The letter W in Focus: Weighing the Scales Against the War on Terror and Bridging the Gap with the #MeToo

Lets’ focus on the letter W or و in Arabic and be wowed by these ten results:

1. W is for Dubya. If you ever perform a Google search on that term it means derogatory term or nickname for George W. Bush. It goes so far as to quote in Urban dictionary:

Did you know that the stock market dropped again today because Dubya made a speech? .. Did you ever realize that the first letter of war is Dubya! ... #dubya#george w bush#idiot#facist#president#pig#texas#mass-murderers 

2. W is also for the Weapons of Mass Deception. If a decision were to be made today in a court the finding would be: “Beyond reasonable doubt, I dub Dubya as being highly exploitative in the finding of Weapons of Mass Deception.”


3. W. Bush is also ranked as one of the W for worst of all time Presidents. Only W has been greeted by somebody having a shoe thrown at him.

4. W is for We. We also know this being skeptical about about claims that are not backed up by evidence is a moral virtue. For a moment, even if just a brief moment, let’s travel back in time. What if the Iraq invasion and WMD narrative was implemented prior to September 11 taking place? Would that change anything? Would your level of trust in a Government be undermined more had events been played in that order?

 5. W is also for World Public Opinion.org. A poll taken by them is a collaborative project of research centers in various countries managed by the Program on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland, College Park, polled 16,063 people in 17 nations outside of the United States during the summer of 2008.

They found that majorities in only 9 of the 17 countries believe al-Qaeda carried out the attacks. 46 percent of those surveyed said al-Qaeda was responsible, 15 percent said the U.S. government, 7 percent said Israel and 7 percent said some other perpetrator. One in four people said they did not know who was behind the attacks. Of those who said the United States was the perpetrator, Kull says many believe it was an attempt to justify an impending U.S. invasion of Iraq. It found that 49 percent of New York City residents and 41 percent of New York state citizens believe individuals within the U.S. government "knew in advance that attacks were planned on or around September 11, 2001, and that they consciously failed to act."

 6. W is Why should we trust? Statistically not all Americans trust their Government and neither do the Pakistanis. Americans point to the Pakistanis as having lack of security, intelligence and resources, while Pakistanis point the finger right back and feel that they are in no position to even dare say that to us. The hypocrisy is present.

 7. W is Weighing Scales in courts of law. Kavanaugh is the bridge between Dubya and Trump. He was around when the riveting legal saga sparked by the George W. Bush administration’s decision to create a legal black hole at the U.S. Navy base there in which to imprison hundreds of men captured in Pakistan and Afghanistan in the aftermath of 9/11. Eventually, once the Bush tenure ceased and Guantánamo was promised to be closed by Obama. The military commission that is supposed to try the accused 9/11 perpetrators has yet to set a trial date after six years, there has seemed nothing to say.

Since his inauguration, President Trump has permitted the release of one Guantánamo detainee, leaving an inmate count of 40, down from 780 at its peak.

There’s no one on the D.C. Circuit who has played a larger role in defending the legality of the military commissions than Judge Kavanaugh. He responded that he was "not involved" in "questions about the rules governing detention of combatants." There was not a sufficient basis to initiate a criminal investigation.

Yet when accusations pertaining to him and sexual assault came forward, one thing became clear: Kavanaugh’s judicial and evidentiary standard shifted. Evidence mattered when it did not when it came to detainees at Guantanamo Bay. In law, we know that every criminal has the right to a fair trial. Burdens and standards should not shift based on the skin color of a person, as that undermines the rule of law for everybody.

The beyond reasonable doubt must remain. The whole of America still remains divided over the #metoo. She has otherwise remained mute for much of the Presidency and sends subliminal messages via clothing.

 8. W all leads to White Supremacy, or does it not? If anything ever became transparent under the Rule of Trump it was, white supremacy of white elite males only. Class, gender and skin color matter.

In retrospect, the Civil Rights Movement was a distraction and a divider and its fight has been dismissed and erased post-Obama. Slavery had never been abolished, nor had colonialism. It has shifted form. The imperialist mentality is still there.

Black singers and entertainers were taken, targeted and exploited for services and used to distract the masses. When the following became blind, their purpose was used to mislead. Presidential pardons only exist for a few. When Bin Laden worked for them, he was a freedom fighter. When against, a terrorist. The same with Saddam. The list continues. Majority of felons are black. Majority of cops killed by them are black. Arming white men with guns continues, despite public opinion growing against it. Dr. Aafia Siddiqui was wronged when it came to being implicated with charges of gun possession. Common sense dictates that a woman of her size is incapable of even carrying the rifle that she was claimed to have been holding. White terrorism continues on all fronts. The public demands transparency, accountability and equal rights. Quit with the hypocrisy.

 9. W is for women. Women account for fifty percent of the population. Their contribution to society is significant. You may know one as a mother, sister, wife, daughter.

Jinnah has said, “No struggle can ever succeed without women participating side by side with men. With faith, discipline and selfless devotion to duty, there is nothing worthwhile that you cannot achieve. No nation can rise to the height of glory unless your women are side by side with you.”

 Yet, they are being held back in wages, duties and capability. Naomi Wolf has cited that it the beauty myth, an obsession with physical perfection that traps the modern woman. There is the fuelling of images of hope, self-consciousness, and self-hatred as she tries to fulfill society's impossible definition of "the flawless beauty."

This also is the area in which women get dominated and bullied into thinking they are less superior. Women are more likely to rush to pursue the next makeup line instead of equal pay for equal work. They also have been silenced into taking sexual assault and harassment in the fear of losing job, position and power. The only areas where women earn more money than the average male are in areas of entertainment and where their images are sexually exploited and used.

Now women are feeling more capable o f taking a stance with the #metoo but even that is still a shift in mentality that will take time.

Accordingly, women are lead down a path of not fulfilling their true leadership potential. If you compare the time of the Prophet Muhammad and his wife Khadija, no wonder many Muslim women still yearn for that kind of relationship, love and respect in their ordinary lives. That was the time of where society, was in its peak. Where women’s rights were recognized. Where a woman marrying a younger man, with more business acumen was looked to and respected. She did not have to meet any beauty standard. Look at the current First Lady, a woman known only for her beauty and fashion. Her marriage to Trump is one of convenience. Is this the standard that we continue to want to send?

10. W stands for Wrong. Do not wrong us and other minorities. We all demand accountability and to stand equal before the law. Do not exploit in the media or in the movie industry. Do not shut the borders to the needy, when the rich are well and capable of housing the mess of displaced citizens that are caught in a poverty trap. Even where Pakistan wanted to help one of its citizens obtain justice, many of the funds were embezzled.

The narratives need to be set right. Majority of us want peace, with no exploitation. It’s time that we started working on the wrongs to set them right.

An elitist, entitled mentality, has got to go. It has to start with all of us, collectively. Do not let triangulation sway you. Do not let media manipulation and the political spin stories make you self-doubt what was said or feed hate. Let’s take a moment to reflect on words taken from Prophet Muhammad’s last Sermon:

 “All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over black nor a black has any superiority over white except by piety and good action. Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood. Nothing shall be legitimate to a Muslim which belongs to a fellow Muslim unless it was given freely and willingly. Do not, therefore, do injustice to yourselves.” 

 We have to work towards that, no excuses.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T, Find out What It Means to Be ….

American in Trump’s Era with the Death of Aretha Franklin

Respect, just a little bit
And find out I'm gone (just a little bit)

It’s as though Aretha Franklin knew her tunes would play out the way her life did. She was a single mother in a time where raising boys by herself was frowned upon.  She also took to singing the blues when she had been raised in the Church and was a recipient for condemnation because of that. Even though her father supported her, the community did not.  Whatever intent was in her heart, only God knew. Money, power and status was an issue for those trying to come out of a slave cycle.

The struggle of being black and of being a strong woman in the church who has seen much harm inflicted on herself and those around her is only something that she experienced.  She lived the civil rights movement in her music and developed a connection to people that were around her and with God in her gospel tunes. That is why she will forever be known as the Queen of Soul.

Aretha did not leave behind a will and became a part of the 7 out of 10 people who do not plan their estate, knowing that she wanted to be eternal.   All of that aside, she also had one of the most talked about funerals for a long time.

The backdrop of the current American political landscape was already divided, but she sought to unite peoples on a front.  Aretha’s funeral brought everyone together. This was even mentioned by one of the guests. They all outta leave and go and vote right after the event was the sentiment at the time. Aretha would be disrespected if you did not register to vote.  Then, slowly, events started to turn towards the DISRESPECT.

President Trump did not attend either funeral of two hailed American icons, nor was he invited. His Presidency was criticized knowing that he was not invited there with reason.

Ariana Grande’s performance and dress is what some have classified as a sign of disrespect.  Her dress is what many Aunties in the church rated as not being appropriate for venue. Not the best performance, but Aretha wanted the "God is a Woman" singer to be there.   The tweets and memes started to trend with talk of the size of her ponytail in comparison to the length of the dress. She later gained the sympathies of people when a Bishop made derogatory comments about her background or name sounding like an item from a Taco Bell, menu; then he proceeded towards the questionable touching of her.  The gaze of Bill Clinton during her performance has been circulated across the internet as well. A twitter storm followed, this time using the #respectAriana.

Others questioned Obama’s lack of presence as a disrespect.  He was present at a white Senator’s funeral whose running mate was Sarah Palin, but not for the woman who sang at his inauguration. To the some in the black community, for him to say she uplifted the masses was not enough.

Another Pastor talked about the need to respect each other, but then went on to talk about how the black community disrespects each other and that change was required in order for a faction to change.  He should have stopped it there. The speech continued to a point of including commentary that was disrespectful. Another prominent Minister of the Nation of Islam was not even even given the chance to speak.  His seating placement was so far to the left that the awkward body language was noticeable. Aretha did feature on this month's cover of the “Final Call” magazine and also helped save a mosque from being harmed.  Again, the disrespect that was given to him.

One thing became apparent.  The division. The media circus ensued.  It came back to haunt and the coverage received was more negative than the one present at Senator McCain’s, where his daughter stood before the podium and talked of America’s greatness and where one of the only circulation of photos includes the ex-President Bush handing candy to Michelle Obama. The stark contrast of the white man was sitting next to a black woman, handing her candy. To some, it looks like an adult handing a child candy as bait. To others, a nice gesture.  We all know that giving respect earns respect.

Why are we seeing two different versions of America?                
               
America, I Say a Little Prayer for You

(in my Aretha voice)