On Loving - Audre Lorde

"We have to consciously study how to be tender with each other until it becomes a habit."
-Audre Lorde

Facebook vs Bigots (Snark)

This is how Facebook reacts when one person calls out another on racism. Just another day that ends in y.

Not Mourning Patterson

I do not mourn flagrant raciats. L Brooks Patterson is such a racist.

L. Brooks Patterson opposed the desegregation busing plan related to Detroit Public Schools up to the U.S. Supreme Court, which decided Milliken v. Bradley. Patterson gained prominence supporting the bitter opposition to Judge Damon Keith's federal court order to integrate the Pontiac Public Schools. (Notoriously, the KKK bombed 10 of Pontiac's school buses the night before the integration was to start.)

His long campaign to take away control of Detroit assets such as Cobo Hall and its water and sewage system are examples. So is his militant opposition to regional transit.

Patterson faced criticism after comments he made about the city of Detroit were released in an article entitled "Drop Dead, Detroit!". Patterson was quoted as saying, among other things, "What we're going to do is turn Detroit into an Indian reservation, where we herd all the Indians into the city, build a fence around it, and then throw in the blankets and corn".

In 2016, Patterson led a legal challenge to the resettlement of Syrian refugees in Oakland County.

He's dying of cancer? Meh. Save your tears for someone who deserves them.

Day Is Done

1. Mali. Odd that one undercovered incident cracks me.

2. CPTSD and clumsiness. I have been utterly flattened by new info and am so, so exhausted.

3. Dream: one of my churches kicked me out because of some aspect of my identity or another. (Worse, that I had the gall  speak out loud about it.) Can't remember which aspect.

3. Contacted both Senators and the Representative today.

Flattened with exhaustion. http://google.com in case anyone needs to look something up.

Welcoming all manner of love and support.

Dear Representative: I Am Weary

I am rarely this open and honest with my trumpian representative. From a message that I sent him:

"I am weary of the racism openly exhibited by the current administration. It impacts my health. And that is just me. I haven't been killed at a racist border by racist border guards.

"Take a stand. Stop the atrocities at the border. There is no border "crisis." There is a humanitarian crisis; and that requires social workers, lawyers, and judges - not death cages.

"I am so weary. White supremacism kills. I am so weary."

But the Words Got Used Up

I use my words primarily on people whom I love, with certain vulgar exceptions, before I cast them on others. Often, I run out of words before I have reached all of my loved ones.

Crafting words is difficult for me.

I cannot find just the right words to use. Sometimes, I simply cannot find the words at all. Blank spaces have always been my enemy.

Sometimes, I get lost and wander off to people on my periphery. I spend words on them, not realising that there are loved ones whom I haven't reached yet with my allotted supply.

You haven't heard from me in so long. It is because I didn't pace my words correctly. I ran out. I love you, but I didn't reach you in time to tell you.

I am sorry.

He Slaughtered Muslims, but It Goes Beyond That

On Friday 15 March 2019, a terrorist walked into two houses of worship in Christchurch, New Zealand, opened fire, and killed 50 worshippers total.

The image below quotes a news source and displays images of two heroes, Abdul Aziz and Daoud Nabi. Continue reading below the image.

I included a snapshot of text from a news article to demonstrate the significance of my title for this piece. The terrorist attacked Muslims. However, we were not his ultimate goal. He hates us, but he hates People of Colour - ALL People of Colour. Yes, we Muslims are racialised; but here in the States, which is the ideological target of the terrorist, we Muslims also exist amongst the layers of stratification in America's racial hierarchy which places Black People at the bottom and white or white-passing people at the top.

We Muslims have a wide diversity of appearances. Some of us wear kufis, others turbans, yet other hijabs, and many of us nothing at all on our heads. We wear everything from dashdashas to jilbabs to abayas to t-shirts and jeans. Some of us are black, some brown, and some white or white-passing. We speak just about every language on this planet. We are racialised, yet because of our ethnic, immigration status, and other diversities we also encounter a diversity of treatments, from abjectly violent racist attacks to full inclusion into our inherently racist society.

The Dangerous Callousness of Trump

Trump wrote a tweet early in the morning on Sunday, just two days after the terrorist attack in New Zealand. Keep in mind that the attacker is an avowed white supremacist and cited trump in his manifesto as a source of inspiration for his attack.

Trump's tweet reads, in part, "Stop working soooo hard on being politically correct." He wrote this tweet at 6:33 on Sunday 17 March 2019.

I modified the screenshot of his tweet. It now displays a middle finger where his face (profile photo) is ordinarily placed, and the title "Asshole-in-Chief replaces his name (account ID). I wrote on the screenshot, "Sorry. Can't stand his face."

A Twitter user named Frank Schaeffer (@frank_schaeffer) wrote, "The shooter's manifesto praised trump as a 'symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose.' Let that sink in. A US President is the inspiration of white terrorists around the world. Let that sink in." Frank posted his tweet on 15  March 2019 at 7:43 am.

Asexuality and Relationship Anarchy

Asexuality/Relationship Anarchist Thoughts
from November, 2015

A really awesome person has used the phrase, "decision to build a relationship together with intention." It started me thinking again. So again, I ask: Need we confine ourselves to the notion that we have one partner? Need we treat our sexual partners as the "only" relationship that we have, or the "primary" relationship that we have?

As an asexual, for example, I will form all kinds of relationships that have various levels of romantic intimacy in them. Few, if any, would involve sex. I would not shunt someone into "secondary" position just because we don't have sex with each other. I would try not to and would work on it if I mess it up. I would also not treat someone as "less than" because my bond with someone else is more strongly intimate than my bond with that person.

It's cool if you're not into this or not up to this. Not all of us are polyamorous. Not all of us can deal with relationship anarchy.

For those of you who do have more than one loved one in your life - even if not all sexual partners or live-in partners or intimate friends: have you told your loved ones how you hold them in your life? Have you put a name on that relationship? Do your loved ones know about that? It's great that you shower them in love, and all of the blessings to you. It's just that your loved ones might not know where they stand with you, or they might want to discuss it with you.

After the White Supremacist Terrorist Attack at Christchurch, What Will You Do?

As a radical leftist white (sorry, can't say "moderate" any longer), I firmly and resoundingly condemn the white supremacist terrorist violence that has rained down on New Zealand in recent hours.

Fellow whites: Have you checked in with the children in your lives? What kinds of websites do they visit? Do they converse with people outside of their real-life social circles? Do they keep to themselves more than they used to? Do they often discuss guns and other weapons?

Additionally, do you discuss race and racial justice with the young ones in your lives? Do you tell them that, in addition to "not being racist," they need to act on those views and stand up for People of Colour and racialised persons? Have you gone over some of the more common white supremacist tropes and discussed their historical precedent with them?

It takes more than "I'm not racist." It takes a good, strong, healthy dose of "Don't talk like/do that. It is racist." It takes a strong personal resolve to find ways of listening to People of Colour and resolving to work with People of Colour to enact racial justice.

Are you ready to take that on? Because it is one of the things that People of Colour need from you.

Trump's Administration Makes DHHS a Dehumanising Department

As far as I remember, it was Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma that authorised a change in DHHS.

Personal caseworkers were removed from individual casework duties, and recipients have been shifted to a round-robin system. Recipients are no longer able to email or call a personal caseworker. It is also impossible to call a local DHHS office. We must now call a toll-free phone number to try to ask questions or otherwise interact with a random caseworker. The phone system through which we must navigate to arrive at the correct option is long and tedious; and it can often be confusing.

It is now even easier to fall off services. It is now much more difficult to apply for or regain services. We are not guaranteed human contact. We are not guaranteed answers to our questions. It is maddening.

The Only Democracy in the Middle East Isn't Actually A Democracy

Some text above.

Some text below.

WTF Arkansas

Arkansas proving once again that it is in the bottom of the south.

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Arkansas Highway Ballot Issue To Be Signed By Governor, DeCample Tribute Approved
By WESLEY BROWN/ TALK BUSINESS & POLITICS • MAR 8, 2019
MICHAEL HIBBLEN / KUAR NEWS
The Arkansas Senate on Thursday approved the final piece of Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s $300 million highway funding package, albeit with a procedural twist that left some lawmakers shaking their heads during the chamber’s two-and-half hour session. Senators also passed a resolution in honor of the late Matt DeCample, a former spokesman for Gov. Mike Beebe.


Little Rock Police Release Video Of Fatal Shooting
By DANIEL BREEN • MAR 7, 2019
LITTLE ROCK POLICE DEPARTMENT
The Little Rock Police Department has released a video of the fatal officer-involved shooting of 30-year-old Bradley Blackshire last month. Prior to the video's release, Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. held a press conference at City Hall, saying he has turned over the investigation into Officer Charles Starks to prosecutors to determine whether criminal charges should be filed.


Bill that Bars Death Penalty for Convicts with "Serious" Mental Illnesses Fails Committee
By SARAH KELLOGG • MAR 7, 2019
SARAH KELLOGG / KUAR
A bill that would bar Arkansas prosecutors from seeking the death penalty for those convicted of a crime and with a diagnosed serious mental illness failed in the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday. According to the legislation, qualifying medical conditions would include symptoms of delusions, hallucinations, extremely disorganized thinking, and mania.

Sojourner Truth's Speech from the 1851 Women's Rights Convention

White Proverbs #5

Meme. Main colour of background is light blue, with a forest nans the lake depicted and mountains insinuated. Text: "How is that racist? A white proverb."

Gas Tax: Get Ready to Help Others

Michigan has a state constitutional ban on graduated taxes. This means that the poor are taxed at the same rate as are rich people, as though the poor had enough money to pay that same rate (or as though the piddly contributions from the wealthy would actually fund a functioning government). This new gas tax is going to hurt. Gov Whitmer is proposing tax relief, particularly for pensioneers and the poor, that would go towards reliving the burden for us.

 In the meantime, we need to do certain things, both politically and as community. We in Michigan need to be ready to support those in need by carpooling and by donating gas cards. Those who have enough to share must start sharing with those who don't. We also need to asvocate for mass transit systems that provide accessible, reliable, and affordable services.

Doing the latter without doing the former will allow the poor to fall through the cracks. This is one of many times in recent years that we need to pull together and support each other. If we cannot rise up against anti-tax bullcrap from conservatives with graciousness and a community spirit, they will win. Again. Let us come together with love. ❤

Primary Pelosi

Fund Pelosi's primary opponent. Send Pelosi a copy of the receipt every time that you do so. Write #StandWithIlhan on it.

"Free" Speech and Privilege

Giving "free speech" rights to those who already bear privilege and power in our white-centric country automatically means that the voices of Black People, Jewish People, women, LGBTQ people, disabled people, immigrants, LatinX People, Native People, etc are being quelled - not only because such is a pillar of white supremacist praxis, but because the state must quell their speech in order to accommodate, centre, and empower that sort of hate speech. In a country where speech is inherently unequal, it actually is necessary to spend more time and effort amplifying and centering the voices of marginalised people.

Peace vs Pacification and MLK Jr

"If peace means keeping my mouth shut in the midst of injustice and evil, I don't want it. If peace means being willing to be exploited economically, dominated politically, humiliated and segregated, I don't want peace."
-Rev Dr Martin Luther King, Jr

WEB DuBois PhD Harvard

Upon being the first Black Man to earn a PhD from Harvard, WEB DuBois said "The honor, I assure you, was Harvard's. "

Baldwin on Love

"Love takes off the masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within. I use the word 'Love' here not merely in the personal sense but as a state of being or a state of grace - not in the  infantile American sensexporters of being made happy but in the tough and universal sense of quest and daring and growth."
-James Baldwin

Shirley Chisholm: Bring a chair

"If they don't give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair."
-Shirley Chisholm