In pursuit of liberty and justice for all
Ol' Hobbs's Friday Flashpoints!
Nobody asked me but....
***Travis McMichael, the man who fired the shots that killed Ahmaud Arbery, 26, looked and sounded as dumb as a box of rocks on the witness stand yesterday.
As the prosecutor led McMichael to respond that Arbery made no verbal threats, pulled no weapons, and simply ran away from him, I could not help but wonder how very nice it must be to believe that you have the privilege to just anoint yourself the police on a whim?
For those who missed it, at one point McMichael, referring to his old Coast Guard career, said: "If you pull a weapon on someone, from what I've learned in my training, usually that caused people to back off or to realize what's happening and comply with orders..." When I heard that, again, I could not help but wonder who (or what) in THE Hell gave McMichael the right to demand that Arbery stop and comply with his orders? What's worse is that McMichael even admitted on cross-examination that he had NEVER used his weapon to stop anyone else in his neighborhood (read- white folks)!
Sigh…
Here's hoping the jury convicts Travis McMichael, his equally deplorable daddy Greg, and their foolish friend Roddie Bryan of murder.
***Twice during the last week McMichaels/Bryan defense lawyer Kevin Gough has risen and asked the Court, "how many Black pastors does the Arbery family have?"
The answer—nearly a thousand, as Black pastors from the AME, Baptist, Pentecostal, and multiple other denominations showed up to pray and offer support for the Arbery family during the trial.
Kudos to all of the clergy members who showed up, including my old quiz bowl teammate, Rev. Cean James, to remind the world writ large that Black Pastors Matter!!!
***It is Florida Classic weekend, which means that Florida A&M University and Bethune Cookman University will renew acquaintances in Orlando.
The Wildcats have won the last nine battles and all across social media, are bragging non-stop in the run-up to this Saturday’s tilt. But Ol' Hobbs is here to remind that the all time record finds the Rattlers with 50 wins to Cookman's 24; the Rattlers also hold the longest win streak—19 straight—from 1954 to 1972. That streak included the five years my old man, guard/linebacker Charlie "Weaver" Hobbs, wore the Orange & Green. Lest we forget that Pop and his 1960 teammates beat the Wildcats 97-0; I once asked him about that game and he said, "Chuckie, I was hoping after the second quarter that Coach Gaither would let us linemen play some receiver or running back just to make it fair—but the outcome still would have been about the same...”
Ol’ Hobbstradamus's prediction? FAMU 35 BCU 14—and then the wait is on to see if a 9-2 record will be good enough to get the Rattlers into the NCAA playoffs.
Stay tuned!
***Every time I start to think that the world is turning the corner on the Covid-19 Pandemic, news breaks that the dreaded disease is on the rise and that quarantine efforts have begun anew. The latest is in Austria, where Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg announced Friday that his nation will be on total lockdown for 10 days starting this coming Monday—with the possibility of being locked down for a total of 20 days.
Austria also is set to become the first European Union nation to make COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory this coming February, a fact that continues to make me scratch my head as to why the majority of the industrialized world has no qualms with efforts to prevent the spread of Covid, but here in the U.S., folks are equating mask wearing, social distancing, and vaccinations with infringements upon liberty.
Truly, we, the American people, collectively make no sense when it comes to stopping this disease and returning to a sense of normalcy.
In Memoriam I
As I get closer to 50, I have little appreciation for most of what is called rap or R&B music these days. Such is why I hadn't heard of Memphis rapper Young Dolph until several weeks ago when Jackson State University Football Coach Deion Sanders featured him in his team's locker room prior to a football game; the young Tigers went nuts with excitement as they bounced around signing along with Dolph that afternoon.
Earlier this week, Adolph 'Young Dolph' Thornton, 36, pulled up to his favorite Memphis bakery, Makeda's Homemade Butter Cookies, and was killed in a hail of gunfire. Yesterday, Memphis police released surveillance footage of two gunmen rushing to do their dastardly and deadly deed.
What's sad is that Dolph was an entrepreneur who was rehabilitating homes in Memphis, but the real tragedy is that Dolph leaves behind a young family that must now cope with his loss.
As one who routinely blasts white supremacists for their part in killing Black people, I would be a hypocrite if I did not blast instances when Black people kill Black people, too. What's worse is that I know first hand that most of the young Blacks who kill other young Blacks look and talk tough on social media (and on camera), but sit in those jail cells crying loudly—with full snot bubbles—when facing life without parole or the death penalty.
Truly, our ancestors are not pleased; Rest in peace, Young Dolph!
In Memoriam II
Per The Hill: “Singer and songwriter David Frishberg, who wrote the well-known Schoolhouse Rock! song "I'm Just a Bill," died Wednesday in Portland, Ore., at 88.
The song, sung by jazz trumpeter and vocalist Jack Sheldon, explains the legislative process. It brought Frishberg unexpected praise, and he later acknowledged it to be his “most well-known song."
Like most in my generation, I was a child devotee of Schoolhouse Rock! and while “Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla” (Pronouns) was my personal favorite, "I'm Just a Bill" was my second favorite and, just maybe, the impetus to what turned into my life-long love of the political process.
Rest in peace, Sir!
Thank you for subscribing to the Hobbservation Point—have a wonderful weekend!
So proud of our Black Clergy👏🏽🛐💚
Dolph’s murder reminded me of a senseless murder of another smart young proud Black Man giving back to his hood community - Hu$$le… The best and brightest like Nip and Dolph cannot lead by example in the hoods that raised them - the young men they leave behind are broken evil and jealous and cannot separate Art (trap, rap) from real life - they are soulless and without respect…