Blaise Bailey Finnegan III

Well, Where are you coming from?

Well, I don't like the way the country's ran, don't you know, and, erm

That's pretty much what I was expressing in my poem

The government, the American government

They're sneaky, they're very deceitful, they're liars

They're cheats, they're rip-offs

I mean, the American government is one systematic government that

That nobody can trust

I don't trust them myself

And how long have you been writing for?

Huh?

How long have you been writing for?

Since I was four

Do you do this sort of thing a lot, like, open-mic kinda questions?

Oh, I love open-mics, I love coming here to do open-mics, absolutely

What kind of reactions do you usually get?

Usually, people are, are pretty much in agreement with what I'm saying

We overheard you before talking about

You went to court today for a speeding ticket?

That's accurate

Right, Do you wanna tell us that story?

Yes, absolutely, I wouldn't mind telling you the story

Erm, I went to court today for a speeding ticket, and I told the judge, erm

Let me tell you something, and you listen and you listen good

I'm only gonna say this one time and one time only

I don't repeat myself for nobody, I said

I says: I'm here to pay a speeding ticket

Not to listen to your lectures and hear you run your mouth for an hour

I says: I'm here to pay off my speeding ticket

And I'm here to get my fines out of the way and get the fuck to work

The judge says: You can't talk like that in my courtroom, you're in contempt of court

Then I said, I told the judge: If that's the best you can do, I feel sorry for you

I said: Why don't you just shut your fucking mouth for once and listen

I said: I'm not gonna take any shit

I said: I'm gonna pay my speeding ticket like I said

I walked up to the goddamn judge

And I hand him my 25 dollars and I says: Here's my money, now I am leaving

And I left it at that

Then, before I left, I turned around and told the judge

I'm here to state who I am and be honest with you

I said: If they thought I was dangerous on the road

Like you're trying to accuse me of

Wouldn't they have taken my license when I first got it? Yes they would

And the judge says: Yeah, you have a point

He goes: You don't need to get loud

I said: Don't get loud? I says: I've got every right to get loud

I says: You can't do a goddamn thing about it

Because I'm expressing myself in your court

And there is nothing you can do about it

You think you're God because you have a robe

And you can put people up the goddamn river for 20 years? Well, you're not

And I left it at that

Did you walk away?

Yes I did

I don't like the judicial system, I don't like the government system

I don't like the police, I don't like anything to do with this country's government

I just don't like it, because they're sneaky, like I said

They're deceitful, they're lying, they're cheats, they rip people off

That's the American government for you

America is a third world country, and people don't recognise it

And I think that that's pretty goddamn sad

That they don't recognise their own country as a third world

Third rate, third class slum

Well, do you have any weapons?

Yes, I do

I own a high-powered assault rifle

I own a 12-gauge double barrel shotgun

I own a regular shotgun

I own a regular hunting rifle

I own a 9mm, a 357, a 45 handgun, a 38 special

And, erm, I own an M-16 fully automatic ground assault rifle

Do you think things are gonna get better before they get worse?

No way

Things are just gonna get worse and keep on getting worse

Like I said, America's a third world country as it is

And, and we're just basically in a hopeless situation as it stands

What do you think this country's gonna look like in the year 2003?

Y'know, I'll tell you the truth -

Nothing against you guys

But I don't wanna answer that question because

I haven't even got a mind that's that, that inhumane

Are you ready for what's coming?

Ready as I'll ever be

Most people aren't

There's a little saying

Dates back for generations

Go on

Be prepared for anything at any time from anybody

Don't take no shit, always stand your ground

People wanna come up to me and run their mouth, guess what?

I'll throw them through the fucking window

I won't think a thing of it

Would you mind reciting your poem for us?

Not at all, I don't see why

I don't see why I couldn't

There's an evil virus that's threatening mankind

It's not state of the art, it's a serious state of the mind

The muggers, the backstabbers, the two faced elite

A menace to society, a social disease

To brainwash the mind is a social disorder

The cynics, the apathy one-upmanship order

Watching beginnings of social decay

Gloating and sneering at life's disarray

Eating away at your own self esteem

Pouncing on every word that you might be saying

To attack someone's mind is a social disorder

The constitution, the government, martial law order

Superficially smiling a shake of the hand

As soon as your back is turned treason is planned

When every good thing's laid to rest

By the governments hate, by the constitution and their lies

And every time you think you're safe

And when you go to turn away

You know they're sharpening all their knives

All in your mind

All in your head

Try to relate it

All in your mind

All in your head

Try to escape it

Without a conscience they destroy

And that's a thing that they enjoy

They're a sickness that's in all of our minds

They want to sink the ship and leave

The way they laugh at you and me

You know it happens all the time

But it only happens in your mind

The rats in the cellar you know who you are

Or do you?

Watching beginnings of social decay

Thank you for your time