BOBBEE BEE:IT'S GOTTA BE THE SHOES!!!

by Eric D.Graham

Sometimes, Christmas brings out the worst in us.

According to Reverend Ray Hagin, for 1,683 years Black people have been suffering from psychological impairment called Christmas. .

"To believe in anything or anyone that has no historical or archaeological evidence of its existence, to the point of such belief affects one's behavior pattern and/or conduct, is a psychological impairment and is therefore a form mental illness." Hagin stated.

With that said, we aren't going to debate whether December 25th is Jesus' real birthday. And we definitely aren't going to argue over whether the story of Jesus' birthday is simply the celebration of the winter solstice. Or whether the story of Jesus is simply astrological symbolism of the Sun traveling through the so-called zodiac.

But we are going to discuss, how December 25th has become a day of consumerism.



That's right; every year corporate marketers create a product and convince the American public that they must purchase it in order to be cool or happy.

Do you remember the 80's? It was Teddy Ruxpin.The Rubric's Cube. The Care Bears.And the Cabbage Patch Dolls. In the 90's, it was Telly-Tubbies and Beanie Babies.

In 2000, it was the Bratz Dolls, X-Boxes, Play Station 2's and Razor Scooters.

All of these items, to some degree, caused a large segment of the American population to "seek, kill, and destroy" in order to obtain them during the Christmas holidays.

The mental madness displayed on the face of these people pushing and shoving in order to get inside these stores was beyond disbelief.

This type of behavior goes back to Rev.Hagins point that Christmas is a form of mental illness, in which people's belief system affect their behavior so much that they would actually harm another individual in order to obtain a product of their passion.

"You have turned the so-called birthday of Jesus Christ to a commercial feast of foolishness. Santa Claus has knocked out Jesus at the top spot." stated Minister Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam.

"And the merchants, who don't even believe in Jesus, are busy selling you foolishness. Making themselves rich. And you poor."

Minister Farrakhan was absolutely correct with his assessment.

The so-called holy day known as Christmas, had become an orgy of consumerism and commercial feast of foolishness, where prices in the marketplace go up and people spend all of their money and go into debt buying things they don't really need.

We saw this last year when people all of over America bum rushed shoe stores in order to purchase a pair of Air Jordan's.

That's correct, a pair of sneakers, which valued at $180 a pair.

And even though, Jesus, according to the story, usually walked around in a pair of saddles, shoppers still stood in lines overnight at Nike stores across the country to cop a pair of $180 Air Jordan 11 Retro Concords.

And within minutes, they were all gone when the doors were finally opened..

Yes, even during the worst economic recession in the history of America, where employment peaked at 9%, people were still willing to pay $180 for a pair of basketball shoes made in China for a little more than five dollars.

This proves that Capitalism is a system of exploitation, where U.S. corporations establish overseas sweatshops in order to exploit poor people for cheap labor.

Consider the fact, that workers in Nike factories in China earn an average of 20 cents an hour, which is equivalent to $1.60 a day.

Those sweatshop sneakers then travel from China back to America, where another class of poor people, foolishly pay $180 plus taxes in order to wear them.

But truthfully, it's really a damn shame, that mostly Black people would rather "riot" in the streets for a pair of tennis shoes when the rest of the world is boycotting corporate greed and government corruption.

Seriously, there is a global uprising occurring around the world especially in the so-called Arab world.

But, a small segment of the Black population is fighting for footwear.

Unbelievable?

Sadly, they are even people willing to kill for a pair of sneakers. For instance, on December 22, 2011, 18 year old Tyreek Amir Jacobs was stabbed and killed for a pair of Air Jordan 11 "Concord" in "Washington DC" during the midnight release of the popular shoe.

This type of action is far from the spirit of the civil right movement of the 1960's or the Black Panther Party protesting police brutality.

But I guess, when in Rome, you do as the Romans do.

As a result, people nationwide in a religious frenzy rioted and brawled in order to purchase a pair of basketball shoes. Matters of fact, many of these sneaker-lovers withheld being pepper-sprayed and arrested by the police in order to own a pair.

With all of the foolishness that comes with Black America's foot-fetish, many people blame NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan for all the mayhem and madness.

"Michael Jordan bares a lot of responsibility for these obscene snapshots of imbecility and retarded priorities. Urban children have been killing one another over Jordan attire and memorabilia since the 1980s." wrote TerryShropshire of Roll Out Magazine

"Yet, he has not uttered a single syllable to condemn the behavior or offer condolences. He most certainly has never lobbied to make his shoe prices more in line with the demographic that inordinately patronize his products."

"He just shoves his bloodied hands in his tailored suits, where those collected bundles of Benjamins are, and keeps it pushing towards his next exploitative deal and opportunistic endeavor." Shropshire continued.

"Expecting him to voice a word of reason or articulate anything that resembles reason and caring, is like expecting to see water flowing uphill or see a thunderstorm indoors.".

Despite Jordan's silence in the sneaker wars, we can only imagine what pair of shoes will be release next year, a day before Christmas, that we drive customers even crazier. (a pair of Air Jordan XI a.k.a “Space Jams,”which were originally released in 1996.)

The controversy around Jordan's sneakers, which are marketed by Nike, has caused such an uproar, that Spike Lee, whose first commercials sparked the Michael Jordan shoe craze, to comment on the issue.

“The Nike commercials Michael Jordan and I do have never gotten anyone killed,” Lee told NewsOne for Black America.

“The deal is this: Let’s try to effectively deal with the conditions that make a kid put so much importance on a pair of sneakers, a jacket and gold. These kids feel they have no options, no opportunities.”

So, when you hear sirens, and see blue lights, along with police officers with billy-clubs, pepper-spray and their guns drawn, Christmas is right around the corner.

And maybe, this year, I'll be a part of the 1% who can afford to pay $180 for a pair of Jordans.

I doubt it.

Seriously.

NATASHA NAME BRAND AND BOBBEE BEE: 14 THINGS MOTHERS SHOULD TEACH THEIR DAUGHTERS

by Janelle Harris

1. Her family history and the struggles and stories of the people who came before either one of them.

2. Her flaws and her heartbreaks, as hurtful as they might be, because perfection isn’t realistic but disappointments are. They, however, aren’t the end of the world unless you let them be.

3. Pride in being who she is, from her quirks and craziness to her most laudable qualities, and the lesson to never over-invest in her beauty without equally investing in her intelligence.

4. How to understand her worth. Power and self-confidence ebb and flow — sometimes up, sometimes down — but a person’s worth doesn’t budge.

5. Respect for God, for herself, for nature and for her elders.

6. How to make choices and be prepared for the consequences, whatever they are, without blaming other people or beating up too badly on herself if things don’t go as planned.

7. The importance of taking care of herself — physically with checkups and prevention, yes, but also with a holistic approach to her self-care: Mental, spiritual and emotional.

8. How to forgive herself and other people, because the burden of resentment and unchecked anger will make her miserable and unpleasant.

9. The dreams that she didn’t realize. Not everything we aspire to is going to come to pass and there is mourning for those losses, just like anything else. But learning how to regroup and move on is essential.

10. How to save money, handle credit, pay bills on time and appreciate everything you have, even if it’s not always enough.

11. The fact that morals and manners may not be flashy or sexy, but they are the dividing factor between people with home training and people other folks can’t wait to leave.

12. How to be prepared for the –isms: racism, sexism, classism. Because at least one of them is always going to be a factor, in some way or another.

13. The qualities to look for in a man worth marrying, and the difference between a boo thang and a husband.

14. The importance of family and friends that are like family, because you’re only going to have a limited number of people who are down for you no matter what.

BOBBEE BEE: THE CONNECTICUT SHOOTING AT SANDY HOOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

"Evil visited this community today..." Connecticut Gov.Dan Mallory.

by Eric D. Graham

There are approximately 9,000 homicide gun deaths in the United States every year.

Plus, according to Mother Jones magazine, which has been tracking and mapping every shooting spree in the last three decades, have shockingly discovered that there have been 61 mass murderers carried out with firearms across the country, which in most cases; the killers had obtained their weapons legally.

Matter of fact, in this country in 33 states, you can legally purchase a firearm without undergoing a background check.

Despite all of this, the recent massacre that took place at Sandy Hook Elementary School, on Friday, in Newtown, Connecticut, that left 20 children dead, along with six adults, which included the school's heroic principal and psychologist, both who lunged at the alleged lone gun, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, who used a semi-automatic Bushmaster assault-rifle to kill them and himself, when he first came into the school along with four other teachers, who protected their students, has left the whole world in tears.

According to Connecticut’s chief medical examiner, Dr. Wayne Carver, the crime scene was the worst he had ever witnessed.

Police reports concluded that Lanza, who was armed with a high-powered rifle, two handguns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition, shot up two classrooms — kindergarten and first grade — before taking his own life as police arrived at the scene.

Lanza's victims, who were shot multiple times,  which included: twelve girls, eight boys, and six adult women.

Presidential pain; presidential promises

While we all try to make sense of this horrific crime, at a interfaith vigil for the victims held on Sunday night, President Obama promised to curb gun violence in the United States, even though he failed to address the issue of gun control during his recent presidential campaign against Senator Mitt Romney.

"We can’t tolerate this anymore. These tragedies must end. And to end them, we must change. We will be told that the causes of such violence are complex, and that is true. No single law, no set of laws can eliminate evil from the world or prevent every senseless act of violence in our society. But that can’t be an excuse for inaction." Obama said.

"Surely, we can do better than this. If there is even one step we can take to save another child or another parent or another town from the grief that’s visited Tucson and Aurora and Oak Creek and Newtown and communities from Columbine to Blacksburg, before that, then surely we have an obligation to try." he continued.

In the coming weeks, I will use whatever power this office holds to engage my fellow citizens—from law enforcement to mental health professionals, to parents and educators—in an effort aimed at preventing more tragedies like this. Because what choice do we have? We can’t accept events like this as routine. Are we really prepared to say that we’re powerless in the face of such carnage, that the politics are too hard? Are we prepared to say that such violence visited on our children year after year after year is somehow the price of our freedom?

NFL pays tribute

While the President promised change, the NFL, after dealing with the murder-suicide of Kansas City Chiefs' linebacker Jovan Belcher just a week ago, honored the memories of those who lost their lives in the Sandy Hook shooting with periods of silence, prayer and reflection. (Read my previous article Jevon Belcher: Death, Domestic Violence and Sports)

The Baltimore Ravens even decided the fly their flags at half-staff at M&T Bank Stadium during their games against the Denver Broncos, while the New England Patriots performed a beautiful ceremony, in which they send up 26 flares of light, one at a time, into the darkness of the sky, in honor of the souls lost in the tragedy in Newtown, Conn. during their Sunday night game against the San Francisco 49ers at Gillette Stadium.

Other teams throughout the league also recognized the tragedy by wearing helmet decals or black ribbons.

In Atlanta, the New York Giants’ players wore decals with the acronym “SHES” on the backs of their helmets, which stood for Sandy Hook Elementary School.

The New York Giants star wide receiver Victor Cruz, however added a personal touch on his cleats after learning that he was 6-year-old Newtown, Conn., shooting victim Jack Pinto’s favorite player, by writing “Jack Pinto, My Hero” on them.

Cruz, according to the New York Post, even traveled to Connecticut to visit the Pinto family, who buried their son in his favorite #80 Victor Cruz jersey.

After meeting with the Pinto family for more than three hours, Cruz tweeted out “Looking at life through a different lens.”

From another angle

Truthfully, all of us are looking at the world differently now.

We, however, can look at this story from several different angles.

Oddly, it sparks questions about the reality of evil, the existence or the non-existence of God, the problems associated with the mental health industry, gun control laws, school safety, the Second Amendment, arming school administrators, and talks about the end of the world.

The death of children, however, is hard to phantom, a hard thing to grasps, and a hard thing to accept. Unfortunately, it is a part of the harsh reality, in which, most of us, sometimes try to hide in the deepest corners of our psyche, despite the large number of abortions performed daily in America as well as the number of child abuse cases that occur every day.

And while we mourn the death of these 20 innocents souls murdered in Sandy Hook Elementary, let's not forget about the millions of children, who lost their lives in wars conducted overseas and aboard, especially those that have died due to the recent US drones attacks in Pakistan, Yemen, and Afghanistan.

This is the God awful truth, regardless of whether we try to deny it or not.

So, while President Obama shed a tear of compassion for the children of Connecticut, he also must shed tears for all the families, who lost love ones due to US Imperialism and aggression.

Sadly, as a nation, the US sometimes is very selfish, in that matter. As a result, sometimes, we overlook this because, the national news fail to cover certain stories, highlight certain horrors, and popularize certain pains, whether it's Trayvon Martin or Jordan Davis.

Therefore, while psychiatrists and psychologists try to offer mental health assistance for children, who kill, bully, and harm others, they should also provide services for America, as a nation, who have historically murdered, massacred and bullied their way throughout the world from its very conception. (Read my previous article Thanksgiving Touchdowns: From Colombus, Cowboys and Redskins)

Moore evidence

Legendary filmmaker Michael Moore, who won an Academy Award for his 2002 documentary, Bowling for Columbine, addressed this issue at a New York City event on Friday night right after the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre.

MICHAEL MOORE:

I hope you don’t mind, but I’d like to just say a few words about what happened today, because I’ve been concerned about this issue for a long time. Yes, we need more gun control. Yes, we need free mental health services in this country. But I really believe that even if we had better gun control laws and better mental health, that we would still be the sort of sick and twisted, violent people that we’ve been for hundreds of years, that it’s something that’s just in our craw, just in our DNA. And to get that out of our DNA is going to take a lot more than passing a bill in Albany or D.C. That’s not going to do it.

And, you know, other countries, I mean, they have their crazy people, and they have people that—there have been shootings and killings in Norway, in France and in Germany. But there haven’t been 61 mass killings like there have been in this country just since Columbine. Sixty-one mass shootings in this country. I like to say that I sort of agree with the NRA when they say, "Guns don’t kill people, people kill people," except I would just modify that a bit and say, "Guns don’t kill people, Americans kill people," because that’s what we do. We invade countries. We send drones in to kill civilians.

We’ve got five wars going on right now where our soldiers are killing people—I mean, five that we know of. We are on the short list of illustrious countries who have the death penalty. We believe it’s OK to kill you when you’ve committed a crime.

And then we have all the other forms of violence in this country that we don’t really call violence, but they are acts of violence. When you—when you make sure that 50 million people don’t have health insurance in your country and that, according to the congressional study that was done, 44,000 people a year die in America for the simple reason that they don’t have health insurance, that’s a form of murder. That murder is being committed by the insurance companies. When you evict millions of peoples—millions of people from their homes, that’s an act of violence. That’s called a home invasion.

All the wrong people are in prison in this country. I can’t believe we’re just standing blocks away from the biggest criminal operation that this country has ever seen, right down that street, and not one of them has gone to prison for what they’ve done. When you have eliminated so many millions of jobs, when you’ve ruined communities like mine, Flint, Michigan, you have killed people, because—because having seen firsthand the effects of these corporate decisions—the alcoholism, the drug abuse, divorce, suicide, all the social problems that go along with this act of violence—but we don’t call it violence, and no one’s ever arrested for it—I think it’s a real shame. And frankly, as an American, this is not how I want to be remembered.

Even though, we hate to make a tragedy like this a political issue, Moore spoke truth to power.

The evidence, in fact, is overwhelming.

Because the rate at which people have killed other people by guns in the US is 19.5 times higher than similar high-income countries in the world.

Not surprisingly, in the last 30 years since 1982, America has mourned at least 61 mass murders.

Public paranoia

Plus, this latest incident of violence, unfortunately, will add to the public paranoia, who fear that there is no place sacred or safe anymore, whether it’s in school, church, a restaurant, the mall, a movie theater, their jobs,  hair salons, the subway, their homes, their neighborhoods or a military base.

As a result, there probably will be more guns purchased after this tragedy and more gun violence awaiting us around the corner as copycat killers will try to use the incident to sprew more death and destruction.

With that said, just recently there have already been several additional threats and shooting since the massacre. They include: an Indiana man equipped with a 47-gun arsenal, who was arrested on Sunday for allegedly threatened to kill children at a local elementary school, an Oklahoma high school student, who allegedly planned a school-shooting massacre, and a gunman arrested after reportedly firing 50 shots in a mall parking lot in Newport Beach, California,

Incidents like these prove that we have become our own worst enemies.

And homegrown terrorism, in fact, poses the greatest threat to the security of this country.

Below is a timeline of mass shootings in the US since the Columbine High massacre:

Timeline of Terror

• December 11, 2012. On Tuesday, 22-year-old Jacob Tyler Roberts killed 2 people and himself with a stolen rifle in Clackamas Town Center, Oregon. His motive is unknown.

• September 27, 2012. Five were shot to death by 36-year-old Andrew Engeldinger at Accent Signage Systems in Minneapolis, MN. Three others were wounded. Engeldinger went on a rampage after losing his job, ultimately killing himself.

• August 5, 2012. Six Sikh temple members were killed when 40-year-old US Army veteran Wade Michael Page opened fire in a gurdwara in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. Four others were injured, and Page killed himself.

• July 20, 2012. During the midnight premiere of The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora, CO, 24-year-old James Holmes killed 12 people and wounded 58. Holmes was arrested outside the theater.

• May 29, 2012. Ian Stawicki opened fire on Cafe Racer Espresso in Seattle, WA, killing 5 and himself after a citywide manhunt.

• April 6, 2012. Jake England, 19, and Alvin Watts, 32, shot 5 black men in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in racially motivated shooting spree. Three died.

• April 2, 2012. A former student, 43-year-old One L. Goh killed 7 people at Oikos University, a Korean Christian college in Oakland, CA. The shooting was the sixth-deadliest school massacre in the US and the deadliest attack on a school since the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre.

• February 27, 2012. Three students were killed by Thomas “TJ” Lane, another student, in a rampage at Chardon High School in Chardon, OH. Three others were injured.

• October 14, 2011. Eight people died in a shooting at Salon Meritage hair salon in Seal Beach, CA. The gunman, 41-year-old Scott Evans Dekraai, killed six women and two men dead, while just one woman survived. It was Orange County’s deadliest mass killing.

• September 6, 2011. Eduardo Sencion, 32, entered an IHOP restaurant in Carson City, NV and shot 12 people. Five died, including three National Guard members.

• July 7, 2011. Seven people were shot to death when Rodrick Dantzler went on a rampage in Grand Rapids, MI. He killed his ex-girlfriend, her sister, and her sister’s 10-year-old daughter, his ex-wife and their daughter before going on a rampage on the street.

• January 8, 2011. Former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-AZ) was shot in the head when 22-year-old Jared Loughner opened fire on an event she was holding at a Safeway market in Tucson, AZ. Six people died, including Arizona District Court Chief Judge John Roll, one of Giffords’ staffers, and a 9-year-old girl. 19 total were shot. Loughner has been sentenced to seven life terms plus 140 years, without parole.

• August 3, 2010. Omar S. Thornton, 34, gunned down Hartford Beer Distributor in Manchester, CT after getting caught stealing beer. Nine were killed, including Thornton, and two were injured.

• November 5, 2009. Forty-three people were shot by Army psychiatrist Nidal Malik Hasan at the Fort Hood army base in Texas. Hasan reportedly yelled “Allahu Akbar!” before opening fire, killing 13 and wounding 29 others.

• April 3, 2009. Jiverly Wong, 41, opened fire at an immigration center in Binghamton, New York before committing suicide. He killed 13 people and wounded 4.

• March 29, 2009. Eight people died in a shooting at the Pinelake Health and Rehab nursing home in Carthage, NC. The gunman, 45-year-old Robert Stewart, was targeting his estranged wife who worked at the home and survived. Stewart was sentenced to life in prison.

• February 14, 2008. Steven Kazmierczak, 27, opened fire in a lecture hall at Northern Illinois University, killing 6 and wounding 21. The gunman shot and killed himself before police arrived. It was the fifth-deadliest university shooting in US history.

• February 7, 2008. Six people died and two were injured in a shooting spree at the City Hall in Kirkwood, Missouri. The gunman, Charles Lee Thornton, opened fire during a public meeting after being denied construction contracts he believed he deserved. Thornton was killed by police.

• December 5, 2007. A 19-year-old boy, Robert Hawkins, shot up a department store in the Westroads Mall in Omaha, NE. Hawkins killed 9 people and wounded 4 before killing himself. The semi-automatic rifle he used was stolen from his stepfather’s house.

• April 16, 2007. Virginia Tech became the site of the deadliest school shooting in US history when a student, Seung-Hui Choi, gunned down 56 people. Thirty-two people died in the massacre.

• February 12, 2007. In Salt Lake City’s Trolley Square Mall, 5 people were shot to death and 4 others were wounded by 18-year-old gunman Sulejman Talović. One of the victims was a 16-year-old boy.

• October 2, 2006. An Amish schoolhouse in Lancaster, PA was gunned down by 32-year-old Charles Carl Roberts, Roberts separated the boys from the girls, binding and shooting the girls. 5 young girls died, while 6 were injured. Roberts committed suicide afterward.

• March 25, 2006. Seven died and 2 were injured by 28-year-old Kyle Aaron Huff in a shooting spree through Capitol Hill in Seattle, WA. The massacre was the worst killing in Seattle since 1983.

• March 21, 2005. Teenager Jeffrey Weise killed his grandfather and his grandfather’s girlfriend before opening fire on Red Lake Senior High School, killing 9 people on campus and injuring 5. Weise killed himself.

• March 12, 2005. A Living Church of God meeting was gunned down by 44-year-old church member Terry Michael Ratzmann at a Sheraton hotel in Brookfield, WI. Ratzmann was thought to have had religious motivations, and killed himself after executing the pastor, the pastor’s 16-year-old son, and 7 others. Four were wounded.

• July 8, 2003. Doug Williams, a Lockheed Martin employee, shot up his plant in Meridian, MS in a racially-motivated rampage. He shot 14 people, most of them African American, and killed 7 before killing himself.

• December 26, 2000. Edgewater Technology employee Michael “Mucko” McDermott shot and killed seven of his coworkers at the office in Wakefield, MA. McDermott claimed he had “traveled back in time and killed Hitler and the last 6 Nazis.” He was sentenced to 7 consecutive life sentences.

• September 15, 1999. Larry Gene Ashbrook opened fire on a Christian rock concert and teen prayer rally at Wedgewood Baptist Church in Fort Worth, TX. He killed 7 people and wounded 7 others, almost all teenagers. Ashbrook committed suicide.

BOBBEE BEE: YOU CAN WORK IT OUT!!

by Eric D. Graham

 

God isn't alarmed when we hit rock bottom. He made the rock.

 

In Yoruba priestess Iyanla Vanzant's book Acts of Faith "Daily Meditations for People of Color she writes "There are times in our lives when we feel there is no way up or out. Illness. Poverty. Confusion. Loneliness. Desperation.

 

They take us to the place called "rock bottom' In these times you may feel weak and vulnerable, and it is easy to lose faith in your ability to go on. It is exactly in these times that you must turn to the infinite power within yourself.

 

You must know that the answer is exactly where you are. The strength you need, the answer you want, the solution that will turn the situation around is you. If you can put aside the anger, fear, weakness,and desperation for just a minute you will remember the "other times" you were at the bottom and how in a moment, miraculously, you were lifted up."

Notice, when you read Vanzant''s words that she says that one "must turn to the infinite power within yourself." She did not say look outside of your self for the answer. While some people may have a problem with this, the scripture says it plainly that the "kingdom of heaven is within"

But for far too long, our people, have waited by miserably for something or someone to save Them or rescue us instead of relying on THEMselves to change their condition HERE on Earth.

In the African-American community, gospel music has always been that therapetuic force or bridge that has been used as a healer, a soother, an encourager, and a builder of faith WITHIN US during troubling times.

One of the greatest gospel song ever written and performed entitled Jesus Will Work It Out by Dr.Charles G.Hayes is an excellent example. But we can't pray and sing all day and night, we must go to work in order to accomplish the CHANGE we DESIRE. LET'S NOT PUT EVERYTHING ON JESUS TO SOLVE. AND STOP BLAMING THE SO-CALLED DEVIL FOR OUR SHORTCOMINGS!!

Because in the psychological world, Jesus is simply a form of higher consciousness or the renewing of one's mind to think on a higher level.

A renewed mind, in the Biblical sense, according to Dr. Jay Snell is a mind that is so saturated with Scripture that it thinks Scripture when a crisis hits, rather than relying on wits for a solution to the crisis.

In other words, our minds are renewed when it is so saturated with the word of God that we think Scripture when decision time arrives, rather than trying to "figure things out for ourselves" by using our wits.

For instance, in Rom 12:22, it states:  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is good, and acceptable, and perfect, in the will of God. (KJV).

Religion and psychology, despite some arguments by theologians and scholars are married to one another.

For the father of so-called Western psychology, Sigmun Freud divided the human mind into three categories: the (ID), the (EGO) and the (SUPEREGO). The SUPEREGO is equivalent to the Christian's Jesus or God Concept.

For instance, the SUPEREGO is translated into "What I should, ought to and must do"....Remember those "What Would Jesus Bracelets woren by people years ago, it is the same concept mentally developed by the human mind according to Freud.

BOBBEE BEE:Thanksgiving Touchdowns: From Columbus, Cowboys and Redskins

by Eric D.Graham

NORTH CAROLINA (BASN)—Every year, we engage in the European cult ritual known as Thanksgiving.

Not surprisingly, the NFL promotes this holiday with its Thanksgiving Classic, which is a series of games played during the Thanksgiving holiday since the league’s inception in 1920.

This year’s game, however, had a little more meaning.

Why? Because, while we were eating Turkey and stuffing and cranberry sauce, the Dallas Cowboys played the Washington Redskins, which highlighted rookie sensation Robert Griffin III aganist Tony Romo..

Yes, the classic battle between Cowboys versus Indians, which is the premise of American’s violent culture, was showcased during this year’s so-called Thanksgiving Classic.

Plus, let’s not forget that psychologically the Dallas Cowboys are considered America’s team.
Believe me, this is not a coincidence.

And as much as I love a good conspiracy theory, this, however, is the reality of this sad situation. (Read my article I am dreaming of an all-white Christmas and an all-white team on BASN)

Yes, this so-called Thanksgiving classic, should have been called a game of genocide.

Why? Because, symbolically and subconsciously it represents the psyche reenactment of the American Holocaust, in which over 19 million Indigenous people were exterminated.

Good Indian; Dead Indian　

Remember, US Army General Phillip Sheridan said, “The only good Indian is a dead Indian.”

This, however, wasn’t only Sheridan’s philosophy.

It was also the military strategy of the United States government, in which Thomas Jefferson was also an advocate of and openly admitted with his own words.

“They [Europeans] are nations of eternal war. All their energies are expended in the destruction of labor, property and lives of their people.”

Some people, however, might not see it that way.

But the truth, is the truth.

According to Dr.Tinga Apidta’s book The Hidden History of Massachusetts: A Guide for Black Folks,

Governor Joseph Dudley declared in 1704 a “General Thanksgiving”-not in celebration of the brotherhood of man-but for [God's] infinite Goodness to extend His Favors…In defeating and disappointing… the Expeditions of the Enemy [Indians] against us, And the good Success given us against them, by delivering so many of them into our hands…

Old-fashioned fable

Comedian Jon Stewart of the Daily Show, tried to make lite of the Day of Mourning for the Ingenious people by joking, “I celebrate Thanksgiving an old-fashioned way. I invited everyone in my neighborhood to my house, we had an enormous feast, and then I killed them and took their land.”

Unfortunately, despite Stewart’s attempt to be funny, this was the real history of Thanksgiving, even though we continue believing in the fairy tale rendition of Pilgrims and Indians holding hands and praying together.



Why? Because, there is nothing hilarious about the Holocaust involving the death of 19 million First Nation people, through the methods of constant warfare, chemical warfare through smallpox filled blankets, disease, sterilization, the 1830 Indian Removal, assimilation through education, the slaughter of the Buffalo, colonization, starvation, and reservation.

The myth and the massacre

Despite all of this, every year through out America, elementary school teachers continue to dress up little children in these stupid black Pilgrims costumes with those big buckled shoes and place feathers on their innocent little heads as if it was a made for Disney movie version of Pocahontas and John Smith, while sitting down for a big dinner, singing “One Little, Two Little Indians” with a table filled with pumpkin pies and cranberry.

Glen Ford, the Executive editor of Black Agenda Report, wrote an excellent article entitled The end of Thanksgiving:A Cause for Universal Rejoicing which brilliantly dissembled this myth, which has become apart of the so-called American dream and lexicon.

The fable (of Thanksgiving) attempts to glorify the indefensible, to enshrine an era and mission that represent the nation’s lowest moral denominators. Thanksgiving as framed in the mythology is, consequently, a drag on that which is potentially civilizing in the national character, a crippling, atavistic deformity. Defenders of the holiday will claim that the politically-corrected children’s version promotes brotherhood, but that is an impossibility – a bald excuse to prolong the worship of colonial “forefathers” and to erase the crimes they committed. Those bastards burned the Pequot women and children, and ushered in the multinational business of slavery. These are facts. The myth is an insidious diversion – and worse.

Ford was correct with assessment of this holiday which we shamefully celebrate as a day of thanks.

Why? Because there were no turkey, cranberry sauce or pumpkin pie served on that day but there were about 700 Pequot Indians slaughtered and killed by a savage group of
Pilgrims.

William Bradford, who was the former Governor of Plymouth at that time, chronicled the event by giving his first hand account of the great massacre of 1637 that marked the beginning of what we know as Thanksgiving today:

Those that escaped the fire were slain with the sword; some hewed to pieces, others run through with their rapiers, so that they were quickly dispatched and very few escaped. It was conceived they thus destroyed about 400 at this time. It was a fearful sight to see them thus frying in the fire…horrible was the stink and scent thereof, but the victory seemed a sweet sacrifice, and they gave the prayers thereof to God, who had wrought so wonderfully for them, thus to enclose their enemies in their hands, and give them so speedy a victory over so proud and insulting an enemy.”

Shockingly, this day of mass murderer was proclaimed by Governor John Winthrop of Massachusetts as a day of Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving Day, as a national celebration, in fact, was originally called for by George Washington, who was a slave owner and made a regular holiday later by Abraham Lincoln, who some considered a white suprmacist, right before he signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1865, which did not free the slaves, when he assigned the fourth Thursday in November as the day of celebration. (Read my previous article on BASN entitled: The Political Football: Secession, Lincoln, and Obama)

The sacred made shameful

Unfortunately, we have forgotten the true history of this day, in order to applaud touchdowns, missed field goals, and bobbled snaps.

We have, in fact, rejected the natural and embraced the unnatural.

We have shamefully accepted the killing of beautiful people, the theft of beautiful lands, the contamination of beautiful oceans and the pollution of sacred skies in order to foolishly celebrate the festivities of a football game.

Matter of fact, we have reduced a sacred people into a few racists mascots and lousy logos like the
Cleveland Indians’Chief Wahoo and the Washington Redskins.

We sadly mock them by participation in Towahawk chops and chants during Atlanta Braves baseball games and Florida Seminoles football games, while some insensitive sports reporters write headlines like the Seminoles massacred the Gators.

This is, however shear insanity being paraded in front of the world to see.

Seriously, celebrating Thanksgiving is like Germany having a day of celebration for the Holocaust.

Let’s not forget that according to author John Toland’s The Autobiography of Adolph Hitler, Hitler’s concept of concentration camps as well as the practicality of genocide owed much, so he claimed, to his studies of English and United States history.

The North American Indian holocaust was also studied by South Africa for their apartheid program.

1492

And even though, we would like to cover our eyes to this bloody truth, and live in denial, we must as Princeton professor Dr Cornel West stated ” must always view the world through the lens of what took place on 1492….”

And if 1492 is our historical reference point, …”when Columbus sailed the ocean blue” in the NiZa, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria, which would eventually be utilized as slave ships, we can’t forget the genocide of the Ingenious people, with eventually led to the African slave trade.

Therefore, in dispelling the myth of Thanksgiving, we also must shatter the myth of Christopher Columbus as well.

First of all, we must realize that Christopher Columbus never set foot in what is North America, or the United States. Matter of fact, Norwegian settlers preceded his arrival in America by some five hundred years. Second, instead of referring to him as an explorer, we should call him an exploiter, a gold digger, a mass murderous missionary, and a slave trader.

Honestly, in his quest to find India in the Caribbean, he mistaken called the inhabiants of Hispanola, now modern day Haiti, Indians, while thinking Cuba was Japan.

Christopher Columbus

Historian Dr.John Henrik Clark remained us that when Christopher Colon set foot on Samana Cay, in the Bahamian Islands, he, in fact, set in motion western racism, colonization, mis-education, distorted history, and the bogus concept of the chosen people through a Manifest Destiny philosophy, which promoted the divine white right to conquer, kill, and Christianized another people .

“In his mind, it was enslavement from the very beginning.” Clarke said.” His intention were not good.

Evidence of Columbus’s evil intentions were written in a letter to Spain’s Queen Isabella, when he wrote:

We can send from here, in the name of the Holy Trinity, all the slaves and Brazil wood which could be sold.”

Plus, he added these words, to remove all doubt about his intentions.

“We shall take you and your wives, and your children, and shall make slaves of them, and we shall take away your goods, and shall do you all the mischief and damage that we can, and we protest that the deaths and losses which shall accrue from this are your fault .”

With that in mind, consider the fact that with Columbus’ arrival to the New World, who himself, was a professional slave trader,he along with his Spanish conquistadors killed up 5 million Tainos, whom were mis-named “Indians” in the Caribbean, within three years, according to primary historian of the Colombian era and Catholic priest Father Bartolome’de las Casas, who was an eye-witness to the destruction. De las Casas, in fact, wrote about it in his multi-volume “History of the Indies,” which was published in 1875.

(The Spaniards) “thought nothing of knifing Indians by tens and twenties and of cutting slices off them to test the sharpness of their blades. They forced their way into native settlements, slaughtering everyone they found there, including small children, old men, pregnant women, and even women who had just given birth. They hacked them to pieces, slicing open their bellies with their swords as though they were sheep herded into a pen. They even laid wagers on whether they could manage to slice a man in two at a stroke, or cut an individual’s head from his body, or disembowel him with a single blow of their axes. They grabbed suckling infants by the feet and, ripping them from their mothers’ breasts, dashed them headlong against the rocks. Others, laughing and joking all the while, threw them over their shoulders into a river, shouting: ‘Wriggle, you little perisher.’ They slaughtered anyone on their path …”


Nothing worth celebrating

Despite these horrible facts, the United States of America still considers him to be a American hero worthy of celebration and praise.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, however, doesn’t think so.

There’s nothing to celebrate,” said the Venezuelan president, who in 2002 signed a decree to change the name of its Oct.12 Columbus Day to the Day of Indigenous Resistance.

“They executed an aboriginal every 10 minutes – the biggest genocide  registered in history”
Columbus Day, which was made a federal holiday in 1971, in fact, is one of only two holidays to honor a person by name, the other of course is Martin Luther King Jr.

Not surprisingly, in a speech in 1989, President George Bush proclaimed:

“Christopher Columbus not only opened the door to a New World, but also set an example for us all by showing what monumental feats can be accomplished through perseverance and faith.”

These words alone from the former President of the United States should put to rest all of this “New World Order” talk, because it is actually an Old World Order, which the West have been practicing since they came in contact with the First Nation People of the earth.

Records and recorded history

So, regardless, of how much we celebrate the laser precision passes thrown by Washington’s QB RGIII during their 38-31 victory against America’s team, the Dallas Cowboys, or how tender the turkey was, or how many times Tim Tebow is seen bending on one knee, we must keep the true meaning of this day always in our mines. (Read my previous article Testing the Testimony of Tebowism on BASN)


Why? Because, originally, football wasn’t America’s favorite sport.

It was the hunting and killing of “Indians”

And as a famous football coach once said, “You are, what your record says you are.”