This is what I do when I’m listening to long, sad calls at work.
SO WAIT, LET ME GET THIS STRAIGHT: A 26 YEAR OLD WITH A GUN FOLLOWS A COMPLETELY UNARMED 17 YEAR OLD FOR A FEW BLOCKS, CALLS THE COPS TO REPORT A “SUSPICIOUS” PERSON IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND THEN GETS OUT OF HIS CAR AND SHOOTS HIM, AGAINST POLICE ORDERS, WITH NO WITNESSES, AND HE ISN’T ARRESTED BECAUSE HE CLAIMS SELF DEFENSE?
YEP, THE GUY HAD A NOSEBLEED. SO, YOU KNOW … IT’S ENTIRELY PLAUSIBLE THE KID HIT HIM.
DIDN’T SHANE JUST GIVE HIMSELF A NOSEBLEED ON THE WALKING DEAD LAST NIGHT TO MAKE IT LOOK LIKE HE’D BEEN ATTACKED? ISN’T THAT LIKE … A SHITTY CLICHÉ AT THIS POINT?
MAYBE THEY DON’T HAVE DISAPPOINTING ZOMBIE SOAP OPERAS IN FLORIDA.
OKAY, BUT EVEN IF THE 17 YEAR OLD PUNCHED THE GUY, WHICH IS KIND OF UNDERSTANDABLE IF YOU’RE BEING STALKED BY A STRANGER IN A SLOW MOVING VEHICLE WHO GETS OUT AND ACCOSTS YOU, AN UNARMED KID ISN’T ACTUALLY “LIFE THREATENING” TO A GROWN MAN. I MEAN, YOU MIGHT GET YOUR EYE DOTTED, BUT YOU’RE NOT ACTUALLY GOING TO DIE, SO USING LETHAL FORCE IS STILL USING TOO MUCH FORCE, EVEN IF YOU WERE A POLICE OFFICER AND NOT JUST SOME FAT DICKHEAD RACIST PIECE OF SHIT WITH A CONCEALED WEAPONS PERMIT, RIGHT?
THAT’S WHY WE DON’T LIVE IN FLORIDA, CARL. WELL, THAT AND THE WHOLE ELECTION FRAUD THING.
AND THE HUMIDITY.
AND THE HUMIDITY.
Values
I recently realized that after a very intense couple years in my life, and coming to know myself and the way I am reacting to my past, I have lost sight of my values and personality.
While doing all of this “self-work,” as I would describe it to clients I advocate for, I’ve been focusing on such a narrow part of myself I’m not even sure what makes me tick anymore.
How do I feel about being polyamorous? Do I expect communication, but little restriction in my relationships? Are my really intense urges to create more connections with people because I want more partners, or partners that feel more like a big family?
I feel out of touch with my past commitments to sustainability. How can I lead a comfortable and healthy life while honoring my beliefs about the impact I have on the land I’m occupying? I’m living in a city that is really spread out, while not making any use of the land I’m sitting on- my past self would hate me. Should I move to a bigger city or pick up farming again?
Is money and stability more important to me than my ethics and ideas around how a workplace should operate? Should I continue absorbing vicarious trauma in order to earn a small paycheck? Could I settle with losing a “meaningful job,” and work at a small retail store in order to gain some peace of mind?
The past few years I’ve gone from feeling forced into a femme box by my abusive partner to almost starting testosterone to this current wavering place of I appreciate my body when its modestly covered, but feel resistance to my need to speak out against the shit I was told to be quiet about most of my life, with people telling me I’m negative or unattractive when I say what’s on my mind. The only difference between doing it now, and doing it when I was younger is that I don’t care about their reactions anymore- but this also changes other people’s perceptions of my gender. Essentially, do I just keep letting what happens, happen? Or do I force myself to think about it more?
I’ve slowly but surely separated myself from my biological family. This was not only a big loss because I lost a large part of my history and my family’s history, but I lost my connection to my culture. I have traditions without the people to practice them with. I have a culture and history that displaced my family, and have experienced their feelings around that, but no one to process it with. And they don’t want me around. I make them uncomfortable. I’m queer and that just doesn’t work for them. How do I regain that culture, outside of my own dietary habits, holiday observances, and in general feeling out of touch with the people around me? How do I deal with the feelings they never dealt with but put on me?
These are a lot of things I hope I can give some time over the next part of my life. As much as I want to resist change right now, I hope I can make some that will make me more comfortable in the end.
NO, YOU’RE NOT IN THE WRONG CLEARING. WE’RE THE FIRST PANEL THAT’S SPEAKING TO THE HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE ABOUT THE ISSUE OF CHICKEN SAFETY.
YES, WE’RE A CONCERNED GROUP OF COMMUNITY LEADERS AND EXPERTS.
YOU CAN COUNT ON OUR UNBIASED AND HEARTFELT OPINIONS ON THE PERTINENT ISSUES THAT AFFECT MILLIONS OF CHICKENS NATIONWIDE.
Virginia’s house passed a bill (and the governor of virginia says he will sign it!) that women undergoing birth control procedures will be forced to have a probe ultrasound up their genitals, without receiving their consent. Call Virginia’s governor. Seriously.
