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

R2P: Responsibility To Protect
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
02 Feb 2022
šŸ–Øļø Print Article
Source: hedearnell.medium.com
Source: hedearnell.medium.com

Unhoused sisters and brothers, Civilian 

Casualty-Collateral Damage,  

Ol’ Schmo’s sounding Sam and Dave-ish— 

ā€œHold on, I’m comin’… 

Hold on, I’m cominā€™ā€¦ā€ 

from high alert into harm’s way of your sidewalk  

sleeper cells—your encampments, tarps and tents 

sprung up like multi-colored mini-mushroom clouds 

Unhoused sisters and brothers, Civilian 

Casualty-Collateral Damage,  

Ol’ Schmo’s sounding Sam and Dave-ish— 

ā€œHold on, I’m comin’… 

Hold on, I’m cominā€™ā€¦ā€ from high alert to coordinates  

of borders between Berkeley and Oakland where you’re  

Amassed. 

He’s comin' boots on the ground—Special Forces—brave  

fighting men and women platoon/battalion, heavily-armed— Amish-style—ready to raise roofs and grow food… 

Capitalism’s putative leader knows the Golden State’s home to half his nation’s unhoused. And he’s hopping mad—R2P: Responsibility To Protect—humanitarian intervention—MAD! ā€œWhat lousy dictator would do this to his own people?!ā€ ā€œOwn people!ā€ he mumbles ā€œWill gas be next?!ā€ ā€œGas?!ā€ he babbles… 

Unhoused sisters and brothers, Civilian 

Casualty-Collateral Damage, 

Ol’ Schmo’s sounding Sam and Dave-ish— 

ā€œHold on, I’m comin’… 

Hold on, I’m cominā€™ā€¦ā€ from high alert, deploying good guys with nail-guns, hammers, saws, 2x4s, rebar, bricks and concrete— Weapons of Mass Construction—Build Back Better ain’t bosh! He’s comin’ ā€˜cause housing’s a human right; 

Comin’ to get bogged down in Structural Adjustments; 

Comin’ Slick Willy-ish: ā€œI feel your pain—it’s the economy stupid!ā€ Comin’ Drone Ranger-ish: with spare ā€œChange you can believe inā€¦ā€ If your eyes well up when handed your keys it’s OK; OK if you burst  into tears during your first shower in two years; OK to wake up in your  warm laundry-fresh bed babbling: ā€œSupport the troops!ā€ ā€œSupport the troops!ā€

It’s OK to let good guys with Weapons of Mass Construction board planes before babysitters, teachers, midwifes, nurses, doctors and dentists as you chant, ā€œThank you for your serviceā€ over and over… 

Unhoused sisters and brothers, Civilian 

Casualty-Collateral Damage—  

Spoiler alert: 

Ol’ Schmo’s changing his tune. He’s saying he 

Tolt you from da git—from da jump: ā€œNothing 

would fundamentally change…He’s saying he 

has a right to sing the Blues— a right to try to 

sound more and more like Lady Day each day: 

ā€œHush now, don’t explain… 

money waits in Ukraineā€¦ā€ 

 

Ā© 2022. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.

 

War and Empire

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


More Stories


  • The Imperialist Aggressiveness and the Birth of the West African Peoples Organization (WAPO)
    West African Peoples Organization
    The Imperialist Aggressiveness and the Birth of the West African Peoples Organization (WAPO)
    04 Jan 2023
    Anti-imperialist unity has long been sought by African people but has been thwarted by outside forces. The people still struggle to reach this goal, and the West African Peoples Organization is the…
  • Africa in Review 2022: Regional Dynamics and Continental Security
    Abayomi Azikiwe
    Africa in Review 2022: Regional Dynamics and Continental Security
    04 Jan 2023
    The first in a three-part series analyzing African politics in 2022.
  • Film Review: Netflix’s ā€˜Descendant’ Shows Capitalism Continues to Oppress African Descendants
    Jacqueline Luqman
    Film Review: Netflix’s ā€˜Descendant’ Shows Capitalism Continues to Oppress African Descendants
    04 Jan 2023
    The trans-Atlantice slave trade did not end with the 1808 ban. The Clotilda arrived in 1860 and the descendants of those enslaved people are impacted by that history, as are all African people in the…
  • U.S. Spreads Misery Across the Globe Imposing Sanctions on a Third of Humanity
    Jeremy Kuzmarov
    U.S. Spreads Misery Across the Globe Imposing Sanctions on a Third of Humanity
    04 Jan 2023
    The U.S. imposes unilateral coercive measures, sanctions, against millions of people around the world. Sanctions are war by other means, creating as much damage as bombs and bullets do.
  • A Racial Disparity Across New York That is Truly Jarring
    Jesse Barber , Simon McCormack
    A Racial Disparity Across New York That is Truly Jarring
    04 Jan 2023
    Black people are disproportionately convicted of felonies across New York State. In Manhattan, a Black person is 21 times more likely to be convicted of a crime than a white person.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us