The Genius of John Lennon

Simply because no matter what I do, music is my first love, I got into a debate about it today at work (I know. This new job has nothing to do with it.). One of my colleagues and I were talking about The Beatles. This brought up a conversation about John Lennon's solo career. He stated that he thought John Lennon was a problem for the group from the very start. To this I said, "No. John was a genius. He was pretty much the brain. Paul might have been the heart but John was the soul." He proceeded to tell me I was being irrational and that Paul had been the meat and potatoes all along. He goes on to call John "an insensitive idiot" for writing and recording "Woman Is the Nigger Of The World" and said that he wouldn't even listen to it because there was "nigger" in the title. Now this made me smile. First I questioned how he could comment on a song he had never even heard or read all the lyrics to. I told him I was disappointed in him for being a so-called brain and not understanding what the song was about just from hearing the title. Before I even heard or saw the lyrics, I knew what Lennon meant. All I could do was agree. Instantly, anyone who hears the title should know that at the time he wrote it, "nigger" was one of the worst things (and to some degree, still is) that a Black person could be called. John, in every other commentary he had given, let it be known that he was a man of the people and that there wasn't a racist bone in his body. Since he had already established that, I suppose he figured there was no need to do so again. Instead he made a new statement. He said with this song that while it was bad for the Black race to be oppressed in certain places, at least they could travel outside of that area to a place where so much oppression might not exist. But if you think about it, there are very few cultures that treat women as equals, let alone respect them as superiors. So while a Black person is a nigger in their current location, a woman is a sub par entity no matter where she goes. The man was attempting to make the world realize something. Whether or not you agree with or respect his feminism is another story. You have to admit that this was a clever way to express that fact. After the conversation with my colleague, I said, "Now who better to comment on that that a BLACK WOMAN?" All he could do was shake my hand and agree.

John did a few more cool things too. In "God", he addressed the different facades and notion of simply looking for something or anything to believe in. In "How Can You Sleep?" he addressed his issues with Paul McCartney. In "Working Class Hero", he again became the voice of a people. In several recordings, he expressed his love for Yoko Ono. If you have never realized the magic of Lennon, please check the man out. He is not to be slept on.

~JUSTICE

Friends

Here is where my blog gets sappy. I miss my best friends. Sometimes I feel like that ugly kid in school that everyone is pelting with dodgeballs while pointing and laughing. That is, when I see other best friends hanging out. I have gone through the stage of being sad. I have gone through the stage of being pissed off with all of them for not doing their parts to keep in touch. I have gone through the "The Must Be Something Wrong With Me" stage. Now I believe I am going through all of them at the same time.

Sam and I have been best friends since the fifth grade. There were sleepovers at her place, parties, and of course the age-old hobby of skipping class together (We were EVERY teacher's pet and we had some of the highest grades in our class so we were pretty much allowed.) On our graduation night, she and I even decided not to party but to spend time reflecting and planning ahead under the stars at the Riverwalk. We have seen boyfriends come and go. We have laughed together. We have cried together and experienced some of life's most bittersweet moments side by side. Then I came to college. Sam got married. And things have never been the same.

Aurora and I have been best friends since the seventh grade. She and I had Halloween themed birthday parties, went on late night joyrides, and treated life as our own personal playground. We both understood the pressure of people thinking our exterior was so nice and shiny but knowing all along what wrecks we were inside. We talked about running away from the monotony that was home and doing much bigger and better things with our lives. Her family is my family. My family is her family. She is the mother of my beautiful goddaughter and one missing piece of my life's puzzle.

I speak to Byron almost every day but it seems like with the exception of less than an hour on the weekend of Honda Battle of the Bands, it has been forever since he and I hung out. I had a plan to visit him in July. But due to the fact that I have a new job that I will be in extensive training for, that is a no go. And he will be starting graduate school at SIU Carbondale on August 18.

Bryan is the one I can't bring back. I learned of his death on my birthday and it is a moment that is seared into my memory forever. There were always whispers of there being something more between us. Even our mothers thought so. But the truth is, we were pretty much twin spirits who found each other in the hallways of a junior high school. I miss him. I probably always will.

I have to go now. Gym class is back in session and the dodgeball court awaits.


JUSTICE

Questions?

Got To Hell
Is basically all I have to say to you.
But since you wanna make this a conversation
Allow me to paint you a few pictures.
That stern look in my eyes
Is "Kiss My Ass" personified
As the words you speak
Instantly become hot ash
As they leave your lips.
I don't even hear you right now.
That middle finger you see
Is exactly how I feel about you
As I kick your soapbox from under you
And hope you break both legs on
The way down.
When I roll my eyes
It is my mental steamroller
Crushing everything about you.
When I say "fuck you"
I really mean it.
Moving right along.
When I walk away,
That is the story of your life.
Rejection. Pure and utter rejection.
Go.....To......Hell.
Any questions?