tobacco leaf blessings

me: no live organism can continue to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality

Still from the visuals to BIG DOG by Slimeroni

I wrote this (publicly available) essay indexing the ways through which Black cishet men reinvent themselves as "exceptional Negroes" propped up through self produced media. I also expand on the afterimage of the "exceptional Negress" and on Black women so eager for the spotlight they might empty themselves for it. Here are excerpts to help contextualize the essay:

Hereby, some (of many) Black men, numb to the unvisible grinding machinery of Black cisheteropatriarchy, have been creating crossfades of scripts about what it meant to truly being Black, male, powerful, alpha, and therefore "special". Subjects, or rather, psychic constraints, a willful bordering of the mind, multiply and echo. It's not so much about Black women as it is about powerlessness rehearsing itself into a cinematographic and libidinal "kingdom".

and

Through the evasion of a vexed Black masculinity and the greediness of being wanted, special Black men, as in "exceptional Negroes" cut through their "race" with a deep seated disgust, as a pledge of allegiance to the power holders they hauled themselves to. They want to be the only one, because to be the only one is always to be the best one. Thomas Clarence didn't so much sell his sister as he used her as a foil to accentuate his "exceptionalism", his "uniqueness", to use the interplay of shadow and light for a sharper photograph. Simultaneously prosperity pastor, good cop, "little child, running wild", New York lover, hip hop aficionado, megalomaniac, Eric Adams (mis)uses the signifiers of Blackness that he glues to his personal biography as a way to get New York to trust in the trials and tribulations that would made his a success story. And yet, he seems intent on prophesing his own rise to the top and his exceptionality, tying the death of the city to his personal failure, demanding to be believed in as a pastor herding his flock.

Candace Owens, as an "exceptional Negress", cannot be reduced to respectability politics; the slashing of Black victims of carceral violence, the open allegiance to white supremacy, are as much graves left for the thrill of having been the only one. Is that a home you're looking for ? Or a stepladder ? In any case, welcome to your own treachery.

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38/700$ (edited to reflect the amount of financial support coming in. Thanks for the help and please keep it coming so I can finally wipe the slates clean when it comes to debt.)

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K0fi

Please when using PP use the option family & friends to donate.

hi y’all, i’m sharing my links in case someone can give me a hand with some groceries. i’ve been away these past couple of days because i haven’t been feeling so good and i haven’t been able to do pretty much anything these past weeks

anything helps, your sweet messages also help a lot <3 thank you in advance and happy pride month 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

kofi