A bigot’s dream come true

Are you one of the many hateful civilians in the United States that cries in despair every time a federal judge declares a state ban on same-sex marriage to be unconstitutional?

Maybe you are a church official angered that people would dare argue for LGBT people to be treated equally before the eyes of the law?

Or perhaps you’re a politician who thinks we need a ‘tent revival‘ to solve the (imaginary) moral crisis in the US over same-sex marriage?

If you are one of the many homophobic bigots littering the landscape of USAmerican society and you long for the chance to act on your fantasies of crushing the hopes of LGB people across the country, then here’s your chance. Sort of. The interactive online gaming site Comigama has created a game that is sure to bring tears of joy to the likes of Brian Brown and Tony Perkins. And it’s totally free to play. Introducing Sweet Homo Alabama, the game where you get to pretend you are Judge Roy Moore crushing the hopes of same-sex couples as they race to get married:

http://comigama.com/?comic=200_Baldy&episode=160_SweetHomo

A bigot’s dream come true
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A bigot's dream come true

Are you one of the many hateful civilians in the United States that cries in despair every time a federal judge declares a state ban on same-sex marriage to be unconstitutional?

Maybe you are a church official angered that people would dare argue for LGBT people to be treated equally before the eyes of the law?

Or perhaps you’re a politician who thinks we need a ‘tent revival‘ to solve the (imaginary) moral crisis in the US over same-sex marriage?

If you are one of the many homophobic bigots littering the landscape of USAmerican society and you long for the chance to act on your fantasies of crushing the hopes of LGB people across the country, then here’s your chance. Sort of. The interactive online gaming site Comigama has created a game that is sure to bring tears of joy to the likes of Brian Brown and Tony Perkins. And it’s totally free to play. Introducing Sweet Homo Alabama, the game where you get to pretend you are Judge Roy Moore crushing the hopes of same-sex couples as they race to get married:

http://comigama.com/?comic=200_Baldy&episode=160_SweetHomo

A bigot's dream come true

This is the most diverse team of Avengers ever

As Marvel Comics inches towards the huge, multiverse shattering Secret Wars event, they’ve released many details about the project (which will be written by Jonathan Hickman and drawn by Esad Ribic). We know that the Marvel Multiverse will be reduced to one planet-Battleworld.  This patchwork world will be composed of various alternate realities that have existed throughout the history of Marvel Comics. We know that 33 Marvel titles will be cancelled by the time Secret Wars begins. These titles will be replaced by a host of new Secret Wars related books, with each title falling into one of three broad categories (or brandings)- Battleworld (books featuring this brand will explore the political structure of the planet), Last Days (this brand consists of those books that deal with Earth’s heroes facing the impending destruction of their world in the days before the Secret Wars begin), and Warzones (these books will focus on specific Battleworld realms and will lay the building blocks for the Marvel Universe that will emerge post-Secret Wars).  Of course there are many more mysteries to be revealed, including just what the heck the Marvel Universe will look like after Secret Wars is over. Fans are accustomed to reading these big events and having to wait until the close of the story to find out post-event details. As if to whet readers’ thirst to know more about the Marvel Universe after Secret Wars. the publisher has revealed the lineup for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in the wake of this crossover:

Ms. Marvel, Nova, Ultimate Spider-Man Miles Morales, Vision, Thor, Iron Man, and Captain America are the members of the post-Secret Wars Avengers.

When I first learned of this lineup, I thought it was interesting. But the really awesome thing about this lineup completely went over my head. Andrew Wheeler of Comics Alliance explains what makes this team noteworthy:

Most surprisingly, the roster includes only one white male member. And even that’s not confirmed. We don’t actually know who is in the Iron Man armor, but Tony Stark is always a safe bet. The rest of the team is made up of one white woman (Thor), two African-American men (Captain America and Spider-Man), one Pakistani-American woman (Ms Marvel), one Hispanic American man (Nova), and an android (Vision).

That is THE most diverse roster of Avengers in history! Man, Marvel is really embracing diversity. It’s almost as if they’re realized that there is money to be made by catering to comics readers other than cisgender, heterosexual, white men (and for all the whiners out there, don’t worry, Marvel isn’t going to stop creating books that cater to your demographic, they’re just trying to stop showing as much bias in your favor-you aren’t the center of the world). Alongside Secret Wars #0, the all-new, all-different Avengers (by the creative team of Mark Waid and Mahmud Asrar) will debut as part of Marvel’s offerings for Free Comic Book Day (May 2).  I. Can’t. Wait!

This is the most diverse team of Avengers ever

How to fix the United States

Child abuse.

Rape Culture.

Unemployment.

Homelessness.

Climate change.

Corrupt politicians.

Income inequality.

Domestic terrorists.

Domestic violence.

The War on Drugs.

Childhood obesity.

The War on Women.

The War on the Poor.

Crumbling infrastructure.

The growing police state.

The War on the Homeless.

Skyrocketing student debt.

Rampant institutional racism.

A broken two-party system.

Staggering amounts of gun violence.

The erosion of the wall between church and state.

The ongoing denial of the civil and human rights of LGBT citizens.

These are just some of social, political, and economic issues facing the United States. These problems negatively affect the lives of millions of USAmericans on a daily basis (and they reverberate around the world). Put aside those issues for now, as the country faces a far more dire threat than childhood obesity, unemployment, transphobia, or a racially biased criminal justice system.  Arizona state Senator Sylvia Allen (R) has identified this problem and offers a solution:

Each year a few bills get proposed at the state Capitol that have people shaking their heads.

This year: Mandatory church attendance.

An Arizona state senator thinks it is a good idea for the American people.

State Sen. Sylvia Allen, R-Snowflake, brought it up during a committee meeting Tuesday while lawmakers were debating a gun bill, not religion.

Allen explained that without a “moral rebirth” in the country, more people may feel the need to carry a weapon.

“I believe what’s happening to our country is that there’s a moral erosion of the soul of America,” she said.

Mandatory church attendance.

Such a simple, elegant fix for the moral erosion of the country’s soul. While Sen. Allen’s solution is blatantly unconstitutional and would be all but impossible to enforce even if it became law, let’s not focus on that. Let’s also not focus on the question of whether or not souls exist and if they do, how a country can have one. Let’s not even worry about identifying the specific problems caused by the moral erosion of the country. What’s important is that her solution would set things right in this country and reverse the moral breakdown afflicting the nation. The United States would experience a moral rebirth and everything will be wonderful and glorious and super and awesome again. Just like it was in the glory days of the 1950s:

The original comment occurred during a vote on legislation to allow individuals who have permits to carry concealed weapons to bring them into public buildings. Allen said she did not understand the opposition and talked about moral breakdown.

“Probably we should be debating a bill requiring every American to attend a church of their choice on Sunday to see if we can get back to having a moral rebirth,” adding “that would never be allowed.”

On Wednesday, Allen said that was a “flippant comment” but decried the changes since she was a child in the 1950s.

“People prayed, people went to church,” she said in explaining her views.

“I remember on Sundays the stores were closed,” Allen said. “The biggest thing is religion was kicked out of our public places, out of our schools.”

Ah yes, the wonderful 50s. When people prayed and went to church. When the KKK still roamed the country lynching African-Americans. When LGBT people dared not leave the closet. When women were denied their reproductive rights. When fearmongering McCarthyism gripped the country. Yeah, that was a real swell time-for cisgender, heterosexual, christian, white men.

The irony of a woman longing for the US to be more like it was in the 1950s is not lost on me.

How to fix the United States

Police Behaving Badly 3.26.15

It is an unfortunate fact of life here in the U.S. that a lot of gun owners are reckless and irresponsible in their handling of firearms. It’s one thing when those people are average citizens and another thing entirely when those reckless, irresponsible individuals are law enforcement officers. These are the people who are ostensibly charged with serving and protecting civilians. Unfortunately there are a lot of law enforcement officials who threaten, brutalize, and kill those they are charged with serving and protecting. Former Delaware County cop Stephen Rozniakowski is one such official. With a bulletproof vest strapped to his chest and a gun in hand, Rozniakowski kicked down the door to the home of Valerie Morrow and proceeded to kill her and injure her daughter:

Hours after the 40-year-old mother had obtained the order on Monday, the man she’d feared the most – Stephen Rozniakowski, an enraged Delaware County cop with a history of harassment – grabbed a gun, strapped on a bulletproof vest, kicked down the door to her Glenolden home, ran up the stairs and shot her, authorities said.

“He came up the steps with his gun drawn, and as soon as he saw Mrs. Morrow and her daughter in the hallway, he started repeatedly firing at them in their direction, striking Mrs. Morrow and also hitting her 15-year-old daughter,” Delaware County District Attorney Jack Whelan said yesterday.

Morrow was pronounced dead in the house. Her daughter, Bridget Cruz, was shot in the left bicep. “Bridget fled into her bedroom, while, unfortunately, her mother lie dying in the hallway,” Whelan said.

Morrow’s husband, Tom, a part-time cop in Morton Borough, then reached into his nightstand for a revolver and returned fire, which Whelan said may have stopped a larger shooting spree. He shot Rozniakowski multiple times, but did not kill him.

When Tom Morrow, who was out of bullets, heard Rozniakowski reloading his gun, he leaped out of the second-story bedroom window and ran on a broken ankle to a neighbor’s house to call 9-1-1.

* * * *

Vallejo police kill man with fake gun in Target parking lot

On March 21, representatives of the Vallejo, California police department say they received a report of a man armed with a knife, in the parking lot of a local Target store. According to official police statements, the man was ordered to drop the knife, but didn’t. He then reached for what officers say they thought was a gun, according to police Vallejo police Lt. John Whitney. The gun turned out to be a fake gun.

Police say that a note was found in the man’s vehicle, an advance apology to police, for ‘making them’ kill him.

Police have not released the man’s name, nor the name of the officer, or officers, who shot him. Whitney also did not provide details on the number of times the man was shot by police.

The man later died at a local hospital from gun shot wounds.

The number of officer-involved shootings in Vallejo is dozens of times higher than the national average.

In May of last year, a report from KQED showed that the rate of officer involved shootings in Vallejo is dozens of times higher than the national average, and more than 20 times higher than that of surrounding communities. The report called into question the practices of the police department regarding internal investigations, among other issues.

The practices of every fucking police department in the U.S. need to be called into question. Scratch that. They all need to be completely overhauled. Would that this actually happened.

* * * *

Police behaving badly? How about a police department behaving badly?

Drivers as well as their passengers in Topeka Kansas will soon be subject to a new policy requiring everyone to put their hands up during police stops.

Police say they are implementing this policy because “we all want to go home to our families, and this makes it safer for us to approach vehicles to gain that compliance. It gives us a chance to survive these encounters.”

However, the implications regarding this practice are horrid, and many residents are up in arms about being forced to be up in arms.

“Every day somebody’s getting shot by a police officer, and it’s like ‘oh my goodness, will I be next?’, or will I be okay?” said one resident.

Local officers are citing the three tragic shooting deaths of officers in a two year period as the reasoning behind this policy.

“As we all know, we’ve lost three officers in less than 2 years and as a result of that we’ve had to take a hard look at the way we’re conducting business, particularly as it relates to car stops.” said TPD School Resource Officer Matt McClimans.

While this policy may seem like it has good intentions, nearly every aspect associated with it is tyrannical.

First of all, this “policy” was not approved by the taxpayers. No citizens got to vote on its implementation, and it is going to be enforced with potentially deadly force.

Secondly, it treats ALL parties stopped by police as criminals.

One resident summed it up perfectly by saying, “Make us feel safe, not automatically make us feel like criminals.”

“To put my hands up, I mean, I just can’t see how people are not offended by that,” said one resident.

“I think that is too aggressive, and unnecessary, and I don’t agree with it,” said another.

“Police and community interactions are tough enough as it is and the more demands, the tougher it’s going to be, and the more problems you’re going to have,” explained a resident.

Besides treating everyone they come in contact with as a criminal, forcing people to put their hands up creates a slew of other problems as well.

How would someone hold the police accountable by filming their own interactions if they are forced to raise their hands? All too often innocent people are vindicated after being beaten and assaulted by police, only because a cell phone was recording. This would end that.

Imagine a situation in which someone tries to point their phone out of the windows while they attempt to raise their hands, the end result would not be pretty if officers mistook the phone for a gun.

What if a passenger in the vehicle is paralyzed, or temporarily disabled and they cannot raise their hands? Is this an immediate death sentence?

Finally, what about all the people who have been shot by police despite having their hands up? Looking through our archives here at the Free Thought Project, we can see that holding one’s hands up, most assuredly does not protect you from being shot by cops.

The bottom line is, while the deaths of these three officers are certainly tragic, treating every person stopped by police as a criminal is also tragic.

How about looking at WHY police are stopping people and look to reduce those interactions. Do the police really need to pull people over, en masse, for victimless crimes, such as seat belt violations?

Instead of treating everyone like criminals, why don’t police stop acting as strong arms for the state’s revenue collection racket?

* * * *

Words cannot accurately convey the level of disgust I have with the actions of the police officers in the next story. 2 police officers in Charlotte, NC beat a 3-month-old so badly that the newborn is in a vegetative state and likely won’t survive. 

A bond hearing was held on Wednesday for Robert Jeffrey Taylor Jr., 45, who worked for the York Police Department as a corporal.

Taylor was arrested for abusing his 3-month-old baby so badly that he is not expected to survive.

The infant’s mother, Audrey Schurig, 36, is also a police officer. She was arrested as well and charged with unlawful neglect of a child or helpless person for leaving the baby in his father’s care despite allegedly knowing about the abuse and failing to protect her child.

Jaxon Jennings Taylor, their 3-month-old son, was abused so brutally on February 15, that he is unable to move or eat without a feeding tube. Despite being in a vegetative state, he “is in some pain” and exhibits “periodic cries,” according to 16th Circuit Solicitor Kevin Brackett.

* * * *

A Webster, MA police officer may regret parking in a handicap spot

In a short video uploaded to YouTube on Monday, a Webster police officer, illustrates his above the law mentality.

A citizen with a camera decided to film the officer, who was illegally parked in a handicap spot at a McDonald’s restaurant.

When asked if he’s allowed to park there, the officer confirms that he can do whatever he wants.

“So you get to park wherever you want ?” the officer is asked.

“That’s right” replies the officer.

When he starts getting worked up, the officer seemingly threatens the man filming him.

“Do you know who I am?” asks the illegally parked cop.

But the man filming stood his ground as he was the one in the right.

After a brief exchange, the officer tries to turn the tables on the man. He asks for his name and starts to use his police powers as a means of intimating a man for pointing out his wrongdoing.

Meanwhile unemployed and low-income USAmericans are demonized and vilified for seeking government assistance so they can fucking live.

Police Behaving Badly 3.26.15

I’m a man who gets offended

“‘That’s offensive!’ … said no great man, ever.”

“Never is the fall of masculinity more clearly on display than when grown, adult men pull out the ‘offended’ card.  Any man who goes about with the word ‘offensive’ on his lips should be boiled with his own pudding… or promptly have his man-card revoked, one of the two.

Why is it that we all inherently get that sense of disgust, that feeling of embarrassment for a man who wines about being ‘offended’ but not many of us can articulate as to the reason?  Just why are we so repulsed by men (usually liberal) who fervently take ‘offense’?”

“Today’s ‘offended’ men are seen as wimpy simply because they are.  Instead of harnessing whatever affront is facing them, instead of facing it head-on, dealing with the problem and coming out the other side a stronger man, the ‘modern’ male chooses to sulk, to whine, and inevitably call Gloria Steinem.”

The above gems are brought to you by one Steven Crowder.  Crowder is a blogger over at Louder With Crowder, a Tea Party News Network powered conservative website that I’m not going to link to (here’s a link to the Addicting Info article that brought Crowder to my attention. It has a link to his site). While reading his sexist tirade, I realized that he made no attempt to identify what things so-called “modern” men take offense to. Others can fisk his rant, but as one of those “modern” men he attacks, I thought I’d list some of the things I take offense to. The following is a comment I left over at Addicting Info:

Stop being offended.
That’s far easier said than done however. Many of us who are members of certain oppressed groups regularly get offended by crap that others say or do. And contrary to the rantings of the douchemaggott in the OP, there is absolutely nothing wrong with being offended.

As a gay man, I get offended that people like Pat Robertson or Scott Lively deny not just my humanity and my rights, but the rights of countless LGBT people around the world. Their incendiary rhetoric contributes to the climate of anti-LGBT bigotry.

As a black man, I get offended by the people who claim that racism is a thing of the past because it isn’t and to make that claim is to deny the experiences of people of color. It sends the message that what these people go through either isn’t real or doesn’t matter. For those of us who are affected by the very much existing racism, we don’t have the luxury of living in a fantasy world disconnected from reality. Many of us don’t appreciate being told that the crap we’ve gone through isn’t real.

As an atheist, I get offended by those who claim that atheists are as bad as rapists bc we don’t believe in any deities. It’s offensive on multiple levels. For one, not believing in a deity is nothing like violating the bodily autonomy of another person by forcing yourself on them. Rape is one of the most horrific violations of another human being possible. Not believing in a deity doesn’t affect anyone else. The two aren’t remotely comparable. Secondly, being an atheist doesn’t make one immoral (yes, there are atheists with questionable morals, just as there are theists with questionable morals). Morals deal with the distinction between good/bad or right/wrong behavior between human beings. There’s nothing immoral about being an atheist bc there’s no moral component to not believing in a deity. It’s as silly as saying someone is immoral bc they don’t believe in invisible teapots or rainbow farting unicorns. By itself the ‘atheists are immoral monsters no better than rapists’ meme might not be so bad IF it wasn’t part of a broader pattern of denigrating and discriminating against people who don’t worship a deity.

Adding to all that, while I’m not a woman I get offended when people make sexist or misogynistic comments or when lawmakers submit legislation to curtail women’s reproductive rights. I also get offended when people who don’t know a damn thing about gender dysphoria pontificate about human biology as if they know what they’re talking about. I’m neither a woman nor a trans person, but I get offended bc both groups are human beings who continue to see their rights trampled upon and I don’t like that one bit. I’d prefer to live in a world where people are respected rather than denigrated for being who they are. I’d prefer to live in a world where the diversity of the human experience is appreciated and lauded rather than lambasted.

Unfortunately, I (along with you and everyone else) do not live in such a world. We live in a world where marginalized and oppressed people like women, trans people, lesbians, gay people, bisexual people, atheists, black people, and so many other groups are routinely crapped on. To varying degrees, around the world, these groups are subjected to discrimination, verbal and sexual harassment, bullying, threats of and actual violence, sexual assault and rape, and of course murder. Such denial of the human rights of others OUGHT to cause offense. It OUGHT to anger people. It OUGHT to cause people to rise up and say “No More”.

And that’s what often happens after people get offended. They do something about it. Offense often leads to outrage which often leads to efforts to effect social, political, and economic change for the better.

So here’s the middle finger to Crowder. I’m glad that many men get offended.

If Crowder wants to adhere to rigid (and harmful) gender roles that dictate what men (and women) can or cannot do, fine. But he doesn’t get to shove anyone else in that box. Taking offense at things doesn’t make me less of a man, and fuck Crowder or anyone else who says otherwise.

In a supremely amusing bit of irony that just hit me, Crowder’s entire rant reads like he is offended by men who get offended. Of course he’s too much of a misogynistic, bigoted douchebag for that level of self-awareness.

I’m a man who gets offended

I'm a man who gets offended

“‘That’s offensive!’ … said no great man, ever.”

“Never is the fall of masculinity more clearly on display than when grown, adult men pull out the ‘offended’ card.  Any man who goes about with the word ‘offensive’ on his lips should be boiled with his own pudding… or promptly have his man-card revoked, one of the two.

Why is it that we all inherently get that sense of disgust, that feeling of embarrassment for a man who wines about being ‘offended’ but not many of us can articulate as to the reason?  Just why are we so repulsed by men (usually liberal) who fervently take ‘offense’?”

“Today’s ‘offended’ men are seen as wimpy simply because they are.  Instead of harnessing whatever affront is facing them, instead of facing it head-on, dealing with the problem and coming out the other side a stronger man, the ‘modern’ male chooses to sulk, to whine, and inevitably call Gloria Steinem.”

The above gems are brought to you by one Steven Crowder.  Crowder is a blogger over at Louder With Crowder, a Tea Party News Network powered conservative website that I’m not going to link to (here’s a link to the Addicting Info article that brought Crowder to my attention. It has a link to his site). While reading his sexist tirade, I realized that he made no attempt to identify what things so-called “modern” men take offense to. Others can fisk his rant, but as one of those “modern” men he attacks, I thought I’d list some of the things I take offense to. The following is a comment I left over at Addicting Info:

Stop being offended.
That’s far easier said than done however. Many of us who are members of certain oppressed groups regularly get offended by crap that others say or do. And contrary to the rantings of the douchemaggott in the OP, there is absolutely nothing wrong with being offended.

As a gay man, I get offended that people like Pat Robertson or Scott Lively deny not just my humanity and my rights, but the rights of countless LGBT people around the world. Their incendiary rhetoric contributes to the climate of anti-LGBT bigotry.

As a black man, I get offended by the people who claim that racism is a thing of the past because it isn’t and to make that claim is to deny the experiences of people of color. It sends the message that what these people go through either isn’t real or doesn’t matter. For those of us who are affected by the very much existing racism, we don’t have the luxury of living in a fantasy world disconnected from reality. Many of us don’t appreciate being told that the crap we’ve gone through isn’t real.

As an atheist, I get offended by those who claim that atheists are as bad as rapists bc we don’t believe in any deities. It’s offensive on multiple levels. For one, not believing in a deity is nothing like violating the bodily autonomy of another person by forcing yourself on them. Rape is one of the most horrific violations of another human being possible. Not believing in a deity doesn’t affect anyone else. The two aren’t remotely comparable. Secondly, being an atheist doesn’t make one immoral (yes, there are atheists with questionable morals, just as there are theists with questionable morals). Morals deal with the distinction between good/bad or right/wrong behavior between human beings. There’s nothing immoral about being an atheist bc there’s no moral component to not believing in a deity. It’s as silly as saying someone is immoral bc they don’t believe in invisible teapots or rainbow farting unicorns. By itself the ‘atheists are immoral monsters no better than rapists’ meme might not be so bad IF it wasn’t part of a broader pattern of denigrating and discriminating against people who don’t worship a deity.

Adding to all that, while I’m not a woman I get offended when people make sexist or misogynistic comments or when lawmakers submit legislation to curtail women’s reproductive rights. I also get offended when people who don’t know a damn thing about gender dysphoria pontificate about human biology as if they know what they’re talking about. I’m neither a woman nor a trans person, but I get offended bc both groups are human beings who continue to see their rights trampled upon and I don’t like that one bit. I’d prefer to live in a world where people are respected rather than denigrated for being who they are. I’d prefer to live in a world where the diversity of the human experience is appreciated and lauded rather than lambasted.

Unfortunately, I (along with you and everyone else) do not live in such a world. We live in a world where marginalized and oppressed people like women, trans people, lesbians, gay people, bisexual people, atheists, black people, and so many other groups are routinely crapped on. To varying degrees, around the world, these groups are subjected to discrimination, verbal and sexual harassment, bullying, threats of and actual violence, sexual assault and rape, and of course murder. Such denial of the human rights of others OUGHT to cause offense. It OUGHT to anger people. It OUGHT to cause people to rise up and say “No More”.

And that’s what often happens after people get offended. They do something about it. Offense often leads to outrage which often leads to efforts to effect social, political, and economic change for the better.

So here’s the middle finger to Crowder. I’m glad that many men get offended.

If Crowder wants to adhere to rigid (and harmful) gender roles that dictate what men (and women) can or cannot do, fine. But he doesn’t get to shove anyone else in that box. Taking offense at things doesn’t make me less of a man, and fuck Crowder or anyone else who says otherwise.

In a supremely amusing bit of irony that just hit me, Crowder’s entire rant reads like he is offended by men who get offended. Of course he’s too much of a misogynistic, bigoted douchebag for that level of self-awareness.

I'm a man who gets offended

No whitewashing here

I recently wrote a post exploring the history of whitewashing and racebending in Hollywood. In that piece, I concluded by saying:

These racist practices (and more) have existed in Hollywood for far too long. They reinforce a cultural narrative that white lives are the ones the most important. This white bias has long been criticized, but critics are powerless to end the racist practices in the entertainment industry. They cannot prevent the continued use of yellowface, nor can they step in and ensure that roles intended for a Person of Color are played by one. Only the people in control of decisions in Hollywood can do that. The question is, when will these powerful people begin acting responsibly?

In a bit of good news, it looks like someone with the power to act responsibly has chosen to do so. Superherohype has reported that Lana Condor has been cast in the role of Jubilation Lee (aka Jubilee) in the next installment of Fox’s X-Men franchise:

X-Men: Apocalypse director Bryan Singer took to Instagram today to announce another new addition to the film’s cast in the form of newcomer Lana Condor, who will take on the role of Jubilation Lee, AKA Jubilee.

Created by Chris Claremont and Marc Silvestri, the character first appeared in “Uncanny X-Men” #244 and for a time was the youngest member of the core team. The character’s mutation allowed her to create and control energy plasmoids akin to fireworks. She previously appeared in the original three “X-Men” films where she was played by Katrina Florence (X-Men) and by Kea Wong (X2 & X-Men: The Last Stand).

Here is an image of Jubilee:

This is Lana Condor:

They’ve cast an actress of Asian descent to play a character of Asian descent. Good move Hollywood. Now don’t get me wrong-I’m not breaking out the champagne. I know that Hollywood still has a long way to go before it accurately mirrors USAmerican society, but steps like this are essential in getting us to that point.

No whitewashing here

Irresponsible Gun Owner Link Round-Up 3.25.15

On a regular basis, individuals across the U.S. demonstrate that they are not responsible gun owners. Oh, they may have passed a background check and obtained a license and/or a permit, but have they demonstrated-prior to owning a gun-that they aren’t an aggressive individual with a hair-trigger temper? Have they shown knowledge of how to resolve conflicts without resorting to violence? Probably not, because there are no such requirements for owning a gun or obtaining a license. Which is a shame because there are many people who should never be allowed to own a gun. People like this guy, who (in January 2014) threatened a pizza delivery driver because he was upset at the service and the long wait time for his order:

Police arrested an Anchorage man after he threatened a pizza delivery driver with a gun early Thursday morning in the Riviera Terrace Mobile Home Park, according to Anchorage police.

The driver was delivering pizza to a home at the 3300 block of Boniface Parkway around 6 a.m. where a few occupants, including Keng Lor, 23, were waiting inside, said Jennifer Castro, police spokeswoman.

“It was reported to us that they were upset with the service and how long the delivery was taking,” Castro said.

Lor threatened the driver with a gun when he reached the door, Castro said. The driver was able to get away without injury, she said.

The driver called police dispatch around 6:15 a.m., Castro said. Police arrested Lor and took him to Anchorage Jail. He faces two third-degree assault charges and one count of misconduct involving weapons in the fourth degree.

Or this guy, who threatened an 18-year-old over a parking spot in September 2014:

Madison police were sent to the area of Atwood Avenue and Winnebago Street around 4:24 p.m. for a report of a man threatening another man with a gun, according to a release.

The 18-year-old victim told police he confronted Joseph P. Piscitello, 38, of Madison, because his car was parked in an illegal parking spot, police said. Piscitello took offense, so he allegedly took a loaded handgun from his truck and threatened the 18-year-old with it.

Piscitello left the area, but then decided to come back, according to the release. As he was returning to the scene, he hit an uninvolved vehicle, but did not injure the driver.

Police found the loaded gun in the trunk of Piscitello’s vehicle.

Piscitello was arrested on tentative charges of disorderly conduct while armed, and was also cited for a traffic violation due to the crash.

Or this guy, who shot a 15-year-old (in January 2015) because the teen threw snowballs at his car:

A central Pennsylvania man is under arrest after police say he brought a gun to a snowball fight.

York police say Jerquan Shaquille Dickson shot a 15-year-old boy in the right arm and left thigh Saturday after the teenager allegedly threw snowballs at his car.

The 15-year-old was hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries.

Dickson is charged with felony aggravated assault and recklessly endangering another person. The 22-year-old is free on $150,000 bail. Information on his lawyer wasn’t immediately available.

Or this guy (a shoe-in for Father of the Year) who was arrested Monday for shooting his son in the ass during a fight over orange juice:

Eldridge Dukes, 58, faces charges of attempted manslaughter and illegal use of a weapon, according to police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The incident occurred early Sunday after the father and son began arguing about the lack of orange juice at their home, according to Baton Rouge police spokesman Corporal Don Coppola.

He said the son damaged the home and broke a porcelain vase.

Arming himself with a handgun, the father chased his son out the front door. He fired several shots, striking the teenager once in his buttocks, Coppola said.

The son was taken to a hospital with injuries that did not appear to be life-threatening.

Or this Harris County, TX resident who shot a woman in the head after she honked at him on the freeway:

Authorities are searching for a man in a white SUV who allegedly shot a woman on a Texas freeway Friday after she honked at him, reports CBS affiliate KHOU.

A spokesman for the Harris County Pct. 4 Constable’s Office said the shooting happened shortly after 7 a.m. on the North Freeway near W. Richey Road in Harris County.

The victim, a 28-year-old female, reportedly told officers she honked at a white SUV while trying to get on the freeway to go to work. She and the SUV’s driver yelled at each other before the SUV cut her off and the driver opened fire, according to the station.

A bullet reportedly struck the woman in the back of her neck. Some of the bullet fragments went into her head as well, authorities said, according to the station.

The SUV driver reportedly fled the scene as the victim called 911.

If you think men are the only ones who use firearms recklessly, think again. Women do it too. Take this woman for instance:

Mobile police received a phone call at about 9:30 a.m. reporting that a person had been shot. The victim said his great aunt, Ira Belle Peterson, shot him once in the foot during an argument about money, according to Mobile Police Department spokesman Terence Perkins.

Perkins said the woman and her grand nephew lived together. Peterson had accused the boy of stealing $20 from her and that’s when she decided to shoot him in the foot.

Here’s a woman so annoyed at the amount of television her children watch that she took her frustrations out on the television:

Police said 40-year-old Jennifer Ullery told them she was upset by how much TV her three kids – ages 15, 11, and 6 – had been watching and took out her frustration by firing multiple rounds at the screen.

“A music video by Primus set Mom off and she opened fire,” said Andrews Doles, deputy chief of Algonquin police. “Mom didn’t say anything, she just walked into the room and started shooting the TV.”

The children were sitting on a couch in front of the TV when their mother opened fire with a Ruger .22 long rifle, police said.

In another example of irresponsible use of a firearm, a Tennessee woman was arrested last year for going on a shooting spree in a suburban Chattanooga neighborhood:

A middle-aged Tennessee woman is under arrest after she drove around a suburban Chattanooga neighborhood, inexplicably shooting at people and vehicles. Julia Shields, 45, has been arrested and faces multiple felony charges, after she terrorized her neighborhood on Friday. Shields faces three counts of attempted murder and seven counts of aggravated assault. She also faces charges for reckless endangerment, evading arrest, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

The woman fired shots randomly at vehicles and continued to aim her gun at vehicles even while she was being chased by police. She also pointed her firearm at police officers, but she was eventually arrested and taken alive.

Shields resides in the Hixson neighborhood in the North part of Chattanooga. The shootings took place in the same area. Hixson is a predominately white, upper middle-class neighborhood, where the household median income is well above the state average.

I doubt she’d be alive if she were a black woman.

Next up is a story that makes me want to facepalm and headdesk simultaneously. Back in early 2014, a woman in Grand Rapids, MI fired a gun in the drive through window at McDonald’s because her order was wrong:

Shaneka Monique Torres, 29, was arraigned in Grand Rapids District Court Monday afternoon on charges of carrying a concealed weapon, discharge of a firearm in or at a building and felony firearms.

Torres and another woman placed an order at the drive-thru window at the business located near 28th Street and Madison Avenue SE on Sunday. The workers got the order wrong, police said, and the customers were told their next meal would be free.

So the women returned to the restaurant’s drive-thru window around 3 a.m. Monday and ordered again. Torres was the passenger in the vehicle, and was flirting with the employee in the first drive-thru window. police said. She left that person her phone number in hopes he would call her later.

Torres and the other woman drove up to the second drive-thru window to get their order, which was wrong, police said.

Torres pulled out a gun, reached across the driver and fired one shot through the closed car window and drive-thru window, police told 24 Hour News 8.

The bullet went through the other side of the building, but did not hit anybody. Workers didn’t realize what had happened. They thought a coffee pot had exploded.

The customers drove away and went to Torres’ house, where she was dropped off.

Police tracked down the shooter at her home because she left her cellphone number with the drive-thru worker.

Police arrested Torres at her home.

Rounding out this collection of stories involving reckless gun owners is a tale from July 2014. I can’t believe I’m about to type this, but apparently a 58-year-old woman shot her lover because he didn’t ejaculate enough:

Sadie Bell was convicted in April of assault with intent to do great bodily harm for shooting her boyfriend, Edward Lee, in the stomach in January of 2013 — but she’s now been granted bond pending an appeal.

According to Chief Assistant Prosecutor Paul Walton, Bell admitted she had sex with Lee at her apartment, then shot him over his poor performance. She also accused Lee of cheating.

“The underlying facts in this are a little bizarre,” Walton told WWJ’s Sandra McNeil, “in that the defendant in this case was having a 15 year affair with the victim, Mr. Lee.

“She was upset with him,” Walton said, “after a sexual act that she felt he wasn’t performing adequately and accused him then of having an affair, and then took out a gun and shot him.”

Walton said Bell made a “very graphic”, detailed statement to police explaining why she shot her lover.

“She stated that she knew he was having an affair because he wasn’t producing enough ejaculate,” Walton explained. “She also said to the police some very graphic things about how she expected him to perform, she was a cheap date, she liked sex, she expected him to be able to do what he’s promised; and she said, in essence, to quote her, she was pissed off, so she shot him.”

Irresponsible Gun Owner Link Round-Up 3.25.15