Freedom or Death

I really don't know where to begin with this post or how the fuck I'm going to make my point. Maybe I should start with: I have very little faith in the humanity and intellect of most religious people. Hmm... Okay I'll start there. For some reason most people who have faith in higher powers seem to relegate reason and rationale to the back back of their Bibles, Torahs or Qurans.Do Buddhists and Scientologists have books? They also have this nose in the air, beady eyed stare about them that makes me want to kick their teeth in all the time. Now don't get me wrong some of them are cool and I'm able to kick it with them. I mean some of my best friends are religious, some of them are really smart people, you should meet them I'm sure you'd get a long really well.

Anyway, my brother and I went on our usual Sunday skate mission yesterday and something kind of.... Actually something  really a mother fucker cool happened. While I was going for a grind on one the Civic Centre benches I saw an older lady and what I assumed to be her grandson coming from church, on their way to catch a bus home. The kid was probably four maybe five. As he and his supposed grandmother approached me, the lady seemed to be smiling. On my skate back to try set-up for the trick again, I watched the kid trying to take in the moment and see what exactly it was that I was doing. I went for the trick almost (doesn't count) landed and went back for the reset-up. As they passed the woman looked at the kid with a huge smile and said

"Uyabona, nawe uzokwaz'ubaba." Look, one day you'll also be able to fly.


Upon hearing this the kid started jumping up and down and cheering. They stayed a while watching me go for the trick before walking off. And I remember thinking "Damn I wish I could have shared a moment like that with my religious adults."

See the thing is people fear and hate what they can't understand. This city fears and hates what it can't understand. Breaking established codes and conventions has been something that has never really been encouraged. Most black people who see us skating tell us to get off our boards cause we're fucking shit up or because we're going to hurt ourselves. As if there's something wrong with hurting yourself if you doing something with a purpose. This kid who was probably making his way back to the hood was just told by his grandmother to let nothing ever get in his way of what he wanted to achieve. Whilst still recognising that he was going take hard knocks on the concrete. She told him that one day he was going to fly.

So often religious people use their books to suppress freedom rather than grant the people the ability to achieve their aspirations without letting anything get in their way. Shouldn't the role of religion be that of encouragement rather than discouragement.I'd rather have a happy pious man than a cynical bible basher. Now I recognise the fact that I'm pushing my own agenda here, but then again it is my blog. I know that I'm throwing a lot of generalisations here but it's my experience and again my blog.

I think that kid is going to remember yesterday for the rest of his life. I hope his grandmother stays with him for as long as possible, whispering those kinds of wisdoms till he actually internalises them. I hope he gets onto a skateboard this week. A surf board at 7. Goes snowboarding by the age of ten. And keeps the mentality to everything he approaches. The bigger the trick, wave or mountain, the greater the feeling of defiance. I hope he internalises that going against the odds means that you have a greater chance of being the first at whatever you do. Freedom or Death! Skate or Die!

Oh yeah and fuck you DA!