Ashes to Ashes America: The Death of Hope

Since the first settlers arrived in what is now America; they have possessed a sense of entitlement that has yet to wain. African Americans have suffered the result of that hubris that was so intense and concrete I fear there is no hope for real change or progress. This is evident in the simple day to day life of Blacks and White people. When it's time to vote each and every year Black people have to jump through hoops to select politicians that by and large don't even notice us until election day. Far too many Black men were assassinated by White police officers who were continuously given a pass. In South Carolina; the police officer shot a Black man in the back and killed him because he was running away. We all saw the video and we all noticed that the victim really could not out run a snail. I submit that if a police officer is not in good enough shape to chase down a snail; it's time to retire. Intelligent Black people like myself wish to refrain from violence. It is not easy because what angers me the most is for anyone to piss on my leg and tell me it's raining. For as long as we have been on this 'American' soil, we have been demonized and systematically driven into the ground and our backs pressed against the wall. When you need music or other forms of entertainment that only Black people can deliver or you want mulatto babies; you come sniffing around. to my dismay,too many Black men (and women) fall for it and their lives and the lives of any children that might result are ruined and you move on to the next sucker.

Empirical evidence tells us that donald trump was a cocaine user often in the 80's. Once an addict, always an addict. With that; he will never be drug tested for the most powerful job in the world. Many Black people partake in marijuana literally to smooth edges that might otherwise result in the harm of any and every White person we see. That's real talk. But we are tested for drugs for a job as a dish washer. Of course we will not be hired. Then the weaker ones of us will instead switch to crack or some other harmful opiate which leaves the system faster than weed. Now they are hooked on crack and are not interested in working. This is probably the most damming of all the evil traits of the White racist. Build the system so that Blacks suffer first and the most. I remember something that happened to me when I was just out of college seeking a job where I could earn money but also keep my mind sharp as I was preparing for my teacher certification. I called this company and the phone interview went well. It seemed they were offering me the job right there on the phone. The next day, dressed in my finest, I went to this company to fill out the application. That was when I was told they had run out of applications. Being from the south I know the look of disgust from a racist when I see it and I saw it. This type of bait and switch happened to me often.

It's been said that trump's victory was a result of White people feeling disenfranchised. The same was true when Black people and obviously a large number of White persons also rallied around President Obama. The difference is a clear as night and day. President Obama should have been President. donald trump on the other hand is hated by many of his own kind. To be President of the United States means so much more than telling the most effective lies or having the richest friends. It certainly is not about how many ignorant hill dwelling , meth addicts you can rally. That is what this election was about. Ignoring that too many people are addicts and using their diminished capacity to your advantage. After all they will not even notice that you keep not 1 of the promises you made. My instructions to White people going forward is this; first put down that meth pipe (for those who indulge), clean yourself up and open your eyes before it is too late. donald trump will gladly destroy this country because Russia will welcome him with open arms. To my Black people put down that crack pipe, open your eyes and understand I mean really understand that too many of the White people you encounter would love to see you hanging from a tree. Speaking of which; how in hell could you ever fall in love with someone whose ancestors would pick a 'Negro', hang him from a tall tree and then have lunch on a blanket underneath the hanging corpse. That is where the word pic nick came from. I see those images in my mind and I think WTF!!!! those people were no where near civilized. They were beasts of the worst kind.

ZERO TOLERANCE FOR CHEMICAL ROMANCE

In a previous post; "SURPRISE! SOMEONE YOU KNOW IS A DRUG ADDICT",  my trials
I detailed trials and hardships dealing with people suffering with chemical addictions.
"Chemical Romance" is pervasive in our country right now. For some reason I tend to attract
these types of people. Believe me when I tell you that initially I felt much compassion
even sympathy for these people. I have put forth energy and actively tried to be there
for those people in my life because they are blood relatives and long time friends.
I have changed my position on people (friends/family) in my life with addiction
issues. It turns out that the person I considered my friend for 20+ is no longer my
friend. I also recently became re-acquainted with a cousin who engaged in a chemical
romance with crack. Here is my final take on addiction and persons suffering from
addiction. I do not care anymore. I am bankrupt of compassion for these people
as they have made too many trips to the well. The reason is whether they have completed
recovery or not; their reasoning is opposite of mine, a clear headed thinker for sure.


The point I'm trying to make is that if the drugs did not completely fry their brains; they
are just a shell of a person. Nothing motivates them. They are anti-social and are not
interested in doing any of the fun things friends/family do. When I say I'm mad I mean
I'm pissed off at the number of people hooked on narcotics. You can't swing a dead cat
without striking an addict in my experience. Add to this list having an intelligent
conversation with these people can't happen. Do you know what it's like to
be excited about starting the second chapter of your life but embarking on that journey
alone because what was my cheering section is now just a bunch of dis-interested
addicts. I will no longer give one measure to people exhibiting addictive personalities.
I will not waste my time sugar coating the fact that I literally hate these people. They are
worthless to me and society as a whole. I do not care what happens to any of them.

Addicts of America and all over the world are now on notice. Do not attempt to befriend
Bo Hennessey. Also since some have tried and failed to get me hooked on crack. I laugh
in your face. You see I did partake in a marijuana cigarette that was laced with crack. I did
not like the "high". Every fiber of my being was saying to me we don't ever want to feel
"this" again. I can't be addicted to the wrong thing. I love Coke a Cola very much. My mom
used to put a little in my baby bottle as a child. Today I do not consume more Coke a Cola
than is recommended. Right now today I have no real friends and I'm afraid to even try to
talk to anyone in my family because I can't remember who is addicted and who is not; so to
hell with them all.

I know that I am not the only human immune to toxic addiction; so I will make new "clean"
friends. Today "family" is sort of a fluid concept. Meaning family is no longer restricted to
"blood" relatives. I would love to hear your story if you have had issues with persons
suffering from addiction. If you are an addict I do hate you as long as you embody addiction.

BULLYING: BIGOTRY'S UGLY SISTER

Bullying has been around for quite a while. Therefore it will take quite a while
to start to put a meaningful end to bullying especially in our schools. Of course adults are
often times bullied in the work place. My journey through the age of bullying was unique; to
say the least. In grades 1-4 I suffered mild bullying but some how overcame it by being silly.
Crazy I know; but making the others laugh worked. In 5th grade I met my best friend "Michael"
and slightly more severe bullying seemed imminent for both of us. Michael was artistic which
in the late 60's and early 70's meant gay. Michael made the most meticulous action figures
"paper dolls"of Wonder Woman Superman and Batman that were very good and laminated with scotch
tape. One day, "The" bully "Kerry" began to try to fight us. Before I could do anything; Michael grabbed
Kerry and simply beat him down really bad. After this Michael taught me to fight and we became
unstoppable BFF's. Also during this time period here in GA teachers were allowed to literally spank
out of control students. If the infraction was bad enough; when the teacher reported the spanking
you might get another spanking at home.

Every child (every person) is priceless; but children eager to learn can be compared to "The Hope Diamond".Let us all do our part to make sure that victims of bullying have every opportunity to to learn, make friends and become socially adjusted in their journey to adulthood. Please remember that the
children of today will be the adults of tomorrow charged with the care of this country. Children should
 be allowed to be children for as long as they are children.  Parents/guardians, teachers
 and school officials; in that order, have their jobs cut out for them.
 Identify bullish children and deal with them while the other kids peacefully continue their journey.


At the risk of alienating parents and educators and the fantastic groups like "Free2LOVE";
and "CC II EndBullyingNow" I'm going to say that corporal punishment has
it's advantages. Understand that giving a child "bully" medication hoping their behavior will
change is not always effective or necessary. Sometimes bully's need to get their asses whipped
preferably by a parent, but certainly by the teacher who has to juggle teaching with keeping the
peace in the classroom. The fact is children know that no adult can touch them at all without
the threat of authorities being involved. I feel I need to be more specific. If an awful bully terrorizes
students; in today's atmosphere, the bully is protected by law against physical reproach.
My suggestion would be have the child examined by a psychologist. If it is determined that
counseling or medication would be effective. That's the action that should be taken. If the child is
found to be just mean and out of control; that child needs to get his ass whipped. I would not be surprised
if President Obama got his ass whipped by a disciplinarian on the Black side of his family when he
was out of line

As a former teacher I have found that children bully for a number of reasons. The reasons that rise
to the top for me are 1) bully has low self esteem 2) bully is jealous someone has something the bully
doesn't 3) believe it or not sometimes a bully picks on a victim that they "like" and lack the verbal skills
to express it. Whatever the reason for bullying we have to start right away to proactively eradicate it.
My time teaching was between 1987 and 1997. At that time not many video phones were around. Mini
video cams and tape recorders were. I had a tape recorder in my desk drawer ready to document any
miss behavior. I was firm that no bully would return to my class until I meet with the guardian in the presence
of the student. I also encouraged any student who is victimized to tell me or any authoritarian figure at
school. I found that a few children who were being bullied came together on their own to stand up
to bullies. This is safety in numbers. By any means necessary we as a culture will stand up to bullies.
We are "The Civilized" hear us roar.

To summarize; brutish children who victimize other children should be assessed by a professional
and treated if necessary. Otherwise bad children should get spanked. Obviously this post is for parents
overall because you are the one's responsible for your minor. If you can't discipline them then allow a trusted
school official the honor of putting the bad child back in line. You just can't ignore what actually works.
from 1965 -1983 an ass kicking worked on me, my siblings and most every child in the neighborhood
very well. The reality is the kids that are being bullied usually want to learn and make friends and are most
important because they are a teachers' target audience. Bullies get all the attention because their
behavior requires it for so many reasons. Let's concentrate on the "good" kids and set them up
to make a difference in another child's life as they get older.

I would be remiss if I did not end with a poignant true story about a fellow elementary school student.
Her last name was "Moody" and she was the only Caucasian child at our school. Tired of others saying
"_________ Moody got the cooties"; I started greeting her every morning and proactively defending her
from the taunters or "Bullies". This was ME in elementary school. I'm no better than anyone else as an adult
or a child. What sets me apart is that I care.

CUSTOMER SERVICE OR CUSTOMERS WE DON'T CARE

Have you ever gone into or called a business and were so frustrated
by the way you were treated that you wanted to call the police?
 In many cases you are spending your hard earned money
and not getting that "American Customer Service" mystique from
days gone by. In this blog post I will expose some
businesses that do not practice good customer service.
First; my credentials. I have worked in a Customer Service capacity
for AT&T (aka AS&S), Bell South, WACHOVIA (aka watchova ya), The Ritz
Carlton Atlanta, Weston Peachtree Plaza, The Double Tree Hotel and Guest
Quarters Suite Hotel where I was the PBX operator, relief for front desk agents
and reservations agents as well as the gift shoppe manager for $7.50/hr
and this was with a college degree.

When I am spending money for anything; I expect the seller to treat me like they
are pleased that I chose to shop with them. We all know that in many instances
that is not the case.
Last year (2014) I purchased a desk top from a "company" in Texas DBA Computer
Refurb and K-Tech. What they do is send an immaculate looking pc filled to the brim
with all kinds of viruses. Customer Service (a kid named "Chris") says send it back,
we'll pay the return and charge you $10 to reformat the hardrive and I would pay
return shipping. I ended up paying to ship the pc back, $10 for the reformatting
and paid for the return shipping witch occurred a month later. When the "reformatted"
pc arrived it was not the original pc. The reformatted pc was in worse condition.
I paid $187 for this p.o.s. and bad customer service
The BBB (Better Business Bureau) at the time had numerous complaints under both
DBA's.

I sometimes ride MARTA (aka Moving Africans Rapidly Throughout Atlant). One
day I forgot my "Breeze" card. When I boarded the bus I started searching for the card.
The bus driver (a short, fat, Black lady with a bad attitude) launched into a verbal assault
on me. She said "Git your Black ass off my bus; I'm on this rout all day. You're not stealing
a ride on my bus. At the time I had 3 $20 bills in my pocket but of course I could get no
change if I put one of them in the slot. As the bus stops at Star Bucks at Peachtree Battle
Shop. Ctr.; I tell the bus driver to kiss my ass and showed her the 3 $20 bills. I went into
the Star Bucks to get change and decided to buy a cinnamon bun to get change to get back
on the bus. The Black lady behind the counter corrects me and insists that I ask for a
"morning bun". At this time of course I tell the cashier you can call it a cinnamon shit ball
for all I care I just want change. I got change and left the cinnamon shit ball.
Budget Car Rental has recently been the very worst in Customer Service. On their website;
they boast about their "Pre-pay" car rental option is the best in town. None of their locations
honor their "Pre-pay" at all on any day. When I called them on this; the representative
disconnected the call. I rent from Hertz now. With Budget; if you use a debit card, they will hold
over $200 at time of pick-up. When the car is returned; in 2 days the hold drops off.  4 days later
the hold is back and 5 days later the rental fee appears sans the remainder of the hold.
AT&T is scamming their customers like the mafia. My family has been loyal customers of
AT&T/Bell South all my life. When I moved into a new apartment after having their home phone
service at the previous address; AT&T charges me 2 months in advance. I'm not sure I want to
be your customer in 2 months; let's play it by ear. Burger King's slogan used to be "Have it
your way." I went into the BK on Old National Hwy. and asked for a whopper with ONLY lettuce,
tomato, ketchup and mustard. I received 2 all beef patties special sauce, mayo, snot and spit on
a sesame seed bun. I'm not kidding right now because there was snot and spit and mayo on that
burger. Believe it or not, that wasn't even the worst part. When I walked in the
door of the BK the kitchen personnel erupted in noises that actually sounded like zoo noises.
I should have turned around and left but I had errands and I was hungry until I ate the dirty
sandwich.

So what recourse do we have when businesses want us to pay our hard earned money for
awful service. First make your case clear to the agent you are dealing with tell them what
you expect. if you still get no results; everybody has a supervisor. That is to say everyone has
to answer to someone for their job performance. The situation with customer service has
become so dire that I ask for a supervisor often and I get results often. State the words
"You have a job because I am your customer." Whatever it takes let Customer Service
Agents everywhere know we as consumers will get the type of service we deserve and pay
for. You may have noticed that businesses like Hertz and Humana send surveys. Capitalize
on that opportunity to say exactly what went wrong and what you expect the next time to
call or come into the establishment. Some companies really do want to hear from it's customers.
With that; in ALL companies there is a supervisor looking for a reason to terminate the very
employee you are having trouble with. Also performance surveys are like "currency" to employees.
Often times, raises and promotions are determined by the content of performance surveys.
Finally, beware; as a former restaurant waiter I need
you to know not to send the food back in an angry manner. Unless you can stand and watch
your meal being prepared be kind to your servers.

BLACK MEN+WHITE WOMEN: A FAD OR THE NEW ORDER

This blog post took a long time even to start because of the sensitive nature of the content.
I should start by saying I'm sorry if any person or race is offended by the content of this
post. For more than 10 years I have witnessed the slow methodical migration of White
women to the arms of Black men. In the early 80's my older brother married a White
lady and fathered 3 children. I tried to remain open minded even though it didn't feel
right. At the time I spent much of time in North Carolina where I attended college. While
back home on a break; my mother recounted an altercation between my mother and
my brother's wife. My brother, his wife and their first born were living with my parents
and not contributing to household expenses in any way. My mother handled the altercation
in the way you might expect an African American mother to handle it.

I filed this information away and tried not to make much of it. Soon after an African American
icon of pop music Michael Jackson courted and married not 1 but 2 White women. I sat up
and paid attention at that point. Because another brother of mine was about to wed a woman of
Asian descent [Chinese]. My head was starting to spin out of control as one Black man
after another started to couple with White women. I'll be the first to admit that Black women
have their own set of "issues". As Black men we are conditioned to not only be tolerant of
these issues but to also coax, encourage, convince whatever word you like; Black women
and men to be better African Americans for each other. If for no other reason but to keep the
African American race alive.

I'm reminded of a time right after I graduated college; one of the first jobs I was allowed to
work was at a women's apparel shop in the stock room. One day a sales associate (a White woman)
approached me and uttered these words "Bo, do you like sex? I was thinking of having
you over to the house if that sounds good to you." I was mortified. I started looking for
another job and the sales associate was arrested a week later for stealing money from the store.
 She was probably looking for a scape goat. O.J. Simpson married a White woman and that did not end well nor did it discourage any of the Kardasian women from grabbing their own "Black raging
bull". I say that because to me it seems those Black men are just being objectified.

As a Black man who has spent a lot of time with other Black men; I feel that most Black
men do not mind being objectified. That is where I am stuck. It's a choice that these
men make for themselves and there is nothing I can say about that. Sure every
adult should make their own decisions about their mate; but at what cost to their own race.
Webster's defines  Ethnocentrism as having or based on the idea that your own group or culture
 is better or more important than others. This rings true for me but I must add that the African
American race should be more important to African Americans.

FAMILY MATTERS?

I, like so many others have come to the realization that "family" now means the poeple
that treat you better than those related to you by blood. It is difficult for me to pin point
when this phenomena began. For me after a series of family tragedies; I suddenly
realized that my blood relatives in total hate each other. Understand this realization
came in the midst of family tragedies. Arguably, a time when family comes together
for mutual support and compassion.

Born the youngest of 5 children in Atlanta GA, life was a dream.
We had many of the same ups and downs as any other family.
The only way in which we differed from others in our community is
we (I) was raised in a 2 parent home. My parents stayed married until they
both passed away in 1998. In retrospect; the dysfunction that that began years
before could be seen as an omen.

One of my brothers (2nd oldest) began drinking around the age of 16. By the time he was
18 he was hooked on crack. I don't need to detail the residual attrocities that came from him.
soon after; I discovered that several of my first cousins were addicts as well. By 1986, I
could only stand the company of persons not related to me by blood accept of course my
Mom  and Dad. I think back on that time and try to consider what I could have done
different. I draw a blank because I was close to perfect as a child. I gave my parents very
little grief. In fact I did not visit very much grief on any of my family members.

You may wonder why in 2014 I'm still stressing over Family Matters. The simple answer is
I WANT to have a congenial relationship with my family but I can't do it by myself.
Though too many of my cousins are addicts;  the one's who aren't have
carved out a nice life for themselves. There is where the disconnect is really visible.
If you are without substantial resources or do not posses a high earning potential; you
are not invited to holiday functions, weddings, birthdays etc. But you will be provided with
the details of the event after the fact. To the point; you are great with my family if you
have a lot of money but treated like a leper if you don't.

Today, my best friend is like a "real" brother to me and he, like my real brother is a recovering
addict. You can understand why I'm still in therapy. Maybe you've heard the phrase
"analysis paralysis". It means I'm not doing anything because there is too much going on
in my family and in this country for me to effectively execute a plan of action. Perhaps you
could join me @BoHennessy on twitter and maybe a beneficial dicussion will begin

RETURN OF THE BLOG: AN OPEN LETTER OF WHAT TICKS ME OFF

First and fore most isis is a bunch of female monkeys. What

else would you call group of idiots maximizing on the strife

of unsuspecting Middle_Eastern citizens? I have had it up to here

with all this terrorism bullshit. It is not difficult to see that

that terrorism in it's entirety does nothing but destroy life,

homes and families. I challenge each and every member of isis and

all other terrorist groups (you know who you are) to take inventory. That means take a moment and think about what you are doing. Are more people dying for no reason at all except they are of a different religion. Exactly what have you gained from you sinister

efforts? Nothing at all because every year like clock work you have "Arab Spring" But now you do have target on your back and America is

gunning for you. Bad luck in all your endeavors.

This one will make enemies for me; but corporal punishment is sometimes necessary.

Of course if you have a troubled child the scientific approach is step one. Once the

child is determined to be free of mental or neurological affliction; a time out is not

going to work. As a child my dear father spanked each and every one of his (5) kids

when we committed a major screw-up. He used a black leather belt. In my senior year

of high school, I took a new Buick Electra for a test drive and in the process caused

damaged to one of the rear wheels. I was 17 and was spanked with that leather belt.

I would never dane to tell a parent how to raise their child. However, as a former

teacher I saw first hand what the lack of discipline can do to a classroom.

We all know teacher's are not paid enough to educate your children and be correctional officers. Some kind of happy medium must be met.

Microsoft is becoming my #1 mortal enemy. Every time I upgrade my operating system,

I find that I either purchase another upgrade or spend too much money installing

components that were for some reason removed. For example; support for windows xp

was discontinued so I decided to upgrade to windows vista. I have (5) web cams (2 of them new) and none of them work on windows vista because the video capture feature in vista

was disabled. No person on this earth will ever be able to explain to me why I can't record

web cam video on my computer after paying $70 for windows vista.

Google chrome is a fucking joke. Do you remember Internet Explorer? You could block pop-ups easily and they would not cause a problem. The geniuses at Google forced us to use chrome because now Internet Explorer simply does not work and pop-ups are destroying my computer and my online experience even though pop-up blocker is activated.

Last but not least, spousal abuse, the NFL and Rihanna is becoming an unnecessary distraction for a nation in turmoil. We have entire families going to bed hungry every night.

We have parents locking their babies in stiflingly hot cars and we as a nation are being stalked by terrorists; but we are expected to care that Rihanna's song is not featured at a football game? I must be crazy because I still love this country, but we need to fix this.