Genocide in Palestine continues

“The Zionist argument to justify Israel’s present occupation of Arab Palestine has no intelligent or legal basis in history … not even in their own religion.”
-Malcolm X as quoted on Sept. 17, 1964 in The Egyptian Gazette

It’s been over a week since Israel stepped up their airstrikes and ground assaults in Gaza. Death toll continues to rise, as of this writing it’s 500+ Palestinian deaths. I’m pissed and not surprised. Same shit, different day. My opinions are based in historical context and what’s occurring is genocide. It ain’t about “self-defense against terrorism” as gov officials and Bush wants you to believe. Israeli deaths = 5, Palestinians = 500+ and 2000+ wounded, who’s terrorizing who? If Israel had their way, they’d wipe Palestinians off the face of the earth as if they never existed. The oppressed have become the oppressor. Israel is untouchable and above international law, supported by the US and UK and their military is largely financed by the US. I’m talking about those in charge, not the Israeli people. And people will soon realize that Obama won’t challenge the status quo, he will continue to support Israel as he has repeatedly stated on his campaign.

How would you react if someone came to your house, kicked you out and seized all your belongings and property for themselves based on the religious claim that their forefathers lived there thousands of years ago? That’s what happened to Palestinians when Israel was created. You can’t claim to be for equality and human rights if you’re not for the liberation of Palestine.

For more on why what’s going down in Gaza and the West Bank can only be understood as genocide. As he puts it,

“the UN would not intervene in Gaza as it does in Africa; the Nobel peace laureates would not enlist to its defense as they do for causes in Southeast Asia. The numbers of people killed there are not staggering as far as other calamities are concerned”

How the media portrays this “conflict” and how there are those that would label my words as anti-semitic.

Shoe in for worst prez ever

bad pun. oh well. this is hella late but this incident is now timeless.

the original

say what you want about Bush but he embodies America pretty well to me. The dominant myth of America is that of a free and noble country but beneath it is hypocrisy, arrogance, xenophobia, and complete disregard for anything that’s not the bottom line (C.R.E.A.M.). The president rarely, if ever, represents the people.  With this in mind, Bush’s presidency is an astounding success for his donors/supporters. They know the American empire is in decline so they making as much loot as they can from oil, building contracts in Iraq, rebuilding (and white washing) New Orleans, and gentrification across trendy spots in the nation.

Hating only on Bush is like hating on the police without acknowledging the criminal justice system that upholds these oppressive and exploitive rules. In other words, you’re missing the point. And don’t get it twisted, I got love for Americans and this country just not those who are running things i.e., LA, BK, Oakland.

I recommend Chomsky’s Understanding Power as an intro to reading beneath the surface and seeing through the bullshit.

bad boy remixes (take that, take that)

my soul aches

My fam don’t celebrate American holidays in the traditional sense like giving presents or eating a turkey. The most we’ll do is go out to eat somewhere. It’s always bittersweet for me around this time. Though most have time off, my mom still works two jobs on major holidays like Christmas. Context:

and lunch conversation

———————————–

my skin’s too thin
a river within
streams push pass
protected eyelids
in isolation

fierce warrior
her frail body deteriorates
at a rapid rate
surgery on each hand
in the past year
prescription bottles cover the bedside
calcium/vitamin supplements
pills for kidney problems

she laid the foundations for me to crawl
neva stopped strugglin sacrificin fightin so i can walk upright

sole reason i stopped considerin suicide as a teen

day before her bornday
the doctor reminds her
high cholesterol
high blood pressure
and now
there’s a chance of
a stroke

12/5/08

she’s my anchor. she grounds me. she’s the only person that holds this fuckin family together. if she’s gone…fuck man. and i feelin both extremes. i’m sad that she has to cope with yet another fuckin health problem. i’m pissed this is another bullshit she has to put up with. once i dropped by her work at a Thai restaurant, she was servin some white guys and one of those muhfuckas had the nerve to put his fuckin hands on my mom’s wrist. another time she asked me to write something for her, it turned out that her fuckin boss at Denny’s yelled at her and said some shady shit in front of everyone and someone told her to file a complaint. i drove her to the hospital so i found out about it right away. and on the way home, she’s not even thinkin about herself. she’s askin what i wanna eat, what food should she make. she just keeps pushin. and i just dwell on that shit. it was in my mind the whole day. even when i babysat my niece, who’s so precious and i cherish my times with her, i melt hearin her laughter, so genuine. and i’m slowly breakin inside. i was bout to call it a night until my friend from the Bay called askin what i’m doin on a Friday night. nuthin. i tell her whats up and she was just so coooo and supportive. makin me cry and shit. remindin me not to close up and that i got support. she knows me well. i hadn’t told anyone and i wasn’t plannin on tellin her anytime soon. i apologize i can’t express how much i appreciate her and that i don’t feel like talkin about it. so i’m writin this shit down for me. to remind me, yo don’t worry bout stupid shit. learn to be present and cherish each moment. be kind to yourself. be kind to yourself. be gentle to yourself. when shit got rough, i questioned everythin. my self worth. my abilities. my friends, who the fuck are my friends? i never doubted her love. she and my dog are the only ones makin this house liveable. she’s my absolute in an uncertain world. definition of unconditional love, giving w/out expecting anythin in return. and i don’t tell her anythin. i don’t want her to worry. she knows sumthin’s up but i don’t say shit. i don’t know where to begin.

if she dies, fuck all this poetry shit. gotta survive.
today is her birthday.
12/6/08 12:10AM

happy thankstaking

“…Now listen, when you celebrate “Thanksgiving”/
What you are actually celebratin’/
is the proclamation of the Pope of Rome/
Who later, in league with Queen Isabella/
sent Cardinal Ximenos to Spain/
to murder any blacks that resisted Christianity/
These Moors, these black men and women/
were from Baghdad, Turkey/
And today, you eat the turkey, for your “Thanksgiving” day/
as the European Powers destroyed the Turkeys/
Who were the forefathers of your mothers and fathers/

“Nature of the Threat” by Ras Kass

And some words on this Holiday from Mumia Abu Jamal:

I think of those precious few who remain, and wonder, what do they think of this day; this national myth of sweet brotherhood, that masks what can only be called genocide?

The amount of myth needed to uphold America’s identity is ridiculous.

on a different note: The Roots on Yo Gabba Gabba

the song is appropriate. i got a lot to be thankful for. even though shit gets rough, there is love. and sometimes the greatest battle is within myself. i’m thankful for my fam but i gotta do things differently. i’m comforted by Alex Karras’ words:

“It takes more courage to reveal insecurities than to hide them, more strength to relate to people than to dominate them, more ‘manhood’ to abide by thought-out principles rather than blind reflex. Toughness is in the soul and spirit, not in muscles and an immature mind.”

word. i’m writin poems again though i still got a long way to go to get back to form. i am not there yet. i’m exactly where i need to be. choosin love over fear, one day at a time.

nuclear family (w.i.p.)

i don’t go into detail
with friends why i don’t like UFC or violent movies
i say simply
it makes me uncomfortable
when i really mean
i don’t find enjoyment in people getting hurt

it’s 1992
we reunite as family
father mother three sons
alone in America
leaving relatives in Thailand
for a better life

i started school here in the 3rd grade
one morning
i decided i didn’t want to go to class
the chattering kept me up the previous night
as i slept in the living room
my dad took me home to the garage
punched and kicked me repeatedly
to the soundtrack of his loud cursing

some nights
i fall asleep to the sounds of my mom’s screams in agony
patriarchal fists smashed any sense of trust to maintain subservience
we never mentioned it

my brother grabbed a kitchen knife
threaten to stab my oldest brother
me, the youngest, pleaded with tears and please don’t
it happened more than once

a promise was made
to myself then
do not become like them
children of chaos and confused masculinity
all the men in my family had a temper
held it in
til they explode on loved ones

i’m not excluded
gettin into fights at school
attempts to prove
i am a fuckin man!
even before puberty

First Asian Boy

[courtesy of the homie Bev]

it’s catchy as hell haha. from a fellow Thai brotha, apparently dude’s HUGE on youtube. Asians are still underrepresented in the media/movies/etc. but we got youtube on lock! along with him, there’s kevjumba and Happyslip. in my backpacker days, i wouldn’t co-sign these folks cuz they ain’t “political” enough. on the real though, to counter stereotypes we need every type of Asians.

fuck Bobby Lee from MadTV and Dat Phan though. them lames need to quit, they’re the type that perpetuate bullshit.

thin line (work in progress)

after hearing loved ones tell their stories
of heartbreaks/emotional and physical abuses

the old me
would wonder why’d she put herself in that situation
blame the victim

the old me
would be angry
i’d call em out/put em on blast
those speakin poetic words but don’t live them
i’d want to make em feel the same pain
with my fists
becoming no different
than the men i despise

the present me
knows there’s a thin line
between progress and regress
the old me is still here
anger is still the first instinctual emotion
it’s easy for males
the abused can quickly become the abuser

the present me
knows there’s a thin line
between a man and a boy
and many do not grow up to be a man
age is just a number/sometimes

it’s not enough to point fingers
i struggle with myself each day
these are commitments to become the best of me
i have seen and heard too much
to inflict similar pains on those closest to me
i’ve learned
we can be the cruelest to those closest to us

we deserve nothing less
than to be treated with respect
and love

© pathanapong pathanadilok 2008

LA fires 2008

man, the sky was red when i was comin home Friday night. You could smell the ash in the air the whole wknd. We always have fires in LA every year but it’s usually around rich neighborhoods and far from me and my folks. The Sylmar fires was pretty damn close. photos via LA Times.

Save Sunday’s at the Thai Temple!

in Berkeley

http://www.ktvu.com/video/17355342/index.html

and check out savethethaitemple.com for ways you can help.

This already happened in LA. Same complaints by the neighbors and they won. Now they don’t sell food at the temple on weekends. In Berkeley, it’s only ONE day of the week. And if you watch til the end of the vid, they had to compromise so much already. I can’t believe the white lady compared Thai food to McDonald’s and somehow Thai food has hypnotic abilities. This shit pisses me off, i ain’t got eloquent words for this crap. Fuckin wolves in sheep clothing. At least with Republicans/conservatives, they usually tell you what they’re thinking unlike so-called liberals. Check this bullshit

On September 27th, one of the petioners walked into the Thai Temple and proceeded to ask what the purpose of the volunteers and Buddhists were on Saturday; ‘Are you here to buy food? You can only buy food on Sunday’s’ and proceeded to take pictures inside and around the Temple. The monks and onsite volunteers, due to their lack of English skills, did not attempt to stop the petitioner. The petitioner went so far as to call the police on the Thai Temple regarding the incident.

FYI: Therevada Buddhists Monaists/Monks are not allowed to cook for themselves, relying on the community and volunteers for food. The petitioner ignorantly determined any food made on Temple grounds is for sale and not for Religious reasons. After the incident, volunteers and Monks were informed of their basic rights and the posting of ‘Private’ and “No Trespassing” signs throughout the area.

Let my people be!

Slumdog Millionaire

The tagline is lame: an Indian boy from the slums appears on ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire’ but it’s more like an Indian version of City of God with a love story that spans a decade. Yes, shit gets gritty and grimey. And the theme takes its cue from Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist. That’s all I’ll say cuz it’s mos def something to experience with a large group of folks. Normally i’d be hesitant to co-sign what seems like a product of culture vultures; those in positions of power (typically white) profiting from other people’s cultures. But I got a soft spot for decent love stories plus the film is very well made. One of the best movies of the year, easily.

Here’s the trailer: don’t watch it if u don’t wanna be spoiled