Today I met a Veteran downtown Brooklyn, Joe Settle. Gold Honorable medal and Purple Heart honoree, and the story he regaled me in was too much to decipher. No unemployment, no healthcare, no housing plan, NO reparations for his service from over 30 years of service. He gave me grandfather vibes. Now I grew up in Brooklyn, so struggle is not new to me. Yet the intersectionality in our issues and daily travesty is what makes us so complex. He is the face and the story of many . I just wish I could've helped somehow besides hydrating him with water. It was too much to handle.. Oppression looming in our community is too problematic.
His strife as well as the struggles of so many others had me on a guilt trip nearly half the day.
Imagery remains as I recall the touch of his skin and the sound of the fiber in his bones cracking under the pressure of severe arthritis. I wish I could heal him, yet I am still healing myself. While cooling in the shade of the hot ass Nuyorican heat...
Reminiscent now; we talk. About the movement of the Sun and the balance in meditation. Love.
Sr.Settle has so much faith and hope for the future though. His optimism? Unmatched. Literally, after I scoffed and said something along the lines of my disdain for systematic disenfranchisement, that the system is rigged and our demise is inevitable, he simply says "better days are to come." I smile at this and depart from his domain on the side of the government building, then chuckle at the irony in his choice of rent-free residence...Hard work pays off, yea. But what happens when the hardest working happens to also be the disproportionately disadvantaged ones. And the one and only who are isolated and expected to be the backbone of this country are the ones isolated and abandoned when it comes to the things they really need like money and healthcare.
I have friendly encounters all the time (gratefully) and meet people everyday, yet this particular instance gave me an eye awakening I ain't even know I needed . Maybe because this particular gentleman reminded me of my late and great, beloved grandfather who too served in the war, or because I saw a reflection of my community through his disparity. Faith has no part in this epidemic, being that it is systematically controlled.
Let's take Walmart for example. Billion dollar industry, that serves undermined communities in small surburbs. At first glance the high production rates and low prices appears beneficial to consumers. And while this may be true the funding allocated from these low prices at substantial quantities not only funds, but is the backbone of bureaucracy right here under our noses. In 2007, late 2008, after catastrophic Katrina hit homes, FEMA trailers were built to temporarily house those that were displaced. While conspiracy theorist like myself have strong implication of the houses being funded by the Walters family, specifically the preceding heir. Sam Walter. Head honcho, is deemed as the good guy usually, having a team to back them up with the shady underdog stuff, there is still enough tea to spill. It was scientifically proven by the CDC and Department of Health, that form gaseous formaldehyde, that over time, can be detrimental to human health. Now while this has been proven , I don't see any lawsuits hanging over their heads , nor does their remorse result in paying their over 2 million employers living wages.
I find it disheartening that the very ones who have been compromised time and time again, are further hurt and disbarred. Like Mr. Settle, like Katrina survivors, and like so many others victims of the circumstances that are without control; we share rage and our anger makes us shared in our M.A.D -mutually assured destruction.
About the Creator
Cyn Kitt
I don't have many friends so I come to you like an open book to vomit my pain, pleasures and political views. Thank you and please enjoy my transparency as much as I enjoy writing about them <3
Well-Intentioned Whistleblower or Opportunist?
“I want to believe that you're telling the truth But something tells me don't trust you” – Agnostic Front When a family enrolls a child in a school, the district immediately starts incurring expenses. Space must be reserved for each student and teachers assigned to those classrooms. The district must ensure that textbooks and other supplies are available. These costs are constant and do not change when a child misses a day of school.
By Carl J. Petersena day ago in The Swamp
Rivers of Death
Rivers bring water the element essential to all life on Earth but wherever rivers flow they also bring death surprise attacks Savage kills and brutal fights every day is a battle for survival on these rivers of [Applause] death I'm under the African Sun Staying Alive is hot thirsty work and among the ranks of animals jostling to get a drink lurk Killers waiting to strike but while Lions may be fearsome and the huge Nile crocodiles ruthless Predators one of the continent's deadliest River Killers is mostly vegetarian renowned wallowers spending up to 16 hours a day lounging in the water hippos could be mistaken for relaxed creatures and yet the river horse as their name translates from ancient Greek can be a very angry pony indeed with tusks up to a foot and a half long hippos are literally armed to the teeth and a charging bull Hipp can impact with the weight force of a pickup truck what's more hippos May brutally defend their territory an Impala has been chased into a muddy Watering Hole by a lion it's stuck but for fortunately for the stricken analou the lion is reluctant to follow it into the Meer unfortunately it finds itself in the domain of a hippo ill disposed to uninvited guests the hippo's not stealing the watching Lion's meal she's most likely just aggressively defending her calf and the Impala pays the ultimate price for crossing a doting mother hippos are thought to kill more people each year than the rest of Africa's most dangerous animals combined and during mating season their ruthless aggression is directed at other hippos two bulls square up the pod's dominant male and a Challenger at stake the Riverbanks Prime mating territory and a Herm of females the dominant male puts on an aggressive display posturing to show he will not yield but the interloper Demands a fight finally the dominant male is Victorious the Conqueror celebrates with a dung shower marking the border of the territory he has successfully defended while the vanquished suffers more than just the agony of defeat his back is carved open and by Sunset the crocodiles are watching closely they'd be unlikely to take on a bull in rude Health but now they Circle an expectation the hippo breathes his last the price of insurrection is life his Hulk will not go to waste the crocodiles move in swiftly to Feast on the corpse for these voracious Predators it's a considerable meal but one dead hippo is a mere snack compared with the annual Feast provided by a particular African river each year the serengetti vast grass Plains filled to the Horizon with grazing animals taking part in one of Nature's greatest spectacles around 1 and2 million wilder beast join 700,000 other herbivores on the Great Migration around 1 in six of these migrants will die before completing the 500 M circuit many are outrun and taken down down by Africa's formidable array of Savannah carnivores their Journey coming to a Grizzly end but one of the deadliest single obstacles the vast herds must Traverse is the mara River after 3 months on the move the wilderbeast are exhausted and emaciated all that separates them from the Fresh pastures of the msai mara is the width of the river and a whole bunch of huge ravit Nile crocodiles despite the chilling threat posed by these powerful Predators some of the herd are either oblivious to the danger or so thirsty they dare to take a drink anyway for an unlucky few it will be their last and these witless victims merely wet the Croc's appetite the true Feast begins when the first of the herd Braves the river in the crush and Chaos of the crossing the 16t Crocs grabs scores of victims when 1,600 lb of musc futile the marus Crocs survive on meager rations for most of the year so take full advantage of the great migrations time of Plenty they Gorge themselves eating up to half their body weight in one sitting and with so many different species crossing the river the banquet is as varied as it is Bountiful but not all Africa's Crocs have such an easy meal ticket on the banks of this Kenyon River a Croc has got too close to a pack of feeding Lions a move it's about to regret it's a fierce attack but the Crocs skin is covered in bony armor plating eventually the Lion's Uninvited Guest Retreats having taught the Crocs and dinner manners the big cats return to the carcass the Amazon is a giant of a river and and conceal some monstrous Predators which kill with a crush and in a bloody frenzy draining a lowland Basin of close to 3 million square miles around 1/5 of the water that runs off the earth's surface is carried by the Amazon this giant of a river is renowned for its oversized residence both prey and Predator around 4 ft long and and weighing as much as an adult human capibara are the world's largest rodent they're
By cacloaidongvat4 days ago in The Swamp
BARE HUNTER
CHAPTER 15 I pulled up in front of Sandy’s a little early, so I texted Becca again and left a message for Sharon, hoping she had a good day and I’d see her tomorrow. Two cars pulled into Sandy’s driveway. I don’t know why I was surprised to see another man with her. We’d been apart for two years and I certainly didn’t waste any time getting back on the horse.
By Tina D'Angelo5 days ago in Chapters
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