roaming_kate23

Not just black ones. I thought. I wound talk about this today since it is is Juneteenth.

Black Lives Matter.So do Native American ones. We’re including POC broadly here.

We have come so far as a country(we had a black president, for fuck’s sake! )But took a huge step back with the first(and now second) T***p presidency.

We did Native Americans dirty(boy did we EVER..I just watched a TV show about Sitting Bull and I was HORRIFIED. Two words:Smallpox blankets. And at one point T***p was trying to deport Native Americans from the U.S. Yes, really.. On brand for the Orange Douche bag, though.

We also did African Americans dirty. And we’re going backwards with that. Two words:Jim Crow. There are still places in this country that are just not..safe for people of colour.

Black women are more likely to not be listened to when three tell doctors something is wrong;because of this black women are MUCH more likely to die from complications of childbirth.And that is SHAMEFUL.

Honestly I could be here all day talking about all the ways that POC(people of colour) have been done dirty.And we would be here all day.And there is as not as much nuance to this post as I would like ..deal with it.I *do* think T***p has emboldened his cult members to harass/harm “others”.(even here in California you see cars with T***p stickers(and flags-yes,I am using the plural here.)

T***p fails to forget that we are a country that was made as great at it was(well, before he was President..the first time,,and then the second.) by immigrants. T***p learned now to walk all over others from his dad. Is anyone surprised?Nope.

Current Mood: thoughtful

People at Dreamwidth are respectful -I would say that-from what I see-that it is much more like BlueSky but I’ve been here for 5-almost 6-years and it has always been like that.Is there weirdness?Yes, but it’s not anything that affects me.

It also isn’t Twatter/X or Vox. Vox started out great -I even made a few friends-but Obama was elected and it set people off.For all the GOOD there there were a LOT of assholes who would be all over anyone who had something GOOD to say about Obama.

As a person of colour,Obama being elected was a HUGE deal for me.

God doesn’t like ugly and there was plenty of it on Vox at one point. You could set the comments so I that randos couldn’t comment on your posts but they managed to do so anyhow.

(If you’re going to keep rule breakers out, make an effort to make it foolproof-I’ve seen it fail at other websites-eventually it *did* get fixed and the problem person has been banished for many years now.

Current Mood: calm

Cullman,Al. has a European Christmas market. People come from all over to see it.But there is something people should know about Cullman:it is a sundown town.

What’s a sundown town?well, way back when(and still if you can believe it which I can because T***p got re-elected)people of colour are not welcome after sundown.The signs also might have slurs on them as well.Cullman’s black population is very small(they’ve obviously never felt welcome there-going WAY back) and apparently that’s not going to change anytime soon.) They have a section of town where they are more or less left alone but fair to say going out and about isn’t a thing.

However there are plenty of people saying that it’s no longer a sundown town and they have never felt unwelcome there.On the other hand :plenty of stories about how Cullman was the place people actively avoided because of its reputation.TL:DR?Jim Crow never ended in places like Cullman.It’s also a place with a lot of K*u K*u* K*a* members.

Current Mood: contemplative

Lauren M. Davis was trying to copyright usage of the sun because Marve, another author DARED to write a book with the same premise.

Couple of things :The author she accused of stealing her idea was a person of colour.

Also, the plot was nothing like the one of her book.Not even close.

So the author who felt as I as she was being plagiarised said that the author who stole her idea would be hearing from her lawyer. Jesus fucking christ.

It get’s worse:Lauren M. Davis made an extremely racist comment about Nigerians. Marve is Nigerian .

(just gonna put it out there:I would much rather read Marve’s book. There are excerpts from Lauren M. Davis’ book online and it is a HOT MESS. That’s me being kind.)

Lauren’s book was never released so how would Marve have read it and known about the plot?

TL:DR

Marve is being attacked by a White author who thinks that her idea is exclusive to her and will sic her lawyers on anyone she thinks is trying to plagiarize her.

Current Mood: blah

Because it’s Black History Month and tangentially related..thought it would be an excellent first post.

You may or may not know this but I am a person of color.Mixed race, actually.

In my almost 53 years of existence I have been a participant in quite a few fandoms, starting with Duran Duran when I was a pre=teen and moving on from there. The fandoms I have been in have varied, from music, to TV shows to movies. And so far it’s been interesting to say the least.

At the age of 13 I went to middle school in an area that was majority White/Hispanic.I didn’t see a lot of people who looked like me Add to that, as I have said that I was one of the few Duran Duran fans in my school.

Other fandoms(like Hannibal) have been much more diverse .Still some issues but as I mentioned before the people who were a issue in the fandom have left which made things better.

The James Bond fandom which I have talked about before..I can’t get a proper feel on how diverse(or not) that fandom is but..I definitely ran into racism(the worst kind).

The person in question was a moderator and he and I both posted on another message boards.At one point he threw his toys out of the pram and that is when I used my weapon:several, very racist private messages.Needless to say he was gone very quickly after that. You act like a racists piece of shit, there are definitely going to be consequences.

Current Mood: determined

A family from Arkansas got pulled over in Frisco Texas because the cops thought that the car was stolen.Also, the cop did not know the difference between Arkansas and Arizona.This led to the cops getting completely aggro with this family and they put the kids in handcuffs.

Over the top?Over the top. Hopefully they fire the cop that was the most aggro(the others quickly realised the error and were trying to tell him so but he was openly ignoring them. The city of Frisco’s social media(Twitter,Facebook etc.) is being blown up-quite rightly I might add-by people who want the racist cop fired. Which,yes. Hopefully this won’t turn into the cops trying to protect the bad cop because they are afraid of him.

IMO it’s several things:

1) The family are black.

2)Out of state plates.

3)Texas.

Current Mood: bitchy

As I said on Twitter, I was racially profiled at a Total Wine store,Yes,I am going to name and shame the store because it is MESSED UP that they can do this sort of thing and get away with it.And apparently I an not the only one.Did quite a bit of googling and yeah, this is very much a thing. It’s not like I live in Mississippi or someplace like that.No, Southern CALIFORNIA which, with only a few exceptions(Orange County comes right to mind.) is VERY LIBERAL.

So I think a bit of context is necessary.I had a big bag from Bath And Body Works. I get it, I have a big bag. I understand that.But IIRC I’ve been in there with big bags before and they never had a problem with it.Could be a loss prevention thing and I understand that. I am only too happy to leave my bags at the front of the store..not a big deal. So I head to the front of the store and then the manager or whoever he is says “are you going to buy anything?” I’m like “no”. He said “then you need to move on”. Which is a not so polite way of saying “Get the fuck out of my store”.

And wow..since when has browsing been a crime?So now you see why I thought this was racial profiling. And no,I will not be going back to that store and as I said I mentioned it on Twitter and

ed Total Wine. I doubt that they will respond but I see other people of colour on their tweets(Total Wine’s) and they’re having a great time.But that is because they are paying customers(for their wine tasting .They have to be nice to them(as far as those people have said they are having a great time.)

The whole situation pissed me off and what I’m about to say is #petttyLaBelle but I waited for that guy to come outside and I called him an asshole,Because it was TRUE. His response? “Thank you”. Wow. Yeah.The guy is not a BIT sorry for what he did. And he would do it again. Part of me wants to go back and make a bigger stink than I did but eh..the moment is last.

Current Mood: accomplished

Last Sunday’s episode of Nomad with Carlton McCoy was in Ghana. What I found interesting is there are a lot of African-Americans moving to Ghana..getting in touch with their heritage and past..as Ghana was one of the places where Africans were sent from during slavery, and in fact Carlton went to one of the places that slaves were kept before they made the Middle Passage ,Elmina Castle. It’s one of several castles that were used for that purpose.

Carlton’s show is also about food, and of course there is a lot of variation in food in Ghana.He observed that a lot of the food reminds him of what he gets at home-southern cooking.That makes a lot of sense given that the slaves brought their tastes and flavors with them from Africa and they were adapted over the years.

Current Mood: busy

I have been wanting to do a post about BLM /race for a while and I had a catalyst.

Lake View Terrace(which is based on a true story) was on one of the cable channels . The couple in the story are biracial(husband is white and the wife is black.) This sets off their neighbour who is black. It starts out with small things and then ramps up very quickly(of course a lot of liberties were taken but still…The real Lakeview Terrace is very varied-black and white living in harmony(for the most part.) The couple who the movie was based on were hardly the only ones being hassled. The cop who was doing the hassling had issues(that is an understatement if ever there was one.)

*points at subject line* as someone who is mixed race,I haven’t had the issues that other people have but I have had them.

Current Mood: blah

There is a new movie(produced by BET it must be said) about a black family who move to a Atlanta suburb. And there’s where things get scary.

Li.Er.Ally it is every stereotype of Karens(especially racist ones but is there any other kind?) including racist kids(wonder where they learned that shit from?) and a soap dispenser with a rebel flag on it(of course.)

There’s already a movie like this:Get Out. Why do we need another? The director of the movie loves that. Dude, your movie is just a rip off(and not even a good one) of Get Out. Jordan Peele you are not.

Current Mood: blank

Juneteenth is now a federal holiday. About freaking time!

For those that don’t know, Juneteenth is the day that slaves in Galveston found out they were free-two years after the Emancipation Proclimation. Yes, two years .Some news moves slowly.

So Juneteenth has a special place in Galveston and celebrated every year but this year especially so.

With everything that has been going on with Black Lives Matter.. this is HUGE. It’s a small step but one that will go some way to help. Just imagining all of the Republican heads exploding because they had to vote for this lest they be seen as racist pieces of shit(but there are certain people like Marjorie Taylor Greene who can’t keep their mouths shut. See also: the Orange Asshole, AKA 45.)

Current Mood: bouncy

Tim Gordon was fired from Garces High school in Bakersfield.A Catholic school(why that is significant we’ll get to in a minute..).

Why was he fired?Because he made comments about Black Lives Matter which, looking at where he works, is not a good idea. Calling BLM a “Terrorist organisation”. He said that on his social media and then was fired. Quite rightly, there were a lot of people coming forwards with stories from both parents and students who said that they were very uncomfortable with several things that he has said.

Anti-BLM, yes, and homophobic, and Islamophobic. The holy trinity as it were.

BLM opposes the nuclear family opposes the nuclear family and private education.
(This is the stupidest thing I have ever heard.)

Of course Tim Gordon went after his former employers, the fact that they had fired him at the very same time his daughter was having brain surgery. His bosses at Garces are EVIL because they “stand with” BLM. This is something that I have seen before with USD(University Of San Diego-my niece Remi is an alum) being too liberal -they allowed a drag show to happen on campus which I think is awesome.)

There was a petition with people who “had beef with him”(Tim Gordon’s words),people who had been dissenters in his classes.

Current Mood: annoyed

I paid $20 to watch Antebellum. Well, that is 2 hours(and $20)I am never going to get back.

Is this the movie-given what is going on the world(not talking about Miss ‘Rona here either) we needed? Short answer? NO.

Imma spoil this movie and I don’t care if I get shit for it.

First of all,I knew the twist of the movie going in.Yeah.Imma spoiler heaux. Always have been and always will be.But if you don’t know-here it is:When the movie starts you think that maybe it is a time traveling thing, but then the twist happens and you’re like “WTF”.There are hints-Janelle Monae’s character is staying in the Jefferson suite at her hotel(we all know why that’s significant, right?)and strange interactions with white characters(Gabourey Sidibe’s character calls a white character “Becky” which honestly made me LOL)

Basically, to explain things:Janelle Monae’s character has been kidnapped and is on what is basically Westworld for MAGA hat(almost wrote “hate”,LOL) wearers-a plantation. We don’t know that until the twist happens though, as I said. The slavery part of it is fucking brutal-I will give this to the filmmakers-they did their research on what went on on plantations-even taking it it to extremes.

Could something like this happen?No.Because it would get found out pretty quickly.You think the BLM protests we’ve had this year are bad? If people discovered that something like what was happening in Antebellum existed...it would NOT be pretty and that’s putting it mildly. But because of the current political climate...

Now, Antebellum has been called a horror movie.I don’t agree with that.A thriller, for sure(especially the set up for how Janelle Monae’s character Veronica is kidnapped.)