Revisiting the Tale of Banita Jacks: How Unsupported Mothers Fall Through The Cracks

I've been getting an uptick in traffic from my original post on Banita Jacks from July. To bring you up to speed, Ms. Jacks is on trial for murdering her four children. Her story could be any woman's story. An average woman living life, with a career who decides to be a mother, loses her job, gets no help from immediate family or from the father(s) of her children, has a bank pursue foreclosing procedures on her home and she loses it. She was found in her home with their decomposing bodies and claimed they were possessed by demons.

Now the judge wants a review of her competency before sentencing.

Of course there were choices made that may not have ultimately been in her best interest that lead to this deterioration. The bottom line though is that she was failed. Failed by relatives and failed by a system. At the time Mayor Fenty said he wanted to go through the records of every agency that she'd been in contact with to made changes in evaluating at-risk women and children. But as usual actions > talk. He's since closed low-income child care centers in favor of dog parks! Yeah some people DO care more about their pets than other human beings (children). These are the same organizations that were supposed to be in place to help women like Banita Jacks. That didn't...and won't now that he's gutted them.

If you are a woman with limited resources a true assessment is in order regarding your life choices. Be it getting funding to attend college or a trade school or whether you bring another life into this world know that these programs are all in jeopardy especially in this current economic depression, recession, downturn. I wouldn't believe any "expert" that claims it has recovered. Maybe for the top 1% but not for the bottom 25%. If you are on your own and surrounded by unreliable people you may find yourself really on your own when you need help the most. Please don't take on any more burdens. If you are already in a challenging situation try to get help as quickly as possible. Don't make the mistake of thinking you can deal with it on your own.

This poor woman broke under the pressure of not having enough and harmed her children. Meanwhile we're chasing after the latest idiot male celebrity mocking us or excusing his past crimes committed against us without ever having made amends. Or some of us are acting surprised when we see the violent acts of youths committed against each other when we've allowed a savage mentality to flourish and influence them. We need to get our priorities straight.

The Tale of Banita Jacks: Another Unsupported Black Mother Cracks & Commits Filicide

National Brainwashing Plan To Condone the DBRs: Raising Him Alone

Can Everyone Just Take A Chill Pill- Please!!!

OPEN LETTER TO THE USA

Primary Agent Saboteur Rick Warren is giving the Inauguration Invocation and the blogosphere has flewn into a tizzy. Yawn. He's not totally down with teh gay, but he's also not calling for a torch....or a noose. Unlike some other self-appointed religious 'leaders'. One could just go ahead and label him the Purpose Driven False Prophet but that would piss off a few million sheep. Baaah! Obama supposedly hasn't hired enough blue insects that mate once every three years. Or grandmothers who make flan. Or purple people. Or insert your own cause/group and more identity politic. 

We have far too many who've drawn a definitive line in the sand when it comes to forcing people to see things their way. Under the threat of retaliation. That's not the same thing as structured activism and fighting for justice. It's having standards versus being unyielding and close-minded. People fall too easily into disarray, anger and spiral into the distraction pit. Where's the agenda building, the focus, the seeing the big picture? 

We've got some white gays and their water carriers still playing the "we are victims" song instead of admitting areas where they've benefited from all the /isms. Try doing some soul searching! We've got the so-called liberal media and progressives ready to drop a dime on Obama for not meeting their unrealistic expectations of perfection and trying to tie him to every political lowlife who isn't Bush or Cheney. That is, when they're not running their never-ending "satires" that would get a compliment from the "real" racists. 

We've got those who've been burned by false religion give up on any spiritual practice but reacting negatively to those that haven't. We've got a lot of people in those Red States who are still skeptical that Obama must reach out to. People are being so reactive because they did little during the Bush years. You can't go back and change history. You can only learn from it and move forward. If everyone doesn't calm down how will we make it through the next 4-8 years?

I think it's time for a refresher of his Presidential acceptance speech. Write it down if you must because too many have already forgotten what he said:

"Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long."

"And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn - I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too."

Do we want to revert back to the Bush Administration and all of its secrets and lies, corruption and incompetence?  Heck no! We also can't club people over the head to jockey for a more favorable position. Legit concerns are ok, griping is not. 

Updated to add that in the brouhaha it seems no one is discussing that Joseph Lowery will also be speaking at the Inauguration, giving the Benediction. He is also a Gay Rights advocate and Civil Rights supporter and will have a much longer speech than Warren's opener, but that goes against the Obama + Warren = BAD argument. So is this about bigotry or is this about the few trying to call the shots as they see it? Like I stated above, I don't defend Warren or follow him but because a lot of people feel he represents them I'd prefer him to Dobson or some of the other right-wing aggressors. I just read a great piece by blog host Genia at Sistertalk asking if the religious right are being more tolerant than gays.

Grandmaster Flash Had It Right

Although I feel like I have to cover my ears and say lalalalala over most of the popular songs that pass as hip-hop/rap nowadays I can always listen to old skool (and indie) music.

Don't push me cuz I'm close to the edge

I'm trying not to lose my head 

It's like a jungle sometimes

Makes me wonder

How I keep from going under

I think more and more people can relate to these lyrics. Bush signed a Federal extension for unemployment benefits so we won't have to knock off the Salvation Army jingle janglers for money this holiday. Before we think wow what a great thing, remember Bush is going to push through all sorts of nefarious legislation and pass out pardons to his war criminal cronies as his last act of vengeance against the American people. 

This is the real cost of the war folks. With every state running in the red, every city cutting vital services and every sector taking a hit this is the legacy of the Bush administration and both the Democrat and Republican politicians that assisted him. We closed our eyes after 9/11 and said, let somebody else take care of this. Wall Street gets a bail-out, the Big 3 Automakers may be next and all we have is a lousy t-shirt. Ugh!  

California's unemployment rate for new claims has jumped to 8.2%. Since that doesn't include those already receiving benefits I'd say we could likely double it for a total population count. Bush signed a similar extension back in 2003, so this country has been bleeding jobs for years. The housing bubble only masked it. I have no idea what the Obama administration has planned but I know that sticking a bandage over a gaping wound won't work. I hope we'll be able to hang on until a solution has been implemented. On the other hand we still have our lives. Which brings me back to the song.