Revolution is Bloody

Lawrence Ytzhak Braithwaite

“Barbarians, savages, illiterate, ignorant Anarchists., men who cannot comprehend the spirit of our free American institutions,” of these I am one”
August Vincent Theodore Spies, Autobiography of August Spies

Victoria, BC ...a meditation on “everyday is ashura"

If we are to do and live in the way of life of the inner and outer
(Batin and Zahir = Jihad and mujahada),
and not the metaphor of existence of flesh failed obsession and fear,
then we must self actualize/self determinize
and centre ourselves in relation to the deen and dunya
following the flow of the most high philosophy our amir Ali (as)
“Be a friend to the oppressed and an enemy to the oppressor” he said.

I believe as greater men before me have,
that only with this mantra,
of this - the inner and outer chant,
can we Born an overstanding with the Knowledge
made manifest from Saddiq to Shariati to Sadr to Khomanie & Khamanie
peace to our bruthas
Farrakhan to Nasrallah and Sistani.
It is with this do I hope to add on to the strength of the house;
and cipher the third degree of reality;
that revolution is bloody so everyday is ashura.
What else can an island boy do to destroy amerikkka?

It is true we shouldn’t be afraid of martyrdom,
however, we should not be selecting and setting each other up for that position
nor should we be afraid to hold up the images of our martyrs
and shout out their names and certainly continue the fight and struggle.

What is the trap of the west?
to think, as Gil Scott Heron observed,
that the Calvary always comes to save the day
and that the hero lives to see the glory of that day.
We have forgotten that it is about the future/the Culture/Sankofa
not “the crazy house called ameriKKKAnada” and profits.

So we are going to get martyrs.

We have been willing to hide behind martyrs
for political, financial and even artistic gain,
B.U.T. we are going to have to live with the overstanding
that we have to be willing to be become martyrs (Shahadat),
and to realize that martyrs are special
not because they are perfect,
nor that they are higher powers
that most are not among the Infallables
that our Shahadat are flawed bruhs and sis
(breathing clay) like us all on this earth
who despite all that was against them
stood up and perished for a principle
their peoples/culture.

It does seem like, and is TRU (haqq),
everybody around the world is taking up mental and physical arms
to fight for their freedome and culture
as the once great fighters and griots of North Amerikkka
akt like steppinfetchits in sagged dope gear
and butterfly mcqueens inna thong and bare middrifts
or those in afrikana jacked vines and centric headdress
beg for a cut of the swag come the takeover of afrika,
or even the alterna crowd
aktin like “anarchy” is the latest trend
for the middle-classes and profits
in this post hip hop wasteland.

This was/is not a revoltuon;
this is surrender with a spin doctored effect
and the con of north amerikkkan twisted logic and bravado,
where cowards are brave
and brave people are punkass,
where whores are worshipped
and money is god
and greed is good,
where warriors/freedome fighters/revolutionaries who are defending
are terrorist
and terrorists wear suits and ties
and are called liberators,
daemoncratic and civilized,
where might makes right, thugz are groovey,
be a corperate flunky
damn (e) quality
it’s about knocking out the suckers by any means necceSCAREY,
welcome to the terrordome of thievery,
come bite me.

To my peoples I wanna testify.

I have seen too many people murdered and demoralized,
in this land, which is suppose to be so civilized.
I have seen my fathers mind destroyed and my body and my friends’ raped and used,
as have been our minds,
and then discarded as worthless tools
for the amusement and advancement of robberbarons and the fools they court.
I have heard and seen people use our skin and class
to advance their position/fiendship with the oppressors
who danced on the graves of our martyrs.
I have fought my selfDIStruction and asked; why is this a daily constant?
I have seen too much cruelty (yet still not even enough—to start)
to make me reconsider the value of this wasteland
as anything but corrupt from the inside out.

Therefore, it is in need of dismantling and not salvaging
this place where incompetence,
mediocrity,
dirty tricks,
distraction,
hypocrisy,
invasion and perversion rule
and are keys to success and all must convert or die a slow and amusing
spiritual and mental death,
where “surrender” is taken up as a battle cry.

A place where our Native bruhs
are hammered and strangled into unconsciousness
by the shocktroops of setl’ass colonist
and the hospitals allow our Shahadat to,
conveniently,
slip into comas thus destroying the Native evidence.
A place where passion and honour
are laughed at and mocked,
where children rhyme cruelty and life becomes shuffle along
and prostitution a work experience project for the young.

I have seen my soul slip slowly into despair,
simply by the sight and sonic of this horror alone,
and what is more tragic,
I have seen the despair blanket the peoples around me
as their spiritual/physical (batin and zahir) corpses
are piled up like so many rhowandan, afrikan, Palestinian, Native holocaust images
as the fatted ministries’ workers, corperate lackies and greed mongerers sit,
seeking prey,
behind dead cold eyes,
lost in the treble,
forever in hunger, as they laugh and plot
for more bullying tactics against those who are,
perceived as,
weaker and defenseless,
in this their police state,
calling itself a free civi(LIE)zation
so much better than the rest.

B.U.T. are my bruthas defenseless
against the shocktroops and their voting polls they treat as religious icons?
or have they been convinced of this lie,
in this place my colleague referred to
as a “benevolant dictatorship”.

do my bruthas wish to smash the treble
and live this life with bass?
is this the riddim of the meditation of revolution
and being an enemy of oppression

...and I wonder is this the beginning of a revolution
or is it too late.
I feel that there is no escape
and after all these years I still don’t know
what’s the price of a ticket.
Will we have a dream
of Ali or Hussayn,
Malik or Poor Marcus,
Peltier or Shariati
(our Brave and Dr.) Spies (In the cause of humanity and light)
or the vibe of ashura realized?

They say that it’s a hard and bad time for our Nation
(1 billion call it an ummah and I’m told
it only takes a nation of millions)...

It is a time for martyrs
and it’s time to fight for freedomes
B.U.T. all we seem to get is a copping
a plea and surrender.

B.U.T. “...can’t you show me nothing but surrender”?
Patti Smith

“Revolution is bloody, revolution is hostile, revolution knows no compromise, revolution overturns and destroys everything that gets in its way. And you, sitting around here like a knot on the wall, saying: ‘I’m going to love these folks no matter how much they hate me.’ No,you need a revolution.”
Malik Shabaaz (Malcom X), Message to the Grass Roots

For Anthany James Dawson, Gerald Kaboni, Anthony Griffith, Shidane Abukar Arone and all the Shahadat

1425 Lawrence Y Braithwaite (aka Lord Patch)
New Palestine/Fernwood/The Hood

Published Tuesday, September 14th, 2004 - 12:44pm GMT

Anthony James Dawson, 29, an award-winning Native artist, died August 13th 1999 in a hospital in Victora, Canada, while in a coma. Anthany died after being arrested by police August 11th. Eyewitnesses told police they saw police officers punch and choke Anthany. Since his death, the family have conducted a campaign to shed light on the circumstances surrounding the events. For more information, visit Turtle Island Native Network

Article submitted to the World Crisis Web by the author.

This is the print-ready version of Revolution is Bloody

It was found in the Oppression at Home section of the World Crisis Web.

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