Interestingly and unfortunately, this particular article is an iteration of my original post on Flickr nearly eight years ago. To be candid, I thought it would be the only time that I would have to make such a posting publicly on a social media platform.
But no.
Here we are again.
Not really “again”, because the blatant racism and disgusting hatred have not only remained unabated, they have been exacerbated to a degree to which we are unlikely to see their eradication anytime soon. We’ve become inexplicably regressive. To be so comfortable, confident, and accommodating of hatred in the present day is an abomination that mirrors a specific segment of the American populace. The sooner we can stop our denial of this fact, the sooner we can improve ourselves collectively and entertain enlightenment.
Even though I have challenged myself to keep my blog related to the photographic subject matters in which I specialize for TIA exclusively, it would be an insincere, ignorant, and crippling disservice to myself to casually post about these things as though oblivious to what has been happening in the United States since November 2024.
Hopefully, the image and the accompanying narrative below both illustrate and underscore, once again, my vehemence against the following:
- Anti-Intellectualism
- Anti-Semitism
- Authoritarianism
- Fascism
- Homophobia
- Islamophobia
- Misogyny
- Nazism
- Racism
- Sexism
- Transphobia
- Xenophobia
Currently, the homepage of my official website makes the same statement, albeit in a way that is both creative and straightforward. I communicate in a style in which I do my damnedest to NOT be misunderstood or misinterpreted. (There’s a difference between this and communicating in order to be understood primarily).
Hatred and Stupidity are a terrible and fatal pairing in any situation. Together, they wreak havoc, chaos, misinformation, disinformation, and damage — most of which, to my own consternation, are avoidable and unnecessary. Nevertheless, both must encounter Reality which will, inevitably, be the equalizer of the quagmire in which we find ourselves.
It remains a question of “When?” but I’m so impatient.
August 22, 2017
This image is inspired by — and in response to — the bigotry, xenophobia, fascism, racism, misogyny, and homophobia espoused by the Trump Administration. Enough is enough.
We. Are. Never. Going. Back.
It’s featured in my personal photo project, “Psycheography”, on my official website.
The title of the photograph is taken from a song title by the late and great Whitney Houston from the “Just Whitney” album released in 2002. Some of the lyrics that inspired the image are as follows:
“No no no no no no
It motivates me more and more
And I think it’s time you know
You’re giving me something to look forward
And I can’t wait for the day
I can rub things in your face
I ain’t gon’ stop till I’m done
I’ve reached the top, I’m Number One
But every time you try and TELL ME NO
It only makes me keep on keeping on
TELL ME NO“
