I apologize to all of you...I KNOW many of you have been expecting my take on soooo many of the events of late, but I am in Marathon Migraine Hell and it has kept me away from writing and the light of the computer. That said, I have taken enough meds to try to catch a bit and comment on a few of the things for which you have been asking.
I blame the media! Ummmm...sure.
Once upon a time, there was a beautiful Princess, living in a beautiful, quiet, suburb of Philly...still too young and sheltered to truly understand the danger and pain and negative in the world. I will be leaving the dates out of this post...because...frankly, they make me feel old, but if you must know, google. We begin with this post so that you have a bit of background for my next.
A group...a black Libertarian group/cult...calling themselves "MOVE," and all adopting the surname "Africa" formed in 1972 in Philadelphia. They help more than a few protests and refused to kill vermin...in fact drawing them to their property with their giant, inner city compost pile...and enraging their neighbors. This was not going unnoticed by the Philadelphia PD.
In 19**, they had built themselves an inner-city compound and despite a court order, a year long stand off, the fatal shooting of a police officer and 12 other police and firefighters, not to mention 3 bystanders...and yes, 3 "MOVE" members...being injured in the crossfire...though 9 "MOVE" members were convicted for killing the police officer...they still refused to "MOVE."
Am I the only person to find irony in the face that they called themselves "MOVE" and yet refused to, well, move...
In 19**, they finally moved to a row home on Osage Ave. As I recall, during that time, they bought neighboring row housing and tunneled between them. The compost piles continued and they were cited for health hazards because of them. Various charges and arrests had continued to accumulate against many of the "MOVE" (we swear we're not a cult, we are a black libertarian group)...and oh, by the way...whilst I understand the goals of current, true, Libertarians, and I do support some of their ideals...I am one who tends to believe too much freedom potentially leads to chaos, sorry Daddy...and all those of you who read my blog frequently are likely shocked it took me this long to even marginally digress, sorry to disappoint...but I have a lot to share with you and having been far more sick than usual, I want to take advantage of the time I'm well enough to write...what self-respecting Libertarian chooses West Philadelphia for their compound...and yes, every time I hear/write/read/say "West Philadelphia," the voices in my head IMMEDIATELY start suburban, private school, preppy white girl rapping the intro to "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air," so for all those who just did, you're not alone...at any rate, James Joyce just tapped me on the proverbial shoulder and told me to get back to the story...where was I? Yes, yes...Joe and Mary and Bob, etc, Africa continued to accumulate arrests for charges ranging including contempt of court, parole violations, terroristic threats, and...hello...it's a cult...building an illegal cache weapons. As you can imagine, tensions continued to mount.
Finally, in 19**, the city, and Mayor Wilson Goode, had had enough! When police arrived to serve an eviction notice at "MOVE"s Osage Avenue compound, it lead to yet another stand-off. There was tear gas, water cannons, the "MOVE" members began firing, again, at police and fire fighters...the escalation was intense. It was the first time I can ever recall seeing such a thing...it was all live, unfolding right there on television...I, along with everyone else for a minimum of a 100 miles at least, was riveted and terrified. It went on for what seemed like forever. Then the news kept reporting that then Mayor Wilson Goode was considering something drastic...this had been going for years and action had to be taken. He warned them repeatedly what was going to happen, though I they didn't believe him...frankly, when it was announced on tv... I don't think anyone did.
"Mommy? Daddy? What's Napalm?"
Though some say it was a combination of C4 and Tovex...some say it was Napalm. Late on the night of May 13th, by helicopter, the compound was bombed. Romona Africa and a child called Birdie Africa were the only survivors.
There has always been a bit of an urban legend that the song The Roof is on Fire was about the "MOVE" incident. Far be it from me to point out that the song came out shortly before the Osage Avenue fire.
Though the city denounced Mayor Goode's actions, no criminal charges were ever filed against anyone involved on the side of the City of Philadelphia.
Why, you may ask yourself, is this where I am choosing to start when there are a few issues on which many of you have requested I blog recently...it will become very clear to you in my next post, titled, "The British are Coming!"
Once I have addressed the topical issues you've been requesting, I'll try to provide you all with a better excuse for my absence, introduce some truly fab sponsors, get to some fantastic giveaways, and oh, my friends, the fun we will have discussing decorating, shopping, dressing and cooking for the holidays!!! My honest love, thanks, and appreciation to all of you for your understanding!!!
XOXO,
~CAT
No comments:
Post a Comment