ʁƏÐ ʠƏɐʇɧ (Red Death)

WȬuĿd Ū ŁȋƙƏ ƧomƏ ɐİÐƧ Ŵĩʇɧ Ṯḧɒṯ ƧƏx؟ ♂♀

Would You Like Some AIDS With That Sex?

I want to begin by saying that I call AIDS/HIV “Red Death” because the symbol for AIDS is a red ribbon…and I thought the picture looked cool. I also want to say that I’m not being racist by focusing African Americans, but I want to emphasize that, 41% of men living with HIV/AIDS were black and among women, 64% of women living with HIV/AIDS were black.

According to Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia, “AIDS is a set of symptoms and infectionsimmune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). [AIDS] progressively reduces the effectiveness of the immune system and leaves individuals susceptible to opportunistic infections and tumors”. Please allow me to paraphrase- THIS IS A DISEASE THAT WILL KILL YOU. Moving on, Wikipedia says that HIV is transmitted through direct contact of a mucous membrane or the bloodstream with a bodily fluid containing HIV, such as blood, semen, vaginal fluid, pre-seminal fluid, and milk. This transmission can involve anal, vaginal or oral sex, blood transfusion, contaminated hypodermic needles, exchange between mother and baby during pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding, or other exposure to one of the above bodily fluids. Once again I will paraphrase- IT SPREADS BY TRANSMISSION OF BODY FLUIDS, SEX OF ANY KIND, AND OTHER WAYS THAT NO ONE IS CERTAIN OF. resulting from the damage to the human

AIDS is attacking our country with a ferocious vengeance and the sad truth is that it seems to have a bone to pick with the African American community. Studies show that the African American community is the community most severely impacted by AIDS and/or HIV. The AIDS epidemic among African-Americans in some parts of the United States is as severe as in parts of Africa, according to a report out Tuesday. Phil Wilson, founder of the Black AIDS Institute says, “AIDS in America today is a black disease. 2006 CDC data tell us that about half of the just over 1 million Americans living with HIV or AIDS are black." 50% of the people in America living with AIDS/HIV are black. Consider this according to one report, if black Americans made up their own country, it would rank above Ethiopia (420,000 to 1,300,000) in HIV/AIDS population.

The statistics are ridiculous people! There are too many people dying from an illness that is largely avoidable. But people for the most part are intentionally ignorant and therefore end up FALLING VICTIM TO THE ʁƏÐ ʠƏɐʇɧ.

What I want to do is just discuss some misconceptions about HIV/AIDS, talk about testing, and finally talk about ways to avoid this killer.

Misconceptions

* 1. For my women and men who think that this is a disease for gay black men consider this, AIDS is the leading cause of death among black women between ages 25 and 34. It's the second-leading cause of death in black men 35-44. What does this mean? It means that the “gay black man’s disease” has infiltrated the heterosexual community as well. It means that you are not safe no matter who you lay down with! We must stop fooling ourselves into thinking that we cannot and will not be affected by this atrocity.

*2. For those of you who think that we know everything about HIV/AIDS you are highly mistaken! We are even sure where it came from and are just recently coming away from being totally clueless about how to cure it. My introduction pointed out that we aren’t 100% sure of all the ways it can be transmitted.

*3. For those of you who think that the PULL-OUT METHOD or condoms are the answer you are highly misinformed. Pulling out does nothing for pre-seminal fluid and in the case of a woman pulling out has a 0% success rate. As for the beloved condom, please realize that they break. If you are content having latex being your “bulletproof vest” between life and death…then so be it.

*4. For those of you that think you will just have oral sex to fulfill your urges and avoid contracting HIV/AIDS, you are just an idiot. I’m quite sure of the logic behind putting your mouth on something that has a deadly incurable virus...so yeah.

*5. For those of you that think that you can tell when someone has the disease please do not be deceived. This isn’t your “gaydar”. You cannot identify this illness by simply looking. Most people don’t walk around looking like they are about to die. There isn’t always a tell-tale cough. You never know someone’s sexual history.

Testing

This is simple. If you are sexually active then you should get tested. No matter how many partners you have had, you can never be 100% sure how many partners your partner has had! They may only be lying. But this little white lie used to seem innocent could cost you your life. My mother always told me when you have sex you are doing so with every person that person has done it with…have fun with that.

Testing doesn’t involve a gigantic needle. All you have to do is ask for a test to be done and get a mouth swab! Some areas don’t offer the swab but if you are that big of a punk then you can politely request that they draw blood with a butterfly needle, the kind they use for babies.

Prevention

Most of you know that I am a minister and so I am going to start with the godly form of prevention, abstinence. Unless you get a blood transfusion practicing abstinence brings your chances of getting HIV/AIDS to about 0%. There is nothing easy about it but it is God’s wish and will for as and it is the safest form of prevention. FYI there is nothing wrong with being a born again virgin.

The other method is using protection. Most ministers wouldn’t tell you this method at all but I am not promoting sex. I simply know realistically that some people are not going to practice abstinence. I feel like as a minister I should preach ideals but understand reality. I would rather you use a condom and live to make the right decision the next time than to not use one and risk your life. I downed condoms earlier and I still think that it is extremely risky but they are effective and they are better than using nothing at all.

Conclusion

We have to stop this silent killer! It sneaked in unnoticed and has already claimed too many lives as it is. I had a cousin named Anthony whose life was claimed by AIDS and it devastated my family. He was a loved member and intricate part of the family. This is not a game. The Red Death really is using its scythe to remove the heads of anyone it can. We have to do all that we can to avoid being decapitated by this illness. There are people living with HIV and AIDS who are activists about this epidemic and we cannot allow their work and deaths to be in vain.

tHƏ иƏgʁO wOmɐи

“You are more than your hips and your thighs-”

These were the words of Cicely Tyson in the movie Madea’s Family Reunion. She was referring to the young girls that she saw dancing at the family reunion. She was trying to instill self worth inside of them.

This seems to be the problem with many of our young females today. They fail to realize and see themselves as the African queens that they are. Once again I want to remind you that I do not have all the answers but I want to talk about what we do know and see if maybe that has brought us to where we are today. Also I want to praise the black woman for her successes. (Because what would a note from a man on the black woman be without a little flattery ☻.)

A long time ago in early African civilizations the black woman was the most powerful figure in every tribe. Historians cannot quite put their fingers on the exact reason, but they have solid proof that the queen was the head figure in African society for a long time. Each tribe had its queen and she was in control of all the men. She was a dignified symbol of unrivaled power.

2008. Musical artist Algernod Lanier Washington, better know as Plies coins the term and song “Bust it Baby”. This term refers to a woman that he can have sex with at any time. She isn’t his girlfriend, he doesn’t love her, but she knows her place and all the other guys in town know that this is his “bust it baby”. This is a far cry from what women once were. From a symbol of power, to a sex symbol who knows her place. The real shocker is that his album Definition of Real was number two on the Billboard Charts, not because of men alone, but because of women who flock to buy and hear his music.

Today we see a lot of disturbing things from our young women and we usually blame it on music. But I want to argue that music is only a vehicle to expedite and showcase a mentality that already exists in our women that stems from a different source.

During slavery times our black women were abused. The men were too. But because of the inner makings of a woman, emotional and otherwise, in many ways it was worse. Black women were just as beautiful as they were today and the white slave owners were mesmerized by the hips and thighs that are so prevalent in many black women. This was something that they didn’t get in their own women and weren’t supposed to want since this was a quality that was trademarked by a LESSER RACE. But like everything else they wanted, they took these women. They raped them. They raped them and made them feel as if this was all that they were worth.The mind of the black woman had been altered forever.

The 60s ushered in Vietnam and the Heroine era. Many people ended up falling victim to this terrible drug and sadly black women were some of those people. The movie American Gangster, which chronicled the reign of Frank Lucas over the drug world in New York and surrounding areas, showed what women were reduced to during that time; working for drug dealers and pimps, often giving their bodies for money and drugs. During this time there were numerous accounts of women giving their little girls and boys to other people for sexual payment to obtain drugs.

The same thing is true of the Crack era of the late 70s and 80s. More and more little girls were being born into the world and seeing the women that they were supposed to be looking up to out in the street using their body to get what they want.

Also in the 70s a new revolution often referred to as the Female Sexual Revolution. This was a movement empower the woman, and counteract the ideal that men could sleep with whomever he wanted but women who did the same thing were whores. So, women began to think that if you liked a man you should pursue him and sleep with him. The idea was that women should have the same sexual rights as men. I am always a fan of empowerment but the entire premise of this movement was debilitating to the female gender overall and idiotic to say the least. My mother was raised on a principle that is mostly absent in the rearing of females today. If a man and woman both play in a ditch and get muddy, that man can come out of the ditch and wash himself off and get any woman he wants. But the woman will never be able to wash all of the mud off of her body and move on. This was a metaphor that my mother’s grandmother used to explain the danger of female sexual promiscuity. The women who participated in this “revolution” were never able to wash all of the mud that they acquired in this metaphorical “ditch”.

Also as I mentioned in my last note the absence of men in their homes, for various reasons, has contributed to the mindset of young black women. Little girls without a father yearn for the love and attention of a man that they should in the home but cannot because there isn’t a man present. Sometimes these girls can escape this pitfall unscathed but more often than not they end up seeking out men who take advantage of their vulnerability. They sleep with these women and leave them (many times with a child). Not only does this add to the statistic of single black mothers but it also degrades them and steals a chunk of their self worth.

Another problem is that some of these single black mothers will do anything to make money and raise their children. Prostitution, stripping, and anything else that will put food on the table for their kids, are all an option. I love the willpower of these women to make it but at the same time they are allowing the same beauty that cursed them during slavery to cage them and degrade once again.


Many women become video girls in order to make ends meet for their little children. Many do this to pay for school and make a life for themselves. But the fact of the matter is that the younger girls are watching. They see these gorgeous women on television and they see the men ogle over them. I have heard little black girls say that they want to grow up to be a video girl or a stripper. Do you think little white girls ever have these dreams? No. They grow up wanting to lawyers and doctors. But we as a race have failed to help our children have a vision. They can’t see further than the front door. They see men objectifying women and they realize that they can get whatever they want if they use their body and their beauty to get it. So why even try? Why work hard in school?

Until women stop allowing men to use them as sex symbols, and inject themselves with self worth, things will never change. When women begin to say, “I am more than my hips and my thighs” and demand that men pay attention to their mind, then things will change.

The black women that are successful claim that men are threatened by their success. That is true for a certain demographic of black men. They aren’t used to seeing black women in that capacity and it scares them. They are used to seeing black women with chocolate running down their breast and another woman licking it off (see 50 Cent’s “Candy Shop”). But do not get weary in well doing. Once men see that a powerful woman is not the exception but the rule they will wake up and take note!

We have black women that have gone very far. One example is Condoleezza Rice, United States Secretary of State. She has fought hard for her position and like her or not she is a shining beacon of where black women can go. The same can be said for Oprah Winfrey.

In conclusion, I want to ensure my readers that I am not talking down on the black single mother at all! As I said in my last note without them there is no telling where the black race would be. As a matter fact I want to shout out all the single black mothers that I know because to my knowledge you all have found the means to provide for your children “the right way”.

I want to challenge men to respect our young women. I also challenge you to inculcate our younger black generation to do the same. We must not allow the continuation of the degradation of our females to be blood on our hands.

These are strictly my opinions from what I know and see going on in the world. There are a myriad of opinions, all of which are a possible motive for murder of the self-respect of our black women. My aim is to get us thinking! Not thinking is our worst enemy in the progression of the black race.

Amen?

tHa иeGяO mAи

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Not Separate But Not Equal

Alright so I'm a little disturbed... Not by my typical topics like love or anything like that but by something else. Racsim... So i was watching CNN the other day and they were interviewing people about who they would or wouldn't vote for in the upcoming presidential election and why. This one white guy looked square into the camera and said he was a Democrat who just couldn't vote for a black candidate! He said that Obama couldn't bring change because the only black person he had ever seen with change had it in a cup!! OMG!! That is extra disrespectful. It's 2008!!! In a cup? Where has this man been? We as a race have have come so far and accomplished so many things! We have allied our minds with whites not only for our own rights but also for the advancement of this country! It's completely ludicrous to say that blacks can only bring about change if it's in a cup!! What in the world? There are blacks doing wrong and not making anything of themselves the same way that there are whites doing wrong and making nothing of themselves (and Mexicans, and Arabs for that matter). I am a Auburn University student who is majoring in Broadcast Journalism and then heading to the National Guard to work on becoming a JAG lawyer. Is that nothing? I am a minister working hard to bring as many people to Christ as possible. Am I a nobody? Are the changes that I bring and plan to bring to this world a figment of my imagination? I know countless blacks who are doing great things and making a difference in many lives (i.e. my father and my friend Shaemun Webster and many more). That comment really offended me as a black man...but then again that's why he said it! Not to make excuses but the black race has been set back really far behind the start that the white race got. So now we are playing catch up. Some of us have caught up but others are still struggling. Being an African American man is not at all similar to being a white man in America. It's so different that you can't study black history enough to truly grasp it! The only caucasian man that i think truly got it was the guy who wrote Black like Me . Anyone else who says "Oh i have black friends so i understand" No you don't get it! You can't understand. You can't possibly get it! I have plenty of white friends and I love them to death but there are still a lot of ignorant people in this world. What if i said...that the reason the country is in shambles was because all white people have fried their brain cells smoking meth? That's cold right? It's untrue right? It's unfair right? Exactly! I'm not mad at an entire race only with ignorant people in the race. I'm disappointed with some things in my own race too but I feel like if everyone would just think before they speak and then if you are about to say something stupid or even borderline unintelligent then SHUT UP!!

Barack Obama Bin Laden

So apparently, as if Barack Obama didn't have enough trouble with his ethnicity and the sound of his name, someone decided to draw a cartoon of Barack Obama as a terrorist! Yes you read it right! He has on a turban and is bumping fist with his wife who has an AK strapped to her back. They are standing in the Oval Office with an American flag burning in the fireplace... and a pic of Osama Bin Laden in the background...That's deep. That is disrespectful on so many levels it is ridiculous!

The New Yorker Magazine said the cover "combines a number of fantastical images about the Obamas and shows them for the obvious distortions they are." So in essence they think that they helped Obama... Well let me drop this on your brain- If people were falsely accusing you of being promiscuous and they weren't lying and they really thought you were a (excuse me) whore, would I be helping if i sketched a picture of you naked taking money on a street corner? That's not helping!! I'm sorry but that cartoon is a disgrace to tasteful political cartoons. There are idiotic people that really do think that Obama is a Muslim! There are people who think that he is a terrorist! So drawing a cartoon, putting it on the cover of a major magazine, and not providing any descriptive words under the picture doesn't help! It equates to putting water on an electric fire!

Now I want to try and sympathize with the other side of the argument...it's art. So that means that the artist has the right draw whatever he or she pleases. But I honestly think that this cartoon is equivalent to slander and defamation of character. Anyway the artist would have caused less of a controversy if he'd drawn Barack and McCain standing together in a mirror. The satire would have been that there reflections would have been distorted. Barack would have been a Muslim terrorist and McCain an old skeleton with a locket around his neck adorning Bush's picture! That would have not only been fair but it would have vividly illustrated the misconceptions associated with both candidates! by showing both they would have made people say "Hey, that's my candidate! That opinion about McCain (or Obama) is not right! Oh so what i thought about the other candidate isn't right either!" That would open up the minds of voters and allow for more informed (as opposed to deformed) decisions in November 2008.

I hate to do this, but I must say that this cartoon is at the tip of being racist. not only to blacks but to Arabs as well! It's just offensive. Political cartoons are always going to be satirical in nature but artist need to consider the effects that their art may have on readers who may not take the time to dissect a picture for it's true meaning. I guarantee some people have seen that and made up their minds that this means Barack Obama is a Muslim and maybe even a terrorist. Those idiots are the country's worst enemy and it's our job to educate them not to misguide them!

This is has been a blessed weekend! For those of you who don't know the choir of G.A.N.G Student Ministries from Auburn University, Holy Nation, went to Rome, GA for a youth conference at Katie Reid's home church! The entire trip was simply a blessing! We were greeted with kind hospitality from her parents. The entire choir stayed at the Reid Mansion (LOL sorry Katie). We had fun just clowing around and having a good time enjoying each other. Then the church service came! We sang (thanks for the preparation on Never Would Have Made It! LOL) and the Spirit was really high in the sanctuary. Then Shaemun Webster aka Pastor Mun preached a sermon that was no doubt sent by God! There was no doubt that this weekend had been ordained by God!

I also want to thank the Holy Nation family as well as the core members in G.A.N.G. You guy are the reason that i am still at Auburn. Bc of the type of person i am i didnt really party and i felt so left out! I didnt know where i belonged! God told me that i belonged in G.A.N.G and so i went! G.A.N.G has been the biggest blessing to my life! As you all know i am now a minister and Shaemun embraced me and has been a wonderful mentor and friend to me! I feel so blessed to be a part of a family like that! When i preached my first sermon you guys packed up and came to Dothan and turned my little small country church upside down! I want you guys to know that you renewed a Spirit in my church that i had never seen. G.A.N.G taught me how to really serve God! I mean really serve God! As Shaemun always says there is nothing wrong with giving God a silly praise every once in a while! As much as God has done for us we have to praise Him! HAVE TO PRAISE HIM! I think that the older generation has become content sitting on their butts and this generation is bringing back the art of serving, praising, and worshipping a true and living God! My point, I truly never would have made it w/o G.A.N.G

Lastly I want to say that i having been preaching and teaching alot this summer! I want to thank God in this note for igniting my ministry the way that he has! I ask that you all pray for me! Being a young minister is the greatest gift God could have given me but Satan takes every oppurtunity to try make it feel like a burden (keeping it real). But i know that God has my back! So pray for me and i'll definitely do the same for you! If you need a prayer request send me a message! If you need to talk then just send me a message and i'll get you my number! I will do anything in my power to help anyone who needs it!

Be Blessed,

Rev. Matthew Paul Cowley (Run C)

Hey guys! I am a very musical person. I write songs and i play instruments. Before i became a minister i was a rapper. I mean i had the swag of Wayne with the depth of Kanye. (Whether you believe or not isn't the point.) I was very lyrical though totally unlike the Soulja Boys and all those other guys. So i feel like my lyricism was a gift from God. My point is, if that is a gift from God then shouldn't i use it? I don't believe that my rapping should ever be played in the church but i do think i can do that and glorify God! Many people are really biased and think all rap is bad but i'm talking an all Christian message! I am thinking about geeting in the booth and putting together a project but it's something really innovative! I want contemporary gospel, Christian lyrical hip hop, and Christian alternative rock all on one CD. That's what i want! All written by me (I can do it trust me). The thing is i'm tired of the bias that if it is rap then it can't be used to praise God. The point of this race is to win as many souls as possible right? Well you can't get everyone the same way! What if i reach a Kanye fan or a Linkin Park fan that would have never otherwise heard the word of God because of man's closed minded view on how to praise God. Don't pretend that gospel music didn't come directly from blues music! Music is about relaying a message, evoking an emotion, and provoking a thought, That's what i wanna do.