#i find it really fun to classify characters under systems from other media

[sallymew4]

this pride month: mob is a little bit genderfluid (just a little bit)

btw im gonna be away from my laptop for like a week....so sad

also i totally did the girls' uniform from memory lol

[thewhizzyhead]

a non-filipino's guide to trese: ep 1

So some of my mutuals decided to check out Trese aka the Netflix adaptation of the Filipino horror comic book series that I keep rambling about here and then since well um most of my mutuals aren’t from the Philippines fshfs I decided to make a long-ass post that basically consists of me rambling about the cultural context present in Trese with fun little tidbits about Filipino folklore. I’m not an expert on Filipino mythology so um I just typed out the stuff that I know and the stuff that I looked up on Wikipedia so um take this with a grain of salt aaaaa I’ll save the extensive google scholar research ramble on folklore present in Trese for another day.

I’ll try to find the sites where I got some of the information from cause um yea I kinda had a bit of a hard time finding the other shit so um once again, take the stuff here with a grain of salt. Also, feel free to add more info if you guys got any!

SO ANYWAYS ENJOY ME RAMBLING ABOUT EPISODE 1 OF TRESE WOO

+ MRT and LRT (Manila Metro Rail Transit and Light Rail Transit) are train systems in NCR (the capital region) and yea them suddenly stopping and malfunctioning in the middle of the goddamn rail is a daily occurrence and we have been trying to deal with this bullshit for years but alas, corruption and negligence are sweet sweet drugs.

+ When the MRT broke down, you'd see a red bee in the flashing billboard right? Well that's Jollibee and that's probably the most well-known fast food restaurant chain here heck there are even branches of it abroad!

+ According to many youtube comments along with other social media posts that I am way too tired to link here, the opening theme is an Ifugao ethnic song called Balluha'd Bayyauhen but with modern accompaniments and I think the song is about a fruit called a balluha that the character in the song tries to it but cannot swallow. (someone please correct me if I’m wrong here fjkfs)

+ The first um monster that we see Alexandra interact with is the White Lady of Balete Drive. White Ladies or “Kaperosa” are a type of female ghosts typically dressed in ghostly white dresses or similar garments. According to legend, she died in a car accident while driving along Balete Drive (a two lane street formerly lined with Balete Trees which are said to be a home for spirits and mysterious creatures) in Quezon City while other accounts say she died waiting for the arrival of her lover; others also say that she was a teenage girl who was run over and killed by a taxi driver at night and then buried around a Balete tree while another variation of the tale claims that a student from the University of the Philippines was sexually assaulted and killed by a taxi driver nearby and so said ghost haunts the street in search of her murderer. There are many other variations but according to local rumor, the legend was fabricated by a reporter in 1953 in order to make an interesting story. What remains consistent in many variations is that apparently taxi drivers would be stopped by a beautiful lady asking for a ride and if one would look at the rear window, they would see that the white lady in question is bruised and drenched in blood.

+ There are a lot of mentions about "lakans" and stuff in reference to Alex and her father right? In precolonial times, the term is used to refer to the paramount ruler or the highest-ranking political authorities in Tagalog communities (so um NCR and some parts of Region 4). In Muslim communities, they are called sultans while communities with strong trade connecitons with Indonesia or Malaysia called them Rajah. Datu is umm the more generalized term though when it comes to discussing the leaders of the precolonial Filipinos.

+ So, Alex’s mom is a babaylan and back in the pre-colonial period, each barangay (which a native filipino term for a village or a district; said term is still used today to describe um divisions in municipalities like) had them and these are basically Philippine shamans and they specialized in communicating with the spirits of the dead. To my knowledge, the role of babaylan went to women and yea people assigned male at birth but then identified as female were also allowed to become babaylans and they would be treated with the same respect given to any woman back then (honestly I dunno much about lgbtq+ stuff back in the precolonial times but all I know is that precolonial Filipinos were much a lot more welcoming towards trans identities bUT THEN THE SPANIARDS CAME AND UM ERR RUINED THAT); also the writing Alexandra's mom did in that one scene with the dagger is in Baybayin - preHispanic Filipino script. I dunno what she wrote down though. .

+ Also I kinda find it funny that the people here esp those who were at the White Lady scene are um,,, not at all surprised? Like yea quite a number of filipinos have their own superstitions and beliefs and all that but um yea the people in Trese seem very used to the bullshit,,,which in retrospect, isn't at all inaccurate fsdfd I MEAN WE DEAL WITH UNSURMOUNTABLE AMOUNTS OF BS ON A DAILY BASIS SO I DON’T THINK DEAD GHOSTS WOULD EVEN FAZE MANY FSKJDS

+ The one that appears right before Alexandra talks with the duwende (the one in the manhole) is called Laman Lupa (which i guess translates to um "What is in the earth"? just um YEA THEY ARE DIRT CREATURES). normally this is an umbrella term for duwendes and nunos but in Trese they are servants of these aforementioned creatures.

+ Duwende (which came from the Spanish phrase "dueno de case" which means "owner of the house") or dwarves in Filipino folklore are known to be mischievous and magical environmental guardians. They are believed to reside in trees or under earth mounds (those that live in the latter are called nuno sa pundo or old man of the mount) which is why quite a lot of Filipinos say "tabi tabi po" or “excuse me” when wandering around a forest or earth mounds as a sign of respect and in the hopes the duwende won't torment them. If the person is friendly, the duwende can also be friendly in return and will bring that person good lucl; otherwise, those who destroy their homes by stepping on them will face their wrath in form of heartless curse and predictions of ominous and disastrous fates. A duwende's color also depends on their budhi or conscience: to my knowledge, white duwendes are kind, red ones give protection amulets, green ones are firnedly with children and the black ones give nothing but trouble.

+ Chocnut aka the snack Alex bribes the nuno with is a very yummy chocolate snack made of coconut milk, crushed peanuts and cocoa powder. They are umm about an inch in length and maybe half an inch in width so it's fairly small; that being said I WANT THE CHOCNUT THAT ALEXANDRA HAS CAUSE HOT DAMN THAT'S A BIG CHOCNUT

+ In Trese, the creatures in the MRT scene and in the warehouse Alexandra visits after she talks with the duwende are called "aswang". In Philippine folklore, it is an umbrella term for any kind of monster so um an aswang in Luzon would be very different from the aswang in Mindanao. According to what I saw on wikipedia, they can be classified in 5 categories: the vampire (self-explanatory um they drink blood), the viscera sucker (the manananggal, i'll get to that next time), the weredog (cats and pigs are also possible but um yea they target pregnant women), the witch (self-explanatory boom curses and stuff) and the ghoul (they gather near trees in cemeteries to feast on human corpses). Aswangs are often described to have a long, hollow tongue, sharp claws and sharp teeth, although they do also have human forms.

+ To my knowledge, Ibwa, the leader of the aswangs in the warehouse, is a creature from Tinguian or Itneg mythology (they, like the Ifugao, are an indigenous ethnic group in northwestern Luzon) though I could be wrong about this dksfsf Ibwa seems like an ethnic filipino term tho wah I can't remember where I once read that. But anyways, Ibwa often stalk sthe house of a dying person to steal its body. In order for the ibwa to NOT succeed in that, some people burn holes in the garments of the dead and put a sharp iron object on top of the grave since those are most powerful weapons against aswangs which is what Alexandra uses to subdue the Ibwa and kill all the other aswangs (the knife alex uses is named Sinag which means "ray of light".)

+ ALSO I AM SO SO GLAD THEY KEPT THE FILIPINO SWEARS IN THE ENGLISH DUB YES YES THIS IS A VERY GOOD JOB so lemme discuss the versatility of tangina-

+ Also umm Bossing is a nickname of Vic Sotto - one of the three pioneer hosts of Eat Bulaga! which is the longest running Philippine noontime variety show. Over time, most probably due to the show's popularity, the term "bossing" then became um slang for "boss" or "chief"

+ Translation of what Alex says when she's stirring the eye inside the cup: “In the eyes of others, secrets will reveal themselves.”

+ Sidenote: The English dub's pronunciation of many of the tagalog lines are um yea they r pretty good but they could use a bit of work but then again I'm really not that good in speaking in Tagalog so who am I to judge gkdkf sorry po guys conyo po ako-

+ Maria Makiling is arguably the most famous of all the diwatas (ancestral spirits, nature spirits, or deities) in Philippine Mythology; she is associated with Mount Makiling in Laguna as the guardian spirit of the mountain. Mount Makiling is said to resemble a profile of a woman and people associate the profile with Maria herself. She is also known as a goddess by the name of Dayang Masalanta and people would pray to her for safety and to stop storms and earthquakes. That's the goddess Alexandra's mother mentions right when she tells Alex to hide. (Translation to what she said there: Maria Makiling, goddess of the mountain, bless us.)

+ ALSO YEA THAT MAYOR IN THE MRT STATION IS UMMM RATHER REMINISCENT OF MAAAANY POLITICIANS AND PUBLIC SERVANTS HERE LIKE BELIEVE ME I CAN THINK OF SO MANY NAMES RN. THEY WOULD FLAUNT THEIR MACHISMO AND PROMISE THAT THEY THEMSELVES SHALL PUNISH THE PERPETRATORS HARSHLY BUT IN THE END THEY DONT MEAN SHIT AND ARE IN OFFICE TO SERVE ONLY THEMSELVES AND TO SHIT ON THE REST ESP THOSE OF THE POORER SECTORS AND *NOTHING IS DONE ABOUT IT*. WE LIVE IN HELL OKAY. also hmm how the police are represented here is umm,,,interesting,,, like i know there are sOME good police officers like the ones alexandra assists but like,,,our current sociopolitical climate + the many cases showcasing the corruption in the police force + tHE SHEER AMOUNT OF POLICE BRUTALITY HERE would ummm beg to differ. but um anyways-

+ Also Mang Inasal posters can be seen in the MRT station backdrops and um it’s a very famous restaurant chain here and they serve lots of barbecue and other filipino stuffs and i miss them a lot God their halo halo is very yummy

+ Santelmo - oki so this is the fire face thingy that Alexandra summons inside the ruined train. This is the shortened version of the term "Apoy ni Santa Elmo" or "St. Elmo's Fire" - this is a weather phenomenon wherein plasma is created from an electrical discharge from a rod like object in an atmospheric electric field. This phenomenon was used to warn of imminent lightning strikes or storms (there is a chapter in Noli Me Tangere where Pilosopo Tasyo talks about that bUT I'LL SAVE THE NOLI ME TANGERE RAMBLES FOR ANOTHER DAY). But according to Philippine folklore, santelmos - which are said to be souls of people lost as sea - are balls of fire that appear where accidents or big arguments happen. In Trese, santelmos (alex's santelmo being "The Great Spirit of the Binondo Fire") can be called to assist in supernatural investigations

+ Translation of what Alex says when she draws the circles to meet with the purple ghosts: "Souls, where are you off to? I'll be entering too, so please open the door."

+ Remember the scene at the train with all the purple ghosts and the woman in a veil? Yea the woman is an emissary of a goddess named Ibu and she is the Manobo (again, another indigenous ethnic group but this time they're from Mindanao; fun fact we have around 134 ethnic groups) goddess of deceased mortals and the queen of the underworld; she also serves as a psychopomp and guides the newly deceased souls to the other side (having an MRT be the ride to the underworld isn’t in the legends tho so fkkjsf)

+ The aswang in the top hat is called Xa Mul and according to the Isneg/Apayao people (yay another ethnic group but this time in northern Luzon - the Cordillera regions to be specific), they are an evil spirit known to swallow people whole.

+ Alex has two henchmen right? Yea they are named Crispin and Basillio and No I still don’t know who’s who and I'm really sorry about that fsfjs so anyways the names Crispin and Basillio are actually those of two brothers featured in the Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo novels (Crispin is younger and Basilio is older) which are basically the national novels here cause um yea written by national hero Jose Rizal as sociopolitical commentary about the Spanish regime here. I don't know if I want to spoil this cause I kinda want other people to read the novel too fskfs BUT ALL IN ALL, ONE OF THEM DIES IN LIKE THE 10TH OR 11TH CHAPTER OF NOLI ME TANGERE (and the novel has 64 chapters btw) AND UM YEA-

+ OKI SO TO ADD MORE CONTEXT TO THE SQUATTER STUFFS MENTIONED IN TRESE (we r gonna use the tiny font here because holy shit this rant is long): So,in the Philippines, especially in the capital region, there are lots of slum areas called squatters. These are dense urban settlements made of compact makeshift housing units that aren't really officially recognized by the government. This is um very reflective of the poverty situation here and there are maaany factors that come into play here and if i were to go into depth about this topic, that rant would probably turn into an academic paper so for the sake of brevity, let's just say that Things Are Fucked Up Here. Oftentimes the poorer sectors are being ignored and left to their own devices despite tons of campaign promises to make things better and easier for them. The communities that live here are incredibly vulnerable to floods, fires, and the like and afaik no concrete solutions have been in effect to protect these people and their settlements. There have also been many times where squatter areas are dismantled or demolished despite protests of people living in those areas and yea I understand the need to make space and the need for renovation but the people should still be offered some sort of temporary settlement or financial compensation thingy that doESN'T fuck them over but alas, we have an anti-poor government. That being said, I really like Trese Ep 1's portrayal of governmental negligence, but I also have some thoughts, especially in regards to the mayor being arrested THAT FAST which um believe me, NEVER FUCKING HAPPENS BECAUSE MANY MAYORS AND A LOT OF POLITICIANS HAVE THE POLICE IN THEIR POCKETS SO UM ERR YEA JUSTICE IS RARELY A THING HERE BUT UM ANYWAYS YEA THE GOVERNMENT LIKES TO SHIT ON THE POOR WOO LET'S SAVE THE USE OF SOCIOLOGICAL LENS ON THIS MATTER FOR ANOTHER DAY

+ The news channel reporting the arrest of the mayor is ABC-ZNN WHICH IS AN OBVIOUS REFERENCE TO ABSCBN aka the top media conglomerate here (that has been fucked over by the government so many times to the point that they had to shut down operations last year which is all sorts of unfair so seeing them being referenced here kinda made me happy gksfks)

[akocomyk]

Twenty-eight books read in 2019.  Sixteen longlisted books.  One person who wastes his time writing sh*t as if they really matter.

Here it is.  The best books I read in the past year.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

The unfortunate books that I had to let go since I only had ten spots to fill.

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green (2017)

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie (1934)

History Is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera (2017)

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie (1926)

Bird by Bird by Anne Lammott (1994)

The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith (2014)

*Ratings range from 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest

━━━━ ☆ ━━━━

10th Place

56 by Bob Ong (2018)

Rating: 4.300

Bob Ong makes a comeback on my list with his latest novel.  His other book, Si, ranked 10th last 2015.  This is the second time a Filipino book enters the list and is also the second nonfiction book ever—after Into the Wild last 2016.

In his latest release, Ong returns to the writing style that made him famous— reminiscent of his earlier books like ABNKKBSNPLAko.  56 is like a 300-page commentary or editorial about the issues of the present Filipino generation.

Other readers have found the book a little too preachy.  I find it enlightening as it serves as a wake-up call to the Filipinos who are turning their blindsides to the harsh realities of our nation.

━━━━ ☆ ━━━━

9th Place

Mga Kirot ng Kapalaran (Kikomachine Komix blg. 11) by Manix Abrera (2015)

Rating: 4.445

This is a long-overdue recognition to my favorite comic strip artist (Fun Fact: I met him quite a few times already).  For many years, I've ignored the chance to even put his works in the list of contenders.  I'm not throwing it away again.  Now, I have my first book to enter the top 10 classified under comics and graphic novels.

In this collection of strips by Manix Abrera, his work remains as humorous and as satirically laughable as the first time I saw his comic. Themes have changed to reflect the new trends and issues of our present society.

For as long as Manix draws and publishes his work, I will continue to read them as I know he gives an intellectual yet amusing input to our society's problems.

━━━━ ☆ ━━━━

8th Place

Mga Batang Poz by Segundo Matias, Jr. (2018)

Rating: 4.450

“Beautiful and relevant, but not flawless,” this is what I said on my review for this YA novel.

Mga Batang Poz is the third Filipino book on this list.  Having three books on the list is a first.  Furthermore, this is also the first time in four years that a Filipino book enters the list.

As previously mentioned, I have certain problems with regard to the overarching narrative of the novel.  I wish that Matias could’ve written something more elaborate or something that doesn’t feel forced.

Nevertheless, the book accomplishes its goal of being a story that advocates HIV awareness, especially towards the youth.

━━━━ ☆ ━━━━

7th Place

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate (2012)

Rating: 4.485

In this book, you'll see both the cruelty and the compassion of humanity through the eyes of a gorilla named Ivan who is the narrator of the story.

Ivan is based on a real-life gorilla who was being used as a live animal attraction in Zoo Atlanta.

It is quite obvious that the book is meant for a younger audience, but despite this, I know anyone of any age will be able to appreciate it.  Ivan is a gorilla after all, and I think the simplicity of how it was written suits his character, making the tone of the story more natural.

Overall, it was very touching.  Although it mirrors pretty much what happened to the real-life Ivan, it efficiently delivers its message for animal welfare.

━━━━ ☆ ━━━━

6th Place

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie (1939)

Rating: 4.525

This is a mystery novel filled with suspense and everything that'll make you love and hate it at the same time.  The horror it gives chills you to the bone for every page you turn.

Agatha Christie is insane—and I mean that in a good way.  The plot was so well-thought out that even when nearing at the end, I had no clue who the culprit was.  When it was revealed to me, I was like, “Yeah.  That makes absolute f*cking sense.”

For a book that has ten major characters, it does well in handling them.  You know when a piece of literature is brilliantly made when even if its length isn’t considerably long, it doesn’t sacrifice the characters’ backgrounds and the narrative of the story.

Despite the novel’s inhumane and despicable acts, it also addresses issues about criminal injustices that are still prevalent today.  In our country alone, criminals—corrupt officials, master drug dealers, rapists, murderers—are still roaming around the streets, evading the consequences of their actions.   At times when the law is not enforced properly, people resort to their own type of justice.

━━━━ ☆ ━━━━

5th Place

Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram (2018)

Rating: 4.590

In this debut novel by Adib Khorram, the titular character Darius suffers from clinical depression.  Also, he's a Star Trek and Lord of the Rings fan.

This book demonstrates the fact that real depression is not simply cured by positive reinforcement and bible verses—as what most overly religious people think.

The novel highlights Darius' relationship with the other characters—most especially with Sohrab.  It shows how he copes up with them while he struggles with his mental disorder.

There are also subtle hints of homosexuality, which added to the overall tension of the story since the main characters are Muslims.  It wasn't blatant but it was obviously present—in the right and necessary amount.

To me, this is a spiritual brother of Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz—one of my favorite books.  It gave me the same feeling of awe, beautiful pain, and joyful nostalgia. There were parts that broke my heart—I was ugly crying while riding a bus—and by the end, I was a complete mess, although I'm utterly happy.

━━━━ ☆ ━━━━

4th Place

Moonrise by Sarah Crossan (2017)

Rating: 4.595

What I love most about this book is how it was written.  Instead of being in paragraphs, it was written in verses—like poetry.  I thought it was creative and oddly fitting for the story.

Even though there are more blank spaces on the pages than letters, those words are enough to draw me into the story.

The novel is about Ed whose brother was up on death row.  I found myself rooting for him, and I was hoping similarly to how he was hoping in the story.  When the end came, I couldn't help myself from closing my eyes.

The narrative was fairly simple, it matches the way it was written.  The characters—although few and also written with the utmost simplicity—feel so human and are not flat, cardboard cutouts.

In the light of all the flawed justice systems and abuses of law enforcers not just in America but everywhere else in the world, it's good to find a book that's bold enough to address such issues and an author who's brave enough to write them.

Lots of murderers are on the loose, yet there are innocent people being slaughtered for crimes they didn't commit.

━━━━ ☆ ━━━━

3rd Place

On the Come Up by Angie Thomas (2018)

Rating: 4.605

Just when you thought Angie Thomas couldn't write anything as good as The Hate U Give (THUG), she gives us this.  If it's not better, then it sure is as brilliant as her debut novel.

This is Thomas' second consecutive year in my list, with THUG bagging the top plum last year.

The novel is proof of Thomas’s writing prowess.  It successfully immersed me into the life of her protagonist, a life filled with hope, angst, and ambition.  And the dialogue… Especially the rap battles.  They were amazing.  Seeing as Thomas herself was a rapper, you can feel the ingenuity in her words.

Moreso, this is one book that we really need in our present times.  It reflects all of my sentiments regarding social media and how it can make or break a person.  And how much the oppressed and marginalized communities lack representation, and how they are still subject to much prejudice.

━━━━ ☆ ━━━━

2nd Place

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (2007)

Rating: 4.680

This beautiful novel demonstrates the horror of domestic violence towards women.  It also provides a glimpse of the people and culture of Afghanistan during the times of war.

I'm in love with how Khaled Hosseini's characters flesh out from the pages.  You'd love them.  You'd care for them.  Their agony becomes yours.  Their pain drips out from the corners of the books as your tears trail down your cheeks.

And on their sweet, small victories, you'd give a sigh of relief as the anxiety is slowly drained from your body.

In the two years that I've read a book by Hosseini, it didn't fail to shatter my heart. The Kite Runner ranked first in my 2017 list, and now this. If ever get to read another one of his books, I've no doubt it will also be a contender for that year's list.

━━━━ ☆ ━━━━

1st Place

Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman (2018)

Rating: 4.765

This book is also up on my shelf for the best sequels ever—be it for any medium.

I read this earlier this year and it remained unbeatable until 2019 ended.

This is the second book in Neal Shusterman's Arc of a Scythe trilogy, the sequel to Scythe—which placed 3rd in my 2017 list.

Growth and expansion. These are the things I love about the sequel.  Ronan and Citra, the two main protagonists of the trilogy, are older, wiser, and better people, despite the fact that they're teenagers.  You can feel their struggles with their respective endeavors.

Also, the universe is bigger.  The Arc of Scythe novels feature a world where death does not exist and everyone is biologically immortal.  In order to balance the earth’s population, there are these so-called Scythes whose life-long job is to assassinate anyone they choose.

In this sequel, you get to know more about the mechanisms of their world.  There’s a new main character, Grayson, who takes you deeper and gives you a view of what it's like to live as a normal human.

The book deals with the adverse effects of the ways power-hungry people want to achieve their ambitions.

But that's not why I went gaga after reading the book.

IT.  WAS.  EPIC.  The plot twists within the plot twists.  The narrative.  And the ending.  My god, that ending.  I COULD HEAR MY SILENT SCREAMS.  After the last page, the only thing I thought of was, "GIVE ME THE THIRD BOOK RIGHT NOW!"

Thunderhead isn’t flawless, but it’s a very fine piece of literature that I recommend to anyone who loves to read.

• • • • •

I hope I won't regret putting Thunderhead in first place after a few years.  I regret giving the top spot to I'll Give You the Sun last 2016.  After pondering about the books I've read in the past years, I've found that Anthony Doerr's All the Light We Cannot See is one remarkable and memorable book, and the one I should've given the highest honors.

Books with relevant themes dominated my shelf but the book that won my heart was the one with intricate plots and a phenomenal ending.  It feels weird but I hope for the best.

Happy New Year, everyone!

[bloomingtonsolidaritynetwor-blog]

Who Will Survive in America?

CW: Racism, Gaslighting, Police Brutality

The following is a testimonial by a former IU student who requested that BSN help share his story. As the reader will learn, Daven Patton has been the recipient of extreme discrimination, intimidation, harassment, and gaslighting. His story helps to demonstrate the lived reality of oppressed people in Bloomington and the U.S. more broadly. Bloomington and Indiana University are not immune to the racism and classism engrained in the very fabric of our society despite what local leaders and revisionist historians might lead us to believe. These issues have always been here and the rapid development and speculation in the housing market has only led to an increased militarized police presence designed to secure the gap between the wealthy and the poor and oppressed. Please read, share, and discuss Daven’s story so that we can begin to build a counter-narrative to the rosy picture of the idyllic liberal town that is sold to attract investors while the stories of people’s suffering and resistance are lost or forgotten. Please also consider reaching out to BSN to find out how you can help support Daven

March 3, 2016, my junior year of college at Indiana University, I left a box outside of the Student Center building with a tongue-in-cheek note attached: “Call the bomb squad, because this shit is mind blowing,” along with a reference to the Kanye West song “Who Will Survive in America?” scribbled on the outside. My only hope was that someone would curiously open it and be inspired in the same way I was. The box was filled with books. My intent was not a hoax, a replica, or a prank; it was simply a box of books. Little did I know Student Center employees would soon report the box to authorities as a “suspicious package”, and later that night, guns drawn and in full tactical gear, my house would be raided by IU Police. By the end of the day, I had been accused of inciting “terroristic mischief” because of a box of library books.

I remember clearly the night my room was stormed by IUPD. I had gone to a Lil Wayne concert at assembly hall wearing my brand new “Yeezy 2020” shirt; I had completely forgot about the books. I had no idea that the IUPD had called in the IED disposal unit from the Indiana State Police department for the “suspicious package”; no one at the concert knew, either. The school didn’t think the box was a threat and didn’t send out a safety alert. I left an old I.D in the box in case someone wanted to return the books to me. On the shuttle ride back home from  Assembly Hall to Linden Hall no one was talking about a “suspicious package” or “terroristic mischief” on campus; they were talking about how good the concert was. The Student Center is right across the street from my apartment, and there was no way to tell that the I.E.D disposal unit was there that night. When I made it back to my apartment, I played Fallout 4 for a couple of hours and then took a shower to get ready to go to bed. While I was still drying off I suddenly heard yelling in my apartment hallway. It was the IUPD. I walked out of my room naked with my hands up to see a squad of all white, aggressive officers pointing rifles at me and screaming. My roommates also had guns pointed at them and were lead out into the hallway at gunpoint by the IUPD. Still naked, I surrendered peacefully. The IUPD double-cuffed me and sat me in my kitchen. They wouldn’t even allow me to get dressed.

Handcuffed and nude in my kitchen, I asked them why they were there. They said to search my apartment. I then asked to see the search and arrest warrant. The officers hesitated at first, but then put a copy on the table and I quickly picked it up. Once I saw what was on the search warrant I realized what was going on. I saw that they were looking for my “Yeezy 2020” shirt (I found out later in the police report they described Kanye West, 21-time Grammy winning hip hop artist, as a stereotypical ”heavy set black man”), some more clothes, and strangely a “weapon of mass destruction”. The officers also took a picture of my “Hands up Don’t Shoot” calendar I had got from a protest in Ferguson which they described as “evidence”. I also had a newspaper taped to my window which I got from the same Ferguson protest that said “Who Killed Sandra Bland?* This GODDAM System! We Need REVOLUTION—NOTHING LESS” which you could see from the street if you walked past my apartment.

The IUPD used the search warrant as an excuse to rummage through me and my roommate’s apartment. The IUPD took miscellaneous items from my room like tape, my balaclava, some bucket hats, and a small, novelty pocket book I got from Urban Outfitters called Insults and Comebacks. I jokingly told them that if they search hard enough they might also find some anthrax. The IUPD also confiscated some prescription Ibuprofen(Tylenol) from one of my roommates(because it was his girlfriend’s) and a small amount of marijuana from another roommate of mine. He wasn’t home at the time but the IUPD cited him later. Most of the items the IUPD took were not on the search warrant.

One of the officers finally gave me some boxers to put on and one of my shirts and then took me away. An officer put me in one of the squad cars and then went to go talk to another officer. While I was in the car over the police radio I heard a cop say “You get that n***er yet?”.  

I was already afraid, but when I heard that I began to fear for my life.The arrest already seemed unusual, but now it was obvious it was motivated by racial animus. I know once the police found out I was black from the I.D card I left in the box, they classified the box as a “bomb threat” so that they could arrest me. Unfortunately I wasn’t simply arrested, first the cops took me on a joyride.

First I was taken to the IUPD station, then to the hospital, then to jail. At the IUPD station the officers tried to interrogate me without reading my rights or allowing me to have a lawyer present. As soon as they walked me into the interrogation room I saw a camera and made sure that I clearly stated to the camera that my miranda rights weren’t read. The officers tried to coerce me into talking to them, but instead I started making fun of them. After a while the cops stopped trying to interrogate me and called me a “danger to myself and others” as an excuse to take me to hospital. Before they took me to the hospital they took me outside in the early spring cold and stood me by the squad car in nothing but my boxers while they wore their warm police jackets.

When I was at the hospital they handcuffed me to the hospital bed. There were more officers at the hospital than were at my apartment when I was arrested. There I was given a forced blood draw, and later that night they attempted to inject me with an unknown sedative despite hospital staff saying I was being “intentionally difficult” to the officers.  I refused and started yelling my objection to taking the shot. After they saw concerned people starting to leave their hospital rooms to see what was going on they gave up on the shot. They then took me to Monroe County Jail where I has held all weekend.

When I got out on March 6th I had found out that my face was all over the news saying that I was accused of “terroristic mischief” and that the cops had lied about what the box really said. The cops lied to the media to assassinate my character and to cover up their illegal search and seizure of my apartment. I told the school that the IUPD violated my civil rights, that I wanted video tapes from the incident, and asked the University questions like “Why wasn’t a campus safety alert sent out if the police claimed there to be a ‘bomb threat’?”, “If the police ‘believed’ a weapon of mass destruction was on campus later in the night then why wasn’t Linden Hall evacuated? Why wasn't the IED disposal unit from the Indiana State Police on campus at the time when I was arrested if the police claimed there was a “weapon of mass destruction?”, and “why wasn’t anyone told about the alleged “weapon of mass destruction?”. The school responded by detaining me again and again taking me to the hospital for a 72 hour psychiatric hold because the cops said I was a “threat to myself and others”, but in reality this was an attempt at gaslighting me. and the school used this as a pretext to retaliate against me by summarily suspending me because of my allegations of police misconduct.

I spent the next year fighting the malicious charges of “terroristic mischief” and another retaliatory charge of “intimidation” because I called the Monroe County Courthouse asking for video tapes and accusing the IUPD of violating my 4th amendment rights. All of the charges were meritless and were eventually dropped. I also spent time recovering from the trauma the IUPD caused me, studying political theory, economics, and philosophy, and in November of 2017 I decided to fight back against the school and file a Clery Act Complaint with the Department of Education. The Clery Act is a federal statute enforced by the D.O.E’s Financial Student Aid Office that deals with sexual assault and campus security.  I am alleging multiple violations of the Clery Act. One for not sending out a safety alert for what the IUPD claimed was a “bomb threat,” and another for the IUPD lying about “Weapons of Mass Destruction” to obtain a search warrant and not following protocol. The D.O.E followed up with me in January of 2018 to let me know my complaint was filed and I have been working with the D.O.E ever since. My complaint serves two purposes:

1). Improve Campus Safety

2). Substantiate my allegations of Police Misconduct(Perjury)

In March of 2018 the school retaliated against me as a “whistleblower” under the Clery Act by denying my petition for reinstatement and used the PTSD the University Police caused me as an excuse despite my evidence of police misconduct, me providing a letter from my therapist saying I have recovered from the trauma without them asking, and me improving campus safety by filing a Clery Complaint. I again felt like the University was trying to gaslight me. Because the University used a discriminatory reason to deny my petition for readmission the D.O.E Office of Civil Rights opened an investigation into unlawful discrimination. Little did I know that the University police also started targeting me again around this time because of my accusations of police misconduct and me filing complaints against the school with the D.O.E.

Then in June of 2018 the University again retaliated against me for standing up for my civil rights by again falsely arresting me on bogus and meritless charges of “intimidation”. The University used numerous emails I had sent them about the D.O.E, and various related topics in my reinstatement letter such as the war on terrorism, censorship, state violence, police misconduct, anti-fascism, white supremacy, mental health, black power, and revolutionary socialism as a politically motivated excuse to arrest me for bringing them under investigation. In the e-mails that IU cited, I make it clear I was intentionally sending them inflammatory, radical left wing topics and articles to mock their politically motivated crimes against me. The same e-mails that University officials call “threats” contradict them and prove that there is no wrongdoing on my part.

As a result of these numerous e-mails the University used one e-mai in particular containing a song from Kanye West’s new album as the pretext to arrest me the second time. The song is the first song on Kanye’s new album “I Thought about Killing You”. The song title is the title of the email and with an explicit link to the song in the title. The intent was to make fun of the IUPD for making up “threats”, which the University in turn ironically did. You did not even need to open up the email to see that the title of the email is a song as gmail (University email accounts are powered by google) allows you to see the first part of the email without opening it. The cover art on Kanye’s new album says “I hate being bipolar and its awesome” which I thought was a perfect coincidence, because I am a Kanye West fan, he is open about his “disability”, and the University is currently under investigation for disability discrimination. The e-mails debunk the University’s motivations as further politically motivated harassment and intimidation and prove my innocence. The University is trying to keep the “terroristic mischief” incident secret and censor me so I have decided to make the emails public. I will not back down to political suppression and repression by the school and am well within my constitutional and federally protected rights. I am also a strong believer of openness and transparency. My arrest was retaliatory and I can prove there is direct causation between my D.O.E complaints, my allegations of police misconduct, and my online activism.

You can find the link to the emails here:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ruXAD_jvD2Pi-ZcAuAdydtFqRVjcQxmS

The IUPD tried labeling me a “terrorist” as an excuse to try stripping me of my civil rights and the University’s actions have been unconstitutional starting with police officers committing perjury to accuse me of “terroristic mischief” and then violating my 1st amendment rights for trolling them about the D.O.E investigation. Standing up for your civil rights is not a crime and I will not be silenced by the University. Civil rights activist Julian Bond once said “an American can be black and an American can dissent, but no American had better compound these two crimes” and I unapologetically dissent to the American system built on inequality and systemic racism and am unapologetically black. If the University did not want me to file a Clery Complaint against them then they shouldn’t have classified a box of books as “suspicious package” and as a “bomb threat”; they shouldn’t have lied about a “weapon of mass destruction” in Union Street, and if the University didn’t want to be investigated for unlawful discrimination then the University shouldn’t have violated my civil rights. Indiana University is a public college and has no right to attempt to censor criticism and radical viewpoints. IU is mandated by the federal government to obey federal statutes and antidiscrimination laws like every other institution that accepts federal financial aid funding. The college on one hand pays lip service to “inclusion”, “tolerance”, and “diversity” and on the other engages in extreme discrimination and retaliates against victims of police misconduct. The corruption of the University’s administration runs deep and the University’s “progressivism” is nothing more but white supremacy with a smile.  IU’s racism is institutional and systemic. From the covert racism of officials in the administration using discriminatory seemingly neutral policy, practices, and procedures that have a disproportionate adverse effect on members of a protected classes to the overt racism of the overly militaristic state violence of the IUPD. I will not let the University and University officials intimidate me and stop me from exercising my constitutional and federally protected rights and I cannot, as a man of good conscience, be afraid to speak up or back down from the oppression and malice displayed by the University and the IUPD.

“If, in the present chaotic and shameful struggle for existence, when organized society offers a premium on greed, cruelty, and deceit, men can be found who stand aloof and almost alone in their determination to work for good” - Lucy Parsons

I am asking other people of moral and good conscience aid me and show solidarity with me in not only my personal struggle but also the collective struggle against classism,racism, and all other forms of discrimination.

-t