Look, I think the song “Love” is cool. It’s fun and funky like so many other Prince songs. I encourage you to click on the YouTube link above and listen to it. I’m struggling to come up with anything insightful to say about a song called “Love” or any other song while Prince’s hometown and many others around the country are burning. Because Minneapolis is the site of the latest black man to die at the hands of a police officer who swore to protect and serve, I can’t help but wonder what Prince would be doing right now to help unify and heal his city. In 2015 after Freddie Gray died while in police custody in Baltimore Prince not only wrote the song “Baltimore” as a tribute, he held a 2-1/2 hour “Rally 4 Peace” in Baltimore with proceeds from the concert going to Baltimore youth charities.
Instead of guessing what the man would be saying right now, I’ll take his words directly from the May 10, 2015, rally in Baltimore:
“The system is broken. It’s going to take young people to fix it. We need new ideas, new life. Most of all, we need new piece. And the kind of piece I’m talking about is spelled ‘P-I-E-C-E.’ Next time I come to Baltimore, I want to stay in a hotel owned by one of you. I want to play in a building owned and operated by one of you – I’m talking to the young people now.”
I can only imagine what he’d be doing for the Twin Cities right now. I miss him, and my heart goes out to Minneapolis and St. Paul tonight. I love those towns. I sympathize with the protesters, the vast majority of whom are peaceful. and I share their frustration. I empathize with the violent protesters for that matter. To those asking, “Why do they have to do that?” just put yourself in their shoes. How many more Freddie Grays, Tamir Rices, Michael Browns, Walter Scotts, and George Floyds do there need to be before we do something? I’m tired of watching this happen over and over again. I’ve watched angry white people storm state capitol buildings with AR-15’s because they think it’s unfair that they have to stay in or *gasp* wear a mask to help keep their fellow man safe. You mean to tell me those same people wouldn’t be rioting in the streets if they were constantly the victims of police brutality? You’re telling me these so-called patriots wouldn’t be calling for a violent overthrow of the government if they had been beaten down by generations of a system unfairly stacked against them? Bullshit.
I sympathize with good police officers, too, and I know there are a lot of them out there. Men and women just trying to do their jobs and protect their neighborhoods. I know there are a few giving them a bad name. You can say that about any group of people. There are always a few giving the rest a bad name. The thing is, the police swore to protect and serve. They’re supposed to be held to a higher standard. When people fear those who swore to protect and serve them, where else can they turn?
And what the hell kind of “President” do we have? Using social media to fan the flames. How Twitter hasn’t banned him by now, I’ll never know. Then again, Twitter is the least of our problems with him. How the hell is that guy our President? He’s literally anti-Christ and he was elected by people who claim to be Christians. I’m not calling him the devil (although, if I thought the devil existed he fits the description pretty well), I’m just saying he’s the opposite of Jesus Christ…so, he’s anti-Christ. Think about it. I see signs in my neighborhood that say, “Making faith great again. Trump 2020.” What?!? I’ll give you as long as you need to name one way Donald Trump is like Jesus Christ. I’m gonna be waiting for a long, long time. He’s gotta be laughing his ass off at the Evangelicals who vote for him. You actually believe he gives two shits about your faith. Seriously, what about Donald Trump makes you think he’s “making faith great again?” When our so-called Christian President is on Twitter saying things like “When the looting starts, the shooting starts,” who are the people that are supposed to be doing that shooting? He’s asking our police officers to start shooting fellow Americans. He’s condoning murder in our streets. I guess the 100,000+ Americans who died this year from a virus that he called “a hoax” aren’t enough. I ask you, what would Jesus do?
Anyway, the Daily Prince went off the rails today, but everything is off the rails. I’m just trying to stay sane over here. I give the song “Love” 3 out of 5 stars and I think we all need a lot of love right now.
mookiefantana 