Page 5 - Florida Sentinel 4-9-19

Editorial/Column
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imagine that half of the people reading this right now probably never heard of Nipsey Hussle. In fact, de- pending on their age, they may get him confused with Nipsey Russell, the come- dian who played the role of the Tin Man alongside Michael Jackson and Diana Ross in the movie
The Wiz.
Nipsey Hussle, though, wasn't an actor or comedian. He was a popular hip-hop recording artist, an entrepre- neur, a burgeoning film- maker and a beloved community activist within the Los Angeles, California community that raised him. Unfortunately, the fact that he was all of those impres- sive things still couldn't pre- vent him from being murdered last week.
Hussle was gunned down in front of a clothing store he owned by an alleged acquaintance after a pre- sumed disagreement. It was the typical end to an all too familiar scenario that seems to play itself out over and over again inside of predom- inately Black neighborhoods across the country.
When news began to cir- culate about Hussle's death it was rumored that he was killed (the term assassinated
was used quite a few times) by the government because he was preparing to release a documentary on the late Dr. Sebi, the renowned herbal- ist who claimed that he could cure any disease, including AIDS and cancer, through a holistic approach.
Conspiracy theorists con- tend that Hussle's intent to give Dr. Sebi's remedies worldwide exposure was a threat to the multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical indus- try and made him a target. They point to the manner in which Hussle was shot (5 times to the body and once to the head) as the work of a trained assassin.
They also find suspicion in how the man responsible for murdering Hussle, Eric Holder, (a Los Angles Crip gang member known in the streets as "Shitty Cuz"), was able to retain the coun- sel of Christopher Dar- den (the former prosecutor who famously fumbled the prosecution of O. J. Simp- son) so quickly? And the fact that Darden refuses to disclose the mysterious benefactor paying his tab, to some, only adds fuel to the speculation that there may be more to Hussle's un- timely demise than what's being revealed.
While the conspiracy angle has yet to be proven the part of this story that I find most disappointing, re- gardless of who may have or- chestrated the killing behind the scenes, is that a Black finger pulled the trigger.
It seems like whenever a Black man tries to make some kind of difference in society, the face of the per- son who ultimately attempts to take him down or destroy his momentum is nearly identical to his own. It hap- pened with Denmark Vesey, Nat Turner, Mar- cus Garvey, Malcolm X, Tupac Shakur and now Nipsey Hussle's name can be added to the list of inspir- ing men who were betrayed by one of the people they were attempting to help.
Those who want to point the finger at unseen culprits as the ones responsible for snuffing out another one of our brightest lights can con- tinue to blame "them" or "they" all they want. But the truth is, if there weren't trai- tors in our midst willing to do the dirty work, it would be extremely difficult for any of our enemies to accom- plish their goals.
As long as haters like these walk among us, who can't stand the glare from someone else's shine or who are willing to sell out for per- sonal gain, we can count on these types of tragedies to re- main common occurrences.
Reality On Ice is © by the Florida Sentinel Bul- letin Publishing Com- pany. You can contact Mr. Barr at: cbar- ronice@gmail.com.
Another Win For The Haters
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Human Viruses
hen historians write about the first twenty
years of the millennium, they will say that our children had more sense than the adults. We are so proud of the young Americans who have been march- ing and protesting about gun control and climate change.
They are more concerned than adults about gun control and how America’s leadership is ignoring how we are endangering our air, plants, and animals; de- stroying the earth’s rivers and oceans; and leaving life- threatening air for them to breathe.
Indeed, they are also tired of being the “sitting ducks” victims (600 or more since records were kept) of mass shootings with military style guns. They don’t feel safe in school or church. How can we continue to ignore what is happening to our world and how our children and grandchildren will have to be the ones who will suffer most from the damage to this environ- ment, our rivers, our oceans and our air?
When countries (Pacific Islands) no longer exist be- cause of rising sea levels; when America has to relocate entire coastal towns (Isle de Jean Charles, Louisiana); and when scientists predict that at least 10 countries will disappear within the next 20 years because of sea level rise, it will be too late.
The lack of concern for the sinking of island coun- tries, for the erosion of coral reefs, for the dying off of fish and other sea animals, and all the other signs of global warming is troubling. Since we, as adults, are not leading the charge to save our planet, our children feel they must step up and stop the wholesale slaughter of our planet.
Someone posed the theory that human beings are like viruses that lived on Mars at one time and de- stroyed it and then traveled to earth and are now de- stroying the earth. Theorists just might be correct.
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