New Age Serfs.

Hello again my friends. I come to you today with a heavy heart as a result of the death of Central State Hospital patient Irvo Otieno at the hands of the "authorities" he was under the "care" of. The good news in the wake of this horrible tragedy is the hopeful change in America's attitude towards mental illness and the mentally ill.

As many of you probably know my latest book, The Learning Curve, is autobiographical fiction based on my life story and past as a sufferer of the disease. Although my faith in God placed me in a position to be miraculously healed of the illness the topic is still close to my heart as are those who suffer from the disease.

Spiritual knowledge has lead me to the understanding that the mind is the soul and cannot be ill. As a result I see the illness as more of a brain disorder.

My noting of these things is not in any means a excuse for Mr. Otieno's death as a result of the criminal actions of Law Enforcement and the staff of the state run "medical" facility. These issues to me remain at forefront as does the homicide of Trye Nichols by the police officers in Memphis, Tennessee.

America has a bad habit (an understatement) of "blaming the victim" instead of dealing with the perpetrators of incidents like this. From my days at Hampton University, I remember taking a course in English history where I performed very well and learned about the English Revolution and the thoughts of everyday citizens involved in it. I remarked to some friends recently about a book I read in that class called The World Upside Down by Christopher Hill that quoted former serfs who sought a "leg up" in society as a result of the change in the socieial order that lead to the establishment of a merchant class and more power for lords who served the King.

Many of these commoners were called mentally ill by the rich and those in power because their ideas threatened the current social order. We must be careful not to "demonize" those who speak up against the tyranny of those in power and continue to support the free speech of all. As a Higj School teacher once told my class, there was a famous saying, "I don't agree with what you're saying but I will fight to the death for your right to say it. "

Until next time, remember God loves you and so do I.