The Tragedy That is the Sean Bell Saga...

1 black male dead...
2 daughters without a father...
3 police officers accquited...
4 grandparents mourn...

1 judge...
2 fellow victims...
3 sides to the story...
4 weeks of testimony (28 days)...

It still doesn't add up to me...

Detective Marc Oliver fires 31 shots into an occupied vehicle and walks away a free man...

There was no weapon found in Sean Bell's car or in any of the other victims possession...

The officers did not identify themselves as police officers...

50 shots....


Can you blame me for being angry right now? I'm a black male. A 24 year old black male. A 24 year old black male who, by the sheer grace and mercy of God, has no felony convictions. A 24 year old black male who has no children. A 24 year old black male who has a college education and is pursuing a terminal degree. A 24 year old black male business owner. A 24 year old black male...who still is seen as a "nigger".

I'm pissed and rightfully so. While Sean Bell and his friends may have had felony charges, when does being an ex-convict not guarantee one justice? Why do we lie to ourselves about being a fair and just society?

I know I'm rambling right now but I'm a tad bit emotional so bare with me...

There is a full frontal assault on black males going on right now in America and it's been going on for almost 2 decades...don't believe me?

Here's a list of men who were killed or brutalized by the police...

Deonte Rawlins, Amadou Diallo, Anthony Baez, Deunta Terrell Farrow, Aaron Harrison, Nathaniel Jones, Ibrahim Muhammad, Lorenzo Matthews, Nigel Smith, Lorenzo Collins, Michael Carpenter, Courtney Mathis, Roger Owensby Junior, Timothy Thomas, Jonny Gammage, Abner Louima, Ousmane Zongo, and Patrick Dorismond

Who mourns for them? Their parents...their children...their families...

My question is, "When did WE stop caring enough to fight for us?" Why have we relegated ourselves to a certain stature, place, or level of comfortability en masse?

I guess some of us have gotten so comfortable in our six figure homes and luxury cars that we've forgotten that blacks in America are intricately intertwined in a tapestry of both pride and pain...

That "nigga" that you turn your nose up with his sagging pants is you....

That bourgie sista that you can't stand...is you...

Look at it like this...Blacks have been freed from slavery for a little over 145 years. We've only been afforded the same federally protected rights as everyone else for about 40. America is 232 years old...

Essentially, we are 1.5 generations from Jim Crow Segregation and about 3 from slavery. My Grandmother's Grandmother was a slave...so was it really that long ago when I have colleagues that can say their grandfather's grandfather was a wealthy landowner?

It takes 3 generations to build wealth. We're 1.5 out of segregation. Then we have had to compete with the destruction of the black nuclear family, media fueled subconscious self-hatred practiced by a few, "Crabs in a Barrell" syndrome, Grandfather Clauses, Ivory Towers, Glass Ceilings, Crack, Cointelpro, the Tuskegee Experiment, Hurricane Katrina, and now the armed assault by the "powers that be" on young black males...


Marvin Gaye was dead on when he wrote "Makes Me Wanna Holla..."

Black America has some issues that MUST be ironed out...

It MUST start with addressing the issues of our youth being railroaded...

I had SO MUCH HOPE when I saw the buzz and excitement about the Jena 6 and the call, by many, for EQUAL JUSTICE...

3 weeks later we were back to the same old stuff...

Why are we so short-sighted and fickle as a community...

What will the new "cause of the month" be in May?

I pray that Sean Bell's story is not forgotten and that we come together and try to fix the injustices that have taken place in this country for generations now.

Many are behind Barack Obama because he advocates Hope and Change...

Hope, is in the eyes of our youth...

Change begins with us...








(BTW, I'm a tad bit unmoved by Obama's response to the Bell Verdict....maybe that's just me though...)

Reverend Jeremiah Wright....my take on the whole thing....

Reverend Jeremiah Wright has caused almost immeasurable damage to Barack Obama's campaign.
So much damage, that the Jr. Senator from Illinois has gone so far as to completely separate himself from Jeremiah Wright the pastor, the man, the media spectacle. My question is, how did it get this far? How did a 30-second sound bite of Rev. Jeremiah Wright saying, "God, Damn America" go so far as to taint the image of one of the most charismatic, capable, and trustworthy politicians in American history?

Well, this is the logic...at least as far as I can see it.

Barack Obama was not raised in America for part of his life + Barack Obama does not wear his flag pin + Barack Obama's middle name is "Hussein" + Barack Obama didn't support the war on terror + Barack Obama's pastor said "Goddamn America" (Although that's NOT what he really said) = Barack Obama MUST hate America!

Wait...2 months ago wasn't Barack Obama a Muslim according to many people?

Ok, now I'm confused. Barack Obama, the Muslim who doesn't wear a flag pin, goes to Trinity United Church of Christ and becomes a member under a pastor who says "God, Damn America," because he hates us for freedom so he runs for President.

That makes a buttload of sense doesn't it? Well...doesn't it?

No. It doesn't. At all...

The attempt of the mainstream "Right Wing" media (God, damn labels...please?) to taint Barack Obama's darling image by connecting him to a 30 second sound bite of his pastor saying a phrase taken completely out of context is completely and totally WRONG. This STRAW MAN tactic is heinous at best and deplorable at worst and has forced the Obama camp to completely sidetrack itself to deal with what should honestly be a "non-issue".

Let's examine Jeremiah Wright for a second.

According to some people he hates America...ok, lets take that argument on.

Reverend Jeremiah Wright spent 6 years in the military. 2 in the Marines and 4 in the Navy.
He was a cardiopulmonary Technician during his tenure and was charged, along with others, with the care of then President, Lyndon B. Johnson. As a result he rceived three letters of commendation from the White House...

Yeah...real unpatriotic.

Reverend Jeremiah Wright is an intelligent man, I mean the guy speaks five languages...

I can honestly say that there is only one viewpoint of his that I disagree with. That is his view on AIDS.

I can honestly say that the only actions of his that I disagree with would be his, as my Uncle Bill said, wrapping "himself in the mantle of 'the black church' as if he represents all black churches." That is a job more suitable for T.D. Jakes or Bishop Noel Jones.

The problem therein lies with A) the media and B) the voters.

The media has IRRESPONSIBLY cast a dark shadow on Rev. Wright in an attempt to slight Barack Obama. We've been relegated to thinking that the two are inextricably related because the media told us they were. (Much like they did with Don Imus and Hip-Hop...)

The voters' problems are two fold. On the one hand you have ardent Barack Obama Supporters who wish Jeremiah Wright would shut up and stop hurting the campaign as if he's some sort of unofficial spokesperson. On the other hand you have Obama detractors who are either sympathetic to Obama or having a field day.

As Public Enemy said, "Don't Believe the Hype"

STOP Allowing soundbites to determine your belief in someone or something. There is an unprecedented idea of unification and change in Barack Obama's message and the tactics of those who it would benefit to keep things as they are should not drown that idea out!

(WARNING: RACE CARD TO BE PLAYED!)

On a message board that I'm on a poster typed something that resonated deeply within me. It made me think of this in racial terms as well.

It made me look at the entire thing from a racial perspective...the only people in arms about Rev. Wrights ALLEGED anti-American, quasi racist comments are the same people who have not cared about the plight of Black Americans in general in this country anyway...I'll delve deeper into that in my Sean Bell post...


BTW, to the people that have glorified the fact that Obama has distanced himself from Rev. Wright...read the full text of the sermon in the link below, TITLE INCLUDED, and tell me exactly how much you think he's separated himself in ideology and actuality...

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/03/for-the-record.html

Peace.

Understanding Black Patriotism....

Taken from http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1734809,00.html

By Michael Eric Dyson

Mainstream America has shown little understanding lately of the patriotism that a lot of black people practice. Black love of country is often far more robust and complicated than the lapel-pin nationalism some citizens swear by. Barack Obama hinted at this when he declared in Montana a few weeks ago, "I love this country not because it's perfect but because we've always been able to move it closer to perfection. Because through revolution and slavery ... generations of Americans have shown their love of country by struggling and sacrificing and risking their lives to bring us that much closer to our founding promise."

That's a far cry from the "My country, right or wrong" credo, which confuses blind boosterism with a more authentic, if sometimes questioning, loyalty. At their best, black folk offer critical patriotism, an exacting devotion that carries on a lover's quarrel with America while they shed blood in its defense.

It is easy to see why the words of black critics and leaders, taken out of context, can be read as cynical renunciations of country. Abolitionist and runaway slave Frederick Douglass gave a famous oration on the meaning of Independence Day, asking "What, to the American slave, is your Fourth of July? I answer, a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim." But instead of joining the chorus of black voices swelling with nostalgia to return to their African roots, Douglass stayed put. Poet Langston Hughes grieved in verse that "(America never was America to me) ... (There's never been equality for me,/ Nor freedom in this 'homeland of the free')." But his lament is couched in a poem whose title, like its author, yearns for acceptance: Let America Be America Again.

Even Martin Luther King Jr. was branded a traitor to his country because he opposed the war in Vietnam. When King announced his opposition in 1967, journalist Kenneth Crawford attacked him for his "demagoguery," while black writer Carl Rowan bitterly concluded that King's speech had created "the impression that the Negro is disloyal." Black dissent over war has historically brought charges of disloyalty despite the eagerness among blacks to defend on foreign soil a democracy they couldn't enjoy back home. Since the time of slavery, blacks have actively defended the U.S. in every war it has waged, from the Civil War down to the war on terrorism, a loyalty to the Federal Government conceived by black leaders as a critical force in gaining freedom. W.E.B. DuBois argued in World War I that blacks should "forget our special grievances and close our ranks ... with our white fellow citizens." Some 380,000 soldiers answered the call even as they failed to reap the benefits of their sacrifice when they came home.

Even the angry comments of Jeremiah Wright have to be read as the bitter complaint of a spurned lover. Like millions of other blacks, Wright was willing to serve the country while suffering rejection. He surrendered his student deferment in 1961, voluntarily joined the Marines and, after a two-year stint, volunteered to become a Navy corpsman. He excelled and became valedictorian, later a cardiopulmonary technician and eventually a member of the President's medical team. Wright cared for Lyndon B. Johnson after his 1966 surgery, earning three White House letters of commendation.

Dick Cheney, born in the same year as Wright, received five deferments--four while an undergraduate or graduate student and one as a prospective father. Both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush used their student deferments to remain in college until 1968. Clinton did not serve, and Bush was on active duty in the National Guard for two years. If time in uniform is any measure, Wright, much more than Cheney, Clinton or Bush, embodies Obama's ideal of "Americans [who] have shown their love of country by struggling and sacrificing and risking their lives to bring us that much closer to our founding promise."

Wright's critics have confused nationalism with patriotism. Nationalism is the uncritical support of one's country regardless of its moral or political bearing. Patriotism is the affirmation of one's country in light of its best values, including the attempt to correct it when it's in error. Wright's words are the tough love of a war-tested patriot speaking his mind--one of the great virtues of our democracy. The most patriotic thing his nation can do now is extend to him the same right for which he was willing to die.

Dyson is a sociology professor at Georgetown University and author of April 4, 1968: Martin Luther King Jr.'s Death and How It Changed America

My Alphaversary...

1097 days, 17 hours and 16 minutes ago I became a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., THE Kappa Alpha Chapter...

As I'm writing this I'm reflecting over the past 3 years and how my life has drastically changed. I've seen my highest highs and lowest lows over the past 3 years and I thank God that I'm here to talk about it...

First, lets talk about me and Alpha...I am NOT what many of my brothers would call a "Good Alpha". Seriously, I'm not. I'm being perfectly honest about that. One of the main qualities of an "Alpha Man" as described by the fraternity is that he pays his fraternity financial dues in a prompt manner. Well, other than my initiation fee, I haven't paid any financial dues. I never had the money.

In college I had rent, a car note, utilities, and I had to send money home. I simply didn't have the extra money to pay dues with.

Now that I've graduated I have a few more bills. Luxuries are few. One of those luxuries would more than likely be membership in a graduate chapter. With my priorities being listed the way they are, honestly, graduate chapter membership is not high on that list. I have my car note, student loans, various bills, startup costs for my business, and school to worry about. Grad chapter membership has to come second...maybe even third if I get a mortgage soon. (Praying on that...)

None the less, I still could have been a good "Alpha Man" by attending chapter meetings, participating in service projects, and doing various other things. Well, once again I'm gonna lay it all on the table. Chapter meetings were on Sunday in undergrad. When I wasn't at my pops' church I could have come...instead I chose not to. I chose to be with my girlfriend at the time. I was attempting to build a future, but instead ended up getting my heartbroken....but I digress. I chose to not be with my brothers. That was a decision I MADE. Was it right? Probably not. I could have seen her later and spent some time with them. Do I have to live with it? I sure do.

Right now I seem like a pretty poor excuse for an Alpha...I'll admit that. I do. None the less, I'm a pretty darn good MAN outside of that. (Not me being conceited or cocky about it, I'm just putting it in perspective.) I've done a bunch of community service, I have a big heart, I'm honest, I've always tried to help those around me, and I REFUSE to give up on myself or anyone around me that I care about.

In the past 3 years that I've been an Alpha I've made some friends that I'll probably have for the rest of my life. I can honestly say that I've had a chance to fellowship with some of the most intelligent brothers that this world has ever seen and I thank GOD ALMIGHTY for that opportunity. I've created a bond with a group of gentlemen that has been forged in blood, tested by fire, and still stands unbroken. I appreciate that kind of love. That's amazing to me.

I've also been talked about and probably made a few enemies...some I know about....some I don't know about. That's ok too. It doesn't bother me. I know that as long as I'm living some people will not like me and possibly tell lies about me. I've been through that a thousand times and don't expect it to stop any time soon. Hey, worse things could happen. I pray for my enemies (those I know and those I don't know) and keep it moving. I refuse to allow another man's opinion of me define my progress, personality, and future.

Also, becoming an Alpha caused me to lose a few friends....God Bless them too....I still love them....

At this point some readers are probably asking, "Well...why did you even become an Alpha?" That's a fairly easy question to answer. My uncle pledged Alpha back in the 60's. My entire life I've looked up to him. He is my role model and an all around great guy. I aspired to be an Alpha as a means to emulate him.

One of my best friends in this world is Lindsey McAdory. In the Fall of 2003, Lindsey became a member of Alpha Phi Alpha. Ever since we were younger, I've always held Lindsey in high esteem and I still do. I aspired to be an Alpha because of the friendship that Lindsey has shown me and the fond way in which he spoke of his brethren before I became an Alpha.

Lastly, I aspired to become a member of Alpha Phi Alpha because of the leadership traits and sociopolitical views held by certain members that I saw. From high school to college, various Alphas popped in my life at pivotal moments to grant me a blessing here and there in terms of knowledge and friendship.

Alpha Phi Alpha, in my humble opinion, is one of the greatest collections of black men on this planet. I think that Alpha has the potential to change the world if properly exercised as a vehicle of change. Has Alpha changed my life for the better in 3 years? In some ways, I can unequivocally say an emphatic, "yes." Has it defined me as a man? I can just as emphatically say, "No." I like that about myself...I love the fact that regardless what I may do, become or go through I can still wake up in the mirror and say, "I'm the same person today as I was yesterday. I'm a little bit wiser, a little bit stronger, and a whole lot better....but I'm the same person."

Happy Alphaversary H.Y.P.O.T.H.E.R.M.I.A.

From your Ace...

Last Man Standing...(Inspired by Lyfe's song "Cry")

I done had money
I done been broke
I done been talked about something awful
Done been lied on by so many folks
I done even been depressed at times
and didn't wanna cry cause my pride was too strong
But over the years I thought it over
And after struggling for so long and still holding on
I figured, can't be nothing all that wrong with crying
If anybody says that they're that strong they're lying

I'm taking off my pride for a second to let you see the convalescence of a man who's been broken hearted...

Downtrodden...

Abused...

Forgotten...

Misused...

My rotten disposition is a direct result of the feminine manner in which so many males tend to keep up idle banter, chatter or whatever you want to call it...I think Puffy/P.Diddy/Sean John called it "bitchassness"

I know this isn't a typical poem but don't think because I use a few pop culture references that the regular level of mentality or creativity isn't flowing...you know how hard it is to rhyme something with "bitchassness?"

But I digress...

This stress can only be described as prodigious and my ignorance hasn't diminished one bit, the gift of education was heaven sent and I thank God every day for him making me a wordsmith but the negligence with which some of you cats speak so reckless is nothing more than evidence and a testament to your own personal..."bitchassness..."

In other words...say it to my face...or shut up...

I've heard it said that sticks and stone can break my bones, but words can never hurt me...that's true. They hurt you!

Now that I've pulled the daggers out of my back, I'm healed and I got my swagger back

Sometimes friends stay closer than enemies, now that I know that/I keep my real friends close and we stay back to back...pain will never creep up on me again...

See I done been a player
I done been played
I done went for some of the oldest tricks
from some of the coldest chicks God done ever made

I was in love once...maybe twice...either way I'm not there now...I'd be less than a man if I said that it didn't hurt now...I spent years doing all that I could just be where I am now...so how is it that I can be this honest with myself...how can I stand as a man after suffering the pain of a thousand deaths...scratch that...

To be brokenhearted is worse than death...

To be on the verge of spending eternity with another to spending the down payment on a ring on drinks for you and your brother is a long way to fall...I'd be lying if I said that I didn't miss you then but now you've moved on and I'm asking myself how/in the world did I screw this wonderful thing up completely...

So, I could stand in the mirror and tell myself lies but when you're brokenhearted all you have left is your pride so you have to find the you that lives in the recesses of your mind and rewind time to the place that you knew so well before...or fast forward to the point where your prayers reach higher than the floor and seek something a little stronger than your will...

It wasn't me that forced me to get over you...it was God and the fact that I chose NOT to stand as a man but kneel...

Talkin' bout wo wo wo yea yea yea
They say a man ain't supposed to cry
but I know, know, know
fasho' sho', sho'
that even men go through problems somtime
cry

Gone in 60 Seconds...

I've Got/60 Seconds to prove to you that I've got something worth saying
Since I'm already losing some of you I've got about 57 seconds left and I'm gonna start praying
That the brainstorms that come like torrential rainstorms destroy your preconceived notions of a brother like me spittin/hopin'/wonderin' if these wordforms reach the recesses of your mind...

Damn...48 seconds to get my point across

If I write down all of the profound thoughts that crossed my mind and balled them up to put 'em in a rhyme I'd probably run out of time so I'll leave you with a few more lines so that you don't have to decipher the sublime messages that metaphors and similes tend to convey best and give you the raw facts

Just like that I've given you my thesis in a manner that bespeaks a man who believes in...
GOD/Love/Family/The Black Woman/The Black Man/and Hip-Hop and I won't stop spittin' these passionate verses of prose until my lungs collapse and blood starts comin' out my nose

30 more to go and I'm only halfway there...

At this point I hope that just one of my phrases make you read the chapters in between the pages of my tattered and torn moleskin notebook with the sole purpose of making you look at the poets that grace this stage as non-profit teachers praying for another page at the resurrection/hoping to capture the beauty therein while asking for repentance of a life full of sin/got 20 left...

The blood that flows in my veins and maintains the lyrical umbilical to the past is that of a million poets that tread in shoes with tattered lasts

I am the descendant of Sinke, remember...the guy from Amistad? "Give us us free?" The only difference is that I'm still stuck in the slave ship of materialistic mentality, voracious vanity and I'm wondering how can it be that I'm one of the few trying to escape...

So with ten seconds left I'm asking you to fight to the death and sing redemption songs until you run out of breath...

5 seconds to go and my knees hit flo' taking two seconds so that you know....God is Love....

45 Years...

This week we celebrated the 40th anniversary of the murder of Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. Many of these celebrations invoked Rev. Dr. King's famous "I Have A Dream" Speech. While many of us know the constant refrain of "I Have A Dream," I would much rather focus on the portions of the speech that are not easily recalled from the suppressed psyche of the media and so many scholars of color...

"We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual.
And there will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force."

45 years later...would Dr. King be proud?

No...he wouldn't.

There is an inherent distrust of all minorities of white people. Many Hispanics are under the impression that most whites (and I use that term sparingly) see them as a nuisance. An immigration problem to be dealt with only under the harshest terms that the law will allow. Ignoring the fact that many of them are hardworking, patriotic, and *gasp* LEGAL.

Our Arabic brothers and sisters are under the strain of being viewed as terrorists. They are in constant fear of being victimized under the banner of patriotism. They are called "raghead", "sand nigger", and "terrorist" as though these monikers describe them in a universal sense.

Black people...well, we have an entire struggle that continues. This does not diminish the stature of other minorities' fight for civil rights and equal treatment, because we are undoubtedly in lockstep. However, we seem to be a target of preference. (Keep in mind, this is coming from a slightly biased perspective) Our youth are under attack in the form of Shaquanda Cotton, Marcus Dixon, Genarlow Wilson, and the Jena 6. We are constantly the victims of police brutality with cases such as Sean Bell and Amadou Diallo. We are used as minstrels in various forms of society through artforms of our own creation. Lastly, we kill ourselves in unprecedented numbers as society deems those in our lower social stratas incorrigible and worthy of ridicule. (See the AL.com "Hardball Politics" forum for more on that...)

It is tragic...

In 2008 is is truly tragic that there is so much racial discord in America...

I am not naive enough to think that our racial problems would disappear overnight with the signings of the Voting Rights Act or the Civil Rights Act. I'm also the first to admit that we've made MUCH progress over the past few decades. However, the past few years have brought deep seated feelings of racial hatred to the forefront and a spotlight has been shone on it as a result of this year's presidential race...but this is not a post about Barack Obama so I'll leave it at that.



Another thing that we typically ignore around this time and MLK Day is Rev. King's opposition to the war in Vietnam. Of this war, he said:

""Let me say finally that I oppose the war in Vietnam because I love America. I speak out against this war, not in anger, but with anxiety and sorrow in my heart, and, above all, with a passionate desire to see our beloved country stand as the moral example of the world. I speak out against this war because I am disappointed with America. And there can be no great disappointment where there is not great love. I am disappointed with our failure to deal positively and forthrightly with the triple evils of racism, economic exploitation, and militarism. We are presently moving down a dead-end road that can lead to national disaster. America has strayed to the far country of racism and militarism. The home that all too many Americans left was solidly structured idealistically; its pillars were solidly grounded in the insights of our Judeo-Christian heritage. All men are made in the image of God. All men are brothers. All men are created equal. Every man is an heir to a legacy of dignity and worth. Every man has rights that are neither conferred by, nor derived from the State--they are God-given. Out of one blood, God made all men to dwell upon the face of the earth. What a marvelous foundation for any home! What a glorious and healthy place to inhabit. But America's strayed away, and this unnatural excursion has brought only confusion and bewilderment. It has left hearts aching with guilt and minds distorted with irrationality.

It is time for all people of conscience to call upon America to come back home. Come home, America..."

I concur...

His words echo into this millennium as we are in the midst of a STILL unjustified war in Iraq...

While I will not tarnish MLK's post with my feelings on this war, I will say that I believe that he would be firmly opposed to such a military action...

I pray that one day our children will be able to grow and learn in a world that does not have racism, reverse racism, or even "unracism" as I like to coin certain actions.

I only pray...or dream...that my children will learn from MY mistakes...their grandparents mistakes...their great grandparents mistakes and live as a generation without bias or hate...

Because at 24...I've already lost that hope for MY generation...