*sigh* Today was depressing in a couple of ways…We went to Chuck E. Cheese for my younger nephew’s early b-day party (since Connie won’t be here for his real b-day and all)…and I was wondering even more about shapeshifting and how to accomplish it.

And I was grossed out upon impact by this: http://www.thesmokinggun.com/malcolmx/xmorgue.html

That may have set the mood for the day, I guess…and that may have been the sickest photo that I’ve ever come across (in my f*cking life!!!)

Anyway, as some of you may have heard, Malcolm X was assassinated yesterday in 1965 (how surprising that it was President’s Day as well, lol). It makes me sad that the guy died in that manner, as if he was on the verge of “becoming”, and all of a sudden he was pulled from the stage (just like that, *snap*), as if somebody didn’t want that to happen.

I mean, if he had lived beyond that point, what would’ve become of him? One can only wonder…

Many believe that he died an untimely death, that he left the world before his time was suppose to come. However, I believe that he died at the right time, in the right place, for the right reasons.

Why?

Let’s revisit the “what if?” factor. If he had lived, he may have retained the qualities which have, in the years since, made him an icon of the martyr type, but gradually, he would have resigned to a similar fate that has befallen many a rapper (like Chuck D) or civil rights leader (Jesse Jackson): becoming an entertainment piece for the accomodation of “White America” (quoting Eminem) in order to obtain wealth off of their legacy.

It happens alot these days, but I, personally, could never get used to that trend. Every time I see that happen to an MC (like Talib Kweli or BEP) or some other person who is famous for something that he does or pursues within the arts realm, I feel like something within that person, something which dedicated him exclusively to the art form, has died. And I feel sorry for the person, since it means that an era of some sort has officially passed.

So in that case, it was actually fortunate for Malcolm to depart in that particular, though somewhat agonizingly-grisly, manner. He left a legacy in his wake that only begs and pleads for further, deeper, longer-term investigation in the future, and I’m glad that he left that legacy for us, exactly 40 years after he gave his book a “surprise ending” of sorts.

And, what’s even more interesting, is that I’ve often been told by others who see my face everyday that I actually LOOK like him, lol (the 7th and 8th grade kids at the parochial school often ask me to pose with a finger to the side of my head for sake of comparison between me and a famous photograph of a thinking Malcolm). I happen to share alot of ideas, ideals and values with him, and I’ve always admired him like a personification or embodiment of human tragedy.

Is it actually possible that I could be his reincarnation?