Page 5 - Florida Sentinel 5-10-16 Online Edition

Editorials
No Free Parking
e have no idea what historians may be forced to
say about the 2016 American presidential elec- tion, but we can only hope future observers will record that Black Americans outvoted whites for the second time on record, exceeding their 2012 election num- bers.
Indeed, Black and other minority voters have the power to determine the outcome of the 2016 elections. Several of our editorial writers were appalled when a 22-year-old mother of three young children defiantly stated she didn’t intend to vote since she’d never reg- istered to vote... because “politics is the white man’s
business,” she grinned, “not mine.”
The young woman was also a Muslim, and the writ-
ers found it difficult to convince her that she needed to vote because her life was at stake ... as a woman, as a working mother earning less than $11 per hour, as a Black person, as a Muslim, and as the mother of two Black male children, all groups who were under attack by Donald Trump.
But she wasn’t alone. The young mother was among 47 percent of eligible citizens earning less than $20,000 a year who refuse to vote.
In fact, based on a Caltech/MIT survey of both reg- istered and unregistered eligible voters who didn’t vote in 2008, the reasons given for not registering and not voting, ranged from not liking the candidates choices, being too busy to vote, difficult work schedules, long voting lines, travel, illness, no transportation, to not having required identification.
Moreover, many of the non-voters had experienced voting equipment problems, poorly run polling places and intimidation. However, despite such issues, we urgently remind Black voters that under no circum- stance can we afford not to vote in 2016.
These are perilous times wherein not to vote could be suicidal. So, register. Your life may depend on it.
S omeone Republican Party candidate, Donald Trump, “He uses the words ‘waste,’ ‘fraud,’ ‘cor- ruption,’ and they all resonate.” Later on, a possible admirer said, “Donald Trump’s competence rhetoric
resonates with libertarian-friendly voters...”
And it got us to wondering. What does “resonate” mean, and why are people using it when they say such
curious things about Trump?
Well, this is what we found out: According to Web-
ster’s Ninth Collegiate Dictionary, “resonate” means “to produce or exhibit endlessly; to develop a repeti- tive pattern.
Therefore, Trump’s being labeled by a word, which also means loudness, bombast, drowning-out, over- powering, and a truckload of others.
Perhaps, what is even more “resonating” is the unwillingness of a white majority to take Trump dangerously... or maybe, that’s the point. Because what he says “resonates” with an anger in America that goes way back.
Call him the pebble-thrower, and the gullibility of our nation is his pond.
Empowered Greet- ings.
This is the year where NO FREE PARKING is al- lowed. If you are going to achieve maximum levels of success you cannot allow your dreams to stay parked for free in your mind. You have got to get aggressive about pursuing your ambi- tions. Don’t you sit back and let life pass you by because you think you don’t have what it takes to move for- ward. You have got to believe that you are capable of win- ning in life.
As a matter of fact, not only are you capable of win- ning, but you deserve to win. All the sacrifice you have made up to this point weren’t so you can play small and back down on the things you were created to do. You have
For years, whenever some- one brought to my attention a horrific crime committed by a child molester, the image of a creepy white guy hanging around an elemen- tary school playground would immediately pop into my mind. Even though I knew that the culprits didn’t always fit the same descrip- tion, I found myself sub- scribing to the stereotype.
It took a while for me to fi- nally come to the realization that these monsters come in all shapes, ages, sizes, sexes and colors, most of them harboring the ability to hide in plain sight.
These seriously disturbed individuals don’t, typically, walk around holding signs that read: “I LIKE TOUCH- ING LITTLE KIDS” (Obvi- ously that wouldn’t allow them the access to the babies they crave). Instead they take on roles as teachers, priests, pastors, police offi- cers, coaches or, as in the re- cent case of Afrika Bambaataa (the man be- hind mega hit songs like Planet Rock and Looking For The Perfect Beat), even highly respected, afro- centric, hip-hop icons. When it comes to finding victims there seems to be no limit to
missed doing some stuff and gone without so you can play it big, go for the gusto and rise to the top! So take your dreams of purpose out of park and start driving for- ward to your destiny.
You have to tell doubt and his twin named fear NO FREE PARKING! Take a leap of faith, step out of the boundaries and borders that have held you back. Look fear in the face and tell it that is has no power over you. Be determined to be delivered from thoughts of doubt by cancelling its assignment with words of empower- ment. It is imperative that you begin to believe in you.
You will ultimately be- come what you believe. This is the power of your thoughts. Your thoughts for- mulate the words that you
how far they will go to ex- ploit any position of trust.
Of course, child abuse doesn’t always necessarily involve these types of outside threats. The sad reality is that, more often than not, when a child is victimized, it’s not uncommon for the perpetrator to be a part of the existing family structure.
Uncles, aunts, older cousins, stepfathers and a host of other assorted rela- tions have all been discov- ered to have participated in the sexual assault of their minor relatives. And the most disturbing part is that these incidents often go un- reported.
In the Black community, in particular, there’s been a twisted tendency to protect abusers at the expense of the abused. A child’s innocence is often sacrificed for the sake of keeping Aunt Shirley’s son out of prison or to protect the dignity of the family’s name.
And, as a direct result of this “code of silence,” a little boy or little girl grows up with a sense of worthlessness while the predator in ques- tion goes on to strike again. It ultimately becomes a vi- cious cycle that only serves to produce an overabun-
speak. It is what you say that will lead to what you will do. The things you do create your habits. The habits you possess develop your charac- ter. Your character deter- mines your destiny. This is why you must say NO FREE PARKING!
No free parking to idle thoughts. No free parking to negative people. No free parking to the misuse of your time. No free parking to con- versations that are not uplift- ing. No free parking distractions. The only things you want parked in your life are faith, fearlessness, and a firm foundation of positivity that will lead to your success.
Stay connected with Selphenia for your contin- ued success. Follow her on social media. Facebook: Selphenia Nichols Suc- cess Coach To Women, or Instagram: Selphenia, or Twitter: @queenofsuccess1
Selphenia is available to speak or train at your church, business, nonprofit, school or organization’s re- treat. Reach out to her at 813-603-0088. She would love to hear from you.
dance of damaged souls who wreak havoc upon the rest of society.
For the young man with the extremely violent temper and the young woman who hates men, but who makes a living working inside of strip clubs, this is normally their back story. And, since no one ever came to their rescue as children, their journey often ends with him being a fre- quent resident of the prison system while she goes through life accepting the idea that there’s nothing wrong with being treated like a human blow-up doll.
This is the residue usually left by the actions of a sick world; the filth that makes trusting your kids anywhere outside of eyesight no longer an option.
I am sure that some may try to hold out hope that, in spite of the continuous stream of gut-wrenching abuse cases, things aren’t as bad as they seem. But the truth is that they may actu- ally be worse.
And, unfortunately, for those parents and grandpar- ents trying to protect their little bundles of joy this means never being able to believe for a second that there’s ever a good time to let their guard down because in this day and age, when noth- ing is what it appears, it’s al- most impossible to place anyone above suspicion.
Reality On Ice is © by the Florida Sentinel Bul- letin Publishing Com- pany.
Everybody Is A Suspect
Donald Trump: The Great ‘Resonator’
TUESDAY, MAY 10, 2016 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 5
No Excuses! Register To Vote!
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