Fri, 18 Nov 2022
This is something I sent to a wonderful, Sister Ma’at Speaks, and her husband Just Dewitt, and I felt it was worth also posting to my blog, so here it is as I posted it to them (without some of the extra stuff):
The purpose of viruses and malware is to install itself onto a computer (or network) without the knowledge and/or permission of the end user, to be destructive (or to hijack a computer at best) and/or to create “back doors” onto the system so the attacker can install new code any time they wish., Spyware is designed specifically to operate within a system and not be recognized by the system or the user.
Our minds work the same way I think.
Like a computer, from the moment we are born (and frankly, I believe even BEFORE we are born and, in the womb,), our people are taught and conditioned that we are nothing, we are the WORST people on the planet, that we have no culture and for many of us—that our history begins with enslavement (which it doesn’t). And we are all to greater or lesser degrees, taught to hate ourselves and our people, or at MINIMUM, be taught to be ASHAMED to be Black. – to be WHO WE ARE.
The insidious part of this is that with viruses, malware and spyware, we can use our computers for YEARS, and then suddenly we’ll start getting popups we’ve never seen before, or the computer will shut down, or freeze up at odd times, or the system will inexplicably start to slow down or exhibit other behaviors that we can’t figure out. For many (especially in the early days of the PC), end users assumed there was something inherently wrong with the construction or manufacture of the computer ITSELF, instead of some kind of rogue programming infecting it.
Many times anti-virus/malware/spyware software will either prevent the computer from getting it, or if it does, can give a warning about it, or quarantine it and eventually take steps to get rid of it.
Some of these malicious codes will give the IMPRESSION that it has been removed, but upon startup, REINSTALL onto the system, and it will possibly take some programmer or other expert who is highly proficient in locating and irradicating the software from the system because it can be hidden within code that can only be REMOVED by OTHER code manually.
When our computers get infected, we get frustrated with the computer and I have actually seen videos of people who take their computers and either slam them against walls, or take a hammer to them, or throw them out windows because they are so enraged and frustrated that the computers are behaving the ways they are.
Why not be upset with the virus/malware/spyware itself (or better yet those who created and distributed it) and go slam THEM against the wall or throw THEM out the window?! Simple… we can’t GET at THEM, and for the most part, they are nameless and faceless. But the COMPUTER is right there and an EASY focus for our wrath!
And so… OUT THE WINDOW IT GOES! And the thrower sticks their head out the window to get the satisfaction of seeing it shattered on the pavement into a million pieces!
Never once considering that it is NOT the fault of the computer, or that were the computer NOT infected and affected by outside influences, it would be working perfectly and serve as a useful and valuable tool, thus having cheated themselves out of the helpfulness the computer may have given them had they cared to take the time to clean the drive or take it to someone who COULD.
And so, here we are.
We do not aim our rage and wrath toward the nameless, faceless people (and we KNOW who they are—and they ain’t Black US). So, the long and short of it is that our people presently are dealing with a LOT of misplaced anger and frustration!
It’s time to dig DEEPER and get to the ROOT of the problem, Start being angry with those who created and installed the programs SECRETLY and WITHOUT PERMISSION. Instead of focusing on the VICTIMS of the programming. What do the victims need? A deep cleaning of the system, and in some cases a FULL erasure of all related drives and “clean” REINSTALLING of a legitimate OS.
And for the sake of intellectual honesty, I will admit that I have had some drives that have become SO corrupted that I have LITERALLY had to just get rid of the drives. That is also an unfortunate truth when it comes to our people, there ARE some of us who actually DO have manufacturer defects that would have caused them to behave in abhorrent ways even WITHOUT any malicious programming—but I submit that they are the exception and not the rule, and they may need to be dealt with harshly. But that is in EXTREME cases, and as with when I had to get rid of my drives… there was NO JOY in it. And even when I did, I was not frustrated with the DRIVE ITSELF, but at whatever had CAUSED the issue with the drive.
I think our people would do well to recognize, understand and remember that.