Men's Minds Failing: Fear

Men's Minds Failing: Fear

Marvin X

We have never been in anything that can be called a normal state of mind. There has never been grief counseling from the trauma and terror of the Middle Passage, the Maafa, or quite simply the kidnapping, rape and murder of slavery and the post slavery deconstruction of our minds with the additional terror of lynching and segregation. So at no time in our history have we been anything close to sane as a people. We have used the Blues as antidote, along with Jesus and gambling, sex, but Dr. Hare has said no amount of the above will eliminate our social angst and shattered cultural striving. And then the Sisyphus syndrome: we rise and fall, strive and fail, according to our own efforts and the societal winds. Cast your fate to the wind!

Now, at the final stage of imperialism--for who wants to be a wage slave in the global "free market" economy, we find ourselves mentally disconcerted with no social security for our black behinds. The world is rapidly metamorphosing into a new economic era, new powers on the horizon, China, India, Brazil, Russia. What shall Africa do, what role shall we play--we cannot continue as wage slaves, consumers, but shall be forced to produce something of value to the global marketplace, otherwise we shall have no role in it, except, perhaps, as soldiers to defend imperialism or victims of the same with a life-estate condo in the many prisons and jails awaiting us who have outlived our usefulness.

The symbols tell the story: clothing with military patches or prison garb. That is the choice: join the war for drugs, oil, neo-slaves, or remain passive in the vice of the petrochemical and pharmaceutical globalists. Eat their food that is not food and take their medicine that is not medicine for it never heals, yet the cost is high--death is the result of this game between the petrochemical and pharmaceutical.

Only a superman and superwoman can withstand the barrage coming at us, the weak easily fall by the wayside, perplexed, hoodwinked and bamboozled. They have no understanding of what's going on, as Marvin Gaye sang--it's too complex, the nature of the problem too intense for understanding by the simple minded. We are duped by neo-colonialism in black face, the most wretched kind perfected in Africa fifty years ago and now reaching it's ultimate in America. Our ignorance of affairs throughout the Americas, the leftist winds blowing below the border we seldom hear, know or care anything about, may one day soon consume us as it sweeps up from Mexico. While we stride about with pants sagging, the hungry ones come to replace us. Cleaver said we are tired in our genes from all the work our ancestors performed, and so we shall be replaced. Or perhaps we are that crop of seeds that was a dud, of no value even as food for the pigs.

How shall we return to a sanity we never had? Some of us maintained some semblance of family life, but are not most of us dysfunctional to a high degree, though so many pretend, front, fake, as in the Great Pretender--knowing all along something is very very wrong, something stinks. We need to see the doctor, talk to someone, we need help. And yet the mental health clinic is closed, the doctor is out to lunch. Even the doctor is sick, overwhelmed by the level of severity of his patients. Listen to my voice message: 510-355-6339.

Upon entering prison for a few months, the brothers told me no matter what, don't get sick. And so it is out here in the big yard, don't get sick. Heal yourself, look at the man in the mirror, remember the time....Memory is healing for memory was lost and must return as in amnesia, and ours is a collective amnesia, an entire people go about their daily round deaf, dumb and blind. There are two exhibits in the Bay Area we need to see: King Tut and Africans in Mexico. Go see them and remember the time. They may help heal our social angst and shattered cultural strivings, as Dr. Hare noted.

--

Save the date: Sat., August 1, 3-5 pm, book signing and conversation with Marvin X, Joyce Gordon Gallery, 14th and Franklin, downtown Oakland. Sponsored by the Oakland Post Newspaper Group and Black Dialogue Brothers. Admission with book purchase. This event is a benefit for Black Bird Press. Call 510-355-6339.