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Who Should You Fear

from Volume Three (2004​-​2005) by Nine Leaves

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lyrics

I know a lot of people they wonder just where we’ll end up
Living happy ever after loving our neighbor and such
But seeing our situation must admit it is tough
‘Cause more than half the population still has yet to grow up
Now after twenty plus centuries let us see what’s what
And examine some point of views to see if we can wake up
And understand the paranoia that we have through the years
What I ask is who it is that we should currently fear

Wait
Easy question
Just turn the TV on to get the valuable lesson
‘Cause the question doesn’t warrant thinking more than a second
It’s all the Middle Eastern fanatics with nuclear weapons
Right?
Those brown people with their silly Islam
‘Cause only they possess the intelligence to make a bomb
Yet I could of sworn I heard of something called Vietnam
And some scary people Midwest don’t read the Koran
It’s not a question of arms
It’s a quest for concern
Paranoia’s a state of being for which we have yearned
But vulnerability’s a state with which you must come to terms
And defining terrorism’s up to one to discern
But if you think it comes from only big bearded men
Just recall the setting of Weaver in Ruby Ridge when
Mother of three holding her baby shot in the head
After the ATF mowed down their only son dead
Think back to lovely Waco Texas and then
Ponder exactly where supposed terrorists den
But if not Arabs who should we fear instead?

Okay I got it
It’s all of the people in the projects
Black and Hispanic always trying to steal my contents
Without a conscience
You know the place and the route
Where minorities orally order your wallet come out
Where inner city youths are always shooting about
Looking to pounce
Making profits off the drugs they sell out
But see I’m calling it out
Because I truly do doubt
That Central Park is the place where these drugs up and sprout
Are you catching my drift
Or do you need me to shout
Need me to walk and talk all of the nonsense you spout
How many gun manufacturing plants are under ya?
How many blacks are on flights to Columbia?
Not a whole lot
So no wonder you’re wondering
You’re wonderful hatred is coming in with a thundering
Ignorance cluttering
Causing violent concussions
And while you integrate
My statements have you rapidly shuddering
Rapidly butter your toast
It’s going down your throat
Listen to what I’m saying
You need it more than most

‘Cause blacks are only 12 percent of the population
Yet they account for 30 percent of the nation’s arrests
This is not a test
But I stress you pay attention ‘till everything connects
‘Cause the leading cause of death for young black men
Is murder by other men
No pretend
This is what it is
This is what you live
Take a second to remove the dagger from your ribs
‘Cause more than not
The offender’s race is the same as the victim that’s shot, stabbed, or whatever
It’s not a plot but a choice you got
See, you’ve been assigned to the character criminal
And in addition to subliminal acceptance of the role that’s been given you
You don’t acknowledge what you’re living through
Start to see it through

And of course the contribution of the news is certainly critical
Thus I don’t advise taking the media literal
Unless you like fiction with your cereal
‘Cause only 1 percent of all killers are serial
Yet if you went by the news you should be shaking hysterical
Causing a medical team to come and inspect ya
Fearing a black man’s gonna come and get ya
Time to check the facts
National crime on the whole’s been declining since the early 1990’s
So keep breathing, relax
Entertainment motivates their presentation of stats
And emotions are manipulated
So I can’t really say that I’m swayed by any prime time official statements
Where desire to think for yourself
Puts you in violation of the government’s interpretation

So what should you fear?
Mid-east WMD’s
Or mistaken American death penalties

What should you fear?
Drug dealers selling crack
Or genetically modified food you eat in stacks

Who should you fear?
The teenage kids in detention
Or the ones in suits stealing your pension

Who should you fear?
Homeless people in the streets
Or the politicians making decisions while safe in their seats

Who should you fear?
Gang members who would kill for a stare
Or the ones charging you for your healthcare

And pharmaceutical companies keep ‘em paying for the treatment
‘Cause cures don’t reap as well as continued diseases
Institutions explicit interest is in making money off of your existence in sickness
That’s some ridiculous sick shit

And police commit crimes in the name of justice
Ain’t no way McCarthy could ever have touched this
Cops using race to further their case
And then they wonder why there’s so many blacks behind the prison gates
Prison inmate
That’s a fate that awaits so many black males
Cuz according to the state
Half of them get arrested for index crimes to date
So police, police
Yes to them let’s unleash
All our anger whenever there’s an officer in the street
Whether local, state, or federal level if we meet
They’re gonna feel what it’s like to be at a person’s feet
That goes for any chief, patrol men, and even desk staff
Come on man, you trying to make me laugh
Have we not progressed beyond five and a half
Pointing and shouting in kindergarten class
For real
You can’t condemn ‘em in general
‘Cause all that really does is make your position less credible
Untenable is such a claim
These people are out every day
Risking their lives to save people like me and you
That’s not to say I condone everything they do
‘Cause quite a few are power hungry and prejudiced
But there’s evidence of many with humanitarian sentiments

So if not blacks or cops
I got one more idea for where our fear should drop

White people
For their wars and hate have always been quite lethal
Prejudicial homicide
Military genocide
Whites are certainly heading the art of war unequaled
Their religion of cathedrals have killed and malled
Causing indigenous African worldviews to fall
Native Americans are barely left at all
And those who disagree have always crumbled or crawled
Yet he sustains and the white man remains standing tall

So if lack of pigment brings sin
Then given the color of my skin
Maybe you should fear me
But do my cells contain genes that make me guilty of causing the practice of slavery?
No matter the race
Can anyone truly inherit disgrace?

Ancestral kin
Let’s begin by seeing this issue for what it is
‘Cause it’s easier to hate than to comprehend
Easier to fear than to understand men
Examine your foreign or racial policy
And ask, do I grasp the concept of a self fulfilling prophecy?

So you can hate whites
Or any other race if you like
Be aware though you’re bound to lose the fight
‘Cause all you little puppets like to strike with your might
But the puppet master’s got far better sight
Now understand right where you stand
Racism, terrorism, they go hand in hand
Whether you manage land
Or have a hand in scams
Social division is simply part of the plan
While you run, run, run in the same place
While you watching the TV learning the criminal’s face
While everyone around you’s in heightened states
While you look to the sky praying for God’s grace
But heaven be damned should you use your voice
Or ever discover that you actually have a choice
Cuz truth be told when it’s all said and dealt
The only thing that you should ever fear is yourself

credits

from Volume Three (2004​-​2005), released August 1, 2022

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