We all make mistakes. It’s part of life. The end result of that error should not be a trip to the hospital due to shotgun wounds.
Last Thursday, 16-year-old Ralph Yarl was asked by his mother to pick up his younger siblings from a nearby house. Ralph got confused by the address and knocked on the wrong door. Instead of being greeted by his brothers, he was shot by an older Caucasian man who shot him through the door.
Thankfully, he survived and is recovering.
There was no reason to shoot this boy. The accused (who will not be named in this post) could have simply told Ralph that he was in the wrong place and moved on. Instead, he nearly killed an innocent child simply because of his skin color.
GREAT NEWS: Ralph Yarl, who was shot TWICE (once in the head) for ringing the wrong doorbell, has been released from the hospital and should recover fully.
GET WELL SOON, RALPH!🙏💙
BONUS NEWS: Andrew Lester, the racist fucker who shot him, is being hit with 2 felony charges of… pic.twitter.com/xRDSaQeDbc
From a distance, it may seem that democracy does not need tending to. Once established, it can survive on its own. The truth is that it requires all of us to pay attention, specifically when it could go to h*ll in a handbasket.
Earlier this week, in response to the school shooting in Nashville, protestors swarmed the state capitol. Supporting them were three state representatives who are on the blue side of the aisle. One is a Caucasian woman (Gloria Johnson) and two are men of color (Justin Jones and Justin Pearce). The leadership wanted them out. In a telling reaction, Ms. Johnson retained her position. But Mr. Jones and Mr. Pearce were expelled from their seats.
This does not happen in a country with a thriving and respected democracy. This happens in a fascist government where the wants and the needs of the average person on the street are ignored by those in power whose only concern is staying in power.
Meanwhile, Marjorie Taylor Greene once more proved why she is unfit for office. When she came to New York City earlier this week to support the former guy, she was swamped by protestors. What she experienced this week (and what Ted Cruz also experienced last year) is that we are loud, proud, and not afraid to shit on you if you shit on us.
For some reason, someone at 60 Minutes thought it was a good idea to interview the Congresswoman and air the interview.
I don’t know whose bright idea this was or the reason for the conversation. Either way, it was dumb and gave this woman a platform that was unwarranted. What is worse is that instead of the hard hitting questions that I would have expected from this OG television news program, softball questions were lobbed at her. This is the type of content that I expect from Fox News, not a respected and established show like 60 Minutes.
These people should not be in government. I beg with, I plead with my fellow citizens to get them out of the office before this country goes down the tubes for good.
Since school shootings have become the norm, there have been numerous questions about what leads to them and what can prevent them. The answer (as anyone with a brain would realize) is gun control laws.
Yesterday morning started as normal for the staff and students at the Covenant School in Nashville. By the time the school bell would have rung to announce the end of the day, three children and three adults were dead. The accused killer (whose name will not be used on this blog and who took their own life) is transgender.
Of course, the right took advantage of this opportunity to once more demonize the LGBTQ community based on the actions of one person. Though this person bucks the trend of not being a heterosexual Caucasian male, their actions are just as reprehensible.
When a transgender person murders innocent people that should never paint the entire transgender community as murderous.
When a MAGA supporter murders innocent people that should never paint the entire MAGA community as murderous.
Though the Republicans can point to any number of reasons: drag queens, being gay, banned books, etc, the truth is that these are smoke screens. It has everything to do with the fact they care more about their NRAoverlords’ donors than the lives of the next generation. This includes their “outrage” about the ATF‘s possible creation of a national gun registry.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand what needs to be done. What it does take is those at the top valuing the lives of everyday Americans (and their children) over those who line their pockets.
P.S. Did you hear about Marjorie Taylor Greene‘s attempt to stop an ATF official from doing their job and inspecting a gun store? If we require drivers to earn a license before getting behind the wheel and send health inspectors into restaurants to ensure that the kitchen is sanitary, why can’t we do the same for establishments that sell firearms?
He took a political lemon and made lemonade: Given the mess he was handed in 2021 (and what has happened since then), I think he has done a good job of bringing us back to some version of normal.
Compared to his predecessor, Biden has kept his promises and has genuinely led the country.
He understands the job and who he is responsible for.
He comes off (to me at least) as an everyman. Biden wants the US and her people to thrive. He is not interested in pursuing politics for personal gain.
Against:
He is 80 years old. If he does win in 2024, will he have the cognitive ability to handle whatever comes his way?
At the end of the day (as good as he is), Biden is just another old white man. Do we really want to pretend that in 2022, that the only people who can lead are Caucasian men of a certain age?
We are a divided nation, that is a fact. One of the things I disagree with him about is that he thinks we can still negotiate with the right. Given the behavior of the Republicans in the past few years, I think we all have to be more realistic.
Overall, we need new blood in politics. Preferably younger, female, possibly LGBTQ, and not Caucasian.
Only time will tell if Biden runs in two years. But the one thing that I do know is that I thank G d every day that he is President.
P.S. What is up with the Republican’s obsession with Hunter Biden? There are far more important issues to deal with than Hunter’s alleged (and private) past business dealings.
Madison “Maddy” Washington has been a social outcast for as long as anyone can remember. Raised by her fanatical Caucasian father in a small Georgia town, no one knows that she is biracial. That is until a storm reveals the truth and Maddy becomes an ever bigger target for the popular girls/school bullies.
When a video of this incident is leaked out, the administration has some serious explaining to do. The leaders of the student body (one of whom is Maddy’s tormentors) devise a plan to hold an integrated prom for the first time in the town’s history. Feeling guilty for everything that has happened, Wendy, the class President, knows that something has to be done. She asks her African American quarterback boyfriend to ask Maddy to the prom.
For the first time in her life, Maddy starts to believe that she will be like any other teenager. She does not know that her peers have one more trick up their sleeves. But they don’t know that she has a secret of her own, which could be deadly if and/or when it is unleased.
I loved this book. Jackson does an amazing job of being true to the original text while taking the narrative to another level. In adding racism to the already heightened story of a girl who is teased and humiliated by her classmates, she speaks of the short-term and long-term damage that both create.
Do I recommend it? Absolutely. In fact, I would say it is in the top ten new books of 2022.
The Weight of Blood is available wherever books are sold.
Every social movement, for all of the good things it creates, has its own flaws. It is through these imperfections that allow both the movement as a whole and the organizations that make it up to improve upon its ideals.
I really enjoyed this book. Every woman (and everyone else by extension) who believes in the feminist principles should read it at least once. It is a reminder that for all of the good the movement has done, there is still internal rejigging that needs to be done in order to have our words match our deeds.
Like many people, I watched last week’s Super Bowl for the Halftime Show. I’m not a fan of either team and to be perfectly frank, I don’t understand football.
From a personal perspective, I loved it. The artists who performed are ones that I grew up with. It was a lovely throwback to what I remember to be a simpler time. My only complaint is that Mary J. Blige was the only female headliner. But other than that, I was thoroughly entertained.
Charlie Kirk, however, was not entertained. He referred to the show “sexual anarchy”. He has yet to see his 30th birthday. I would have anticipated this kind of opinion coming from someone much older, not from a guy who only graduated from college a few years ago. But I expect nothing less from people who think like him.
As excellent as the performance was, it cannot hide the accusation of racism that exists within the NFL. The lawsuit against the league by Brian Flores, claiming sham interviews for several coaching positions based on skin color, speaks volumes. When most if not all of the workforce are people of color and upper management, are either close to or 100% Caucasian, that speaks volumes.
Games like the Super Bowl are supposed to bring us together. It is one of the few uniting forces in our otherwise divided nation. I just wish that the cracks were not revealed along the way.
The Passover story and the Exodus of the Hebrews from slavery to freedom is a potent one. In one way or another, we can all relate to the idea of breaking free from whatever is holding us back.
I wanted to like this book. The subject is one that is certainly of interest to me. The problem is that it is slow to read and void of the excitement that I should have had while answering the question that the book asks. While I appreciated this deep dive into a part of Jewish history that is not always in the spotlight, the promises laid out by the author are not met.
The best way to learn about someone who is different from us is to spend a day in their shoes. Though the outcome is not 100% guaranteed, the hope is that we see that person behind the stereotypes and the labels.
NBC‘s new reality show, Home Sweet Home premiered last Friday. Created by writer/producer Ava Duvernay, it is a sort of gentler version of Wife Swap. Each episode follows two families who switch lives and homes for four days. While in the other’s house, they live as that family does and meet their loved ones. At the the end of that period, they meet for a meal and get to know those who they have temporarily shared their lives with.
Though the show could border on schmaltzy or the typical overly dramatic reality television formula, it doesn’t. It has a nice balance of tension and the predictable narrative that the audience has come to expect for the genre. What I found appealing was that it spoke to the humanity in all of us. The connection between the two families was the thing that drew me in. Despite their differences, they not only got along, but they became friends. The hook that will keep me watching was a statement by the father. He realized that it is possible to raise children that are happy and successful without forcing the traditional cis gender two parent structure down our throats.
Do I recommend it? Yes.
Home Sweet Home airs on NBC on Friday night at 8PM.
Writergurlny 