On That Serious Tip: Outrage

Disclaimer:This Post is gonna be long so bare with me its important

If you know me well enough, you would know that I'm proud as shiet of who I am and where I come from. I also consider myself someone who believes in working towards social change. I just want to say I take offense to those that can ask questions that are deep and expect a simple and short response. I also am frustrated with people that are fearless in their ignorance. For example, a article located on the North County Times website stresses the importance of student organizations and praises these student organizations for their ability to actually take part in social conscious events. "Since 1991, at least 200 clubs have been created only to fall off the university's roster, according to Berhane."(North County Times) All i have to say is that is progression at its best. Sadly with every positive their has to be some kind of negative. The website gives a chance for readers to leave comments on the article, one comment from someone named GREG stated,

"Wow, a hip-hop club? How about the G3 Association, like 'Getting Good Grades' association? How about a 'Community Service Association' where students work on community service projects? Too many self-serving, racist clubs and not enough clubs that promote unity and community togetherness."
"I guess it's a figment of my imagination the foothold groups like MEChA, NCLR, along with other racist groups have on CSUSM. And now with the Asian Pacific Student Society, Black Student Union, Middle Eastern Association, Oaxaca Student Organization, Vietnamese-American Student Association, I guess the members of these so-called associations can all hang out with their own kind. The university experience should be about learning a marketable skill, not more of the culture you came from or belong to."

This definitely has to be ignorance at its best......
If you wanna read the full article visit this link
http://www.northcountytimes.com/articles/2007/11/26/news/top_stories/20_16_3611_25_07.txt#blogcomments

So since I'm all riled up and in a radical kind of mood right now, I decided to write a new spoken word piece that I'll hopefully memorize soon and get spittin.

Outrage: Response To a Question

Ask me the question of who I am?
At first I respond not, providing no
answer to questions
That ask for answers deeper than
the procedure of finding myself.

As if my culture
was really so simple,

That it could
So simply,

be described.

I only speak truth
So I subtract the lies
While popular culture, continues
To Divide
And Deny

My people.

Whether your ripley and believe it or not,
If you resemble a bit of my physical features,
Then you should know
We were born into adversity

Living in a world where
skin n bones
is considered attractive

Where going out to house parties
Is considered active

Where despite the lack of color pigment
White is privileged,
And brown and yellow
is expected to be passive

Idolizing the Pac Man
For his south paw
Only respected for his ability
To throw a fist, But

We,
ignore and disassociate
Ourselves with those that
Call for social change

We,
critique them and say,
“Say they just thrown fits”

Better to knock down ignorance,
Than to use violence as a means
To educate

We,
Our people who can claim Mabuhay
But make jokes
and poke fun about our own

I myself choose to hold close to me
My history and my culture
You could almost call it an embrace

But less tight for fear of becoming
To close to one way of thinking

Privately wishing,
I grew up in a world
That didn’t force me into outrage
On issues of Oppression due to race

Living in a world where we admire
The hills

wish we could swim,
In Laguna beaches

Where hate
Does not have to be loud
sometimes a whisper

so quite and subtle at times
we fail to acknowledge the deception

Most of us are speechless
And would be like Korean shop owners
And mind our business

I fight with words,
That ring loud in eardrums
That beat like tribal war drums

So that my people cannot ignore
What hurts more

than

A physical abrasion
More painful Is the truth
that I’m relaying

As We,
taste the tears
Tears of women so salty
And so deep
They remind us of the Pacific Ocean.

Tears shed by wives
For the loss,
Of WW2 soldiers
they called them husbands

While We call the women
Lola

Fast forward to the present
Tears still shed this time by
The husbands and their children

And we call the men
Lolo

Yet their bravery and valor in war
Goes unacknowledged
Refusing to pay their pensions

While presidential candidates
Debate Multiple issues
Yet in no way,
has Obama or Clinton
Ever chose to mention

We call it discrimination

And we have the audacity
As a nation
To separate a day for soldiers
Like our Lolo’s

We call them veterans
Better yet veteranos

Except minus the equity
and less divided

So ask me the question
A question so broad it gives me a Migraine

Better to ask what I know
And my answer will be lengthy
As well as rather draining

But ask me who I am?

My answer will be just as broad
And subject to interpretation

If you want to know who I am
I’ll say look past me, I mean really look

At the land fertilized by
blood sweat and tears
Look directly towards my ancestors

Although at times we as a people
Turn our backs on our homeland

Magandang Pilipinas

Our souls and our hearts
have never left her.

JFAV


sorry no jokes tonight I'm on that serious tip....

Just Ray