Rope-a-Dope (28)

  

 This is what he had tried so hard to avoid the monologue; this was why he had indeed shinned down the drain pipe. But once inside the prison I was now a captive audience as long as Aunt Mo. Was able to visit me for the rest of the term of my sentence, he thought. She continued.
 “Why you go trouble de white people Pinckney, eeeie you couldn’t leave them alone eeeie. You go bring disgrace on black people throughout the commonwealth’ Dem even show a photograph of you naked self in all de evening papers, and dailies who would have believed dis. Why you turn you self into a wild animal Leroy? You look like an animal, an animal a naked born animal. It better you did dead naked rather than to run up and down de high street naked, Gaad forgive me, but it better that you did dead rather than disgrace all descent people. I can’t even walk street to do me shopping without newspaper man and woman a follow me. Some even offer me money. Fe you story................ anyway, I open a lickle account for you and de money in there for one day when you come out. I wouldn’t touch a penny of it not me..... dutty (dirty) money, blood money, not me, me wouldn’t touch it. ” Aunt commenced a loud bawling in the lounge meeting room a bawling that would not cease. The Doctor and assistant eventually
escorted her out.
   “I will see you next visiting time ... you here,” said Aunt Mo as she left weeping and bawling. “I will be back.” She left.

Leroy was escorted back to his cell; he collapsed over the table as he muttered: “I have got to get out of here.”
   Screen 4 of the monitor in the observation room was changed to view Leroy after the interview with Aunt Mo. The camera focused on Leroy sitting in front of the dressing table, the plastic coated mirror distorted his
features. The room was spotlessly clean the bed had not been touched since being made; he just sat there reliving his meeting and his childhood. As Leroy was beaten and flogged so too was Jesus, Biko, as Leroy’s father was abused so he abused Leroy, guardian Aunt Mo was abused so she abused Leroy, he was at the end in the chain of all abuse and beatings. Leroy was in the centre of the universe of beatings.He felt. Leroy’s parents convinced him they were beating the stubbornness out of him to enable him to survive the cruel world. Leroy thanked them by offering his body as a living sacrifice for others to do with as they pleased. So they beat him or tried to. Leroy devised an animal cunning, as his means of protection. Since he was not to
be a predator he would be a masochistic survivor.  Like a prize fighter that would use his face as a shield or like Mohammed Ali’s “rope-a-dope” in Zaire.