Category Archives: My Writing

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What the actual fuck?

So, I started my day the way I usually do, by reading the Daily Beast Cheat Sheet. Along with the headlines about the Derek Chauvin trial, the killing of Daunte Wright and Adam Toledo, the Cheat Sheet had two pieces that would break my heart if they didn’t make me so angry.

The first is about the case of Dylan Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old who went to Kenosha, Wisconsin to “protect businesses.” He shot three people. Two died. New data has come out that some of the donations he has received came from police officers who wrote, “You’ve done nothing wrong.” As if we need more evidence of white privilege. Dear white America; feel free to shoot anyone you think is doing something wrong, we’ve got you. Dear POC in America; you aren’t safe anywhere, at any time. That’s the take-home message I got from this.

The other story is about the cop who shot Adam Toledo, a 13-year-old child who had nothing in his hands when he was murdered. The cop’s lawyer issued a statement about the situation in which he laments the fact that “no one has asked about his well being.”

“What is amazing and disheartening is that very few have asked about the welfare of the officer. Specifically there is very little interest in the wellbeing of the officer and the impact experienced by the officer who was required to use deadly force in the line of duty. The officer involved has served his country and his city with honor and deserves our support.”

Well, we know one thing about the cop’s well-being. We know he is alive, which is not something we can say about the child he murdered.

At what point will the police get that they are not the law? They do not have the right to kill anyone. More and more it seems they approach every situation like it is life-ending.

I don’t know what the answer is but this I am sick of waking up to more news of more black and brown people being killed for no reason. I am sick of waking up to more mass shootings.

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How do you not see the double standard? Are you fucking kidding me?

Credit: Crisp County Sheriff’s Office. The current best example of the double standards in the American justice system.

Breonna Taylor was shot sleeping in her bed. Sandra Bland was taken to jail, where she died, for changing lanes without signaling. Tamir Rice was shot for playing with a toy gun. He was 12 years old. I could go on. And on. And on. The double standard can be found everywhere.

Robert Aaron Long shot and killed eight people and how do the police respond? If he was black, he’d probably be dead. He’s not. As a straight, white guy, he was arrested and taken to jail. Keep in mind, he was on his way to Florida to continue his killing spree.

After he was caught, the local Sheriff, and what I am guessing is all-around jackass, Captain Jay Baker remarked, “He was having a really bad day.” Eight people are dead but the killer was having a bad day. Are you fucking serious?

Last week, Senator Ron Johnson (R-Stupidtown-WI) said he wasn’t afraid of the rioters on January 6 because: “I knew those were people that love this country, that truly respect law enforcement, would never do anything to break the law, and so I wasn’t concerned.” In your world, it’s not illegal to kill police officers or destroy government property? Captain jackass went on to say that had those protesters been from #BlackLivesMatter, he would have felt differently. When asked about his clearly racist statements, he said that his comments weren’t “about race” and wrote in a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) op-ed that he “won’t be silenced by the Left.” (Note to Senator Johnson, the WSJ is one of the most read papers in the world, he always has the Senate floor and I am pretty sure FOX News will put him on any day of the week and twice on Sunday. No one wants to silence you. As someone who doesn’t like you, I want you to keep talking. You make my point better than I ever can.

Black people are killed by police eating ice cream (Botham Jean), for breaking tax law (Eric Garner) or getting out his wallet (Amadou Diallo). When white people commit heinous crimes they are allowed to just walk away (Kyle Rittenhouse), brought food outside restaurants (Dylan Roof) or have the sheriff talk about their mental state (Robert Aaron Long). In the most recent case, police say that Long didn’t have a racial motive. Why? Because he told them he didn’t!

Tell me again that white privilege doesn’t exist. All this makes me miss talking about Qanon.

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I am sorry we all had to say goodbye to Kobe Bryant

So, the world lost Kobe Bryant this week. I read this piece about how white women have reacted to this news. I was offended by it before I read it. Then I did read it and saw way too much of myself in it. Hearing about high profile people raping or sexually assaulting women hits a nerve. It would also not be a stretch to say I am obsessed with serial killers.

To be honest, when I heard the news about Bryant’s death, I was just shocked. You don’t expect to hear about healthy 41-year-old men dying suddenly. Like many other women, I hope most, I did not jump on social media to rant against people who are in mourning. I did think about the charges that were leveled against him about 20 years ago and I reflected on that and why that was my first thought.

There are a few reasons for this. One, I don’t follow basketball all that closely so I was not up to date on Bryant’s life. More likely is that as a rape victim and a victim of sexual harassment, it just strikes a nerve. A very painful nerve.

But I reflected on that and read up on Bryant. Like every other person, including me, he made mistakes. Afterward he did so much for so many people in the world of sports and beyond that, I realized that, as I hope to be forgiven for my mistakes, this was a person who deserved more than to be judged on one incident.

This is a quote from that piece:

“In my opinion this all stems from the fact that America can’t see Black people as human. Humans can make mistakes, humans can be redeemed, humans can be exonerated, and humans can be forgiven. Monsters and beasts cannot.”

Neruda Williams, Comedian, NYC

I hate that this is true. I hate that we judge people on things like their skin color, religion, sexual orientation, gender or gender identification to form our opinion of them. I have written a lot about how we need to stop treating people like they are disposable because none of us are.

I was also offended by “Dear White Women” because I felt personally slandered and judged by how other white women are behaving on social media, which is also unfair. No one should be judged by social media. Do people go there to be polite or compassionate? Not in my experience.

I am sorry to everyone who is in mourning for Kobe Bryant, whether you knew him or not. I am ashamed that my first thought was about an event that may or may not have happened decades ago.

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My writing for March 15, 2017 (Snakes! Taxes! Wiretapping!)

If you do not subscribe to all of my stuff, here are some pieces you may have missed:

Hope you check them out and let me know what you think!