Soft Woody: Allan Stewart Konigsberg's Skipped Appointments With #MeToo

In 1956, 20 year old Woody Allen, born Allan Stewart Konigsberg, married his first wife Harlene. Harlene Rosen, at that time, was ____ years old. In some reputably-sourced articles, that blank is filled in by 19, others 18, 17, even 16. Some list Allen's own age as lower than 20 (suggesting he was much older in school grade and social group), at 19 years old, and at 18 (suggesting he was a bit closer in age, possibly in the same high school-ish social groups). But the truth is simple math. The truth is, that 20 year old Woody Allen, met a 14 or barely 15 year old girl over the summer, and married her only a few months later.

Woody Allen's sparse, and painstakingly pre-screened interviews all muddle the facts even more, its like he intentionally 'forgets' how old he was, or his female counterpart was at any given time, he often offers 1938 or 1939 as Harlene's birth date. But the national census doesn't lie. Harlene S Rosen, daughter of Julius and Judith Rosen, is listed as being born in 1940. She was no more than 16 years old when they married. Aside from these facts, Rosen was markedly petite, and looked even younger than her age from photos, as Woody Allen himself is barely 5'5" and stands taller than her in wedding photos. Notable, the fact that that the age of consent in New York was only 14 years of age… all the way up until 2017. WTActualF #rapecultureisreal .

Outside of these facts, are the troubling details of their marriage. Woody is reported to be extremely aggressive and controlling of his wives and partners. Partners and friends were quoted, characterizing Allan threatened by anything challenging his authority, intelligence, and rightness. Allen belittled Rosen, in private and in public. While they were married, Rosen suffered a sexual assault near her home. As their marriage deteriorated, and more disturbingly MANY YEARS AFTER their marriage was legally over and done with in 1962, Woody Allen took it upon himself, to incorporate jokes about the assault, both in his stand up, and in television appearances. Upon meeting with lawyers, Harlene made it a term of the divorce, that Allen not mention her assault as part of his routines anymore. Still, Allen continued to mock his wife’s assault in public performances, and she ended up having to sue him… let me just go over this again… she sued Allen, her soon-to-be ex-husband… to get him to stop making jokes… about the sexual assault she experienced, while they were married. I would encourage any and everyone to Google his "moving violation," joke on The Dick Cavett Show. His teenaged, non-famous wife was raped, and in the midst of their divorce, he used his fame to humiliate and shame her. This interview is several years, almost a decade later in 1971, after they separated… seems pretty obsessive, abusive, and relentless to me.

Writer, Richard Morgan, was thrilled to be allowed to pour over the archives of Allen's work, housed at Princeton. However, instead of fan-girling over jewels of literary and film wisdom, he went on to discover something stomach-turning. According to Morgan, Allen's archives prove one thing definitively, "I read decades of Woody Allen’s private notes. He’s obsessed with teenage girls..."

Allen has be known to gush over his love for France, where the age of consent has always been frighteningly low, up for debate, and less often enforced by legal entities and within society. "The French people have been so supportive of my films for so many years," he said. "I always find it very, very amusing and very endearing about the French that they discover our artists before we do. For some reason it takes the validation of the French to recognize our most important artists. When you think of Edgar Allan Poe, William Faulkner, any number of film directors, any number of important jazz musicians, they were all appreciated in France first. European culture takes the arts more seriously than we do." So in this quote, Allen compares himself to the greatest artists of all time, places the French, who like him, on a pedestal, AND insinuates that Americans have rejected him because they don't appreciate real art. However French culture also doesn't seem to have any effective, or institutional efforts in place on ending the plight of child brides, and victims of pedophilia... but when it comes to art, according to Allen, they've got his genius figured out. Maybe some people don't know what malignant narcissism is, or are happy to be its victims?

Sexual violence, like racial violence, is not something that goes away. These are, unfortunately, the known tools of the power-hungry and the narcissistic. Woody Allen is an excellent example of a life-long predetor and narcissist; adapting to the new cultural norms, leaving past relationships as the 'sane' half of the duo, while the other he maligned as 'crazy,' manipulating the facts, and dodging judgement by keeping up appearances as an 'admirable' or 'creative' member of society. 

Did we mention that every single one of Allen's films involves either a much older man and young, lolita-type character as his love interest, or involves him pursuing a mentally broken girl, or mentally breaking a girl? From the beginning of his career, like Bananas, to this day with A Rainy Day In New York.  

The Position Un-Assumable: Grief & Moving Forward

I lost my Mama, Sina, in the last days of 2017, to cancer. She fought very hard, and I did my best to care for my her, be there for her, listen to her, and provide for her emotional, personal, and physical needs in her time of illness and transition. I am happiest, that we lived together for those months, and that we said good-mornings and i-love-yous and sleep-wells, every morning, afternoon, and night. I always had someone formidable to look up to, and now she is my only idol.

(Crying break)

(Crying break concluded)

In my life, my mother strived to do her best (a much higher echelon of ‘best’ than I can currently muster) to provide for all the emotional, personal, and physical needs of both myself and my brother. Of course, she was just elite with it. She escaped a devastating war, and overcame so much hardship to claim her own success and happiness in a country where people can often hold your ‘otherness’ against you. She provided so much, and worked so hard. She paved a path for me before the souls of my feet had hardened, before I even knew how to walk. She pushed herself constantly and it gained her people’s respect and admiration. She loved the arts and culture and politics, and impressed upon my brother and I the importance of critical thought.

… And she looked damned good while doing it all.

Her illness remains very traumatic to me, and I felt very isolated for various reasons throughout. I got a lot of support, but I still felt isolated; there are just some things no one can do, but you. Particularly in the end, when one may wonder if one did enough, or expressed enough love and admiration before it was too late.

You want to process your feelings, but you must conquer the logistics of a traditional funeral, and a crowd of mourners. It feels cruel, like other’s get to process their emotions, and experience a kind of ceremony, gaining some closure. But your own grief has yet to peak, ebb, or flow because there isn’t any appropriate time or space for the amount of grief you have. By the time things have slowed down enough to feel, others have somehow moved forward without you. It can be jarring.

Life without my beautiful Mama has been… challenging… to say the least. Some days are excruciating; the devastating kind, where you can’t help but feel it all, all over again. Maybe because its a mutually important day like a birthday or holiday, those days need extra fortitude. But maybe, it’s something maddeningly minor, a flitting reminder of your loss, or feelings of isolation… merely an unrelated sensory experience; and you start painfully reeling.

Some days are just kind of empty; like the sounds your shoes make on the pavement, are the only proof you exist. I don’t know if I’m friendlier now as a choice, or because I feel kind of beat down and too tired to deal with confrontation, but I’m definitely smiling and my voice is a half octave higher than usual. I get a lot of work done these days, but I’m not in the moment. These kinds of days are chances to be more present the next time.

Some days are bullshit. Nothing goes right. You make a mistake, or forget something, and begin to doubt yourself. You see something on social media you didn’t like. You haven’t eaten in hours. Someone is asking you to meet their needs without thinking of yours. So now you’re just raging around the freeway, and the grocery store parking lot, and the gas station. Some random driver cuts me off, for the third time today. This grown man, driving a stupid raised pickup truck, wears Oakley sunglasses, blasts music with no bass, and I am ready to Fast & The Furious-style-launch myself into his car to ask him nicely, why he’s being so rude and disregarding my safety, and then some. I think these days I feel super isolated, chemically off-kilter, and alone. It’s just the type of day that I’m so glad I have a therapist. I can deal with this kind of bullshit instead of unraveling.

[Shit, back in the day… I didn’t hesitate to be a vigilante, seeking my own justice. I don’t think many kids, felt pressure to stand up for others growing up, the way I did.

I got into fisticuffs with one, two, maybe several maniacs in the public school systems of Antioch and Fulton counties. My brother was in special education, we were Muslim Afghans in the South during and after 9/11, and middle school and high school boys and girls are ignorant ASSHOLES. So you can imagine how they targeted him… me… any Brown kid. I got into so many brawls protecting people from just plain and simple bullies. For perspective, I would have been anywhere from 9-13 years old, jumping into fights with whichever Neanderthal high schooler that chose to pick on the autistic kids that day. What can I say, I’m nosey and sensitive and I don’t have that survival instinct that makes people run when they sense trouble. Who knows, maybe I’ve been missing out on my real destiny in the WWE.

I had my pacifist reformation a little later, in high school and college, where I feel I honed my verbal and mental game to a sharp enough edge, that it was just as dangerous as any other tool. We all need an awakening. Mine came from literature, dance, art, and music. Learning to play a few different instruments, building my skill set with a future in mind, really rerouted my focus.

I think I open-hand slapped ONLY one white supremacist in high school, who during an assembly made a teenaged Vietnamese immigrant, recounting her harrowing journey to America, cry on stage because he yelled at the top of his lungs, “GO BACK TO VIETNAM YOU GO-K!” He had some stupid white boy from The South name, like Colonel or Krampus or Kuklux or Collier— or something. He was disgusting, we exchanged customary white supremacist-Brown equalizer pleasantries. He got quaintly slapped, I got daintily shoved around, we both got lovingly suspended… all was equal in the world again. And of course, like I said before, I am mostly reformed now and violence is so passé (albeit imperatif). I have been saved by our collectively agreed secondary lord and savior, INTELLECT.

Its weird how people find stories about boys being young scrappers charming, and girls under the same pressure… uncomfortable and inappropriate. You are lucky you were a girl or a boy who didn’t ever feel threatened, who didn’t have to fight for the people and ideals that matter to you. I did... so I DID. ]

Some days are generally a triumph! You get shit done! You maybe even do something that’s going to improve your life and takes into account your future! You eat regularly and healthily. You exercise! You chat with a friend or loved one. You only cry once or not at all! You are in a positive and problem-solving mood. You make family dinner on time AND its yum! You paid all the bills, AND you’re not broke for the month! You wear your Mom’s old shirt, which on you is like a crop top because you are a giant, and your favorite soft sweats. You get to sleep on time, and tell your lost loved one you miss them in your prayers (you only shed zero to 3 tears)! Wake up early the next morning, and make sure your amazing brother gets to work on time, has his meds, he needs this job and you need him to have this stability! And you go off and have a great day at work yourself.

… Those days are awesome, and regardless of what anyone may think, you are allowed to be proud of yourself on any day, but especially those days.

Some days are all of these things in one. I don’t want to spend too much time talking about my Brother’s Aspergers because it’s only a small part of a big whole. For him, he has had his own journey, discovering himself and the world around him through his own lenses. For me, it just means I have learned so much about true love, kindness and intelligence from my big brother. I may also have always had extra responsibilities, and now ever more responsibility, but they are responsibilities to a person I love very much. He has to put up with me (and I’m batshit, needy, intense, weird, I sing, dance, and rap ALL the time, everywhere… and I’m a poet so surely I force him to listen to my rambling, poor man!) too. So its a two way street in some ways.

But I’m also done with acting like its easy, straight forward and simple to be someone’s Person, and be your own person. It’s not.

A mission is never impossible, but some roles cannot, and should not be replaced, rather respected. I cannot fight all the fights for all the people. I cannot replace my mother. Not for myself. Not for my brother. Not for others. I cannot find someone to replace her. Not for myself. Not for my brother.

I can only emulate all the amazing qualities she exhibited in life, to my best ability, and above all else… be myself. Cherish myself as a whole person. Pursue my SELF and my future, and do what my amazing Mama always told me to do… ‘do everything you want, but dedicate yourself to what you are most passionate about, and don’t let anyone dull your instincts.’

We bring more to the table than we think. Each generation a new hybrid of what was and what could be. While we don’t fit any molds or rely on the same systems as our foremothers, we can still share and springboard off of, the many ideals, innovations, and platforms they have provided us.

The position un-assumable. We cannot get them back. We cannot recreate them. So, build something new, and put an altar up when you are done building, wherever you want, but primarily in your heart.

True, we have to create so many things anew, but let me assure you, I have been happier and healthier, creating what’s new, than slumping over the bits and pieces I attempted to salvage from my muddled past.

Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

Tune in next time for more griping, grimacing, and grinning, from me.

2018 WHAT A BullS*it YEAR!

At the end of 2017, lost my brave, sweet, amazing Mom and I don’t know when I will ever recover. But I know I want to take back my soapbox. So here I am. 2019 is around the corner, and we have survived another year of the most ridiculous, corrupt, and embarrassing administration of at least my lifetime, the Trump administration.

Or should I say, the administration as it survives today? Since so many have resigned, been fired, been indicted, or only remain in the White House to protect the nation from Donald J. Trump. His children and in-laws are the few that have remained since the outset of their nepotistic tenures; a sign, that only a blood-bond can outlast Trump’s hijinks, unprofessionalism, and clear lack of leadership skills.

Let’s join the Washington Post, in reflecting on this fkn weird ass year 2018:

Let Them Eat Cupcakes

The problem with the whole, 'Trevor Noah apologized' and, 'Charlamagne Tha God made himself the dumbass of the day... so get over it,' is that bullshit needs to be called, on all damn accounts.

Tomi Lahren... This woman is heinously bigoted and has no stake in intersectional and cross-cultural feminism. Her success is predicated on promulgating unfounded comparisons of civil rights groups to terrorist groups, bombast, and closing, not opening dialogues, across all spectrums of politics.

'You can't just support one type of woman and not the other' I suppose so, Trevor... But how is that what you are doing? Ann Coulter is equally as gross as a Mann Coulter would be. Tomi or Tommy, s/he is and would be just terrible.

She's young and marketable, but I think these men need to check themselves, she deserves to be counter-argued with just as much vigor and ferocity as she brings to the table.

I've worked with so many men who still don't understand feminism. Who behave bizarrely when dealing with what they perceive as attractive women. Plenty of women too, but men more often. Primarily, its a challenge for most to acknowledge their own privilege, with agency. But in these cases I've seen men treat women like infants, or too delicate for certain things. Sometimes, sexism can curve negative and become obviously negative LIKE WHEN your president-elect talks about fat, ugly, PMSing women... But oftentimes the treatment is almost pampering, praising (often for things that are physical or inconsequential) or avoidant; and because it's not necessarily evident that the treatment is negative, it's not sexist. LIKE WHEN your president-elect talks about tall, hot, sexy, pussy-grabbable women. See our president-elect is just so good at being sexist he does It ALL! ALL THE SEXISM!

This situation is a perfect example of that. It wasn't hurtful to Tomi to get all that love, support, those cocktails and those confections. But it hurt millions of women who expected solidarity and uprightness. A true stand against the mockery and petulance of a young powerhouse.

It's not about saying, well she's a woman she deserved to say whatever. Sure she has the same 1st amendment rights as all of us, but she doesn't just have Carte Blanche to imply her logic is sound and tested for mass consumption. Not if she's a political pundit, not if she's making the insane suggestion that she is the voice of reason. She has just as much right to being told she's incorrect, ignorant, racist, privileged, and offensive. She has just as much of a stake in her political ideology as anyone.

@charlamagnethagod you're weak. If you want "woke" women to come anywhere near success you have to give them a platform. I don't even know where to start with you, you are just yuck. Your roots with Wendy Williams show so much. Your success is not an indicator of your correctness. Don't ever speak down to Women of Color as a whole again, ignorant ass child.

@TrevorNoah you sent cupcakes after a debate? How many male guests on your show do you send cupcakes to? I'm interested to know the parameters of feminism that call for pink cupcakes being sent to opponents of Liberty? What the hell is that? And if it was a personal gesture she sure made you look like the adoring fan by posting the little cake on her Instagram, referring to it as 'common ground.' That's adorable... Sounds like she got a lot out of the whole intellectual conversation. Sounds like she really respects you and it's good you saved her from her own opinions and idiocy. Super sweet of you.

You have a good time popping prosecco and eating cake... Some of us don't have the fake-believe to fall back on. Some of us are waiting for these lazy ass men with all these platforms and opinions and audiences and miniature cakes... to step up and stand for something. You thought you were slick with that feminism argument and in the process discounted other women? Don't forget Jon Stewart didn't give his show to Samantha Bee, did he? Or Amy Poehler or Schumer... The Daily Show A staggering minority of the shows guests are intellectuals that identify as females. And now that you have this platform, don't act like before Tomi, Barbara Boxer, Rachel Maddow, Nancy Pelosi, Wendy Davis, Hillary Clinton didn't sit in that guest seat, being the amazing civil servants that they are. But where are the Amal Alamuddins? The Nayirrah Waheeds? The Betita Martinezs? Chimamanda Ngozi Adiches? The Erykah Badus? The Dolores Huertas? The Vandana Shivas? The Karen Armstrongs? Cupcakes for feminism? Lolllllllllllll how about you invite some female intellectuals on your shows?! Maybe even some OF COLOR?

Tomi reminds me of every single one of her predecessors: the Sara Palins, the Ann Coulters, the Michelle Malkins, Stacey Dashes, the heinous and somehow attractive? You can absolutely say and feel what you want. That's freedom. And I can absolutely evicerate your logic and prove you wrong, question your political and social motives, and expose your eventual intentions... That's DEMOCRACY.

'Don't hate her cuz she's beautiful..." Lmao beauty is in the eye of the beholder... You belittling all 'other women' as petty and jealous, because they disagree with someone, is the epitome of stupid. 'They're just cupcakes everyone loves cupcakes.' The latter is quite true, but the statement that they are 'just cupcakes.' Is JUST BULLSHIT. Keep it private if it's not part of the public discussion.

Merry xmas!!! Jesus was Afro-Arab-looking Semite, born in Palestine, and Santa's favorite cookies are not what you think because he prefers pistachio biscotti! He is now lactose intolerant, and he remarried, and his second wife is an Atheist Yogini Of Color.

Mrs Clause kept the name for marketing purposes but went into publishing and sends Santa alimony cuz she a G... and California divorce law.

MINDS-EXPLODING! #JingleBellsRocked 

Swamp Things: How Trump Is Already Disappointing His Supporters

President-elect Trump... So Far:

• Is not 'draining' any 'swamps,' nor introducing anything new to the establishment*

*except his completely unprecedented, total lack of qualifications

Let's take a peak inside his ever-creep-steeped cabinet:

+Jeff Sessions+ Attorney General Nominee+ In Politics Since 1970s+ Privately Wealthy

Known to throw phrases like "race traitor," around in personal conversations, Sessions is the current Junior US Senator, from Alabama.

Cute Story About Jeff: Once upon a time, Jeff accused the NAACP of being "Un-American... because they force civil rights down the throats of people." That's right folks, Civil Rights advancement is un-american, according to the attorney general to-be. An Assistant US Attorney testified in a court of law, that sessions once commented to him that the kkk was, "OK, until I found out they smoked pot." ... This Assistant US Attorney was a Black man. Sessions admitted to saying this and other racial slurs and bigoted statements, and publicly apologized. Sessions supported the invasion of Iraq and opposed legislation to prohibit torture. Meaning? He is both admittedly bigoted, and openly for, the use of torture against perceived enemies.

"Fundamentally, almost no one coming from the Dominican Republic to the United States is coming because they have a skill that would benefit us and that would indicate their likely success in our society.” Jeff said these words on the Senate Floor. 

Facts... In his 1966 when Jeff was in college, a young, blooming Republican at Huntingdon College... He campaigned against segregationist candidate, Lurleen Wallace. 

BUT ALSO FACTS... Jim D. Martin, the opposing candidate, of Lurleen Wallace, was also a segregationist. Martin has since confirmed that Session worked with him on his campaign.

Watch which caps you place feathers in, Homies. Jeff Sessions has repeatedly expressed sentiments of white supremacy, and even been legally indicted over racially charged rhetoric, and the outright use of racial slurs, even in the company of colleagues Of Color. He has continuously voted against the expansion of liberties to LGBTQ citizens. He is anti-choice. 

+Nikki Haley+ UN Ambassador Nominee+ In Politics Since 1990s+Privately Wealthy+ "Friend" of Trumps+

Nimrata Nikki Haley has been the Governor of South Carolina since 2011. Previously she held tenure as a county representative. 

Cute Story About Nikki: Benefiting from her father's successful career in higher education, Nikki's parents initially emigrated to Canada from Amristar, Punjab. Through similar scholastic channels, her parents finally immigrated to South Carolina, where her father would teach at Voorhies College. Nikki's family thrived having been offered an opportunity at citizenship. Here's the cutest part tho; in 2011 Haley voted for legislation which requires all immigrants carry an identification defining them as immigrants and also, proving they are in the country legally. Additionally she supported E-Verify, which would require businesses to verify the citizenship of their employees; this totally backfired when corporations began kicking and screaming.

Because like any confused American who thinks this way, they don't see that immigration laws and principles do not extend to those benefitting from cheap migrant labor. This isn't about job development and supporting 'Joe Plumber,' its about prejudice and scapegoating. Corporations are responsible for who, and how they employ. Recognizing the holes and inequities in how these so-called "alt-right" aka neo-nazi, laws and measures would be enforced, is key to exposing their underlying racist rhetoric. 

The immigration bill's co-sponsor Larry Grooms called illegal immigration a threat to the nation’s liberty and freedom that must be eradicated. “They cling together in illegal communities and bring with them drugs, prostitution, violent crime and gang activity.” 

A lot of people can't deal with their privilege. Some people, like Nikki, use their personal narrative to rationalize prioritizing their human rights over the human rights of others in the same position. There are millions of refugees and undocumented folks that 'deserve' the rights of citizenship, just as much as Haley's family. These are our self-proclaimed American Values. These are the ideals professed on the relics of our nation from the coasts to the capitol. Haley signed her immigration policies into law... a lawsuit has been filed by the United States Justice Department, in response. Meaning, Haley has passed a law that the US Justice Department believes violates multiple aspects of the People's Constitutional Rights. 

Haley is anti-choice and, over the summer, signed a bill to ban abortions after 20 weeks in her state. Before you start thinking, well that's late-term and that's sad, I don't blame her for that; remember, if Roe v Wade didn't exist, she (and many other republicans) would be signing a full mandate against abortion into law, she just doesn't have that power... yet. Baby steps, pun perhaps intended, to curtailing the rights of women totally, by holding power over their bodies even partially.  

Facts... Haley did vote to remove the confederate flag from the SC State Capitol grounds. 

but Also Facts... This was only after the terrorist attack/hate crime which killed 9 community leaders gathered in peaceful congress, at the historically Black Charleston Church, and many years of refusing to remove the flag previously.

Also, there was that ridiculous series of pro-gun statements and interviews she did that came across as... closed-minded, to say the least. Additionally, bi-partisan moves like this are common tactics to quell discontent, inconsequential in the face of public tragedy or serious political actions like legislative action. Also that lil chestnut: No international relations experience, whatsoever.

+Betsy DeVos+ Education Ambassador Nominee+ In Politics Since 1980s+ Privately (Very) Wealthy

Cute Story About Betsy: In 2004, she raised over $150K for the Bush re-election campaign... Need I say more about this billionaire, former chairwoman of the Michigan Republican Party, and career, pro-charter school, lobbyist?

Okay I will... She's a huge, perhaps the main, national proponent of what is cleverly called "School Choice." School Choice claims to champion better education for all, but merely allows people to segregate schools again by shunting the flow of tax monies to certain educational organizations, and therefore certain neighborhoods, instead of allowing taxes to be naturally distributed toward educational development, as a whole. Public schools, and the students therein, suffer greatly, while certain institutions quickly privatize and financially benefit. Studies prove that 'chosen schools' are predominantly white, and become increasingly so, over time. 'Chosen,' by whom? Motivated by what reasons? 

As an educator, I feel the school choice agenda is another fundamental step toward disenfranchising the Youth of America, undermining the art and limiting the outreach of Teachers/Educators, and further commodifying education. 

Facts... DeVos has donated hundreds of millions of dollars to philanthropic causes 

But also facts... Tax write-offs 

President-elect Trump... So Far, Continued:

• He's pretty much promised to repeal Obamacare. IF repealed, it would leave approximately 16 million without healthcare.

• He's not putting Hillary in jail, or even investigating her, because his accusations were baseless in the first place.

• He's not deporting 11 million immigrants, ever, mostly because he cannot, but now we know because he will not. As a beneficiary of low-cost 'illegal' labor, he obviously never meant any of that. even if he tries, there are righteous people who wont let him, even in the swamp.

• He's backed off of his hardline pro-life stance, evident in his 60 minutes interview, saying overturning Roe v Wade, if at all, is definitely not a priority, far off, and has "a long long way to go" before even discussing the policy is possible. If he tries, women won't have it. His 'legacy' would be marred forever. 

Whether he's being evasive and deceptive now, or he was being evasive and deceptive last month, before he was deemed the president-elect by the Electoral College, where is the outrage?

Be you republican, democrat, '3rd party' whatever, or a national socialist hiding under the new, even sadder, 'alt-right' title... supporter or dissenter, you have no clue what Trump actually intends to accomplish as a leader. No one does, because he doesn't know himself, and anyone watching the guy answer questions regarding concrete plans for the future knows it. Even the things he says he believes, he flip-flops on. You could be betting or praying on his actions one way or another, but you're just betting on a feeling, like the rest of us. And if you were banking on a revolution, I'll help you Spark Note the text books on revolution you haven't/will never actually read... there won't be a revolution, not as ever before, for a number of reasons.  

And its that emotion that you are feeling right now! That feeling of total bewilderment, unpredictability... that's the need for answers you are supposed to feel at the end of a juicy reality tv segment, not at the beginning of a presidency.  

What Do A Shooter, A Shooter, And A Shooter, Have In Common?

Around 5pm on Saturday, Christy Sheats, 42, chased down, shot and killed her 17 and 22 yr old daughters, Madison and Taylor, following what police are describing as a 'family dispute.' The shooting took place on a public street,  in front of neighbors, in the family's Houston, #Texas neighborhood, on their father Jason's birthday. 

Taylor 22, had already been shot once inside the home, where the argument supposedly started and several shots were fired. She tried to run away out of the front door, and was shot again, once more, outside. She wasn't dead yet. Having run out of bullets, Christy reentered the family home to grab more ammunition, returned outside, and shot Taylor one final time in the back. Madison 17, was shot once outside, shortly before police arrived on-scene. Though she was rushed to the hospital, she too eventually succumbed to her wounds and died. Jason Sheats, the girls' father, was uninjured and witnessed the events unfold. Details are being withheld by police.

Jason Sheats being escorted from the scene by Police, was uninjured. 

Looking for information about the shooter, one only needs to go as far as Facebook to find troubling details.

“It would be horribly tragic if my ability to protect myself or my family were to be taken away,” she wrote in a March post, “but that’s exactly what Democrats are determined to do by banning semi-automatic handguns." -Christy Sheats' Facebook profile, March 2016

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CLICK TO ENGLARGE: Photo from Christy Sheats' Facebook profile. In a comment made next to a January 14, 2016 pro-gun post, Sheats jokes about purchasing more guns with a friend.

Her profile is riddled with Bible verses, conservative platitudes, and pro-gun propaganda. Christy self-identified as Southern Baptist, and was born and raised in Alabama, where she met Jason Sheats. Jason Sheats' profile also provides ample evidence that he shared in his wife's pro-gun and conservative sentiments. 

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Jason Sheats' Facebook profile where he follows "The 1st Lady of the 2nd Amendment" 

So far, the media and police have been very careful about releasing any details related to the case, choosing instead to remain vague about Christy having 'had a mental crisis.' There are no conspiracy theories being proposed about her ties to radical groups, or any speculations being made by the media concerning the involvement of her husband, Jason Sheats. Is there not a connection between Christy's faith, politics, personality, and actions? Are her beliefs totally separate from her actions? 

A Fulshear Police Department officer shot Christy Sheats on the scene, after she refused to drop her weapon(s). The police department has released statements wishing Jason Sheats well, 'in light of his immense loss.' According to local authorities, police had been called to the home multiple times for domestic disturbances, but they refuse to release any further details; including the type of gun she used to murder her children.

Now...

The incident in Houston with the Sheats family took place only two days after the gun-related murder of Cobb County, Georgia school teacher and mother of 2, Jenna Wall. Police arrived at Jenna's parents' residence to find her two boys in a car outside, the boys claimed to hear gunshots.

The boys' father, Jarrod Wall, recently divorced Jenna, was inside the residence with his mother, Elizabeth Wall. Jarrod claims his mother, Elizabeth, called him to the house already having shot Jenna to death in the kitchen. He and Jenna had been engaged in a custody battle for some time, leading up to the murder.

Police arrested Elizabeth "Betsy" Wall, 63, and charged her with murder, aggravated assault, possession of a weapon during the commission of a felony, and third-degree cruelty to children. She was not allowed bond. Jenna's father is an administrator at the local Southern Baptist Church. The Walls were all practicing, and highly active members of the Southern Baptist Church.

What do shooters really have in common?  

Each shooter presents with rigid and obsessive ideations of general social order, or, 'how things should be.' This is coupled with a feeling of dissatisfaction with the status quo, a disappointment and perhaps a sense of certain circumstances being pre-determinable. These feelings of dissatisfaction usually initially translate into some kind of pronounced dogma or creed, group or gang. Religion, may seem an obvious platform for fundamentalism, but religion is not the motivation behind the actions of neo-nazis,  for example, who largely consider themselves atheists, unlike other white supremacist groups. Therefore, fundamentalism can stand on its own as a more rational source of violence.

Fundamentalism as I see it: Literal (rather what is agreed upon by a group of individuals to be literal...)* interpretations of religious texts, hand-in-hand with literal* interpretations of pieces of legislation like the Second Amendment, and literal* interpretations of economic and social trends, i.e. thinking immigrants are actually 'taking jobs away from me,' when the vast majority of job losses are directly decided by corporations and conglomerates; and no one holds them accountable.

Furthermore, each case exposes histories of mental health dysfunction and interactions with law enforcement ranging from court-related proceedings like custody and divorce, to domestic disturbances requiring police intervention. 

Finally, these were individuals with issues, who had access to firearms. 

Oh, and they are all happening in the United States. In our country. Our policies and laws, put in place to protect us and improve our quality of life... are failing us.

We have suffered enough national loss involving firearms to do the math: 

Mental Health Issues+Gun Access+Psychotic Episode= Tragedy in America

Each detail explained away by relatives, police, opportunists in the media, politicians and even the public, as if they mean absolutely nothing.

Can having your first and only bad night explain a mother killing her own daughters? If the police have been called to the residence before as a result of domestic dispute, should guns be readily available in the residence? Just a really bad day for a mother-in-law, where killing her daughter-in-law 20 feet from her grandchildren seemed like a righteous and responsible thing to do? How someone's grandmother prayed, has more to do with how they take a life, than the weapons they can access to harm others? Rosaries, or carpets, or headwear, or symbols, or memes, are more rational to blame for the physical murder of a human being, than a physical gun? Really? So by that logic, a gun-rights proponent would tell me if we remove guns from the equation, these children, this mother would still be dead? That these people would have been capable of killing with their bare hands? That the Pulse Nightclub Shooter would have been able to hurt over 50 people with his fists? A knife? A stick? A revolver? A handgun even?

Is that how deluded this conversation has become? Don't blame the gun! Don't blame the gun? As if guns are human and need protecting. If a human 'accidentally by no will of its own' killed thousands of people per year, wouldn't they have their rights taken away and be thrown in jail, behind bars, or end up under lock and key in an institution? 

Something needs to be done about how we address domestic violence, weapons access, and especially mental healthcare access in America.   

So, what do a shooter, a shooter and a shooter have in common? 

... aint this some Venn Diagram shit...

#GunControl #America #DomesticViolence #terrorism #WhatIsTheRealIssueHere #MentalHealth #Parity #TheHomieSasa #HealthCareReform

www.TheHomieSasa.com

GOT Episode 10: The Not So United Kingdom's Plight With Mirrors, And Looking In Them

I'd like to take this opportunity to applaud Scotland for understanding the idiocy of the #Brexit and voting #In. I'm sorry you are trapped #in what is certainly The Most Idiotic and Neo Colonialist BS Of Modern Times. Prepare yourself for what an American-Afghan has to say about all this, thank you for not holding back in your disrespect and exploitation of people, culture and religions around the world, and democracy in general! You are allowing me to speak these Truths to a receptive audience! #BorisAintReadyForShit (Made obvious by both his awkward not-actual-press-conference-because-he-didnt-allow-questions this morning, and his general delight in RACISM which it seems, most British leaders enjoy in-kind).

Need to read more about the issues surrounding #Brexit ? Here are the demographics and voter analyses. 

SHALL WE Jump in?

Wow UK... 50-11th-wave Neo-Colonialism is truly something!!! You guys are getting so good at this stuff! The manual as you have written it reads:

1. Laud your 'progressive' society, even when it doesn't exist, and be sure to capitalize on fear. Get the media on your side, distract the public from the facts and get them hooked to the narrative; trust they will all hear whatever dog whistle message you have designed for them. This will simultaneously perpetuate a false hegemony; you will appear to be a global sherif, instead of what you actually are... A global pirate.

2. Nurture the bravado. You are busy destabilizing and promulgating protracted conflict in a region like the Middle East, so you need a big national wedding! Don't forget to arm the insurgency while fluffing crinoline. Add a new snapchat filter the same day you drone bomb the only hospital in a 500km area. Make sure you gloss over the multi-layered atrocities your 'kingdom' has inflicted on the rest of the world for the last oh... 900 years? Create a foreign atrocity du jour, a spectacle which garners the attention of all because it targets the innocent. One that is malleable enough to apply to any group or individual at any time, just in case you need a scapegoat community, and one of controversy. Mask your own failures under the warm falsehood of nationalism or patrimony. Make sure to remain broad, obtuse really.

3. Flush refugees, like cattle, out of that region with major devastation, lack of access to public resources, jobs or infrastructure. Make sure school stops. Hospitals close. Homes are destroyed. Families are broken apart. Airports become useless. Roads become too dangerous. Force death upon the people, the survivors will run. Act like you didn't know it would happen. Things need to stay stable but vitriolic at home. You have work to do!

4. Keep the fight going! Exploit resources and recruit locals in your military as cultural advisors, translators, project managers, while demonizing Or criminalizing the innocent survivors fleeing the conflict you created. You will need to compensate for‪#‎guantanmo‬ and ‪#‎abughraib‬ and the rapes, war crimes and the dead children... You can't risk being seen as anything but a noble and opulent crown! ... Especially if the biggest diamond in your crown belongs to Afghanistan like the ‪#‎kohinoor‬

5. Then cut and run; Destabilize your own region enough to make big messes look normal, invest in piss-poor media and pseudoscience. Give Simon Cowbell (more! More cowbell!) another tv talent show to pith about with. Be sure to deflect and misdirect responsibility of any kind. Be sure no one gets upset at your open-ended questions ‪#‎WhereThoseWMDsAt‬ ... Excuse any misgivings by lying that you hold yourself to a higher standard than your enemy. You will determine the height of the moral grounds. You will decide what is right and wrong... 'moral high and low grounds.'

6. Plunder and accumulate assets... Double down by investing in BOTH munitions AND international aid!!! So smart! You make money whether you are killing or saving... and then press restart. Liquidate those assets. ... Major money. Bank on xenophobia, the magical algorithm, bound to drive people to total irrational behavior... Like shitting on 50 years of diplomacy and state-building by seceding from the ‪#‎EU‬ ... And Finally...

7. Never mention the actual numbers: 5 million Muslims dead, majority women, children and the elderly. Chalk those up as "casualties" of war, and boil the blame down to the animal nature of the enemy... The pedigree for violence in these "martial races." Call them evil. Create someone to blame for something you contrived. Don't risk reminding people of the bad things that you've done; make sure if you are accused of Crimes of War, you do your best to muddle the details, for example: 

1. The Death of Baha Moussa 
2. Several tried cases, and several ignored cases, where British soldiers opened fire and killed Iraqi civilians in circumstances where there was apparently no imminent threat of death or serious injury to themselves or others
3. May 2003, Saeed Shabram and his cousin, Menem Akaili, were thrown into the river near Basra after being detained by British troops.
4. Ahmed Jabbar Kareem Ali, aged 15, was on his way to work with his brother on 8 May 2003, when British soldiers assaulted him. The four British soldiers beat him then forced him into a canal at gunpoint to "teach him a lesson" for suspected looting, later proven to be untrue. He could barely breath from the beating they gave him, and they held him down in the river, and waited for him to drown to death. 
5. In February 2006, a video showing a group of British soldiers beating several "Iraqi teenagers," which means Iraqi children from about 8-14 years old. WARNING: This VIDEO is disturbing but very very necessary to watch. It includes a truly vile voice-over by a spectator. 
6. When you don't have to answer for your CRIMES, you can behave as if you left your colonialism and imperialism in the past; But the evidence is THERE, even in Africa. This is an old and celebrated habit of yours. Even with the evidence stacked against you, you will be cavalier and disgusting enough to accuse victims of "Jumping on the financial compensation wagon." This has always been about your Afghan-Anglo sour grapes, your exploitation of the people of Asia, Africa, The Islands and The Americas. Your BIGOTRY. You no longer wish to be responsible for yourself, so you mock the system and put your own citizens into a mass experiment? Good on you.

(Britploitation)

When you can no longer hide these details, and people start questioning your authority... Just opt out of your responsibilities. 

Pro-tip: preserve your wealth by any means necessary. You must establish neutral piggy bank nations like Switzerland; places you know you can keep your money safe as a western nation. These piggy banks can roll around acting like their neutrality is some kind of sign of evolution, while you sleep easy knowing they remain neutral only to keep the money safe.

By this time, people are filled with so much vitriol and fear, they don't care who, what, where, when, or why. They can't help but think: us versus them.

These are great tips for how to exploit systems globally! Good job UK! No one exploits others like you! Good luck with that pound, heard it lost some weight. Call the new money gram.

The Fractured Queendom just lost The Game Of Thrones

 ‪#‎GOT‬ ‪#‎EUreferendum‬ ‪#‎WinForBiggotry‬ ‪#‎LForEverythingElse‬ ‪#‎EUreferendum‬ ‪#‎Brexit‬ ‪#‎ByeFelicia‬

Please take note, this action means that xenophobia is not a waning threat. TheHomieSasa predicted Trump would be the nominee long before others! Time to wake up! Trump has a real chance at galvanizing the nation's bigots for something none of us want... a possible trump presidency. Do not underestimate ‪#‎TheDumb‬ #StopMenWithBadHair

Europe, Come Get Your Grandkids.

LOL... Europe, come get your grandkids.

OH MAN OH MAN. This is just such a time; Megyn Kelly's politics are offending conservatives?! 

Well... Everything she said about Old Troll Hair Trumpa Loompa's misogynistic ways is true, and totally understated. Trump's values should be clear now. He just tried to blackball someone for questioning him. He has been pocketing hirable celebrity sycophants like Pokemon, for decades, and he is a card-carrying member of the 1%... rather the .00000000001% ... he has no credentials whatsoever. AT ALL.

Seriously; He has no credible education to take the place of his lack of credentials or working experience. In his own companies, he has exploited undocumented workers at far under minimum wage, as was the case with the "Polish Brigade" in the 90s. He has promised hugely inflated and unrealistic goals for his properties, like guaranteeing the development of his golf course in tandem with creating 6,000 jobs... eventually he admitted to creating, possibly, over 100 jobs. Which is literally 60 times less the number of jobs he promised to the area (Math Wow!). He is a failure in almost every sense of the word, and has the makings of an excellent disappointment, although... he did dodge The Draft... but methinks that has to do more with his money than his morals since he trumped up (pun intended) some wild problems with his left, or... right(?) heel (though he can't remember which one, its so hard to remember debilitating medical issues) that made service 'impossible.' His only remaining successes were really tied up in television and the Pageant circuit, and look what happened to all of that. One racist comment against La Gente, and he fucked all that up too.

All he has proven is he is uncouth. Petulant. Xenophobic (unless dealing with those worldly women half-his-age, dressed in a bikini and heels, willing to be boiled down to scorecards, OR those offering money or property like his many business liaisons in the Middle East, and Asia). Sexist. Agist. Racist. Uncultured. Lacks poise. Improprietous. Inexperienced. Lacking in almost every faculty of a competent leader, let alone a world leader. Can't win a fight without a 13th round and a buyout. Draft Dodging? Creep.

I'm just judging him on the same level as I would judge a Miss America contestant! He has the hot-to-trot tight body that we all love, but his ears stick out a bit, and that's just too gross to allow. MWAHAHAHA

His favorite pastimes include foreclosures, grandstanding, hyperbole, and firing people. His greatest achievements include making Omorosa famous enough to hang out with Nene Leakes, AND being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, and even then, it only happened because he paid for it.

His greatest diplomatic achievement? Managing to keep a model fluent in 5 languages with him, when she can ask for help in 5 languages.

And though for the life of me, I don't know why FATE would allow me so much mirth... she admitted in an interview with People Magazine, that she refused to even give her number to Trump for several months; lol. She was modeling for his agency and he couldn't get the digits. Oh my, there is just something odd about finding out that your maybe (please God no) president's wife was creeped out by him for months while he flashed his wealth and power and then finally gave him her phone number ahaahahaha. Treat yo'self Melania! 

THE biggest train wreck of all train wrecks, Lady Palin of Russian Porch (all hail Tina Fey), who literally lost an American war hero the presidency, just endorsed this guy because he couldn't find any woman, outside of the Taiga, to support his megalomaniacal bullshit; but also I think Sarah is suffering from severe frostbite of the brain, or Brainfreezeus Simplex... it gets cold up there... so close to Russia.

So here's to the guy treating the presidential race like an informercial, and all the people who still watch Bill Maher and consider themselves educated! CHEERS! I am rarely so confusingly amused and grossed out at the same time.

It is a ridiculous time to be alive. The Dumb, has spread. And while researchers are racing for a cure, millions are succumbing.

... STOP THE DUMB.

‪#‎megynkelly‬ ‪#‎trump‬ ‪#‎fox‬ ‪#‎POTUS2016‬ ‪#‎TheDumb‬ ‪#‎StopTheDumb‬‪‪#‎TheHomieSasa‬

America: The Crumbling Mosaic Relic Nightmare Dream

As I sit reading about ‪#‎DonaldTrump‬ wanting to ban all ‪#‎Muslims‬ from entering the United States... I don't mourn it so much. I am not surprised. Called this like a year ago. Alas... I have a message for my beleaguered Muslim brothers and sisters:

Please Muslim brothers and sisters, there's nothing to see here but a bunch of bigots and fear mongers. Spend your money, dreams, love elsewhere. Here, Muslims are treated second-class, murdered, assaulted in public, sexually violated for wearing scarves, threatened.

The US, where people forget they themselves are involved in global warfare, responsible for ruin and robbery, collateral damage and lost limbs, murder... Because Saint West has been named and its the playoffs or the bowl game or the price of nestle products has gone up and that's immigrants' faults, just like the murder rate, even though according to the National Crime Victimization Survey of 2013 white people still commit the majority of violent crimes in the US (and obviously around the world).

I wish it were different, but there is no place for you, you cannot be welcomed at a home with no heart. With no sense of self or dignity or unity. This is a wasteland, where white men and 'adorable king pins' disgrace the legacy of their Framer forefathers. Hashtag Black Friday Matters out hashtags ‪#‎BlackLivesMatter‬, hashtag we need a new white disney princess, hashtag 'i am not a terrorist' to simply scream i am an uncle tom, hashtag save the rainforest by freeing the nipple but shut down funding for planned parenthood which saves nipples.

This place is a place where innovators and forward thinkers go to die, where artists, survivors and soldiers are called thugs and goodfornothings. This is the land of opportunity where working welfare users are leeches, instead of evidence that the state is not providing a living wage.

This place is a place where you can fight for human rights your whole life and then read shit from your esteemed colleagues, like 'why should people on the no-fly list be able to buy guns?' ... You think to yourself, 'Because the no-fly list doesn't have any disgruntled white mens' names on it,' laughing a little, until you remember that this very same colleague, benignly asking for disparate rights for equal citizens, is dating a Muslim brother! Lollllll [fkn kill me].

Muslims, as you avoid this country and explore the rest of what the world has to offer, please keep us in your hearts and prayers, as we have never done for you, because we are governed, fed, educated, and homogenized by opportunists and idiots.

Please, make no apologies, and be free; even though we have destabilized all your pre-existing stable governments, and you have almost nowhere to go. Also we dictate political trends globally, so don't expect us to apologize, ever. We don't deserve you, and you certainly don't deserve U.S. and our bullshit.

If this pisses you off and you think this is not what America is all about... ur adorable. Its called a literary device so go talk to your therapist about it. Tell me you support Trump and I'll put you on my suspected terrorist list, right where you belong. 

#TheOldNewTerrible

Today's Tea

Today's Tea:

Self-righteous malarky steeped for hours in Privilege and the fine powdered seeds of the not-so-rare Islamophobia pod.

Sit back, and sip on these slowly, Homie; #HorribleTweets

Some People had some humanity left in them...  

Some were lacking, to say the least. State officials in Michigan and Texas have echoed these sentiments: 

Some are skeptical; wondering if due diligence is actually being done: 

But the facts remain:

Refugees are continuing to suffer. We do not need to be afraid of being Americans. We value freedom, liberty, and justice, and now is our chance to prove it.