this is what happens every time i even suggest there should be space for dialogue around 2A and AR-15s along with weapons like it, and express frustration at our willingness to let children and whole crowds of people to continue to be massacred…and these are the tame replies. 

overwhelming, people consistently suggest such weapons are needed for defense against our own government, or say they don’t need a reason it is simply their god given right. as if… 

i’m not intimidated by such replies, not in the face of children being ripped apart, but there is a minority population who see 2A in a very unlimited no holds barred way, no matter the cost. this is a minority view that is perfectly ok with crowds of innocent people being slaughtered by such weapons, under the view that one day such weapons may be needed to keep innocent people from being slaughtered. wrap your head around that.

how do we move forward with such a view or do we move forward despite of such a view?

and how do we stay the course with hope still afire in our hearts in the face of such challenge, such violence, such horror and destruction?

this is the practice of our time.

may hearts open, may sanity prevail.

⭕️♥️🙏🏻

i haven’t posted in a week so i’m way late on posting about the passing of #HarryBelafonte.

what an artist, what a heart, what a soul. a true icon. may he rest in peace 💛🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

Posted @withregram • @starsofthescreen

RIP Harry Belafonte (March 1, 1927 – April 25, 2023) was an American singer, activist, and actor.
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Original portrait, photographer: The amazing @Pal_Hansen 📸
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An absolute legend. He broke barriers as a hugely successful Caribbean-American pop star, with his recordings of “The Banana Boat Song”, with its signature “Day-O” lyric, “Jump in the Line”, and “Jamaica Farewell”. His breakthrough album Calypso (1956) was the first million-selling LP by a single artist.
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He also became a celebrated actor, starring in several groundbreaking films, including Otto Preminger’s Carmen Jones (1954), Daryl F. Zanuck’s Island in the Sun (1957), Robert Wise’s Odds Against Tomorrow (1959) Robert Altman’s Kansas City (1996), Emilio Estevez’s Bobby (2006) and Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman (2018)..
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..as well as being the subject of Susanne Rostock’s acclaimed documentary Sing Your Song (2011).
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Belafonte was a close confidant of Martin Luther King Jr. during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 60s. And was a leading advocate for political and humanitarian causes, such as the Anti-Apartheid Movement and USA for Africa. From 1987 until his death, he was a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.
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Belafonte won three Grammy Awards (including a Lifetime Achievement Award), an Emmy Award, a Tony Award, the Kennedy Center Honors and the National Medal of Arts. In 2014, he received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the Academy Awards, and in 2022 was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
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Belafonte died from natural causes at his home in Manhattan, at the age of 96. He leaves behind four children, including actress/model Shari Belafonte, and five grandchildren.
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The man will be greatly missed. What are your fondest memories of the great Harry Belafonte?