A Boy Amongst Men

February 3rd, 2011 | By Sonnie Johnson

I’m not an expert on Egypt. I’m starting to expand my knowledge of Islam but I am no expert on that subject either.  So, when I’m faced with a deficit of expertise and the pundits that appear on TV all have an agenda of their own, I’m forced to turn to the one thing I do know, Gangsta Movies.  If I can fit each person, or side, of a conflict into their appropriate places in Scarface, Casino, or Godfather, I can pretty much figure out how the story will end.

First there’s the Head of the Organization, or the Don; which in this case would be America.  Then there are the heads of all the families in the Organization; which in this case would be Egypt and Mubarak would be the head of the Egyptian Family.  Keep in mind that there are other families that rely on the loyalty and “mutual respect” from The Don.  There are also factions outside the Organization that would love to see the The Don fall and quickly take his place, but that’s what makes the “mutual respect” so important.  As long as The Don is even handed and allows the Men to be Men and handle their own affairs, they would support him whenever the need arises.  But when The Don starts to show favor, a lack of courage, or a waiving loyalty, the Organization is vulnerable to internal threats.

The Don sees the people start to rise up against the the head of the family and he is faced with a decision.  Now if he is blindly loyal to the head of the family, then he will show favor and there will be problems.  If he is totally against the head of the family, then he nods at his main man and the head of the family mysteriously disappears.  If he believes there is a compromise to be had, he forces both sides to come to the table and a compromise is made.  Each side walking away a little mad but knowing the Don’s word is Law.  But never is there a scenario where The Don publicly comes out and tells a head of family you must go, especially if The Don doesn’t have the stomach to fight.

Why?  Because this is a game of Men.  My meaning is not to lower the seriousness, more an attempt to let common sense rule over heart strings.  As an American, I would love to see freedom spread all over the world.  I know that Free Countries don’t go to war with each other.  Lately, I’ve had to become a realist.  The law of man and man’s behavior doesn’t change because the Liberals or Conservatives are in power.  It’s my main argument against Social Justice or Central Planning.  Men will be Men and no law or regulation is going to stop it.

Now, The Don has publicly come out against the head of a family and told him he needs to go.  He doesn’t have his troops waiting in the wing, he doesn’t have a counter-operative in the family to take over and satisfy both sides, nor does he take away all resources provided by the Organization.  What do you think happens next?  How do you tell a MAN, whether you like him or not, who has run a Country under total dictatorship for 30 years to “Go Now”?  How do you, a two year President, tell a MAN that has done the bidding of the United States of America for 30 years to “Go Now”?  And more importantly, how do you tell him to go when he knows you don’t have the spine to fight to him. 

This is a why a TRUE DON would’ve had Mubarak out on the second or third day of protest and left the country under Military Control.  A True Don, especially one that made it a point to visit Cairo and placate the Muslim population on his first trip abroad, would’ve had allies in place because he would’ve known that you don’t become a dictator without playing by a set of explicit rules.  He would know that to MEN their pride is way more valuable than any amount of money or political favor.  So, the head of the family strikes back and what we get is pictures of the Government of Egypt shooting gas canisters that bare our name into the crowd of angry citizens.  Now, Mubarak’s failure as a head has turned into a major problem in The Don’s Organization. 

All our allies who depended on our loyalty and “mutual respect” are now waiting for the moment when The Don tells them, to paraphase an Obama Czar, it’s time for you to step down to give others an opportunity at power.  They know if it ever comes down to a fight, The Don will not have their backs nor will he be the mediator that calms the storm.  It also leaves The Don’s family open and vulnerable because made-men are no longer respected or protected and the factions who have been waiting in the wing are Men and will take full advantage of the situation. To the head of family, who has seen his image hung from the Main Square, it’s no longer about the outcome;  now it’s, you will respect me.  The factions are now offering the loyalty The Don and head of the family lacked and the Organization begins the fight for it’s very survival.

But I’m no expert, I could be wrong.

A Socialist Playing in a Communist Sandbox

February 2nd, 2011 | By Sonnie Johnson

I’m going to piss some people off with this one.

In completing more research for an upcoming project, I had a rather revealing thought.  Why did Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. have everyone  sign a pledge of non-violence?  I mean, he was a preacher, was it not in his power to put trust in his people and their faith in God?  The pieces of the puzzle didn’t fit into place until I watched Al Sharpton on Bill O’Reilly goating the host to admit King was a Socialist.  Let me fill you in on a couple facts; It’s Black History Month, after all.

Democrats, especially the Talented Tenth Black Democrats, will often remind us to be grateful to Democratic President Harry Truman for desegregating the military.  They forget to mention that Democratic President Woodrow Wilson re-segregated the military and all government offices but I digress.  What I find extremely interesting is they don’t give the Black man who forced Truman’s hand any credit.  I have never heard a black teacher, politician, or clergyman mention the name A. Philip Randolph.  In case you haven’t heard his name, he was the father of Black Unionization.  You should really research him.  He was an Atheist, a Communist, and a very talented community organizer.  He had a dream, long before Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream, of having a march on Washington.  Randolph threatened Truman with that dream and Truman compitulated signing a Executive Order to de-segregate the military.  Why don’t we know this history?

Well, maybe, it’s the fact it had nothing to do with Civil Rights.  It had everything to do with garnering more power for the the Unions.  Randolph wasn’t mad at the treatment of the average black person, he was more concerned with those paying union dues.   He didn’t care that black men where fighting in American wars for freedom, he was mad Unions with Black members were being left out of Government contracts.  He didn’t approach a Democratic President with the wonderful idea of equality because he knew the Democrats were there to help, he did it because he knew the Unions were spreading around money and politicians, on both sides, like money.  Now, don’t blame Randolph for his loyalty to the Union.  It’s not his fault that when he tried to take the message of communism to the poor blacks, they refused to buy into his non-sense.  It seems people, even poor black people, can find happiness in God and Family; they weren’t filled with hate, like they “should” have been.

Fast forward a decade or two and we’re smack dab in the middle of the Civil Rights of the ’60’s.  A. Philip Randolph is now working with the newly merged AFL-CIO, who is openly courting the Democratic Party.    The AFL, which during the early part of the century didn’t allow unskilled, or Black, workers to join, now had a price to pay to get the black community to forgive their racism of the past.  So they stuck with the strategy that brought Planned Parenthood success, the Negro Project.  In other parts of the country, a ground swell of the people was starting to form under the leadership of  a young Reverend from Georgia.  Taking his dream and everything he’d learned; Blacks aren’t very accepting of Communism,  Blacks didn’t follow Atheist, and all politicians like money, A. Philip Randolph and his Union began to court Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

“The first requisite for the happiness of the people is the abolition of religion.” Karl Marx

My theory is based on believing King knew this.  It’s based on my belief that he was truly a man of God and a force of good.  But I have serious questions.  In looking back at pictures of his rallies and pictures in my daughters books based on the Reverends life, there are Communist signs everywhere.  “We have the RIGHT to a job”, which if you read the actual Manifesto, you actually have an “obligation” to work, which is a totally different ball of wax.  “Workers of the World, Unite”, which always begs the question of what about the people who don’t work?  Or did I answer that question in my first example?  Again, I digress.  At the same time I was asking myself these questions, Al Sharpton appears on my T.V.  “So, you will admit King was a Socialist?”  Sharpton asked O’Reilly desperately prodding the host to say the words he’d been dying to say for years.

Then it all hit me.  Why did Rev. Dr. Martin King make all the protestors sign a non-violence pledge?  He knew he was playing in a Communist Sandbox.  A man under the pressures of King would’ve known everyone he was working with.  He would’ve made sure people were checked for affiliations or at least his people would’ve checked.  Like every other Public Speaker, he would’ve known what the crowd wanted to hear and he would’ve known the right buttons to push in a Union crowd.  That also means he would’ve known how they would re-act.  He knew that he could control his church population, his new Union allies, not so much.  So, Rev. King’s non-violence, God-fearing policy brought in the people where the Communist had failed and A. Philip Randolph sat back and watched “HIS” dream come true.  A Black Communist March on Washington, who cares if it was cloaked in the righteousness of Civil Rights.  It also accomplished a Democratic Party goal, it began the purging of all their racist history as well.  In one fell swoop, with a Reverend in the lead, the black community was set to vote on policies that would get us to Socialism.

To tie it all together, if you read Marx, there is a road map to Communism.  The roadmap starts at Democracy, then Socialism, and eventually Communism.  If you get a majority dependent on Government, then you’ll have Socialism.  During the Socialist period, the common people will “adjust” to their new reality.  Then a powerful force will take power and the transition to Communism will be complete. Funny thing about Socialist like Sharpton, they seem to not know their history.  When Communist take over, the first thing they do is “get rid” of all the Socialist.  There can be no middle ground, either you are for us or against us.  If I were a Socialist, I would take this into consideration when I’m playing in a Communist Sandbox.