Folie à plusieurs: The Well-Known and Well-Hidden Truth About Afghanistan
Drawn in 1878, what did the Bear and the Lion Represent? Russia and Britain respectively.
As a direct result of the US airstrike which targeted the Doctors Without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, the aid organization has announced it is leaving.
The impact of this decision is difficult to adequately describe, as the big picture only becomes visible over time. There are a few details we need to get out of the way:
First, this is a war crime and the murder of innocent medical personnel is appalling. Initially, the US and allied forces all denied responsibility, adding insult to injury literally. Second, MSF is one of the few organizations that has aided Afghanistan's most vulnerable since before the rest of the world even knew how to say 'tora bora.' Third, their departure will be an irreparable upheaval of life-saving resources, just as the country heads into harsh winter. By November, the regional temperature will average at about 24 degrees F, many will die of cold, and all will face the challenges that come with the frigid season.
Many news sources are saying that the recent siege at Kunduz means the resurgence of the taliban... which I do not agree with, and find a tiresome distraction from the fact that, regardless, the biggest threat to Afghan civilian safety is still the United States and allied force airstrikes and drone attacks.
I am still waiting for the day that the suffering of Afghan people is truly defined, laid out for the world to ponder upon. Afghanistan is and has been the #1 Humanitarian Crisis in the entire world... for over 30 years. For perspective, that means the Afghan citizen is worse-off in every way than Somalia, Mexico, Ukraine, India, or Zimbabwe. 'Hey, what's the big idea, Homie? Its all bad! Why is this important?
This, and the fact that most of Afghanistan's basic humanitarian issues have remained desperate and dire, are the only important things you will learn in politics this year.
#1 Humanitarian Crisis in the World... What does it mean tho?
That means, absolutely no access to medicine or medical personnel from within the country; That means 1 in 2 births resulting in death before age 5, and the lowest birth rate in the entire world, with a life expectancy averaging at 37 years old a staggering 20 years younger than even neighboring Uzbekistan; furthermore a complete lack of educational resources including teachers, writing paper and utensils; That means victimization as a result regional despotism; That means absolutely no NGO or government relief; That means only 12% of citizens have access to clean water, and lack of qualified personnel has left most roads and other commercial infrastructures in total disrepair cutting citizens off from access to medicine, food, and one another; That means there are twice as many people aged 0-14 than people of child bearing age, indicating staggering numbers of double and single orphans; refugees totaling over 6 million, and millions of Internally Displaced Persons. It basically means Afghans have been heavily exploited, while their suffering has gone largely ignored, and now the world has been told Afghanistan is a hotbed of terrorist activity as a result of the tragedies of 9/11, which involved no Afghans.
Now, You were absolutely right Homie, this isn't a competition... the only reason I even bring it up is to highlight the lack of media and public acknowledgement of how dire the situation has been, for a very very long time, and even more staggering, how little it has changed even today. The narrative has always been that 'these war-loving Afghans can't figure peace out,' while the reality remains and always has been, Afghans are pawns in a Great Game, their suffering a direct byproduct of conflict and embargo inflicted by outside hegemony, now and for centuries before. [I don't have time to tell you about the Anglo-Afghan wars, or the Indo-Afghan wars, or reiterate that the taliban were funded and armed by the United States, basically the whole world wants what Afghanistan's got to offer, from natural resources, to its tactically brilliant geographical positioning between nations of great power and valuable resources like oil, natural gas, copper, lithium and semi-precious and precious stones... Oh wait, I just did]
Basically, Folks, never has a World Vision or Save-A-Child commercial featured an Afghan child. Afghanistan's plight has the least media coverage of anything I have ever seen, which is perplexing considering we see it in the news so often. But hey, narrative matters! If people think the United States, England (Great Britain is a condescending and silly name for a place, until Afghanistan is called Highly Superior Afghanistan, I really refuse), and Russia okayed an attack on a civilian hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, that's not a good look for the United States and Russia. Really, the entire truth about Afghani suffering is not a good look for anyone. The US, Pakistan, India, England, Russia, and by default all of the Allied Forces, the United Nations, Amnesty International. All of these powerful bodies of government, all facing the malign of failure, perhaps even exploitation, I daresay, even the status of War Criminals... and Afghanistan's truth becomes a thing of folklore and fantasy, a minor issue. A collateral issue. The truth about Afghanistan is now disappeared.
The truth about Afghanistan, is that the starvation, bombardments, abuses, theft, embargoes, trade contracts, billions of dollars in revenue, the deaths in the millions, have all happened as a result of foreign greed and gain. If the current migrant distress seen from Syria lightly spilling into Europe disturbs you, protract these issues by 50 years, and you will have the life story of the majority of Afghan people.
I am appalled at the global lack of acknowledgment that the brunt of the immigrant population from Syria is being harbored in neighboring countries, and the absolutely false assertion that Europe is facing some kind of crisis by allowing in refugees. This is an Islamophobic world, Homie, I'm just tryna live in it. The Truth about Afghanistan is that the US bombed hospital, burning patients and medical staff alive inside. This unwarranted and US-authorized attack has shut down one entire region's access to health care and humanitarian aid, and this is not the first, nor the second time, nor the fifth... and so the question remains: what will be done to bring relief to the Afghan people for once?
Russia and the US are arguing again. Pakistan is mad about India again, India needs a favor from China... blah blah blah and so critical trade routes to Afghanistan, a landlocked nation will be cut off yet again. Meanwhile the US and Britain are trading Afghan oil and copper with contracts that amount to billions of dollars, while Afghans freeze to death, and still have no hospitals or schools to go to. How straight forward and obvious does exploitation, theft, and mass murder need to be, really?
America was very careful not to bomb the oil refineries and trade routes in Kunduz it has built to gain access to Afghan resources. On my last trip to Kunduz in 2008, I spent some time at one such refinery site; Its quite the racket, really. A british oil container gets through a government checkpoint so much easier than a bus of Afghan civilians, its really nifty. I would go even further to say that the US and Great Britain have done almost nothing to promote the advancement of the Afghan people, and instead promulgated ignorance, and literally banked on the lack of education in Afghanistan to con Afghans to sign off on property deeds and contracts which exploit and underpay. Nothing about this war has been ethical, not even the 'humanitarian' efforts.
People have always had an easy time of writing off tragedies like the one in Kunduz, as 'collateral damage.'
How long will Afghan children grow up to die? To be collateral? Periphery? Secondary? Part of the process of weeding out so-called enemies? Now that some of the 'collateral' includes medical personnel from around the world, will anyone pay attention? Can we stand by Doctor's Without Borders by demanding an #IndependentInvestigation in #Kunduz ?
You tell me, Homie. All this rhetoric, and still no answers.
#thehomiesasa #afg #doctorswithoutborders #warcrime #Afghanistan #collateral #StopUseOfTheTermCollateralDamage
Crisis Syria: 4 Million Refugees and Global Apathy
A crisis of diplomacy; where the world has the opportunity to save innocent lives and does not. Only today, hundreds of Syrian refugees are trapped on a railway in Budapest. Germany has denied them entry for weeks, until finally breaking under pressure today and 'allowing' Syrians to enter via railway. Even though they were 'promised' asylum, 25mi down the line, the asylum-seekers were forcibly removed from the train and detained by police before entering Germany. Czech officials have responded to criticism by saying they do not recognize the authority of undocumented migrants to travel through their nation, and have begun numbering refugees with ink pens.
Over and over again, as a byproduct of the wars waged throughout history, we have displaced and resettled peoples en masse. 7 million Afghan refugees, 7 million African, from the DRC, Uganda, Sudan, Angola, Burundi and Mali, 7 million Indian, 2.7 million former-Yugoslavians, half the population of Cyprus, 3 million Palestinian, 5 million Iraqi, 1 million Ukrainian and Hmong, half a million Burmese and Georgian, almost 100,000 Sri Lankans and millions more alive today, know the story well; and now, 4 million Syrians face the same exposure to violence, starvation, and disease with little to no assistance from the "globalized world."
“The US has budgeted over $2.1 billion dollars in aid for this crisis, and a paltry 2,000 permanent resident vacancies for Syrian refugees... Of which it has currently only granted 90.”
While many individual citizens may express the desire to host refugees, governments must facilitate programs, and provide legal and resettlement services. Governments must initiate the process and oversee it, usually with the assistance of the UN. While waiting on governments to decide, organize, and engage, tens of thousands die. Turkey and Jordan have absorbed the highest influxes of people near 1 million each, while among European nations, only Germany and Sweden have been relatively reactive to the crisis housing around 60 thousand refugees each. Sweden is the first of any European nations to offer permanent settlement to the beleaguered Syrians. The US has budgeted over $2.1 billion dollars in aid for this crisis, and a paltry 2,000 permanent resident vacancies for Syrian refugees... Of which it has currently only granted 90.
Human Displacement itself is a huge catalyst for poverty, malnutrition, subsequent disease and war. When we engage in conflict with other nations, we do damage in waves; That includes when we incite conflict by funding or arming insurgencies, as we have done and still are doing around the world. That includes the boots-on-ground/drone/diplomatic engagements which have resulted in millions of innocent civilian deaths. This also includes the subsequent effects of destruction, human loss, and poverty on the surviving.
Women, children and the elderly are left exposed to violence and unstable, unsanitary, and overcrowded living quarters. Adolescents are at their prime for falling in, to get out; being recruited for gangs or militia. Women and children are the most vulnerable to victimization in sex or labor trafficking. Refugee camps are prone to limited medical resources, long spells of drought and malnutrition, and . UN tents or tin-roofed shacks, camps, and shantytowns expose people to the elements, and render little in the way of medical or social services. Many women die in childbirth, many children die before the age of 5, and many others succumb to disease.
The Cycle: War/Conflict->Internal Displaced Persons
->Refugees->Asylum Seekers->Asylees->Permanent Residents
Consider that refugees do not qualify for the refugee standard of living until they are resettled, either permanently or semi-permanently. Some 25 million people world wide are considered Internally Displaced. Internal displacement occurs when civilians have left their homes in their country of origin or citizenship, but have not arrived within a destination country. The plight of Internally Displaced Peoples versus Refugees is that they are within their nation's borders and have not yet reached the status of stateless or refugee, therefore they are not protected by international law. They receive minimal assistance and take major risks to find shelter and food. The goal is always resettlement in the country of origin. But with ruined infrastructure, fledgling government, in some ways, resettlement in the country of origin and voluntary repatriation are banishments to another augmented status of refugee, isn't it?
The Syrian toddler in the video below drowned while attempting to enter and seek asylum in Greece with his family. He was found washed up on the beach in Turkey, where they started off together. Aylan Kurdi was just 3 years old, his 5 year old brother also died in the boat capsizing along with his mother Rehan, and her 3 other children, 12 all together. This is definitely not the first nor anywhere near the highest number of drowned in similar incidences involving Syrian and other refugees seeking asylum. In one Austrian smuggling case, 71 bodies were found piled in a truck after they died being exploited in human trafficking. Almost 3,000 migrants have died this year alone, in boats over the mediterranean to Europe.
Aylan's father is Abdullah. He has a sister in Canada who applied there for the family's asylum and was rejected in June. Abdullah's Canadian sister continued to send money, which Abdullah would have used to get to Greece, where he would have theoretically been able to get to Sweden, where they are offering actual permanent residency. Currently, Abdullah is in Germany with the bodies of his wife and children.
Will the world continue to turn a blind eye? Who will save lives in this crisis, instead of ending them? Did Turkey, Canada, Germany, and the Czech Republic do anything to help these people? How is the United States contributing to a safer world in immediate terms?
Drowned Syrian Boy Symbolizes Refugee Crisis Sweeping Europe"Humanity washed ashore" - #KiyiyaVuranInsanlik - went viral after a drowned Syrian toddler's photo became a symbol of the refugee crisis sweeping Europe.
Posted by AJ+ on Wednesday, September 2, 2015
#Syria #ISIS #USA #Canada #Turkey #KiyiyaVuranIsanlik #refugeecrisis #war #thehomiesasa #UNHCR #News
Traveling, How $o?
Ah, Traveling.
There is literally NOTHING like Traveling; for your empathetic intelligence, your self-confidence, your perception expansion, your internal compass, moving about is the best educator. Taking yourself out of your daily routine, and your comfort zone... rediscovering your resilience... sharing with strangers... learning the tones and nuances in a second or third etc. language.
iTravel, and I invite you to do so as well... Not as a keeper of any key, but like you, as a mutual beneficiary of the world's bounty and beauty. These fine days, there are many ways to travel and some of them come at no cost to you. So, we gotta talk, Homie.
Please travel. And travel to countries or regions with different religions than yours, and different languages than yours, and even different governments than yours! Travel within your own country too, if you can do both! You can safely travel to even the thirdest, of the third-worlds (MWAHAHAHAH). First things first, however: GET A PASSPORT!
- Get a passport
- Consult a travel agent or website to get an idea of your price point and plan the itinerary. Ask yourself why you are traveling. If it help or enriches your experience, you might consider writing down your goals for your journey and referring back to them both within and after your trip.
- Ask yourself... "Do I need visas to travel to these destinations?" If yes: Get visa. I put getting the visa first because you MUST have these to travel safely (Your girl (me) has been detained before because of visa issues so, just trust me). Even if the consulate asks that you provide dates of travel and copies of tickets, you can usually provide itineraries you make online, without actually purchasing the ticket itself. If you don't get your visa, it's not a great idea to travel. Although, you can usually buy these at the customs desk of any airport? So... rules are pointless money schemes... that can get you arrested.
- Consistently keep an eye out for ticket deals and purchase your ticket before you take any time off from work
- Research any necessary precautions (anti-malarials, seasonal/weather, local customary dress and behavior)
- Crack open a language book and learn something. You would be surprised how much of a difference it makes, even if you do embarrass yourself a few times, locals appreciate the effort.
While traveling, compare and contrast historical narratives. Examine the practice of nationalism and patrimony. Check in with yourself often about what and how you are experiencing, and how you are contributing to enriching your experiences. Eat everything, except what's too familiar from home (Maybe once but seriously, come on!), and regret nothing. Make up false identities in airports around the world! AFTER you pass security and not with airport personnel. Okay... maybe don't. (But do!)
Let's be real tho, traveling right now is crazy expensive; Not just your ticket price, but lodging, food, and whatever you need to continue to pay for at home (kids, pets, bills, rent, PTO days you won't ever see again and clients, work, and projects you can't stop worrying about).
Just start saving! $5/week in a shoebox, or if you are wiser and better-organized, in a newly opened bank account, reserved for travel plans. If you want to travel within the year, I suggest a percentage of your paycheck. Look up general ticketing costs and plan to save about that much plus a food and discovery budget for activities and incidentals.
Some people are getting beaucoup bucks just from crowd funding, but I think it feels good to get a job or volunteer where you want to go. Talk to friends and hit up the mighty interweb to do some research on the cheapest ways to travel. DO NOT IGNORE THE POWER OF THE TRAVEL AGENT! They still exist, and often know where to find the cheapest flights. Ask about additional costs (which should be minimal if at all).
Look for cheap flights and packages online, and be sure to cross-reference with optimal travel times for your destination. Maybe there's a good reason that ticket to paradise is only $30... Could be a deal... Could be monsoon season... Could be amazing... Could be a hassle. Consider and COMMIT (I usually prefer going in the off-seasons... cheaper, cooler, weirder, etc.).
House-sit/swap/swoosh. Crew a boat. Sounds like a bit much, but you might transport vehicles or other legal fair for pay. Ryanair.com, kayak.com and easyjet.com have some good deals and new sites pop up constantly. Shoot, if you are in college, hit up study abroad QUICKLY. You could enter into service trips or assist somewhere professionally.
Look for jobs, which can be part-time or contracted, which would allow you to travel on someone else's dime, contributing and gleaning skills. Be aware of education abroad, volunteering networks, reputable exchange programs with good leadership, these are all excellent and enriching ways of experiencing travel.
You may find government-affiliated, non-profits, or private organizations which fit your specific needs, i.e. time frame, responsibilities, resume building, etc. Something the kids call WWOOF the new groovy thang; Peace Corps is intense and incredible, but not for every unicorn; Church-affiliated programs (but I encourage you to look for more immersive experiences and not just building projects where you visit the market on saturdays and stay in a hostel. stay with locals when possible always. you don't know shit, don't pretend you'll find anything out, but you definitely won't learn much of anything new in a boutique hotel, eating familiar, and speaking English 24/7). Put out an open hand, and people will grasp it. Consider all your options, because there are so many organizations out there with huge budgets for volunteers, even scholarships!
A Note (or several) About Traveling:
Allow the empathy rather than the narcissism, set in. A lot of stuff will go down while you travel. Swindling... Swaddling... Sacrifice... Sickness... Fatigue... Phatness... Amazing fashions... Horrible customer service... Harrowing drives up mountains... Humbling generosity... Grumbling condescension (usually from airline employees, who, all in all, suck; statistics prove! SCIENCE YIELDS TO NONE!)... You will encounter many opportunities to lose your head, and I suggest you just chill instead. I'm not necessarily talking about maintaining zen (which I do suggest, because its good for you), but I am saying sometimes getting harassed, then subsequently getting harassed by police for the right hook your threw at your harasser, and reflecting upon all the healthy hours you could have spent learning the local word for 'Cheers!' ... Thas jus nothanku!
So... just so we are clear:
Don't lose your passport. Just... its important. So don't lose it. IF you do this terrible and unforgivable thing, call/get to the consulate as soon as you can. US passports are worth a lot on the Black Market (MWAhahahaha), so don't go waving that thing around. Your travel documents, like visas and passports, are a pain to replace, not to mention expen$ive.
Move about, head-attached. No one is out to get you; but you might get got if you put it all out there. Reserve personal details, and carry small amounts of money or cards that require a pin. Don't let anyone hold your bags, if you must surrender your bags like at a museum, keep your valuables in your pockets, better still a smaller handbag. If a situation feels shady, looks shady, sounds shady, it prolly is shady. You should never put anything you need in your back pocket (even though I do this all the time). Let's not get merc'd young god. IF you do get robbed, move the fk on, it happens. Even the Holy Passport is no good reason to get hurt so just, move on I guess. Do not employ a local friend to help you chase down the person(s) who 'borrowed rudely' from you. I can neither confirm nor deny that I have done this, and can neither confirm nor deny, it was really fun, albeit really dangerous. Wait, I can confirm it was dangerous, but only by inference... and maybe a small bit of experience, or not. Thankuthatisall
Don't lose your head. Alas... Your bags can be lost. Your flight can (and will mwahahah) be delayed. You might get bad service, because seriously, people are the worst, everywhere. Stop acting like you aren't resilient enough to see through your negative experiences. There's not much of a meter for me; I am always working on this. Trust, anger will only ruin your travels. WOOOOO-SAAAAAHH; breathe.
Try to respect local customs. Everyone can tell you are a foreigner just by the way you walk, where your eyes go when you speak, your gestures, so take care. That doesn't mean be paranoid, but you should be paranoid. Okay okay, open to new experiences but Homie, when in Mazar-e-Sharif... do as the Mazar-e-Sharifis, feel me? If you are taking the risk of not following these customs, be sure not to cite your freedoms at people who stare or disapprove. You can be arrested abroad and serve time in prison. So don't be silly, now. Be aware there's no reason why you cannot travel safely, almost anywhere in the world. That is your decision, as the traveler. Getting wasted, alone and lost is a bad situation, anywhere. You (most likely) do not need Liam Neeson, you will not be Taken 4 (5?). Be your best self, and be careful, like anywhere.
Don't ever assume because you've traveled, you know it all. If you are lucky enough to visit another place, try to add depth to your experiences. Make local friends. Eat at someone's house for dinner (bring the wine! or bring the ceremonial goat, whichever is best!). Buff up on language. Just be amazed at how much more you can always learn about the environments you spend time in.
Be Free. I realize that some of this may scare folks who haven't traveled much yet. That's fine. Fear and excitement are all part of the thing, but neither are the whole story, and both may lead to your most memorable experiences in life. Traveling is not merely about observation. You have to try that interactive learning. Don't be afraid to embarrass yourself, to learn how to say 'pardon me,' with the perfect accent, be prepared with a wet wipe, because hand sanitizer won't help you when there's no toilet paper, and always travel as light as possible... Alas, I am still learning about the Scientific law:
When x=you and x also =2suitcases + 103 degree weather x (train station stairs) x (elevator/escalator) then x=totally fkd.
In life, we are at home and guests, all at once, in the same place, at the same time. Explore this world around you, on your own itinerary, by your own imagination. In my travels, I have benefitted greatly from learning the local languages, proverbs, culture, and customs to the best of my ability... as I get older I have learned how to be mindful of my 'otherness' no matter where I am. Respect and understand your privileges, your otherness, your ego, your knowledge, and your body, everywhere you go. Your general security and enjoyment will depend on it.
Do your best, Homie, you will grow. Don't hold back to see the blue sea or feel the cold of the snow, maybe you want to know what secrets the mountains hold, perhaps the stories the old languages told. Just be bold, fit in, so you can eventually stand out and break the mold.
Travel even if its down the road! Get to know what you want to know. Respect means, no fear, never. So respect is what to show and behold.
Travel well, Homie!
Regarding Muslims & Apologies
As an Afghani-American Muslim, I am now quite used to dealing with prejudice and bigotry. In my short life, I have experienced both on various levels from seemingly benign but extremely offensive comments and questions, to aggressive and accusatory hate speech, all the way up to outright assault. I wrote the first version of this a couple of years ago when y’all were going cray for the fifty-leventh time about some other irrelevant stuff. We have made this argument so facile and anti-intellectual that we are slipping into dangerous territory, so… the time has come to deal with accusations, interrogations, and bigotry. Let’s try this again… again. Ridiculous Things: That I Sometimes Hear
1. "You don't look Afghan."
Right. I try to ignore the inherent prejudice in any statements like these. I almost forgot about you and your experiences with thousands of Afghans! You are an authority on this subject and you would know! I think what you are sorta struggling to say is that I don’t look like what you think I should look like, which is a racist caricature of a real human being (see Charlie Hebdo illustrations for references on racist caricatures). Really, what you’re saying is, I ‘don’t seem like a ‘terrorist,’ threatening you with my abundance of body hair and violent religion!’ What you mean is, I am not threatening to you. Its super condescending, and dumb.
Sometimes I respond to this with, “You’re not what I thought a white person would look like either!” Or “How do you pronounce that, Stee-van?!’ I am what I am, Homie, and if you are unclear about that, please see my last post, I Am Not A Moderate Muslim.
2. "That's where terrorists come from."
… Is it, now?
Terrorism is defined generally as any individual or group that uses intimidation in the form of violence or oppression, to meet political ends. In terms of criminal profiling, the term ‘terrorist,’ is unscientific and represents a wide breadth of suspect profiles. Using the word sheds no light on the critical modus operandi or probable causes for the crimes committed.
Terrorists can be any gender, can come from all levels of socio-economic class, and have been known to kill themselves after or during their attacks, but don’t have to kill themselves. Terrorists can be both ‘educated,’ and ‘uneducated.’ One can be deemed a terrorist for harming thousands, or never having directly or physically harmed anyone; as a figurehead or a funder. Historically, terrorists can arise individually, also in small groups, medium groups, large groups, even in networks encompassing all three. In their attacks, they can act alone, or with accomplices. Really, any criminal, under the right political circumstances, can be a terrorist.
Because of how nuanced the term terrorist is, the international community has not given ‘terrorism’ any legal definition, or standing in criminal courts, preferring instead to work with universally accepted terms, and pursue offenders on the basis of definable violations of the law, i.e. rape, murder, weapons proliferation, conspiracy, human rights violations, etc.
Terrorism was a term being used by America and the rest of the world, well before September 11, 2001. The meaning of the term, however, seems to have changed.
3. “Yeah, but why are Muslims the only one’s terrorizing then!?"
Known Terrorist Attacks (number dead/number injured)*
Terror can be achieved lethally with explosives, gunfire, suicide bombings, biological and chemical weapons.
Like in the cases of (I add to this list it seems every few months):
Shoko Asahara of the Japanese Aum Shinrikyo (13/58)*, who used a designated weapon of mass destruction, a nerve agent called sarin, on Tokyo public transit in 1995. 13 died, 58 were seriously injured, and 1,000 more were hurt.
Timothy McVeigh (168/600) was from Lockport, NY. White, a military veteran, with ties to extremist groups around the country, he planted a fertilizer truck bomb outside of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma. The building housed the regional offices of the Social Security Administration, the US Secret Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration, The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, Army Recruitment, and Marine Recruitment; all government entities. The building was occupied by an estimated 550 employees and included a first-floor daycare center. In addition to the 168 dead, 19 of whom were children, an estimated 600 people were injured. He was executed by lethal injection, and was quoted in his last words saying, “If there is a hell, then I’ll be in good company with a lot of fighter pilots who also had to bomb innocents to win the war.”
Anders Behring Breivik (77/319), of the Norway attacks in 2011, bombed a number of government buildings in the capital, Oslo. He then targeted an offshore Worker Youth League Camp and killed 69 teenagers. He survived, and last year, staged a hunger strike for “better video games.”
James O. Huberty (21/19) a Californian doomsdayer, who in 1984 killed 21 at a MacDonald’s in San Diego, CA. 13 of the victims were children, one only 8 months old, he shot the infant, through the back, while still being held by its mother.
Wade Michael Page (7/4), was the US Army Veteran who massacred 7 at a Sikh Gurdwara in Wisconsin in 2012. Investigations revealed an active life in the neo-Nazi and white power movements, and accounts of vested beliefs in an ‘impending racial holy war.’
Craig Stephen Hicks (3/-) on February 10, 2015, he entered the home of his neighbors, newlywed college students 23-year-old Deah Barakat and 21-year-old Yusor Mohammed Abu Salha and shot them, along with Yusor's 19-year-old sister Razan, execution style. Americans were quick to paint Hicks as an 'atheist,' but the white power movement is on that atheist bullshit, so... you know what it is.
James Holmes (12/70) in 2012 he killed 12 and injured 70 during a screening of Batman: The Dark Knight in Aurora, CO. Additionally, his apartment was booby-trapped from top to bottom with explosives; indicating he intended to, and definitely had the capacity to kill many more. He has been recorded saying he wants to be remembered as a villain. ... for me 'terrorist,' will do just fine.
Elliot Rodger (6/14) The son of a prominent British film producer, Rodger killed 6 and injured 14 others around the campus of UC Santa Barbara before he took his own life in 2014. Though only 22, Rodger had displayed a distinct pattern of criminal behavior, sadistic abuse of women, bearing false witness, extortion, and attempted murder. 3 victims were stabbed, three victims were female students shot in their sorority house, the rest were literally run over and gunned down by Rodger on a rampage.
Dylan Roof (9/3) Was 21 when he entered the historical Black South Carolina church Emanuel AFrican MEthodist Episcopal Church during a prayer service and opened fire. He confessed that he committed this crime to ignite a race war and had known ties to neo-nazi groups.
George Sodini (4/9) Sodini chronicled almost a year's worth of sexual frustration, rejection by women, and sadistic fantasies in writing before he entered an LA Fitness women's aerobics class, placed a duffle bag on the ground, turned out the lights, and began opening fire with 2 handguns. He shot 52 bullets before he turned the gun on himself. August 2009
Jared Lee Loughner (6/13) At a Tucson, Arizona supermarket front rally in 2011, Loughner shot and severely injured US Rep Gabrielle Giffords, along with 6 others who later died; including a Chief US District Court Judge, and a 9 year old bystander.
Adam Lanza (27/2) Was the 20 year old son of a local educator and gun enthusiast Nancy Lanza who he killed at home before the shooting. Lanza fatally shot 20 children and 6 adult staff at SAndy Hook Elementary, a week before Christmas. He committed suicide by shooting himself in the head. The children were all 6 and 7 years old.
Andreas Lubitz (150/-) ooooweeee!!! The attempts to discreetly sweep this 2015 atrocity away have been amazing. He was an outstanding pilot who had been recruited right out of high school to train with Lufthansa air. He was attractive. He was an expert runner and ran many marathons. He also deliberately increased the speed of the plane as he aimed it down towards the French Alps, and intentionally crashed it, killing himself and 149 others. The media was nice enough to allow the Lutheran Church to distance itself from the incident. He is also a 'victim of mental illness.' I wish anyone who kill innocent people was considered a 'victim of mental illness,' but with darker skin, also comes more martial behavior, right? So, he was sick, and brown and black folks are just animals? Will we invade the village of Montabuar, Germany, for its influence as his birthplace!? Germans are Nazis, right? So he must have been a Nazi! Logic dictates that the Nazis are trying to steal your freedoms... When will we take action against this foreign, axis of Nazi-evil, agression!? Hold your breath...
Terrorists are cult leaders and suicide pacters. People like David Koresh of the Branch Davidians. In 1993 articles were published accusing him of child molestation, statutory rape, polygamy, and the stockpiling of weapons to prepare for an ‘impending holy war.’ The subsequent siege in Waco, Texas killed 84.
Luc Jouret of the Parti Communautaire Européean, in Switzerland 1994-1997 (20+), Park Soon-Ja, “The Benevolent Mother” of the Paradise/Five Seas Cult in Seoul, South Korea, 1987 (33). Jim Jones 1978, of The People’s Temple, transplanted to Guyana via San Francisco (913). Marshall H. Applewhite & Bonnie Nettles, of Heaven’s Gate, 1997 in San Diego, California (39). Joseph Di Mambro of the Solar Temple in Quebec (74) between 1995 and 1997. The world famous, Charles Manson and 25 members of the Manson Family, who from the late 60s to the 70s became famous for murdering actress Sharon Tate and 8 others, in California (9).
Terrorists are the leaders of churches who facilitate the abuse of children and protect the perpetrators with impunity. People like David Berg of The Children of God, Father Oliver O’Grady defrocked from the Roman Catholic Church, Father Marcial Maciel of the Roman Catholic Legion of Christ, Father Kit Cunningham of the Rosminian branch of the Roman Catholic parish, Tony Alamo of the Alamo Christian Foundation, Father Warren Jeffs of the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-day Saints. Community leaders with victims in the hundreds, with potential for the thousands, all of the victims were children. The John Jay report of 2004 estimates there are a total of 4,392 priests and deacons in the US alone, against whom allegations of sexual abuse have been made. That’s the United States, alone. Considering the emphasis of the global Christian ‘mission,’ this can only be a fraction of the numbers of children who were abused abroad, and who did not have the social channels or opportunity to report it.
I have been acquainted with many a brand of terrorist and terrorism, and I have not forgotten the scope of terror is much wider than one religion can manage. Just some ‘benign’ factoids about the information above: Every single terrorist group or individual listed above, is Christian/Catholic, used Christian/Catholic doctrine to directly support what they were doing, and if funded, were funded through Christian/Catholic channels (you can reread that, if it didn’t quite hit). To keep things topical, every single name listed committed their acts in the last 50 years.
So they could have, but did not include hundreds of older examples of terrorism like: Roman and Greek expansion, The Crusades, The Protestant Reformation and the subsequent Schmalkaldic Wars/30 Years War/English Civil War/Scottish Reformation/etc a huge number of Religious Wars, The French Revolution, European Colonialism, Imperialism, The Triangle of Trade and American slavery, the American Abolitionist movement, the Civil War, The East Indian and Indo-Chinese Trade era, The World Wars, The Cold War, the era of the Troubles and the rise of the Irish Republican Army, or the Cuban ‘Crisis’ Era… and those are also some examples of times rife with ‘terrorism,’ which forever effected millions of innocent civilians, and have brought us to where we are now.
There are Hindu terrorists, Christian terrorists, Atheist terrorists, Buddhist terrorists, Jewish terrorists, and no joke, Amish terrorists who cut beards as a form of intimidation and punishment. I simply outlined the most well known Christian cases.
But again… you are right. Terrorism is a Muslim thing? Terrorism is a good justification for international war? Surely, terrorism is a good reason to ignore domestic policy issues? Wait, what’s a terrorist again?
The only thing I can conclude is that ‘terrorism’ is a term applied with extreme prejudice. Its actual definition, however, is arbitrary and circumstantial, at best. Or should I follow the logic of the media and suggest that these are not radicalized groups or minorities? Instead, perhaps I will say, ‘I know now that Christianity is a religion of terror, sexual exploitation, cult leadership, misogyny, and violence?'
I say, no. I say anti-intellectualism is the worst friend to freedom, and I will not reduce a fellow human being to platitudes to meet my own needs. There is no religion more or less responsible for terror, it is a tool used indiscriminately. It kills indiscriminately, as we have seen over and over again. Your discrimination won’t change that.
4. "I am not a Muslim, but I read an article about the Jihad and let me tell you...!"
Oh, don’t do that, BB. Do not delude yourself into thinking you understand one of the most nuanced tenets of Islam, when most Muslim scholars spend lifetimes trying to understand them. Like… I took Religious Studies 137A, but I’m not going to go around claiming to be an authority on Zoroastrianism, because that’s ridiculous, but at least I’ve read some books… by scholars.
Do not try to tell me anything about Islam, if you have still not read the Quran. It was 2001 when our government tried to tell us about, ‘Islamic’ extremism, and you still haven’t read the Quran. You’ve read Twilight… All 3 of ‘em, and seen the movies. You memorized the all the words to Selena/Demi/Beiber/Cyrus/Swift/A$AP Mob last year, lost 30 lbs doing Crossfit, dyed your hair blue, got married, saved a pit-bull, ate sashimi for the first time, started your career… but you still haven’t read the Quran.
How can people be so enraged and obstinate about something they know nothing about? Ignorance is clearly, not bliss. Your eyes won’t burn out of your skull, Homie, you can help yourself to the knowledge. You won’t go to hell. Even folks in the Seminary read it. The Pope has read it. You can read the Quran, and should!
The knowledge is the power, nobody can take that from you. If they claim the knowledge is a secret, that the knowledge is expensive, or that the knowledge is inaccessible or inscrutable, I’m telling you you’re being had. All knowledge is available for you to learn. You don’t have to feel ignorant and afraid, you could face your fears and find real peace. Just read a book… Or read several, plural, books!
Jihad for one Muslim is rarely the same for another. My jihad was toward biting my nails at one time, and with focus, I managed to stop. I realized how important education was to self-confidence, so my jihad turned outward and became illiteracy. I started to teach people how to read and write and express themselves all over California and then later in the Peace Corps. When my health was poor, my jihad turned inward again, and I needed to battle self-pity.
Jihad is a broad term which, on a non-political and every-day basis, is about making yourself a better being, and making the world a healthier place. Consider the twelfth book of the New Testament,
“So put to death the sinful, earthly things, lurking within you.”
This is the same sentiment behind jihad. If this parallel has peaked your interest, I suggest you read the Quran for more of these ah-ha moments. You might find yourself surprisingly unafraid, open-minded, and capable of having scholarly conversations, after! Its fun!
5. "My turban does not make me a terrorist." Or “I Am A Person Of Color, But Please Don’t Associate Me With Islam!”
Yuck. Come on, baby, don’t do us like that! I was your mother in a time passed, your sister in another, you’ll be my father, they are all my sons, you are my brother, I am the every-daughter… We are from the same, and we go to the same. People Of Color UNITE!
No, your turban does not make you a terrorist, and when you are done trying to gain sympathy from your abusers, let me just say, they don't care, and that's not the point. That's like saying, 'Not all women are bitches,’ in a PSA against domestic violence... its nonsensical and condescends the real issue at hand, which is bigotry in America towards Brown folks, both Sikhs, and Muslims. There are public service announcements being broadcasted and printed into posters that say things like this, and they are dehumanizing and divisive.
Please, don't say stuff like that. Whether you are a non-Muslim Arab, a non-Muslim Indian, or a non-Muslim salamander, please don’t conflate your ‘suffering’ with Islam. Islam is not your problem! Racism, bigotry, prejudice, and ignorance are your problems.
I’m not sure if you realize you are condoning the act itself, insinuating that 'the negative feelings around the world towards Muslims are okay, just don't misappropriate them towards me!’ Come on, Homie, do you really think the guy who is bashing another guy's skull in, is doing it because he has given Reason its fair shot? This isn't about reasoning with people. This is about bitter hatred fostered by unethical media, poor public education, and systemized discrimination. Peace should be a part of every life. Communities and Peoples of Color need to stand together, in solidarity, to educate and dispel the ignorance that fuels unwarranted aggression, and violence. We cannot stop hate with hate.
6. "Don't veil me, Bro!"
Oh, LOL! You used that one thing that one guy said in that one terrible video about that other infringement on personal freedoms in America... “Don’t taze me, Bro,” to “Don’t veil me, Bro,” tee… hee.
Thank you for fighting for women's rights in the developing world, by running around naked, in protest. Muslims really needed that! Its super duper valuable to spend time lobbying against something this important to the advancement of human beings… veiling. Or should I say “the veil,” because they only mean the Muslim one, when they say that.
How many non-Muslims wear veils? Catholics, Hindus, Jews, Mormons, Amish, Buddhists, Sikhs, Shinto, Zarathushtri, Animists, Shaman, Nuns and Monks of all religious and social orders, all genders (even the Trans and Intersex communities around the world) cover their heads and faces. Some dogmas instruct followers to covet their bodies, while some are taught to punish their bodies, like the hermetic monk orders of the Roman Catholic Church. Some religions require the taking of oaths like poverty or silence. An oath of silence is a literal thing. Literally… you can’t talk. No Freedom of Speech. Some belief systems promote customs where intermediaries to God are resigned to stay hidden within sacred confines. They are often taken from their families at a very young age. Some religions have sacred undergarments, instruct that a person must eat very little; some inhibit socialization, some practice self-flagellation or self-mutilation. Political organizations like Anonymous rely completely on the internet to function, in public they don Guy Fawkes masks. Just free people, practicing their freedom and standing up for what they believe in... Right?
Yup! Sounds pretty oppressive, but that is life, not just with religious freedom, but personal freedom; Freedom, full stop.
Catholic and Christian religious rituals like the Eucharist don’t really make any sense to me, and frankly, are perplexing… consuming the body and blood of Christ? Transubstantiation is quite unique. Even still, humans' belief systems are far more similar than most of you are willing to admit. Homies can check out 1 Corinthians 11, of the New Testament, to see what I mean.
“1 Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.
2 Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you.
3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.
4 Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head.
5 But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven.
6 For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered.
7 For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man.
8 For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man.
9 Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.”
Try to also wrap your minds around the idea that anything in the Old Testament means it is almost always the same ideology as Judaism and Islam. One could even go further and assert the existence of parallel ideologies between all religions. Religions of all sorts have more details and dogmas in common, than they do separating them.
There are linear relations between Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Mormonism, Baha’ism, Scientology; Even Atheism requires theology to refute and thereby creates an ideology with the same potential for ritualization and culture as any 'religion.' But, as an educated person, and a human being, if someone tried to argue that another person’s system of belief was unfounded, inconsistent, or flawed, I would caution them against generalizations, because that's the point to any worthwhile conversation… building mutual respect and knowledge, remember?
We already know how quickly things can escalate when someone starts criticizing the belief systems of another person. In no time, xenophobia and the ‘us versus them’ mentality can spiral out of control into fear-driven, no-sum war. Remember The Vietnam War? The Cold War? You know… like all the wars.
Addressing Women's Rights around the world is a very important, and there are worthwhile ways to do it. Mischaracterizing Islam is not one of them. Women of all religions deserve full Freedom. (Just so you know, if I have to capitalize iPod, like this, and address a company like Nestle with a capital letter, than Freedom gets the same deference too... proper name my ascot! Grammar is not apolitical.)
Political pundits, getting paid to make stuff up, encourage aggression, raise ratings and make money, is nothing new. Trying to stand reason against the swift and rapidly growing current of bigotry and hatred against Muslims was becoming harder, and less rewarding, by the year. Ignorance was commonplace, even encouraged, by the Media and the political campaigns that benefited from the hullabaloo.
There are so many stories like this in my life, my brother’s life, my father’s life, my mother’s life, and the lives of the people in our extended family. My family members get it from every direction, every day, and it’s been like this for almost 40 years.
I feel like, if people actually knew anything about the dynamics of Afghanistan’s struggle in the last 40 years; If they had to acknowledge that Afghanistan has been embroiled in protracted conflict, brought to it by the United States and Russia, that Afghanistan was the #1 humanitarian crisis in the world for 3 decades, #1 refugee crisis in the world, for decades, before anyone even paid attention to it. If people had to say out loud that the life expectancy was that 1 in every 2 children would die before the age of 5, for 40 years. If we said that Afghanistan has been absolutely desiccated by years of foreign abuse. Destabalized. Ripped apart by the subsequent poverty, and then had to pay the price over and over again for foreign psychopaths taking advantage of a state with no central governing body… I feel like, if people actually knew anything about these details, they would think, before they made excuses for me to their close-minded friends. What I’m trying to say, is have some respect for the suffering of human beings, Homie. All human beings.
8. "No I have no education in Political Science, but I do enjoy employing hyperbole and making absolutely every detail up, until I get to my ill-conceived point."
I know you do, sweetheart.... but stop that, okay?
and 9. This is new; ‘What Ilhan omar Represents is scary’ -Megan Mccain
No, you know what’s scary. That people can’t recognize their own privilege, prejudice and ignorance. That to this day, a blond woman crying about being scared of a person Of Color gains her sympathy. That 40 Muslims can be massacred in their place of worship, in a town actually called “Christchurch,” and there won’t be any outpouring of public outrage or trendy support tactics on social media. It may make you uncomfortable to value the voice of a Muslim woman like Ilhan Omar, because you are really not used to it. Just breathe through it, and remember that she has (or at least is supposed to have) the EXACT same First, Second, Third, Fourth… etc Amendment rights you have, and the exact same rights as the president of the United States. If you’re uncomfortable, that’s the cancer of prejudice dying; celebrate!
L<3VE,
Sasa
New Years & Things, Much Obliged:
It was this time in 2009, when Oscar Grant lost his life.
Yes, we certainly are thinking a lot about what we want for ourSelves in the New Year.... Its just, let's all make sure losing weight, gains us a sense of self-respect, and respect for others. Make sure volunteering is as much about the Individuals, as the selfies. Set the bar high enough to reach, and low enough to grasp, because ambition is important but limits are too. Take care that the new path you have set for yourSelf, is one wide enough for companionship and community. A new Self, who is vigilant and aware, awake and active. If we are resolute in anything at all, let it be in righteousness, as it so stems from Peace and Love
Happy New Things and Still The Same Things Anniversary; Congratulations on the opportunity to change the world around you and within you. I wish you all the best, my most beloved, Homies.
-The Homie, sasa-
The First Punch Doesn't Count: How The NFL Condones Violence Against Women & Circumvents The Law
Kiss & Make Up
Wait wait wait... Wait just a humble minute, Homie. The Ray Rice incident is back in the news, and it's for all the wrong reasons.
Everyone considering this 'digital evidence of a kiss,' like its proof of Ray Rice's innocence, or lessened culpability... What are you on, bruh?
Just to explain: some video footage and camera stills have been released, allegedly showing the couple on the evening in question, Ray Rice and Janay Rice (nee Palmer), kissing one another before being placed into separate vehicles for detainment. The media, along with the NFL's legal team, seems to suggest that the Public should see this as 'evidence,' that Rice's wife herself had 'forgiven' Rice. 'The whole thing was all a BIG misunderstanding, 'Sooo, GO HOME, GUY, UR DRUNK! SLEEP IT OFF!'
... No no... no no no (like the breakdown in a 90s R&B jam), no no noooo! You aint right! Baby noooo!
The psychosexual aspects of relationships are some of the most defining, and codified. Not all kisses are kind and compassionate; some are violent, aggressively possessive perhaps not even literally, but as a gesture. This is a gesture of domination, inevitably part of the cycle of abuse. Let us assume the kiss was, indeed, one of 'forgiveness,' that it was indeed affectionate and loving. It is the most powerful tool in the arsenal of an abuser to use sex as a weapon... especially in the form of affection, 'You know I didn't mean it, baby, I love you, let me make it better, etc.' After the initial video footage released, a second, more shocking and complete reel was released.
A victim isn't any less of a victim by suffering from sympathetic feelings towards an abuser. One very well-known example of this phenomenon being Stockholm's Syndrome, wherein the victim in a kidnapping or protracted hostage situation will develop a regard, perhaps sympathetic, heroic or romantic --in nature, for the kidnapper/captor/perpetrators. A victim is no less a victim for having a sense of allegiance to, or sexually submissive relationship with, their abuser. Even in the case that the victims become a perpetrator of crime themselves, the original abuser is no less guilty of abuse. I'm not going to show the video of 'the kiss,' because ITS IRRELEVANT. I don't question whether or not this relationship is psychotic and manipulative and sick.
To me the only thing that the images of ‘the kiss’ revealed, was that even when he is the one bringing violence unto her, she turns to him to soothe herself and comforts him in the process; all signs consistent with the behaviors of partners in an abusive relationship. Almost all domestic abusers will profusely apologize after harming their partners to disassociate themselves from culpability and shame. Often even painting themselves as victims of the ‘annoying’ or ‘aggravating’ and ‘instigative’ behaviors of the abused, ‘You just get me so worked up, you know?’ Abusers cajole a sympathetic response out of the abused in order to self-soothe, justify their actions, and win back the hope and trust within the abused that ‘bad days happen,’ and the scenario will change. Kiss, and make up!
"Kiss and make up," is not simply an idyllic turn of phrase. In some cases, it is psychologically symptomatic behavior, which highlights an underlying problem within a relationship.
'She chose to marry him... She likes the lifestyle too much to let it go!' Nah, that’s not how this stuff works. You don’t stick with someone who beats the stuffing out of you just because they buy you things. This, like all abusive relationships, is most likely nuanced with underlying emotional dependency issues and lots & lots of fear for what a person might and might not be, without their significant other. I am part of that team that puts the victims first. Being married with money in your pocket is not license for violating your partner's rights to life. Inebriation is not an excuse to violate your partner’s rights to life. Being under pressure is not an excuse to violate your partners’ rights to life. Everyone is conditioned to need and want money, it takes most of us a lifetime to be free from that fool’s errand of thinking you’ll be happy with a steady income and certain ‘securities.’ This woman did not deserve to have the NFL brush the abuse she suffered under the rug, simply because she doesn’t have the peace of mind and community support it takes, to admit that she needs help. Moreover, she is suffering, and we have now guaranteed that future women will suffer, because we are too sheepish to make change ourselves. No, she doesn’t have to leave him, maybe they both want to figure out where the love went or whatever, but she doesn’t deserve to uphold the career of her abuser and the integrity of his employers, when they clearly have no concern for her well being.
Does that not strike you as sick that we want to avoid dealing with gender equity so badly, that we would normalize abuse, even romanticize it? ‘All couples have their issues,’ ‘We don’t know the extent of the situation,’ ‘Even she said she was sorry and they are fine…’ These are the pills we are offered. I suppose we are all entitled to opinions as they say, but legally and psychologically speaking there isn’t much grey area here. So, I’m left wondering why people’s opinions are so swayed? Do we not know we have answered these questions already?
Shall we review?
'The People are many. You are the People. It’s just, not cool, to beat up the People. Especially the People among the People you love most dearly, and conned into loving you back, i.e. family. Sometimes, some of the People can make you upset. If you are struggling with the People, you should seek professional help to manage your anger and deal with your issues free from fear of prejudice, be you any gender, creed, class, color or form. There is a good reason to deal with those issues. If you transgress and violate another one of the Peoples’ rights, whether or not you are their legal spouse/guardian/representation, YOU ARE violating common law, as enforced at the state and domestic levels, and you are also violating federal law, under the Violence Against Women Act. You are going directly against the aspirations stated in the Declaration of Independence. You are violating a person’s civil rights as provided by the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Your behavior is not excusable, lacked mercy and consideration for human life and therefore warrants punishment to the prescribed extents of the law. It should not be up to the NFL to impose a superfluous policy in any form. Their regulations should coincide with the justice system and laws of the United States of America.
Its odd to me that folks aren’t seeing what the NFL did for what it really was. This whole NFL Domestic Violence Policy is a huge part of the reason why this case, and now so many future cases within the league, and perhaps now other national leagues, won’t see justice. To head-off the liability charges and barrage of criticisms bounding toward them, the NFL assembled a crack team of lawyers and set up the Barbie Dream Castle of all domestic violence policies; all fuckery sparkles, and deluxe loopholes, and pretty pedantic language. At this point, neither Ms. Rice nor any future player’s spouse will have many options. Her only option is ending her marriage (not that it seems great to be married to someone who hurts you, but the law can’t decide that for people), and basically losing everything, or, pretending nothing ever happened. She can’t just accuse him of assault and hold him accountable for that because he’s basically facing double jeopardy, where he has to be held accountable by both the laws of the United States and the laws of the NFL. It’s a manipulative measure which puts the wives in a lose-lose position, both emotionally and legally, and could possibly convince the courts the player is suffering enough through suspension to deserve any real legal recourse.
The only folks who don’t lose are the NFL. They have protected themselves on all sides, making it possible to intimidate future complainants, protect their assets/athletes, and safeguard themselves should they simply not feel like putting up a fight for a player, and refuse him in the appeal process. A player remains in the green, that is, only suspended for an unspecified number of unpaid games (1-6), unless he is twice indicted, and convicted, of domestic assault by the same person. This warrants him a ‘lifetime ban.’ Even if a lifetime ban is imposed, the player is afforded the opportunity to, rather, expected to, formally appeal to get his spot back, making lifetime bans and the whole punitive measure, effectively meaningless.
According to USA Today's NFL Arrest Data Base, the NFL has had 157 arrests from 2012-2014, of these arrests 20 were related to charges of domestic violence, child abuse, and assault against women. Of those 20 cases, only 2 were eventually indicted and ultimately 4 charged. All jail sentences were delayed or suspended (meaning no real time was served for anyone). 2 offenders only had to pay a fine, and 6 accepted probation sentences and remained playing without interruption. Of the 22 NFL bans and suspensions from 2012-2014, only 4 are suspensions which lasted longer than 2 games. All of the offenses, however, are clearly against the laws of the United States (the ones we are all supposed to follow) ranging from racketeering and drug use to assault and DUI. There it is, folks. The glaring actuality that the NFL really has managed to sweep the criminal behavior of their employees, under the proverbial rug. That courts and law enforcement have been giving passes at an alarming rate, so many in fact, that it seems to be time for someone to audit this $hady busine$$.
Rice caught on tape slapping and then right hooking Janay Rice, who falls into a railing rendering her unconscious. Ray drags her around on the floor, steps over her limp body. Lifts and drops her in the hallway, onto her face. The first released images only showed this unconscious body and not the abuse caught on tape.
The courts promulgate a culture of impunity, by assuming the players are taking a huge hit from the NFL. The NFL, in turn, has every authority to repeal their original terms of discipline, once the player is out of the scrupulous glare of the court. No punishment by the legal system, no punishment from the NFL, no accountability for the victims of these crimes. The NFL does not care about victims of domestic violence or even the players themselves, should they prove to be more of a burden than a boon. In this case, we are supporting everyone but the victim; We protect the perpetrator, the Ravens, the National Football League, the fans, the stadiums (which your very own beloved tax dollars pay for), all the money that they make one other… And in the end, no one gives a damn about these women.
We are a self-proclaimed ‘modern’ society, with a very critical viewpoint of other societies' treatment of women around the world, where there still isn’t any real legislation on domestic violence. Any legislation that does exist was only drafted very recently, in the 90s, so seemingly unimportant and clearly less comprehensive than what the nation really needs. We are finally accepting the fact that domestic violence is a persistent issue and that we have to be more direct about dealing with it in legislation. Today’s headlines seem to suggest Ms. Rice either ‘deserved’ what she got, or is beyond helping because she seems to ‘condone’ it. Not only does this opinion reflect poorly on progress for women’s rights and suffrage in this society, but in the laws of this nation. Showing, once again, how important it is to light a fire under the House Of Representatives and The Senate, not to let corporations get away with pandering, and playing us. Please don’t be one of those weirdos, who forgets the NFL is just a conglomerate, and the players are just particularly gifted salesmen in tight pedal pushers. Until we call out the NFL for this ridiculous non-response to a serious and recurring problem within their offices, these newly forged loopholes, ‘the first punch doesn’t count’ and ‘you’re banned for life, or until you appeal,’ are left wide open for abusers to continue their behavior. All the while, the NFL literally carries on as if nothing is happening.
Obviously the problem with these stories is that the victim, often under a weighty waterfall of media, familial, and financial pressure, makes the decision to handle the situation privately or not handle it at all. Victims of abuse have a hard enough time taking on their abusers with privacy on their sides, let alone in the public eye. Victims don't like being made examples of, celebrity or otherwise. They are traumatized, vulnerable, often isolated by their relationships, cut off from the networks and systems that might help them break the cycle.
In the modern era, we see public testimonies of forgiveness and couples that stay together as symbols of hope and the possibility of reconciliation. We dare not question the sacred clemency that can only be granted from spouse to spouse or partner to partner. We see these 'survivor' couples as symbols of strength. And… Its about time we shifted that paradigm.
Strength is not the opposite of weakness; HEALTH is. Strength doesn't come from 'standing by your man' it comes from facing your mistakes and presenting your best self to your compatriots in life. Best self, not best-dressed, best-accompanied, or best-paid, but the version of you that you love most dearly, and sincerely. This is the self that you can accept, and the self that seems to be growing in love for the things around you. Strength is the result of combining health with stamina. For a relationship to be strong, it has to be healthy first.
I don't know if the Rices will divorce, and truly I don’t think its within the realm of rational concern for most of us, but I know that Ray Rice deserved to be arrested for what he did. I know that, under the law, he deserves to go to jail for what he did. I know that, under NFL personal conduct code, he deserves to lose his job for what he did. I have an educated feeling both of the Rices wish that camera wasn’t in that elevator at all, and that the public would mind their own business but that’s just it… It went that far and got that bad. Bad enough that a public figure knocked his wife out cold… in public (sure it was an elevator, but it was at a casino full of people not at their own private residence)… on camera (we all know most casinos have cameras everywhere). She was out like a light, he just left her limp body there on the floor, stepping widely over it and out, as the elevator doors closed and popped back open, registering an obstruction. He lost his cool in a way that seems to prove a pattern of escalation; there was no bargaining behavior, no attempt to walk away and just let some steam off, there was definitely that punch though!
So yeah… I don’t see a piteous man losing his hard-earned livelihood at all. LOL, please! No, Homie, I have no sympathy for this dude. I am not naïve or romantic about American athletics. This isn’t some boyhood dream shattering, so lets not be a bunch of saps. This is a grown man with a successful and high-profile professional career. He has a legacy as a player from one of the top college football teams, Rutgers; he was a Heisman hopeful; a 2nd round pick; accolades for days; million-dollar signing bonus, blah blah blah… And this is a man who hurts his wife. All I see is a celebrity clown losing privileges to that celebrity, because he broke the law and violated someone’s human rights. If he’s really all about the game, I’m sure he’ll love coaching peanut leagues in a hometown near you! The Human Rights Watch should take the NFL down, now that’s something to get excited about on a Monday night.
I dunno... people can change, I do believe that... but he’s on trial for the crime, no one out here in the interweb can reasonably question the possibility of his remorse. He could be very sorry and repentant, or he could be indifferent to being caught, but we are not helping anyone by denying the fact that Ray Rice knocked out his wife and the NFL doesn’t have enough integrity to have done anything about it. Indeed, the NFL has made smoking pot a higher (no pun intended) offense, than beating your wife (See Josh Gordon, Wes Welker, Orlando Scandrick, Eric Herman, and the list goes ooooooon; all suspended for longer or equal periods for steroids or recreational drugs).
Love, they say, ‘is all you need.’ I’m not down with the type of love that violates the safety, self-worth, physical and mental health of a human being. Abuse victims don’t just stick around for the money, they stick around because of systems like this, that make a new and better life seem hopeless, impossible, and even silly. I think the NFL just managed to write a policy that undermines, not only the rights of victims, but perhaps even the justice system entirely. This new ‘Domestic Violence Policy’ protects their investments, condones violence with impunity, and forever incapacitates the victims of the domestic crimes committed by their players and staff from seeking out the justice guaranteed to them by The Constitution (now and in the future). The NFL is not a nation or a state and should not have the authority to circumvent the law. What the hell else is there to say?
If you have questions about abuse please see The National Domestic Violence Hotline
If you aren't sure but you feel like you are being abused, don't be afraid to ask, Is This Abuse?
And as always, if you have any questions and need to talk to someone, you can call the HOTLINE 24/7 at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), 24/7.
#RayRice #StopDomesticViolence #NFL #Catch22 #DownWithTheNFL #VictimsRights #Football #Ravens #Kissandmakeup #TheHomieSasa
Feel free to show L<3VE by clicking the <3 below <3
Share by clicking below!
Living Posi(+)ively: Dissolving Myths on World AIDS Day
There is an article floating around the Interweb about a 'girl infecting hundreds of men with HIV.'
... Really there are multiple versions, all of them claiming to recount a 'first-person account' of a woman who purposefully infects hundreds of 'unassuming' men, after being unknowingly infected herself. When a third person asked me about it, I knew...
WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT THIS BECAUSE ITS BULL.
When society clings to pseudoscience and propaganda... we are all lost.
These kinds of articles are garbage, really. These days, it seems so commonplace to see well-read blogs and publications touting the same pseudoscientific waste; catchy titles get a lot of attention. We want these likes and views so bad, eh?
So let's be real, Homie... Sending a message about responsible sex is important, but these articles are most likely completely UNtrue, and part of a global culture which casts women as the harbingers of disease and shame. This shaming process is a huge barrier and a hinderance in the global struggle, to see the end of sexually transmitted disease. Articles like this misinform, and confuse the real point: Unprotected sex is a bit stupid.
Your defensive options are manifold on this battlefield called 'Love.' Regular testing is one of those types of protection, along with proper male and/or female condom use, pills, gels, implants, patches, techniques, planes, trains and automobiles! There are so many decisions you can make, to keep yourself and your partners safe! There is no gender responsible for HIV transmission... it is the shaming culture which keeps people ignorant, quiet, confused, from getting tested, from living their lives in peace, post-positive.
HIV is completely preventable, like most diseases and infections, however employing scare tactics to 'spook' people out of taking part in something (especially if that something involves sex) is not only elementary, it is dangerous. This issue is hard for Americans, really for most HIV-free folks (in a disease-shaming global society), to understand because we are delusional enough to believe that HIV/AIDS doesn't effect us, that we are separated from it and it's effects, that HIV is a virus of the 'developing world,' or the 'homosexual world.' All your biases aside, please take note:
“YOUTH AGED 13-24 ACCOUNTED FOR AN ESTIMATED 30% OF ALL NEW HIV INFECTIONS IN THE US, OVER 60% OF THEM HAVE NO IDEA THEY ARE INFECTED”
We can certainly blame however we want. It does seem to me, however, that we should just get ahead of the issue and stop the rumor mill before it cranks out yet another self-righteous, completely non-factual, ineffectual shaming process. Shaming isn't bad just because its YUCK, its bad because it doesn't actually work. The human in us is defiant and impressive! The sooner we get over this whole 'I know who to blame,' -thing, the better, and the quicker we can deal with our own shit.
The Real is, my good Homie, safe sex is learned.
Teach yours how to live and last and love. Never ever shame them, and teach them to live intelligently and positively no matter what their physiobiological truths. You can get infected whether its your first time, your 5th time or your 105th time; By anyone, trusted or otherwise, from anywhere; assume everyone is a human being, and be safe. Even you, the virgin! Even you the religious and committed! Even you, the married and the 'I know my partner.' Having HIV does not mean you are anything or anyone 'other.' You are a human being and you deserve life and love... safely and transparently.
As an individual blessed with quite a few HIV(+) friends and family, people I love very deeply; I just want to make sure the reality of their life situation isn't skewed by convenient media.
Having safe sex with a positive(+) partner is possible, so is having children born without HIV, from two HIV positive(+) parents. Education dispels rumor, abates fear, empowers, allows for healing, and feeds healthier future generations. Armed with education and a positive outlook, we can beat disease, and still support those dealing with this daily threat to their well-being, with compassion and intelligence. Small minds are so limited. Propaganda shames, while having frank conversations about the truth at least allows for valid questions to be posed. Much love to the idea of educating over everything, and living positive no matter what!
Bae, you are a starchild, glowing low for the masses to see, so feel free to click the jump for some extra education on STI/STD prevention, testing/locations, condom use, safer sex practices, and other facts specific to HIV/AIDS.
PEACE
#allyalwayslearning #livepositively #nomisinformation #muckrakers #morebettermedia #psuedoscience
No Indictment, No Justice: Why Looting Is The New Netflix
Looting… rioting… demonstrating… organizing… it’s all good for democracy, and the roots of our most important civil rights revolutions. Not just to snap the nation and the community to attention, but to engage in some response, albeit a jarring one, to the police’s so-called ‘efforts to subdue,’ peaceful communities; Peace, that the police themselves are responsible for disturbing by perhaps… shooting an unarmed teenager to death for allegedly shoplifting at the bodega? Was it your local police, who are responsible for choke-holding a person to death, a tactic outlawed by police because it was deemed too dangerous? Maybe you live in the city where the police shot a 12 year old, on a playground, while playing in his own neighborhood? Have you been to the town where a 22 year old was shot through the back, while handcuffed, for an alleged and non-life-threatening tussle, on BART, on New Years Eve (aka National Fueled –by-Liquor Fight Night)?
Ronald Singleton 45, of Manhattan, New York, a father and a husband, who was restrained to death, smothered by police, and whose wife and children survive him.
Oscar Grant of Oakland, California, 22, a new father, worked at a co-op organic grocery store in the community, shot in the back, while subdued on the ground, and fully handcuffed.
Trayvon Martin of Miami Gardens, Florida, 17, a high school student, wanted to be a pilot, even started taking classes in a summer aviation program. Shot near his home, by self-appointed ‘neighborhood watch’ who later turned out to be a paranoid alt-right bigot, who beat his girlfriends.
Eric Garner of New York City, 43, a horticulturist at the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, father of 6 and community leader, he pleaded, “I can’t breathe,” ELEVEN times, but was still murdered in what police tried to pass off as ‘restraint’
Tamir Rice, of Cleveland, Ohio, whose age of 12 years was too young, to justify police dukes-of-hazarding-in, barely speaking, and applying deadly force, all because a ‘neighbor’ called in a noise complaint, on children playing in the park. The officer who shot the little boy was previously taken off duty for being ‘emotionally unstable.’ no charges were filed, the officer was fired MUCH later. He was rehired at another station, and subsequently quit, he said because he cares about his fellow-officers, but the paperwork says he wasn’t happy BLM protested his hiring. He equated lack of charges to lack of wrongdoing and need for accountability.
Kendrick Johnson, of Valdosta, Georgia, 17, his body was found on-campus, rolled up in a gym mat; video surveillance of the day was tampered with. Kendrick is seen entering the gym just before some classmates alleged to have problems with him. The young men in question were white, wrestling jocks, who just happen to have a father in the FBI and have ties to local police. No indictments have been made. Click to read more.
Alton Sterling, who was shot while incapacitated, on video, by one of the two officers sitting on him, at point blank range.
Philando Castille, who died in front of his 4 year old daughter and girlfriend. Police shot him, at close range, after directly demanding he produce identification; while reaching for his wallet, the officer unloaded on Castille. Also on video.
Sandra Bland, who was alleged to have hanged herself in her Texas holding cell, with a plastic bag over her head, after being pulled over for 'not signaling to turn.' The dashcam footage reveals the arresting officer using excessive force to detain Bland.
Walter Scott, South Carolina, who was shot in the back by a police officer who claimed that Scott ran while being interrogated by a police officer, the officer’s reason for interrogation, was that Scott had the incorrect lights on his bicycle.
Ahmaud Arbery, who was mobbed and gunned down on his daily jog, by 3 area white men (a father and son, and a friend), who did not know Arbery, but attempted to justify the mob murder by accusing him of theft, which was later disproven. One of the suspects, the father in this trio, was an ex-police officer. The local police refused to arrest the suspects. The local district attorney refused to bring any charges against the suspects. The murder was captured on the cell phone camera of one of the suspects, it managed to spark public outrage, at the callousness of the homicide, until finally, all 3 suspects were arrested. I believe the district attorneys, chief of police, and sheriff should be held accountable for their attempts to cover up the murder, fired, and tried for conspiracy.
George Floyd, Minneapolis, multiple officers stood on top of Floyd’s body, while he was restrained on the ground, after he was accused of loitering by a store owner. Bystanders were recording and begging the officer who was kneeling on Floyd’s neck, to ease off, as Floyd himself repeatedly cried, “I can’t breathe.” The same words gasped by Eric Garner in New York before he too, died. It is AN OFFICER’S DUTY to render aid to those who need it. And the other officers who were standing there watching the whole thing happen… Bystanders continuously tried to point out to police that Floyd was asking for help, that he was becoming unresponsive, then that he had passed out, then that they could see blood had begun to come from his nose, the officers simply ignored their calls to attention, their caution, and their pleas. Floyd died under the weight of two grown police officers, who had the entirety of their adult weight concentrated on the front and side of Floyd’s throat. Justice must be served. They have been fired; They MUST go to prison.
[I hate this list, but I hope to honor those who have been killed unjustly, by bringing some light to the persistence of this problem. My list does not include every victim, nor the many left to survive them, forever grieving without them. Many of these cases only gained traction because they were caught on camera.
I believe the ‘all lives matter’ and ‘blue lives matter’ movements are inherently bigoted knee-jerk defense mechanism, headed by the last-gasp racists with power, and upheld by the everyday bigot, in the face of being held accountable in any way. These organizations are known to be bankrolled and inflamed by white supremacist interest groups and the alt-right, yet designed to seem fringe enough to excite the interests and gain the following of conspiracy theorists, bored and unfulfilled karens and chets around the world (especially the US, Canada, Europe, India and the Philippines where alt-right movements have taken root and flourished by manipulating local religious, socio-economic, and cultural tensions, sometimes inciting violence, to gain support), and jv racists just dying to be on varsity. I don’t believe the FBI CIA and DOD have done enough to highlight the threat of white terrorism, alt-right terrorism, or the threat of white supremacist, anti-Black, anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant propaganda and organizing. Anti-Peace gatherings, terror demonstrations, wherein white civilians are unnecessarily armed, overtly aggressive, and under-policed. I don’t believe the police have done enough to prevent these murders, let alone admit they are a chronic issue, or acknowledge the inherency of racism in American society. I write about it, even now in 2020, 6 years later, because it hasn’t stopped.
I don’t care for the entire fallacious concept of a police force of good ‘ol boys. If policing works at all (H.E.A.V.Y. eye-roll), it only works when no one makes any assumptions, furthermore requires actively working against validating common assumptions, whether their own or someone else’s. I feel like everyone imagines Law & Order detectives when they defend these cops, these were traffic and beat cops stopping victims for violations as benign as bike lights and untimely engaged turn signals.
Police MUST be trained against their frivolous and irrational preconceptions, especially when they often use those preconceptions to apply deadly force. Police who refuse to acknowledge the inherent racism we all deal with, should be fired, and regarded as lacking the empathetic intelligence, objectivity, self-awareness and self-control to wield as service arm. Cops who have histories of abusing their power, mismanaging routine situations, lacking self-control, unjustifiable uses of force or firearms, are allowed to continue their careers, and justify their actions.
A human being was killed. A human life snuffed out. Murder is murder, try them, throw them in prison, let them face the reality of taking a life frivolously. A human being’s life should matter enough for your second, and third thought before pulling a trigger. Where is the accountability?]
“I’m learning to be a single parent now…”
These are all American civilians, some children, some caught entirely on camera. All of them were UNARMED or licensed and thoughtful. Some of them were in cuffs. All of them were Black. Most of their deaths are on film. One of them was 12 years old. All of them were near their homes. Most of them were UNARMED. All of them were Black. Repetition is the key to remembering. All of them were black.
All of their murders have been condescended by the legal system of this country as ‘accidents,’ neither warranting legal recourse, nor reprimand, nor public outrage. Our legal system has effectively disappeared these people; dehumanizing them, their families, and our communities for asking for justice and a system of accountability. Untouchable cops, them against the world, ‘simply responding to the hysteria of every day barbarians.’
Can’t you hear the creepy monotone in your head? ‘Trust us… this has nothing to do with racism. Mathematical proportions and analysis aside, this is not racism. No, not that! This is not a failure of the system. The system is fine. Black and brown folks are aggressive, you know. Spicy! Warrior spirits! Cartel and tribes and thug life and all that, its us against them. Cops are just peacekeepers. The system adequately accounts for yin of black aggression and the yang of white trust in the law. The system is fine. This is justice. Cops need protection from civilians. They were asking for it. Don’t put yourself in their shoes, they aren’t anything like you! You are good… They were not. Justice is a real thing. The system is strong. Trust it. Go back to your everyday lives. The mistakes of the few, this is not a systemic issue. The system is fine.’ …Twilight Zone music echoing ominously the background.
“It’s happening right now... it’s just not on film, it’s not being recorded.”
It is our obligation to shine a glaring light on the lack of governmental accountability in this country. We are allowing American justice to implode and corruption to become commonplace. And now, dear homies, we are accountable. This far down the road, we are accountable for our police killing UNARMED people. We pay these people to kill our own, and let them call it an ‘accident.’
I’m pouring over the history of The Castle Doctrines, Stand Your Ground and Constitutional Law texts… Will they explain the ‘justice,’ of it all to me? Would the Framers approve of this pronounced lack of checks and balances? How is it okay that a 30–year-old civilian, with no law enforcement credentials, stalked an unarmed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, in his own neighborhood, from the corner store, to outside his stepmother’s residential area, and that behavior was seen as less suspect than Trayvon heading home? Armed with a loaded gun and absolutely no probable cause other than his unfounded and absurd accusation that the young man ‘seemed suspicious,’ as if he could be tied to what Zimmerman referred to in his 911 call as, ‘break-ins around the neighborhood.’ Zimmerman was explicitly instructed not to pursue the teenager by the 911-emergency dispatcher. 2 minutes later, police arrived to find the teenager dead, 70-yards from his home. How is it that a teenaged boy was fatally shot by a 30-year-old, through the chest, at point blank range, and his killer walks free? Call it rhetoric, Homie, I’m simply framing the questions we should all have.
“All the rights secured to the citizens under the Constitution are worth nothing, and a mere bubble, except guaranteed to them by an independent and virtuous Judiciary.”
Robert S. Warshaw of the Independent Monitor cited a number of systemic issues in his formal investigation, Special Report: Oakland PD Officer-Involved Shootings of 2012. The report was highly critical of the quality of the investigations, highlighting a high number of incidents which lacked probable cause or evidence of immanent threat, failure to appropriately establish evidence ‘beyond a reasonable doubt,’ failure to notify Internal Affairs when required, pronounced lack of impartiality on the part of investigators, inconsistencies between reports and statements, major issues with crime scene contamination especially on those involving officers who discharged their firearms. Warshaw even points out thath the culture of the department is characterized by an express,
“hypersensitivity to the dangers of police work, he continues, we fully recognize [the inherent danger], however, the OPD and its policies tend to inordinately overemphasize officer safety issues and repeatedly reinforce the dangers of police work. This can create an environment in which officers are on a perpetual state of high alert, assuming all citizen contacts have the potential to go badly.”
Rallying around the rationality that the victim is not the dead person. The victims are not the families left behind. The victims are not the communities. Rather, the victim is the perpetrator of a serious crime; We need to really ask ourselves what the implications of that are. The victims are not the victims and the perps deserve sympathy. In any other case, would this be tolerable? Training seems to work for the majority of servicemen and servicewomen; when it doesn't those people need to be held accountable. If for nothing else than to maintain the sanctity of American justice and stand true to the ideal that we are all equals. Not everyone is meant to be a police officer.
“When you have police officers who abuse citizens, you erode public confidence in law enforcement. That makes the job of good police officers unsafe.”
Police around the nation should be outraged, and stand together against the degradation of their public image. Support yours through prison, just like we do; accept they did wrong, and put agency above all, like you are supposed to. Is use of a weapon really that much of a gray area? Is the difference between a kill shot and an incapacitating shot very nuanced in police gun training? Do the police save Black lives? Do the police save Brown lives? What does it do to the human psychology when a victim is denied their victimhood and made out to ‘have had it coming?’ Can we call a spade a spade? There is a disproportionate level of contempt for the person of color in this nation. From our president to our neighbors, we hold people of color at an arms length, tend to celebrate them only for their entertainment capital and hold them in contempt for what we perceive as their inferior character traits. To have been murdered by the law, and the law to lack the integrity, the probity it so proudly touts, the incorruptibility to hold one of its own accountable is evidence of a need for serious change.
“The police are the public and the public are the police; the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence.”
And to my beleaguered compatriots just tryna' live; To those who have families, want peaceful and unburdened futures, who might even be bothered by this level of civic awareness... Let us not be jaded! I know this stuff ‘happens all the time.’ It happens all the time, but it doesn’t make it any less disgusting to me. The wake up call only resounds louder that we need to change things. That people of color need to be protected from the hatred we try to deny, because denying it hasn’t kept it from killing our kids, killing the hope and peace of mind in neighborhoods around the country, funding the construction of new prisons and the closings of public schools. Let us not forget Rodney King survived, we all knew, and he still killed himself slowly over this, because often, once touched by the system, we are traumatized beyond rehabilitation. The trauma our police forces have inflicted on our communities, our children, our neighbors and on us... because we all have stories... Is unacceptable.
The lackadaisical and politically pandering lollygaggers of the Judiciary system and the district attorneys, judges and office-holding wastes of space, who put their lucrative and megalomaniacal careers before justice should feel our refusal to comply. The pithy pundits and waspy fundraisers, their twitter account hell-raising, pervy husbands, the self-righteous parents who have paid to hide the indiscretions of their own children, should all feel us shaming them for not using their senate and congressional seats to represent the entirety of their constituency. Shame, on the representatives of this nation for watching the legislative branch stagnate and become a joke. Shame, on the law enforcers in the judiciary branch for their cronyism, partial representation, and lazy ignorance. Shame, on us for watching democracy so thusly maligned.
LET US REFLECT. Use the Googlé. Watch the footage, listen to the testimonies and 911 calls, read the rainbow of articles and ask yourself when serial party girl/drug abuser KC Anthony, became Casey Marie Anthony, victim of multiple abuses, wayward young mother, 'just trying to figure it all out?' By even her defense teams accounts, she bound and gagged her dead 2 year old, who she didn’t realize had been dead for hours in a pool, and hid her body in some shrubs, lied about it for a year and still managed to get off without being held accountable. That is, if she didn’t simply murder her own kid in cold blood and just lie about it. But she was a victim somehow. George Zimmerman’s paranoid schizophrenic tendencies became public information when following the trial, he threatened multiple others specifically, not with just bodily harm, but that he would ‘get a gun and shoot’ them, including his own wife (who later divorced him claiming he was physically and psychologically abusive). He posted on social media about his visit to the Kel-Tech gun factory and his new rifle only a month after his release from prison. But you’re right, I should pray about this. You can listen to his wife's 911 call on the interweb, and prayer is the answer… LOL.
“Today’s Constitution is a realistic document of freedom only because of several corrective amendments.”
Oh, and another thing... there is always some pandering journalist who puts a sentence in about the young man who was good at ‘minding his elders,’ or was a ‘gentle giant,’ to prove his life deserves your acknowledgement. Because when young white folks die, who got kicked out of school, tied up in drugs, wrapped up in sex with all the wrong types, STDs, suspensions and academic probations… no one seems to apologize for their life choices, their body types, or their foolhardy decisions. That’s what the outrage is about. We dishonor these suffering families and our own American nationalism when we tell them no one is at fault for their ‘pot-smoking, school-skipping, degenerates’ death. These people are heroes. These were everyday Americans, full of life and love, with families just like yours who had their lives taken from them by murderers. They have not died in vain, and we need to hold the system accountable.
So… Yeah, Looting happens; riots happen; demonstrations and public organizing happens. It serves many purposes. I would argue that Looting is peaceful protest, furthermore that civil rights are not won on the backs of non-violent tactics they are simply narrated on them. For our Civil Rights, a lot of people got hurt, some died, and most lived in fear. For the communities still seeking their complete civil rights, or the POCs whose civil rights are constantly at jeopardy, this fight is never over. Racism won’t die, so neither can the fight against it. Certainly, in these cases, its not the protestors, but the police were the most violent of all. Non-violence is an ideal, and way below it, beneath the media coverage and the light of day, being nuanced and whittled down to nothingness is the truth, that pacifism cannot help the issue of racism. Racism does not rely on conflict, in our system, it can simply be subversive, cultish, dogmatic, jokey, and thereby systemic. And systemic issues mean someone is benefitting from an illegitimate set-up. Non-violence is, truly, for the birds. Change is seldom obedient. If you don’t see the need for change, its time to question who tinged your glasses rose? Time to step up and question your motives for ignoring these issues.
Looting and rioting is an appropriate and frankly, mild response to a staggering and clearly racially driven miscarriage of justice at the highest state levels in Missouri. The point is this is a national issue. Looting can be a means to get people's attention and take the issue to a national audience. To exhaust the resources of the police and reinforce the outrage of a community without justice. The less obvious reasons are manifold; to put pressure on local business, investors and insurance companies to take a political stand and support the needs of the communities that keep their businesses successful. Furthermore looting exhausts the resources of local, national and private police. The chaos refocuses the scope of power in a realistic way, so the police understand that citizens will disregard authority because the police are abusing it. In turn shop owners will gripe to the city about safety issues and problems with the police. National conglomerates will reconsider leases and locations. City Hall will feel the pain of making an unjust decision. Come election year, folks don't take too kindly to complacency and taxation without representation.
Looting, rioting, and demonstrating, is part of the force that pushes 'the system' to the point of break, and on some romantic nationalistic level, these are the only societal expressions of the People’s health and personal power. The only thing that our government seems to value is money, the power that comes with it, and vice versa. We have been reduced to nothing, and so, we are rising to the occasion! No peace without justice. The legislative branch of this government has far too long gotten away with pedantic verbiage, media character assaults, and under the table plea deals, while throwing people of color to the wind and publishing about ‘the urban trends responsible for sociopathy,’ in multiple volumes. In so many impartially historically recorded ways: Setting us up, dehumanizing us, studying us, using us, paying us less and playing us at every chance. This is what folks mean when they say 'racism and bigotry are alive and well.’ They mean that you can
Put a camera on it
Have witnesses around it
Watch the evidence mount
and still... not see any justice when the incident involves questioning a white person's rights to freedom versus those of a person of color's. In a juxtaposed light, the truth is hard to ignore.
This is not cynicism or hyperbole, this is the original catalyst, the Truth. 1 in 3; One out of every three Hispanic males and one out of every three Black males will see prison in their lifetime. (The Sentencing Project)
“Together, African American and Hispanics comprised 58% of all prisoners in 2008, even though African Americans and Hispanics make up approximately one quarter of the US population. ”
How can the safety of the police be separate from the safety of the public at-large? We cannot trust the police if the police will not police themselves. Here's the church, here's the steeple, open it up, because its judgement time for the media, the courts, the police, and the people.
“With Liberty, and Justice for ALL”
All power to the people.
<3 The Homie Sasa <3
[Please know there are many more cases like these, my use of the most well-known does not highlight the multitudes of men and women Of Color, who have died under suspicious circumstances while in police custody whose cases are still being investigated or have been buried in obscurity. In many of these cases, 3rd-Party filming is to thank for providing the only hard evidence defending the innocence of these victims.]