Greetings, friends! Welcome back to another powerful issue of writing and art from the inside and beyond. This latest 72 pager is like no other, and we are incredibly honored to showcase the immense talent featured in this latest double issue, 26.03/04, of writing and art. We love what this one of kind publication provides for us readers and contributors – inside and out. Let’s keep the great work going! Let’s touch lives! Let’s teach by sharing our truths, our stories, our art! We are here for each other to learn and be inspired by. Thank you writers, supporters, friends and those who are picking up this magazine for the first time. If you are new to The Beat, we hope you will find inspiration in these pages and will contribute when the time is right. Everyone is welcomed, as long as you show the love and respect to our community, while sharing your truths! Today our dear friend, OT, is back behind the keyboard to share his latest thoughts in our editorial note. OT shares his thoughts from Managua, Nicaragua. We first met our dear friend, many-many years ago when he was once a participant in our weekly writing workshops in San Mateo. Soon after, he worked with us in the community and has been not just a solid and reliable colleague, but a dear friend. Take it away, OT!
Yes, I would like to welcome you readers back to another double dose edition of the one and only The Beat Within. At a time when social media and other media outlets allow for hate speech and negativity to thrive, we are proud to say that our platform that we provide for communities from inside the prisons walls to high schools, and community programs. The voices, the words, the stories, the comments, the thoughts that are scribbled down as well as carefully crafted in our magazine come with not even an ounce of negativity.
My name is OT, reporting live to you from a third world country in Central America called Nicaragua. This writing community that we all know as The Beat Within is one of the most positive platforms that you will ever find online or on this planet. Everyone here is allowed to exercise their freedom of speech but not towards anything in relation to hate. See the freedom of speech is exaggerated. Freedom of speech doesn’t mean that you can just insult, bully or spray negative feelings and thoughts like the contagious COVID-19 virus.
See this is the world that we will live in for future generations to come when “freedom of speech” becomes the sole excuse for not accepting responsibility for the words that come from our mouths, or from our fingertips, at times when we decide to tweet, leave comments and post things on social media?
Where has the world come to that now everyone wants to exercise their right to be a jerk and then say, well it’s protected by the first amendment? Ladies and gentlemen let’s not be naive and let’s dwell in our situation as a whole right now. Because like it or not, this is not about being Republican or Democrat, or if you are from the East or West, or from the North or South. Life, God, a higher power or be a conspiracy theorist if you want, but like it or not, the truth is there is a virus among our community that is killing OUR people, our grandfathers, fathers, mothers, grandmothers, brothers, sisters, cousins, teachers, nurses, doctors, poor, rich, famous, not famous and this virus doesn’t discriminate or exercise its freedom of speech. It just comes into this world to do what it was designed to do.
It talks with its actions and nothing else. It doesn’t leave any posts online or social media. The virus might be one of the most hated in the world right now, so for all you worried about your haters you don’t have as many as the virus. As the US death toll is steadily headed towards half a million, let’s not forget to put things in perspective for this brand new year.
Yes, there is a brand new president and administration, totally different than the last one. Yes, this is a brand new year, 2021! A brand new month. A brand new week and a brand new day. But nothing else will change within our year, month or day unless our mentalities don’t change.
The calendar will continue to shed its pages like the autumn leaves shed by the trees in the Fall. The seasons will pass us by and before you know it the holidays are here again. Where do you want to be? Who do you want to be? What do you want to be doing? Who do you want to be helping? I read a lot of pieces where a lot of you young folks/writers want to help your mom, your dad, your grandma. Before you can do that, you need to help yourself first.
I remember being locked up in Hillcrest Juvenile Hall aka San Mateo, way back, thinking the same things. I got out, and I needed to find employment. I needed to find a way to start paying my restitution fees, meals, pay my phone bill and help my mom out. I was blessed to be given an internship at The Beat Within, but that wasn’t enough and I remember feeling the pressure and went back to the same things I used to do, selling, to hitting licks, and as quick as the money came, that’s how quick I spent it.
I knew what I wanted to do, but I still didn’t know who I was. I was still trying to mature. I thought because I hit eighteen years of age that I was all grown. It sure feels like it huh? You feel like you’re a man now, or woman, right? You’ve passed puberty (or you think you have) you think to yourself that you’ve been through a lot in life. Matter of fact, you do a little reflecting. You start telling yourself how you are going to do things smarter and get away with things. You trying to figure out a way to cheat to make up for the lost time that you forfeited to the criminal justice system. But this time that you did forfeit was not all lost. This time was supposed to be used to reflect and to better yourself as a person. But we fail to realize that life itself is basically starting to begin for you.
In this new year, in this new day, we all have goals. I want to send some positive vibes out to you all and remember that change is going to come. You will eventually get out and whatever you decide to do with your life, think about what you can do to help bring change to YOUR situations first, and then you can go ahead and help those around you. Zone in and concentrate on yourself, but don’t get too greedy. Be conscious of the situation around you. The virus is still here. Wear your masks. Practice social distancing. Do something kind for the elderly or someone in your community that may need help. Help yourself, and most importantly let others help you. Find out who you really are and who you want to be.
Do you want to keep going back to the same lifestyle that ended you stripped from your freedom. That eventually will be your choice. But remember every action comes with a consequence. And when you make a mistake, don’t be afraid to admit when you’re wrong. Fix it. Try not to make the same mistake again, because maturing is not just about finding a job, working and going to school. Maturing is about becoming better as a person and accepting responsibility for your actions. That’s the first step into making a positive change for yourself and your community.
One love to everybody locked down and going through the struggle, as well as to all of you in the free world. Be safe. Be smart. Let’s start this new year off right! In 2Pac’s famous words from the beginning of the song, “I Ain’t Mad At Cha” –
“Change…I guess change is good for any of us. Whatever it takes for any of y’all to get up out of the hood. I ain’t mad at cha. I got nothing but love for ya!”
OT is signing out!
Thank you, OT! Thank you readers! We can’t stress enough how important your voice is. Your story matters more now than every before. Help yourself. Help your neighbor! Our door is open! Reach out and say hello, we are listening.