Black Men, Big mouth is not a weapon

 
​       The running of the mouth. The dirty dozens. Who can “snap” the best? In the Black community, especially among Black men, it's a old tradition. So many of us trash talk with such ease that it has become apart of pop culture. For example; in rap music some of the best rappers have been able to boast the most in a rhythmic fashion and show assertion with bravado. When KS-One dropped the bridge, or even when Muhammad Ali agitated Joe Louis outside and inside the ring, people were astonished by Black men verbal pizzazz, wit and versatility. Both KRS-One and Ali left the verbal jousting to their respective trades, and mental fortitude/dexterity left many in a perpetual state of awe. Never over reaching in victory, these Black men understood the power of their tongue. The iconic 2Pac was known to have a venomous tongue, that could slice through anyone; even emcees that were lyrically superior to him. He knew how to attack the core essence of a person and break it down to particles. In fact “Hit 'Em Up” to this very day remains one the most scathing records in hip-hop. He wasn't the only one though, there were other lyrically raw and humiliating records in Hip-hop such as “No Vaseline” by Ice Cube. The difference between 2pac's and Ice Cube's approach is that Cube left everything on wax, meaning it stayed entirely professional. 2Pac on the other hand carried things over, that spilled off records. Of course the background stories between Cube leaving NWA and 2Pac being shot in New York were a little different and that includes the outcome as well. Another aspect of 2Pac is his usage of language as a powerful weapon to humiliate his adversaries. Being a master of language made his verbal assaults even more pronounced. Many of 2pac's contemporaries thought of him as nothing more than a loud mouth with a strong vengeful streak, yet others thought of 2pac as brave, passionate and “real”. Towards the end of his life 2pac began to scale back on his harsh words towards Biggie Smalls, especially since most of his diatribe came from a place of fear. In addition to his feelings on the media stoking the flames even further.
       
        2Pac voiced his views on the media in a MTV interview where he chastised them, he was irritated that the media ran with his words, though he wasn't wise with his reckless speech. He was irritated that the media was amplifying what he stated about New York rappers, which had truth to it despite his own short-comings. In reality 2Pac was realizing the power of his words, unfortunately it came a little too late. The damage that Pac caused was already at a nuclear level, which engulfed the entire Hip-hop community. 2Pac wanted off of the hype train express for the “East v. West” coast beef in which he was its conductor. Maybe 2Pac was speaking out of fear and not necessarily being the “realist”. I have watched a lot of Black men with loud mouths speak out of fear, coming to a battle unprepared. The spoken word is powerful, both in light and dark. Everything you speak out into the ether has its' way of returning back to you ten folds. On August 12th, 2017 Dre Harris found out the hard way, when it came to showing up to a battle with just words. From the ashes of Pac's fury and death, a culture has been accepted among Black men as a bunch of talkative loud mouths who can rarely back their threats up. Reckless speech out of fear, insecurity and a lack of self-worth.

      Initially when the story broke about Dre Harris being attacked by White Supremacist or more accurately terrorist, Sincere was astonished. How could these terrorist attack this young Black man? I (Prince) was skeptical. My thoughts were “How did he get into that situation?” and “Why was he unprepared?” Then the full footage of the moments leading up to the incident hit the internet. On the footage we saw Dre Harris and his friends mouthing off to the same White men who would later assault him and one of his friends (day ones) throwing an object at one of them. Many Black people were/are angry about what happened to Dre Harris, and it is still understandable. At the end of the day, those White men were still terrorist but putting emotionalism aside, Black men your mouth is not a weapon in this war. Dre Harris and his friends threw rocks at the White Nationalists and trash talked them for a few blocks before the conflict escalated. Dre Harris and his friend came unprepared, unarmed and unskilled. Sure, Harris was able to acquire over $163, 350 in a few days, but at what cost? Black men we must take pride in true power and self-defense. Get armed with the likes of Sam Hayes of AAAFRO (ARMED AFRICAN AMERICANS FOR RESPONSIBLE OWNERSHIP). Black men we must value our health, and intelligence. Monitoring our mental health, water intake and weight gain works for us in the long run. Dre Harris was a immature Black man with a small build picking at a collective of vicious beast that side with the genocide of many groups of people. Physically he was outmatched, but he didn't and doesn't have to be. Especially when there are plenty of Black men that are exceptional and astute. Black men we must focus more on training and strengthening our minds and bodies first. We must not be synonymous with just having big mouths. Not everyone is going to be lucky enough to have a GoFundMe that earns of over $150,000 in two days. Train your mind, control your emotions and train your bodies. At least if you talk trash, you can back it up.      

(ARMED AFRICAN AMERICANS FOR RESPONSIBLE OWNERSHIP)
aaafrogunclub.com/
My Brotha Fitness
www.mybrotha.com/health.asp
Black Men and Meditating
healthyblackmen.org/men-meditate/