For Colored Girls

I went to see "For Colored Girls" this past weekend. Of course I had seen the previews and I pretty much thought I knew what to expect. I'd seen the trailer a million times and I think I had prejudged the movie as another "black man bashing" film that left nothing much to the imagination. Boy was I wrong! Shall I elaborate? 

Let me start by saying this is one of the MOST emotionally draining movies that I have ever seen. It is full of misery, anguish, grief and pain. It is extremely emotionally charged. You will leave the theater with the character plight on your mind. Their pain will resonate through your being for days after you view the film. You will see the images in your mind at random times throughout your day. Your heart will ache with their pain. You will share in their grief and you will wallow with them in their sorrow. This movie gives us a window into the lives of 8 black women who stagger through life with the burden and blessing of being in their own skin. Their blackness and femininity ruling their every step through life.

Being a black woman I can understand the feeling of never being able to escape one's race nor one's gender. It follows you everywhere you go. It is the first thing everyone that looks at you sees. The world refuses to let you be "just a person". Everything you do, say and feel is cloaked in your blackness and your gender. For some that is a burden way to heavy to bear. For me it's a burden and a blessing that I will cherish for all of my days. Our race and gender shape and define us. They wrap us in their unchanging hands and hold us hostage by grip. They give us the light inside of our souls and for that I am thankful.  The plight that is our existence is nothing short of daunting but it is simultaneously amazing. The strength that we as black women draw from the depths of our souls is also the very bane that breaks our spirits at times. We know how to be nothing other than strong; sometimes so strong that it weakens us. This movie reminded me of how proud I am to be a black woman and there is nothing on this earth that could make me want to be anything other than. 

If you have not seen this movie, please do. I challenge men and women of other ethnicities to open your hearts and minds to the story of 8 women that are nothing short of amazing. So often, we as humans do not make the effort to see life from another's perspective.  We tend to find complacency in our "boxes". Even if you don't walk away with a full understanding of another's journey; you walk away with a glimpse into their existence and I guarantee you'll be a better person for it.

Be Easy,
MojoFiend

Demons vs. Dope

"Devil Attack in Trinidad"

17 Moruga students in hospital

Radhica Sookraj

Published: 11 Nov 2010

Panic broke out at the Moruga Composite School yesterday as 17 female students fell mysteriously ill and began rolling on the ground, hissing and blabbering in a strange tongue, after suffering bouts of nausea and headaches. Two of the students reportedly tried to throw themselves off a railing and had to be physically restrained, triggering fears of a possible demon attack. The drama started during the lunch hour in the Form One block and quickly spread to other areas. Form Five student Kern Mollineau, who attends the Lighthouse Tabernacle Church, said he got worried when the girls’ eyes began rolling up in their heads and they began beating up on the ground.

With the assistance of several other students and teachers, the pupils were taken to the multi-purpose hall where some of them fell into a semi-conscious state. Mollineau recalled: “One girl was blabbering as if in a strange language. I could not understand what she was saying. “It was sounding like ‘shebbaberbebeb shhhhee.’ The girls were unusually strong. We had to hold them down so that they will not hurt themselves. “The teachers were right there. I get a kick in my face when one of the girls started beating up on the floor. Many of them had bruises.” Mollineau claimed he actually communicated with the “devil which had possessed the girl. “I asked the Devil what he wanted with the girls and the voice said he wanted a life. He kept saying to send the girls in the toilet and to leave them alone,” Mollineau claimed.

Roman Catholic priests, as well as pastors from nearby churches, including Josephine Charles, Deborah Charles and Pastor Gordon, visited the school and began showering the children with holy water and prayers. Two more students, Kriston Mollineau and Kishon Bethel, said they too were called by teachers to assist the ill girls. Kriston said the girls complained of headaches and some of them wanted to go to the toilet. Six ambulances arrived at the school accompanied by police teams from the Moruga and St Mary’s Police Post. A party of fire officers from the Princes Town Fire Station, led by acting Assistant Divisional Fire Officer Ramdeo Boodoo visited the school and began conducting several tests on the surroundings to determine the cause of the problem.

Boodoo said there was nothing in the environment to trigger fainting spells, nausea and headaches. A teacher, who requested anonymity, said two weeks ago an Orisha woman came to the school and had a dispute with a member of staff. He said following the dispute, the woman threatened to deal with the school administration. Another teacher said the school was built on a burial site, but neighbours who live around the school denied that was so. A source at the school confirmed that all 17 pupils were taken to the Princes Town Health Facility where they were medically examined. The other students were sent home at 2 pm.
Responding yesterday, Minister in the Ministry of Education Clifton de Coteau said he was aware that pupils had to be taken for medical attention. De Coteau said Student Support Service officials were sent to the school and students were expected to receive counselling. A statement from the Ministry of Education said the Public Transport Service Corporation (PTSC) made maxi taxis available to the school to assist the Office for Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) which provided additional ambulances.



Interesting story, eh?

I came across this story early this morning while sitting at my desk trying to muster up the motivation to actually do some work. For some reason I was instantly intrigued and drawn to this topic. I think the draw was the fact that SO MANY non-believers left condescending and belittling comments directed towards the "believers" in the world. First of all, let me say that I'm not claiming this to be true nor false. How would I know? Last time I checked I was on the other side of the world when this action was going down...not unlike TONS of other's who still deemed it necessary to spew their condemnation towards those that took this for "truth". My humble opinion is that it is totally probable. I mean, why not? In 2010 we as the human race still seem to have some sort of superiority complex! Come on, people! Do we REALLY still believe that we are alone on this planet, with the exception of the mere animals that we dominate? Well, I don't buy it. I never have and I'm 99.9% sure that I never will. Sure I'm a good ol' God fearing woman, but IMO it's just naive and extremely presumptuous to think that there is no other Presence in the world we live in or any realm that we as humans have access to . I'm not running around claiming to "see dead people". But I'm sure as hell not self-righteous enough to think that I'm the top dog in this game. I guess the unknown is always a point of contention for us as a species. But it would be nice if every once in a while we took a pass at judging each other's beliefs. I can think of at least 300 million more productive things to do than pass judgment on something with which I have never had a hands-on dealing. It's funny to me how we can apply this to simple things that we deem explicable but as soon as something leaves our realm of understanding we feel the need to condemn and dismiss that which science has no explanation for. The fact is that people fear what they do not understand. I think the world might just be a slightly better place if we tried to understand that we're not always going to understand.

Dueces,
MojoFiend