Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

What The Left Left At O’Hare
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
18 Jun 2013
🖨️ Print Article

by Raymond Nat Turner

To fly the friendly skies of the National Security State, one must first be prepared to jettison all leftist baggage.

 

What The Left Left At O’Hare

by Raymond Nat Turner

 

I recall, it was like TSA had groped,

Probed and lightened their load:

“You can’t carry independent politics aboard”

“Militant mass-action is forbidden aboard the aircraft”

“Proletarian Internationalism must be dumped out here”

“Revolutionary attitude toward the state is absolutely forbidden beyond the gate!”

“You are allowed to bring aboard:

2oz see-through plastic bottles of social-chauvinism

2 oz plastic bottles of reformism

2 oz plastic bottles of tokenism

Unlimited humanitarian interventions in see through plastic is allowed”

 

Happy campers boarding in ’08,

Gate 1%, O’Hare, via Ronald

Reagan, “the left” powered

Down principles, turned off

Theoretical devices, kept its

Seatbelts buckled low and tight—

Paid high prices for complimentary

Kool Aid, mini-bottles of beer and

Headphones for feature films like

0 Dark 30 looped eight years on

Their non-stop flight—

Making their descent

Three years left in the

Holding pattern, acting as

Floatation devices under one

Seat aboard… Air Force One…

 

Raymond Nat Turner can be contacted at upsurgejazz.com.

 

Raymond Nat Turner © 2013 All Rights Reserved 

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles? Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.


More Stories


  • Political Repression Under Peruvian Coup Regime
    Clau O'Brien Moscoso
    Political Repression Under Peruvian Coup Regime
    01 Mar 2023
    The people of Peru continue to protest the coup which ousted President Pedro Castillo Terrones. Clau O'Brien Moscoso reports from Peru.
  • War Over U.S. Military Base Quest in Somalia Rages On
    Jamal Abdulahi
    War Over U.S. Military Base Quest in Somalia Rages On
    01 Mar 2023
    A conflict between Somali unionists and secessionists was spawned by a U.S. attempt to acquire a military base. War and a humanitarian crisis are the end result.
  • Africans’ Message to Imperialism: “We Are Not Your Flunkies!”
    Mark P. Fancher
    Africans’ Message to Imperialism: “We Are Not Your Flunkies!”
    01 Mar 2023
    South Africa's participation in military drills with Russia and China is an indication that the global south are not taking orders from Washington. African nations should continue their…
  • US Hegemony and Its Perils
    Ministry of Foreign Affairs People's Republic of China
    US Hegemony and Its Perils
    01 Mar 2023
    The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China spells out what is wrong with U.S. foreign policy. While administrations may change, the imperative to dominate doesn't. U.…
  • Poisoning America for Profit: A Brief History of Norfolk Southern’s Greed
    Amanda Yee
    Poisoning America for Profit: A Brief History of Norfolk Southern’s Greed
    01 Mar 2023
    Norfolk Southern and other railroads have increased profits while cutting their workforce and lobbying against safety regulations.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us