it's been almost 10 years.

april 29th, '92, flo and norm met through a mutual friend: malcontent. the first two had been living admist each other as victims of displaced violence for years, waitin for the wild card third party to mediate their grievances.

florence and norman are relative insignificants, however. the two could've been 'ness and vernon, fig and gage, chester and vermont. the introductory agent is the key player in this case.

*

southcent has been angry. y'all know this, though. y'all know cuz and y'all know blood. y'all know niggas had attitudes. since 4/1992, y'all've known that southcent's hot temper literally gets escee heated (you should've recognized in 5/1965).

but y'all ain't understood why. maybe that's on us. perhaps killing the messenger would be justifiable homicide.

*

the 1992 riots were NOT random. those who paid attention to the pregnant silences between our well publicized expletives heard the shatter of the first thrown malotav cocktail years before it exploded against the walls of the l-i-q in dramatic irony.

the 1992 riots were NOT a three day temper tantrum. many (admittedly not all) of the buildings burned down were neighborhood nuisances: known ho tracks for pedigreed prostitutes and their equestrian pi's, licensed vendors of five glass doses of malted satan, and cia-approved setups for our contribution to the campaign of nicaraguan contras (aka the crack spots).
while this wasn't the most productive form of catharsis, southcentralites were reconciling some socioeconimic disparities the residents felt between themselves, the opressive overseers and the exploitative entrepreneurs.
there was an unstable solidarity in the air made manifest by the "yes we're open. and yes, we're black owned signs" that greeted patrons into store fronts.

*

the 1992 riots WERE necessary. contrary to belief, 51 people did not die because a lust to loot came across the residents. really ain't nothin to pillage outside of the pawn shops (which would be more like reposession) and the second hand department spots.
the lost angels were actuallly at a higher level of awareness at the time. crossing the color line was slightly safer as a result of gang truces.
the riots were an uprising (southcent is soweto). a reaction to a blatant reminder that we're are still seperate. still living under the code of isolates. aliens in the land of inalienable rights.

but in reaction lies the problem.

¿why never proaction?

¿why we always in need of a reminder?

¿when the epiphany reoccurs will we continue to voice our perturbation amonst ourselves? or are finally gon communicate (by any and all means necessary) wit our mute opposition?

*the preceding was just some reflective thoughts about an event that has left keloid scars on my homehood. take it as you may.*

-p'raverbs.

*****¡I AM! ¿ARE YOU?*****

"...there's one side of me that's totally for the preservation of black youth. ¿y'knowha'msayin? b'cause we're dyin at a rapid rate...i can't stand the ghetto. alotta rappers, y'know, they run around '¡yeah! ¡i'm ghetto!' ¿y'knowha'msayin? i live in the ghetto; the ghetto don't live in me. this is an ill situation. we have been put here for a cause."
-poor righteous teacher wise intelligent from "rhyme & reason".

okayp'raverbs. GIVING YOU TRUE TRUTH SINCE '82 TIL INFINITY.

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