"Regarded for their exquisite beauty and the timeless qualities of love and devotion that they represent, diamonds have fascinated mankind throughout the centuries. The most precious and enduring of all gemstones, diamonds were formed billions of years ago, deep within the earth. Only a small number survive the journey to the earth's surface; fewer still are of a quality that can be made into a precious piece of jewelry." - Diamondfacts.org

There Is No 'Black ####', Blood Diamonds are Forever - Have Blood, Not Diamonds

This is in response to the Professional that moved too soon writing an article about a man that is gone too soon, all because of the goods he possessed, and not for the goodness in his heart.

This is about those in search of the almighty Blood Diamond. Now Blood Diamonds represent all that is material: money, clothes, jewelry, cars, and status. It is anything of no cash value or of no real value in terms of what you need in life or what you will take with you to the afterworld.

Since the beginning of a time when status became quo and having the most meant you were the best or superior to those that don't, there has always been conflict. Its almost seems second nature to hate on those that have more material than you. We don't hate on those that give of themselves by feeding the homeless, for example.

Most of us look to see where we have to climb and we want to conquer the mountain. Some of us decide the mountain is too steep and quit in the middle of the climb and some choose to just stay on the ground and cheer for the climbers. The rest climb up only to take from the top or pull on your legs to make you fall back down.

The state of Black America is not in jeopardy because of guns or hip hop, there is a prevailing mindset that places no value on life, liberty, or the pursuit of happiness. While this mindset exists regardless of race, color, creed, or country, Blacks in America have a unique situation.

Our middle and lower class citizens live in the same neighborhoods. We fought long and hard for intergration, but the middle class failed to fight against Section 8. The program means well in theory, but I've seen no improvement to my community. Its actually had the opposite effect.

We are the only people that had to endure an influx of drug corners, crack dealers, crack heads, crack houses, and crack babies into our neighborhoods and even our families. Like I always say there needs to be a T-Shirt that reads "I Survived 1988-1990"!

We are the only people that promotes this ignorant message of "keeping it real", meaning money shouldn't change you or your situation. So if you come into a million dollars it is expected of you to not change the people around you. That would be true, if you were surrounded by positivity and people that loved life and loved you. But let's be real, you probably had haters before you came into your money. People hate on you because you're special. Being special and a go-getter is something that shines brightly amongst the lowlifes, for lack of a better word. Or maybe that is the right word. I'm just being nice. But its perfect low-life is exactly what it is. People that put a low value on life.

For whatever reason lowlifes have the nerve to want the same things as you, but don't want to work for it. But they will take the time to rob and shoot at will. I didn't say lowlifes were smart. The thing is lowlifes are not born, they are created. I never met a 3 year old lowlife. They are victims of their environment.

Now, for the fortunate ones, the ones that can bob and weave from time to time and socialize with the lowlifes, because you all grew up together and you still see the good in them. You work hard for yours, go to school, get a good job, and have your head on straight. But being a have amonsgt the have-nots is impossible and not very smart. Most go-getters take this time to show off, maybe its not intentional. In a perfect world, of course you can drive your Bentley to the projects and not second guess it. But in the real world, while most will stare in awe, there is always one or more plotting.

And it doesn't even have to be a Bentley, it can be a Toyota Camry. Anything that equates a certain level of status that the lowlife doesn't have. You become fair game.

So what is it that keeps the fortunate ones on the right track? Who knows. That's why they are fortunate and special. In spite of their predicament they have a determined idea to want the best that life has to offer. And that's not material wealth. Material is just something that comes with having enough income to purchase goods. It has nothing to do with who you are as a person.

In the opening of Jason Whitlock's article "Taylor's death a grim reminder for us all", he opens with, "There's a reason I call them the Black ####. The pain, the fear and the destruction are all the same." Not hardly. The reign of terror the Ku Klux Klan inflicted can be compared to no another. The Klan was a full fledged organization whose intent was to keep Blacks and their supporters in their place through intimidation, lynchings, torture, bombings, and assassinations. What's happening in the Black community is hardly organized or even deliberate.

"The Black #### claimed another victim, a high-profile professional football player with a checkered past this time." Some would say President Bush has a checkered past or any other political figure for that matter. Whitlock wrote this article too soon to speculate the real motive behind Sean Taylor's murder.

I know one thing, hip hop has nothing to do with it. Unlike Hollywood, which has a talented force of writers who can create a tale that is brought to life on screen, music is the other way around. Life creates the music. And in the commercial realm of hip hop, ignorance sells. Even the so called King of Hip Hop, Jay-Z, at close to 40 years old still spits the same tales he did 10 years ago. Why not rap about being president of Def Jam and being part owner of a NBA team? Now that's American Gangster. Throw up that Diamond sign!

R.I.P Sean Taylor and to all the others that have lost their lives due to senseless violence.

Today I am forcing myself to write. Its been close to a month since my last post. I've just been too uninterested to keep up.

I just wanted to start off by saying, yesterday was a very moving day. The City of Philadelphia said goodbye to a fallen hero, Officer Chuck Cassidy, who was killed in the line of duty on October 31, after walking in on a armed robbery at a Dunkin Donuts. This was in my neighborhood, a place I ride by every single day. Every murder is senseless, but this just really struck a cord in the city.

I made it my business to be outside to see the motorcade yesterday pass through our streets and it was pretty rough.

A few hours later, two more innocent lives were taken. Both victims were shot in the head in two separate incidents in two separate parts of the city. One was a heating oil delivery man, the other a man inside of a corner store. In both incidents there were no motives and no suspects. I just wish more could be done in solving murders of those that are not police officers, maybe reward money could motivate a lot more people to speak up. Officer Cassidy's killer was an #### and confessed to his family. A family friend tipped off police. More than likely he was motivated by the $115,000 reward money which rose to $153,000 and will be split 3 or 4 ways with some tipsters in Miami.

So while some of us need money to prompt doing the right thing, the second lead story has been about Andy Reid and his family. Coach Reid was so moved by this tragedy he reached out to Officer Cassidy's 16 year old son and invited him to the Eagles v. Cowboys games last Sunday. He even told him if he ever needed to talk, he would be there for him.  Is he trying to make up for something he didn't do with his own sons? I mean, that sounded all good, but the question is how long were his sons up to no good before getting caught with guns, drugs, waving guns at old ladies, and crashing into cars?

Its too late for Andy Reid to give up his coaching job. He should have done that about 10 years ago when he could have made a difference. His sons have no respect for him. At 22 and 24 years old, they're old enough to suffer the consequences. But honestly, they could care less. So this won't be the last incident. Anyone that would sneak 89 pills into jail is in need of more than rehab or months in prison. That is where race comes into play, like Jason Whitlock wrote about today. That's why crack gets you more time than powder. But this isn't forum for that conversation.

So in NBA News:

Another NBA season has started and I have no interest yet. I started my fantasy basketball over on NBA.com and now I don't even care. I see why I never did it before. I can't stay on top of it.

But on the real, this is really bothering me.

Its been a year or almost since Allen Iverson was traded, and I've been noticing a lot lately that the Philly media is starting to address Andre Igoudala as A.I. This must stop immediately. Yeah they share the same initials, but come on people, he needs another nickname, that's just wrong. Andre will never be Allen, no where near it, so he needs to have his own identity and that's just out of respect.