Let's Talk Saturdays--There's a Killmonger Among Us

So last weekend I went to see Black Panther with my family and it was a-mazing (yes I had to separate it like that because I'm extra 😂😂). This was the first time I was ever able to stay awake, alert, and be able to understand what was going on. The production portion was to die for. Just from beginning to end it was everything. Major shoutout to Ryan Coogler  He always does amazing films, like Fruitvale Station and Creed. He is definitely giving Hollywood something to look at. The movie had a lot of good, universal messages. 

Even though Michael B. Jordan's character, Killmonger, is supposed to be a "villain" in this movie, he's not really a villain. He just has different perspective. He has a radical mindset towards the state of civilization, much like the Black Panther party. I'm not a Marvel fan nor have I read the Black Panther comic so I'm not sure if that spin was intentional or if it was added by Ryan Coogler. Killmonger was just angry about the hand he was dealt, like many people. 

How many times have you come into contact with people who just seemed so bitter. Some people are outwardly bitter about everything. They always have a problem with something. Then there's the people that deflect their pain in other areas of their life. For example, when I was younger, I lost a lot of people in my life for various reasons, moving around, going to different schools, and some of them even died. So as I got older, I actively built a wall around myself so that I would never have to experience loss like that in my life again. That's not fixing anything. It was just hurting me. There was a line in the movie where Killmonger said that everything he loved was taken away from him so he kills everything. 

Wait I wanna stop right here really quick. Killmonger's family left him. They knew he existed  and decided to go on with life without him. There is no wonder why he is so angry. There are so many people who have been outcasted from their families and are the black sheep. Think about the children who's fathers claimed they are going to be there, but never came. Telling the child they were going to take them to this place and that place, but it never happened. Those people could potentially be a Killmonger. His father never got to take him to Wakanda because he was killed. Not only was he killed, but his own family killed him. The only ties Killmonger had to Wakanda killed his father. You think people just kill people just to do it? Some people yes that is true. Other have a different story. Others want people to hurt just as much as they're hurting. 

We've all dealt with loss of some kind. In today's times where people are being systematically oppressed, it makes it that much worst. Children are being counted as early as  3rd or 4th grade to predict the number of inmates for future years. People are overlooked for jobs not because of  their lack of skills but  because they don't have traditional names. You hear their name and you know they're Black. Now when the people who are supposed to protect us are killing us.....it makes people angry. Going to college won't save you from being a part of that because at the end of the day, you are still Black. That is why Killmonger was so adamant about giving Black people weapons to protect themselves. It's a radical idea, but that doesn't mean it's not going to work. It's just a Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. issue that's all. Either you take the active bought and taken what you deserve or you take the passive route and rise above everything going around you. 

I see'em gillin, I ate it though
Fien'n to blow inflatable, That's undebatable (ugh)
I'm giving n****s food for thought, the flow is cater yo
I'm never faded though
--J. Cole