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A new rap song I wrote

I've taken a step back, removed the drama, and left out that one word that brings unnecessary emotional punishment. That word will not return here, at least not in this thread. I personally understand trauma myself deeply, not just from books, but through hard lived experience. Childhood trauma in its many branches. Shock trauma in its raw, unfiltered forms. And through a partner who has studied and guided trauma for more than ten years.

To anyone who felt hurt by what I posted, please accept my sincere apologies. It was never my intention to cause pain and disparity. I hoped to dismantle the weight of that word, loosen the dogma around it, and challenge the illusion of it's "ownership.". Because when words become property, they become weapons. And when they're used as weapons, we lose the chance to heal. My hip-hop post may have been a (Very) clumsy attempt to release that weight in a way that matched the tone and flow of the song.

Polarization is something I've fought against my whole life. Here on this platform and beyond, I've created spaces for contrast, for dialogue between people who see the world differently. I've supported those who struggle to find their place in the world, always with the message: you are not broken, your difference is not a flaw, it is part of who you are.

I've always diplomatically balanced the game of dilemma's when two or more opposite groups with a different mindset got into issues with each other. I'm always looking for the thread that connects, not the ones that divides.

After the initial 'clash', the person involved reached out to me first, explaining what it was doing to them, I tried not to defend myself, I tried to understand and explain my reasons behind the decision on this subject. A few days later I chimed in with this person to ask how they were doing, because I sensed something deeper was going on. I explained that I could not change the word anymore, a word that creeped in due to the auto-generated hip-hop text according to an extensive prompt I made, in the hope to create a hip-hop song that has a solid flow, a mellow mood and an applicable texts for this psychedelic community.

I truly saw that moment as a chance to question the concept of ownership over language, a concept that binds us more than it frees us. I never imagined that a single word could cut so deep, could leave such a deep scar that someone would feel silenced and profoundly hurt by it. That realization stays with me, heavy and probably for a long time burdensome.

With all this said, I hope we can resume our normal ways on this platform, like we did before: with intellectual lift ups that makes us learn, share and expand our wisdom.

To the people directly involved, please feel free to start a conversation with me when you feel ready for it. As you know, I'm very open minded to see if I made mistakes, I'm always more than willing to discuss hard subjects and check if I have to work on my basic assumptions, and/or other parts of my being to improve their integration in my way to better serves this world.

There are no more hard feelings from my part, I'm ready for any polite and deep conversation with any of the people involved, and like I said before: only if you feel ready for it, there are truly no obligations.


Kind regards,

The Traveler
 
Thank you, @The Traveler. None of what I said came from a place of division or malice. And I know none of what you said came from that kind of place either. Could have we navigated the discourse better? Sure. There's always room for improvement. But there has never been anything personal. You know how dearly I hold this place in my heart, and the wonderful community we have fostered.

I apologize if I caused unnecessary division and negativity. Got nothing but love for you all. <3
 
I'll be honest, I'm at a loss for words, but this deserves an immediate response.

All is forgiven on my end, no hard feelings, no love lost, just "wounds" to lick.

Apologies for my harshness in tone and approach, but I didn't know what else to do to get my point across. It was never intended to besmirch your character or efforts. They are recognized and seen as they always have been.

And, perhaps, I should share some personal history since some of this drama is on me. Imagine being around that type of speech, looking enough like the people who use it, but by virtue of other factors (like not fitting the "black" cultural mode) you're told by those very same people that you can't say that, that you're "white," an uncle Tom (Uncle Tom - Wikipedia.), etc. I'm defending a group that I "belong" to in many ways that doesn't "accept" me. Ironic. But on a personal level, aside from the myriad of senses I get from that word, I see it as a way to only divide.

I get the hypocrisy in its use (which is why I advocate that it just not be used and why I tend to not use it, even when around other black people using it, which makes me stand out), and why one would want to try and remove the power from the word, but being such a loaded and complex topic, I'm not sure much can be done...

Phonetically, the word does flow well, and it has a high prevalence in rap, so I can see how this was the output.

I should probably stop here. Apologies again for my part.

❤️

One love
 
Voidmatrix said:
I'll be honest, I'm at a loss for words, but this deserves an immediate response.

All is forgiven on my end, no hard feelings, no love lost, just "wounds" to lick.

Apologies for my harshness in tone and approach, but I didn't know what else to do to get my point across. It was never intended to besmirch your character or efforts. They are recognized and seen as they always have been.

And, perhaps, I should share some personal history since some of this drama is on me. Imagine being around that type of speech, looking enough like the people who use it, but by virtue of other factors (like not fitting the "black" cultural mode) you're told by those very same people that you can't say that, that you're "white," an uncle Tom (Uncle Tom - Wikipedia.), etc. I'm defending a group that I "belong" to in many ways that doesn't "accept" me. Ironic. But on a personal level, aside from the myriad of senses I get from that word, I see it as a way to only divide.

I get the hypocrisy in its use (which is why I advocate that it just not be used and why I tend to not use it, even when around other black people using it, which makes me stand out), and why one would want to try and remove the power from the word, but being such a loaded and complex topic, I'm not sure much can be done...

Phonetically, the word does flow well, and it has a high prevalence in rap, so I can see how this was the output.

I should probably stop here. Apologies again for my part.

❤️

One love
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I'm so sorry that it evolved into something that could hurt someone so much.

My intentions were meant as something pure, hopeful and benign, but looking back I see that I failed, hard, with the expectation management.

I fully regret this phase and will integrate this lesson into my future actions.

<3

And please know that I fully understand being the outsider in a group of outsiders. You are not alone.


Kind regards,

The Traveler
 
If it makes anyone feel any better I am the largest percentage Italian, Sicilian and Neapolitan, and we can call me a Dago Eyetie Ginzo Goombah Greaser Greaseball Guido Guinea WOP. Wow, a lot of G words. And there may be others. As a matter of fact I am a lot of the other stuff too, but feel free to call me what you want. There, I said it.
 
Voidmatrix said:
I get the hypocrisy in its use (which is why I advocate that it just not be used and why I tend to not use it, even when around other black people using it, which makes me stand out), and why one would want to try and remove the power from the word, but being such a loaded and complex topic, I'm not sure much can be done...
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It's commendable of you not to use it, but if we would ever get to the point where it's power would be removed from it, it would likely just be transfered onto another word.

A niece of mine, who i really care about, is in a romantic relationship with a black girl for a few years now, and unfortunately we live in a world where this has made her a target for bullies.
When the teachers forbade those creeps to use this most unpleasant word, they immediately switched to using the word "refugee".
Different word, same intentions. I think within the current european context even meaner maybe.

Luckily the teachers found out and they got suspended.

What i'm really proud of though, is that although one of her tormentors is somewhat obese, she never used that fact to retaliate. I don't know if i would have been able to discipline myself like that in her place. Probably not.
 
newusername1 said:
What i'm really proud of though, is that although one of her tormentors is somewhat obese, she never used that fact to retaliate. I don't know if i would have been able to discipline myself like that in her place. Probably not.
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When we judge others, we bring our vibration to a lower state, furthering ourselves from the light within. By doing so, we create space between our present and our perfect state. Sustain that long enough and you wade into horrific mental territory.

To be able to abstain from judgement and hurtful behavior when you might be justified to not do that is a trait of maturity and wisdom. Good on your niece for leading by example. I strive to dispose of as much of my judgement toward others as I can, and it's a process.
 
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