The street is only a microcosm of what the gov-
ernment does while making us the example. And because of such, I received life plus one hundred forty five years . . . give us crazy time without consideration as to the role that they played in this whole thing, or our environment on social inequalities. As support to the corruption and unfairness of these gangsters, I quote the words of the United States District Court Judge, Graham Mullen a white, conservative, Republican who, recently stepped down from the bench in Charlotte citing that he was “tired of sentencing mostly young black men to federal prison for unjust time and that he was glad he would never have to do it again”. He also said the government had too much power and quoted “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely”. Judge Mullen was acknowledging that they have abused their power by manipulation. Anybody who has been through the system knows this when they experience someone they have been friends with forever, up on the stand lying and exaggerating the truth making an already weak case a lot stronger. So when I tell you, the government is some shit, don”t just think these are the words of a disgruntled prisoner, but instead take the words of this federal judge, who although he was a part of the establishment knows what”s up. So for years it has been told how vicious I was, in reality I was nothing but a young fool and pawn in a game that was not of my own making. I got trapped off in a scheme filled with societal potholes and traps because I ignored the work of my mother that raised us better than this, but focused on the messages from my environment. So I did dirt admittedly, but nothing compared to what big brother (govt) does on a larger scale daily: robbing, stealing, drug dealing, murdering. The street is only a microcosm of what the government does while making us the example. And because of such, I received life plus one hundred forty five years with no parole for some bullshit. :: 27 ::
So for those who have mistakenly associated being street or gangster with being something good; believe me, the real life version isn’t as appealing as the commercialized version where rappers and TV elevate what”s happening. The nature of the streets is to rob, steal, rape, deal drugs, and leave already poverty stricken communities in worst shape than they were before. Its purpose is not to redeem lives or save souls, but to destroy them as is the case of almost my entire neighborhood. I was raised up with on Pitts Drive and the friends I used to play ball with that are mostly dead, a few in prison, and the remainder are drug addicts from what I hear. And although our fates have been different, what we all have in common was that we all were influenced by our environment. The game, a lifestyle that is glorified through so many channels, and loved by many, in one way or the other took us all out. So basically, I wanted to tell this story, not from a perspective of elevating my shortcomings with the game; because I know better. I guess you can say that I’ve been to hell and saw the devil by this experience and have come to understand what a real gangster is and it’s definitely nobody standing on a street corner. If that’s the reader’s perception it’s only an illusion who wears black suits and neckties. And last, I hope this which I have written isn’t looked at as someone squared up as shit because it’s not like that. I write this from as a perspective of what would I say to my son about the game and the streets so that he would never have to walk in these shoes. And so not wanting nothing like this for my children, I don’t want it for anybody else’s. My goal is to redeem lives and save souls. Peace!
Photo: Robinson / Spangler Carolina Room PLCMC
