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The reason why the police response time has become a huge issue because it highlights what cops do after most newsworthy shootings: Which is lie their azzes off. The local police around Uvalde, Texas, responded quickly. But they pooped their pants as soon as they realized that more bullets could come whizzing at them if they tried to enter Robb Elementary School. Which is why I have long contended that many police enjoy sporting nicely dry cleaned uniforms and shiny badges, but cannot stand doing real police work. They'd rather shoot unarmed people, toss teenage girls to the ground or as a bonus, break the hips, legs or arms of confused elderly who don't understand their commands. They enjoy acting tough and authoritative when pulling a gun and terrorizing a mother and her children. That, they love to do. But most will shy away from confronting someone who is armed and unafraid of their crisp, clean uniforms and shiny badges. Unless a suspect suddenly appears in front of them and they have little choice. So, as soon cops in Uvalde knew bullets were headed their way, they retreated. Or in the words of the clown who stood at the news media's microphones the next day, "we moved back." And stayed there. They had numbers, they had guns. They knew where the suspected gunman was. They knew what he was doing. But they stayed put. Yeah, real brave. They even handcuffed a frantic mother who demanded the cops rush the shooter. She later got away and rescued her two children from the school. This is why the focus is now on the length of the police response. The alleged mass shooter is dead. No one has to hear from him ever again. But the families and friends of the White Supremacist nutcase in Buffalo who is accused of opening fire in a Buffalo, N.Y., supermarket will have to relive their loved ones' deaths every time his lawyers and defenders advocate for him. Pro-gun supporters will never focus on the real issue: Assault rifles and related weapons. There's too much money and too much political hay that can be realized from keeping this a controversy.

Hate crimes are very real in America. That's why there is an Anti-Asian Hate Crime Bill that was passed with overwhelming support in both the House and Senate. Black folks in America are victims of hate crimes far more than any other group of people yet do not have similar protection in the form of legislation. IMO, that makes it easier for racist white folks to continue killing black folks with impunity.

Author: Steven C. Thedford Book: Title: Kwansabas & Other Poetmes ISBN: 978-0975973059 Publication Date: January 17, 2021 Request: I am interested in a book review. The Kwansaba is an African American verse form of praise created in 1995 by Eugene B. Redmond, East St. Louis Poet Laureate and professor of English at Southern Illinois-East St. Louis. The poems honor Kwanzaa, a celebration of family and African American culture, and praise writers such as Richard Wright and Sonia Sanchez. The poetic style of the Kwansaba utilizes the number seven, the numeric foundation of Kwanzaa. Thus, a Kwansaba is a heptastich, a poem of seven lines, with seven words in each line, and written with no word exceeding seven letters. Darline Roy talks about the strict rules of a Kwansaba. The idea was first used by Eugene B. Redmond and refined in the summer workshop of 2015. But there are exceptions to the rule of seven. He agrees that imposing some restriction makes you think about what you are writing. Another example of a kind of poem that has rules is a haiku, a very short form of Japanese poetry in which the first sentence has five syllables, the second line has seven syllables, and the last line has five syllables. In addition, the Kwansaba poetic form embraces its roots from the South African tradition of the praise poem, called the izibongo in Zulu. A praise poem offers veneration to a person, which was popular in the Middle Ages and continues to be embraced in African cultures today. However, the African praise poem is not restricted to this part of the continent and is not uniquely an African motif; it was used during the Renaissance in Europe. Moreover, the praise poem itself is the manifestation of the oral tradition of atavistic songs of the African ancestors. The “Other Poems” featured in the later part of the book are digressive; they may follow the rules of the Kwansaba but sometimes do not offer praise. The subjects of the poems range from relationships to community.