On this special Martin Luther King Day, I have some advice from the people of Brazil. When things were not gong so well in Brazil, there was an expression that was going around that I would like to share with those who think they are following Martin Luther King's ideas. GOYA! When anyone in Brazil complained that life had dealt them a bad hand, the people around them would call our "GOYA". They used to tell me the same thing. I did not speak the language very well and did not know exactly what GOYA meant. At first, I thought it was some kind of drink or food or maybe the name of some famous artist, but I was wrong. I even started using the expression "GOYA" without really knowing what it meant. We use words all the time that we do not know exactly what they mean so it was not a big deal.
Finally, I was talking to a friend in a bar and had the courage to ask him exactly what does all the "GOYA" business mean? That was when I realized what it was the message was from Martin Luther King. Since then I have tried to carry his message far and wide because I know that Martin Luther King had the answer for 99% of the problems that faced the Black community in the Southern part of the USA and in the minds of those who lived in the states that did not have any form of discrimination.
I guess that by now, you too would like to know exactly what Martin Luther King's message was and what "GOYA" from Brazil has to do with it. Well, like most problems in this world that seem complicated, the solution is most often very simple and this one is not different. "GOYA" means "Get Off Your Ass". If the Black community would just "GOYA" and stop taking or selling drugs, stop shooting each other and others, stop commiting serious crimes, and stop having children out of wedlock, and finish free high school, and clean up their neighbor hoods, and yes, spend a little less time playing basketball and more time reading books, 99% of their problems would be solved.
What Martin Luther King would like to see would be to have the Black community greet one another with "GOYA" rather than some kind of jungle hand shake. Saying "GOYA" before bed time would make Martin Luther King very happy.
