Baba
KILLING OVER SHOES
Note: This is the second letter in this series; a link to the
initial letter has been appended below. The text in brown is an excerpt from
the earlier posting on this topic.
Namaskar,
Here we continue the investigation of the tragic plight of people in
this late stage of capitalist exploitation. The initial analysis is
follow by an article that dramatically portrays youths will even
kill one another over a pair of sneakers.
PUBLIC EDUCATION
NEEDED:
AWARENESS ABOUT ECONOMIC EXPLOITATION
On so many fronts, the common people in the US are victims of
capitalism; and wherever materialism spreads the populations will
suffer in a similar way. It is our duty to educate them and
heighten their awareness.
Here is Baba's key teaching.
"Psycho-economy has two branches. The first branch endeavours to
eradicate exploitative and unjust economic practices, behaviours
and structures. It will counter all economic and psycho-economic
exploitation and make people aware of how capitalists, in their
singular or collective roles, exploit society and create
unhealthy, artificial demands which not only poison the mind but
encourage dangerous habits detrimental to psychic sanctity and
expansion. The first and foremost duty of psycho-economics is to
wage a tireless fight against all degenerating and dehumanizing
economic trends in society." (1)
HOW IGNORANT PEOPLE GET
BRAINWASHED
Psycho-economy is primarily needed in those countries that have a
greater purchasing capacity like the US etc. In financially poorer
nations, the populace is pressured to spend most of its money on
matters of survival such as housing, food, clothing etc. Though it
is true that those populations do get indoctrinated into and
addicted to certain trends like tobacco and alcohol use. Really
though, it is the economically wealthier nations that desperately
need psycho-economy, i.e. taught what to buy etc.
Because up till now, the capitalists have successfully brainwashed
common citizens in so-called first-world nations about what they
need: to look "good", feel "good", and have "good" social status -
by purchasing more toys etc. By this way the general populace gets
trapped and pours huge amounts of money into the hands of those
capitalists in order to buy harmful, degrading things. All because
they are allured and swooped up by capitalist propaganda.
Whereas if people are taught what they really need to live on this
earth and what will truly make them happy, they will easily be
able to extricate themselves from the trap of capitalist
exploitation. Because for the capitalist, they exploit a person's
wallet by first getting inside that person's mind. So if the mind
is clear and can understand what the capitalists are doing, then
they can easily win the battle.
EXAMPLES: HOW
PSYCHO-ECONOMY SAVES LIVES
Thus in step-by-step manner, the common people need to be taught
what to purchase and what not to purchase. Those things which are
harmful should not be purchased: junk food, tobacco, liquor,
lottery tickets, useless toys, items related with bad habits etc.
Plus they should be educated on points of aparigraha so they do
not purchase superfluous fashion clothing, x-tra gadgets etc. They
should learn vehicles are for travel and not for prestige. The
entire arena of psycho-economy is based on this simple equation:
Buying what is needed and helpful for one's growth and
development, and not buying that which is not needed and harmful
to one's progress.
By this way they will save money and time, not incur debt, and
spend time in higher pursuits. If they can understand that their
self-worth is not a correlation of how much money they have or
what kind of car they have, or what brand of clothing they wear,
then they will readily become educated users / people. And such
persons will not be helpless pawns of capitalism. This education
is psycho-economy. All should learn and those who practice this
will be happy and peaceful. Otherwise they may die in a stampede
in a big box store on Black Friday. Then people will not rush
headlong into Black Friday and risk their mind and body running
after the mirage of materialistic happiness as presented by those
leading capitalists. For one's existence psycho-economy is needed.
BECOME A SMART USER
NO LONGER PAWN OF CAPITALISM
The critical issue is that if the common people were educated
about Prout and had a better idea of what it means to be a smart
users / people, then they would not get caught in the sticky web
spun by capitalists. Then they would not get caught up in the
madness of Black Friday.
As noted above, Baba has given psycho-economy as one part of a
healthy economy. A key aspect of psycho-economy is to fight
exploitation and educate the public about the tricky and greedy
ways of capitalists. So that is what we must do.
Indeed, if people were aware about how they are getting cheated by
capitalists and that they do not need all this useless
merchandise, they would not run in that direction, i.e. into a
shopping frenzy. If people clearly understood the sham,
senselessness, and destruction related with Black Friday, then it
would be obliterated. Indeed Black Friday itself would be no more.
WILL TO KILL OTHERS OVER A PAIR OF SNEAKERS
Here below are two insightful piece that demonstrate how a growing
number of people in the general society are gaining insight into
capitalist exploitation. Such persons are qualified as vikśubdha
shudras - i.e. those who are awakened to the exploitative tactics of
capitalism and are readying to make a stand.
Killing over kicks: How did we get here?
Courtesy of: Perry Williams
Editor's note: Perry Williams teaches high school English to
students in Georgia. He is a sneaker enthusiast and mentors students
who are interested in buying and selling sneakers.
"Give up ya J’s and ya Starter" was a common phrase many young
people heard about 20 years ago while being held up at gunpoint for
their expensive shoes and jackets. During that time, people were
getting robbed for their Air Jordan sneakers and their NFL Starter
Jackets.
With the recent news reports of young people being slain for tennis
shoes, some people may feel that this is a new epidemic bleeding
from the urban areas into the suburbs. Unfortunately, young people
getting robbed and -- in the worst case -- getting killed over a
pair of sneakers is not a new trend.
In the late 80’s and early 90’s, when basketball shoes crossed over
the $100 mark, death over gym shoes began. A small shoe company
decided on a new marketing strategy of focusing on one player
instead of hundreds of lesser-known athletes. A shoe deal between
Nike and a rookie from the University of North Carolina named
Michael Jordan grew into a global, multi-billion dollar
conglomeration with the best basketball player ever to play the
game.
During this era, many of these highly sought-after shoes became
popularized on the small screen with NBC’s “A Different World” and
on the big screen with classic flicks such as “White Men Can’t Jump”
and Spike Lee’s “Do The Right Thing.” Sneakers of that time were in
demand then and today.
As a result, you have a consumer-based, sub-culture market that
dictates what shoes are sold opposed to what shoe designers feel
will be the next big thing. Many “sneaker heads” drive the market by
selling shoes online and shoe companies try to capitalize on what is
trending and selling on the web. What is so astonishing is that many
of today’s young shoe collectors who are standing in line for days
or making unsafe deals were not old enough to even see Michael
Jordan play. Surprisingly, many of the shoes that carry these high
price tags and garner the most attention are not newly designed
shoes. They are mainly all re-released shoes or hybrids from years
ago.
However, we have now entered an era where many shoes today have
surpassed the $3,000 - $4,000 threshold. With the release of the
Nike Marty McFly’s, LeBron’s, Foamposites and Air Yeezy, shoe prices
have reached all-time highs. With these types of prices, many
collectors are doing anything to get their hands on them. Some
people do it for the actual culture and love of the shoe game and
some are strictly in it for the money.
Courtesy of: Perry Williams
Death over the new Air Jordan Gama Blue
11
Courtesy of: Bryant Cross
Before I get into this, lets all hop in the time machine and travel
back 24 years...
The year is 1989 and 15-year-old Michael Eugene Thomas paid $115.50
for a pair of Air Jordans. His grandmother tells him not to wear his
shoes to school because someone might like them. Michael simply
responds, “Granny, before I let anyone take those shoes, they’ll
have to kill me.”
On May 2nd, 1989 Michael was found strangled in the woods near his
school…barefoot. His killer was 17-year-old James David Martin, a
basketball buddy.
A month earlier, 16-year-old Johnny Bates was shot to death in
Houston because he refused to give up his Air Jordan hightops. The
killer was 17-year-old Demetrick Walker, who was later sentenced to
life in prison.
Now lets hop in the time machine and return to present times…
We’re still in Houston and this time the victim is Joshua Woods (22
years old). He got one of the few vouchers to buy a pair of Jordans
for himself and his 5-year-old son. The last text he sent to his
mother read, “Mom I am okay. We are already headed home.” Of course,
he never made it home because three young men shot him in an
attempted robbery.
He died on December 21st, 2012 – four days before Christmas.
Joshua is one of many who were murdered for their pair of Jordans or
sneakers. There was also 14-year-old Paul Sampleton Jr. and
16-year-old Juan Reyna. All across the country kids are killing kids
over shoes. For some, this is a new world. Many are asking, “What is
going on in today’s world where kids are killing each other over
shoes?” Yet for others, particularly myself and others in the
Midwest, this is a depressing repeat of history.
Can you imagine living in Chicago while Jordan was playing for the
Bulls and releasing shoes? It was hell. In 1992 Jordan released the
Air Jordan 7 and won another championship. Chicago also ended that
year with 943 murders.
(Isn’t there only 365 days in the year? That’s almost 3 murders a
day!)
Now don’t get things twisted. Jordan – the shoe or the man – is not
to blame for the murders. I didn’t look to Jordan for answers back
then and I certainly am not looking for answers now. But I am asking
myself…
“Why does all of our respect & pride, as young black men, hang
on what shoes you own?” I’m more interested in what the shoe
represents, and what we need to do to deconstruct its importance.
The only person that comes close to helping me understand what’s
going on is...
Seriously, the brother (K West) is starting to make a lot more sense
to me lately. I personally wish I could be his public translator
(because he sounds a bit bipolar in his interviews) to help
communicate his rants. Honestly, K West has been speaking about this
issue and ways to solve it for YEARS yet everything gets lost in
translation.
K’s most pointed statements, I believe, are in his song “New
Slaves.” The story behind the song is just as pedagogical (yea, I
can be smart like that and use fancy words) as the song itself. Let
me give you the full story of K and how I view his anger, for his
pain and rants should be our own. I’ll start with the conclusion and
work backwards.
The solution K has been ranting and raving about is simple -
Empower yourself and others to become owners. F*ck being a consumer.
In fact, consumerism is why we are slaves.
It’s a freakin’ brillant critique. In fact, one that has been shared
by the likes of Dr. Cornel West himself. He writes in his book Race
Matters:
But why is this shattering of black civil society occurring? What
has led to the weakening of black cultural institutions in asphalt
jungles? Corporate market institutions have contributed greatly to
their collapse. By corporate market institutions I mean that complex
set of interlocking enterprises that have a disproportionate amount
of capital, power, and exercise a disproportionate influence on how
our society is run and how our culture is shaped. Needless to say,
the primary motivation of these institutions is to make profits, and
their basic strategy is to convince the public to consume. These
institutions have helped create a seductive way of life, a culture
of consumption that capitalizes on every opportunity to make money.
(p. 16, emphasis mine).
Consumerism is why we are where we are. Consumption simply means “to
use up”. We’ve become users and like the saying goes – You are what
you eat (or use). The problem with living in a culture of
consumption is that your value is attached to the money you make or
that can be made off you.
This is why America hates the poor. My heart hurts every time I see
someone shame a person asking for money. I hate the way we shame and
yell at poor people like we’re better. But that’s the culture of
consumption we live in. A poor person doesn’t make money, which is
the biggest shame we impose on them.
The culture of consumption we live in is also based steeply in
manipulation. It plays on basic human needs to make a profit. What
do I mean by basic human needs? Things like
-Respect
-Pride (or self-worth)
-Dignity
-Connectedness (or community)
These are not just values folks. They are not just desires. They are
needs, something essential to humanity like air, food and water.
Advertisers and marketers know this. So what do they do? Make
commercials and ads that say “You are nothing and you are nobody
unless you______.”
Fill in the blank: Wear this makeup, have this cologne, drive this
car, go to this school, buy these clothes, own these headphones,
live in this place, own this television, play this game system, or…
Wear these Jordans.
Dr. Cornel West further explains:
The impact of the market culture on black life has been devastating.
The market invasion, including the ugly drug invasion, has
transformed too many black neighborhoods into hoods, black civic
communities into black uncivil combat zones. (pg. 17)
Once the market culture mixed with black culture, things went to
shit. We used to see each other as people, fully dignified, no
matter what shoes you had or clothes you wore. Then we adopted the
values of the marketplace and ever since then people’s dignity has
been called into question (unless you’re wearing Tom Ford with a
pair of Jordans on your feet).
Courtesy of: Bryant Cross
HOW CAPITALISTS EXPLOIT THE MASSES:
PSYCHO-ECONOMIC EXPLOITATION
OUR DUTY IS TO EDUCATE THE PEOPLE SO THEY CAN RISE UP
Here below Baba outlines ways how capitalists exploit the masses and
gives the solution to this problem as well. This is a blueprint for
overcoming capitalist exploitation.
"Psycho-economic exploitation is the latest form of dangerous and
all-devouring capitalist exploitation. It is a special type of
exploitation which first weakens and paralyses people
psychologically in various ways, and then exploits them
economically."
"Some of the methods of psycho-economic exploitation
include...the extensive propagation of pseudo-culture, exemplified
by pornographic literature which debases people’s mind and
particularly undermines the vitality of the youth; the negation of
dharma in the name of secularism...the damaging of society by the
use of unnatural and harmful methods of birth control...Both
intellectual exploitation and psycho-economic exploitation are great
dangers to the human race today."
"To counteract this threat, powerful popular sentiments will have
to be generated immediately for the liberation of intellect. For
this, the first requisite factor is that intellectuals must keep
their intellects pure and unblemished. Casting aside all their
inertia and prejudices, intellectuals will have to mix with the
common people and engage themselves in their welfare. They will have
to assist the common people in their development and extend their
support to all anti-exploitation movements. This approach will help
to root out exploitation, stabilize the structure of society and
expand the intellectual standard of the common people. Human society
will move forward to a brilliant future with rapid steps." (2)
Namaskar,
In Him,
Ravindra
R. Dunlap
REFERENCES
1. A Few Problems Solved - 7, Quadri-Dimensional Economy
2. AFPS-9, Capitalism in Three Spheres
