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Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Invasion of the Malcolm Flexes: Hotep in Jail, On The Streets and In Your Community

In Jail/Prison I call them Malcolm Flexes. In the "Freeworld," we have Dr. Umar Johnson...

I can talk about spoiled broke kids all day every day for twelve years straight and I will still be amazed when I see them in the flesh. 
I called him Malcolm Flex because he would talk like he was ready to incite a riot (certainly not a revolution) when he was around the inmates. "I ain't workin for free. They can just take me to the hole now!" but when he was around the guards, "Yessir! Right away sir!"
What Malcolm Flexes do is bombard you with topical analyses of Black people's status in America. They provide little additional insight or solution to the problems. In the rare occasion they do provide solutions, they are are usually poor facsimiles of failed plans. They're only update to regurgitation of past failures is to "Wake everyone up". People like that are dangerous because someone may take them serious. Worst of all, it's our young men (18-25) with all the energy and no direction who take that as guidance and head down the wrong road. The irony of it all is that all that flexin' is just a racket, a new way for spoiled broke kids to keep shirking responsibility past adulthood.

Back to this yahoo:

He came to the work pod on a Friday afternoon and spent the entire weekend telling any inmate who would listen that he wasn't going to work for a few extra sandwiches. He was going to tell them straight up "Buck this!" Come Monday, he was working like a champ. Come to find out, he was just waiting on his paperwork to clear anyway. He ended up only working two days before he was released. He still spent $38 on store (must not have been his money). He yelled at the store man because they wouldn't sell him Seven danishes. (Who needs seven danishes for two days?) I asked him if he got his money back. He did. I told him to go home and buy some danishes at the real store. The crazy man was still hoarding sandwiches and chips the day he got released. They called him to pack it up right after lunch, the day after he got his store. I'm sure he tried to take as much jail food as possible home with him.

In two days to go from rants about how Store is a rip off and the food in jail is poison to hoarding jail food to take with you out into the free-world is typical Malcolm Flex behavior. Their goals are both to hide within the safety of the conscious community and to profit from the continued discrimination and oppression of Black America. These men and women are the infiltrators. They are in our jails, on the streets, in our communities. We pay them to tell us what's wrong with our communities. They do little more than make us feel better about our suffering. The irony is that some of the biggest profiteers constantly attack the church for doing the same things they do. Pacify us so they can continue to profit. 

We flock to cities like Atlanta as the Black American mecca, but the invasion has made it's way there as well. Dekalb county is the epitome of a Malcolm Flex messing up the community. To be clear there are far more than one in Dekalb County. I've seen how corrupt officials are in this county from top to bottom. We could have a good thing in Dekalb. Crooks steal pennies instead of building wealth.

They get there because we don't vet leadership. They stay because we pay as much attention to them as we do the career congressmen who camp out for 20 years or more running unopposed, dependent on the laziness and comfort of the general public. Just like the raggedy assed relationships so many of us find ourselves in, they only had to make us feel good for the first two weeks. After that, they can ruin our lives with stagnation indefinitely. Like a parasite.

In this time of change, a time of growth, we must be careful of the Malcolm Flexes. They are indeed parasites. They know they cannot exist in the new world. That's why tend to have some extremely conservative views when pressed. They are unable to survive without our support.That's why they constantly try to distract us from their blood sucking. And they do little more than exist. All their talk is for naught. There is very little action. There IS a lot of "passion." Just think National Action Network and the charisma of Al Sharpton. What has the multi-million dollar non-profit produced in 40 years? Diddly squat beyond piss poor resolutions, a bunch of Jaw Jacking, and, of course, millions of dollars.

The bottom line is they can't come.

You want to spot a Malcolm Flex? Just do stuff. They won't be there. They'll talk. They'll talk. They'll talk some some. But when it's time to roll, they will not show up. Their actions will produce little in the way of results, if anything at all. You find yourself wondering, just say "Let's go!" They won't go. Want to get rid of them? Move. Grow. Create. Build. They are the easiest parasites to get rid of but the hardest to spot. If you find yourself in the middle of a potential Flex Plan, ask yourself "Is it working?" If not, do something that works.

Breaking the cycle requires real commitment to change. Be different. Do different things. Find things that work. Grow. Move. And shake the Malcolm Flexes. They hate it when you do stuff.

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Journal 8/11/15

Among my friends, I am the mayor of LA. I take pride in that. Among inmates. I am not. I take pride in that. The difference is the context, the meaning of mayor and who my friends are. In jail, there's a general distrust of authority figures and especially politicians. People expect authority figures and politicians to lie. So, being called mayor in jail is an honor reserved for liars. My friends are more hopeful. Despite the corruption in politics, they see me as someone they can trust. I value that. I will water those seeds with more truth.
That's another reason to fully disclose everything that's happened recently. Honesty works. I'll stick with it. Everything else is dead.
Getting a complete story out of an inmate is hell. Like pull teeth or mining something as rare as coltan but as worthless as a used rubber. The worst part is when you don't even ask for the story. The inmates come to you. It's like they're itching to gossip then they remember they are snitching on themselves...
In LA, we say "Mind your own business." Inmates will start spilling their guts then clam up midstory and tell you to mind your own business. I'm like motherfucker you started talking to me! Interrupting my damned book so you tell me some lies I'm not even interested in...

Monday, August 3, 2015

Journal 8/3/15 - The Crossroads

It's been a long time coming, but I know a change gone come... 



I am grateful and hopeful. I notice when we arrive at the crossroads the distraction increases. The temptation to go down the wrong paths or keep straight when a change is necessary grows stronger at the crossroads. We tend to know the right paths but the appeal fades as we approach it. Most people keep their head down and stick with the status quo, letting change pass by. Their hope is that the next crossroads, if there is a next one, will be easier. It won't.

The choices get harder. You know you should leave your job but you boss gives you a raise, so you stay. The next time you try to leave bills come so you stay a little longer but the bills pile up, higher and higher. Before you know it, they're throwing your retirement party and you're wondering where the time went.

It happens with toxic relationships. It happens in business. It happens in so many instances where drastic change is the only option for growth. The key is to recognize the crossroads as well as the choice which leads to growth. It's usually not  the easiest road that leads to growth. It's often the scariest road that does. It's most likely the longest road that leads to growth. When you choose wrong, another crossroads will pop right up. You can usually see the next crossroads from the one you're at if you're looking down the wrong road. That's a trick. You'll think you have another chance real quick so you choose that road. The thing is, the next crossroad will take you further off course. The quick and easy leads you down a long string bad choices that'll take far much longer to recover from than the time you thought you saved by taking a shortcut.

The hasty man always works twice as hard.
That's because he will spend twice as much energy repairing the damage that is always done by haste.Avoid the damage, take your time, make the right choice

Sunday, August 2, 2015

Journal 8/2/15

Being in jail, hearing things like "You don't belong here" is not something everyone can handle. I have had to humble myself to be able to see what a blessing it is to have this strength, going where I "don't belong" and not only surviving but thriving.

Saturday, August 1, 2015

Journal 8/1/15

Peace can be found in the midst of all kinds of noise, confusion, drama and turmoil. I would have preferred to find it in other circumstances but it's more important that I found it. I'm grateful.