God Bless the Heroes

God love our men and women in uniform. And God bless our injured men and women in uniform. Whether you agree with these bullshit wars or not is irrelevant. These fallen heroes deserve much more than they are allotted after they return home from duty. These injured, shell-shocked, sometimes limbless patriots need far more than a couple hundred dollars a month and minimal health care.

These patriots need empathy and genuine concern. They need a helping hand to assimilate back into civilian life, where the fear of IEDs and snipers are no longer necessary. They need the special understanding that only those who have smelled and survived war zones can offer.

I didn't see any action when I was in the Army. I was honorably discharged in October of 2002, literally a week before my unit's departure for the Middle East. As a soldier who never faced a firefight and who never watched a bullet shred the face of a close friend, I cannot relate to the experiences of true war veterans.

However, I CAN donate to foundations who CAN relate to the misery and bravery of our casualty-riddled troops. The Veterans' Coalition is one of the best in that regard. These volunteers take on the issues facing our veterans and try to provide an increased quality of life for our wounded warriors.

As with all charities, discernment needs to be utilized before donating. Sometimes non-profits like these can change overnight from a genuinely helpful institution to a corrupted den of thieves. The Veterans' Coalition fits the first description so far, but do your own research. There are many wonderful organizations that cater to the needs of our uniformed forces, so if this one doesn't interest you, I promise that there are others that will.

Most importantly, however, NEVER FORGET the wounded. They have internally taken the bullets and shrapnel that were meant for all of us, as a nation, without ever demanding thanks. The least we could do is provide them with some compassion and a helping hand. 25 years from now, I do not want to ever see any legless, homeless Iraq/Afghanistan veterans downtown, begging for someone to help push their wheelchairs. I have witnessed how Vietnam Vets have been neglected over the years and hopefully we will never let that same neglect befall these younger heroes.

Baldwin Center

I went to the Baldwin Center in Pontiac for my blogging class. The experience was really refreshing. I haven't immersed myself in public service for quite some time and I realized how much I missed volunteering when I shed my jacket and began hauling items to the basement of the food pantry.

Honestly, the experience invoked feelings of personal shame. Shame that it took a college class to remind me to "Love thy Neighbor." Shame that I didn't even know the Baldwin Center existed before the venture. Shame that I haven't been back yet.

Luckily, the experience rekindled the flickering passion inside of me that yearns to see a struggling people unite for common good and justice. Granted, this is the type of thinking that Glenn Beck would label Communistic and Naziesque,
but I've never cared what incoherent, simple-minded, hate and fear mongers think of me, so why start now?

Before I go into a long-winded tangent into Glenn Beck's hateful and dangerous comments, allow me to regroup and focus on the positivity of the Baldwin Center.

I was extremely touched by the food pantry and the clothes closet. The thought that people down on their luck could have a place to pick up soup and vegetables for their families makes me smile. The fact that the Baldwin Center actually does this on a daily basis forces a small tear to join the smile already on my face. What's more touching than knowing a hungry, innocent child will be bedding down with a nourished body?

The clothes closet is also essential. The "Glenn Becks" of the world like to berate poor folks for not having jobs, but who is going to hire someone arriving to a job interview wearing ripped jeans and a stained sweatshirt? After all, many hiring managers employ the same compassion as Beck does when it comes to the poor. The clothes closet allows folks to acquire proper clothing that can win them a job, and just as importantly, these men and women can acquire clothing that will shield them from the notoriously harsh Michigan winters.

Overall, visiting the Baldwin Center is an overlooked opportunity to extend love to people who have been given cold stares of indifference. I strongly recommend everyone shoot it a visit. The only disappointment your trip will bring is the sad realization that a soup kitchen/clothing closet like this is necessary in this land of milk and honey.

"Where ever you see a cop beatin' a guy
where ever a hungry, newborn baby cries
where ever there's a fight against the blood and hatred in the air
look for me Ma, I'll be there"
-Rage Against the Machine

Beef

We discussed sexist rap lyrics in my Women and Gender class tonight. I get irritated when people label all hip hop as misogynistic, violent, and lacking in substance. Old KRS-1 and BDP, Nas, and Mos Def are extrememly intelligent poets who do not deserve to be lumped in with idiots like T-Pain, Lil Wayne, and whoever is responsible for that shitty "stanky leg" song. The first time I heard "What's Beef", I immediately fell in love with it so I'm passing it along even though it's a few years old.


What's Beef?

Beef is not what Jay said to Nas
Beef is when the working folks can't find jobs
Steady trying to find niggas to rob
Tryin to find bigger guns so they can finish the job
Beef is when crack babies can't find moms
cause they in a pine box or locked behind bars
Beef aint the summer jam for HOT 9-7
Beef is the cocaine and AIDS epidemic
Beef don't come with a radio edit
Beef is when a judge is callin you "defendant"
Beef, it come with a long jail sentence
handed down to you in a few short minutes
Beef is when your girl comes through for a visit
talkin bout "I'm pregnant, by some other nigga"
Beef is high blood pressure and bad credit
need a loan for your home but you're too broke to get it
And all your little kids are doin is gettin bigger
and your tryin not to raise em around these wild niggas
Beef is when a golddigger got your seed in her
A manicured hand out like "Pay me nigga!
Or I'm tellin your wife
Or I'm startin up some foul rumor that'll ruin your life"
Beef is when a gangsta ain't doin it right
and another gangsta decidin what to do with his life
Beef is not what these famous niggas do on a mic
Beef is what George Bush would do in a fight
Beef ain't what Ja said to 50
But beef is Weldon Irv not bein here with me
When a soldier ends his life with his own gun
Beef is tryin to figure out what to tell his son
Beef is oil prices and geopolitics
Beef is Iraq, the West Bank, and Gaza Strip
Some beef is big and some beef is small
but what ya'll call beef, it's not beef at all
Beef is real life, happenin everyday
And it's realer than them songs that you get at Kay Slay
This has been a real nigga PSA
from Mos Def, Pretty Flaco, and Black Dante
The black star embassy, B to the K

-Mos Def