These have been trying times for us all. As human beings, we are not designed to 'self isolate'. We do not cope well with long periods being cut off from our friends and family. That is why 'solitary confinement' is the most stringent sanction used by the UK prison service as punishment for prisoners who misbehave. I don't think anyone appreciated it at the time, but like a pressure cooker, slowly heating up, sooner or later the pressure of heat had to be released.
At the start of lockdown, I assumed I'd have a creative time, writing new songs, stories and poems. Then I found that without stimulation, it was impossible. I am a punk poet and I need something to write about, but the Groundhog day press conferences, where the same figures and mantra's were the equivalent of an opiod haze, stifling all creativity. Then the steam pressure built up and the world erupted. Whatever you may think of the black lives matter protests, they have made global news and made us think. Last week I explained how a great friend and teacher, a Jamiacan poet who was dying of cancer opened my eyes to the brutal story on which the wealth of England was based. I miss my friend and wish he was here to give his commentary in these trying times, I've though a lot of him over the last two weeks.
Everyone has a view on what has happened. I was struck by the difference in tone of the coverage of the papers I read. Reviewing The Sunday Times, The Guardian and the Express, I could be reading about different events in a parellel universe, linked only by the images which seem to be the same in each publication. The image of the policeman with his knee on George Floyds neck was simply too powerful not to move anyone with a heart and soul. I wanted to scream at the TV "get your knee of my brothers neck". Like many people, I've been seeking out films to watch to help the evenings pass. We recently watched Just Mercy, the story of judicial injustice in the State of Alabama. If you haven't seen it I thoroughly recommend it. It shows what you need to do to achieve change, if you do not like the way things are. It is the true story of how a Harvard student is inspired to fight by the injustice of death row in Alabama. It is a long road, but it is a story that shows what you can achieve if you are organised and you use your intellect and you stick with it. It is an uncomfortable film, but so it should be. The way the US legal system discriminates against the BAME community is laid bare and it is not a pretty story in any way, shape or form.
I thought it was important for me to make a personal statement in the way I best can. That was with a piece of music and a video. Due to the lockdown, I was unable to work with my usual collaborators Allen Ashley and Graham Ramsey of the False Dots. The social distancing required would have made a False Dots recording session impossible, however our other band member Fil Ross and myself collaborated to put together a piece of music that I am truly proud of. I played bass and guitar and Fil did the programming. Initially I sung it, but my voice did not do the message justice, so I asked another collaborator, American film director and singer Charlie Honderick to voice the track. He was raised in the South of the USA and has seen the racist culture their at first hand. He was an appropriate choice.
We have had enough of this, but we need our anger channelled. We need to be organised. We need to fight for change. Things will improve, but only if we do things the right way. I am a passionate believer in non violent protest. When we talk about the fight, we mean the fight for social justice. Brawling is for idiots. As for those who say I can't support Black Lives Matter because all lives matter, would they say "I won't support Cancer Research because that discriminates against people who suffer from heart attacks and AIDS"? There is a clear injustice and one which is a stain on us all.
People will stop using the term Black Lives Matter when there is social justice. If you are not interested in social justice, then ultimately you are suffering from self loathing, because we are all the same under the skin. Last night, I watched the news. There was a young man called Marcus Rashford making the headlines. As a Manchester United footballer, he is not a person that as a Manchester City fan I would normally stand up and cheer, but he showed true leadership, something sadly missing from No 10 Downing Street at the moment. His call for the extension of free school meal vouchers for deprived children and its rejection by Boris Johnson, is something that really is worthy comment. With all the privelige of the expensive education that Boris received, a twenty two year old from Moss Side showed more eloquence and humanity than Boris and his whole cabinet could muster.
Rashford has shown us that there is more to humanity and compassion than education. Marcus Rashford makes me proud of my country, that we can produce such fine young men (even when they play for the wrong team). Sadly some people will never acknowledge Rashford, because they are too filled with hate to see the truth. That is why we all have to fight this fight. Get your knee off my brothers neck is not just a song about George Floyd, it is about every person who is the victim of mindless racism and it is our call for all intelligent people to consign such repulsive notions to the dustbin of history.
Please watch this video, I hope it gives you some inspiration. The Official Launch will be 6pm tomorrow. The day and time we take the knee.
Time for a change
Nothing comes without a fight
Nothing happens just ‘cause you’re right
Nothing changes overnight
That’s why you need some organisation
Get your knee, get your knee
Get your knee Off my Brothers neck
The time has come, the time has come
The time has come for a change
Forget about conversations
You get nothing through mediation
You better get some organisation
If you want to get your rights
How much longer can you wait?
How many more does it take?
What sacrifice do we have to make?
Before we get our rights?
Nothing comes without a fight
Nothing happens just ‘cause you’re right
Nothing changes overnight
That’s why you need some organisation
Get your knee, get your knee
Get your knee Off my Brothers neck
How many years, how many years
How many years do you think we can wait?
Get your knee, get your knee
Get your knee Off my Brothers neck
The time has come, the time has come
The time has come for a change
Copyright The False Dots 2020
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