Greetings frends! Welcome to another amazing double dose edition of the one and only The Beat Within! We are truly proud of the great work you are about to read inside this important issue of writing and art. As was the case in the last couple issues, we have asked our dear friend and colleague, Omar “OT” Turcios to write this latest editorial note. FYI, as this issue goes to print, we are still uncertain as to who will be president of the USA going into the new year. What a week! Watching the numbers and hearing and reading about all the possible scenarios regarding who will be our next president. We say what a week, but then we must say what a year, when it comes to COVID-19 and how it has truly affected all of us. As in most of our current issues, many of our writers this week tackle COVID as a writing prompt. For now, let’s pass the keyboard over to OT and hear the latest from his world and how he see’s things from his perspective.
My name is Omar “OT” Turcios one of the many proud editors for our magazine and I’m reporting live from the jungles in Centro America, Managua Nicaragua. There’s currently a category 5 hurricane hitting my tiny little country. I’m currently safe in my house. It has rained quite a bit, lost power and internet a couple times but I’m in the capital not on the coast. I do feel bad for the people that live on the coast because the houses here are built of wood, and the roof is sheet metal very thin sheet metal so some houses will be blown away. I usually don’t tune in to the local news because usually I have on CNN, but as much as I hate listening or reading the local news, I’ve had to tune in because of the hurricane.
See the street that I live on is named “Dry River.” Now what does that mean. It means, well most of the time since it’s usually hot in Nicaragua my street is dry, but in rainy season its name is changed to just “River” meaning my streets flood. I wish I could draw you guys a picture but the cars on the streets start looking more like speed boats. So I’m tuned in because of that, but I’m safe and well.
Aside from that I’m tuned into American politics. I can’t remember in my lifetime ever being tuned in so much to a presidential race. I was still living in San Francisco when Obama ran for president and was elected in 2008. I couldn’t vote then because I was already a convicted felon so I forfeited my right, but if I had the ability to vote, I would have voted for Obama. I was really excited when he was elected as the first African American president because even though I’m not African American, a Black President was a victory for the Latinos (and all people of color) too! I mean who’s to say that twelve years from now there can’t be a Latin President. I remember working at The Beat at the time and how excited everyone was and when they finally announced that Obama had won I saw joy and tears streaming down the eyes of several co-workers. It was a win for all minority groups I would say because it obviously brought a lot of hope for many of us. I was still involved in the criminal lifestyle but it did motivated me to do better.
At the time, I finally felt like Sam Cooke’s classic song, “A Change is Gonna Come.” It was a breath of fresh air and a sigh of relief as many of us thought that finally there was someone in the White House that understands the struggle. Joe Biden, was the vice president elected at the time, and not to sound racist but it looked and felt weird having the white guy be the vice president and The black guy as the actual president. It almost felt like it should be the other way around and not because it should be like that, but because of America’s history of racism. Because of slavery and the fact that deep into the 1900’s racism was heavy here in America and is still relevant today. It wasn’t until 1965 that they passed the voting rights act which allowed for no more discrimination to vote but many states still made it hard for African Americans to vote.
Let’s face it, we all know that racism is still in play till this very day. That is why this election is so more important for many of us. Even though I don’t live over there, my family is over there. My mom, my two daughters, my sisters, my aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews are over there. I care about the future for my family and their situation.
We have an irresponsible administration in the office and let’s put the racist crap to the side, Ray Charles could see that this Pandemic has not been handled properly. Closing in 240,000 deaths in the supposedly most powerful country in the world, to me translates into someone dropped the ball. Wearing a mask was politicized. I mean who does that? Knowing how important it is to stop the spread of the virus, forty-five, you know who I’m talking about because I don’t want mention his name, made it a political thing to wear a mask and even made fun of people who did it. That’s almost like making fun of the people who have passed away and the ones who continue to get sick. He doesn’t care about the health care workers making false claims that doctors make more money when they label it a Coronavirus death. He says things without thinking about the consequences, out of bigotry and out of hate.
I can’t help to think to myself, who appoints someone like that? Because he didn’t get into office by himself. More than half of the country voted for him. So let’s stop right there. Some 4 to 5 years later, after everything he has said and done I’m watching this race and still think to myself who are all his voters? Who are all his supporters? Are they the same kind of people that he is? People who make remarks without worrying about the consequences, the ones that don’t believe that systemic oppression doesn’t exist? Are there people that believe police brutality doesn’t exist? The people who tweet and make death threats to sports athletes just because they miss a field goal or throw an interception?
You guys, I’m not saying I’m perfect, but I don’t tweet, I don’t leave comments on websites, most of my commentary comes vocally and yes, I do cuss at the TV sometimes, especially when I’m watching a sports game. But I guess I’m fortunate that I have an outlet and platform like our magazine to project my feelings and my voice, but our platform is a very healthy one.
I look at America and that’s why the pandemic is where it’s at, because let’s face it, it’s not all Trump’s fault. It’s the American people’s fault. All the ones that continued to party, all the ones that didn’t wear masks, didn’t wash their hands, the ones that think that their actions don’t have consequences and like those consequences won’t affect others. It’s easy to judge the people behind bars, huh? While the men and women behind bars are locked up and facing the consequences for their actions some Americans, never would get that chance or privilege to experience that. And I say that privilege because I’m glad I got caught even if when I did get got caught, I didn’t want to deal with the consequences. I learned so much in jail and I know many others would too.
I learned how to appreciate my freedom more. I learned to be thankful for my food more no matter if it’s just rice and beans, I learned how to be more humble. I learned the importance of reading, studying and the importance of being aware of what’s going on not only in your community or in the city, but places all around the world. I learned that in jail/prison there are severe consequences for even the SLIGHTEST mistake.
My point is that when you are in jail/prison/juvie, etc. you are forced to look at yourself in the mirror every day. You are forced to have roommates, also known as cell mates, live with people you don’t know. You are forced to say “excuse me when you walk by someone. You are forced to say good morning to your neighbor and after a while that becomes a habit. You become more educated. You have better manners, the whole works, but that took years of practice. If you have some kind of defect in your character, someone will let you know, and you will be forced to make your weaknesses your strong points. Many men and women do it on their own, because they want to be a better version of themselves.
In the free world in America, you could be a tech mogul and make racist remarks to someone and not worry about consequences. Anyone with a phone or computer or tablet can publish hate speech online hating on someone and there are no consequences. You don’t say excuse me because there is no one there to hold you accountable. ACCOUNTABILITY, that’s where I’m going with this.
All politics to the side, I’m proud to say that if I were in the states I would vote for Biden and Kamala. She would be the first African American Vice President. I have a Black niece. She’s so adorable. Just imagine, how powerful it would be to tell her that one day, she can be a vice president or heck even president? Hope has a different meaning for different people. Change has different perspective for different people.
America’s famous Independence Day was/is the day that America freed themselves from their oppressor’s in England. And then they did exactly what England did to them and they themselves turned into oppressors. History is ironic isn’t it? This is why we cannot combat hate with hate, because eventually the hatred consumes you. You become the hater that you hated. So whether you are a Trump or Biden supporter. I got love for both. I wish you all the best. I wish the best for all of our communities. Stop the hatred and spread some love. One love to everyone going through the struggle! Stay solid and strong! The Beat keeps going and going…
Thank you, OT for your comments. We send our love and good thoughts to all of you readers. Reach out to us anytime. We welcome your suggestions and ideas. It truly takes a community to make this work a success. We value your role in bettering this world. Much love, be well.