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noladyme · 4 years ago

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La Cuervo - Epilogue

We’ve come to the end of the story of Angel and Nina. Thank you to everyone who commented, reblogged and liked. Every one of you inspired me to keep writing. Thank you for reading.

She is used to the biker-life, having grown into a woman in the familiar embrace of SAMCRO. A bad decision and a gun-shot later, she gets whisked off to Santo Padre, and put under the protection of another club. What is supposed to be a short stint in the Mayan headquarters just north of the border to Mexico, turns into something more; when la quervo begins to develop feelings for el angel - and he seems to return them in kind...

TW: violence, blood, drug use, alcohol, smut, fluff, angst

In the spirit of "The Crown Princess of Charming", this is a story about O.C. Nina and Angel Reyes. It is obviously non-canon, as characters who have passed on, on Mayans M.C., are present in it, and others have been excluded completely. Nina is written as a cis-female, but I have tried to keep her race and looks as ambiguous as possible. Should you find any of this story offensive, please let me know.

Epilogue.

It was an especially cloudy day for a bike-ride. He looked up at the sky, and prayed to his mother it wouldn’t rain. It was already too cold for short sleeves, and he regretted not having listened when he’d been told to put on a hoodie under his cut that morning. The precious cargo behind him shifted in her seat. The bump pressed against his back was restless as well, he felt; from the tiny kicks he was receiving to his kidneys. “You alright?”, Angel called over his shoulder. “Yeah… she’s just antsy…”, Nina replied. “We’re almost there”, he smiled. “Good. I gotta pee”. “Shit. Again?”. “Blame your daughter”, she chuckled. “Be nice to your mama, chiquita!”, Angel chuckled, addressing the cantaloupe-sized treasure in his amor’s belly.

Charming was a nice place. He could understand why Nina loved it there, but the stares their caravan was getting made him uncomfortable. The people in the small town looked at him and his brother’s as if they were gods – which in and of itself he didn’t mind – but it was a lot different than what he was used to from Santo Padre, where the Mayans were accepted and even feared; but not looked to as saviors and protectors, as the Sons of Anarchy were in Charming. His discomfort came from realizing that he’d like to be viewed as the Sons were here, back home. Becoming a Mayan had originally been about the pussy and the bikes; but lately, he felt the need to make a difference to the people in his community. Help the people who needed it; like the undocumented immigrants and the people trying to cross the border for a better life. Nina was doing what she could for those the club had gotten over so far, but it was still something they needed to keep quiet about – especially if he wanted to avoid seeing his daughter grow up from behind a plexiglass window.

They drove up to what looked like a warehouse-building; but he knew was the home of CaraCara. Pulling up next to EZ’s bike, he smiled as his brother gave Nina a hand to get off his own. “Centre of gravity seems a bit off, hermanita”, EZ chuckled. “Screw you… And move! I gotta pee…”, she sneered, and sprang for the nearest door of the warehouse. The brand-new Mayan patch moved up and down on EZ’s back, as he laughed; watching her run. Angel smiled at the sight, before patting his brother’s shoulder. “My kids got some kick”, he said. “Reina del baile, huh?”, EZ smiled. “You’re gonna have to keep an eye on her when she’s older”. “She ain’t going out dancing until she’s as old as pap’”, Angel declared. “Yo! Are you two gonna keep staring at the pregnant lady run; or are you gonna come inside?”, Bishop called after them. The two of them grinned, and followed their patch-brothers inside the large building.

They were greeted by Chibs, Happy and Tig; the latter having to tear himself away from a strikingly tall woman, to come welcome them. The woman stayed by the bar in the large room, talking quietly with a pretty blonde woman behind it. Once the initial back and forth between the presidents were over, Chibs turned to Angel, and pulled him in for a friendly half-hug. “Did you forget someone in San Pad?”, the SAMCRO president asked. “Nah, man. She’s going to the bathroom every 45 minutes”, Angel chuckled. “Filip!”, Nina called out from behind them, and Angel turned around to watch her make a waddling run over to her Charming brothers. Once they’d all embraced, Happy looked down at Nina’s belly. “You did this?”, he asked Angel. “So she tells me”, Angel grinned. Nina punched his shoulder, making him have to take a few steps back. Getting knocked up had oddly enough made her even stronger than usual. “You knew I was pregnant”, she said. “Yeah, but…”. Chibs blew out a deep breath. “You’re huge, luv’!”. “I’m not that big…”, Nina whimpered. Angel walked up behind her, and kissed her temple. “You’re beautiful, mami”, he smiled, before looking to the Sons. “You told me to get her to quit smoking”, he grinned, and rubbed his hand protectively over Nina’s bump. “Yeah, but it seems like you took an alternative approach to that, man”, Tig chuckled.

Nina was shifting on her feet. “You gotta pee again?”, Angel asked. “No… Just gotta sit down. My feet are killing me”. He led her over to sit on the couch that looked the least like it had been used as a prop, in one of the movies produced by CaraCara. The tall woman and the blonde came over to greet Nina, and the three of them hugged each other tightly; with both of the other women stroking Nina’s belly, and cooing at it. “I’m Venus”, the tall woman said, and reached out her hand to him. “And I’m guessing you’re Angel… That’s a lovely name”. “Stop flirting with my old man”, Nina grinned. “You got your own!”. “I sure do!”, Venus said, and held out her hand; proudly displaying an engagement ring. “Oh my god!”, Nina exclaimed. “Congrats!”. She hugged Venus tightly again. “I’m Lyla”, the blonde said, and smiled at Angel. “Nice to meet you”, he replied.

Angel let the three women catch up, and walked over to talk to the other men. “The estrogen-level is through the roof in here!”, Creeper grinned. “That’s just the smell of cheap perfume and artificial sperm”, Chibs said. “Artificial?”, Gilly said. “You’d be surprised how many porn-actors find it hard to produce actual cum, after 13 takes; no matter how hot the actress”, Happy laughed. “I don’t think I’d find it that hard”, Coco smirked. The door opened, and a sea of beautiful women entered the warehouse. “Feel free to give it a shot”, Tig said to the wide-eyed Mayan.

“I thought this was supposed to be a business-meeting. Not a party”, Taza said. “Who says we can’t mix the two?”, Chibs said. “But you’re right. We should get to it”. Tig turned towards the three women on the couch. “Muffin, it’s time!”, he called out. Nina frowned, but let herself be pulled to her feet by the two others. Angel sprang over to take her arm. “Are you ok, cuervo?”, he muttered. “Yeah. Let’s just get this over with”, Nina sighed.

---

“Thanks for coming all the way up here”, Chibs said from the head of the table, in the smaller room, connected to the studio. “Thank you for agreeing not to do it at your clubhouse”, Bishop said. “This one’s getting too heavy to get up the stairs behind the ice-cream shop”. He nodded towards Nina. “Go fuck yourself, Bish’”, she grunted from next to Angel. Bishop sent her a warm smile, before meeting Angel’s eyes. They both knew he wasn’t wrong. Nina had trouble even getting out of bed at this point; which Angel didn’t mind. Pregnancy sex had been even hotter than he’d imagined. “Nina’s twelve months are over. We think it’s time to discuss what happens from here on out”, Chibs said. Angel shifted in his seat, and cleared his throat. “I think it’s obvious what’s gonna happen”, he said. “She’s staying in San Pad”. He put his hand on Nina’s bump, and stroked it. “Charming is her home”, Happy said. “She’s still SAMCRO family”. “She’s Mayan family too… And she’s got my family growing in her”, Angel growled. “We need niña down south”, Coco said. “She’s the only one of the girls back home who knows how to make a proper whiskey-sour”, Riz shrugged. “What about her life here? Her friends, her job at the shop?”, Tig said.

“What about we ask Nina what she wants?”, Nina exclaimed with a huff. “I’m not property…”. Chibs and Bishop looked solemnly at each other for a long moment, before both of them broke into large grins. “We’re just fucking with you, mija!”, Bishop said. All the Mayans and Sons broke out in laughter, and Angel had to chew his lips to stop. “We didn’t come up here to talk about you coming back, ma’”, he said. Nina scowled deeply at him; giving him that cute look that made him both cringe from the promise of being chewed out later on, and simultaneously made him want to rip off her clothes, and screw her brains out. Nina was hot when she was angry. “Then, why?”, she growled.

Angel turned in his seat, and helped Nina turn in hers; with a firm hold of her hips. “I can’t marry you, without permission from your brothers… All of them”, he said. Nina’s eyes widened. “You… what?”. “You got my kid in there. And I love you”, Angel said, and laid a hand on her belly. “I wanna marry you… If you’re good with that”. Nina seemed – for once – speechless. His heart jumped up into his throat. “Nina? Mami, talk to me…”. “I’m… yeah. Uh huh… We can do that”, she squeaked. Angel let out a sigh of relief. “Thank fuck… You had me worried”, he smiled. He saw a tear at the corner of Nina’s eye, and wiped it away quickly.

He put his hand to the back of her head, and pulled her in for a kiss; when someone cleared their throat. “We haven’t agreed yet”, Tig said. “He needs all of our go-aheads”, Hank said. “All of your brothers; remember?”. “We gotta vote on this shit”, EZ smirked. For a short moment, Angel considered smacking his brother across the head, but he decided against it. He needed a unanimous yes, and EZ was actually one of the few patches he was concerned about voting against him. “Then let’s do it”, he said. Chibs raised a brow at him. “You; get out”, he said. “What?”. “Salir de la habitación, amigo”, the SAMCRO president reiterated. Nina shot him a death-glare, and squeezed Angel’s hand. “You said your peace; now let the rest of us decide if we’re gonna agree to this unholy union”. Angel got to his feet and was about to help Nina up. “Not you, sweetheart”, Taza said. “We need your take on this as well”. Angel swallowed thickly, and looked at Nina. She gave him a warm smile, which didn’t reach her eyes, and he had to force his feet to move, to leave the room.

Once outside, Angel closed the door behind him. The large studio space had filled up with hangarounds – male and female – and pornstars he recognized from movies he’d watched in the past. The one’s he’d enjoy these days weren’t CaraCara productions, because Nina didn’t like watching people she knew as friends having sex. Instead, they’d watch the mini-productions they made themselves. Lyla came over to him with a cold beer, and patted his shoulder. “The party’s gonna be pretty PG for now. Wendy’s coming in with the boys for a few hours”, she said. “After that, I can’t promise there won’t be full frontal nudity”. Angel chuckled. “I didn’t know her nephews were coming”, he said. “It was a surprise. They haven’t been back in Charming since…”. Lyla cut herself off, and seemed to be suppressing a bad memory. “Nina’s brother… Jackson. He was a good guy, huh?”. “The best… And he loved her”, Lyla said. “If it wasn’t for the fact that they didn’t look alike, you’d never guess they weren’t blood-related”. “They were alike?”. “Uh huh”, Lyla nodded fervently. “Like two peas in a pod. And she was as protective of him as he was of her”.

A dirty-blonde woman came in to the warehouse, with two boys in tow. The youngest had dark hair, while his brother was blonde. The blonde boy – in his pre-teens – ran over to Venus, and sprang into her arms; clearly enjoying resting his head against her ample breasts. The brown-haired boy – about 7 or 8 years old – clung to who Angel figured was Wendy. She shot Venus a smile, and walked over to Lyla. “This him, then?”, Wendy asked, and gave Angel a once over. “Yup”, Lyla said. “Angel, this is Wendy; and the cutie-pie down here…”. She crouched down, and ruffled the boy’s hair. “This is Thomas. Jackson’s youngest”. “Casanova over there is Abel”, Wendy grinned. Abel stood as wide-eyed as Coco had, at the sight of the beautiful women surrounding him. “And I’m Wendy”. “Good to meet you”, Angel said. He stuck out his hand to Thomas. “Hey, man. I’m Angel”. “Are you the one who knocked up my aunt Nina?”, Thomas asked. Angel was taken aback at the kid’s bluntness. “I… Yeah”, he said. Thomas narrowed his eyes at him. “Are you gonna marry her? My dad married my other mom after I was born. You’re supposed to marry someone if you get them pregnant”. “I’m planning to”, Angel said. “If you’ll let me”. “I’ll think about it”, Thomas said.

Both Wendy and Lyla laughed, and then gave each other a warm hug. “If you wanna surprise her, you should probably go into my office”, Lyla said. “She’ll be out in a few”. Abel looked at the people in the room. “I wanna stay out here”, he declared; as fascinated as his brother was at all the women. “You’re just like your dad”, Wendy sighed. “Go on, Tommy. I got movies in there for you”, Lyla said, before looking at Wendy. “Disney”, she added. Wendy smiled, and dragged Thomas away. She nabbed Abel out of the lap of a scantily clad brunette; and the three of them went into a back office, in the corner of the building.

Angel looked at the door to where the meeting regarding the future of his family was being held behind, and felt his nerves starting to get to him. They’d taken too long already; the vote shouldn’t be that difficult. He took out his pack of smokes, and was about to light up, when Lyla put a hand on his lower arm. “Please go outside for that. I’m trying to keep the studio smoke-free”. “Yeah, sure… Sorry”, Angel muttered, and hurried towards the exit.

Once outside he began pacing back and forth. One cigarette turned in to two, which then turned in to three; and still no one had come to tell him what the decision of the clubs was. He was about to say fuck it, and stomped out his smoke, to walk back inside, and demand an answer; when Nina came outside. She walked over to him with a solemn expression on her face; and in that moment, Angel’s heart broke. “I’m sorry…”, she said. Angel felt rage building in him. Here was his endgame – the one woman he would ever be able to fully give himself to, and the mother of his child – and he couldn’t have her, because of a bunch of fucking bikers. He grabbed Nina’s hand, and tried pulling her towards his bike. “Fuck this shit. We’re out of here. We’ll go north… Like Canada, or something. I’ll marry you there… I ain’t letting them…”. Nina stayed in place, unmoving. “No, Angel… I’m sorry… I know your pap’ would expect me to; but I can’t wear white… It wouldn’t feel right”.

Angel’s jaw dropped, and he looked at Nina with wide eyes. “They said yes?”, he croaked. “Yes…”, Nina said below her breath. “I mean, Happy wanted our first-born as payment; but I told him to shove it”. Angel cupped her face, and stared deep into her eyes, looking for any sign of deceit; finding none. “We’re gonna get married?”, he said. Nina nodded. “We’re gonna get married, mami!”. he threw his arms around her waist, and lifted her up, spinning her around. “Careful!”, Nina giggled. He set her back on the ground, and pulled her in for a deep kiss; feeling like life itself came from the taste of her mouth. “I love you, cuervo”. Tears streamed down his cheeks. “Te amo, so… fucking… much!”, he said, leaving kisses on Nina’s lips between each word. “I love you too”, she smiled.

Angel remembered something, and grabbed for the item in his pocket, he’d been keeping there, since his pap’ had given it to him a few days earlier. “Here”, he said, and held out the ring. “This was my mam’s”. Nina took the ring from him, and smiled. “Thank you…”, she said. She held it to her finger, before looking up at him. “Wait, did you wanna…? Or should I just…?”. Angel took her hand in his, and together, they put the ring on her left ring-finger. He pressed another deep kiss to her lips, and then got on his knees; putting his hands on either side of her belly. “I love you, chiquita. You’re the best thing to happen to me since your mama”. He kissed Nina’s tummy, just above her navel, and turned his ear against it, listening to the other love of his life moving around in there.

“Are you two finished?”, Chibs called from the doorway. “Someone’s come to see you, little sister”. Nina frowned in confusion, and Angel smiled brightly; getting to his feet again. He led her in front of her, with his hands on her hips. “Try not to give birth right this moment, mama”, he whispered in her ear, when Lyla opened the door to the office, and Abel and Thomas came out. “Oh… Oh, my god!”, Nina cried out, and ran as fast as she could over to her two nephews. She kissed both of their foreheads, and each boy wiped off the kisses in childish disgust, while she hugged them. “You’re so big!”, Nina croaked, before turning to Wendy, and hugging her. Angel looked on with a full heart, as both of the boys took turns touching her belly.

EZ came up next to him, and patted his back. “Congratulations, Angel”, he said. Angel turned, and gave his brother a warm hug. “Thanks, man…”, he said.

---

A little while later, Angel was seated next to his fiancée on the couch. Someone had produced a box of old photographs of club-parties through the ages. Nina was groaning in embarrassment, as Chibs held out a picture of herself and him, where the Son was holding up his fingers in a cross at Nina, who was sporting a large pimple on her forehead. “The Creature of the Black Lagoon!”, Chibs laughed. “Funny…”, Nina smiled sarcastically, and ripped the photo out of his hands. Angel snatched it from her, and put it in his cut pocket. “I’m keeping this, cuervo”. “Why?”, she frowned. “Blackmail… Maybe you’ll stop trying to cook for me”. “Kiss my ass”, she retorted. “Gladly”, Angel said, and kissed her temple.

Nina picked up an envelope full of pictures, and pulled them out, to look through them. “What’s this?”, she said. Angel grabbed the pile of photographs. A grin spread on his face. The telltale patch of the Mayan mask sprang into his eyes, on the back of a biker; who’d turned his face towards the camera. It was Bishop; who was sporting a shorter beard, but a no less intimidating mustache. “Wow, this was years ago…”, he chuckled. “San Bernardino, right?”, he asked Chibs. “Yeah”, the president nodded. Nina studied the pictures, as Angel flipped them. “What’re the Mayans doing there? Weren’t you rivals?”. Looking at the date in the bottom corner of the picture, Angel shook his head. “Nah. This was just after we became allies. I think this was one of my first parties as a prospect. It was like a club-mixer thing, with a couple of charters from each side, meeting up, and getting wasted in the name of peace…”

He flicked through some more pictures, before reaching one with a tall bearded man in a beanie; a goofy looking biker with a mohawk; and a chubby man, with unruly, curly hair. Angel noticed Nina’s face light up in something resembling recognition. “SAMCRO?”, Angel asked. Nina nodded. “Opie, Juice and Bobby”, she said, smiling softly. “You said you were there?”. “Yeah… I think so”. Angel flicked through some more photographs, and pulled a picture out from near the bottom of the pile. He laughed out loud. “Shit, yeah… Look at that dumbass prospect staring at the camera. He don’t know shit yet…”.

A younger version of himself – though not by many years – was pictured with a tray of shots in hand, looking drunk and smiling goofily, while getting ready to serve a group of Mayans and Sons, who were seated at a table, in the middle of a poker-game. Angel looked happy just to be there, and the prospect flash on his chest looked brand new. “Fuck, man… Look at that hair…!”, he chuckled. He looked at Nina again, expecting her to laugh along with him; but saw that her eyes were full of tears. She was staring at a blonde man; who was seated by the table, shooting the camera a relaxed grin, and reaching for one of the glasses on Angel’s tray. “What’s wrong? My hair don’t look that stupid", Angel said, letting Nina take the photograph from his hands. “Mami? Do you know this guy?”. Angel looked down at the picture with wide eyes. “I remember him… Some big deal in SOA, right…?”. “Jax…”, Nina breathed. “This is him…”. “That’s your brother?”, Angel almost gasped. “I can’t believe I actually met the guy". “Do you remember him?”, Nina asked hopefully.

Angel dug through his memories, wanting nothing but to please her with a heartwarming story. “I was pretty wasted…”, he admitted. “But I remember he was talking about his kids…”. Nina nodded solemnly, seemingly sad, that she couldn’t get anything else out of him. He put his arm around her, and kissed her forehead. Chibs reached across the table, and took the picture. He looked down at it and chuckled. “Of course you don’t remember…”, he said. “But I can’t believe I fucking forgot!”. “What?”, Angel asked. “You were driving that piece of shit Suzuki, and thought you’d get away with sitting on Jackson’s Super Glide, for a picture”. The memory began dawning on Angel, and he instantly cringed. “He caught you, and knocked your fucking lights out! Peace was almost off because of that shit…”. Taza, who’d been chatting with Tig, took the picture from Chibs, and smiled down at it; before handing it back to Angel. “Don’t you remember Angel? We put another three months on your year as prospect for that”.

A clear laughter broke through the sound of the music, and the talking crowd. Angel turned and looked at Nina, whose face was contorted in glee. “Jax told me about that! How some no-name prospect rubbed up on his bike”, she said. “I had to put him in his place… I got him a beer when no one was watching, though”. “Yeah…”, Angel said, letting the corners of his lips rise in a slight smile. "I remember now. He seemed like a good guy”. “He was…”, Nina said. Her brows furrowed for a moment, before she met his eyes. “Do you…? I want to go see him”. Angel had to think for a moment, before he realized what she was saying. “Yeah… Of course”, he said. “You wanna go now?”. Nina nodded fervently, but seemingly nervous that he’d say no.

Angel put the picture in his cut pocket, to keep safe; then got to his feet, and pulled Nina up to stand. “Let’s go”, he said. He looked at the others around the table, and gave them a half smile. “I still need one more person’s blessing”.

---

The sun was about to go down, when they made it to the cemetery. Nina was holding on so hard to Angel’s hand, as they walked down the rows of grave-stones, that he was sure she’d leave marks; but he didn’t say anything – strangely nervous at the situation, and needing her support as much as she needed his. Nina smiled at a few grave-stones they passed, with names like Winston, Knowles and Munson. Angel noticed another stone, with the name John Teller engraved on it. He felt the urge to nod respectfully at it, as Nina stopped for a few seconds, to brush some dead leaves from it.

“It’s up here”, she said in a whisper, and pulled him with her, to a large stone with the Sons of Anarchy A, over the name Jackson Nathaniel Teller. Nina kneeled down in front of it, and held her brother’s helmet in her lap. Giving up on the fight on whether she should use it or not long ago, Angel had added some extra padding to it for her; so that it would at least be safer, than it had been before. “Hi, Jax…”, Nina said. “It’s been a while… I’m sorry about that, but I’ve been kinda busy”. She rubbed her belly protectively. “This is Angel”, she said, and looked up at him, with a warm smile. Angel cleared his throat, unsure what to do. “Hi…”, he muttered. “Yeah, I know… But he’s got a cool bike”, Nina chuckled. Angel frowned in confusion, but decided against commenting on her words. “I kept my promise after all. I’m happy. And everyone is safe… At least, as safe as they can be, as outlaw bikers…”.

She sat quietly for a long moment, and Angel kneeled down next to her; putting an arm around her shoulders. He kissed her check, and tasted the salty taste of her tears on his lips. “You ok?”, he whispered. Nina looked at him, and nodded; a smile on her lips. “Happy tears”, she said, and looked back at the stone. “I went back to school. I’m taking classes to become a paralegal… I wanna try to help the undocumented people the Mayans are moving through the tunnels”. “And she is”, Angel cut in. “She’s doing good work with what she knows, already”. Nina smiled embarrassedly for a moment, before continuing. “I’ve had to take a little break though, ‘cuz of the baby… It’s kind of hard to keep up with online classes, when you gotta pee every 45 minutes. But once she’s here, I‘ll be able to go back part time… I think I’ve found my path, and I have someone holding my hand while I walk it. And we’ve got have a large family – ourlarge family – to support us, whatever might get in our way”.

They were quiet for a moment longer; while Nina brushed her fingertips over the helmet in her lap. “I’ll be ok now, Jax. I promise…”. She lifted the helmet, and pressed a kiss to it, before placing it on the ground in front of the gravestone. She looked at Angel, and wiped her eyes. “Let’s go”.

Angel got to his feet, and went behind Nina, to lift her up to stand. Hand in hand, they began walking back towards the parking lot. “Wait a sec…”, Angel said, and halted. “What?”, Nina said. He pressed a short kiss to her lips. “I’ll be right back”.

He walked back to Jackson’s grave. “Thanks, man… For everything”, he said. He kissed his fingers, and pressed them to the stone; before turning around, and walking back towards to his woman, his daughter, and their future together.

The End.

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tags: @cole-winchester @doloreschanal

#angel reyes #angel reyes fic #angel reyes x oc #mayans mc #mayans mc fic #ez reyes #coco cruz #sons of anarchy

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dropintomanga · 4 years ago

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Understanding Yumeko Jabami, Thanks to Mahjong

One of my latest hobbies is about to intersect with a very notable gambling anime/manga series starring a girl who just loves to risk it all.

So I found out that Mahjong Soul, the game/service I play online riichi mahjong on, is doing a collaboration with Kakegurui and my reaction to it is somewhat of a mixed one.

That’s mostly due to what Kakegurui explores versus the ambiguity of mahjong as a gambling game.

For those who don’t know about Kakegurui, it’s a gambling anime/manga series about a young girl named Yumeko Jabami who attends a school, Hyakkaou Private Academy, where the social hierarchy is determined by gambling with your fellow students. The more you win, the more privileges you get in school. The more you lose, the worse your status is. There are multiple “loser” students that are labeled as “household pets” and have to wear a tag around their neck that labels them as such. Yumeko is noted to be a compulsive gambler. She doesn’t care if she wins or loses; she’s in it for the thrill. Yumeko’s behavior draws the attention of the whole school as she takes on various notable opponents in order to get an opportunity to take on the student council president, Kirari Momobami.

There’s a lot of commentary about Kakegurui with regards to Yumeko’s character. She does have a huge gambling addiction, but never truly pays for it in anyway. The series can be also be commentary about the nature of today’s world and how the nature of capitalism has destroyed important familial/peer bonds for the sake of status.

I find the MajSoul x Kakegurui collaboration fascinating because

1.) Gambling is illegal in Japan. There’s literally no casinos there at all. You can beat on sports and horse racing, but if you want to play poker/blackjack, underground casinos are your best bet. And the ones who run them tend to be the yakuza. The Yakuza games highlight underground casinos to a huge degree.

2.) Mahjong has stigma from where the game originated - China. The Chinese government has frowned on people playing mahjong to gamble. While there are mahjong parlors in China, there are many stories of police raiding them and many parlors are run by gangsters. It also doesn’t help that some Chinese folks have had their lives ruined due to mahjong.

3.) Mahjong is very popular in Japan. It’s probably the most popular table game there. However, the game is in this in-between space of being a gambling game while also not being a gambling game. That’s probably a big reason why Japan hasn’t been too fussy about it.

So this collaboration has some kind of tension as many folks don’t know about the dark “gambling” side of mahjong. Kakegurui is a trip to that dark side. No real money is bet in MajSoul anyway, but I’ve been thinking about the series after getting caught up with the manga.

There’s a scene where Yumeko and one of her rivals-turned-ally, Mary Saotome, face off in a game of Rock-Paper-Scissors Poker. Mary was the 1st opponent Yumeko fought and she lost her place in the school. Over time, Mary built up the resolve to challenge Yumeko again while becoming more friendlier. During their game, Mary manages to win a hand against Yumeko. Yumeko admits that she was scared during the hand, but at the same time, she’s having A LOT of fun.

Mary remarks about her comments:

“Oh. The way Yumeko sees it...fear is part of the fun of gambling. This is so ridiculous. “Fear is part of the fun of gambling”? It makes no sense. And yet, I’m starting to feel it right now.

Getting afraid, bluffing, going in fully confident...our feelings are exposed in every move we make, and we respond to them and then...the showdown! Our true emotions are revealed.

We’re having the kind of conversation we can only enjoy when we’re gambling.

It’s like we’re in our own little world...sharing secrets with each other.”

Yumeko isn’t a hero. Gamblers usually aren’t noble characters, but they have this tendency to inspire other people to embrace their vulnerabilities and move forward while doing so. Fear is real, but it closes off the real you. Yumeko wants the people around her to truly be themselves and take the kinds of risks that can change their lives for the better in so many ways.

There was an article I once read about how most work is BS and one of the things that was mentioned was that what’s considered work today doesn’t solve social problems. For example, many people will argue that rampant consumerism has destroyed the world. The writer said something along the lines of that it’s not pleasure that’s a problem; it’s the view that people have to suffer in order to deserve pleasure. That view feels like Puritanism because it absolves those with power of their responsibility in letting social problems happen in the first place.

Kakegurui is a celebration of that pleasure in a way that generates real change. The freedom to have whatever desire you want. And in turn, that freedom spreads to other people in good ways. In some ways, mahjong is about the right kind of pleasure and learning how to deal with it amongst other people. It’s competitive, sure, but you’re being intimate with 3 other people and are learning more about yourself and those around you.

I don’t really gamble much, but mahjong just grew on me. While I’ve managed to do well, I have lost many times and have deliberated on many in-game decisions. I realize that the game is a safe outlet in learning how to deal with life’s many decisions. You don’t win all the time. There’s also benefits in letting other people win as well. For example, if you’re in 1st place by a lot and the player in 2nd place is chasing you, you can help the 3rd and 4th place holders by discarding tiles that you don’t need and they need. Make them take on 2nd place or each other. Hell, you can even lose to them if you know you won’t lose 1st place at all and they don’t have super-strong hands. Mahjong is a game that connects everyone and really gets going when all the parts (i.e. the players) move together.

There’s a wonderful interview I read last year from a psychology journalist turned pro poker player, Maria Konnikova, about being unable to control things in life and how poker taught her how to stay calm despite bad luck. Maria talks about the beauty of not knowing and embracing that view.

“Look at how many things there are to amaze us, to fascinate us. Look at the power of wonder, embrace it, and don’t be afraid there are things we don’t know. Don’t be afraid of uncertainty, be grateful for it. Would you want to live in a world where you knew everything and where everything was determined?

He (Carl Sagan) hated superstition, as do I. Don’t take the easy way out. Don’t give up agency. Don’t have these stupid rituals. Science is beautiful. Lack of knowing is beautiful. All of these things we can’t control are beautiful. They’re powerful. They make us human. They make life worth living.“

We all make kinds of gambles in life when it comes to choosing the right partner/school/job opportunity. There tends to be a lot of pain, but there’s almost always something good that comes out of taking the right kinds of risk. I’m learning more about that through mahjong. To be honest, I don’t think I’ll ever get super-competitive in mahjong because it’s a lifetime to master. But it’s a safe outlet to process my fears of uncertainty. My mom has been a big help in telling me that it’s okay to lose and give up when needed. There has to be rainy days as well as sunny days, right? The “win at all costs” mentality causes so much harm to people and those around them.

While I know Yumeko is criticized to be a sexualized female character, Yumeko isn’t afraid to display her lust for gambling with a sense of pride. In my opinion, she represents female empowerment. There’s so many women who are slut-shamed for being sexually expressive. What bigots fear are people unafraid to express themselves and won’t let themselves be shamed for it. Yumeko is the kind of heroine whose story needs to be out there - potentially destructive and able to harness it for self-empowerment without it getting out of hand.

So, I’ll go pseudo-Yumeko and say - Gamble away responsibly to your heart’s content~! Share your love with fellow gamblers! Have fun! Make that fun destroy those insecurities awful people have placed upon you! (insert wicked grin)

#Kakegurui #manga #anime #Mahjong Soul #psychology of gambling #pleasure #luck

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mithliya · 3 years ago

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Okay, so I want to be clear when I say again that white women in the suffragette movement said/did racist things, just as white women in feminists movements today say/do racist things,. Even white anti-racist activists will, at least on occasion, say and do racist things simply by growing up in a white supremacist society. I don’t want to give the impression that I’m disputing that reality. I only mean to illustrate some of the nuance (and why that matters today).

I sent those quotes in an effort to illustrate how the women’s suffrage movement was intertwined with universal suffrage, both white women and black men campaigned for each other’s right to vote. The women’s suffrage organizations grew directly from the basis of abolitionist movements. The initial suffrage (and wider women’s rights) movement was indistinguishable from the civil rights movement. When the 14th/15th amendment was proposed splits in the civil rights movement deepened — both white women and black women (and presumably some black men) campaigned against any amendment that didn’t include women. Similarly, black man and both white and black women favored the 15th amendment even without including women (of any race), who argued that women could wait. Ultimately the latter group saw their wish, and the division resulted in two separate organizations that continued to campaign for women’s suffrage.

The quotes you screen-shotted are undeniably terrible and exemplify the racism within the movements. To be nuanced however, they also span a wide range of individuals — from actual slave owners to women who said something racist but also directly participated in anti-racist activism.

To illustrate (from the quotes you provided):

Rebecca Latimer Felton - terrible human, slave owner, all out white supremacist

Carrie Chapman Catt - she later said “our task will not be fulfilled until the women of the whole world have been rescued from those discriminations and injustices which in every land are visited upon them in law and custom”, lobbied against the word “white” being added to the 19th amendment, and lobbied congress/used her presidency of the League of Women Voters to advocate for people of color and Jews

Elizabeth Cady Stanton - she also founded the Women's Loyal National League that led the largest abolitionist petition drive at the time, organized the American Equal Rights Association a suffrage organization that explicitly supported universal suffrage. The organization split when (mostly) the black men in the organization supported the 15th amendment without advocating for it to be extended to women. (She definitely said racist things around this time, similarly Frederick Douglass, who was both her friend and one of her main critiques at the time, said many sexist things.) The split was later merged back into one organization that she headed.

Anna Howard Shaw - I know very little about her. She definitely said many racist things, but she did champion universal suffrage and campaigned to end racial violence (arguing that universal suffrage would end lynchings). Still, she also failed to condemn racist actions by her peers.

Same as (1)

Belle Kearney - terrible human, slave owner, all out white supremacist

Frances Willard - confusing mix of actively recruiting and working with black women and also promoting racists myth that white women were in danger of black men that facilitated lynchings (due to her “temperance reform”). Also appeared to be more laissez-faire when president of the WCTU since she let conservative states hold on to conservative and/or moderate positions regarding reform for both women’s rights and racial justice.

Same as (1)

As for why it matters today:

No, women definitely won’t have the right to vote revoked for discussing racism in past movements. But there’s a difference between discussing racism, and perpetuating misinformation. One of the main ways the American government disrupted activist movements throughout history was to sow dissension in their ranks. (And the American government/military taught many of these techniques to foreign countries.) An excellent example of this is the COINTELPRO operation, but it’s only the tip of the iceberg. Their goal was to divide and conquer - a movement can’t make progress if it’s busy fighting itself - and poison the public’s opinions of the movements, so as to dissuade new members from joining. (At this point, I want to reassure you that while this may sound like a conspiracy theory, it is very much proven and it/other programs did much harm to domestic and foreign reform movements.)

The myth that the suffragette movement was specifically racist, rather than operating in concert with and emerging from, anti-racist activism contributes to this divide and conquer method of disrupting activism. If you (general you) can convince women of color that the “original feminist movement” (ignoring the ahistorical nature of such the label itself) actively campaigned against them, then it’s much easier to dissuade them from considering feminist activism or to divide activist movements. (And, if it were true, it would be entirely justified!)

Of course, that’s not to say that feminists shouldn’t criticize (or disavow, to the extent possible) white supremacists like Felton or Kearney, or that we shouldn’t discuss and reform the racist sentiments in past and current movements. (In fact, I believe, and expect you do as well, that doing so is not only permissible but necessary, because to deny the racism that did exist in past/current movements would alienate women of color just as much as the idea that the feminism-of-old was solely for white women, and would in fact be an expression of racism in and of itself.)

I hope this clarifies what I’ve been trying to convey.

im surprised about the claim that white women and black men campaigned for each other's right to vote. i was under the impression that the civil rights movement was largely focused on black men and often outright excluded black women having a say, so i don't really know why they would support other women (such as white women) having a say when i heard they didn't support that for black women, who were always black men's biggest supporters.

i do get your point, to a degree-- and i think we agree overall but simply word things differently. i don't think that the women's suffrage movement was Bad and i don't think the white suffragettes back then were like, all evil and more racist than the avg white person in their society. i would say overall, those women were quite forward thinking and progressive for their time. i don't doubt that a significant portion of women were far worse than that, and even opposed women's rights (bc of the society they grew up in where this was a controversial thing). my only argument is that pretending they weren't also racist and had traits worthy of criticism (such as their racism) is innaccurate. a lot of prominent suffragettes were quite racist, and that's not to say that their feminist beliefs lead to that or that women's rights is interwined with racism, but just to point out that even those women who fought for the right to vote for women were not particularly good allies to poc but most specifically black people, and more importantly, black women. i also wanted to point out that being anti-slavery and campaigning against it, did not mean they were generally anti-racism or fighting against racism overall. they were fighting against the worst and most extreme forms of racism in their time, but they were all still racist in their own right. i'd like to reemphasise what i initially shared that you disagree with (+ my tags, and my previous comment on it so as to be fully transparent), which is not that different from what you're saying imo:

now i'm not trying to argue the origin of the movement, what it rose out of, how it relates to racism or anything else; my qualms are with the claim that the suffragettes were not racist. maybe back then, they were closer to allies to black people than most, however they were still quite racist. similarly, since you brought up white allies, white allies today may be the best we have and the best in our time, but they are also still often quite racist themselves.

my main and only point is that these women were still racist, and this is not to discount the women's suffrage movement, i just think that when we deny that aspect of the past then what we're doing is alienating woc. i've noticed a general trend of white women on here saying that white women were targetted by the KKK for example, fixation on stuff that is targeted at white women like 'karen' and placed on equal grounds with calling black women 'laquisha' to berate them, arguments that white women dont have racial privilege, etc and while i don't think the people making such arguments are necessarily coming from a bad place, many woc seeing this will end up feeling like the movement is geared towards white women and does not properly consider & include woc. that's why i take issue with the claim that xyz white female historical figure wasnt racist bc she was pro-slavery abolition, like, sure that must've been really progressive for its time but at the same time it doesn't change that the same woman did work w white supremacists and white supremacy was used as an argument to support white women's suffrage. it probably worked as a strategy and helped pave the way for other women, but its good to acknowledge these issues and criticise them esp since they remain relevant today when people are still indirectly debating how much woc should be considered in feminism.

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zombiekillerky · 4 years ago

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[Snowball Warzone] - Sleepyboisinc Fanfic

{Family Dynamic only, no relationships at all in this story}

[This story is set back when they were young and Phil still took care of them]

"I here by declare this land to be SNOW VILE" Tommy shouted at the top of his lungs on the small snow mound he was standing upon at the moment. Making Wilbur and Tubbo glance back at him in confusion as they were making snow angles on the other side of the yard. Tommy watched them confidently with a smirk on his face as they got up. Taking note of the devilish look in Wilbur's eyes. Brushing the snow of of his hands so he could wipe his nose with out making his face cold and wet.

"Why Snow Vile Tommy....aren't there other names you could have chose from?" Tubbo asked as he sat up from laying back on the snow. Noticing Wilbur doing the same as he brushed the snow off the back of his hat. Tommy flashed him a smile as he shrugged his shoulders slightly in return. Meaning it was a split second decision he had made and didn't put much thought in to it at all.

"Because Tubbo, as President I have thought long and hard about this decision on the name and that is what I have come up with....not totally because I randomly just thought about it right now not at all no" Tommy replied with a laugh as he bent down and wiped some of the snow off of his knees. Regretting his sitting position while he was piling the snow for his mound in the first place earlier on. The boys had gone out to play in the fresh snow that occurred the night before hand. Begging to go out last night but Phil convinced them it wasn't safe enough to go out in the first place and to wait for morning. The snow was one of their favorite things to happen in the year for many reasons. It was fun to play in, started wars and adventures and it also brought the family closer together. It meant to Christmas was just around the corner and the up coming days for it were always memorable among them all. But the blonde couldn't get much in to it, for now he needed to start his new nation of snowmen and women. Who knows how long it would take for him to make them all before sun down at the rate.

"Wilbur could you help me make a flag for my hill, I think it would be good for my country and my soon to be snow people that I will rule over!" Tommy asked as he glanced back over to the brunette where he thought he had last seen him. Surprised to find a snowball coming at him quickly with laughter following behind. The blond fell to the ground, over doing the dramatic side a bit as he laid there. Holding his chest where he had gotten hit like he had been killed. Hearing Tubbo scream his name before landing on the ground next to him in sadness. Bringing his head up on to his lap as his eyes were slowly shutting.

"NO Mr president Don't DIE no!" He yelled, not even above the age of 11 and he knew what that meant already. To everyone's surprise Tubbo did know a lot of things that no one thought he would. Maybe the fact that he had some small trouble reading made everyone think he didn't know about important stuff. But the looks on their faces when he did say something no one knew were priceless.

"t-tubbo....my friend...m-my vice president"

"yes Mr president what do you need?"

"come....c-closer to me Tubbo...I-I need to tell you something....something very i-important"

"what? what is it Tommy......please tell me?"

"......tell Wilbur......that I ate his last cookie inside....and"

"Yes and what?"

"that....he sucks!" Tommy said before letting his head fall back to act like he was dead. Snickering as he heard Tubbo cry out his name in agony and sadness as they sat there in the cold snow. But the scene was broken by the laughter that filled the air by all of them. Tommy soon raised his head as Tubbo fell back on to the ground with laughter. They couldn't contain it any more and their show was now sort of over.

"Sike I'm still alive Bitch!"

"Tommy watch your mouth!"

"sorry sorry....but I'm still alive and I declare war on your country Wilbur! With Tubbo on my side we will foil your plans you terrorist! You will feel the pain and suffering of Snow vile for your actions!" Tommy shouted as he helped Tubbo up off the floor, trying to hold back his laughs still as they raced over to the mound. Or the city capital as Tommy would say. Trying to build up their wall for the war that was about to happen and get so much worse between them.

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

Phil just watched from inside as they all played the scene in front of him like a show. Laughing at their acting and their show as he gathered things to make hot chocolate for when they came in for breakfast. As he stood there by the window he heard the stairs creak behind him and a small muffled yawn. Turning around to see Techno standing there with an unimpressed look on his face as he came down. It seemed he had a rough night, and depending on how he was acting was what side of the bed he slept on too. Phil smiled warmly at him, the smile was returned as the young pig hybrid covered his mouth as he yawned once more. The small bags underneath his eyes told all. Running his hands through his hair to untangle the knots from his restless sleep he had.

"They're outside if you're wondering, raced straight out there as soon as they woke up.....Your things are by the door, I also fixed your gloves since they had a rip in them that you neglected to tell me about" Phil said calmly as he sat the coco mix on the counter top. Making his way over to the fridge for the rest of the ingredients he needed. The small grunt was heard a reply, telling him okay from how many times Techno has done it before hand.

"Sorry about that Phil, just slipped my *yawn* mind a little bit....you know I have trouble remembering somethings with my low attention span" Techno replied with a sly smirk, Phil couldn't help but giggle as he nodded his head.

"That is true, but could you just come to me next time? You know I have spares in the closet some where"

"I suppose" Techno replied, meaning that he wouldn't really remember to after this conversation. The blonde adventurer smiled softly at him in return as he watched him glance out the window quickly. Phil could tell from the very start Techno was not and never a morning person. But after a few minutes he was back to his normal attitude he had most of the time. Waking him up was the worst thing though if they all needed to do something.

Techno sighed as he grabbed his light jacket, gloves and hat. Being that he was a piglin hybrid his body warmed up naturally very easy. Making it apparent that he didn't need much to keep him warm and assured Phil he was fine several times about it. But warm biomes were in fact one of his worst enemies at the moment from how hot he could get.

"Make sure you don't beat them to bad Techno" Phil commented quickly, knowing how competitive he could get. Techno glanced back at him with an evil smirk on his face, watching Phil roll his eyes slightly as he ran some fresh water in to some of the cups.

"How ever do you mean Philza....that is something I would never do......are you implying something?" Techno replied sarcastically back as he crossed his arms slightly, hoping Phil would get that he was joking. Earning a laugh from his father figure as he worked at the counter, he did get that he was joking then which was good. He wouldn't admit it but Phil did have a point about his competitiveness. It wasn't as bad as Tommy's ego though which was something he couldn't let him add on to when beating him at a snowball fight outside. He would hear it from him for weeks that he was beaten by him and like Tommy says was beaten by the alpha male.

"Nah mate, just go and have some fun before breakfast is ready kid." Phil replied with a soft grin, noticing Techno's eyes softening from his sarcastic expression. Technoblade flashed Phil one last smile before heading outside the warm house he wanted to stay in overall. He would rather stay inside with Phil then out in a cold war zone. Immediately regretting his decision as soon as he stepped foot out there, his face being met with a snow ball from the left side of the yard. The yard went silent as they're eyes landed on him standing there. Wiping the snow off of his face with an annoyed look that said all. Tommy knew that was his snow ball too, he knew he was in big trouble if Techno knew that. He was screwed, his could feel the blank stare and his blood ran cold. Chewing on his bottom lip out of nervousness.

"Well if it isn't The mighty Blade waking up finally! You're on our property you terrorist! Pay your taxes by giving us cookies or LEAVE" Tommy shouted, confusing the hybrid standing there with a poker face almost. The blonde was trying to cover up the tension and his nervousness by his shouting. The look on Tubbo's was changed once he heard Tommy say those words. Realizing they could have used Techno's help against Will to make it a somewhat fair fight. But now that the two older kids were on the same side there was no telling what could really happen between the groups. Techno looked over to Will , watching the brunette shrug his shoulders with a smile as he continued the ball snow in his hands. The hybrid smirked slightly as he turned his gaze back to Tommy standing there. Trying to appear taller almost as he stood to show dominance., ignoring the fact that both Will and techno were taller then him by a lot. Taking notice on his anxiousness as he stood there with fake confidence. He already knew he was screwed the moment Techno took a step outside. Techno could use that fear against them, but today he felt like being a little nice at least for now anyway.

"YOU KNOW I HATE GOVERNMENTS AS MUCH AS I HATE ORPHANS TOMMY! NOW YOU SHALL FEEL THE WRATH OF ME THESEUS! WE WILL DESTROY YOUR LAND" Techno shouted to play along with their game they played. He busted in to a sprint over toward Wilbur behind his snow and ice built wall. Hearing laughing and shouting on the other side of the yard from the youngest duo taking camp there. The tension between them all fell as soon as they heard Techno speak.

"Took you long enough! I needed the back up, they've been at it all morning ever since I tried to assassinate Tommy earlier when he built the mound"

"Sorry, you know I don't do well with mornings Willbur" Techno replied as he started to grab some snow off the ground. Making snow balls to add to his pile as ones were being thrown over their wall by the two youngest boys on the opposite side of the yard. He smirked as he chucked one over their wall. Hearing a faint scream from Tubbo in return which meant he managed to hit him with only a quick glance for accuracy. Wilbur started to laugh as he threw more over, he didn't even look he was just throwing them over the wall. Tommy screamed as he ducked, yelling at Wilbur with words no one could even understand.

"TUBBO DO SOMETHING!" Tommy screamed as he covered his head as more snow balls were being thrown at them. Watching as the brunette tried to throw some back in return but failed miserably.

"I'M TRYING TOMMY! HOW DO YOU HAVE SO MANY SNOWBALLS PREPARED!!" Tubbo yelled back to them, hearing laughter loudly erupting from their side. Techno stood up with a sly smirk as he showed the snowballs in his hands he made. Now that he was standing up he could get a better shot at them from where he was. The piglin hybrid took his shot, hitting Tubbo twice as he tried to throw more snowballs Tommy had made. He even managed to get Tommy in the arm as well. Hearing his shrieking and laughing as he ducked down for more cover. They really did stand no chance against them both, they should have had Techno on their side when they had the chance to recruit him. Now he was the reason why they were loosing so poorly. Who knew the mostly antisocial piglin hybrid would be so good about snowball fights.

"Why don't you guys just give up already and let us take over your land? you have clearly been defeated by us!" Wilbur shouted at the both of them from his side. Standing up with no fear at all of them trying to attack. Tommy looked over at Tubbo who stood up with his hands in the air,

"Tubbo what are you doing!"

"Tommy...I er Mr. president we stand no chance against them. As your vice president I advise you that we should give up in defeat"

"But we can't!.....No I'm not giving up!" Tommy said as he stood up, giving techno the challenge of changing his mind. Technoblade smirked as he threw another snowball at him, hitting him square in the chest. Tommy sighed as he wiped off the snow, realizing his defeat was the best moment Techno has had this whole time fighting them.

"B-But we can't give up Tubbo-" As soon as he was about ready to continue Tubbo started to scream. Hearing Wilbur's laughter coming closer toward them,

"Air Strike!" The brunette yelled as he ran as fast as he could and dumped the mound of snow he gathered in his arms on him. Covering Tommy's head and shoulders the white fluff that made him freeze in his spot. At first he didn't know how to react, but then everything set in. His vocal cords should have been damaged after the scream he had let out. Hitting Wilbur's arm as he cussed him out with only the few words he knew so far. But because of his height difference he was only hitting his forearm and hip. Leaving Wilbur in a laughing mess as they all stood there near the mound.

"Well I can safely say it is my honor to take over Snow Vile and run this country as my own chaotic one. Banishing these two to do all the work for ever!" Wilbur said with his own little evil laugh as Tommy stepped down from the mound. But even with their win Techno wasn't finished yet, not until the country was destroyed for good. The piglin hybrid uncovered another snow ball from within his coat pocket that was covered by his cloak. The brunette flinched as he felt it hit him in the dead center of his back. He turned in awe as he saw Techno running closer.

"NO BODY CAN HAVE THE GOVERNMENT, NOT IF I'M AROUND!" He yelled as he tackled Wilbur to the snow covered ground, glad the the snow piles covered their fall as they laid there on the ground. Laughing at each other as they laid there, surprisingly WIlbur didn't get as cold as he thought he would because of Techno's heat. Soon having Tubbo and Tommy follow their lead and add on to the pile after Wilbur was done putting snow in Techno's hair as pay back. They were all laughing as they laid there especially at Wilbur's attempts to get up off of the ground. His complains got louder about how cold his back was but the only thing that changed was Tommy added some snow on to his neck and face once he got up off the dog pile as he would call it.

"Kids come on! Breakfast is done and you don't want your hot chocolate to get cold as in you Tommy"

"But Phil they took my country and you know it's not good when it's cold. It's just chocolate water soup after that!"

"No you mean my country"

"It was mine first you terrorist" Tommy replied, noticing Tubbo and Techno had gotten off of Wilbur and started to head to the door. Wilbur smirked as he shook the snow off of him, throwing some at Tommy before sprinting toward the door. Past Techno and Tubbo on the way in in order to get away from the little gremlin that chased after him. Phil rolled his eyes as he let the other two boys inside and shut the door after. Hearing the bickering subside at the table as they started eating. Knowing that it would soon return once they were done and would head back outside to finish what war they have started.

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sumukhcomedy · 5 years ago

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How To Cancel “Cancel Culture”

In his speech at Mount Rushmore, President Donald Trump attacked “cancel culture.” It had been one thing to see this phrase constantly brought up on social media but now we were seeing the leader of the free world bring it up on the anniversary of the country’s independence. I have no idea where the term “cancel culture” came from and it doesn’t even matter anymore anyway as it has become yet another term that has been molded into its own strange definition by whomever may use it. In a general sense, “cancel culture” appears to now be pared down to the erasing of something because it’s offended someone.

The problem to “cancel culture” is that it’s become a broad term to represent many complicated, in-depth concepts. I’m going to put what’s been labeled as “cancel culture” into 3 separate groups (there probably could be more but, for the sake of this essay, I’ll keep it to 3).

1. Legitimately disturbing or criminal acts that were done by individuals

2. Correcting a wrongful history for the betterment of society and our nation

3. Revisionism in an effort to address uncomfortable topics

The first, “Legitimately disturbing or criminal acts that were done by individuals” is seen most prominently in entertainment and politics. As a comedian, I’m going to look at the most recent claims against Chris D’Elia and then subsequent backlash towards the “boys club” mentality that exists in stand-up comedy that led old videos of Joe Rogan, Joey Diaz, Theo Von, Brendan Schaub, and others to surface on Twitter. Diaz is a good example of where “cancel culture” goes wrong but it’s where it’s also not well-defined. Almost immediately after the disturbing commentary of Diaz drew widespread attention on Twitter, numerous women in comedy defended him and discussed how he helped them. Diaz has always had a unique and honest sense of humor. He addressed on his podcast that he’s talked about the mistakes he’s made in the past and getting better. It is the crux of his act and his brand of humor. But, on his podcast, he then goes off into talking about “cancel culture.” These situations are always framed under the notion that it’s an attempt to get the comedian “cancelled.” The reality is that all it’s doing is to open up a more intelligent discussion on why this behavior is occurring, holding responsibility for it, and ensuring that a culture that has long existed within stand-up comedy and treats women as less doesn’t continue. In D’Elia’s case, the accusations against him were criminal. They didn’t come out of nowhere. They came from one woman opening herself up on the Internet and then other women connecting with that and revealing that they had also been victimized by this man. This is not some sort of conspiracy to end D’Elia’s career. It’s women opening up that a high-profile man is a predator and ensuring that he does not continue this behavior and hurt others with his position. For D’Elia, he needs to address it and hold responsibility for it and, for now, he only appears to be showing the usual behavior from high-profile men which is to deny the accusations without any further discussion. From this point, there isn’t really a “cancellation” that is even happening. Look at Louis C.K. The story came out and still C.K. has a career and there are people that wish to watch him and do business with him. His career didn’t end up being over even though his apology was terrible and he hasn’t particularly shown any sense of remorse or compassion. Sure, he doesn’t have a TV show or movies anymore. But he also isn’t a destitute hermit. He’s still existent and earning money in this capitalist, patriarchal structure of entertainment.

The second, “Correcting a wrongful history for the betterment of society and our nation,” is seen currently with the removal of statues, which was the major reason behind Trump bringing up “cancel culture.” This is about properly addressing the negative and detrimental history of our country. A statue is a form of honor. This is why if anyone receives a statue, they express a great deal of gratitude for it. No one really learns anything from a statue because, unless all the history you want to learn is on a small plaque in front of the statue, there is not much to be gained from something placed in a public place as opposed to a museum or a book in a library. The statue is there for one reason: to glorify the individual and what they represent in history. What does the Confederacy represent in history? A group defeated in the Civil War and whose flag now stands as a piece of racism more than anything else. What does Christopher Columbus represent in history? More of a violent raider than a peaceful explorer. This is a history that you wish to glorify with a statue? This is a history that you want to have where you live? There is no need for this type of history and glorification in public places. That’s like saying you’d rather have a statue of Donald Sterling outside of Staples Center in L.A. rather than Magic Johnson. And this history isn’t going to go away. Pick up a book, watch a documentary, and really learn about it. That’s more history and nuance than any statue can provide, and it can do it without turning villains into heroes.

The third, “Revisionism in an effort to address uncomfortable topics” is where the people angry at “cancel culture” get their most energy from. It’s again most seen in Hollywood because Hollywood, for as liberal as it may seem, is still as backwards and uncomfortable with race and history as conservative America can be. This is best seen as of late with production companies and streaming services beginning to remove episodes of shows because they may touch on race in an uncomfortable way. A good example was Hulu’s decision to remove an episode of The Golden Girls, “Mixed Blessings,” in which Blanche and Rose appear in “blackface.” The episode occurred in 1988. Even though they are wearing mud masks and not specifically blackface, is it uncomfortable to see that as a source of humor in 2020? Definitely. But, the point of the episode is about Dorothy’s son entering into an interracial marriage. It’s about Dorothy coming to grips with that and the age difference between the two of them as well. Hollywood doesn’t seem to be capable of telling the difference between a piece of art that comments on our society’s racism as opposed to a piece of art that is flat out racist. Nor does it seem to factor when the art was created. Sure, I don’t like that The Golden Girls writers and producers made such a decision in 1988. But it was 1988. The episode still addressed important issues in 1988 and did so with the best intent. This is highly different than, for example, D.W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation, which was as racist in 1915 as it is today or Leni Riefenstahl’s Triumph of the Will in 1935. You may laud them for what they did for film but you must teach that they were racist propaganda. They were not well-meaning films at all and they, in fact, contributed to a deadly history. There is no purpose to banning this art. But it’s important to provide better education, better understanding of intent, and better knowledge of history when it comes to viewing this art. Blackface is terrible and has no place in 2020, but in order for it to have no place, people have to understand its history, the manner in which it was used, and the reasons why it is bad. The reality is that few people of color are asking for this third type of “cancel culture.” It’s more so coming from well-meaning white people who do not know how to properly handle race.

“Cancel culture” has become a simple term tossed out by individuals who simply do not want to address their own behavior, responsibility, or history. They would rather say to themselves that they are right than to challenge themselves that they could be wrong, that our society could be better, and that they could progress. All of these situations of “cancel culture” get labeled by the opposition as being “You’re too sensitive!” as opposed to “Let’s have an intellectual discussion to make this better.” It continues to be passed off as some sort of offense or political correctness issue when it’s just an effort to address one’s potential role in a bigger issue in society (whether that’s racism, misogyny, sexual assault, etc.)

“Cancel culture” is just an easy phrase. It’s an easy card to play to avoid dealing with one’s own behavior, speech, history, and art. Strangely enough, it’s a term that’s dismissive when it’s defending itself out of a fear of being dismissed.

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legalrichieflood · 4 years ago

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Instagram whistleblowers reveal California College Republican hate speech in chatroom

Screenshots from a Discord server attributed to a statewide California College Republicans (CCR) chat exposed misogynistic, racist, antisemitic comments and threats of violence from various CCR members, including members from Cal Poly Pomona’s chapter.

A fallout within California’s collegiate Republican Party due to differing opinions caused CCR chapters to de-charter and form a new organization in 2019, the California Federation of College Republicans (CFCR). The split came after CCR published a 10-page platform that attacked university funding of birth control and abortion, the legitimizing of transgender people, and institutional support of Mexican and Muslim student organizations. The extremist platform claimed that members of the LGBT+ community were “murderous and degenerate.”

This bled into CPP’s own College Republicans and in Spring 2020, Aaron Santana Ruiz, president of CPP’s College Republicans switched the campus’ charter from the CFCR to CCR.

Instagram user, “abusiveccr,” who wished to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation, reached out to The Poly Post on Feb. 4 with screenshots of messages including two accounts alleged to belong to Santana-Ruiz and fourth-year chemical engineering student, Baron Boghosian.

Many of the user “Boghosian’s” posts include selfies of Baron Boghosian.

The same account, under a revised name “Big Gorilla”, also posted a video with the accompanying comment, “watch this you Jews” to the Discord server.

The video shows Baron Boghosian and others driving around during Halloween 2020, including on the empty CPP campus, shouting statements supportive of former President Donald Trump and ending with the group eating pizza.

On Nov. 6, 2020, the same account, posted numerous comments inciting violence.

According to the CPP Republicans code of conduct, “Grounds for removal and/or suspension of an organization member(s) are appropriate if and only if student behavior is not consistent with the California Polytechnic University of Pomona student conduct and discipline code.”

When asked why more reports had not been made, user “disenchantedccrmember” said, “I don’t think anything through CCR would happen just because most of these guys are in their minds, at least, all on the same side. They all share similar beliefs. They don’t like Jews. They don’t like people of color. They think women need to just be at home in the kitchen, so I think if any sort of action was to come, it would come through the schools. Probably through a mission of conduct at the very least…People who have brought up concerns have either been kicked out or they’re blacklisted, and they basically cannot climb up the ladders.”

User “abusiveccr” responded similarly.

“I do want to have a career in politics, and they wouldn’t like this … a lot of the people have connections with all the offices so that could spread.”

Instagram user “_alxlcastilo” commented under every photo “abusiveccr” posted.

Alex Castillo, CPP student and alleged user of “_alxlcastilo”, did not respond to requests for comment.

CCR member, Stephen Miller, had multiple screenshots leaked with his name attached. Because of this, he reached out to user “abusiveccr”.

According to Miller, he was invited to join CCR by Loyola CCR president and CCR state chair, William Donahue.

Miller said that many of the screenshots are old and, at his request, the individuals were “purged from the chat” by William Donahue. He added that even though the messages were his, the photos of the chats are “taken out of context.”

“I know that a lot of things were recently deleted on our discord because a lot of people were scared that their comments were getting leaked out,” Miller said. “People started talking about it, and then other people started running to delete certain messages that they were afraid could be construed the wrong way. Some of them, I wouldn’t blame them. They had no context and they were 100% wrong.”

According to Miller, CCR holds individuals accountable and that a decision to remove someone from the Discord server depends “on the severity of the comments they made.”

“We try to be nonconfrontational and not hostile about it,” Miller said. “Often times you can tell when someone is joking about something. They wouldn’t joke about something that was serious, obviously.”

According to “abusiveccr”, on Nov. 10, the user “Boghosian” was removed from the server after disrespectful comments toward Arielle Spotswood, a student at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and current co-chair of CCR.

Spotswood did not respond to The Poly Post request for comment.

When asked for comment, Boghosian said he has “no connection with CCR at all,” and claimed to vote for the Democratic Party. He added that he never had a Discord account and the profile depicting his name, along with the chats, are “completely false and fraudulent.”

Additionally, sources say the account named “Chancellor Santana”, allegedly that of Santana Ruiz, frequently posted in Discord endorsing Nick Fuentes, a 22-year-old far-right podcaster known for pushing white nationalist and anti-Semitic views onto younger listeners. Followers of Fuentes and Patrick Casey, the leader of the United States neo-Nazi group American Identity Movement, are called “Groypers.”

In January 2019, Fuentes compared the Holocaust to a “cookie baking operation.” According to Instagram user “disenchantedccrmember”, the icon next to Santana’s name is in reference to these statements. When reprimanded for the action, Santana Ruiz changed the image to a pizza.

User “disenchatedccrmember” added that they felt the need to create the whistleblower account to shed light on the controversy.

“We’ve reported them to even their advisor. We’ve reported to Michael Donahue … who is their advisor at Cal Poly Pomona and he said nothing, he’s done nothing,” said “disenchantedccrmember.”

Initially, Michael Donahue agreed to meet with The Poly Post, but on Feb. 10 rescinded the interview in an emailed statement.

“Due to your inquiry, I have investigated this matter with the concerned Cal Poly students and state organization. I have spoken with the Cal Poly Pomona College Republicans President, Aaron, and Baron, (who is in my senior design class at Cal Poly). As it stands, both Baron and Aaron have categorically denied these allegations. Furthermore, Baron is not a member of CPP College Republicans, nor is he a member of CCR,” Donahue stated, “I have found no evidence to support the claims that you have purported. As you know, anyone can change their name and picture on Discord. Anyone can create a new account or server with any name associated to it. Due to this design, as I understand it, there is no way to determine the identity of the person(s) who authored these posts.”

In a Feb. 8 emailed statement to the Poly Post, Santana Ruiz wrote, “While I do have an Instagram, I do not have a Discord. When I looked into these supposed chats that were ‘leaked’ it appears that they come from some social media application called Discord. I have never used Discord and the account is obviously fraudulent. The images registered to the account are not me and it’s frustrating that someone would use my name and an image of a cookie to slander me. (I’m not sure if that’s an attack on me for being mixed race).”

According to Kyle Shulz, former president of CPP Republicans, during the end of his term and under the administration of Santana Ruiz, a mass email subject, “College Republicans at Cal Poly Pomona: Hangout Meeting (Fri. 1/29/21 @ 6-9PM)” was sent to all members with links to both a private CPP Republicans Discord as well as the CCR Discord.

The CPP Republican Bylaws’ article H states that the president, “Shall be the official representative of this organization at all club involved events and activities.” The bylaws have since been removed from CPP Republican’s MyBar, but can be found here.

The server violates Discord community guidelines. The comments may also violate the student code of conduct policy at CPP under item 7, “Conduct that threatens or endangers the health or safety of any person within or related to the University community, including physical abuse, threats, intimidation, harassment, or sexual misconduct.”

In an emailed statement to The Poly Post on Feb. 9, CCR’s communication team wrote, “On behalf of the organization and alleged affected members, we can unequivocally say that these alleged Discord leaks are either doctored, edited, or manipulated. No records of these conversations or members exist, and there is no evidence they belong to CCR or any chapter. The alleged names/nicknames are not even in our Discord, and there is no evidence they ever existed. This is simply the nature of Discord.”

Before Feb. 9, the Discord’s link could be found publicly on the CCR web page masthead and included the lobby of members active within the attached server.

The link was pulled off its website on Feb. 8 for a short period of time, and then again permanently by the morning of Feb. 9.

Beginning as early as Feb. 5, the Discord server was purged of chats by moderators, until on Feb. 7 when the server was completely wiped clean. Members within the server were not informed and questioned the removed messages and chatrooms. While it is unclear who is the official moderator, both William Donahue and Dylan Martin, communications director, responded to their complaints.

The CCR Discord server contained student members from universities across all of California and there is no record of action to regulate, prevent or discipline comments that could escalate to threats of violence like user “Boghosian’s” had.

Shortly after Santana Ruiz’s email to The Poly Post, the account “Chancellor Santana” changed its name to “Mad World Mad World” and left the CCR Discord server and used the same meme that the account claimed to use when its chapter departed from the CFCR charter.

New University, University of California, Irvine’s campus newspaper reported on similar allegations on Jan. 12.

Additionally, this is not the first time CPP Republicans have been accused of hate speech and discrimination. In fall 2020, popular Instagram account CPP Confessions, an account where the CPP community can anonymously submit community news, reposted several controversial CPP Republican posts for its followers to see.

“This chat is an echo chamber for these people to have these vile, sick beliefs and they hype each other up,” “disenchantedccrmember” added. “One of my biggest concerns is that if they hype each other up enough that they will actually go out and commit acts of violence.”

As of this report, both “disenchatedccrmember” and “abusiveccr” accounts have been terminated. “I plan to continue until the end of the Unity election,” disenchatedccrmember said.

This unity election between CCR and CFCR was dated for Feb. 20, but the results have not been announced nor any news on the election been disclosed. More can be found at https://www.americafirstcr.com. William Donahue is running for chairman.

User “abusiveccr” cited that they would continue the account “as long as it takes… for all of this to hopefully end soon.”

Additional screen grabs with corresponding documents can be found here.

If students are facing harassment, they can reach out to the Office of Equity and Compliance. For reports on threats of violence contact the University Police Department. If students need to report a breach of student conduct, the Office of Student Conduct and Integrity can be found at https://www.cpp.edu/studentconduct/staff.shtml.

Edit 4/6, 7 p.m.: The names of individuals within the screenshots that The Poly Post did not reach out to have been redacted for privacy.

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mushi-shield · 4 years ago

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reason why I really love Tom McDonald music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6FmwBPDT-w "People So Stupid"

What a contradiction, being human is so tragic Focus on minorities, ignoring all the masses Hallelujah, everyone, activism saved the planet No more plastic straws in paper Just paper straws wrapped in plastic, congratulations

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxJtX081jj4 "WHITEBOY"

I would never hate a man for what God gave him in pigments And I would never plot against him just because he is different I would never judge a human for the cards he was given or Call them lesser than myself 'cause of the race that he's mixed with

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omMpqbuyDdc "Straight White Male"

Fine, y'all don't gotta be my friends Y'all don't gotta like white men Y'all don't gotta hold my hand Y'all don't gotta have my back Y'all don't gotta, y'all don't gotta, y'all don't gotta, uh Y'all don't gotta see my side Y'all don't gotta be down to ride Y'all don't gotta do anything but ghost And I'mma do me even when it's the most, yeah

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ita4g_oDyns "Politically Incorrect"

Don't let 'em censor your thoughts Don't let 'em make you regret that you talked Don't let 'em tell you that nice is the law Tryna make you all right here when nothing is wrong, yeahWords hurt you, clothes hurt you Memes hurt you, jokes hurt you, we hurt you Half the time you don't even probably know what hurt you But you super mad, trust we heard you

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHBMbZdCpSk "Cancelled"

I don't care if you mad at me, okay? Go ahead and change the channel Don't waste your time tryna cancel me, okay? They love me 'cause they know that I'm an asshole Say what you want, I guess it is what it is Haters can talk but they can't cancel the kid Go 'head and go off, try and say this is it But I swear to God, you can't cancel the kid

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2l6JUNFAJ9o "Fake Woke"

Use violence to get peace and wonder why it isn't working That's like sleeping with a football team to try and be a virgin Politicians are for sale and someone always makes the purchase But you and I cannot afford it, our democracy is worthless If a man has mental illness call him crazy, say it silently When country's going crazy we accept it as society

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t86ClLM3ZGY "NO LIVES MATTER"

Freedom's dead, if you have an opinion, take it back (facts) People hate the president, if you don't then you trash (facts) Indoctrinate the nation using news and mainstream rap (facts) The government abuses us, it's all part of the plan (facts)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2K1xQOp4qo "White Trash"

This is for my white trash, the ones the whole world hate The ones who voted for Trump, got labeled racist but ain't The ones with ball caps, "Make America Great" Who love their country to death Who struggle on minimum wageAyy, they angry about illegal aliens Takin' work that maybe they could get Single parents with some baby kids Hated for being a patriot All my life, I've been white trash All my life, it's been like that The whole world been left leanin' I'm proud of the right who fight backBeen chewed up and spit out They scream but no one listens They're so in love and vote for Trump 'cause fuck a politician They're our neighbors They're our soldiers, our men and women and children They're middle class families who got forgot by the systemUh, in God we trust and all the guns are just backup Rockin' camouflage, don't tread on me, get smoked like tobacco Yeah, we're white trash, we rednecks, crackers since we were young We grew close, we move slow, these colors don't run

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gT5DpOiQ_WA "Fake Fans" (DISS)

Look, I ain't changing for a buck, I ain't changing for a fan I ain't changing nothing up, this is who the fuck I am If you fuck with me, I'll hope that y'all enjoy it Beware of all the fake fans trying to destroy it, yeahI ain't switching it up, I am the man that I was Way before I blew up and everyone fell in love Never once gave a fuck, been doing me from the jump And I will never become the man that you wish I was

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeb7bVA3pjE "Im Sorry"

Sorry, that doesn't bother me I don't owe anybody an apology I don't have no regrets in my biology Reload and shoot for the stars, y'all look like astronomy No one as hot as me, copy me commonly Wannabes, y'all are so shockingly comedy Carry the weight of my songs all on top of me I will not break, I'm not made out of potteryBury your bodies on acres of property Place them at angles like sacred geometry Down with modesty Everything I drop is quality Promise, like honestly, follow me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83Ntpeih4f4&t=236s "Buttholes"

Someone's always gonna hate you no matter what Might as well just be yourself and let people think you suck Opinions are like buttholes, everyone got one they cover up And all you gotta do is follow through When you're yelling that you don't give a fuckI ain't letting anyone piss in my Cornflakes Stay the hell out my face, and I will stay out of your way I know that life is cruel, and lately it ain't fair at all You hate your job, your phone is lost, there's evil men and racist cops Yeah, I don't care if you are black or white or gay or straight Or old or young or smart or dumb or where you're from or what you make The only thing I care about is living like I'm not afraid Of dying while I'm sleeping, so I seize it while I'm still awakeWe're so angry, hating everyone we don't know We can't even take a joke, we should really let it go And be happy, stop talking shit on our phones And blocking everyone we know, we've been being buttholes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueyNLoRWdao "American Dreamz"

We're distracted by free porn and compilation videos of puppies and kittens While our children use the internet to bully one another and then purchase ammunition So addicted to your phone that you ignore the kids and never give them any supervision So they learn to build a bomb with things you keep inside your kitchen and you wonder how they ended up with life inside of prison We mourned a dead gorilla, but don't care when it's a person, we're forgetting that we're human We're angry that chickens are being locked up in cages and then forget we do the same to kids in our institutions When they ask you about stupid shit, you tell 'em they should Google it Then you wonder why the troubled youth are homicidal lunatics You think it's tragic when a shooter killed a student But then say it's all a plan for them to change the constitution

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQ4tAbwi31I "Castles"

Everybody's got a story; if you look a little closer, you can see it in the wrinkles in their face They can hide it in the silence, they can bury it and fight it, but it comes out when their hair is turning grey You can feel it if you touch 'em, you can tell that they are troubled, you can hear the story running through their veins We all travel different roads, and we put on different clothes; underneath it all, we're really all the same

Everybody has a tale that they're too afraid to tell, you can see it in the cracks in their hands They can cover it with smiles; if you walk a couple miles in their shoes, then you'll know where they stand Everyone who really lived had to climb out of a ditch they were in before they found the right path If you wanna know the truth about what we've been going through, then try to put your phone away so you can ask

We've all got problems, and we all feel alone We've all been haunted by the secrets we hold We could fill our coffins with the rocks they have thrown Or we could build our castles with the sticks and the stones We've all got problems, and we all feel alone We've all been haunted by the secrets we hold We could fill our coffins with the rocks they have thrown Or we could build our castles with the sticks and the stones

We are the neighbors that you'll never meet We are the strangers walking down your street We are a million faces in the crowd We are the ones the system's tearing down We are the people working to survive We are more than just our nine-to-fives We are the shopping malls and streetcars We are one, it's time to tell 'em just who we are

#Tom MacDonald

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miamistax · 5 years ago

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For those of you still whining about Confederate statues, read the following.

A true daughter of the confederacy has written what should be the last words on the monuments:

By Caroline Randall Williams

June 26, 2020

I have rape-colored skin. My light-brown-blackness is a living testament to the rules, the practices, the causes of the Old South.

If there are those who want to remember the legacy of the Confederacy, if they want monuments, well, then, my body is a monument. My skin is a monument.

Dead Confederates are honored all over this country — with cartoonish private statues, solemn public monuments and even in the names of United States Army bases. It fortifies and heartens me to witness the protests against this practice and the growing clamor from serious, nonpartisan public servants to redress it. But there are still those — like President Trumpand the Senate majority leader,Mitch McConnell — who cannot understand the difference between rewriting and reframing the past. I say it is not a matter of “airbrushing” history, but of adding a new perspective.

I am a black, Southern woman, and of my immediate white male ancestors, all of them were rapists. My very existence is a relic of slavery and Jim Crow.

According to the rule of hypodescent (the social and legal practice of assigning a genetically mixed-race person to the race with less social power) I am the daughter of two black people, the granddaughter of four black people, the great-granddaughter of eight black people. Go back one more generation and it gets less straightforward, and more sinister. As far as family history has always told, and as modern DNA testing has allowed me to confirm, I am the descendant of black women who were domestic servants and white men who raped their help.

It is an extraordinary truth of my life that I am biologically more than half white, and yet I have no white people in my genealogy in living memory. No. Voluntary. Whiteness. I am more than half white, and none of it was consensual. White Southern men — my ancestors — took what they wanted from women they did not love, over whom they had extraordinary power, and then failed to claim their children.

What is a monument but a standing memory? An artifact to make tangible the truth of the past. My body and blood are a tangible truth of the South and its past. The black people I come from were owned by the white people I come from. The white people I come from fought and died for their Lost Cause. And I ask you now, who dares to tell me to celebrate them? Who dares to ask me to accept their mounted pedestals?

You cannot dismiss me as someone who doesn’t understand. You cannot say it wasn’t my family members who fought and died. My blackness does not put me on the other side of anything. It puts me squarely at the heart of the debate. I don’t just come from the South. I come from Confederates. I’ve got rebel-gray blue blood coursing my veins. My great-grandfather Will was raised with the knowledge that Edmund Pettus was his father. Pettus, the storied Confederate general, the grand dragon of the Ku Klux Klan, the man for whom Selma’s Bloody Sunday Bridge is named. So I am not an outsider who makes these demands. I am a great-great-granddaughter.

And here I’m called to say that there is much about the South that is precious to me. I do my best teaching and writing here. There is, however, a peculiar model of Southern pride that must now, at long last, be reckoned with.

This is not an ignorant pride but a defiant one. It is a pride that says, “Our history is rich, our causes are justified, our ancestors lie beyond reproach.” It is a pining for greatness, if you will, a wish again for a certain kind of American memory. A monument-worthy memory.

But here’s the thing: Our ancestors don’t deserve your unconditional pride. Yes, I am proud of every one of my black ancestors who survived slavery. They earned that pride, by any decent person’s reckoning. But I am not proud of the white ancestors whom I know, by virtue of my very existence, to be bad actors.

Among the apologists for the Southern cause and for its monuments, there are those who dismiss the hardships of the past. They imagine a world of benevolent masters, and speak with misty eyes of gentility and honor and the land. They deny plantation rape, or explain it away, or question the degree of frequency with which it occurred.

To those people it is my privilege to say, I am proof. I am proof that whatever else the South might have been, or might believe itself to be, it was and is a space whose prosperity and sense of romance and nostalgia were built upon the grievous exploitation of black life.

The dream version of the Old South never existed. Any manufactured monument to that time in that place tells half a truth at best. The ideas and ideals it purports to honor are not real. To those who have embraced these delusions: Now is the time to re-examine your position.

Either you have been blind to a truth that my body’s story forces you to see, or you really do mean to honor the oppressors at the expense of the oppressed, and you must at last acknowledge your emotional investment in a legacy of hate.

Either way, I say the monuments of stone and metal, the monuments of cloth and wood, all the man-made monuments, must come down. I defy any sentimental Southerner to defend our ancestors to me. I am quite literally made of the reasons to strip them of their laurels.

Caroline Randall Williams(@caroranwill) is the author of “Lucy Negro, Redux” and “Soul Food Love,” and a writer in residence at Vanderbilt University.

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noladyme · 4 years ago

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La Cuervo - Chapter 4

TW: violence, blood, drug use, alcohol, smut, fluff, angst

In the spirit of "The Crown Princess of Charming", this is a story about O.C. Nina and Angel Reyes. It is obviously non-canon, as characters who have passed on on Mayans M.C. are present in it, and others have been excluded completely. Nina is written as a cis-female, but I have tried to keep her race and looks as ambigous as possible. Should you find any of this story offensive, please let me know.

Nina spent the next week doing her best to avoid Angel. He, in return, acted like they’d never had the encounter in the cage – or any encounter at all, for that matter. He spoke to her about as much as the next girl in the clubhouse; though, unlike with the other girls, he avoided all kinds of flirting or terms of endearment, other than the occasional mami, when he asked for another drink. Women crawled all over him, and he seemed perfectly content and used to the fact. Deciding she was better off for how everything had turned out, Nina threw herself in to helping Chucky in the office, and reading some of the books EZ had left in the trailer; when she wasn’t slinging beers behind the bar. The atmosphere was still awkward, though; and she was beginning to feel something like homesickness.

Not having heard anything from Charming since she’d arrived, Nina went over to Bishop with a pair of beers for him and Taza, who were deep in conversation one evening; after they’d just come back in from some meeting or other. They’d been sending her discrete looks throughout their discussion, and she thought now was as good a time as any, to check in with them. Setting down the beers on the table, she paused for a moment, before speaking. “Bishop? I don’t mean to intrude, but I was just wondering if you’d heard from Chibs? Or Tig, maybe?”. Bishop shook his head. “Sorry, sweetheart. No word from either of them”, he said earnestly. “We boring you here?”. “No, of course not… I didn’t mean… I really appreciate you taking me in. I guess I just don’t see the need for all the secrecy…”. Taza gave his president a hard look, and Bishop nodded. “Take a seat”, he said to Nina.

Sitting down, Nina felt her heart racing. She didn’t like the look on the faces of the men in front of her. “Do you know who El Palo is?”, Taza asked. Ninna nodded. “He’s president of Vatos Malditos…”, she said. “How do you know that? Have you heard about our relationship with them?”, Bishop asked. “Of course not”, Nina replied, knowing that would be the right answer. Bishop let a smile ghost his face. “So SAMCRO told you. Are they working with them?”. He was testing her. “I just serve the beers”, she said. “Good girl”, Bishop said. “If you know who he is, you probably also know that he’s a grade-A psycho”, Taza said. “I’ve heard things…”, Nina muttered. Palo’s reputation was terrifying; SAMCRO spoke of him almost like a ghost – one of the murderous kinds. “Palo used to have a cousin up in northern California. About a month back, he was shot and killed by who Palo thinks is a hooker, in a date turned mugging”, Taza said. “It turns out that the truth is a bit more complicated than that”, Bishop said. Nina was beginning to connect the dots, and felt her heartrate go up. “Palo’s cousin’s name was….”, Taza began. “Gael…”, Nina interrupted him in a whisper. “Yeah”, Bishop said. “You in serious shit, sweetheart”. Nina’s hands were shaking. “I didn’t know… I thought Chibs brought me here to keep me away from the police-investigation. I mean, it was self-defense, but…”, she croaked. “Why didn’t they tell me?”. “They probably didn’t want to scare you”, Taza replied.

She eyed Bishops smokes on the table, and he handed her a cigarette. The two men frowned at her, as she grabbed her inhaler from her pocket, and took a hit, before lighting the cigarette. “Don’t… I get enough shit from Tig about this”, she said. Another smile ghosted Bishop’s face. “Palo contacted El Padrino… Alvarez; as Gael died so close to our Oakland charter territory”. “San Joaquin county”, Nina said, and took a huff from her smoke. “He called in Mayan help to find you… Offered good money for any info”. “Why didn’t he hand me over, then?”, Nina asked. “Marcus’ loyalty to SAMCRO, and the promise he made to Jackson Teller, to stay on good terms with them, weighs more than money”. Nina closed her eyes and sighed. “I guess I owe you more than I know”, she said. “Well, reaper paid us a bit more on top of the loyalty we owe them”, Taza chuckled. “But, you’re safe with us. Palo won’t think to search in his own back-yard”. “What do you mean?”. “The Vatos’ territory borders our own. In more ways than one”, the VP said. “They’ve claimed the area just south of the wall”, Bishop said.

“Fuck… Fuck!”, Nina rasped, and ran a hand over her face. “So why are you telling me this? If Chibs didn’t think I should know”. “Keeping it a secret from you won’t keep you safe”, Bishop replied. “If we’re going to protect you, and keep our promise to SAMCRO, you need to know how serious this is”. Nina narrowed her eyes. “But you’re not letting the rest of the club know…”, she said. “The lady’s got a point, Bish”, Taza said. Bishop held up a hand, and hardened his expression. “We talked about this, Taz’. You know the shit we’ll get in to at the table, if they find out we’re double-crossing a business-partner like this”. “We haven’t dealt with VM in months. There’s no money between us anymore”, Taza said. “And there sure as shit won’t be in the future, if Palo finds out about this”, Bishop said, and gestured towards Nina. When he saw her expression, he sighed. “Look, I made a promise to our brothers in SOA, but I’m not going to risk future Mayan-business over it. For now, this stays between us, you got that?”. “Yeah… whatever you say”, Nina muttered. Bishop raised a brow at her, and she made a frustrated sigh. “I know how club business works; it’s not my place to mess with it”.

The door to the clubhouse opened, and Coco, Gilly and Angel – accompanied by the blonde he’d ignored the night Nina had arrived in Santo Padre – walked in. Nina was about to get on her feet, and walk back to the bar, when Bishop grabbed her hand. “This is also why I don’t want you starting things up with Angel. All due respect, I don’t need him losing his head over some croweater from Charming, if this blows up in our faces”, he said. “You have nothing to worry about. Nina said, an edge to her voice. Bishop tightened his hold on her hand. “I’m serious. I need my men focused on business; and if Angel starts thinking with his dick, instead of his head, there’s a good chance he won’t be able to make the right decisions, when push comes to shove”. “As in, you’re worried he won’t be able to hand me over to Palo, if necessary”, Nina almost hissed. “That’s not what I’m saying, Nina…”, Bishop said. “Then, what are you saying?”, she replied. The president let go of her hand, his expression turning almost guilty. They both looked over at Angel, who’d put his arm around the blonde. The girl tugged at his beard, and he leaned down, letting her kiss the corner of his lips. “Like I said, you have nothing to worry about”, Nina muttered, and walked away as quickly as she could.

---

Once behind the bar, she put on a mask of calm indifference. “Can I get you anything?”, she asked. “Sol. Thanks, niña”, Coco said, holding up two fingers to imply one for him and one for EZ. Nina served the beers without correcting Coco. He’d stuck to the nickname since the moment she’d climbed onto his bike, and she decided to take it as a compliment. EZ and he went over to rack up a game of pool. “You?”, she asked Angel. “Dos Equis”, he said, with an indifferent smile. Nina – knowing his regular order – had almost already grabbed a bottle with XX on the label, and put it on the counter; before he finished speaking. The blonde girl pressed against Angel, and ran her hand inside his cut. “It’s about to be tres equis, baby…”, she giggled. Angel cleared his throat, and stretched his neck. “Take it easy; yeah, mami?”, he said, keeping his eyes straight ahead. He gave her shoulder a standoffish clap, and walked over to the pool-table to join his friends.

The blonde gave Nina a saccharin smile, and tilted her head slightly. “Sorry about you and Angel…”, she said in a phony tone. “I’m sure you are”, Nina smiled as friendlily as she could. The girl looked at her for a moment, narrowing her eyes. “Do you know how to make a screwdriver?”, she asked. Nina was taken aback. “Do I know how to make a screwdriver…?”, she repeated back at the girl. The blonde scoffed, and laughed a little. “Yes, a screwdriver… I know you’re new here, but if you don’t know how to work a bar…”. “Yes, I know how to make a screwdriver”, Nina cut her off, and turned around to get some orange juice from the fridge. She began mixing vodka and juice in a glass, ignoring the daggers the blonde was staring at her. “You should really be less rude to me… Consider who you’re talking to”, the girl said. “I’ll keep that in mind”, Nina said, and set the drink down in front of her. “We’re out of ice”. “Just go get some from the freezer out back”, the blonde scoffed. “I don’t want to”, Nina replied, and walked out from behind the bar.

There was a gush of wind behind her, when suddenly Nina felt her hair being yanked, and she stumbled backwards. In the flash of an eye, her face and top were drenched in vodka and orange juice. “I told you, I want ice; bitch!”, the blonde snarled. Nina reacted promptly, lifting her arm over the girls, and then hooking it underneath. She lifted her bent arm upwards, making the girl squeal in pain, as she had her arm in a lock; and she let go of Nina’s hair. Bishop and Taza quickly got on their feet; and Angel, EZ and Coco ran towards them. Nina’s hand gripped the blonde’s throat, and looked coldly at her. “I’d call you a nasty skank, but I’m a lady; so, I’m just gonna ask you nicely to never do that again”, Nina hissed. The blonde was gasping for air. “Let go of the nasty skank, Nina”, Bishop said, his hands up in a calming gesture. Nina let go of the girl, and she stumbled backwards into the arms of EZ. She was about to step towards Nina, when Coco got between them. “Nah… Don’t be like that”, he said. EZ and he pulled the girl away to the other end of the room, and the prospect held her there, while Coco stood in front of her; his eyes on Nina, as if she’d explode at any moment, and attack. Nina locked eyes with Angel, who looked at her in disbelief. His eyes were deeper than ever, and his stance was tense. Nina’s shirt was cold and sticky, her breath was raspy, and her blood was pumping; making it tricky for her to keep her voice even. “I’m gonna… go. Now”, she said, and left the clubhouse, walking as calmly as she could towards the trailer.

---

Through the sound of her own blood pumping like waves of the ocean in her ears, she heard loud talking from outside the trailer door. “You saw what she did!”, the blonde woman was complaining. “You’re just gonna let her do that to me?”. “Go home, Daniella”, Angel replied. “Aren’t you going to give me a ride?”. “No”. “Puto…!”, the girl snarled. “Puta! Get the fuck out of here!”. There was a volley of curses flung through the air, mostly from the blonde; before Nina heard EZ come outside, and offer the girl a ride home. Soon after, a bike started up, and drove out of the lot.

Nina was standing stiff as a board, clenching her fists, and trying to calm her breathing. There was knock on the trailer door, and she shook herself out of it, to go open. Angel was standing outside, looking sheepishly at her; one hand leaning against the doorway. “You ok?”, he asked. “She ruined my last clean top”, Nina muttered, and stepped aside for him to enter. He went over to a cubby in the small bathroom-area, and pulled out a white t-shirt. “EZ’s”, he muttered, and handed it to her. “Thanks…”. Leaning against the counter, Angel looked her over. “I don’t know whether to be impressed or scared of you right now”, he said with a slight smile. “Maybe even a little flattered”. “Why?”, Nina asked, still standing in the middle of the trailer, unmoving. “You weren’t defending my honor back there?”, he asked. “I was trying to get a crazy woman to let go of my hair”, Nina replied coldly. “And, what honor?”. Angel scoffed, and shook his head. “Shit, woman. Talking to you is like a bullet to the head”.

She didn’t know it had happened, before she’d done it. Her palm was stinging, and Angel held his hand to his cheek; where she’d slapped him. “What the fuck was that for?”, he growled. “You… Don’t say that…”, Nina croaked. “Not that”. Angel clenched his jaw, and the furrow between his eyes grew deep. “I’m trying here, Nina”, he said. “I tell you I wanna spend time with you, you get pissed. I give you space, you beat up a chick…”. “It was self-defense!”, Nina exclaimed, unsure which situation she was referring to. She was still stuck on his words. Bullet to the head… “And now I’m trying to talk to you again, and you smack the shit out of me…”. He moved his jaw from side to side. “Shit, how much do you bench, querida?”.

They looked at each other for a long moment. Adrenaline was still surging through her, and pent-up energy was threatening to split her at the seams. Angel just stood there, looking like everything she wanted and needed just at that moment. “Look, I’m just…”, he managed, before she shut him up, by planting her lips on his. He pulled back, and looked at her confusedly; before his eyes darkened, and he grabbed her by the back of the head and kissed her back. Their kiss was frantic and wanton; one that made it clear that this was only headed in one direction. Tugging at her wet top, Nina managed to get it off, while Angel opened his pants. She quickly pulled down her shorts and panties, and used Angel’s shoulders as leverage to get her butt onto the counter. Angel took the time to – unnecessarily – spit into his hand, and make the head of his cock wet; before he sunk in to her. The hard edge of the counter was digging in to her butt, but all she could focus on, was the man between her legs. Holding on to his shoulders, and burying her face in the crook of his neck, Nina tilted her hips; to let Angel get as deep as possible inside her. With groaning whimpers, Angel thrusted possessively in to her. She dug her fingers into his shoulders, and struggled to keep her legs lifted to get the best angle. Angel grabbed one of her thighs, and held her leg around his waist. He hooked his free arm under her other leg, finally getting into a position that brought him as deep as it was possible for him to get.

They didn’t speak in words, only communicating through grunts and moans. Nina felt the coil in her lower belly tighten, and had to bite into Angel’s shoulder to keep from crying out. “I gotta… soon”, Angel croaked. “Uh huh”, Nina nodded fervently. Her walls began tightening, and the thin thread keeping her from falling over the edge finally snapped; making her spasm around him; and all the pent-up emotions wash away as if by a wave. Angel groaned when he felt her come, and it was barely a second later that his own climax came; and he spilled himself inside her.

The door swung open. “Yo, is she cool?”, Coco asked from the doorway. “Fuck, mano!”, Angel growled, and covered Nina’s mostly naked body with his own mostly clothed one. “My bad”, Coco said, and closed the door quickly. Angel looked down at Nina apologetically. “Sorry”, he muttered. Nina nodded, and gave him a slight smile.

Angel gently pulled out of her, and quickly grabbed a paper towel for her to clean up, so she wouldn’t have him dripping down her leg; before giving Nina a hand to get down from the counter. After tucking himself back into his pants, he grabbed the blanket from the cot, and handed it to her; and Nina wrapped it around her chest, to cover herself. “I’m gonna… take a shower”, Nina said quietly. “Yeah”, Angel said. “In there”, she reiterated, and gestured towards the bathroom area, which Angel’s tall frame was blocking. “Yeah, sorry”, he said, and moved for her to pass. Before she could make it all the way, he grabbed her arm. “Nina… I do want to…”. “I know”, she said. “But not now”. “When?”, Angel sighed exasperatedly. “It’s like you got all this shit going on you don’t wanna talk about, and I just want to… I want you to trust me”. Nina took his hand, and merged her fingers with his. “I hear you. I do. Just… Not tonight”, she said. “You should go”. Angel clenched his jaw, and shook his head in frustration. Nina tugged at his t-shirt under his cut. “Please”. Angel let out a defeated grunt. “Ok”, he said, and walked out the door, closing it behind him.

Nina locked up after him, and stood for a moment; leaning her forehead against the door. Then she dropped the blanket, took off her bra, and went to take a cold shower.

---

“Good morning, slugger”, Taza said, as she came out of the trailer the next morning. He and Bishop were having a smoke on the porch of the clubhouse. “I didn’t hit anyone”, Nina muttered. “No, you just almost broke the arm on one of our regular hangarounds”, Bishop said. “Sorry”, she said. Bishop shrugged. “She looked like she deserved it”, he grunted. “But let me know if you want a turn in the cage, with one of the boys, at some point. I’m sure we could make some cash on bets”. Nina chuckled embarrassedly.

EZ came out of the clubhouse, a mug of coffee in hand. He handed it to her with a smile. “From Chucky”, he said. “Thank god for that freaky-fingered, little man”, Nina said, and took a big gulp. “Is that my shirt?”, EZ asked. Nina looked down at herself. “Yeah… Daniella messed up my last clean top”, she said. “You said something about a laundromat?”. “Yeah, I can take you”, he replied.

Coco and Letty came out of the clubhouse at the same moment. Coco did his best to look anywhere but at Nina; who stifled a smile at his embarrassment. “Sorry. I need the prospect on the lot today. Laundry’s gonna have to wait”, Bishop said. “I’m fine with going on my own”, Nina said. Bishop frowned slightly at her, and she sighed. “I’ll keep my head down”. “I can take you”, Letty said. “We can use Coco’s car”. Coco nodded. “Yeah, uh huh. You… take my car. Anything”. His eyes met Nina’s for a fraction of a second, before he looked away again. Bishop grunted defeatedly, and went down the steps to talk to her. He nodded at EZ to take a hike, before looking at her meaningfully. “You carrying?”, he asked. “.38”, Nina replied shortly. Bishop nodded in recognition. “Straight to the laundromat. Straight back. Anyone asks, you’re a Mayan hangaround”. “I got it”, she said. “Hmm”, Bishop said. “I’ll send EZ by to check on you, if we can spare him”. He handed her an outdated smartphone. “Prepaid. It’s got mine and Taza’s number on it. Use it if anything comes up”. Nina nodded, and went to grab her laundry from the trailer. She wedged her gun down the waistband at the back of her shorts.

Letty was waiting behind the wheel of a black lowrider, when she came back outside. Nina got in the passenger-seat next to her. Coco came over to the driver’s window, and handed Letty a small wad of 20’s. “If you need to buy something… Like pants, or whatever”, he muttered. Letty frowned in confusion, and Nina once again had to chew her lips to keep from grinning.

---

The laundromat was luckily mostly empty from people when they got there. EZ had been right in his proclamation that it smelled like feet; but Nina was overjoyed at the prospect of having clean clothes again.

Letty was reading a magazine, seated on top of one of the washers. Her phone was buzzing constantly, and the first few times, she looked at it; before finally throwing it in a pile of towels someone had left behind. “You don’t wanna get that?”, Nina asked. “Nah… It’s just some guy”, Letty replied, looking at her from the corner of her eyes. “Should I be worried?”, Nina said. “What are you, my dad?”, Letty grunted. Nina raised her brows. “Sorry”, she said. Letty looked suddenly embarrassed. “No, it’s ok. It’s just… You know when you meet a guy, and hang out for a while; and then he won’t just let up calling you?”. “Yeah, I’ve met a few of those in my day”, Nina chuckled. Letty’s face lit up. “Yeah?”. “Oh yeah!”, Nina said. “You find out you’re not on the same page, and try to break it off. And then he’s calling you, like; but baby. We had something good…”. Letty nodded fervently. “Exactly like that! And then he tries to ask you out again, even if you said no thanks, so you gotta ghost him”. “Sometimes it’s like that”, Nina shrugged. Letty jumped off the washer, and went over to help her fold her clothes. “And then he shows up at your school in his truck, with a sixpack and a gas-station bouquet of roses. And you’re just like; dude, I sucked your dick onetime…!”. Nina narrowed her eyes at the teenager. “How old are you, Letty?”, she asked. “18…”, Letty replied. “Ok…”, Nina said, feeling calmer – though not by a lot.

“Is it like that with you and Angel?”, Letty asked, catching Nina off guard. “Like what?”, she asked. “Like, you fucked, and now he won’t give up?”. Nina thought for a moment, not sure how to answer. “No… That’s different. Angel is a good guy, I think. I’m just not sure that he can deal with my shit right now”. Letty smiled crookedly, and for a moment, her family resemblance with Coco was very obvious. “For what it’s worth, I think you’d make a cute couple”. Nina chuckled, and began putting the last of her now clean clothes in the bag.

Letty’s phone buzzed again. The teenager groaned, and finally picked up the call. “What…? No… Because I said so… Yeah… So? You, and everyone else… Yeah, he is…”. When she uttered the last words, Letty’s face suddenly looked anxious. “Well, he can be. I’ll just call him, and he’ll be right here… Yeah, you do that”. She hung up the phone. “We need to go”. “Everything ok?”, Nina asked. “I just wanna get back to the clubhouse”. “Let me just get the last of my clothes”. “I’ll go start the car”, Letty said, and hurried out of the laundromat, and down the side of the building to the alley where they’d parked.

Nina got her last things from the dryer, and quickly packed up. She left the laundromat, and went to go after Letty, when she heard commotion behind a dumpster. “Let me go!”, Letty was yelling. “You can’t do that to someone. You led me on, you little slut”, a darker voice said. Nina ran over to see what was happening, and found a broad-shouldered man holding Letty against the wall, by her wrists. She had a bruise on her jaw. Fear and anger bubbled in Nina’s chest, and she stormed over to the pair. “Let go of her!”, she snarled, and pushed the man away from the teenager. “You stay out of this, bitch!”, he growled, and went to take a swing at her. He was halted, when Letty slammed him in the back with a discarded shopping-basket. The man stumbled forwards, and Nina and Letty made to run, when the man grabbed Letty by the neck, and slammed her against the wall again.

It was like her body worked of its own accord. Nina slipped her arm behind her, and grabbed her gun, before holding it to the man’s head. “Let her go”, Nina said, her voice sounding like it came from somewhere deep within her. “You’re not gonna shoot”, the man laughed. She pulled the hammer. “I said, let her go”. The man slowly released his grip on Letty, and stepped backwards; all the while, Nina still aimed her gun at him. “Listen, lady. This girl, she’s…”. “Shut your mouth, you piece of shit”, Nina hissed. The man raised his hands in the air. “What are you gonna do? I let her go. You won’t shoot me now… Right?”. Nina felt physically sick. Letty was looking at her with scared eyes. “Nina, he let me go… You can put down the gun”, she said. “No”, Nina rasped.

There was the roar of engines, as what sounded like two motorcycles came up behind them. “EZ!”, Letty yelled. “We’re back here!”. Nina heard running, before EZ’s voice called out to her. “Nina…?”. She didn’t reply, it was like her arm cramped up, and she couldn’t lower the gun. “Shit. Angel! Get back here!”. Still frozen in place, her eyes were locked on the man in front of her. Another pair of feet came running up behind her. “Nina?”, Angel said. The man began stuttering. “Shit, man. You gotta do something. We were just having a conversation, and this chick pulls a gun on me…”. A small group of onlookers had gathered, and were staring at the situation with almost vulgar interest. Nina clenched her free hand, struggling to regain control of herself; as her audience awaited her next move.

“He was going to hurt her”, Nina said. “He was going to…”. Angel looked at Letty, who nodded slightly. The biker walked over to the man, and slammed his fist into his gut; making him fall to the ground. Nina moved her gun, continuingly aiming at his head. “Fuck…”, the man groaned. “Get that crazy bitch to put away the gun!”. Angel stormed forward again. “Shut the fuck up!”, he growled, and kicked him in the ribs; making him curl up even more. “Call Coco”, he said to EZ, who fished out his phone; while leading Letty over to the car.

Nina’s arm was beginning to hurt, but she couldn’t move. What if the man got up, and went after Letty again? Angel stepped in front of her, his arms raised calmingly. “You can put the gun down, Nina”. “I can’t…”, she whispered. Angel stepped slowly closer, and put his hand on hers, gently pressing it down. “Come on, querida. You’re ok. It’s ok”. He pried her fingers from the gun, and took it; putting it in his pocket. “See? Everything’s ok”. “Fuck that!”, the man on the ground rasped. “That bitch is crazy…”.

Before Angel had a chance to stop her, Nina had attacked. She was on top of the man, pounding her fists in to his face and chest; and when he tried to cover himself with his arms, she scratched at his skin. The man got a few shots in, before Angel wrapped his arms around Nina, and managed to pull her off him. “No, querida. Stop. He’s down”. “Get off me!”, Nina hissed like an angry cat, and pushed Angel away; looking at him with wild eyes. Moving her gaze to the bystanders, her chest tensed up, and she let out a choked gasp. Their eyes felt like literal fire pokes, prodding at her skin. Angel noticed her looking at the people around them, and broadened his frame; getting between her and the onlookers. “Get the fuck out of here!”, he roared. “You didn’t see anything. Go!”. The crowd quickly scattered, and they were alone in the alley.

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#angel reyes #angel reyes fic #angel reyes smut #mayans mc #angel reyes x oc #mayans mc fic #coco cruz #ez reyes

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queendom25 · 4 years ago

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Skin: A Masterpiece

The air is getting chillier as some of our neighbors remain hot-blooded from the election results. The stress from a Worldwide pandemic, record high unemployment, and another lockdown has basically aged everyone ten years. As a happily melanated mother I can certainly vouch for the fact that my eczema has proven to be a worthy foe for my Cetaphil. Despite the overall status of this year, I would like to say Happy Healthy Skin Month! It’s time to give credit when credit is due to the biggest (sorry fellas), hard working organ on the human body. I want to talk about the history of healthy skin for my fellow melanated brothers and sisters in America because we have come so far!

The first highly esteemed African-American dermatologist in the United States didn't earn his reputation as the “skin wizard of the world” for nothing. Dr. Theodore Kenneth Lawless was the first African American certified by the American Academy of Dermatology and Syphilology which we know today as the American Academy of Dermatology. People that remain either neutral or just plain racist often ask the question, Why does everything have to be about race? And the answer to that microaggression is shown within the career accomplishments of Dr. Lawless. He couldn’t complete the clinical portion of his medical training at the University of Kansas because Black people were prohibited, which is why he was only able to complete the preclinical portion and transfer to Northwestern University in Chicago. The clinical portion of medical school training is required to graduate and race was forced to be an obstacle for Dr. Lawless, but that didn’t stop this pioneer from being published in the Journal of the American Medical Association-whose parent organization (American Medical Association) openly rejected African American members. He couldn’t even get promoted at Northwestern because his white colleagues were intimidated by an intellectual Black man making history for his race. Dr. Lawless switched gears from medicine to businesses by helping Black owned businesses with financing in the banking world of Chicago. He developed a middle-income housing project which is in his name to this day. Dr. Lawless is without question the definition of Black excellence because despite his profitable success, he continued to see patients and never rejected people who couldn’t pay.

We all remember and miss the late great David Bowie and the beautiful widow he left behind Iman Abdulmajid, but let this writer recognize the Queen for a moment because we need to discuss her Black excellence resume. Iman was a successful fashion model and actress who would mix her own make-up for artists to use on her. Note that this little piece of history is echoed through the partnership of Fenty and Rihanna that America is graced with today. The struggle has always been real in the beauty industry for people of color because America depicted “color” as ugly before it ever painted it as “exotic”. Before Rihanna’s epic fashion show and make-up line, it was Iman, who paved the way for diversity in 1994 with Iman Cosmetics and her modeling career in 1975. Another microaggression that’s spoken a lot in the blue state of Oregon is, Why is there so much emphasis on Black films or other forms of Black representation in America? Dr. Benjamin Rush was an abolitionist who signed the Declaration of Independence and he believed that Blackness was a strain of leprosy, that if spread throughout the body would change hair woolly, flatten noses, and swell the lips. This was the diet racist of his time that believed that Blackness was a defect and Henry Moss was the path to the cure. Henry Moss was a Black man with vitiligo in the 1790’s that used his skin condition as a side-show attraction in Philadelphia’s taverns and museums. America paints George Washington as a founding father but America’s classrooms omitted President George Washington as being one of the patrons who paid the 25 cents to see a white negro [sic] on display at Mr. Leech’s tavern in 1796.

Before being the top draft pick for the Ducks or being the lyrical flavor in the ear of every DJ at a Oregon high school prom, Black was never “trendy” in the eyes of American society. Black skin was put in zoos for the merriment of the white ego from skin pigmentation to the endowed figures of African women. Every essence of the humanity of Black people has been exploited and disenfranchised to the fullest extent in American history but never spoken. The worst atrocities committed by European colonizers to African people out of hatred for being “different” is what’s making Hollywood plastic surgeons so much money today. In the spirit of National Healthy Skin Month I want all of my fellow people of color from Asian American to Native American to show their skin some love. In a country that continuously depicts all of us as “exotic” today, what they really mean is white is the standard for being human. For those Americans that say they don’t see color, you have a very bleak and gray outlook because life is more vibrant than that.

Sources:

Complicity: How the North Promoted, Prolonged, and Profited from Slavery Anne Farrow, Joel Lang, and Jennifer Frank

Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present Harriet A. Washington

https://www.illamasqua.com/blog/black-history-beauty-pioneers/

https://adeadamson.com/blog/2017/2/22/more-than-skin-deep-theodore-k-lawless-a-dermatologist-scholar-and-philanthropist

#social justice #black lives matter #blackgirlbeauty #vent #this is america #thatoregonlife #oregon #pacific northwest #social activism

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fightersagainstnarccistic · 5 years ago

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Fighters Against Narcissistic Abusers in HEMA

Note: Please read this article on a laptop or PC. Due to Tumblr’s mobile design you will not be able to expand the photos on a smartphone device and so it will be hard to read the text in the screenshots we show when reading this blog on a phone or tablet. Please use a PC.

This blog has been created to expose the narcissistic abusers in the HEMA (historical European martial arts) community who have been running rampant for several years trying to destroy the lives of other people for supposedly noble reasons, but are in fact merely a way for them to acquire power and control over other people as part of their untreated narcissistic personality disorders which are blatantly obvious through examination of their statements and actions.

We have had enough.

As some of these people have formed virtue signaling groups such as ‘Fighters against Racism’ and ‘Fighters against Fascism’ to mask their true actions under a false banner of virtue, we decided to title this blog ‘ Fighters Against Narcissistic Abusers in HEMA ‘ to spin the tables on them.

What you will find in this blog are examples from the literally thousands of screenshots we have archived over the years of extremely abusive behavior designed to bully and harass other people in the HEMA community solely to serve the agendas of certain narcissistic individuals, who often band together to form witch hunts against others. They frequently distort and misrepresent facts and mix in blatant lies, and yet provide very little proof for their accusations. Everyone is just supposed to suspend all objectivity, all critical thinking and just “listen and believe”.

Well we aren’t doing that. This blog is going to shine a huge ass spotlight on all of the bullshit you have been doing and expose you for what you really are; Narcissistic Abusers

You are ruining HEMA and killing it’s ability to grow.

You are the ones actually making HEMA an unsafe space, as you bully and harass anyone based on unsubstantiated hearsay. You make HEMA where intimidation and bullying rule people.

It is time for you stop your shit.

And as there is only one way you will ever stop -- being exposed for what you are in the light of day -- so that is precisely what we will do.

It is very critical that we say upfront this blog is not meant to harass or mock people for having a mental illness. We empathize with those who suffer from such disorders. However when people with untreated mental disorders such as severe cases of narcissism start abusing other people instead of seeking treatment for their illnesses we have to draw a line in the sand. These kinds of bad faith actors who invent elaborate conspiracies designed to destroy other people’s lives and careers to satisfy their own desire for power is turning people in the HEMA community against each other, and the only people this fighting benefits are the narcissists pulling the strings.

As these people have spent years slowly acquiring influence and power to use to harass others we have posted this blog and the evidence against them anonymously. You must look at the screenshots we show you that provide the evidence for what they are doing and form your own conclusions.

We’re going to start with a particular club that is at the very heart of this infection of narcissistic abuse in the HEMA community. We’re going to start with Valkyrie Western Martial Arts and its coaches, as well as some of its members who participate in the harassment of others. While there are several other groups we will eventually get around to exposing, we’re starting with Valkyrie because over the past few weeks they have slandered another club in their city with the specific aim of causing that club to be shunned by the rest of the HEMA community using deception, lies and manipulative tactics. Their goal is to financially ruin that club and gain its members and influence for itself, as the club in question, Academie Duello, was working with other clubs in Canada to form a new federation and Valkyrie has made allegations claiming abuse from many years ago in an effort to derail these efforts, as Valkyrie desires to control the new federation and has a long standing vendetta against Duello based on biases of its founder.

For those unaware of the accusations against Duello, a copy can be read at https://www.reddit.com/r/wma/comments/hv07on/an_important_letter_for_the_hema_community_to_read/

And this is Duello’s response to the allegations

https://www.academieduello.com/open-letter-2020/

We’re not employees of Academie Duello but we have some familiarity with the Vancouver British Columbia HEMA scene. We don’t believe the accusations against Duello and Devon Boorman, and we know things about Valkyrie that are “open secrets” that frequently have been looked the other direction due to the influence people such as Kaja Sadowski have gained and how she will drop her wrath on anyone that dares to speak out against the cult of Valkyrie Western Martial Arts.

It is our belief that Valkyrie has been extremely disingenuous in their allegations against Duello. They haven’t provided any real evidence for the accusations they have made and are relying entirely on perceived integrity their coaches possess, but if you actually know what Valkyrie does and who is behind the club you’d realize they are not very credible people. To show this we’re going to write a series of posts examining some of the key individuals involved in Valkyrie and showing why these people are NOT credible and you should NOT believe what they say at face value. We’re going to reveal how they are actually guilty of much of what they accuse Duello of and are projecting their own failings to attack Duello unfairly.

And in the process of doing this, we will prove with the information contained in this blog that Valkyrie Western Martial Arts is a cult that teaches dangerous self-defense bullshido to vulnerable populations of people (women and LGBTQ) who have little to no prior experience with the martial arts and are easy for them to manipulate with love bombing tactics.

Valkyrie is, essentially, a cult with many similarities to the Nxivm cult ( https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/30/magazine/sex-cult-empowerment-nxivm-keith-raniere.html ) in that the founder is a man who uses pseudo-intellectual scientific sounding bullshit to make people feel “empowered” and largely uses women students / co-leaders to assist him with recruiting vulnerable populations of people into the cult.

Unlike Nxivm this cult has been founded by a man, Randy Packer, who makes statements like this about what he loves about the martial arts,

http://boxwrestlefence.com/blog/2020/04/28/expectations-and categorizations/

A man who has violent tendencies and thoughts about others when he gets jealous,

And has by his own acknowledgement has had obsessive violent thoughts for many years,

And this cult of his through the efforts of people like Kaja Sadowski has been spreading its talons deep into the heart of the HEMA community and manipulating people for far too long. Now they are seeking to destroy a club in their city, Academie Duello, for their own purposes to gain more control and power.

It’s time they were revealed for what they really are.

The following are direct links to several posts with our evidence for the accusations made against Valkyrie. As there is so much information that has to be shared in order to fully explain the situation with Valkyrie and why they are not to be trusted with so little proof provided for their accusations against Academie Duello, we are dividing this into multiple sections. Please read them in chronological order to fully understand the depths of the rabbit hole that is Valkyrie Western Martial Arts.

( note you can submit info to us at [email protected] if you’d like to contribute)

Exposing Valkyrie’s Bullshido

https://fightersagainstnarccistic.tumblr.com/post/624593303312171008/scrutinizing-valkyries-bullshido

How is Valkyrie a Cult?

https://fightersagainstnarccistic.tumblr.com/post/624517817683886080/why-valkyrie-western-martial-arts-in-vancouver

What Valkyrie Doesn’t Want You To Know

https://fightersagainstnarccistic.tumblr.com/post/624524819434749952/what-valkyrie-western-martial-arts-doesnt-want

Valkyrie disregards other women than themselves and manipulates vulnerable people

https://fightersagainstnarccistic.tumblr.com/post/624529060854448128/valkyrie-western-martial-arts-disregards-other

More of Valkyrie’s Bullshido

https://fightersagainstnarccistic.tumblr.com/post/624537330636685312/more-of-valkyrie-western-martial-arts-bullshido

Additional Narcissistic Abusers who assist Valkyrie

https://fightersagainstnarccistic.tumblr.com/post/624699657862381568/additional-narcissistic-abusers-who-assist

In Conclusion

https://fightersagainstnarccistic.tumblr.com/post/624699667915128832/in-conclusion

ADDITIONAL STUFF TO READ

The Historical Fencing FAR group blog that has a guide on how to create a “Liberation Gym”

https://fightersagainstnarccistic.tumblr.com/post/626484943349022720/far-historical-fencing-blog-that-promotes-antifa

How Moderator at /wma Censors Criticism Against Valkyrie and Promotes Their Story

https://fightersagainstnarccistic.tumblr.com/post/626365181118840832/abuse-by-detrio-moderator-at-reddit-wma-to-help

Jason Barrons Responds to Allegations, and our Response Back

https://fightersagainstnarccistic.tumblr.com/post/626474814452924416/jason-barrons-responds-to-our-comments-and-our

2nd Response to Jason Barrons

https://fightersagainstnarccistic.tumblr.com/post/627579410578587648/to-jason-barrons-again

The deal with Kat Fanning president of HEMA Alliance

https://fightersagainstnarccistic.tumblr.com/post/627199444351320064/the-deal-with-kat-fanning-president-of-hema

HEMAA club discrimination based on race

https://fightersagainstnarccistic.tumblr.com/post/627588985429114880/racial-discrimination-by-hemaa-clubs

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mostlysignssomeportents · 5 years ago

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Pluralistic: 01 Mar 2020 (Make Mordor great again, N95 Mask of the Red Death, Medicare for All with Covid, Necessity Defense)

Today's links

Trump's rhetoric fits eerily well into the Tolkien canon: AR Moxon makes Mordor great again.

The wealthy are chartering jets to avoid coronavirus: The Masque of the Red Death takes to the skies.

The US already has Medicare for All: The day that Trump declares a national health emergency.

America's uninsured will turn a covid crisis into a covid disaster: Our shared microbial destiny cannot be denied.

Jury refuses to convict Extinction Rebellion activists: Long live the "necessity defense" and the human race it protects.

This day in history: 2005, 2010, 2015, 2019

Colophon: Recent publications, current writing projects, upcoming appearances, current reading

Trump's rhetoric fits eerily well into the Tolkien canon (permalink)

AR Moxon's satirical riff on how Trump would play as a Tolkien villain is not only hilarious, it's also exactly the kind of thing the Tolkien estate used to threaten to sue people over.

https://twitter.com/JuliusGoat/status/1233207274992263168?s=19

(which is why Pat Murphy's astoundingly great genderswapped retelling of The Hobbit, "There and Back Again," is no longer in print.)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There_and_Back_Again_(novel)

Especially good is how Moxon digs into the way that Tolkien's concept of "races" was uncomfortably close to "racism" (especially orcs, who, honestly, have no conceivable basis for subsisting as a species, let alone a society).

https://twitter.com/JuliusGoat/status/1233682097463873536

"While I was here, this orc came up —a big guy, very tough, like out of central casting, handsome, could've been a fighting Uruk-hai—and he's crying, weeping, he says 'sir, thank you for the meat.' Incredible. He hadn't had nothing but maggoty bread for three stinking days."

Other Trumpland rhetoric fits in eerily well. Just like Murphy, Moxon claims Hobbits: "We have Hobbits coming in folks, and they're smoking the pipe-weed, and eating second breakfasts, third breakfasts, your breakfasts, your children's breakfasts."

https://twitter.com/JuliusGoat/status/1233221682309083137

And just as with Murphy, Moxon's satire is full of deep, Silmarillion cuts that demonstrate that his work is coming from a place of deep, if conflicted, affection.

https://twitter.com/JuliusGoat/status/1233328631734206475

"Fëanor, son of Finwë, King of the Noldor, is an example of somebody who's done an amazing job and is being recognized more and more. We all appreciate his contributions, and we're looking into him, and we're looking very strongly. Nobody was talking about him before me."

(Image: Cornel Zueger, CC BY-SA)

The wealthy are chartering jets to avoid coronavirus (permalink)

Plutes are chartering private jets in the hopes of avoiding #coronavirus, assuming that if they only fly in fart-tubes that other wealthy people have farted in, they won't get sick.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-02-29/wealthy-jump-to-private-jets-to-duck-airlines-and-cut-virus-risk

To make this pay, you really need to fill that Gulfstream. NYC-London is $140k for a 12-seater — flying those 12 buttery soft asses from JFK to Heathrow in BA First will run you $120K.

So you're basically assuming that if you use the plute-only terminal at LAX (whose management company once threatened to sue me for criticizing it in print!), and LHR (originally royals-only, now open to any oligarch), you'll avoid covid. Presumably because the Better People have Better Masks and the Luxury Decontam Wipes and that will keep the bad stuff at bay. Nevermind that we're finding covid in people who've been in psych ward lockdown for TEN YEARS.

https://twitter.com/AskAKorean/status/1233046896719126533

Elite Panic is definitely a killer. I mean, people have been pointing this out since Poe wrote "Masque of the Red Death" in 1842. You can't shoot germs.

https://www.poemuseum.org/the-masque-of-the-red-death

Humanity has a shared microbial destiny. Crises get resolved by people running TOWARD the problem, not cowering in luxury bunkers while better people do the work. This is the point of my own take on "Masque."

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250242334

Public health crises show that reality has a well-known collectivist bias, and this challenges right wing orthodoxy, which is why the right has only two responses to epidemiology: "It's a hoax" and (later) "Exterminate the dirty poors!"

"The Reactionary Mind," Corey Robin's magnificent 2011 book (updated 2017), traces the history of right-wing thought to find the factor that unites Dominionists, imperialists, white nationalists, libertarians and other strains of right-wing thought.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Reactionary_Mind

Robin's conclusion: the thing that unites these different strains is a belief that humanity is naturally arrayed in hierarchies, with some people simply born better than the rest of us, and the world is best when the best people are in charge. It's an idea as old as Plato's Republic. Dominionists want Christian men in charge of women and children. Racists want white people in charge of racialized people. Libertarians want bosses in charge of workers. Imperialists want America in charge of the world.

It explains why right-wing movements hang together (because they all agree that the "wrong people" are running things) and why they splinter (once they take power, they can't agree who the "right people" are).

This "divine right of kings/bosses/America/whites/men/Christians" philosophy is coterminal with the idea of the natural leaders having special stuff that makes them better: just as the touch of a king will heal leprosy, so too can you expect that a plute won't have covid. It's wrong, of course — lethally so.

The US already has Medicare for All (permalink)

Did you know the US already has "Medicare for All"? But only under very specific circumstances: under the National Disaster Medical System, if the President declares a public health emergency, the federal government steps in to pay all out-of-pockets.

https://www.phe.gov/Preparedness/responders/ndms/definitive-care/Pages/coverage-guidelines.aspx

Any medically necessary service which is authorized for reimbursement as long as the patient sustained:

Injuries or illnesses resulting directly from a specified public health emergency;"

("If you have covid symptoms, you're covered")

Injuries, illnesses and conditions requiring medical services necessary to maintain a reasonable level of health temporarily not available as a result of the health emergency

("if you have any other problem and can't get treatment due to covid chaos, you're covered")

As Carlos Mucha points out, Trump declaring a national health emergency would create "Medicare for All with Covid-19," which could easily become just plain Medicare for All, "as surely as the UK's Emergency Hospital Service morphed into the NHS."

America's uninsured will turn a covid crisis into a covid disaster (permalink)

The last time Carl Gibson saw a doctor was 2013, when an arm-sling and an Rx for painkillers ran him $4000, creating a permanent blot on his credit report. He hasn't been since.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/feb/28/coronavirus-millions-of-americans-uninsured

He's not alone. 44% of Americans do not see doctors despite medical necessity, because of cost. About a third of Americans do not fill their prescriptions because they can't afford them.

27.5m Americans don't have health insurance, thanks to a mix of Republican state-houses blocking Medicare expansion and Obamacare's intrinsic shortcomings, which invite price-gouging and under-coverage from America's sociopathic health-insurance industry.

This is terrible under the best of circumstances, but it's the thing that turns a coronavirus emergency into a coronavirus catastrophe. Because Carl Gibson is sneezing into the same air you're breathing.

("All the common people breathing filthy air" -The Pointer Sisters)

Trump's Health and Human Services Secretary, Alex Azar, is a former pharma lobbyist who has ruled out price controls for a Covid-19 vaccine.

https://pluralistic.net/2020/02/27/pluralistic-your-daily-link-dose-27-feb-2020/#pandemiccapitalism

And Nancy Pelosi has said that treatment must be "affordable" – not free. What's "affordable" when 61% of Americans don't even have $1,000 saved to cover a medical emergency?

It's hardly a novel observation to say that we have a shared microbial destiny: "The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'"

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/18/few-americans-have-enough-savings-to-cover-a-1000-emergency.html

Jury refuses to convict Extinction Rebellion activists (permalink)

An Oregon jury has refused to convict a group of climate activists who blocked a rail line that Zenith Energy used to transport tar sands crude. The Extinction Rebellion activists presented a "necessity defense" for their actions.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/02/28/landmark-win-fight-habitable-future-jury-refuses-convict-climate-activists-who

The activists were charged with trespassing for planting a "victory garden" that blocked the track. There was video. 5 of 6 jurors decided that maintaining the habitability of the only planet in the known universe capable of sustaining human life justified the action.

"We need to take note of the lessons learned by the labor movement—mass civil disobedience works. The climate crisis is a workers' issue, we need to unite to shut down business as usual. Right now." -Margaret Butler

The result was a mistrial, and now the local prosecutors have to decide whether to haul the activists back into court again.

This day in history (permalink)

#15yrsago Deluded Sony music exec can't read his own study https://constitutionalcode.blogspot.com/2005/02/us-market-not-antagonistic-towards-drm.html

#15yrsago Euro software patents reanimated through corrupt officials 0wned by Microsoft https://yro.slashdot.org/story/05/02/28/2223232/eu-commission-declines-patent-debate-restart

#15yrsago Comp sci profs smackdown the movie studios https://web.archive.org/web/20050303023425/http://www.freedom-to-tinker.com/archives/000776.html

#10yrsago Architectural fan-drawings of classic sitcom houses http://origin.www.markmoorefineart.com/artists/mark-bennett

#10yrsago Petition to make "Hella" the prefix for 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 https://www.facebook.com/The-Official-Petition-to-Establish-Hella-as-the-SI-Prefix-for-1027-277479937276/

#10yrsago Cyberwar hype was cooked up to sell Internet-breaking garbage to the military https://www.wired.com/2010/03/cyber-war-hype/

#5yrsago North Korean defectors undermine totalitarianism with smuggled pirate sitcoms https://www.wired.com/2015/03/north-korea/

#1yrago Oakland teachers' union declares total victory after seven-day strike https://oaklandea.org/updates/oea-reaches-tentative-agreement-with-ousd/

#1yrago German Data Privacy Commissioner warns at new Copyright Directive will increase the tech oligopoly, make EU companies dependent on US filter vendors, and subject Europeans to surveillance by US companies https://torrentfreak.com/german-data-privacy-commissioner-sounds-alarm-over-upload-filter-oligopoly-190301/

#1yrago University of California system libraries break off negotiations with Elsevier, will no longer order their journals https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/02/university-california-boycotts-publishing-giant-elsevier-over-journal-costs-and-open

#1yrago Satanic Panic 2.0: The Momo Challenge hoax https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2019/02/momo-challenge-hoax/583825/

#1yrago Striking West Virginia teachers won swift and decisive victory; Oakland next? https://www.commondreams.org/views/2019/02/28/rapid-victory-west-virginia-teacher-strike-shows-what-happens-when-progressives

Colophon (permalink)

Today's top sources: Naked Capitalism (https://nakedcapitalism.com/)

Hugo nominators! My story "Unauthorized Bread" is eligible in the Novella category and you can read it free on Ars Technica: https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/01/unauthorized-bread-a-near-future-tale-of-refugees-and-sinister-iot-appliances/

Upcoming appearances:

Canada Reads Kelowna: March 5, 6PM, Kelowna Library, 1380 Ellis Street, with CBC's Sarah Penton https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/cbc-radio-presents-in-conversation-with-cory-doctorow-tickets-96154415445

Currently writing: I just finished a short story, "The Canadian Miracle," for MIT Tech Review. It's a story set in the world of my next novel, "The Lost Cause," a post-GND novel about truth and reconciliation. I'm getting geared up to start work on the novel now, though the timing is going to depend on another pending commission (I've been solicited by an NGO) to write a short story set in the world's prehistory.

Currently reading: Just started Lauren Beukes's forthcoming Afterland: it's Y the Last Man plus plus, and two chapters in, it's amazeballs. Last month, I finished Andrea Bernstein's "American Oligarchs"; it's a magnificent history of the Kushner and Trump families, showing how they cheated, stole and lied their way into power. I'm getting really into Anna Weiner's memoir about tech, "Uncanny Valley." I just loaded Matt Stoller's "Goliath" onto my underwater MP3 player and I'm listening to it as I swim laps.

Latest podcast: Gopher: When Adversarial Interoperability Burrowed Under the Gatekeepers' Fortresses: https://craphound.com/podcast/2020/02/24/gopher-when-adversarial-interoperability-burrowed-under-the-gatekeepers-fortresses/

Upcoming books: "Poesy the Monster Slayer" (Jul 2020), a picture book about monsters, bedtime, gender, and kicking ass. Pre-order here: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781626723627?utm_source=socialmedia&utm_medium=socialpost&utm_term=na-poesycorypreorder&utm_content=na-preorder-buynow&utm_campaign=9781626723627

(we're having a launch for it in Burbank on July 11 at Dark Delicacies and you can get me AND Poesy to sign it and Dark Del will ship it to the monster kids in your life in time for the release date).

"Attack Surface": The third Little Brother book, Oct 20, 2020.

"Little Brother/Homeland": A reissue omnibus edition with a very special, s00per s33kr1t intro.

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footnoteswithinfootnotes · 5 years ago

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I have rape-colored skin. My light-brown-blackness is a living testament to the rules, the practices, the causes of the Old South. If there are those who want to remember the legacy of the Confederacy, if they want monuments, well, then, my body is a monument. My skin is a monument. Dead Confederates are honored all over this country — with cartoonish private statues, solemn public monuments and even in the names of United States Army bases. It fortifies and heartens me to witness the protests against this practice and the growing clamor from serious, nonpartisan public servants to redress it. But there are still those — like President Trump and the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell — who cannot understand the difference between rewriting and reframing the past. I say it is not a matter of “airbrushing” history, but of adding a new perspective. I am a black, Southern woman, and of my immediate white male ancestors, all of them were rapists. My very existence is a relic of slavery and Jim Crow. According to the rule of hypodescent (the social and legal practice of assigning a genetically mixed-race person to the race with less social power) I am the daughter of two black people, the granddaughter of four black people, the great-granddaughter of eight black people. Go back one more generation and it gets less straightforward, and more sinister. As far as family history has always told, and as modern DNA testing has allowed me to confirm, I am the descendant of black women who were domestic servants and white men who raped their help. It is an extraordinary truth of my life that I am biologically more than half white, and yet I have no white people in my genealogy in living memory. No. Voluntary. Whiteness. I am more than half white, and none of it was consensual. White Southern men — my ancestors — took what they wanted from women they did not love, over whom they had extraordinary power, and then failed to claim their children. What is a monument but a standing memory? An artifact to make tangible the truth of the past. My body and blood are a tangible truth of the South and its past. The black people I come from were owned by the white people I come from. The white people I come from fought and died for their Lost Cause. And I ask you now, who dares to tell me to celebrate them? Who dares to ask me to accept their mounted pedestals? You cannot dismiss me as someone who doesn’t understand. You cannot say it wasn’t my family members who fought and died. My blackness does not put me on the other side of anything. It puts me squarely at the heart of the debate. I don’t just come from the South. I come from Confederates. I’ve got rebel-gray blue blood coursing my veins. My great-grandfather Will was raised with the knowledge that Edmund Pettus was his father. Pettus, the storied Confederate general, the grand dragon of the Ku Klux Klan, the man for whom Selma’s Bloody Sunday Bridge is named. So I am not an outsider who makes these demands. I am a great-great-granddaughter. And here I’m called to say that there is much about the South that is precious to me. I do my best teaching and writing here. There is, however, a peculiar model of Southern pride that must now, at long last, be reckoned with. This is not an ignorant pride but a defiant one. It is a pride that says, “Our history is rich, our causes are justified, our ancestors lie beyond reproach.” It is a pining for greatness, if you will, a wish again for a certain kind of American memory. A monument-worthy memory. But here’s the thing: Our ancestors don’t deserve your unconditional pride. Yes, I am proud of every one of my black ancestors who survived slavery. They earned that pride, by any decent person’s reckoning. But I am not proud of the white ancestors whom I know, by virtue of my very existence, to be bad actors. Among the apologists for the Southern cause and for its monuments, there are those who dismiss the hardships of the past. They imagine a world of benevolent masters, and speak with misty eyes of gentility and honor and the land. They deny plantation rape, or explain it away, or question the degree of frequency with which it occurred. To those people it is my privilege to say, I am proof. I am proof that whatever else the South might have been, or might believe itself to be, it was and is a space whose prosperity and sense of romance and nostalgia were built upon the grievous exploitation of black life. The dream version of the Old South never existed. Any manufactured monument to that time in that place tells half a truth at best. The ideas and ideals it purports to honor are not real. To those who have embraced these delusions: Now is the time to re-examine your position. Either you have been blind to a truth that my body’s story forces you to see, or you really do mean to honor the oppressors at the expense of the oppressed, and you must at last acknowledge your emotional investment in a legacy of hate. Either way, I say the monuments of stone and metal, the monuments of cloth and wood, all the man-made monuments, must come down. I defy any sentimental Southerner to defend our ancestors to me. I am quite literally made of the reasons to strip them of their laurels.

Caroline Randall Williams

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bountyofbeads · 5 years ago

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This is a heartbreaking investigation into how Donald Trump's DISGUSTING 🤢, VILE, DESPICABLE, APPALLING, and DEPRAVED behavior is trickling down in our society and having REAL LIFE EFFECTS(including suicide) on our children and young people. The FISH ROTS from the HEAD. Melania it looks like your 'BE BEST' campaign isn't working out so well. Perhaps you should start by taking your husband's phone away and removing him from public view. PLEASE READ 📖 and SHARE this investigation. TY 🙏🏻🙏🏼🙏🏽🙏🏾🙏🏿

HOW THE BULLY-IN-CHIEF IS TURNING AMERICA NASTIER

By Paul Waldman | Published February 13 at 4:07 PM EST | Washington Post | Posted February 14, 2020 |

Sometimes we overestimate the degree to which a president can change a country, not just altering federal policy but also transforming our national life. But President Trump, there can be little doubt, will have as profound an effect on America as nearly any president in memory. The problem is that he’s doing it in all the worst ways.

As a new report from The Post demonstrates, across the country schools are reporting increased incidents of bullying and harassment directed at minority children in the time since Trump began running for office:

Since Trump’s rise to the nation’s highest office, his inflammatory language — often condemned as racist and xenophobic — has seeped into schools across America. Many bullies now target other children differently than they used to, with kids as young as 6 mimicking the president’s insults and the cruel way he delivers them.

It’s not all kids bullying kids — some of the cases involve teachers telling minority students that Trump will deport them or saying things such as “You’re getting kicked out of my country” (and there are also cases, though much smaller in number, of pro-Trump children being bullied).

Amazing what happens when you take the most repugnant human being in America and put him in the White House.

I exaggerate — but only a bit. I’m sure there are some Americans who are more morally despicable than Trump. Serial killers, for instance. But whether you like his administration’s policies, the president of the United States is a con man, a tax cheat, an accused sexual predator and the most prolific liar in the political history of Planet Earth, among other things.

But he might have been all that and not produced this kind of bullying. In fact, it was utterly predictable, because bullying is at the core of Trump’s being — and his political persona.

When he started running for president in 2015, Trump made clear that not only was he selling an agenda of xenophobia and racism, but he also wanted people to proclaim their hatreds loudly. “I’m so tired of this politically correct crap,” he said, and he wasn’t just talking about campus speech codes. He was angry at the foundational idea behind “political correctness,” that in our daily lives we should try to treat each other with respect.

The hell with that, Trump said. Every day he offered an instruction in the liberating power of being offensive. Not only shouldn’t you let a bunch of scolds tell you what kind of language to use, you should revel in the transgressive thrill of telling other people just what you think of them.

Trump plainly believes that if they see it to their advantage, people with more power should attack, victimize and humiliate those with less power. It’s something he’s known all his life, from when he was a young man being sued with his father for housing discrimination for refusing to rent apartments to black people, to when he was cheating struggling people out of their life savings, to when he refused to pay hundreds of small businesspeople what he owed them because they didn’t have the power to fight him.

In every case the logic was the same: He had more power than them, so he did what he wanted.

This is a man who mocked a reporter for his disability and who said women who accused him of sexual assault were too ugly for him to have victimized.

A different person might ascend to the most powerful position in the world and decide not to concern themselves anymore with petty squabbles. But if anything, Trump has accelerated his feuds, increasing the frequency with which he lashes out at those who are less powerful than him. Some are public figures who may be used to that sort of thing, but others are not.

One victim after another describes the disorienting feeling of being an ordinary person and realizing that the president of the United States is going after you. Just this week, Trump decided to attack the foreperson of the jury in the trial of his friend Roger Stone.

Imagine what it’s like to be her right now. You got the notice in the mail, went to do your civic duty, and now the president is insulting you on Twitter — with the inevitable threats and harassment from his supporters to follow.

And this is critical: Trump’s amen chorus celebrates him for his own bullying and the way he encourages others to be bullies. Recall the 2017 incident in which now-Rep. Greg Gianforte (R-Mont.) body-slammed a journalist to the floor. On Fox News they cheered the assault as “Montana justice,” and host Laura Ingraham tweeted, “Did anyone get his lunch money stolen today and then run to tell the recess monitor?” Trump later appeared at a rally with Gianforte and said, “Any guy that can do a body slam, he is my type!”

That’s the ethos of the Trump era: There are no more standards of morality or appropriate behavior or even simple politeness. There is only his power, and how you have to submit to it.

When Republicans impeached Bill Clinton for lying about an affair, they responded to the argument that it had nothing to do with his official duties by saying the president is a role model, so his behavior matters. They were wrong about a lot, but they were right about that.

The difference is that back then, nobody in Clinton’s party defended him for having an affair, let alone praised him for it. Today, Trump sends the message over and over that power and status should be used to punch down, mock, degrade and humiliate those you don’t like. And his legions of lickspittles laugh and cheer.

So it’s no wonder that Trump, who has the world’s biggest megaphone, has managed to spread his particular poison throughout the country, even to children. It would have a been a surprise if it didn’t happen.

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TRUMP’S WORDS, BULLIED KIDS,

SCARRED SCHOOLS .... THE PRESIDENT’S RHETORIC HAS CHANGED THE WAY HUNDREDS OF CHILDREN ARE HARASSED IN AMERICAN CLASSROOMS, The Post found

By Hannah Natanson, John Woodrow Cox and Perry Stein | Published Feb. 13, 2020 | Washington Post | Posted February 14, 2020 |

Two kindergartners in Utah told a Latino boy that President Trump would send him back to Mexico, and teenagers in Maine sneered "Ban Muslims" at a classmate wearing a hijab. In Tennessee, a group of middle- schoolers linked arms, imitating the president's proposed border wall as they refused to let nonwhite students pass. In Ohio, another group of middle-schoolers surrounded a mixed-race sixth-grader and, as she confided to her mother, told the girl: "This is Trump country."

Since Trump's rise to the nation’s highest office, his inflammatory language — often condemned as racist and xenophobic — has seeped into schools across America. Many bullies now target other children differently than they used to, with kids as young as 6 mimicking the president’s insults and the cruel way he delivers them.

Trump’s words, those chanted by his followers at campaign rallies and even his last name have been wielded by students and school staff members to harass children more than 300 times since the start of 2016, a Washington Post review of 28,000 news stories found. At least three-quarters of the attacks were directed at kids who are Hispanic, black or Muslim, according to the analysis. Students have also been victimized because they support the president — more than 45 times during the same period.

Although many hateful episodes garnered coverage just after the election, The Post found that Trump-connected persecution of children has never stopped. Even without the huge total from November 2016, an average of nearly two incidents per school week have been publicly reported over the past four years. Still, because so much of the bullying never appears in the news, The Post’s figure represents a small fraction of the actual total. It also doesn’t include the thousands of slurs, swastikas and racial epithets that aren’t directly linked to Trump but that the president’s detractors argue his behavior has exacerbated.

“It’s gotten way worse since Trump got elected,” said Ashanty Bonilla, 17, a Mexican American high school junior in Idaho who faced so much ridicule from classmates last year that she transferred. “They hear it. They think it’s okay. The president says it. . . . Why can’t they?”

Asked about Trump’s effect on student behavior, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham noted that first lady Melania Trump — whose “Be Best” campaign denounces online harassment — had encouraged kids worldwide to treat one another with respect.

“She knows that bullying is a universal problem for children that will be difficult to stop in its entirety,” Grisham wrote in an email, “but Mrs. Trump will continue her work on behalf of the next generation despite the media’s appetite to blame her for actions and situations outside of her control.”

Most schools don’t track the Trump bullying phenomenon, and researchers didn’t ask about it in a federal survey of 6,100 students in 2017, the most recent year with available data. One in five of those children, ages 12 to 18, reported being bullied at school, a rate unchanged since the previous count in 2015.

However, a 2016 online survey of over 10,000 kindergarten through 12th-grade educators by the Southern Poverty Law Center found that more than 2,500 “described specific incidents of bigotry and harassment that can be directly traced to election rhetoric,” although the overwhelming majority never made the news. In 476 cases, offenders used the phrase “build the wall.” In 672, they mentioned deportation.

For Cielo Castor, who is Mexican American, the experience at Kamiakin High in Kennewick, Wash., was searing. The day after the election, a friend told Cielo, then a sophomore, that he was glad Trump won because Mexicans were stealing American jobs. A year later, when the president was mentioned during her American literature course, she said she didn't support him and a classmate who did refused to sit next to her.

“‘I don’t want to be around her,’ ” Cielo recalled him announcing as he opted for the floor instead.

Then, on “America night” at a football game in October 2018 during Cielo’s senior year, schoolmates in the student section unfurled a “Make America Great Again” flag. Led by the boy who wouldn’t sit beside Cielo, the teenagers began to chant: “Build — the — wall!”

Horrified, she confronted the instigator.

“You can’t be doing that,” Cielo told him.

He ignored her, she recalled, and the teenagers around him booed her. A cheerleading coach was the lone adult who tried to make them stop.

“I felt like I was personally attacked. And it wasn’t like they were attacking my character. They were attacking my ethnicity, and it’s not like I can do anything about that.”

— Cielo Castor

After a photo of the teenagers with the flag appeared on social media, news about what had happened infuriated many of the school’s Latinos, who made up about a quarter of the 1,700-member student body. Cielo, then 17, hoped school officials would address the tension. When they didn’t, she attended that Wednesday’s school board meeting.

“I don’t feel cared for,” she told the members, crying.

A day later, the superintendent consoled her and the principal asked how he could help, recalled Cielo, now a college freshman. Afterward, school staff members addressed every class, but Hispanic students were still so angry that they organized a walkout.

Some students heckled the protesters, waving MAGA caps at them. At the end of the day, Cielo left the school with a white friend who’d attended the protest; they passed an underclassman she didn’t know.

“Look,” the boy said, “it’s one of those f---ing Mexicans.”

She heard that school administrators — who declined to be interviewed for this article — suspended the teenager who had led the chant, but she doubts he has changed.

Reached on Instagram, the teenager refused to talk about what happened, writing in a message that he didn��t want to discuss the incident “because it is in the past and everyone has moved on from it.” At the end, he added a sign-off: “Trump 2020.”

ust as the president has repeatedly targeted Latinos, so, too, have school bullies. Of the incidents The Post tallied, half targeted Hispanics.

In one of the most extreme cases of abuse, a 13-year-old in New Jersey told a Mexican American schoolmate, who was 12, that “all Mexicans should go back behind the wall.” A day later, on June 19, 2019, the 13-year-old assaulted the boy and his mother, Beronica Ruiz, punching him and beating her unconscious, said the family’s attorney, Daniel Santiago. He wonders to what extent Trump’s repeated vilification of certain minorities played a role.

[ More than 300 Trump-inspired harassment incidents reported by news outlets from 2016-2019]

Anti-Hispanic: 45%

Anti-black: 23%

Anti-Semitic: 7%

Anti-Muslim: 8%

Anti-LGBT: 4%

Anti-Trump: 14%

[ **Note: Some incidents targeted multiple groups and, in other cases,

the ethnicity/gender/religion of the

intended target was unclear. Figures may not precisely add up because of rounding. Source: Washington Post analysis of media reports]

“When the president goes on TV and is saying things like Mexicans are rapists, Mexicans are criminals — these children don’t have the cognitive ability to say, ‘He’s just playing the role of a politician,’ ” Santiago argued. “The language that he’s using matters.”

Ruiz’s son, who is now seeing a therapist, continues to endure nightmares from an experience that may take years to overcome. But experts say that discriminatory language can, on its own, harm children, especially those of color who may already feel marginalized.

“It causes grave damage, as much physical as psychological,” said Elsa Barajas, who has counseled more than 1,000 children in her job at the Los Angeles Department of Mental Health.

As a result, she has seen Hispanic students suffer from sleeplessness, lose interest in school, and experience inexplicable stomach pain and headaches.

For Ashanty Bonilla, the damage began with the response to a single tweet she shared 10 months ago.

“Unpopular opinion,” Ashanty, then 16 and a sophomore at Lewiston High School in rural Idaho, wrote on April 9. “People who support Trump and go to Mexico for vacation really piss me off. Sorry not sorry.”

A schoolmate, who is white, took a screen shot of her tweet and posted it to Snapchat, along with a Confederate flag.

“Unpopular opinion but: people that are from Mexico and come in to America illegally or at all really piss me off,” he added in a message that spread rapidly among students.

The next morning, as Ashanty arrived at school, half a dozen boys, including the one who had written the message, stood nearby.

“You’re illegal. Go back to Mexico,” she heard one of them say. “F--- Mexicans.”

Ashanty, shaken but silent, walked past as a friend yelled at the boys to shut up.

In a 33,000-person town that is 94 percent white, Ashanty, whose father is half-black and whose mother is Mexican American, had always worked to fit in. She attended every football game and won a school spirit award as a freshman. She straightened her hair and dyed it blond, hoping to look more like her friends.

“It’s gotten way worse since Trump got elected. They hear it. They think it’s okay. The president says it. . . . Why can’t they?”

— Ashanty Bonilla

She had known those boys who’d heckled her since they were little. For her 15th birthday the year before, some had danced at her quinceañera.

A friend drove her off campus for lunch, but when they pulled back into the parking lot, Ashanty spotted people standing around her car. A rope had been tied from the back of the Honda Pilot to a pickup truck.

“Republican Trump 2020,” someone had written in the dust on her back window.

Hands trembling, Ashanty tried to untie the rope but couldn’t. She heard the laughing, sensed the cellphone cameras pointed at her. She began to weep.

Lewiston’s principal, Kevin Driskill, said he and his staff met with the boys they knew were involved, making clear that “we have zero tolerance for any kind of actions like that.” The incidents, he suspected, stemmed mostly from ignorance.

“Our lack of diversity probably comes with a lack of understanding,” Driskill said, but he added that he’s encouraged by the school district’s recent creation of a community group — following racist incidents on other campuses — meant to address those issues.

That effort came too late for Ashanty.

Some friends supported her, but others told her the boys were just joking. Don’t ruin their lives.

She seldom attended classes the last month of school. That summer, she started having migraines and panic attacks. In August, amid her spiraling despair, Ashanty swallowed 27 pills from a bottle of antidepressants. A helicopter rushed her to a hospital in Spokane, Wash., 100 miles away.

After that, she began seeing a therapist and, along with the friend who defended her, transferred to another school. Sometimes, she imagines how different life might be had she never written that tweet, but Ashanty tries not to blame herself and has learned to take more pride in her heritage. She just wishes the president understood the harm his words inflict.

Even Trump’s last name has become something of a slur to many children of color, whether they’ve heard it shouted at them in hallways or, in her case, seen it written on the back window of a car.

“It means,” she said, “you don’t belong.”

Three weeks into the 2018-19 school year, Miracle Slover's English teacher, she alleges, ordered black and Hispanic students to sit in the back of the classroom at their Fort Worth high school.

At the time, Miracle was a junior. Georgia Clark, her teacher at Amon Carter-Riverside, often brought up Trump, Miracle said. He was a good person, she told the class, because he wanted to build a wall.

“Every day was something new with immigration,” said Miracle, now 18, who has a black mother and a mixed-race father. “That Trump needs to take [immigrants] away. They do drugs, they bring drugs over here. They cause violence.”

Some students tried to film Clark, and others complained to administrators, but none of it made a difference, Miracle said. Clark, an employee of the Fort Worth system since 1998, kept talking.

Clark, who denies the teenager’s allegations, is one of more than 30 educators across the country accused of using the president’s name or rhetoric to harass students since he announced his candidacy, the Post analysis found.

In Clark’s class, Miracle stayed quiet until late spring 2019. That day, she walked in wearing her hair “puffy,” split into two high buns.

Clark, she said, told her it looked “nappy, like Marge off ‘The Simpsons.’ ” Unable to smother an angry reply, Miracle landed in the principal’s office. An administrator asked her to write a witness statement, and in it, she finally let go, scrawling her frustration across seven pages.

“I just got tired of it,” she said. “I wrote a ton.”

Still, Miracle said, school officials took no action until six weeks later, when Clark, 69, tweeted at Trump — in what she thought were private messages — requesting help deporting undocumented immigrants in Fort Worth schools. The posts went viral, drawing national condemnation. Clark was fired.

“Every day was something new with immigration. That Trump needs to take [immigrants] away. They do drugs, they bring drugs over here. They cause violence.”

— Miracle Slover, referring to Georgia Clark, her former English teacher

Not always, though, are offenders removed from the classroom.

The day after the 2016 election, Donnie Jones Jr.’s daughter was walking down a hallway at her Florida high school when, she says, a teacher warned her and two friends — all sophomores, all black — that Trump would “send you back to Africa.”

The district suspended the teacher for three days and transferred him to another school.

Just a few days later in California, a physical education teacher told a student that he would be deported under Trump. Two years ago in Maine, a substitute teacher referenced the president’s wall and promised a Lebanese American student, “You’re getting kicked out of my country.” More than a year later in Texas, a school employee flashed a coin bearing the word “ICE” at a Hispanic student. “Trump,” he said, “is working on a law where he can deport you.”

Sometimes, Jones said, he doesn’t recognize America.

“People now will say stuff that a couple of years ago they would not dare say,” Jones argued. He fears what his two youngest children, ages 11 and 9, might hear in their school hallways, especially if Trump is reelected.

Now a senior, Miracle doesn’t regret what she wrote about Clark. Although the furor that followed forced Miracle to switch schools and quit her beloved dance team, she would do it again, she said. Clark’s punishment, her public disgrace, was worth it.

About a week before Miracle’s 18th birthday, her mother checked Facebook to find a flurry of notifications. Friends were messaging to say that Clark had appealed her firing, and that the Texas education commissioner had intervened.

Reluctant to spoil the birthday, Jowona Powell waited several days to tell her daughter, who doesn’t use social media.

Citing a minor misstep in the school board’s firing process, the commissioner had ordered Carter-Riverside to pay Clark one year’s salary — or give the former teacher her job back.

[A snapshot of the harassment in 2019 ( SEE WEBSITE)]

In the three months after the president tweeted on July 14, 2019, that four minority congresswomen should "go back” to the countries they came from, more than a dozen incidents of Trump-related school bullying — including several that used his exact language — were reported in the press.

Jordyn Covington stood when she heard the jeers.

“Monkeys!” “You don’t belong here.” “Go back to where you came from!”

From atop the bleachers that day in October, Jordyn, 15, could see her Piper High School volleyball teammates on the court in tears. The sobbing varsity players were all black, all from Kansas City, Kan., like her.

Who was yelling? Jordyn wondered.

She peered at the students in the opposing section. Most of them were white.

“It was just sad,” said Jordyn, who plays for Piper’s junior varsity team. “And why? Why did it have to happen to us? We weren’t doing anything. We were simply playing volleyball.”

Go back? To where? Jordyn, her friends and Piper’s nine black players were all born in the United States. “Just like everyone else,” Jordyn said. “Just like white people.”

“It was just sad. And why? Why did it have to happen to us? We weren’t doing anything. We were simply playing volleyball.”

— Jordyn Covington

The game, played at an overwhelmingly white rural high school, came three months after Trump tweeted that four minority congresswomen should “go back” to the “totally broken and crime infested places from which they came.”

It was Jordyn’s first experience with racism, she said. But it was not the first time that fans at a school sports game had used the president to target students of color.

The Post found that players, parents or fans have used his name or words in at least 48 publicly reported cases, hurling hateful slogans at students competing in elementary, middle and high school games in 26 states.

The venom has been shouted on football gridirons and soccer fields, on basketball and volleyball courts. Nearly 90 percent of incidents identified by The Post targeted players and fans of color, or teams fielded by schools with large minority populations. More than half focused on Hispanics.

In one of the earliest examples, students at a Wisconsin high school soccer game in April 2016 chanted “Trump, build a wall!” at black and Hispanic players. A few months later, students at a high school basketball game in Missouri turned their backs and hoisted a Trump/Pence campaign sign as the majority-black opposing team walked onto the court. In 2017, two high school girls in Alabama showed up at a football game pep rally with a sign reading “Put the Panic back in Hispanic” and a “Trump Make America Great Again” banner.

In late 2017, two radio hosts announcing a high school basketball game in Iowa were caught on a hot mic describing Hispanic players as “español people.” “As Trump would say,” one broadcaster suggested, “go back where they came from.”

Both announcers were fired. After the volleyball incident in Kansas, though, the fallout was more muted. The opposing school district, Baldwin City, commissioned an investigation and subsequently asserted that there was “no evidence” of racist jeers. Administrators from Piper’s school system dismissed that claim and countered with a statement supporting their students.

An hour after the game, Jordyn fought to keep her eyes dry as she boarded the team bus home. When white players insisted that everything would be okay, she slipped in ear buds and selected “my mood playlist,” a collection of somber nighttime songs. She wiped her cheeks.

Jordyn had long ago concluded that Trump didn’t want her — or “anyone who is just not white” — in the United States. But hearing other students shout it was different.

Days later, her English teacher assigned an essay asking about “what’s right and what’s wrong.” At first, Jordyn thought she might write about the challenges transgender people face. Then she had another idea.

“The students were making fun of us because we were different, like our hair and skin tone,” Jordyn wrote. “How are you gonna be mad at me and my friends for being black. . . . I love myself and so should all of you.”

She read it aloud to the class. She finished, then looked up. Everyone began to applaud.

t's not just young Trump supporters who torment classmates because of who they are or what they believe. As one boy in North Carolina has come to understand, kids who oppose the president — kids like him — can be just as vicious.

By Gavin Trump’s estimation, nearly everyone at his middle school in Chapel Hill comes from a Democratic family. So when the kids insist on calling him by his last name — even after he demands that they stop — the 13-year-old knows they want to provoke him, by trying to link the boy to the president they despise.

In fifth grade, classmates would ask if he was related to the president, knowing he wasn’t. They would insinuate that Gavin agreed with the president on immigration and other polarizing issues.

“They saw my last name as Trump, and we all hate Trump, so it was like, ‘We all hate you,’ ” he said. “I was like, ‘Why are you teasing me? I have no relationship to Trump at all. We just ended up with the same last name.’ ”

Beyond kids like Gavin, the Post analysis also identified dozens of children across the country who were bullied, or even assaulted, because of their allegiance to the president.

School staff members in at least 18 states, from Washington to West Virginia, have picked on students for wearing Trump gear or voicing support for him. Among teenagers, the confrontations have at times turned physical. A high school student in Northern California said that after she celebrated the 2016 election results on social media, a classmate accused her of hating Mexicans and attacked her, leaving the girl with a bloodied nose. Last February, a teenager at an Oklahoma high school was caught on video ripping a Trump sign out of a student’s hands and knocking a red MAGA cap off his head.

And in the nation’s capital — where only 4 percent of voters cast ballots for Trump in 2016 — an outspoken conservative teenager said she had to leave her prestigious public school because she felt threatened.

In a YouTube video, Jayne Zirkle, a high school senior, said that the trouble started when classmates at the School Without Walls discovered an online photo of her campaigning for Trump. She said students circulated the photo, harassed her online and called her a white supremacist.

A D.C. school system official said they investigated the allegations and allowed Jayne to study from home to ensure she felt safe.

“A lot of people who I thought were my best friends just all of a sudden totally turned their backs on me,” Jayne said. “People wouldn’t even look at me or talk to me.”

For Gavin, the teasing began in fourth grade, soon after Trump announced his candidacy.

After more than a year of schoolyard taunts, Gavin decided to go by his mother’s last name, Mather, when he started middle school. The teenager has been proactive, requesting that teachers call him by the new name, but it gets trickier, and more stressful, when substitutes fill in. He didn’t legally change his last name, so “Trump” still appears on the roster.

The teasing has subsided, but the switch wasn’t easy. Gavin likes his real last name and feared that changing it would hurt his father’s feelings. His dad understood, but for Gavin, the guilt remains.

“This is my name,” he said. “And I am abandoning my name.”

Maritza Avalos knows what's coming. It's 2020. The next presidential election is nine months away. She remembers what happened during the last one, when she was just 11.

“Pack your bags,” kids told her. “You get a free trip to Mexico.”

She’s now a freshman at Kamiakin High, the same Washington state school where her older sister, Cielo, confronted the teenagers who chanted “Build the wall” at a football game in late 2018. Maritza, 14, assumes the taunts that accompanied Trump’s last campaign will intensify with this one, too.

“I try not to think about it,” she said, but for educators nationwide, the ongoing threat of politically charged harassment has been impossible to ignore.

In response, schools have canceled mock elections, banned political gear, trained teachers, increased security, formed student-led mediation groups and created committees to develop anti-discrimination policies.

In California, the staff at Riverside Polytechnic High School has been preparing for this year’s presidential election since the day after the last one. On Nov. 9, 2016, counselors held a workshop in the library for students to share their feelings. Trump supporters feared they would be singled out for their beliefs, while girls who had heard the president brag about sexually assaulting women worried that boys would be emboldened to do the same to them.

“We treated it almost like a crisis,” said Yuri Nava, a counselor who has since helped expand a student club devoted to improving the school’s culture and climate.

Riverside, which is 60 percent Hispanic, also offers three courses — African American, Chicano and ethnic studies — meant to help students better understand one another, Nava said. And instead of punishing students when they use race or politics to bully, counselors first try to bring them together with their victims to talk through what happened. Often, they leave as friends.

In Gambrills, Md., Arundel High School has taken a similar approach. Even before a student was caught scribbling the n-word in his notebook in early 2017, Gina Davenport, the principal, worried about the effect of the election’s rhetoric. At the school, where about half of the 2,200 students are minorities, she heard their concerns every day.

But the racist slur, discovered the same month as Trump’s inauguration, led to a concrete response.

A “Global Community Citizenship” class, now mandatory for all freshmen in the district, pushes students to explore their differences.

A recent lesson delved into Trump’s use of Twitter.

“The focus wasn’t Donald Trump, the focus was listening: How do we convey our ideas in order for someone to listen?” Davenport said. “We teach that we can disagree with each other without walking away being enemies — which we don’t see play out in the press, or in today’s political debates.”

Since the class debuted in fall 2017, disciplinary referrals for disruption and disrespect have decreased by 25 percent each school year, Davenport said. Membership in the school’s speech and debate team has doubled.

The course has eased Davenport’s anxiety heading into the next election. She doesn’t expect an uptick in racist bullying.

“Civil conversation,” she said. “The kids know what that means now.”

Many schools haven’t made such progress, and on those campuses, students are bracing for more abuse.

Maritza’s sister, Cielo, told her to stand up for herself if classmates use Trump’s words to harass her, but Maritza is quieter than her sibling. The freshman doesn’t like confrontation.

She knows, though, that eventually someone will say something — about the wall, maybe, or about how kids who look like her don’t belong in this country — and when that day comes, the girl hopes that she’ll be strong.

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Julie Tate contributed to this report.

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