You won't survive get live catchin wreck is our thing

You wanna front, what?
Jump up and get bucked
If you're feeling lucky duck
Then press your luck
-Jeru, "Come Clean"

So like an a$$hole, I took issue with something in the Banner and let it ride. (Disclaimer, I'm not as critical of the big boys because I don't care about them as much.) Then, the next issue came out and I said fuq it. So I sent this in. And then come to find out, homeboy replied. The publisher, that is. He gave his rebuttal and it was all good. About how the choices were slim, yet being critical yet ignoring the pros and cons of the situation wouldn't be a good thing. But I do know he and Celester also go back a long way. They boys and all, nahmean.

My attack is purely mental and its nature's not hate
It's meant to wake ya up out of ya brainwashed state

So anyways, much to my surpise I check their website and lo and behold, he actually printed what I wrote. Coulda fooled me. Damn sure didn't think that was gonna happen. But then again...maybe I'm blind, because this shT damn sure didn't make it into the print edition. You know, the one people actually read. Oh well. I'mma keep speaking my mind. Fuq the dumb shT. Enjoy.

Maybe I read too much into it, but I was surprised to read the Banner editorial (August 10, 2006) which stated that "Billy Celester is the better choice," based on analysis that seemed to indicate that experience mattered more than integrity.

I know very little of either of the candidates in the Sixth Suffolk District race beyond the past few months of campaigning, but what I do know is this: Boston can no longer be the breeding ground where its residents settle for the status quo, either among the "good ol' boy" network nor in the ’hood. While it is great that Celester's tenure as former deputy superintendent of the Boston Police Department puts a great public face to current public safety concerns, it is the issue of credibility in public office that matters most to me.

In essence, if a voter's choice is between two candidates, one of whom was convicted and imprisoned for two years in a federal penitentiary for police corruption, and another whose "skills are not quite as valuable at this time," then it begs a larger question. Where are the future leaders of tomorrow? If the only viable candidates that the Black community can produce were born prior to the civil rights era, then who is being groomed to assume the mantle of leadership? Time dictates that the baby boomers currently in power will eventually begin to resign from the limelight of influence and authority. Yet, it is imperative that the passing of the torch begin now or else we risk the threat of rendering our collective voice mute.

I admire the Banner for staying true to its mission which, in part, is to keep people in check when it comes down to news and issues that matter most to communities of color. But I also admonish it for not being keen enough to recognize that a new day is fast approaching, and if we don't do a better job of being that "village" as the cliché goes, then someone else will indeed be raising our children.