I may not be good at doing much with activism cause I'm still getting my own shit together, but I'll tell you I remember stuff

Slips my mind more than I like, but I don't forget what's happened to Iranians, to Syrians, I don't forget the Hong Kong protests

I remember how it was, I refuse to follow a new narrative when I was there watching across an ocean

As an American I think I have an obligation to support people fighting for their freedom... kinda one of the things about the American identity that's supposed to mean something, the idea you're supposed to support everyone everywhere in being able to choose how to live their life

So I won't forget what the Iranian government's done, I won't ever let them pretend to be moral after I watched them with blood on their hands, their so called morality police brutalizing people just trying to live, and then fighting to be free

I may not be able to do much, probably don't do as much as I could or should, but I'll never forget and when it's called for I'll never forgive either

Can't follow all the horror in the world, hell, I can hardly keep up with Haiti or Sudan who both deserve support

But I do pay attention, I do see some of what happens, I won't forget and I won't let people feed me a new version of what I've seen

Jharkhand: Police arrest second accused in Dumka killing case

Aug 29, 2022 18:16 IST Dumka (Jharkhand) , August 29 (AF): The Jharkhand police on Monday arrested the second accused in the Ankita murder case and sent him to jail. "Naeem alias Chhotu Khan, the second accused in the Ankita murder case, has been arrested. After presenting the accused in Dumka court, he was sent to jail," Dumka SP Amber Lakra confirmed. Ankita Singh succumbed to injuries after being set ablaze by a boy for allegedly turning down his proposal and was cremated on Monday morning. Accused Shahrukh was arrested earlier on August 23. People protested after the Class 12 girl was set ablaze by Shahrukh in Dumka.

She succumbed to her burn injuries yesterday. Meanwhile, Section 144 has been imposed in Dumka which prohibits the gathering of four or more people in the concerned area. "The accused Shahrukh has been arrested. We'll apply at fast track court for a fast trial. People are cooperating with us. We appeal to people to maintain peace. The situation is under control and Sec 144 has been imposed," said Ambar Lakda. Accused Shahrukh poured petrol on her and set her ablaze on August 23. She was set on fire in a case of unrequited love. A student of class 12, Ankita Kumari had been first admitted to Phulo Jhano Medical College and Hospital in Dumka in critical condition. Later she was referred to Ranchi's Rajendra Institute of Medical Science (RIMS) for better treatment. The accused had allegedly poured petrol on the woman through the window of her home when she was asleep and set her on fire.

Lashing out at the government over this incident, former Chief Minister of the State, Raghubar Das said, "It is very shameful for Jharkkhand the way that boy entered the girl's house, poured petrol and set her ablaze. There have been thousands of crimes against women in Jharkhand after Hemant Soren became Chief Minister. There are love jihad cases also among the tribal population. The people from Bangladesh are entering and marrying innocent tribal girls and usurping their land."

Condemning the incident, Chief Minister Hemant Soren said, "Such people should not be forgiven, but should be given the strictest of punishments. Laws should be brought in to further strengthen the existing laws for such incidents." Union minister Arjun Munda questioned the state administration for the death of the girl. He said, "Who is responsible for such incidents? Were appropriate measures taken to save the victim or not? If the victim dies, how will the guilty be punished? The state government should answer on all these subjects and to maintain the confidence of the public, the government should give a statement that what is the law and order situation for these incidents which are happening in Jharkhand."

The last rites of the victim took place today morning. BJP MP from Dumka Sunil Soren, Deputy Development Commissioner Karna Satyarthi, DSP Vijay Kumar and many administrative officials, activists and common people of various Hindu organizations participated in the funeral procession. (AF) Read the full article

The Left’s Revolution Dominates Every American Height, And They Don’t Know Why We Aren’t Cheering

Herein lies a glimpse into just what kind of knuckle-draggers the left thinks we are. They think patriotism means we’ll do whatever they say whenever they say it.

By

Christopher Bedford

AUGUST 10, 2021

“Rooting against Olympians, scoffing at Capitol police, broaching civil war — meet today’s conservative movement.”

That’s the opening of an article last week at Vox.com. You’ve probably heard of Vox. Their self-proclaimed, self-aggrandizing purpose is to “explain the news.” But when Vox’s condescending reporters start talking about conservatives, Christians, guns, or really anyone outside of a few coastal cities, they have a habit of sounding like Jane Goodall observing apes.

So, what’s their qualm now? Let’s let them explain it in their own words:

[There is a] rising tendency in the conservative movement to reject America itself. In this thinking, the country is so corrupted that it is no longer a source of pride or even worthy of respect. … Queer female soccer stars demanding equal pay, Black basketball players kneeling to protest police brutality, the world’s best gymnast prioritizing her mental health over upholding the traditional ideal of the “tough” athlete — this is all a manifestation of the ascendancy of liberal cultural values in public life. And an America where these values permeate national symbols, like the Olympic team, is an America where those symbols are worthy of scorn.

Worthy of scorn; imagine that. Underperforming and overpaid people who for a living play a game no one watches want to be paid the same as people who are better players and earn more viewers.

Rich athletes publicly spitting on their country, their flag, and the men and women who have died for it, so they can push left-wing lies.

An enormously talented athlete quitting on the brink of competition, and saying the problem was she wanted to compete only for herself, not for her coaches, her teammates, or her country.

These are indeed “all a manifestation of the ascendancy of liberal cultural values in public life.” They’re the fruits of a spoiled, privileged, narcissistic, and self-obsessed revolution that began in the late 1950s and has been fighting its way to power ever since. They have it now, and it isn’t simply confined to our sacred soccer ball kickers.

Sports is just the latest, but look at its sponsors: You can be a subpar professional athlete, but if you spit on the flag you get a lucrative Nike contract.

Remember that Nike ad, “Believe in something even if it means sacrificing everything”? It featured Colin Kaepernick. The only problem is, he didn’t sacrifice anything — he discovered he could be paid a lot more playing the American public than he could playing football as a backup quarterback.

Now, thanks to his fake bravery, he gets to decide if the first flag of the United States is permissible. He says it isn’t, because America wasn’t perfect 245 years ago — and Nike sanctifies that decision with a lucrative payout.

They don’t mind; Nike may still be headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon, but at heart they’re a Chinese company. That’s the People’s Republic of China: a godless slave state that uses forced labor to manufacture products and criminalizes dissent. That’s a country Nike respects, or at least one it cares about offending. Guess what: We don’t like that.

They’re far from alone. Silicon Valley was once a symbol of American enterprise: Young men working in their garages to harness technology and revolutionize our lives. Now Silicon Valley symbolizes the most powerful private companies the world has ever known — and they use that power to crush dissent, censor presidents and critics, and push left-wing propaganda. Turns out, when they do that we don’t like them.

We can go on. Blackrock sends its urchins to buy up affordable homes in growing cities to transform a society of homeowners into a society of servile tenants.

Mastercard and IBM build international databases for tracking humans so they can bar them from travel and commercial activity if they don’t take an experimental vaccine. Or, in MasterCard’s case, maybe they’ll ban you if they just dislike your politics.

Bank of America refuses to make loans to American gun manufacturers out of principle while making a $1 billion gift to Black Lives Matter, a racist, anti-American, anti-family, grifty riot squad responsible for dead police, murdered innocents, and burned-out cities. Huh — turns out we don’t like any of that either.

How about the Pentagon? Conservatives used to respect it because it won wars and embodied the finest of American values while doing so. But now the Pentagon loses wars, throws away lives, and wastes trillions of dollars while trashing those fine American values.

The military used to be a strict meritocracy. Now, they cut standards in the name of diversity. They used to demand that every soldier be fit and ready for war. Now, they slash the requirements for our troops’ physical performance and brag about maternity flight suits.

They teach weak and disgusting left-wing racism in their academies, they target Christians, they insult the middle-America conservatives who do most of the fighting and an overwhelming share of the dying in our armed forces. While our enemies run ads touting the manly virtues necessary to a warrior life, our generals run ads about having two moms. It’s not very intimidating. And hey, we don’t like it.

Ladies and gentlemen, we could all go on with example after example, but the point is this: The left got their revolution, the one they spent decades screaming and agitating for. They got their ideologues into the halls of power — not just the university halls, not just the halls of Congress, but all of them: Business, media, military, sports.

If there is an institution in your life and it’s not a good church, chances are that institution has implemented one policy after another pledging itself to the dogmas of the left. Now, the left is shocked — shocked — that we don’t like it one bit.

There was an America that we loved. It was an America of religious liberty and freedom of speech, and equality before the law. An America that loved what is beautiful rather than what is warped and ugly. An America that loved its founders and loved its children. An America that knew that whatever prosperity it possessed, it owed it all to the Almighty, and that it had a solemn duty to Him in return.

That was the America we loved. An America that hundreds of thousands of young men proved they loved more than life itself. We still love that America, and we’re not just going to cheer and applaud their active desecration of it.

Herein lies a great little glimpse into just what kind of knuckle-draggers the left thinks we are. They think patriotism means we’ll do whatever they say whenever they say it. “Drink your can of beer, sit on the couch, and cheer for sports. You like sports, don’t you, you ape? Come on, watch them on your 60-inch Chinese TV you bought at Walmart.”

“Buy our cheap, foreign products, do it now. You like free enterprise, don’t you? What’s more free than your boys and girls in the Navy guarding Chinese ships shipping Chinese products from Chinese companies to run-down American towns that were once industrial hubs?”

“You like cheap things, don’t you? I thought Republicans loved sports and business!”

“When Gen. Mark Milley says jump, you say how high. When he says you’re racist and you are showing white rage, nod along. When he says standards are overblown, and that diversity is our new strength, salute. Come on, don’t you support our troops?”

They don’t get it. They don’t get that we don’t honor and salute empty institutions and buildings! We don’t just bow down before the local magistrate’s hat on a stick.

They don’t get that a church is not just some building that can be made into a nightclub, it’s where we worship God — and it’s from his presence that it derives its meaning.

They don’t get that people watch sports for athletic excellence, good old American entertainment, and the thrill of cheering for the guys fighting for your team. No one watches sports to be condescended to, regardless of what uniform the athlete has on.

They don’t get that we respect the flag and the Americans who’ve fought and died for it and will again, but that doesn’t mean we stand and salute the Pentagon and all the foolish politicians in the brass.

They also don’t get that we’re not all 100 percent serious and miserable all of the time, like a couple of CNN anchors we could name; we still have a sense of humor. So yes, when a woman with an ugly heart says ugly things about America and then flops in a big soccer tournament, we’re going to chuckle about it. Maybe even laugh out loud. Maybe we will have that cold beer.

We’re Americans; we don’t resent success in sports, business, or military service. But as Helen Andrews of The American Conservative recently wrote, conservatives don’t resent the left’s success — we resent the ways they actively harm us. And we’ll never accept the rotten version of America they tell us we’re supposed to love.

America is worth saving. If you live in a major coastal city, leave it whenever you can and see that America. It can sometimes be hard to find — the left has warped it viciously. Today this country kills its children in the womb, celebrates decadence, and glorifies decay, but if Vox is onto anything it’s this: We are onto them. And we’re not buying it. And America lives on in our hearts.

There are a lot of problems in this country. We’re experiencing a secular elite trying to justify their existence in any way they can. Things are going to get worse before they get better, because they want things to and it makes them feel good.

But there’s no God at the end of this tunnel. Just as with drugs or money or sex, no amount of Black Lives Matter,  climate change activism, and yard signs can fill the hole they’re feeling. The good news is, it won’t work; the bad news is, our experiment is delicate and badly damaged.

The work — going to school board meetings, running for local office, speaking up in our towns and our cities and our states — is hard work. We’re going to lose friends along the way, but we will lose this country forever if we don’t, so there’s really no choice at all, is there.

Christopher Bedford is a senior editor at The Federalist, the vice chairman of Young Americans for Freedom, a board member at the National Journalism Center, and the author of The Art of the Donald. Follow him on

Twitter

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Recently, a lot of you who told me I was insane when I said that Winnie the flu was all theater and though it existed and was a flu and would probably take “severe flu, no vaccine numbers” it was and is stupid to lock the sick and the healthy in, destroy the economy and make everyone wear a mask, have come back and ask how I knew. And apologized.

Well, attention in the isles, my friends on the right: you are falling for the same king of bullshit diversion. You are being spun like a top. And you’re falling for it and falling in line.

I blame you and I don’t. You didn’t grow up with the constant-pretend-reality of communist psi-ops, and you haven’t learned to smell it.

Over and over again, you condemn Trump and the “rioters.”

NO ONE RIOTED. Not compared to this summer. THERE WERE NO RIOTS. And the protesters were treated with an iron fist and live ammo, btw.

There are videos. I don’t know which ones are still live. They keep removing them. There was no riot. There was a protest. You know, those things that are vital for public health?

Did they go into the Capitol? Yes they did. You know what? It’s a public building. WE PAY FOR THE F*CKING CAPITOL’S UPKEEP.

But, but but…. the congress critters ran. They were scared!

Were they now? WHY? No, seriously, why were they scared, if the people they work for want to watch the deliberations. They’re in our presence all the time. You know the worst thing we do — or used to do — we called them traitors. That was it.

But they vandalized Nancy Pelosi’s office! Oh, my stars and garters? Evil people. Was that before or after she vandalized our constitution and sank a knife in the heart of the republic? Is the evil bitch dangling from a lamppost this morning? No? They were civilized beyond all hope.

But Sarah, you’ll say, this will give them the excuse to avenge themselves on us.

Dear idiots, you’re like the wife with her arm in a sling and both eyes blackened telling her husband “Please don’t say anything to Joe. He’ll be mad.”

In other words, are you out of your ever loving little minds? These people STOLE two elections — it’s now absolutely obvious the nominal right is fine with this. They hope for crumbs from their masters’ tables. The left is more likely to kill them, but never mind — in a row, in full view, and refused to let us have our day in court to show the evidence. Because the American people are now peons with NO STANDING and can be disenfranchised with no punishment. But you’re afraid that largely (truly) peaceful protesters “made them mad?”

Withdrawing the objection to the fraudulent votes due to the riot? That only makes sense in the mind of an abuser. “I stole your thing, and I was going to maybe give it back, but you cried, so now you don’t get it back.” Are you all actually out of your ever loving minds to blame the protesters and Trump for this?

These people are saying “You peasants dared to show up in our presence. We’re now going to take away even the illusion of franchise.” And…. you’re cool with this? It’s the protesters fault?

Get up off the floor. Wipe the blood from your lip. KNOW WHO YOUR ABUSER IS.

And BTW it’s not Trump. Trump thought maybe if congress saw how ad people were, they would play straight. I said before that’s all the protest was about, and that’s all it was. He told people to go home when it was obvious it had failed.

And I hope to G-d someone with access to him reads this and tells him it’s time. Take the family NOW and go to an undisclosed location. As much as it hurts me to say this, because I want him to continue harassing the left, he has to realize this is no longer the sweet land of liberty. This is now a tyrannical third world shithole. Or will be within months from the way our occupiers are behaving. They will find a way to kill him and his whole family, or kill him and turn his family against him. Go Mr. President. G-d bless. You’ve done all that you could. If the so called right in this country will pearl clutch and blame even people who engage in a very mild protest, they deserve what’s to come.

He now promises an orderly transition. I will tell all of you that DEAD is the most orderly of all states. And right now the Republic is effectively dead. There might be a hope for CPR, but I’m not sure there’s the will to apply it. Pence has joined the rats fleeing to the lefty rotten ship. because he hopes that will save his life. Spoiler, it won’t. The left will kill all the right who turns their coat. Because they can’t trust them. Good. They deserve it. I shall eat popcorn.

Do we ever get the republic back? I don’t know. I think the most likely thing is that we fall apart into separate states while around us the world falls into chaos, famine and misery. We’ve been feeding the world for a century. The world had better look to itself now.

What do those of us who’ve sworn an oath to the constitution do? I don’t know. Most are still busily doing a Peter in Pontius Pilates Yard “I was never with him.”

Oh, and there’s talks of rounding up Trump supporters. Of denying them flights and hotels and the ability to engage in commerce.

I suppose that’s the “protesters” fault too? Except that that, like the paper to withdraw objections because of the “protest” were already written. They would have found an excuse.

I don’t want war. But I liked having a homeland. To everyone who, like me, came here as the last place of refuge: I’m sorry. I don’t even know what to tell you. We need to fight this, but even if we do, unless the natural-born citizens see what they’re losing, it’s unlikely we’ll ever get our country back.

This morning, in DC, the police are beating down what remains of protesters. A young woman was murdered in cold blood yesterday.

And our side is pearl clutching and tut tuting, and hoping the abuser won’t get mad. Oh, and talking about 2022, because seeing two elections frauded RIGHT BEFORE THEIR EYES and courts refusing to let anyone see evidence of it is not enough. They need to be stomped on some more before they believe they’ve lost the franchise.

Me? I’ve seen what happens when your votes don’t matter. Elections will continue as a form, possibly for fifty years, if we let this bullshit go on that long. Your next president after Commie laWhorish is Michelle Obama, because the ignorant bitch hasn’t shit on us enough. She felt stupid and inferior at Harvard, and by gum, she’s going to make you grovel to pay for your sins.

But your real masters are now Winnie the Pooh and his merry band of fascists. And we know what they do and how.

I can’t get the order, but we’re about to see: social credit; the banning of conservatives from the internet; branding us as terrorists, just as they’re doing to innocent protesters; show trials; people disappearing; our money confiscated; our houses confiscated; more lock downs, to prevent revolt; more masks to promote alienation; more lies.

When people die in the famine to come, it will be Covid-19 and Trump’s fault and you’ll be required to repeat it publicly.

It wont’ last. These commies are industrial-level STUPID. It won’t last. I give them ten years, maybe, before most of the country is starving, and they have no clue what to do about it. And then it all falls apart, because unlike Venezuelans, we have no one to help and no place to run to.

Or, you know, we can stop pearl clutching and say “Hell no.” and “Molon labe” and stop repeating the lies the left wants written into history.

To lefty idiots: yes, the election was stolen. Because if it had NOT been, the left would have joined the right in demanding the courts take the case, and that it be shown to all as an honest election. Also, to lefty idiots, what the protesters — and all of us at home — want? ANOTHER ELECTION with minimum accountability. I mean, we can’t even clean the roles. There wouldn’t be enough time. We just wanted to make sure each person voted only once, and the votes were counted with full supervision.

Instead, you’re handing off the country to China, via their bought and paid for man, Biden. Yes, I know you heard good things about China. You’ll find out, along with the craven right that the leftist press makes Pravda seem honest. Enjoy the ride.

As for you and me, my friends. We’re going to eat the bread that the devil baked. Save what you can from the ruin. It won’t be much. And don’t let them into your head. NEVER let them into your head. They’re invaders. They’re oppressors. They’re thieves. Treat them as what they are. Do not comply unless you have to, and then engage in malicious compliance.

Keep the republic in your heart. Maybe there are enough of us left that it will rise again. But in the meantime, this is going to hurt and hurt badly. And the longer the restoration of law takes, the higher the butcher’s bill.

Most of you have no idea how bad it will get. Imagine your worst nightmares. Then double them. Prepare for that as best you can. You won’t be able to do much. If you’re lucky they’ll leave you your conscience.

Your country was invaded (even if the invaders were born here, their masters aren’t) and is about to be raped. The least you can do is not cooperate.

A/N

This is Death Note meets Black Panther. So if you like the idea of Erik as Light Yagami, you're in the right place.

Let me know if you'd like to be tagged.

My fics have no READ MORE option because I do them all from mobile. :/ so sorry about the forever scrolls. 😫 Good thing is I'm keeping chapters to about 1500 words.

1. BEGINNINGS

Dear Journal,

I've written of much in my lifetime and now I continue this in my afterlife. But, Journal? How can I accurately describe this VAST realm where the ghost of my former self now exists? That is all I am.

I'll start with the sky for it has demanded my attention. The contrast of the deep purple and rich blue against blindingly white flashes of light make the starry sky of this ancestral plane the most majestic to behold, even greater than that of a Wakandan sunrise, and for that I am grateful. Under this realm’s sky which is so undefiled, so splendid, so divine that no mortal can look upon or stand under it without first forfeiting their very lives and human shells.. we souls of the past run free in our transcendent forms.

But are we truly free within this elaborate repetition?

When we are not running, we write. I'm sure you're beginning to understand. As ancestors, our words bind the earth realm to our own. We are accountable for recording the events in the earth as well as names.

“N'Jobu. Are you going to run?” Chika paces below on the ground, his jet black fur shining blue under the dramatic sky. Life in the ancestral plane is akin to a vivid dream that never seems to come to a point or an end. “What are you pondering so intently? Give that journal a rest, you are free, N'Jobu. You are meant to run on.. forever,” he spoke, each word echoing in my ear, a cement block sealing my monotonous fate. Is that all there is? Running?

“..I’ll remain here.”

Another omen. The curse of eternal disappointment. Chika runs, striding through the soft green grass, toward eternity. He won’t be back for a millennium and it will still be too soon in the scale of forever.

As I perch atop my branch inscribing these entries, I watch the living trapped in the sinking wheel which is humanity.

I see Wakanda entering a new era. I see impending war waged by the unjust. My claw moves on it's own, inking the names of the innocent and the young. They come everyday before their time. I cannot hold back my–is it sympathy? No, sympathy is invalidation. I’ve been removed from mortality for entirely too long to care. The thing I feel–is intrigue.

-N'Jobu

Sinking wheel aside, the human world has its interesting moments. The human mind is an interesting machine. Humans with the capacity to choose their destiny on a small scale will often cling to life for the sole purpose of defiling it. Tooth and nail, they fight to defy and delay the inevitable, still meeting the same fate they struggled against. Humans pursue the end of a certain evil only to be overcome by the specific evil they’ve created.

Humans as a whole? Predictably ordinary and violent. However, the most interesting things pertain to the actions of individuals. Individuals are the wild cards.

That's what I'd like to explore.

---------------------------------------------

Erik slid his phone from his pocket, sliding it in his line of vision as he walked briskly down the city sidewalk toward the block where his office building stood tall. Yahoo news had a few ridiculous articles, pointless in the nature. He considered putting in his earbuds to listen to his playlist until he reached his building. Or maybe he'd pick a research to dive into absorbing it for no other purpose than regurgitating it to the easily impressed. His business partner would be impressed for sure. Decisions, decisions. Clicking quickly through the internet, he stumbled on a title.

17-year-old Isaiah Mark Lewis was unarmed when he was shot after fighting with two officers who first used a stun gun on him.

Disgusting. Another senseless death at the hands of the morally corrupt, the third he'd heard of in two weeks. He hit the back button searching for something different, something lighter.

Marzeus Scott, an unarmed 35-year-old killed by police in Blytheville, Arkansas.

He exited his browser, pocketing his phone and looking ahead to the silver sky and concrete jungle which enveloped him. Black man with a bald fade and suit up ahead, 2:00. Black woman with a long skirt and blazer behind him, 6:00. He couldn't help but see clear targets on their backs as well as his own. It was an unspoken phenomenon, this fear of blackness that became the black soul's burden to carry. Like ants, black people were expected to work pointless 9-5's for CEOs that cared more for dogs and money than human life. Everyday there was the dark aura of the capitalistic, racist shoe hovering above, playing god.

His calf-skin Armani loafers hit the ground at a steady pace and the Harlequin Jacquard wool blazer he wore moved with him like a thick second skin. A police car rolled along with the traffic to his left as he kept his eyes forward.

2:00. Black man sitting on the ground. Elderly. Homeless. It was only a matter of time before he'd be chased away by some pompous authority. Erik took out a few bills folding them into his palm to quickly pass to the old man.

"I can't take this," he rasped. "I can't-- I-- Thank you so much. Thank you." He grabbed Erik's hand which held the $300 and shook it, not letting go. "Thank you so much," he repeated before Erik pulled his hand back.

Great. Now he had to wait at the crosswalk because he'd missed the break in traffic.

He checked his watch impatiently, a rose gold Patek Philippe Nautilus gifted to him by his team at 2K Security, Inc. Having fattened their pockets over the years, he was their hero. And now he was on his way back to his office for a virtual meeting with Samsung.

"Good morning, Mr. Stevens," Gloria, the receptionist perked on his arrival to the ground floor lobby. Nodding in greeting, he could feel her eyes scrolling over him but like every time before, he ignored this--stepping into one of the four large elevators which took him up smoothly to the very top where his spacious office resided.

Large floor to ceiling windows lit the white painted room naturally and his computer awaited, ON but sleep. He could practically see the seconds ticking quickly by, but luckily he was just in time for the meeting with Sandeep.

"Password and login, okay.. 2kMeetings.com. Input access code," he mumbled punching keys all to see the brown skin man with a pompadour of thick straight jet black hair staring back at him. He started the recording.

"Can I say this the best web conferencing software I've used thus far? And I've used a lot," Sandeep commented seemingly impressed. Erik wasn't surprised having been named in Forbes, but he smiled nonetheless giving humble thanks. This software was his own creation. The company overall was his baby. He nurtured it like one would nurture an actual child.

The meeting began and as it progressed, Erik had new projects to undergo, features that Samsung wanted to incorporate into their products and even into their own security and data systems. They began to talk user privacy, security VPNs, and MDMs. Soon after, it was time to disconnect and implement some of the changes discussed.

Hours later, Erik had not ceased in his work. He would not stop until he absolutely had to, it was a thing about him. When it came to his baby he was totally engrossed.

"Baby," Erik spoke into the phone catching it on the second ring when he saw the name Mika flash on the screen with a picture she'd taken and set as the icon herself. "Oh, uh--Dinner? I don't know, I've got a lotta shit to do today." He started typing a code and nearly forgot to continue his call. "Uh--Mika," he paused to type another line. "I may be late tonight."

Movement from the corner of his eye caught his attention. Something had fallen through the sky.

"Hm? Oh. What happened?--Nah, I ain't hear about that story, but I just read about two more today. They're just out here killing niggas left and right." He stood looking through one of the tall clean windows to see what had dropped from the sky. No one on the ground seemed to notice. Was he buggin? "Hm? They what? His hands were up and they shot him? With cameras recording?" He listened to his girl's angry report. She was right, they'd probably get off regardless of the evidence. She would know, she was a cop. Well, a detective.

He headed back to the elevator, cellphone in hand while his girl gave him the entire story, venting her frustration simultaneously. When he stepped onto the sidewalk outside of the building, there was no disturbance. No one seemed to be glued to the area for any particular reason. He looked in every direction including up finding a black leather bound journal on the concrete with its spine in the air. If he hadn't seen it fall from the sky, he'd have assumed some random passerby dropped it and he'd have ignored it. Picking it up, he shook and dusted it, turning it this way and that. "No. No protest." Mika was bent on being front line, but it was dangerous. She could get hurt. "You're not going," he asserted. "I understand, but I want you to be safe, okay? Hm?--Aight. I'll see you tonight. Love you," he said hanging up and pocketing the phone, both hands now gripping the worn journal. Whose was it?

The deafening whir of a siren broke through the city noise before a police car appeared from around the corner up ahead. The stories of the three recently murdered men swirled in Erik's head. With the police's extreme prejudices, the results were never favorable for those who looked like him regardless of what they wore, did, or their level of innocence and involvement. He could only imagine the violence that would come from the driver when he made it to his location. Would there be another bad report?

There he was again--anticipating the drop of the sadistic shoe overhead. An ant's mentality. As an ant, this world he was chained to was nothing but disappointment.

Tag list: @muse-of-mbaku  @goddessofthundathighs  @panthergoddessbast  @thadelightfulone  @misspooh  @marvelmaree  @youreadthatright  @forbeautyandlife  @theunsweetenedtruth  @bidibidibombaclaat  @myboyfriendgiriboy  @dameshaemonique  @blackpantherimagines    @vikkidc  @hidden-treasures21  @mysidefanting  @hold-me-like-a-heart-beat  @syndrlla97  @winteroflife  @thotyana-in-this-hoe    @texasbama  @gingerylimonte  @princessstevens    @magic-madness-heavensin  @wawakanda-btch  @scrumptiouslytenaciouscrusade  @wakanda-inspired  @blackgirloneshots  @thegucciwaffle  @thiccdaddy-mbaku    @purplehairgawdess  @indigoxsummers  @cccccx1    @dynastylnoire  @iamrheaspeaks  @blowmymbackout   @they-call-me-le  @theblulife  @raysunshine78  @sheisexcellent @fd-writes @soufcakmistress @ju5tp34chy

TW.

I am furious. And sad. And deeply disturbed at the sheer nature of the world we live in.

Some of the worlds most powerful people were involved in a multi-billion dollar international sex trafficking ring, including Donald Trump, who is currently the leader of the free world. Wealthy individuals from all over the world including former president Bill Clinton, Kevin Spacey, Chris Tucker, Prince Andrew the Duke of York, U.S Attorney General William Barr, Woody Allen, Naomi Campbell and so many more very very wealthy and powerful people. The worlds richest people all involved in a sex trafficking syndicate of underage children to become sex slaves. It’s disgusting, abhorrent, and absolutely mindboggling to read the testimonies of these minors and what they were forced and lured into doing.

In addition, in a summary posted by #Anonymous , the international hacking network, former British intelligence official carried out direct orders from Prince Philip and the British Crown to assinate Princess Diana. (All I can think about is all the good that poor woman was trying to do and her children that now have to endure knowing that their own family ordered the murder of their mother)

If that isn’t enough, we all know people of color have been wrongly murdered at the hands of those in uniform long before slavery was abolished. And in the 150+ years since the “abolition” of slavery, the same foundational principles of racism and oppression still exist deeply rooted in every aspect of society. From the financial markets and the housing markets, to healthcare (including mental health) and education, there is a very very deep discrepancy between who is oppressed and who is free. And we all know I hope the extent to which the military, police, and overarching government oppress and silence entire groups of people for existing. National guards and police districts have enacted what looks like a war zone — targeting journalists, medics, and peaceful protesters who are exercising their first amendment right to assembly. Innocent men, women, and children die every day at the hands of those who swear to protect us but keep a gun on their waists and disgusting thoughts in their heads.

If you aren’t completely outraged and disturbed by what is going on, please unfollow me. This world is hurting. Our people are hurting. We’re angry. In all aspects of this world right now: NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE. Do not let them silence you. We will fight back and one way or another we will achieve the change we deserve for our communities. When a government does not follow the will of the people and the laws become tyrannical, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it and institute a new government in its place.

Stay safe, stay hopeful, stay informed.

Why You Should be Voting Democrat: The Republicans are Hypocrites Against God.

This is an essay I now have to give to a person living in this house with me. Some context, they pinned a piece of Republican propaganda they received in the mail to the community posterboard with the words “why I vote Republican” written on it. I have interpreted this as an invitation to challenge their beliefs. And my response is in the essay below.

Sincerely, By Everyone in This House

Pro-life vs Pro-Choice

This argument is a messy one to argue, this is something our country is literally divided over this and each argument is so twisted it's hard for either side to understand one another. For this to be the hill you've chosen to fight on I'm going to have to assume two things—1: you believe abortions are murder, and 2: You believe abortions are a common occurrence made by lazy people who want to get rid of the consequences of their bad actions.

Both of these are common arguments made by the Republican party to defund Planned Parenthood. So it may surprise you that not a single person on the Left is trying to disprove your fighting points.

That's because this isn't about abortions at all. It's about women's rights. Abortions only play into this because it was the item that forced the issue before the courts and the public.

In 1973, Roe v. Wade was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States protects a pregnant woman's liberty to choose to have an abortion without excessive government restriction. This decision effectively guaranteed that a woman had the right to treat her body as her own property, meaning she could choose what she eats, who she has sex with, and, yes, whether or not to carry a pregnancy to term.

The decision ruled that the US Government has no right to decide the moral outcome of a single person's choices. Nor do they have the right to force a person to live in what they currently believe to be an ethical lifestyle.

This is the one and ONLY law in our country that explicitly gives women the same rights to life, responsibility, and authority that a man has. It also the only law that ensures a woman has the ultimate right to refuse to have sex with a man.

Republicans want to overturn Roe v. Wade and defund Planned Parenthood (not end abortions). They often cite the evils of abortions as the reasons why they want to overturn it. However, this is not their real motivation. Planned Parenthood has a multitude of other services for women and men besides abortions. They help people conceive children, provide safe-sex alternatives to reckless teens, provide both erectile stimulants and contraception, and even hormone therapy for trans people transitioning genders. They also provide pregnancy care for women just like any other hospital.

And as we've discussed Roe v. Wade is about a woman's rights to her body.

Republicans are trying to keep women from having equal rights. This much has been stated by Republicans in the 1970s and that mentality continues to today. It's blatant hypocrisy from a group of people who've only read the Bible enough to make real Christians like yourself believe they're doing God's work. And they are not shy about signaling how religious they are. God even has a Bible verse for them specifically:

 “Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.” Matthew 6:2. (NKJV)

Government Spending

This one's actually a very easy argument to refute. Republicans are always talking about making tax cuts and spending less money. In truth, all the money they save goes straight into the military budget which increases by BILLIONS of dollars each year. We're currently spending $934 billion a year on our military budget. According to the last Discretionary Spending Audit under Obama, more than half of that goes back into the politicians in both the House and the Senat across both sides of the aisles. That's also why this issue is one many Democrats actively support; the military is giving them a kickback.

The tax cuts you experience is not the government saving an extra twenty cents by cutting out beef from their cafeteria and passing the savings to you. It's the Republican party throwing the US into more debt to artificially give you a tax break so you'll continue to vote for them, and force the Democrats to be the ones to have to put that back to normal so they look like the bad guys.

Long story short, if you want the government to save money, vote Democrat, pay higher taxes and demand a drastic decrease in military spending.

Fun Fact: If we succeed in cutting the military budget by one-hundredth of a percent, the excess funds would pay to empower EVERY SOCIAL SERVICE the democrats suggest (from healthcare all the way to free electricity.) for the next ten years.

Education (Really? This one's so backward you should know better without me explaining.)

Republicans have been so far on the wrong side of this debate I'm surprised I have to tell it to you. For decades they've cut school budget both in the public and private sectors. They happily cut millions of dollars a year from the federal grants that are supposed to help kids afford college, while also artificially inflating the price of school, school supplies, and class prices.

This is not some secret thing you'll have to search hard for. They brag about it on tv every other episode of Fox News. 

The document you gave me lists education but provides no real proposals or examples of problems they hope to change, it is preying on your ignorance in this situation to make themselves look good. (What follows was not any part of the document they left, but are bullet points I thought they should be thinking about when they go to vote.)

Gay Rights

People who are gay, or otherwise not cishet WASPS should have the right to live a life of their own choosing without persecution or judgment from us. Jesus says everyone has that right amongst man. We're supposed to leave all that to God, so leave it for God.

Racism

I direct you to the current protests as proof that Racism is a thing that still exists, and has only gotten more unmanageable as time has moved on. Also, every Black Lives Matter protest since Martin Luther King Jr.

Socialism

Roads, parks, schools, and social security are all social programs funded by the government for the people. We on the Left wish to expand these capacities to healthcare, electricity, internet, higher education, and phone services, while also insisting that the government provide the minimum funding needed for people to live. (This in a time when the cost of living keeps rising higher due to unchecked capitalism.) We demand the government provide for the homeless, and regulate the supply chain of food. (because over 70% of all food in the garbage across this country is thrown away while it's still fresh.)

We have the ability to end starvation, and homelessness in this country. We argue this means we have the responsibility to do so as well.

Gun Reform

Democrats believe no civilian needs access to weapons of war. It's too easy to exploit these weapons and it results in mass killings of innocents. There are far better and more effective ways to defend yourself and your family than buying a bunch of guns and shooting anything that makes a noise in the night.

Police Reform

This is the current agenda. Police have gone unpunished for their crimes against civilians, (especially civilians of color,) and our current system 1: Encourages police to kill first, ask questions never, 2: Forces cops to take on roles they are untrained for, and 3: Gives them too much power without any reliable method of accountability. We demand all three of these things be addressed and changed in a meaningful way.

All of this without even mentioning Trump, the man actively trying to be a dictator.

The Devil of Christmas and the 1970s. A Dark Nostalgia

’The Devil of Christmas’ is much respected among fans of the show ‘Inside No.9’for being an affectionate pastiche of a certain sort of 1970’s television show, a meticulous recreation of how these shows were filmed , and for a particularly dark pay off. Pemberton and Shearsmith grew up watching the type of shows it pastiches and the episode makes their affection for them clear . They credit shows such as ‘Armchair theatre’, ‘ Beasts’ and especially ‘ Tales of the unexpected’ with inspiring them to work in the anthology format. The episode manages to be a knowing and humorous tribute to these shows. But it also subtly passes comment on the attitudes of the programmes and those who made them.

The episode is directed by Graham Harper, who in a long TV career has directed episodes of both ‘classic’ and ‘new’ Dr. Who. Derek Jacobi (who voices Dennis Fulcher) and Rula Lenska who appears as Celia /Nancy both worked extensively on television during this period. Adam Tandy, the show’s producer had worked as a child actor during this period and he discussed his experiences in the audio commentary with Pemberton and Shearsmith. So this would have been a nostalgic experience for quite a few people involved in the making of the episode (apparently the crew also enjoyed dressing up in 70s styles for the closing scenes).

This review will contain extensive spoilers so only continue if you have watched the episode

Nostaliga for the past is always a two edged thing.. We risk overlooking the problematic aspects of periods such as the 1970s when we look back too cosily. The show 'Life on Mars' took apart the culture of sexism, racism and toxic masiculinty of the 1970s as portrayed in shows as 'The Sweeney' while making us cheer the politically incorrect antics of Gene Hunt. This blog post does an excellent job (far better than I can) of illustrating how the ostensible story we are watching in ‘The Devil of Christmas’ comments on the casual misogyny of 1970’s television drama. It also makes an important observation about how Dennis Fulcher’s attitude toward the violence inflicted on the female star of the episode can be shown to fit in what we have learnt in recent years about the abuse of young women within the television industry of this time.

https://dodoswords.wordpress.com/2017/01/05/inside-no-9-review-series-three-the-devil-of-christmas/

In the commentary on this episode Pemberton and Shearsmith commented on the fact that the type of television programs ‘The Devil of Christmas’ pastiches regularly used the trope of a wife/husband deliberately brining about the mental collapse of their spouse or driving them to their deaths. It is interesting that this particular trope became popular during this period of societal change. Women would make greater use of liberalised divorce laws and begin to assert their right to pursue professional careers. The trope spoke to men’s anxieties about women becoming more assertive and empowered. It is worth noting the 1970s television series Derek Jacobi is most associated with ‘I, Claudius’ had several scheming unfaithful female characters, most of whom were young and attractive, who often met nasty ends, rather like ‘Kathy’ does in this episode . It’s problematic portrayal of women has been a subject of academic discussion.

‘Kathy’ is set up as a bad woman. She is a disloyal wife and stepmother. She is shown to be a gold digger who deliberately causes the death of her husband and who hates her young stepson. She is also unfaithful and is unashamed about carrying another man’s child. The audience of ‘The Devil of Christmas’ would obviously approve of and enjoy her eventual punishment. But Penny, an innocent young actress, suffers for Kathy’s ‘crimes’.

Elizabeth, Julian’ first wife is set up as the ‘good’ wife . Tellingly she is already dead (in misogyny the best sort of woman). Celia, Julian’s mother is suspicious of Kathy’s intentions and tries to warn Julian to no avail. The two women of the piece must be in conflict with each other as no solidarity or sympathy must be allowed between women. Dennis Fulcher expresses his frustration that Nancy, the actress who played Celia would not wear glasses (arguing they were not right for the character) meaning she more than once missed her mark. While Dennis is somewhat dismissive of Nancy , it is worth considering she wanted to appear glamorous as Celia and refused to wear glasses because she was afraid that being older woman and no longer physically attractive would have a detrimental effect on her career. (I wonder what memories of being a young actress in this period must have brought up for Rula Lenska)

Dennis comments on his commentary that he has ‘Kathy’ be pregnant as it would ‘tee up the ending if you sensed there was something inside Kathy making it more poignant’. This speaks to both men’s fear and envy of women’s reproductive capacity (and their desire to control it). Penny is also dressed in white for the final scenes, ironically the colour of supposed innocence given ‘Kathy’ s actions. This heightens the impact of her appearance as a sacrificial victim in the final seconds.

For me personally one the most shocking moments in the episode is when Julian hits Kathy. The audience can see that the hit is filmed is such a way that Brian (who plays Julian) does not actually hit Penny (who plays Kathy). The moment is plays into the pastiche of 1970s television as we can see that it is obviously fake. But the casual act of domestic violence shows how it was written off and normalised in this period (not that things are much better today). It is also shocking coming from a character like Julian who is otherwise portrayed sympathetically. It also happens in front of a child (both in the story and filming). Dennis also directs Brian to play the moment more angrily.

Of course the horrific conclusion of the episode with its very real violence and Penny’s absolute terror as she realises her fate. She actually cries ‘Dennis’ in her final seconds pleading with him to save her. The over the top acting of the rest of the episode is suddenly horribly recontextualised. The very artifice of episode stands in stark contrast and almost as a mockery beside this final act of violence. The pride Dennis takes in this particular moment and Penny’s ‘genuine fear’ is truly blood chilling. As WeeLin noted in her analysis of the episode what does it say about Dennis’ exposure to and involvement in ’Snuff’ that he says ‘In it’s defence, it was one of the better ones’ (it is also hinted this may not have been the only ‘snuff’ film he directed). He cannot bring himself to watch Penny’s murder, refusing to accept his role in enabling it, and moans ‘ but If only I’d got Gummidge’ more concerned about his career than the brutal killing of a young woman.

There is another narrative from the 1970s. This was the period of second wave feminism and the women’s liberation movement. Feminists set up rape crisis lines and women’s shelters and highlighted the issue of violence against women and girls. They also critiqued the way women were portrayed in the media. They helped critique and call out the attitudes toward women that ‘The Devil of Christmas’ lampoons.

It is worth looking briefly at how second wave feminists reacted to the film ‘Snuff’ itself. The original film ‘Snuff’ was a grindhouse film that was released in early 1976 (about a year before ‘The Devil of Christmas ‘was set). The female lead character Terry London (who apparently gets killed at the end) was pregnant like Kathy in ‘The Devil of Christmas’. It also ends with the crew apparently killing the female lead. (information from the Wikipedia page for the film). While it was very obviously a hoax it caused a considerable amount of controversy. Andrea Dworkin and other feminists would lead protests against it in New York and it would lead to the formation of the group ‘Women against violence against women’. The supposed existence of ‘snuff’ films would be brought up feminists like Dworkin in their campaign against pornography over the next few years.

Mary Daly in her book ‘Gyn/Ecology’ discusses the original film ‘ Snuff’ and discusses the men who enjoyed films like it. She states ‘This type of entertainment is enjoyed by judges, physicians, police, physicians, and other professionals today in the line of ‘duty’, when women who have been victimised (rape victims, for example ) come under their power ‘ [Mary Daly Gyn /Ecology, Woman’s Press, 1979]. Daly points out that not just that the most respected and powerful men in society enjoy these types of portrayals of violence against women but it informs their treatment of the vulnerable women in their power. Daly links the attitudes of these men toward women to the misogyny of the male witch finders of the past in the following paragraph. So there is an argument to link the way ‘The Devil of Christmas’ examines and subtly calls out the misogyny of its time to the way ‘The Trial of Elizabeth Gage’ examines the misogyny that underlay the seventeenth century witch trials .

While Dworkin, Daly and others have been mocked and decried for their apparent gullibility in believing in the existence of snuff as a genre, this loses sight of a wider point. They were correct in pinpointing the misogynistic attitudes that underlay the original ‘Snuff’ film and films that came in its wake. They were also correct in their calling out of the mistreatment of women in the adult entertainment industry, which was rapidly growing in the 1970s. But as we have discovered with the #metoo movement and the Weinstein scandal the entertainment industry has been rife with male abusers.

Dennis expresses casual surprise that this dark piece from his past eventually surfaced, almost as if being involved in a woman’s murder was a minor thing in his life. Many of the men who were investigated by investigations such as Operation Yewtree obviously did not expect to be called to account for their crimes. We have only in recent years started to look honestly at the abuses of this period. With that we have had to evalate the media of this period to. It may have taken almost forty years but Dennis Fulcher is finally made to account for his role in Penny’s murder. His is not the final voice we hear in the episode but the detective investigating him.

So, back in Highschool I used to go to my grandma alot, the Paternal one, wonderful woman, loved me dearly, helped raise me and my sister during our life alongside my other set of Grandparents due to, well... shit happening.

Anyway, she was also incredibly intolerant, like, she called Pope Francis the "Black Pope" and often went with the always classic "When HIM was still in charge, we didn't have all those crimes and degeneracy, the americans brought them here when they invaded with WWII," or "I wish we were still a kingdom under house Savoy," you know, the usual shit.

(Wonder if she would have loved me as dearly as she did if she knew about, well... the bisexuality and shit).

Anyway, this isn't about her per se, this is about her awful taste in tv show.

(No offense to grandma on that, cringe culture is dead even for 100 something Italian Grandmothers, but, I mean... she was a Superwholock. She called the Supernatural male leads "The Boys" and never missed a episode. She had frankly shit taste).

Anyway, aside from Superwholock, she also loved Cop Shows (Gee, wonder why), and since I used to be around her alot back in the days, I ended up getting somd of those cop shows by osmosis, consuming them uncritically with her.

(The ONLY valid one was Murder She Wrote, and even that barely).

ANYWAY, I'm saying this cause It suddenly came back to me a episode from one of said cop shows about this whole ass mess of a situation, and just how much of a Propaganda Piece it was.

From what I roughly remembered, A Cop was declared innocent over the murder of a black 15 years old, and the cop team in the cop show had to escort him safely out the courthouse as the boy's father and (white, incredibly stereotypical) girlfriend, leading a protest against police brutality outside, basically starts a riot at the news.

Anyway, the whole piece was raw ass propaganda, the cop is RIDDLED WITH GUILT and the father FORGIVES HIM after a touching scene where he explained he shot him cause he ran away from him because he had stolen a LEAF or some shit and he thought it was a gun and THE COP HAS WIFE AND CHILDREN, FEEL HIS REMORSE, FEEL HIS PAIN, MOVE ON or some shit.

The scene I remember the most is when a member of the squad goes Undercover among the protestors in order to get infos about the leaders of the protests, gets shoved in a detention bus as a gimmick, gets infos from a deteined protestor there, and then leaves "asking for the bathroom" and showing her badge. She's a brunette (Which says NOTHING cause 90% of cop shows have the same Brunette Character) and young, while the protestor wonan she talks to is also incredibly stereotypical and white.

ANYWAY, I decide, from this raw flashes of shit coming to mind, to evince what cop show this was from, because I'm a stubborn autistic bastard.

Searching for the rough plot gives me nothing, obviously, so I go for exclusion:

My first guess is the Closer, because that was the shit show she watched the most, but it doesn't fit my memories, the scene was too dark to be set in LA, maybe New York, also the team has no brunettes, and would have tried to violate way more costitutional rights in the situation.

Law and Order is also a pass, not their style, even if a juridical component was present.

Chicago PD came later in the years, so not that even if a Pro Police Brutality episode really seems something they would do.

Numb3rs discarded due to the lack of cheap math being used...

Criminal Minds seems a good guess at first, from Season 10 they have a "undercover expert" who is also a brunette woman, might work, but this is a protection sting, not a profiling one, the only reason why they would call them was on the pre existing threats sent to the cop, so it could have worked...

And then I remembered that Veronica Mars' dad was also there, as a cop.

So, I check his philmography, and find the hakf forgotten series my grandma used to watch.

Flashpoint is a CANADIAN (COPAGANDA IS COPAGANDA ALL AROUND THE WORLD) Cop Show about a response team in critical scenarios, like suicide or hostage crisises.

And the episode, is Season 4, episode 2, "Good Cop" (GODS EVEN THE TITLE IS ON THE NOSE).

You want some raw ass coppganda? You want to see how they'll try to spin the narrative next, after the dust has settled?

This is one of the two possible ways they'll do it.

The cop is sad, ridden with guilt, but JUST A MAN WHO MADE A MISTAKE, and clearly, the boy is to blame for running away from a stranger pointing a gun at him in thd middle of the night near his workplace, and we must forgive him cause that's what the boy he murdered would have wanted.

This shit was from 2011.

(The second way is going to have the "good cops" band together against 1 racist cop and that way they'll end systematic racism forever. That's also going to happen, but in the less Ben Shapiro adjacent ones).

(Oh yeah, friendly reminder Ben Shapiro wrote a book where we're supposed to be sympathetic to a white cop murdering a 8 YEARS FUCKONG OLD UNARMED BLACK KID because the kid was insulting the cop and "looked dangerous." Not dissimilar, if at least a smidge more sympathetic to the kid to the above shit show).

Fiction: The Imprisonment of Daniel Watkins

In a dystopian future Dan is arrested, not for committing a crime, but for a computer’s prediction that he might somehow cause deaths if left at liberty. mentions of selfharm/suicidal ideation

“Weekly visitation, Watkins.” The masked guard rapped the long stick against the bars.

Dan got to his feet and waited as the guard opened the door. He exited the cell, the guard following, the stick hovering behind his back the whole way there, another two guards armed with Tasers waiting near the end of the corridor.

As Dan approached the guards moved backwards, never letting him get too close. They made their way to the cubicle where a large TV screen was waiting for him. Dan sank into the plastic chair and the image of his wife appeared on the screen.

He longed to touch her, to see her in person even, but even face to face visits were forbidden. Sarah gave him a weak smile but he knew she’d been crying again.

“How are you?” he asked.

She nodded as if to reassure him. “I’m okay.” She was wearing a blouse with long sleeves and he had to take her word for it that she hadn’t reverted to self-harm. “You?”

“Still alive,” he said, trying to sound nonchalant but unable to hide the bitterness in his tone. This was existing, not living. “I haven’t heard from Bryan.” His lawyer was usually better at keeping him updated.

“I called him this morning,” Sarah said. “He’s still waiting to hear from the judge.”

Dan’s heart sank. The judge had demanded more evidence and who knew how long that would take.

“I put some more posts on social media,” Sarah said. “Most of them got taken down but a few were allowed to stay up and even the censored ones got some attention before they were deleted. There are people out there on your side, and Tamara’s video channel has gained another thousand followers. No luck with the TV news.”

The television news delighted in their preferred narrative. Daniel Watkins was a potential murderer, not an innocent victim in their broadcasts and his indefinite incarceration a matter of public good.

“What about that journalist, from the Galaxy Eye?” Sarah asked. “Did he write back to you?”

“Yes. Heavily redacted by the time it got to me. He’s interested but he needs to convince the paper to publish my side of the story. He’s been writing short pieces on his blog but his employers aren’t ready to challenge the mainstream story yet. I’ve asked him to send you hard copies of any further letters.”

Sarah nodded. “I love you,” she said, lip trembling. She placed her hand against the screen. Dan hovered his palm near hers.

They talked a little more but soon Dan was told to end the call. It was automatically cut off mid-goodbyes. He got to his feet and began to walk back to his cell. Rubber gloved cleaners moved to scrub the screen and the desk and the chair behind him.

Dan sat on his bunk, head in his hands. He’d been on his way home from the office when two police officers had dragged him off the street and into a cell. He’d been confused, asked for a lawyer, denied one. This was a matter of public protection and the normal rules did not apply.

He’d been allowed to phone Sarah after he said she’d be reporting him missing. She’d promised to get a lawyer but, as she later told him over a video call, they’d been prevented from contacting Dan during the first phase of his interrogation.

He was held for 48 hours initially, was forced to give blood and hand over his social media passwords. He was told an emergency extension had been applied. After 72 hours he was allowed to speak briefly to his lawyer, who was forced to sit across the room from him.

“It’s the new ICM software,” Bryan Fairfax said. “It’s been running models for a while now and making predictions. Enough of those predictions came true, according to police records, that they moved from using it to confirm perpetrators to catching them. We’ve been following the legal implications closely. But last week they moved further, to attempt to use it to prevent crimes. You got flagged as a potential murderer.”

Dan stared at him, mouth agape. “What?” he said at last. This was like that old movie with the ladies who sat in a bath predicting crime.

“It’s classified data but we’re filing motions to try and get access,” Bryan said. “We have no idea what they’re basing their assumptions on. They’re claiming everything from terrorism to domestic violence to spreading disease. They say you’re at risk of killing anywhere from one to one thousand people.”

“That’s ridiculous!”

Bryan nodded. “Because this is considered a matter of public protection most of your legal rights have been suspended. My firm is doing its best and I’m looking at every angle here. We’re pretty sure this is a test case to see how the public reacts before they fully roll it out, and we’re going to represent you pro bono here. Rollins senior was a great believer in personal freedoms and the firm is keen to be seen upholding civil liberties.”

It sounded like a wonderful opportunity for Rollins, Rollins, and Fairfax. It was less exciting for Dan, treated like a criminal though he’d done nothing wrong.

“I’m going to court in half an hour,” Bryan said. “I’m certain we won’t get bail though I’ll ask for it. You won’t be allowed to attend. They’re treating you as a high security risk.”

So Dan sat and waited. Bryan returned later that afternoon, standing across the room again.

“They’re keeping you for another two weeks,” he said. “I’m sorry. They’re asking for more data from the ICM. And they don’t want me seeing you again. Video calls only from here on out. I protested it was a violation of privacy but the government minister for health said it was, according to the model, too much of a risk to allow you too near any other person. The guards will be keeping their distance and you’ll only be allowed a half hour outside your cell when no other prisoners are in the yard, and to take a brief shower each morning after everyone else has used the facilities.”

Dan had been in solitary confinement ever since, meals pushed through a slot in his cell, his cell hosed down while he showered, only ever seeing masked guards delivering his food or escorting him to the showers or the yard. Two weeks had been extended to four, then six, then nine.

Sarah was frantic and Dan was terrified for her. She’d come a long way in the last few years, from anxious and suicidal to a self-confident woman who’d left her self-harming behind. He was proud of her and told her how it was her own strength and her renewed faith that had made the difference, though she gave him significant credit. She said he’d given her something to live for, someone who loved her and would never belittle or hurt her. He feared a return to her previous state of mind.

After the six week extension, with Bryan sadly certain that nine would again be extended without major new evidence, Dan was, for the first time in his life, feeling helpless enough to wonder if living was worth the pain. He truly sympathised now with Sarah’s despair.

If he killed himself however it would prove the model right; the media would spin it as him being a murderer, albeit of himself. He was getting desperate but he didn’t want ICM’s programmers and those funding the software to win.

“I’ve done nothing wrong,” Dan wrote on the old, tiny tablet he was allowed to use in his cell, the only entertainment he had, frowning at the cracked screen as he typed. “I am innocent yet presumed guilty. I have had my civil rights violated because of a computer programme that no-one outside of the ICM thinktank has been allowed to analyse. I am kept isolated from human contact for 23 hours a day, every day. I am not allowed to see my wife aside from on a computer screen. I am not allowed to talk to my lawyer except on a video call which is monitored by the prison and, I believe, the government and representatives of the ICM. My name is Daniel Watkins and I am not a murderer.”

He sent the message out via email to the newspapers, the TV stations, various bloggers and vloggers and anyone else who might listen. The email might get intercepted by the prison or redacted; he’d copied in Sarah and Bryan and vlogger Tamara Maina (who’d been outspoken in his defence, the first social media influencer to take his side) so they could confirm receipt. Even if it went out intact the message went against the media hysteria: “Mass Murderer Prevented”, “Murderer Jailed BEFORE He Could Kill”, “Innocents Saved by ICM software.”

His professional social media accounts had been frozen after the waves of hatred began, accusing him of murder and wishing him dead.

Dan had voted in every election since coming of age. He knew politicians lied and exaggerated and he knew there were some corrupt cops but he’d always had an overall trust in and respect for his government and the law, and had largely believed people were decent and kind at heart. No longer, not after this.

He lay on his bunk and stared at the stone walls, remembering a time he’d been allowed to lie next to Sarah and hold her hand, to kiss her cheek, and to suggest they shower together before a lazy breakfast and a walk by the river before getting Sunday lunch at their favourite pub. He would probably never get to do any of those things ever again.

ICM was the villain here, not Dan. No, ICM was a machine, and those who had programmed it were at fault. But they’d never face justice even if, somehow, Dan could be freed. ICM’s predecessor, the ICA, had wrongly predicted an outbreak of a disease spread by horses. Millions of beautiful animals had been slaughtered, whole stables razed to the ground by public health officials and a panicked public alike. When other scientists proved with their own models and a battery of tests, that the ICA had been utterly wrong, people had shrugged and said better safe than sorry and the ICA had supposedly been retired, only to reemerge as the ICM, based on the same faulty code.

Dan was collateral, like those poor horses, or a test case, as Bryan suggested, for a sinister move to punish people on mere suspicion of future misdeeds. Both. Neither. It was the same result. Dan was a prisoner and would remain so, possibly for the rest of his existence.

Progress; the end to police brutality

  NO. 1

   Since the video of George Floyd’s death went viral on the internet, there have been protests across the world, calling for the policemen in question to not only be fired, but arrested and to serve the maximum in jail, and calling for . The senseless murder and case that follows brings up once again the senseless violence of police brutality and race in America once again. For me personally, seeing another black man be killed in such an egregious manner was...numbing. I also realized that events like this have become normalized for me. I didn’t exactly react because I, as a black woman didn’t know how to react. 

  The anniversary of one of the greatest race massacres in the United States occurred yesterday May 31, the Tulsa race riots, where in 1921, a white mob attacked not only black residents, killing between 30 to 300 black people, but more than 1,400 homes and businesses were burned, and nearly 10,000 people were left homeless. 

      NO. 2

I bring this up because historically, things have not changed in America. Police brutality is still the subject of attacks motivated by race. Throughout several years where we thought cases where black men have been shot and killed by the police would be a slam dunk trial; meaning that the officers involved would be prosecuted and serve the maximum in jail, and yet  the opposite happened, like the Eric Garner, Stephen Clark and Trayvon Martin, and new cases, like #RayshardBrooks and #ElijahMcCain. And yet, those officers in question were acquitted. 

The right to protest is protected by the First Amendment in the Constitution, where all citizens have the right to free speech, freedom of the press and the right to peacefully assemble. I write this because it seems like others don’t fully understand the protests going on now; the people who think that ‘peacefully protesting’ means to passively protest. And to passively protest means to erase the voices of millions in this country who already feel like their voices are not being heard. A great man by the name of Martin Luther King jr. said in his Letter from Birmingham Jail said, ‘’Shallow understanding from people of goodwill is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.’’

   NO.3

Too many black people have been dying at the hands of police at a dis, and the cause of it is directly tied to historic links of slavery and institutional and systemic racism. We want police to take accountability for the crimes they commit against innocent people. For eight minutes, George Floyd pleaded with the officer who had his knee on his neck. All officers need to uphold the responsibility of ‘to serve and protect’. If fifteen bad policemen are on the force, and there are 1300 good officers who do nothing to check those fifteen officers, then there are 1,315 bad police officers.           

I believe that these protests are just the tipping point, as people around the globe now are fed up with the injustice. Racism comes in various different forms, and it’s our generations time to stand up and acknowledge that these brutal acts have got to end, and that goes for anyone whose job is in law enforcement, medical fields, politics, teachers, fashion, entertainment, sports, or media, etc. All lives do matter, but until black people are treated like actual citizens in this country, then that’s a false and inconsistent statement, since it is meant to derail the black lives matter movement. Inequities still exist in this country, and pretending not to see it is just as wrong as those who are actively racist. We owe it to ourselves, and for the men, women and children who were killed over the years at the hands of police brutality, to not only research our public figures, especially in politics, and hire the ones who have our best interest at heart as a nation, but to enact new laws and bring about everlasting change.

Every last protestor who feels this is wrong, that innocent people are dying must vote. Voting sixty years ago used to be for the privileged, and now we all have that right to do so. The black lives matter movement was started by black women who feel action must be met. Black people deserve the same respect as any other human being, and the fact that it took two weeks of protesting and looting for that police officer to be arrested even though his death was video recorded is despicable, and the fact that it took even longer for prosecutors to arrest all the officers who were present for the death and didn’t help Floyd at all showed that widespread and global outrage was the only way justice was going to be served. 

So what are some solutions to this crisis? How can police officers gain the trust of their communities back? Done are the days where senseless killings are being swept under the rug, accustomed to a ‘few bad apples’. There must be stronger requirements for police officers and tougher training so that this doesn’t happen again. There is always going to be lawlessness, of course. But if white protestors can assemble on the streets of Congress with rocket launchers and AR-15’s during the early stages of the COVID-19 crisis so that they can open up their businesses without being tear gassed and shot with rubber bullets, then black people must also protest for their rights. 

she wolves [part six: heartbreak for only one witness]

Part Five if you want to catch up.

Warnings: Aftermath of character death. 

NSFW (Penelope and Thomas, I’m looking at you)

@jovialyouthmusic @sirbeepsalot @fromthedeskofpaisleybleakmore @moonlightgem7 @burnsoslow @ibldw-main @emichelle @katedrakeohd @of-course-i-went-to-hartfeld @mskaneko @nazariortega @dcbbw @gardeningourmet @iplaydrake @notoriouscs @star-spangled-eyes @rainbowsinthestorm @stopforamoment @pedudley @drakesensworld @pug-bitch  @msjr0119

*********************************************

Kiara

'Duchess Kiara! Emergency!'

I wake up to one of the servant girls screaming at my door and bolt out of bed. Wrapping my silk dressing gown around my body, I open the door. The servant is pale with wide, terrified eyes. 'Prince Leo!' she gasped.

I race to Leo's assigned room. My heart is racing. Something has happened in my home, I have no idea what but I dread to find out.

The door to Leo's room is unlocked. I burst through the door and see Leo lying on top of his bed, still.

I edge closer to him, trying to keep calm. Assess the situation. Don't jump to conclusions. Read the room.

It smells of vanilla in here. The morning light filters through the window, casting a glow onto Leo.

He is pale, his golden skin lost its sheen, and his eyes are shut. He looks like he is sleeping except he isn't breathing.

I feel tears burn in my eyes and I let out a horrified sob.

My diplomat father's advice doesn't work for dead bodies.

                             **********************************************

Olivia

There's a rapping on my door. Groaning, I look at my clock and see it's 6am. Who wants to see me at this ungodly hour?

'Wait a second!' I snap, throwing on my dressing gown. I throw the door open and come face to face with Kiara.

'Kiara -'

'It's Leo,' she says, her voice thick. 'He.. He's..'

She can't find words. Dread fills my heart and I push past her to run to his room. She follows close behind.

I enter his room and stop short.

Leo is lying on the bed, eyes closed. I rush forward and shake him. 'Leo? Leo, wake up.'

No response.

I take a shakey breath. I've seen enough dead bodies to know the signs but I can't accept this. I won't accept this.

I climb onto the bed and not caring that Kiara is watching, I shake Leo some more. 'Leo, honey, please,' I beg. 'Wake up for me.'

'He's dead, Liv..' Kiara whispers.

'Get out!' I scream, my voice sounding like it's being ripped from my body. Hot tears course down my cheeks, dropping onto Leo's bare neck, and I am only vaguely aware that Kiara has now left the room. It's just me and Leo.

My hands clench onto his shirt as I cry. I never cry, never. It feels like all of the tears I have never shed in my 27 years of existing flow from my eyes in one moment.

I allow myself to feel this visceral pain. I allow myself to feel this deep ache and the empty hole in my heart that I know will never heal.

Leo was the only one who ever saw my true colours. His brother never realised my true nature or even bothered to find out. But Leo did. He wanted to find out my flaws. He wanted to find out what made me happy, what made me sad, what turned me on. Leo wanted to find out everything.

Which is why I hold him as I cry. Only he, despite being a shell of himself, a vessel, will know I've reacted this way.

This is heartbreak for only one witness.

                          **********************************************

An hour later, I dry my eyes and wash my face in Leo's bathroom. When I come back out, I study him with a detached feeling. I need to think rationally now.

I know how he spent his last night alive because he told me his plans.

He was seeing Madeleine.

I move towards the bedroom door but stop abruptly. Quickly, I turn back and pace towards Leo again and I press a kiss on his cold lips.

'I love you,' I whisper in his ear. 'She will pay for this and I will become Queen for you.'

                               **********************************************

Kiara

I gently knock on Olivia's door. The police arrived earlier and the body was taken away to the morgue. Cordonia has not been notified yet because nobody knows who should announce the death.

She opens the door and I blanch at how awful she looks. I don't mean to be unkind, she has a reason to look this hollow, but I'm not used to seeing her like this. She looks raw.

But when she speaks, her voice is anything but.

'I know who killed him,' she says bluntly.

I close my eyes. 'Can I come in?'

She beckons for me to enter and she gestures to the drink trolley. 'Alcohol?'

'Scotch,' I say quickly. Olivia nods and pours two glasses, handing me one. I sit down on the chaise lounge and we both sink our drinks. The alcohol burns my throat.

'You say he was killed?' I ask delicately.

'I know he was,' Olivia tells me, her voice steady and strong. 'Madeleine.'

I exhale.

'The room smelled of vanilla when I went in,' I say quietly. 'Madeleine has told me in the past that she wears vanilla as a scent to seduce men.'

Olivia smirks but there's no humour. 'Of course she does. She can't rely on her sparkling personality or sexual prowess, can she?'

Olivia stands up to pace the room, glass of scotch in her hand. 'Leo had arranged to meet Madeleine in his room,' she tells me. 'He was going to break it off with her.'

'He chose you?' I ask.

Olivia stares at me in disbelief. 'How do you know that? How did you know we were fucking?'

I turn red and take a sip of my drink. 'I can read people,' I say quietly. 'I just had a feeling that things were going on. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cause offence -'

'None taken,' she interrupts. 'I didn't realise you were so in tune with things. It's.. Interesting.'

We watch each other for a moment and I can see the cogs turning in her head. She downs her drink and pours herself another.

'We need to announce that he's dead,' I tell her, feeling more confident. 'Then we work out how to go from there.'

'I'll do it,' she says quickly. 'Only I can pay tribute in the way he would want.'

I nod. 'And afterwards?'

She grips her glass and her knuckles turn white.

'Leave that with me.'

                          **********************************************

Madeleine

A press conference is organised to announce the passing of Prince Leo. I have my speech prepared as his ex-fiancée and have applied powder to my face and made sure that I look innocent.

I do feel guilty. Really guilty. I didn't mean for it to go this far but what else was I supposed to do? He would have let her take the throne and she would have convinced him to rule by her side. I can't have her win. Leo is mine.

Leo was mine.

The press conference is being held at Kiara's Manor as its urgent that this news is relayed to the nation. We can't wait. To do so would look like it's a secret.

Media are already assembled and the rest of court at gathered around with bated breath.

I am backstage when I see Olivia standing, head down, reading notes.

In this unguarded moment, she looks like she could break. I would feel sorry for her, had she not been fucking my childhood sweetheart.

I clear my throat. 'What's that you're reading?'

She turns around and her eyes narrow. 'My notes. I'll be speaking.'

I scoff. The audacity. 'You really think you're going to address the nation?' I ask in disbelief. 'Are you kidding?'

Her lip curls in contempt. 'I don't see why not. It's what Leo would have wanted. Besides, you don't tell me what to do. Nobody does.'

I step forward with my fists clenched. 'I was engaged to him,' I hiss. 'I am the woman Cordonia associates with him, not his side piece-'

'I was never his side piece,' Olivia interrupts, her voice laced with acid. 'We had something. He told me he loved me.'

I can't hide my shock at this. ‘No, he didn’t!’ I protest. ‘He loved me. Only me. Nobody else -’

But there's more as she interrupts me. Edging closer, she whispers very quietly with a warning in her tone, 'Is that why you killed him?'

I step back but her hand reaches out to grip my wrist. She pulls me back towards her and she hisses, 'I know you were the last person with him last night. He told me he was seeing you and he was going to end it. I imagine you couldn't face the harsh reality so instead decided to murder him in cold blood. Is that right, Maddie?'

I push her away, hot tears stinging my eyes. 'Don't call me Maddie. Only he was allowed to call me Maddie -'

'Don't you dare act like you still love him even after you murdered him in his own bed!' she spits. Her eyes narrow and she looks at me like she could kill me right there. 'I'm not going to let this lie,' she says. 'Because as of now, you have a target on your back.'

I will my heart to stop pounding against my chest. It does. I then throw my shoulders back and smirk. 'What exactly are you going to do, Liv?' I ask. 'Nobody will believe you. I'm his sweetheart. Which is why I'm going to address the nation of this news and you, like the whore you are, will stay in the shadows where you belong.'

With a triumphant smile, I push past her and stride from backstage to the waiting media.

                      **********************************************

I stand at the podium and clear my throat. Cameras flash and everyone waits with bated breath. This moment is vital. How I deliver this news will show Cordonia the kind of Queen I will be.

'Cordonia,' I begin. 'It is with a heavy heart that I address you today. This morning, Prince Leo was found in his bed. He passed away in the night.'

There's gasps around the room. I blink back tears and carry on. 'As you all know, I was his fiancée. He was my first love. In fact, he was my only love.'

I look out to the back of the room and see Olivia, with a face of thunder, standing next to Kiara, Drake and Camille. Drake looks ashen while Camille's mouth is shaped like an O.

'The world will be a much darker place now that he has gone,' I say. 'He always carried a little sparkle, didn't he?' I smile waveringly. 'My Leo.'

More camera flashes.

'I will miss him forever. I will never get over this but I know he would want me to move forward. He would want all of us to move forward. He was always one for wanting to see the best in things and to that end, we must honour him. We must continue to move forward as a nation in light of this terrible tragedy and be strong. We must be strong for Leo. There will be a state funeral and everyone is invited to pay their respects. He loved this country and he loved all of you. Thank you.'

I leave the stage and deliberately walk towards Olivia who is near the exit door. I lean in to whisper in her ear, 'I think I did him justice, don't you?'

Her eyes lock on mine. 'You barely knew him.'

                   **********************************************

Camille

Drake wants to take me back to Valtoria straight after the press conference. He guides me to our car where our driver Geoffrey is waiting for us.

I rest my head on his shoulder as he strokes my hair. I'm thinking about Leo. He was always friendly to me and warm. He was the kind of person who made you feel like you were the only person he was interested in speaking to. He had that charm.

'Promise me you'll pass away when you're an old man,' I whisper to Drake. 'I couldn't take it if you left me now.'

Drake takes me hand and kisses my knuckles. 'I promise I'll die a happy old man in my bed when I'm ninety. I'm not leaving you just yet, Camille.'

I smile weakly and place my hand over my stomach. I do it a lot now without thinking. My maternal instincts have already kicked in and I'm not even showing yet. Drake sees me do this and rests his hand in my stomach too.

'How about we talk about baby stuff when we get home?' he suggests, trying to cheer me up. 'Like which room will be the nursery, that sort of thing.'

I squeeze his hand. 'That sounds perfect.'

                              ********************************************

Penelope

That night, I'm back in Portavira. I made my excuses to my parents, saying I wanted to go for a walk to clear my head after today's events, which was partly true, but walking isn't going to help my mindset.

Having Thomas's body on top of mine, however, is the perfect remedy. I showed up at his apartment and he took one look at my worried face and guided me inside, kissing me gently. We were gentle at first, talking quietly about Leo. But gentleness gave way to something more primal and he carried me to his bedroom, knocking over lampshades as he did so.

He kisses me desperately and rakes his hands through my long hair as he bucks against me. I wrap my legs around his waist, pulling him in tighter so I can feel all of him.

'Fuck, Penelope..' He groans in my ear. 'You're so tight, I love it.'

'What else do you love?' I whisper, feeling the heat in my core as he drives further into me, filling me up entirely.

'Your mouth,' he gasps, kissing my lips. 'Your skin,' his hands travel down my waist towards my hips. He pulls me up so the lower half of my body is suspended above the bed and he grinds into me harder. 'Your pussy. Fuck, I love your pussy.'

I love it when he talks like this. I love it when he only wants me, when he is mad for me. It's like nothing else in the world matters except for me. I feel like the person I want to be whenever I'm with him.

'I love your breasts,' he whispers, his left hand roaming towards my chest while his right hand keeps me supported off the bed.

'What else?' I gasp, feeling my body beginning to jerk.

His eyes meet mine. 'I love you.'

                                                **********************

Camille

I'm straddling my husband and he's groaning my name over and over again as I ride him. We spent the evening talking about the baby and planning our doctors appointments before we wandered to bed to be together.

His hands cup my stomach. I know he's proud of this little life we have created. I know he already loves it. 

He gently rolls me onto my back and kisses my stomach, his lips hot against my skin, until he travels down to between my legs. His tongue circles against me and I arch my back, crying out his name as he worships me.

I tug his hair with my fingers and he lets out a groan. I want us to be together like this forever. No worries, no fear, no sadness. Just us and our family, happy.

                                             ******************************

Olivia

It is 2am and I’m not sleeping. 

Instead, I am plotting. 

Madeleine’s speech today made me feel sick. I’m disgusted with her. The way she acts like he was hers makes me want to run my favourite dagger across her throat and watch the crimson pour down her neck. 

I will bide my time while plotting. I know Leo would tell me to take the high road, to move forward, but I can’t. The high road is not in my nature and it never will be. 

I grew up being taught that survival is the only way to live life. Laying down or rising above something was never part of my education; I was reared to always believe that when someone is smiling at you, it is because they are holding a knife behind their back, ready to strike. The best thing you can do is to strike first with your blade and cut the danger off at the source. 

I don’t think she realises how far I’m willing to go to avenge him.

I don’t think she believes I truly love him and that is her weakness. 

A personal story, police brutality, racism and classism:

A few years ago my parents went black Friday shopping. I decided to catch some extra sleep because I did not have to work and went to bed late the night before as my brother came over to have dinner per usual on Thanksgiving. A few hours later into my slumber I heard people knocking on my door. But I DO NOT open the door to random people. This is for safety reasons as I am a short stature, slim female woman of color so if shit goes south because some big assholes decide to break into my house. I am not taking my chances! I disregarded it as I thought maybe they were Jehovas witness’ or people soliciting some bullshit. I’m also not trying to get stabbed or murdered in my own home. Either way I could not make out who the fuck they were through my window. So I went back to sleep. 

Later on I heard knocking in the back. Still wasn’t gonna open the door. Could not make out who the fuck it was. I went to get a glass of water and next thing I know I hear a commotion in my second floor back door. So I went to look and realized cops busted through my first floor back door. The cops startled the shit out of me as I was confused af as to why the fuck cops were there in the first place. Then they came in and said that they got a 911 call from my address. I said I didn’t call 911 and they said if I didn’t let them in they were gonna bust in with force. Me being naive I let them in to look around. Let me tell you I was in flight mode because all that shit about asking for a warrant (like they do on Law & Order) did not for a second cross my mind. I was just trying to fucking survive and am lucky I lived to tell the tale. I was not expecting for police to come in and interrogate me without a warrant and I truly had nothing to hide. I was home alone by myself. They apologized for the mix-up after they looked around and I reiterated that I did not call 911 nor was I in any danger. They were confused too and said they would fix the door. The officer in charge gave me his badge number and to call him to fix the damage on my bottom first floor lock. 

I have chills at the thought that if I had fought back and asked for a warrant or answered back to defend my rights that I might have ended up dead like Breonna Taylor. This shit is not in any way acceptable and I do not by any means ask for pity.  My point in sharing this is that unlawful shit from cops needs to fucking stop. And if you cannot understand it I feel sorry for your ignorance. Please do not comment with some bullshit like I’m overreacting and I don’t deserve to be angry or sad about this. You’re part of the problem if you ignore racism. Don’t come at me with I don’t see color we are all the same bullshit because it exists and it is real people Just because you haven’t been affected by it doesn’t nullify it’s existence. 

I am not a thug, I am college educated. I am a calm person who does not start fights with people. I did not in anyway deserve to have my house broken into by cops and neither did Breonna Taylor. A beautiful young compassionate black woman who worked in 2 hospitals as an EMT saving lives and whose life was tragically cut short because of a mix-up. I see her picture and it brings me deep sadness. I cry and yet I’m also angry because I know in my heart of hearts that she did not deserve that. And truthfully I can see myself in her as an innocent woman of color trying to take a break from a sometimes stressful job and wanting to rest at home.

It angers me that racism is still an issue 70 fucking years after the civil rights movement. What the fuck? Who the fuck is policing the police? Why are we not screening these officers with mandatory psychological evaluations before they even start carrying a gun? What the hell is wrong with the system for not taking any sort of accountability for their actions? As far as I am concerned, no one who is racist or has a history of violence should even be allowed to carry a gun. 

It took me awhile to sit here and take the time out of my day to write this precisely because I was going through a lot of mixed feelings. But I’m making my voice heard because I’m sick and tired of seeing racist or oblivious folks defend their rights when they don’t even deserve them to begin with. 

People have a right to protest. Especially when you don’t agree with the piece of shit in charge and his gang of government officials that vocalize that all Mexicans or black folks are thugs or criminals for no justifiable reason. Spewing garbage rhetoric like this makes it okay for racist folks like the KKK to come out  and align themselves with the government. I have friends who are Latinx immigrants. Some are CIS hetero but most are LGBTQ QPOC activist. I can honestly say I am privileged and proud to know so many young and older folks who all contribute something to society. Some are college educated and some are not. Either way they are hard working individuals who add something to society.  We have a right to be angry. And if they’re more concerned with damage of property guess what? A human life is more important! Malcolm X and Martin Luther King are rolling in their graves seeing how white folks are being just as racist now as they were 50 or more years ago. 

White folks, Latinx people please understand that your silence speaks volumes. If talking about race makes you uncomfortable then educate yourself. Talk to black folks and Latinx folks about their experiences. Because I can guarantee you that we all have our own story or know someone who has a story of being unlawfully pulled over and searched. Try to understand the struggle for Latinx or black people in America is hard right now. If your privilege is blinding you to what has been going on in society for several years but people are now acknowledging go talk to folks out of your circle. I’m not condemning you for being privileged. I’m simply asking you to open up your eyes and realize what is really going on in the world. Please take accountability for your actions if you ever made a racist remark or were in the presence of other folks spewing generalizations and remaining silent instead of using your words to defend us. 

Also remember this is not just a race issue it is also an issue of class. Latinx and black folks have contributed to society for years. Guess who is picking your food? Who has built an empire for rich white billionaires? Look at all essential workers out in the field right now and how shitty their high profit companies have treated them? We are in a pandemic and you’re telling me the billionaire folks can’t afford to provide masks and gloves to the poor or middle class? Oh but y’all can afford to live in mansions and buy a bunch of materialistic bullshit and stay home during a shelter in place. Most billionaires don’t get rich from working hard. They get rich because they take advantage of other folks' ideas or have people working for them in jobs they don’t want to do. So let’s stop romanticizing the American dream like it’s fair. Because some people have access to an education while others have to work their ass off just to get their foot in the door. 

We are exhausted and tired of being treated unfairly by society. We can’t afford to have racist psychologically fucked up motherfuckers with guns practicing unlawful violent acts against people of color. If you disagree after reading all this wtf is wrong with you? Get the fuck off my page. I don’t have to tolerate your ignorance.

America Under Total Censorship Lockdown as it Circles the Drain The United States is under a broad censorship lockdown. News from regional press is blocked from national coverage, stories are crushed, certainly Facebook and Google ban and delist, but now at a level that should be unimaginable. The stories run in two areas, seemingly unrelated, that being BLM protests and the other COVID-19. Both are political issues for sure. One strange, certainly inexplicable move has been made by the Trump regime, starting July 16, 2020. Trump has ordered defunding of COVID-19 testing, something that will certainly cripple efforts to rein in the pandemic, and he has also ordered massive cuts to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), ending their ability to report test numbers, hospitalizations and deaths. He then issued an executive order to hospitals to stop reporting COVID-19 data to the appropriate agencies and to channel data directly to his political staff. This will be the painful story as there is a reason for these actions, ignored entirely by the press, but first we need to establish the extent and severity of censorship from the ground up. We will cover a number of stories that should have been followed, certainly investigated and ask some hard questions. Real news reaches a very few and with it warnings, to be careful. Even the FBI, once the enforcers of corporate rule in America, is left out of the loop. There may well be a hideous secret being kept from Americans and the world about how bad things are in the US and any who threaten that secret may well face the fate of so many who have died reporting facts that make the Deep State uncomfortable. As a journalist, I regularly get whistleblower reports, certainly on a daily basis. Many are outrageous and conspiratorial and weeding between credible and insane is taxing in a world where “insane” is the norm. However, a pattern has made itself perfectly clear. Let us take a few anecdotal issues and see where we go. This week, in Detroit, a man convicted of two murders was released. It seems the police detective who handled the case back in 2002 faked everything, witnesses were coached, evidence fabricated, a man spent 16 years in jail and was obviously innocent. The story was reported but what wasn’t reported is that the same Detective Sergeant had done this before. All complaints were quashed by police officials, and many of his fake cases were featured on reality television. Up to half of the “solved” murder cases in Detroit, once “Murder Capital of the World,” involved this corrupt cop, who is still “on the job,” meaning hundreds are in prison for decades, even life, who are innocent. It also means this is still going on. Worse still, who did the killings? We now suspect that a criminal group within the police may be running a “murder for hire” organization and has been doing so for years. There are no investigations, and no one is asking why. Who are their clients? On a broader national issue, there is a huge but largely unreported controversy in Portland, Oregon. President Trump and Attorney General William Barr have sent several hundred armed personnel to Portland to act as fake police against protesters there. No one is sure where these men come from, the fake police, not the protesters, though this is a valid question also, but they seem to be prison guards. It is illegal in the US for the federal government to send police to a state. It is illegal for prison guards, who are not police, to exercise arrest power outside the walls of a prison as they are not “certified” and “sworn” law enforcement officers within the state where they are, in this case, deployed. This is a massive constitutional crisis. Then something more curious happened. Senator Ted Cruz, a comic figure, tweeted a photo of those arrested by these fake police. Photos of a dozen young men, all white, claiming they were Antifa operatives. In the Tweet, Cruz referred to their “mullet” haircuts. The “mullet” is a style often ridiculed. Those wearing this hairstyle are invariably rural, deeply conservative, and poorly educated. They are classic “Trump base.” There was little evidence, other than sketchy news stories, that Antifa even existed. It is now clear that the all-white violent demonstrators are hired thugs from among the rural poor, hired from “Trumpland.” This is a common GOP practice dating back to Watergate and Donald Segretti. The same story came up in Grand Rapids, Michigan when violent demonstrators began looting during a Black Lives Matter demonstration in June. Those arrested were white, had arrived from across the state, and had been paid $300 each by political organizers. Guessing whose political organizers isn’t too difficult. These facts were delisted by Google, the Tweets were taken down and Facebook posts were erased as well. No press follow-up was done and both police and prosecutors have since “disappeared” those arrested. On June 1, 2020, a Ukrainian truck driver who had worked for a CIA sponsored militia fighting against Donbass separatists, plowed his vehicle into protesters in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Bogdan Vechirko failed to kill anyone, but shocking video showed 2000 peaceful demonstrators running for their lives. All reporting ended there. We found that Bogdan Vechirko was not jailed and that no legal action has been taken. Worse still, no one has asked why. A month later, in Seattle, an Eritrean immigrant plowed his white Jaguar into protesters killing two. His family has strong ties to CIA sponsored war lords. The video is among some of the most horrific ever filmed with those he struck at 100 miles per hour flying high in the air. He was chased down by a witness who pulled his vehicle over miles away. Press was told he is under arrest. No details are available. He may be out on bail; no details are available. Where he lives, anything about his family or background is withheld. He is a ghost. Only days ago, a Trump supporter entered a convenience store outside Lansing, Michigan. State law requires anyone entering a store to wear a mask. When confronted by a shopper, the Trump supporter pulled out a large kitchen knife, just the thing used for buying cigarettes and milk, and stabbed the 77-year-old shopper repeatedly. The video from the store is withheld as is the name of the victim and any witnesses. It gets better. In moments, police found the perpetrator and an officer pulled his car over. This was in an affluent neighborhood, in front of the perpetrator’s home. The perpetrator got out of his vehicle with a butcher knife in one hand and a large screwdriver in the other. The police officer, a woman with 22 years’ experience, demanded he drop his weapons. His replies, maniacal and haunting, are unforgettable, like something out of a horror film. As he ran toward the officer, she fired more than a dozen shots, hitting him 8 times as he slashed at her. He barely went down even then but died at the scene. Now the incident has been “un-happened.” There are no facts about who this was, why this happened or how the perpetrator, a well-paid state employee, became a terrorist. We have dozens more such incidents daily in the US, some are legitimate, angry people under pressure while others are theatrical with the perpetrator’s ghosts. As a juxtapose, when a wealthy couple in St. Louis pointed weapons at demonstrators near their magnificent home, media reported on every aspect of their lives, story upon story for weeks. These are all tabloid level stories that should have driven media to shake every tree, question families, show photos of victims and bloody crime scenes. This is how the media makes money, as the saying goes, “if it bleeds-it reads.” Not anymore, not when perpetrators are clearly not what they seem to be. Where are we going? Well, we are certainly going to take this one home. So, why is there a massive crackdown on reporting? Is it tied to police murders? Yes, maybe it is but we don’t think so. Is it tied to COVID-19? We have held off thus far in asking questions about censorship of COVID-19’s impact on the US. We will ask some of those questions now. We have both facts and “alternative facts” hitting the media regarding the pandemic. As COVID-19 levels skyrocket in states like Arizona, Florida, California and two dozen others, reporting becomes, not just contradictory but insanely so. In Florida the governor, DeSantis, claims that 98% of the state’s hospital beds are currently empty. The graphs he publishes are all over Twitter and Facebook, placed there by political trolls. At the same time, however, the largest hospitals in Florida report that they are at 119% of capacity and are overrun with COVID-19 patients. Rebekah Jones, a medical statistician fired for disputing faked data ordered by Governor DeSantis, says deaths are being not just underreported but on a large scale. Easily available video of overflowing hospital wards and licensed “real” medical professionals complaining of lack of medicines and equipment, can be found but are never reported on mainstream media. We do know this, the only drug that treats COVID-19, Remdesivir, is virtually unaffordable, is totally controlled by Jared Kushner and that the State of Florida, in the midst of a massive outbreak of COVID-19, exhausted all supplies over a week ago and Washington isn’t sure when they can release more. This isn’t being reported either. We are also told that those who die are often over 80 years old but massive anecdotal evidence, including regular reports by experts, cite the large number of young victims who are seriously ill. However, their serious illness and hospitalization is not reported and their deaths, if they are dying, are unreported as well. In fact, none of the data received can be depended on, not just in Florida but in dozens of states that seem to be “sitting on” numbers hospitalized and even fatalities. This censorship is driving many to openly shun needed precautions leading to massive increases, all documented, of COVID-19 infections. Why? Conclusion As a test against censorship and misreporting, algorithms are run, based on total tested, total tested positive, total hospitalized, total cured and those who die. As more are tested, more with lesser symptoms, the percentage of infected who later die is continually lowered or was until the beginning of July 2020 when numbers hit a plateau. When COVID reporting began to yield usable data, around mid-April 2020, death rates of those infected were at an unrealistic 36%. Testing levels, through presidential interference, were extremely low, something that would seal America’s role as a failed state. As testing increased, the percentage of recovered compared to deaths followed a predictable curve, which would flatline at some point. With testing levels, after months of interference, substantive enough to give a meaningful result and death levels somewhat modified by the use of Remdesivir, the death percentage “flatlined” at 7 percent. Thus, if a state like Florida were to have 10,000 new cases in a day, with an average of 7% dying, this would mean that eventual death levels would hit 700 a day for this state alone. This figure would be modified by higher or lower numbers testing positive or by lower death rates for larger numbers of younger infected. No such figures are reported. Using figures already proven, many states are reporting very inconsistent figures when looking at testing-hospitalizations-recoveries and deaths. Simply put, they are lying, underreporting by as much as 50%. Florida is clearly one of these. It is clear that the press has yet to do any statistical analysis on COVID-19. Why? There is also significant evidence that the medical community is aware of these inconsistencies. Respected medical professionals have come forward repeatedly with claims of underreporting and, more serious as well, their own theories that COVID-19 is a biological weapon. Attempts to debunk professionals by medical quacks and charlatans backed by conservative think tanks fill the media, while respected professionals are boycotted entirely. Could the US be hiding 100,000 additional COVID-19 dead? A recent leak from the CDC now predicts 800,000 dead by the end of 2020. From the Daily Beast: “If someone had suggested five months ago that we would be seeing more than 3 million cases and 135,000 COVID-19 deaths in the US by mid-July, I wouldn’t have believed it. But now it’s distinctly possible that, five months from now, half of all Americans could have been infected with SARS-CoV-2, and more than 800,000 Americans may die in this extraordinary outbreak. That is what many of our most prominent public-health experts now expect.” However, as of this writing that figure is 143,042, or is it? Is there a lie so big that the United States would find it offensive to perpetrate? I think we all know that answer.

i guess i got some shit to say

On May 25, 2020, a 46 year old black man has been murdered for being the suspect of a 20 counterfeit bill. George was put on the ground by a police officer who put his foot on his neck for 7 minutes straight and was announced dead shortly after.

This has been topic that every single person all around the world is talking about, whether you like it or not, the murder of George Floyd is every hard to ignore. It has put many people to come to realize that racism all over the world is still happening.

I have chosen to write about this subject because i have been feeling this extreme urge to write about it, I would like to share the things that i’ve learned through out the years of being a privileged white person. I would also like to acknowledge that i am a 19 year old girl who has never experienced racism what so ever.

I am very aware of the fact that i am only responsible for my own behavior, i can’t change anyone, i can only try to inform people and inspire them. I accept that. I’m writing this because i have no expectations and i am doing this because i feel like it’s my duty to do it, not because i want results. As a white person i feel like it's my duty to do this because clearly, black people have had enough. Black people are tired of trying to explain these issues to us and i feel like it's our duty as white people to speak up and do it for them. It is our job to educate our white brothers and sisters. 

I am aware that awareness is an unstoppable progress. Sometimes, people just lay in bed and wake up one day and have the urgue to do better. I am very aware that people have to make a change about this subject by themselves and i have no power to make them change.

I am also aware that a real racist, knows very well that he or she is a racist and think that that’s fine. I have no intention to talk to those people, i have way more interest in talking to people who want to tell me their side of the story and is open to see things in another perspective, i wanna talk to people who want to do a peaceful discussion with me. But if you are a person, that in 2020, still thinks that it’s okay to use the N word as a white person, than i think by now you should have come to realize that that’s not okay and i suggest you to stop reading.  However, if you are not one of those people but do have questions about why people are rioting because of George Floyd, why reverse racism does not exist (but racism does!) and how racism is defenitly still very active in The Netherlands, please hear me out.

 What is happening in America right now, and who are these rioters?

As i informed you at the beginning of my paper, the United States of America has been put under the eye for the whole world to see. On Tuesday the 26th of May a video came out of a white police officer called Derek Chauvin arresting George Flody, a 46 year old black man, for being accused of buying sigarettes with a 20 dollar counterfeit bill. Mr. Chauvin was kneeling on the back of mr. Floyd his neck while he was pleeding for his life and gasps his final breathes on this planet. On the video you can see that there is a big crowd around the officer telling him to stop. ‘’’He is not moving!’’ a man yells, but mr. Chauvin continues with looking away from the camera and looking down at mr. Floyd while he takes his life away. Mr. Floyd his death has triggered major protests in the United States and has sparked rage everywhere the country. But why the rage?

Mr. Chauvin has faced charges and is conficted with third degree murder. Third degree murder is essentially depraved heart/implied malice murder, a third degree murder is UNINTENIONAL killing resulting from extreme reckless conduct that manifest a wanton disregard for human life.

If you are a bit like me and saw the video of mr. Floyd being murdered, this was clearly not unintentional. Mr. Chauvin is putting his knee on the neck of mr. Floyd, i think it’s a well known fact that if you put a heavy subject on someone else their neck, they will suffocate. Not only was this move highly unneccessary, but this move is banned by most police departments. The police apartment of Minneapolis policies states that an officer can only do this if someone is ‘’actively resisting’’. George Floyd was not actively resisting, he was faced down, hand cuffed and being murdered. So why did the police officer only get 3rd degree murder? Could the prosection have charged Chauvin for intentional murder? Probably. George died at 8:24 p.m. and at 8:27 pm is when mr. Chauvin took his knee off mr. Floyd his neck. They were told to check his pulse after he stopped moving, but they still kept on going for 3 more minutes. This was not unintenional killing.

Now, with all of this information i hope you have an idea of why people are protesting against Chauvin his case. This has not been the first time that a case like this has happened in the United Sates. Since 2015, over 1,200 black people have been killed by the police. Black people are 13% of the US population but make up for 23% of the police killings that have found place in the United States. Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman, who announced the charges against Chauvin, acknowledged the difficulty of bringing charges against police officers and has said that ‘’This is by are the fastest we have ever charged an police officer.’’ It has been made very clear to me, that the United States does not threat their black citizens equally. In fact, they choose to murder them.

A lot of US citizens have chosen to peacefully demonstrate, but there have also been people that choose to riot and start looting. Do i agree with rioting and looting? Absolutely not. Do i think that they gain something by destroying innocent stores like Target and Mac donalds? Absolutely not, in fact people that are rioting are taking a big risk to get shot by a rubber bullet, or getting tear gassed. So why are they doing it? How does one person get so mad that they just start destroying everything in their surroundings? I think with all the context i gave you earlier, you might have guessed where i am going to. The awnser is: years, and years, and years, of oppression. The United States has gone from slavery, to Jim Crow, to the civil rights act and lets not forget about the prison summary. Black people in the United States have been treaten unequally throughout their whole lives. The prison summary in America is an continuation from the compulsion labour which was first called slavery and now takes place formulated as ‘’You are smoking a joint on the street’’ since smoking a joint is why the majority of black men are prisoned in the United States.

The people who are rioting and looting have had enough. White people need to understand the emotional ties that black people have been making with eachother thorugh out history. Historically seen they have been sepirated from eachother, and through out time, that has made an huge connection between them. If a black woman from Amsterdam, goes on an holiday to Minneapolis, it could have been her. The fact that she is a Dutch citizen, wouldn’t have mattered at all, She is black. She is a target. It could have been her.

 He called me a stiff white girl, why isn’t that racist?

Ah, reverse racism. I can not explain how many times i have had this discussion with my fellow white friends. ‘’Why isn’t it racist to call out white privilige?’’ ‘’He rejected me because i was a white girl’’ ‘’I wasn’t able to join their group because i was white’’ These are one of the many sentences i have been told after i tried to explain people that reverse racism is not a real thing. Racism can not go in reverse. Why? Because racism is an opressive system in a system of disadvantages that black and brown people do not benefit from. I would call reverse racism similar to oppression. Oppression is a special kind of problem, it is very restricting and it has higharicle and power behind it. Its a top down system.

If a black person says something bad about a white person, as harmful it may be, its NOT RACISM, even if the insult is race based. It’s not racism. Why? Because we made the systematic uniform of automatic social power influence. We as white people have built this system. A black person calling you out on your white privilege is not racist. Yes, these words have an emotional impact, but you are not losing anything because of it. You are privileged, and you can just move pass it. But if you insult a black person because of their race, they can’t move pass it. Because if a white person insults a black person because of their race, that would go along with the system that was build in this country called racism. Whether you like it or not, Racism is an insidious cultural disease. It is so insidious that it doesn’t care if you are a white person that likes black people, it is still going to find a way to infect how you deal with people who do not share your skin color.

 The reality of racism its that its very deep in the spain of society. It goes way further than hateful comments. Yes, racist slurs about skin, hair, accent, eyes and religion play a big part in it. And yes, white people have the ability to feel pain from an insult. But when white people get insulted, that comes from other social problems. It comes from bullying, poverty, sexism, ignorance or pessinism, but it’s not racist. Racism is systematic. There is no experience in being a white person as in being a person of color if you’re talking about racial identity. How hurtful it may be ‘’The cool black kids do not like me’’ is not proof of racial oppression. White people don’t have to worry in their day to day life about being white. White people do not have to deal with teachers expecting low expectations because of their race, White people do not have to deal with being closely followed by security guards or store clerks at a store or mall because of their race. White people do not have to deal with being reject at a job because of their last name. White people do not have to deal with being murdered by a police officer just because they were accused of using a counterfeit 20 dollar bill. Yes, some white people need to think about how they can avoid discrimination based of their gender, sexuality, religion, their social economical status or their disability, but it is not because they are white. And if you only get defensive about these situations whenever there is a political discussion about it, you are very likely to not have experienced racism.  If you only find it neccessary to talk about how mean a black man has been to you when racism is named in the conversation, you have not experienced racism.

It is only when you have experienced racism when your whole race has competely been ignored, or the other way around, has been put in extreme spotlight and has been made fun of in daily conversations and has been put in negative daylight in the media. If you haven’t experienced this, you have not experienced racism. Rerverse racism does not exist because i still have to explain what racism is, or don’t explain what it is and listen to another story about how Lucy got bullied for wearing braces in 5th grade.

 Black pete is a childs best friend!

Black pete. You have probably heard about it, and if not, you’re in for a treat! At the start of the nineteenth century dutch people have created a feastday called Sinterklaas. Sinterklaar is an legandary figure based on Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of children. The feast day takes place on the 6th of December. Sinterklaas (a white, dressed rich, man btw) enters the country with all his employees called black petes. Every year white people paint themselves black, overdraw their lips with red lipstick to make their lips appear bigger, put on a black curly wig, serve Sinterklaas and call it a day. Black pete is framed as a nice man who gives presents to little kids. Most Dutch people will have an underlying connection with black pete, he is after all the man that gave you little presents when you were only 6 years old.

Unfortonately, not everyone experienced black pete as a fun loving man. Black pete often triggers a lot of bad memories for people of color, they often can’t seem to find the pleasure out of it that most dutch people can. But why?

The thing with black pete is that it’s straight up black face. Black pete descends from slavery, because the first book of Sinterklaas came out in 1850, But slavery in The Netherlands only ended in 1863. Black pete was a slave. People would dress up to make fun of black people and their stereotypical features such as cruly hair, big lips, and sometimes even their accent. Black pete is black face, and not just because they are painted black, they also have the cruly hair, fat lips and big gold earrings.

The whole world is shocked about this tradition and has critized the Netherlands for still celebrating this feastday because they are also of the opinion that black pete is black face. So why do the Netherlands keep celebrating it? Well, i think it’s because most people refuse to let go of this holiday because of their own positive experiences with black pete. Black pete was the funny man who cllimbed on the rooftop of your school. He threw around cookies and gave you presents. Black pete is our tradition, black pete is a part of our indenitity. How dare they, the lowest group in our society, asks us superior dutch people, to change OUR tradition!?

Its either that, or dutch people are very naive and are suffering from a lack of empathy. But racism can not be allowed just because of lack of empathy. It’s a fact that black people are disadvantged in our society. And if you are already in the minority of our society, have less privileges because of your skin color and on top of that you also get made fun of because of your skin color in your OWN country? That’s just not how it works.

Correct me if i’m wrong, but last time i checked dutch people didn’t get threatend to be kidnapped to another continent where they were put on etates where they needed to start working while they had a chance of getting raped by their owners and would simply just not get treated as humans. Dutch people didn’t get torn apart from their families simply because they were dutch. So who are we to say, that we don’t experience black pete as racism? Ofcourse we didn’t! (Luckily so, i wouldn’t wish that to anyone). The fact that the WHOLE world can see this, but the Netherlands can’t is simply because they don’t want to, i find that to be ignorant. But this feastday proves more than anything, that ignorance is bliss.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vksEJR9EPQ8

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/31/us/george-floyd-investigation.html

https://www.parool.nl/columns-opinie/de-wereld-van-sylvana-simons~b3d390d2/?referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bing.com%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dsylvana%2Bsimons%2Bparool%2Bstuk%26form%3DEDGEAR%26qs%3DPF%26cvid%3D51846abf1b5346aebab4f9840856c5a1%26cc%3DNL%26setlang%3Dnl-NL%26elv%3DAY3%2521uAY7tbNNZGZ2yiGNjfMm48FCyJptxjOJLsv3Limi4mjW0KY10wsVvPAfZmAEl1i0Ti7Kk%2521gRC15lofm13ZqHRyTp4gWPgAj0BJwqu8yJ%26plvar%3D0%26PC%3DLCTS

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/racism-african-americans-quiz.html

https://npofocus.nl/artikel/7472/waar-komt-zwarte-piet-vandaan-

https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackface

Living in the US and being on Tumblr makes it impossible not to notice certain things.

No, we can not afford to be apolitical at times like those and we should not be indifferent because those keeping silence when evil is done in front of their eyes are accomplices to that evil. So it is right now a choice for each of us to speak up or to remain silent. And the latter course of action would lead all of us into an abiss.

#Black lives matter - that is the hash tag that we use to not remain silent.

But my fellow Americans, my fellow HUMANS, let's face it and state it /it is so proven by the history of mankind/ - any life matters! Any human life matters and it is in fact of practically no real difference if the person is black/white/red/yellow/blue or gay/straight/trans/pan, or green-eyed/blue/gray/hazel/yellow or any other kind of eye, hair, skin colour, dress preference, social status, job occupation or anything else. Literally anything else!

We are all human, despite our gender, looks, sexual preferences or occupation, activity, hobbies, and other superficial differences. That popular hash tag, black lives matter, is good and it is tied to a certain horrifying event, and that rising tide of oncoming racism. But the thing is - racism is not a white-skin-coloured people' sin only! It the universal sin. It covers all of us all over the globe.

People become indefferent, cold, compassionless, ruthless. Why? Because that is what an underlining of "___life matters" implies that other lifes - do not. We do not say that we must look for similarities among ourselves, for what unites us, but constantely say we should see /and respect, of cause/ the differences. But we are all human, aren't we??? Then why not have another hash tag in addition to the original one - #Life matters

What about that? Not exactly a novel concept. All life is sacred, until death comes.

Naturally what happened to George Floyd is a crime! We should not allow a man to be killed just because someone said he had fake bill in his hand. Is life now, a valuable human life, worth $20??? And then, THEN, when people riot PEACEFULLY to stop such murders from taking place again, it escalates into violence, provocked by the police...

Now just for a moment imagine this: our Northern America is actually Africa, and the majority of the population is black. And that little white community that exists there remembers the time when they were slaves to the majority. One day the policemen commit murder of a guy who just wanted to buy something and someone said the bill was fake. And...the guy gets killed during arrest. Suffocated. Strangled. With onlookers, witnesses seeing and video recording what happened. And the minority tries to protest. Which only leads to the escalation of violence.

What we must remember right now is that, apart from being black and murdered by whites George Floyde was a PERSON!!! A HUMAN BEING!! HE HAD A LIFE!! JUST LIFE!! PEOPLE WHO CARED ABOUT HIM AND WHO ARE NOW INCOMPLETE!!!

Whenever a person is killed, this is the first thing we all should think about! And if we, as a country AND a nation protest against unmitigated murder of an innocent man, woman or child, then we could safe our dignity, and our integrity! Either we uphold this principle together, as a nation, or every war we ever faught and every riot we ever uphelp, will be for naught. If George Floyd' murderers are not brought to justice, then it will not matter what skin colour any one of us has, for it will only be a matter of time before the black American population will retaliate and not only with riots. Then all the other minorities will resort to violence - in retaliation, because no other means will gain result.

Now, RIGHT NOW, as a nation AND as a country we may be facing a new civil war...based on race but with a much deeper layer of meaning. Dehumanization! We are being dehumanized, facing murder, commited simply out of bloodthirst of the murderers. LIFE MATTERS!

What we are allowed to see is homicide on the base of racial intolerance. But it so much worst then that. George Floyd did not do anything to warrant himself a death penalty. Those beasts who murdered him, could have killed a white female...To them it is all the same. If they are not brought to justice, #black lives matter may not be enough...may not be enough at all.

I remember a discourse we had in University about the inner workings of criminal law. And our professor told us, that the core of criminal law is that murder commited with no more motive but simply to kill, is THE first degree murder. The thurst for killing is what should be most punishable by criminal law. And this is what we are dealing with right now. If those who killed George Floyd are not brought to justice for commiting homicide (or if the law punishes only the perpetrator, who is now on trial, and punishes him for "unmitigated murder caused by accident" only), then we will face an ugly precedent - we will allow ourselves to be persuaded that racial hatred is a motive for murder. IT IS NOT!!! For racial hatred is only a shield for something much uglier - for a lust to kill which only looks for a way to justify itself. Such justification being any kind of intolerance existing in the world: racial, social, sexual, national. Any kind, any time. This is what we have to fight - justification for commiting homicide. Any justification must be seen for what is really is - a scam.

So, apart from #black lives matter, we must unite with the goal of upholding a broader morale - LIFE MATTER!

PS: may George Floyd's soul reside in Heaven; may his murderer be punished for who is - a bloodthursty beast! And may we all see through the scam to the core of the problem. Racism is only part of it.

#America #Our Country needs us to unite #In memory of an innocent man who was murdered #In memory of George Floyd #we must not give up #we need to unite #justice for George Floyd #Resisting racism and dehumanization #We are all in this as humans #no superficial difference matters