Time Plus Thoughts of You

Walls within walls is the world we circumnavigate daily as black men and while others may be able to recognize themselves in this labyrinth... few have been conditioned, as black men are here in America, by the original sin of American slavery. In Plato’s analogy of the cave, which I think speaks to the peculiar of social conditioning, the enslaved manages to free themselves from the physical chains and steps out into greater freedom only to find that the glaring light of social conditioning burns our eyes, but we adjust to reconstruction, the era of lynching, denial of civil rights and full citizenship, because we find integration to be so colorful, more stimulating to the senses, better than the daily alternatives of cruelty by operation of law.

As a Blackman, former prisoner of the State, and offspring of America’s enslaved Africans that date back to 17th-century Virginia, because of social conditioning it is hard to return to the labyrinth and convince people of what you have saw because they will not believe you, it took the era of T.V., to jolt the process of making black lives matter. When I was illegally held within New York State prisons for 12 years, 10 months, 8 days, of the 34 ? to 54 years imposed, I discovered how unbelievable the truth of my confinement was to experienced jailhouse lawyers and I knew distinctly that I would suffer the same fate as them if I ignored what I have saw with my own eyes. So, freedom is not about what others think, that is social conditioning, liberty is about following your convictions to conclusion.

 Heard of Johari’s window? It is a technique that helps people better understand their relationship with themselves and others. As a Blackman, former prisoner of the State, and offspring of America’s enslaved Africans, I am the sum-total of my experiences and therefore need to better appreciate how I embrace views that are imposed upon me from the outside of my American experience. Johari’s window helps me wrestle with four quadrants: The expansion of the Open (Arena) square at the expense of both the Unknown square and the Blind Spot square, resulting in greater knowledge of oneself, while voluntary disclosure of Private (Hidden or Fa?ade) squares may result in greater interpersonal intimacy and friendship. Walls within Walls. How open should you be about you? What are the unknown consequences of self-disclosure? The Blind Spots? The Fa?ade? On LinkedIn, I wase just another face in the crowd until I told you about my past. Will there be a consequence for this disclosure? Should those facts remain out of view of my business interest? Is my profile a fa?ade without their inclusion? Walls within walls. One thing for sure I cannot change the color of my skin or the consequence of social conditioning that attaches to my presence here in America. So, say what you mean and mean what you say.