other Penn State heads, enabled Sandusky to utilize the Second Mile Organization, the Penn State facility and plane for his sick behavior and now Sandusky has been charged with forty (40) counts of sexual abuse of young boys within a 15 year span.

But then again JoePa wouldn’t resign when initially asked by the president and athletic director in 2004 because he claimed that Penn State and the football program were his life. He stated he doesn’t have any other hobbies, except college football and raising money for the institution that he spent the majority of his life in, I guess he felt he may have needed to cover things up. There’s NO WAY Paterno was not aware of all that was going on, starting with the first allegation in 1998.

Yes, 1998, NOT 2002, sparked the very first allegation that Sandusky was having inappropriate interactions with young men (little boys) but no charges were filed and Sandusky was asked to step down as coach and retire. However, he was still involved in the Second Mile Organization and was given “emeritus” status by Penn State, which means he still retained his title at the university and that allowed him to have an office at Penn State and utilize their facilities and plane.

For those of you who don’t know where Penn State is, it is in the middle of nowhere. They are their own community. It’s a bubble and therefore can hide whatever they want and continue to portray the image they’ve managed to display until now.

Bob Costas is one of my favorite journalists and in an interview with Bob Costas last night, Sandusky repeatedly stated that he showered and “horsed around” with several little boys. He stated that he would touch their leg and they jointly showered naked. I wish Costas would have asked Sandusky to define “Horsing Around”… and I wish Sandusky would stop playing the public as Fox News does- like folks are stupid. He kept repeating the “horsing around” because someone caught him, however, it’s too many years too late for a DNA test, no actual DNA of a rape can be proven at this late stage, but the testimonies of these young men are compelling. I also feel that there are more than the eight that came forward. I’m positive there are more, but they probably are ashamed to come forth and probably have tried to block those moments and are in the efforts of moving on with their lives.

As for Sandusky’s attorney, it’s quite fitting that Sandusky would choose an attorney who also lacks moral ethics as he, the attorney, had an affair and impregnated his then 16 year old CLIENT when he was 49 years old and married her 6 years later. But who would represent such a disgusting and sick human being?!

And where is the NCAA in all of this? What do they have to say? Damn, they sure have been mighty quiet. Funny how when a kid is in need of money to eat, go out or maybe even get a tattoo, the very same kids that the NCAA is profiting off of get caught violating any NCAA rules or are accused of misconduct, the NCAA will hop on them and strip them of their accolades and trophies, but when it’s one of their own in the hot seat, they seem to turn the other cheek.  Surely they do not think this is beyond their “boundaries” or out of their hands. These coaches, assistant coaches, athletic directors are branded and honored, not to mention well paid. They are handpicked to make the perspective institution a ton of money and the NCAA is not holding them to anything??? How about a simple Code Of Conduct? Moral Code? Ethics Code? Because in my eyes the entire Penn State administration along with its Athletic Department violated all three. The Penn State Board of Trustees fired President Graham Spanier and Head Coach Joe Paterno on November 8, 2011. I wonder if the NCAA will strip Paterno and the Penn State football program of all accolades from 1998 or 2002 until November 8, 2011?? Though we are aware that the collegiate system is systematically and disturbingly flawed, hopefully the NCAA will do the JUST thing, the RIGHT thing and finally acknowledge the children that have been violated and voiceless all this time and strip Penn State’s Football Program of all accolades and victories for this time period, just as Penn State and its head Athletic Directors and responsible parties in charge have stripped these boys of their youth and innocence. God Bless.

On a comment section in an article by the Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/14/jerry-sandusky-interview-_n_1093792.html turamali said: “40 counts against him and this pedophile is out on bail, the judge needs to be brought up ethics charges.”  
And I agree, 1000%!!! 
~A2

Sources:

Sandusky Grand Jury Presentment: http://www.mcall.com/news/local/mc-sandusky-grand-jury-presentment-pdf,0,7493506.htmlpage

Bob Costas Full Interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQr4x7yzNxg

Info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Paterno

http://www.timesonline.com/columnists/sports/mark_madden/madden-sandusky-a-state-secret/article_863d3c82-5e6f-11e0-9ae5-001a4bcf6878.html

There are also allegations of child prostitution involving Sandusky: http://audio.weei.com/a/48513214/mark-madden-talks-about-the-penn-state-scandal-and-drops-a-new-bomb-about-jerry-sandusky.htm?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Sandusky’s secret wasn't so secret: http://www.timesonline.com/columnists/sports/mark_madden/madden-sandusky-a-state-secret/article_863d3c82-5e6f-11e0-9ae5-001a4bcf6878.html

Dedicated to Michael Vick...'cause it ain't his fault!!!

Eagles are now 1-4! Wishing the Eagles would straighten up and fly right *sigh*

"...hold on as tight as you can, whatever you do, don't loosen your grip,, not only are they anticipating your every move--They're waiting for you to slip!!!..."

Check out the video below: ~It Ain't My Fault, Silkk The Shocker & Mystikal

Healthy Eating

Check out my lil sis, Fana Sebhatu, spitting healthy eating knowledge...great points!!

Paulo Coelho strikes again with ALEPH

One of my favorite writers, Paulo Coelho, author of The Alchemist just released a new book in the states called ALEPH. I just finished it, it took me two whole days, lol. What a piece of work! Paulo continues to challenge our spiritual essence while nurturing our spiritual soul. If you don't have it, go get it! i                                                                                                                            

I THANK YOU, Mr. Coelho, for sharing your wisdom, your journeys and your work. I especially THANK YOU for always feeding my spirit and enriching my soul!!! ♥ ~Amani  

 

 

Here's a list of Paulo Coelho books:

The Pilgrimage- 1987

The Alchemist- 1988

Brida- 1990

The Greatest Gift- 1991

The Valkyries- 1992

Maktub-1994

By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept- 1994

The Fifth Mountain- 1996

Love Letters from a Prophet-1997

The Manual of the Warrior of Light- 1997

Veronika Decides to Die- 1998

Essential Words- 1998

The Devil and Miss Prym- 2000

Fathers, Sons and Grandsons- 2001

Eleven Minutes- 2003

And on the Seventh Day- 2004 (collection of novels By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept,

Veronika Decides to Die, The Devil and Miss Prym)

The Genie and the Roses- 2004

Journeys- 2004

The Zahir- 2005  

Revived Paths- 2005

Like the Flowing River- 2006

The Witch of Portobello- 2006

Life: Selected Quotations- 2007

 The Winner Stands Alone- 2008

The Aleph- 2010

4-0! I am a LION, hear me ROOAAAR!!

What a night, what a night!! There was one loss I was not going to be able to handle last night and that is my home squad, the Detroit Lions losing to the Dallas Cowboys.
Living in the Charlotte area and being in a building that subjects me to Time Warner Cable only, I really don't get to see my home teams much unless I go to a sports bar or to someone's house that has a sports package. I was not going to miss this game. Lucky for me there's a sports bar downstairs from me. I walk in with my Detroit Tigers gear on in support of the Tigers being in the MLB playoffs and playing the Yankees, the same day. I look around for a TV with the Lions game on and I don't see anything. I turn to the bartender and he tells me it's the one over to the corner. You have your own section, he says smiling. No problemo, I liked it that way.
I really wasn't nervous in the first quarter, I wasn't even nervous going into the second quarter. I kept thinking of last week’s game when the Lions came back from 0-20 and defeated the Minnesota Vikings, in Minnesota, that's what I kept in my head. I didn't waiver...until the beginning of the third and we were still struggling. Panthers fans all around me are yelling at their TV because it looked like the Bears were up to their same, cheating antics. Me, I'm glued, leaning back with both my hands on my head and we're now 3-27. I text a good friend and he says, "There are two halves"...he was right, because between me following the Sportcaster commentary on my cell, Tweeting and Facebooking my nine cents worth, now I’m a little freaked out. I ask for a little help from the Sports Gods in the fourth quarter and I got it just in time and just like that, thanks to Megatron and Stafford the Detroit Lions defeat the Cowboys at the Cowboys own amusement park 34-30 and are now 4-0. The announcers are baffled...but why??
While Dallas may be a good squad, Tony Romo, in my opinion is an overrated QB and the Lions again, in my opinion, are the better overall team. So okay, they haven't been 4-0 since I was the age of... okay, never mind! But they're doing it now! And I am a PROUD Detroit Lioness. Two weeks in a row they come back and win huge games AWAY. The credit is theirs. However, I will say that the Lions need to start coming out and handling business early. “We” play Chicago next week, and I/ THEY need a win to make up for that game Chicago stole from “us” last year.

Side note: I want these announcers/ sport analysts to stop referring to Dallas as the big D. There is ONLY one (1) D, please do not get it twisted, and that is Detroit! And what's with the D on the Dallas folks hats---CUT THAT OUT!!! I'm glad the Detroit Lions got the last laugh, in their face and on their home turf!!! Dallas is clearly "d"elusional and need to find their own i"d"entity! :)

BTW: Tigers beat Yankees 5-3!! It was a great day for Detroit sport fans!!! CHEERS!

~A2

Do Eagles Fly?

Clearly not the Philadelphia Eagles who are trailing 1-3 currently in the NFC East.

Mike Vick looked sad and stated he was frustrated by his situation last night after the Eagles lost 23-24 to the 49ers. Though he attempted to take the blame, it isn't his fault. Vick gives his heart and soul every time he is on that field.
Yes, he complained about the refs not giving him the treatment they do other quarterbacks in the league such as Brady, Manning and Payton but they all have one thing in common and Vick needs to understand where he fits in that equation. Vick surely knows he does not fit the QB criteria, "the all American QB persona". He also needs to understand even with his new hefty contract, that there are people still looking for him to mess up and he still has folks out there that, quite frankly, despise him. So chalk it up Vickmizer, it's a part of the consequence and lesson. Now the Eagles team on the other hand, need to protect THEIR greatest asset- protect your quarterback at all cost. If the Eagles offense was doing their job, he wouldn't have to complain about the refs, but the team that doesn't protect him or seems to not want to come out and give all they have with him, will not only suffer the cost of an injured, phenomenal quarterback but the cost of a shaky season...I hope the Eagles get it together and fast! #TeamVick

Check out Michael Vick's highlight...he continuously WOWS me...

And interview- I love this!

Stupid reporter: "Mike, you guys being 1-3 right now, it's probably one of the more surprising things in the league right now, your feeling walking out of here at 1-3 tonight?"

(I envision Mike Vick saying this as Tony Montana)
Mike Vick: "My feeling? Do I really have to explain that?! Do I really have to explain how I'm feeling right now sitting at 1-3?? You want me to explain that to everybody in here???!!...it's frustrating...*sigh*"
*Reporters like that should be pimp slapped! Somebody should have thrown a sneaker at him!!

~A2