A poem about some oregonians

some oregonians think they're cool
because
they don't eat wheat products
or products from animals that shit or piss
they drink their water with a lemon slice
they even know the name of the chicken they cook
they remember
sir mix a lot
boys 2 men
bell biv devoe
george clinton
                          at every party
                          they play a couple Motown tunes just  for me
                          singing in unison
                          like that's suppose to suffice
                          as they return to alternative rock or folk music for the rest of the night,
and some might have a Jimi Hendrix or Bob Marley t shirt on
and probably don't have a single song of theirs in their collection
except maybe one love
they may as well say
let's just say we do
because  they don't or won't initiate any form of communication unless they need a cake.
for free.
some want you to be their only black friend
just so they can say wassup nigga to someone who is black
and be surprised that it's taken offensively
they want to tell people they have a black friend
until they realize their friends could care less about black people
and they kick you to the curb
when you're deemed unnecessary
smiling in your face not really wanting to take your place.
not all,
but some oregonians think they're cool.
they're not.

dnaltroP

I freed a thousand slaves. I could have freed a thousand more if only they knew they were slaves.
                        --Harriet Tubman 

There are  a lot of  people that, if someone told them they were black, they'd probably jump out of a  plate glass window to their deaths. 


Welcome to Portland Oregon. 

* Oregon

5 years ago today, the moving truck left my beautiful, spacious 2-floor apartment with all my belongings, and I left the safety net of family and friends (and a culturally diverse environment) in Milwaukee Wisconsin to start a job in Beaverton Oregon ( suburb of Portland where I now work), the following Monday--

If I live to be 70 or older, God willing, in the list of places I will have lived, the state of Oregon will have been the most unique of places I will have ever lived. It's the most unique so far. I'm not talking about the climate. That wasn't a surprise. I'm not talking about my job. I love my job. God really blessed me in that area. 

I'm talking about the people. Not just the people I met when I moved here, but the people I knew in Oregon before I moved here. 
Yes, the asterisk is there in the title for a reason. 

Don't Try This At Home

Oregon mother gets 5 years of probation for trying to circumcise her 3-month-old son at home

 

PORTLAND, Ore. — An Oregon woman who tried to circumcise her 3-month-old son at home after reading the Old Testament and watching YouTube videos has been sentenced to five years of probation.
Keemonta Peterson pleaded guilty to first-degree criminal mistreatment. The 30-year-old Portland woman must also undergo mental health treatment.
Peterson called 911 and the boy was rushed to a hospital last October after her botched effort left the infant bleeding uncontrollably and in intense pain. A prosecutor says he has fully recovered.
The Oregonian reports (http://bit.ly/pFowiX) the boy and his three siblings are in the state’s care, although Peterson can see them under supervision.
Multnomah County Circuit Judge Eric Bergstrom told Peterson on Monday that “the reality is you love your children and had absolutely no intent to harm your child.”
   - courtesy Oregonlive.com

I hope she never ever gets her kids back.

 

The bottom of the lowest part

I’m not going to talk about the  changed political landscape, or the largest turnover in the House since World War 2, or the Teabaggers and other Repug's need 'to right a wrong' (we all know what they consider wrong). Oh, but I will.  At the  Oregon Convention Center,  President Barack H. Obama said:  "After they drove the car into the ditch, they made it as difficult as possible for us to pull it back,  and now as we're slowly but surely pulling the car out, keeping in mind that it's badly dented and may need a tune up--now they're tapping on our shoulders, wanting the keys back. No! You can’t drive! We don’t want to have to go back into the ditch. We just got the car out!"  

Using that same analogy, the voters seem united in their anger and frustration but divided in what the prescription is and what to do about it, except for changing 'change', so, for the most part, they decided they're going to push the car halfway back in the ditch,  disabling the engine, and taking out the transmission and putting it in backwards, removing the starter and alternator, removing the battery and putting it back in, upside down,  while wanting the car out of the ditch shiny and new and running  in perfect condition. 
We will soon learn the definition of true gridlock.

 I predict, that since they'll be working against the President  rather then  working with him, the car will be  not just in the ditch but heading toward the bottom of the lowest part, underneath mud and slime.
 It may not be as simple as that, but I’m disappointed, but I’m not going to talk about the  changed political landscape. the biggest gain in the party since 1938, or the Teabaggers and other Repug's need 'to right a wrong.' I'll just focus on the fact that every local candidate here that I voted for, won their seats. And as I write this, the Governor's race is still too close to call.  
I texted all my friends on monday and yesterday morning, asking them if they voted. All but one said 'of course I voted.' The one friend who didn't vote said 'why bother? My one vote isn't going to affect anything.'   That response made me more angry than anything has made me, recently. Alot of people feel that way. When he said that I was reminded of the Quebec Secession Referendum in 1995. My grandfather, a proud French Canadien, was a staunch supporter of Quebec being their own country. The vote was 50.58% no and 49.42% yes. They lost by a little over 1%.   Every single vote counts. Every single vote counts. Every single vote counts. Every single vote counts.

sorry, I'm venting

Before the BET Awards, I've never heard of-- Esperanza Spalding

but along with Janell Monae, Alicia Keys, and Patti Labelle, she was personally chosen by Prince to perform in BET's Tribute to him. I figured she must be talented. She is-- AND, she was born and raised in Portland Oregon


The sound quality isn't great on this one, but this is the only rendition of her If I Was Your Girlfriend that I could find on youtube; just turn up the volume