Monday, 27th May 2020, 1826

I’m done with black people getting murdered on camera

I’m done with the voyeurism that goes with it

I’m done with the tribute memes.
I’m done with the complacency surrounding the mistreatment of black people and lack of acknowledgement for our never-ending struggle.
I’m done with explaining why I’m done with it and making you feel more comfortable by not speaking about it.

I’m done with always having a few effs for your feelings
I’m done with you misunderstanding my passion for frustration and aggression when discussing things

I’m done with you never actively researching the significance of it.
I’m done with diluting the message.
I’m done with code switching
I’m done with assimilating

I’m done with not speaking in vernacular because you deem it unprofessional.
I’m done with translating
I’m done with validating

I’m done because I can’t keep having the same conversations about why this happens again and again
I’m done because I’m exhausted

I’m done because I’m at the end of my tether

I’m done because I have zero eff coins to place into the machine and continue to play this perpetual game of injustice and outrage.
I am done.

No amount of protests will create change quick enough for us to bask in the light of our liberation

No amount of memes, screenshots, infographics and tweets could ever replace much needed dialogue to understand how the actions of an invisible enemy continue to keep us under the standard of life and basic privilege enjoyed by our counterparts.
No amount of apologies or public displays of acknowledgement to the current injustice will satisfy my thirst for liberation and equality.

Where was your interest when we were getting stopped and searched at record rates?

Where was your concern when we were being told to go back to our own country?
Where were your concerns during the Brexit rhetoric or the Windrush Scandal where they tried to deport those of us who re-built your not so Great Britain and weakened post World War Two economy?
We accepted a call to action to save the day by sending all our skilled workers to re-energise your manufacturing and transport industry, and also your beloved NHS.

When you’re out there banging your pots and pans

Will you spare a thought for the black Doctors and Nurses who came to help your sick great grandparents who refused their treatment as they didn’t want to get touched by black hands?

When you’re out there banging your pots and pans

Will you be doing so for the black transport, sanitary and hospitality workers who keep this country running
Alongside a whole host of internationals that you so despise but aren’t sure…

Why?
We accepted an invitation to leave the sunshine for the cold, dreary streets.
We gave you our cuisine and culture, in return you denied us our credit.

I’m done with suppressing how I feel

I’m done with baring my soul and hearing your guilt

I’m done with hearing you make this all about you

I’m done with hearing you deflect the issue

I’m done.
I’m done.
I’m done.

I’m done.

Until we rise up and meet injustice with collective and focused action against the oppressor

Until we stop begging for a seat at the table and the respect we deserve

Until we are actively educating our youth in the undiluted and vast history of our ancestors

Until dominant society stop co-opting slogans and signals for corporate gain

Until politicians and public figures stop virtual signalling

Until society refuses to face the hard inconvenient truth and reeducate yourselves on your chequered history of exploitation, genocide and inferiority rhetoric…
I’m done.

Don’t engage me in conversation if all you’re going to do is gawk at my pain for your voyeuristic fetishes.
Don’t invite me to your panel discussions

Don’t invite me to the unveiling of token gestures

All invitations are hereby declined.

I don’t know whether you realise that this isn’t just a moment.

I don’t know whether you realise that this isn’t just some raise your profile opportunity.

I don’t know whether you actually realise that I’d never take you seriously.

You will not and will never understand it fully.
I’m done with white supremacy.

Cogitation Pt.2 available as eBook and Audio

If you’re on the road and understand the code, dynamics, hierarchy and structure of the system, you can understand business and politics.

It’s the same type of organisation, so use your instincts and apply it to all contexts in order to decipher how stuff works in terms you understand and you’ll win.

Don’t worry about the guy or girl who has a degree or a silver spoon. Just apply your type of survival tactics to your current situation, after translating the terminology into real world concepts you’re familiar with.

Use your instincts to your advantage. Apply the way you’re able to read the unspoken signs a person gives off to determine whether they’re trustworthy or not; facial expression, tone of voice, gesticulation, energies and choice of language.

The other candidates may have a degree but they haven’t spent the past 10 years navigating their way through traps in their path to the present day.

You’ve played the roads like the stock market and operated an independent business where you forcasted finances, managed profit and loss, knew how to build and uphold customer retention through USP (unique selling point).

You’re in that interview room at the moment with a bunch of graduates in the lobby who’s cvs read like a who’s who of red brick and Ivy League alumni.

What have you got?

Well you survived and weathered the storm through staying quiet, neutral and within your means. You pretty much operated at a niche level. Your clientele were 9-5ers, out of the area, you were never heard nor seen, your connect didn’t know who you were personally, you purchased stock through a proxy.

You’ve lived a life that they read books, study and simulate through practical assignments. Their books don’t teach them the importance of managing relationships, navigating your way through risks, hardships, law enforcement, suppliers, clientele, propaganda campaigns, spies, informants, and a sector that doesn’t stop.

There’s no Monday to Friday, there’s no 9-5, there are no days off. There’s no venture capitalist investors, no government grants, tax breaks and funding. You started off broke, signed on and invested your payment into some stock, forcasted how much units it would take to break even, reinvest and make a profit before spotting a gap in the market, a target audience in need of something at a mark down, and creating another line of products to cater to them.

Use your wits, act on your gut and trust your instincts because you knew when to transition. Yes you took a few risks which paid off on the back of successful PR campaigns but when the market got shaky and competition became fatal, you knew when to stop.

You can do anything you put your mind to, just translate your experiences into the context of the sector you’re applying for and use your instincts.

Best Wishes,

Khalid Omari

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