What. Did. I. Just. Watch?!

Ben Carson.

Ted Cruz.

Carly Fiorina.

Mike Huckabee.

George Pataki.

Marco Rubio.

Rick Santorum.

These are all the GOP contenders clowns hoping to win their party’s nomination as well as a spot in the Oval Office in January, 2017. Oh, wait. I forgot one. This guy:

This is Rand Paul.
This is Rand Paul on some serious drugs. Any questions? (I can think of a few, like “What the hell was the photographer-Gage Skidmore-thinking?” and “Who’s body does that belong to, bc it sure as hell isn’t Rand Paul’s?”)

In an attempt to paint Rand Paul as true patriot will defend mom, apple pie, and the U.S. against President Obama and his nefarious plans, a pro-Rand Paul SuperPAC released a really fucking bizarre commercial. Complete with bald eagles (fire-breathing ones, natch), a bare-chested Rand Paul, and enough explosions to make Michael Bay jealous, after watching this commercial, you’ll probably be scratching your head:

Seriously, what the fuck did I just watch, what demographic was the video aimed at, and why did the SuperPAC think this would help Rand Paul’s campaign?

(h/t Addicting Info)

What. Did. I. Just. Watch?!
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The Fabulous Art Of: Héctor Barros

In their regular series Best Art Ever, Comics Alliance spotlights artwork by working professionals, rising stars, and talented fans. Thanks to this series, I’ve been introduced to the work of many amazing artists. Here are several pieces by one such artist, Héctor Barros. Enjoy!

Head on over to Barros’ Tumblr to check out more of his amazing work.

The Fabulous Art Of: Héctor Barros

Hopefully we won’t kill off the 139 new species discovered in the Greater Mekong Region

Stretching 2.6 million square kilometers and including the countries Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, and Vietnam, the Greater Mekong Region supports significant biodiversity. With its diverse geographic landscape and variety of climactic zones, the area is home to an estimated 20,000 plant species, 1300 species of fish, 1200 bird species, 800 reptile and amphibian species, and 430 species of mammal. Every year, scientists discover new species in this region. In fact, according to the World Wildlife Fund, scientists observed more than 2,000 new species between 1997 and 2014.  90 plants, 23 reptiles, 16 amphibians, 9 fish, and one mammal were discovered in 2014 alone. Among the 139 new species were the soul sucking Dementor Wasp:

Ampulex dementor (Credit: Michael Ohl/Museum fur Naturkunde)

The color-changing thorny frog:

Gracixalus lumarius (Credit: Jodi Rowley / Australian Museum)

The second-longest insect in the world:

Phryganistria Heusii Yentuensis (Credit: Jerome Constant)

The crocodile newt:

Tylototriton shanorum (Credit: Tim Johnson)

and the 10,000th species of reptile:

Cyrtodactylus vilaphongi (Credit: Truong Nguyen)

These new species are part of the amazing biodiversity that is an important part of the lives of the more than 300 million people who call the region home. From the 2.6 million tonnes of fish generated every year by the Mekong to the forests and wetlands that protect towns and cities from mother nature, the Greater Mekong Region provides essential natural resources to nearly 80% of the population of the area. Unfortunately, those same essential resources are in peril:

The Greater Mekong is one of the top five threatened biodiversity hotspots in the world, according to the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund.  Hydropower developments threaten the integrity of the Mekong river; later this year, construction on the Xayaburi Dam in Laos will block the lower Mekong River for the first time, disrupting the free flow of fish and sediment. Communities downstream have vocally protested against Xayaburi and the impending construction of the Don Sahong dam near the border of Cambodia, one of an additional 11 planned mainstream dams that would irrevocably transform the Mekong. Roads and other planned infrastructure developments through the region’s wilderness areas will fragment habitats and provide access to saola and other endangered species. Climate change only increases the pressures on the landscapes through rising temperatures, rising sea levels, and more extreme storms, droughts and floods.

WWF works with governments, businesses, and civil society to create a sustainable future for the Greater Mekong based on healthy, functioning ecosystems. We are spearheading efforts to protect species, helping businesses develop sustainable supply chains, encouraging sustainable forestry and non-timber forest product management, helping communities and governments adapt to climate change, and promoting the sustainable use of freshwater resources.

Scientific exploration has an important role to play in the future of the Mekong region. Fascinating new species like the ones discovered in 2014 can draw more conservation attention to the region, while a thorough understanding of the patterns and distribution of biodiversity can help direct conservation resources to the highest priority areas.

The WWF recognizes that no single solution is sufficient to protect the rich biodiversity of the Greater Mekong Region. Habitat conservation, protection from poachers, smart infrastructure development, maintenance of free-flowing rivers and more-these are important to the future of all the species living in the Mekong (including humans). While there is no single solution to overcoming the threats facing the Greater Mekong Region, there is one important step governments, businesses, and citizens can (and should) take: a commitment to the growth of a green economy:

For the purposes of the Green Economy Initiative, UNEP has developed a working definition of a green economy as one that results in improved human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities. In its simplest expression, a green economy can be thought of as one which is low carbon, resource efficient and socially inclusive.

Practically speaking, a green economy is one whose growth in income and employment is driven by public and private investments that reduce carbon emissions and pollution, enhance energy and resource efficiency, and prevent the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services. These investments need to be catalyzed and supported by targeted public expenditure, policy reforms and regulation changes. This development path should maintain, enhance and, where necessary, rebuild natural capital as a critical economic asset and source of public benefits, especially for poor people whose livelihoods and security depend strongly on nature.

The threats facing the Greater Mekong Region are not unique to that area. Thanks to human activities like habitat degradation and destruction, the invasion of non-native species, over-hunting and pollution, species and ecosystems around the world face the threat of destruction. Humans are also responsible for another dire threat to life on this planet: global warming.

“Surveys of the peer-reviewed scientific literature and the opinions of experts consistently show a 97–98% consensus that humans are causing global warming.” –Skeptical Science

Anthropogenic (human-induced) global warming is a planetary health threat. Left unchecked, global warming will cause changes in the pattern of diseases, food and water insecurity, rising sea levels leading to flooding and migration, increased frequency of extreme weather events and more. It is imperative that governments, businesses, and citizens take steps to address, mitigate, and where possible (if possible), reverse the effects of global warming and other environmental problems caused by human activities. We created these problems. We must take immediate action to prevent them from worsening.


Looking for steps you can take to live a greener life? The Worldwatch Institute has some helpful tips.

Want to support the World Wildlife Fund? They take donations.

For a look at some of the other new species found in the Greater Mekong Region, see here or here.

Want to know more about anthropogenic global warming? Check out the United Nations Environment Programme.

Hopefully we won’t kill off the 139 new species discovered in the Greater Mekong Region

Hopefully we won't kill off the 139 new species discovered in the Greater Mekong Region

Stretching 2.6 million square kilometers and including the countries Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, and Vietnam, the Greater Mekong Region supports significant biodiversity. With its diverse geographic landscape and variety of climactic zones, the area is home to an estimated 20,000 plant species, 1300 species of fish, 1200 bird species, 800 reptile and amphibian species, and 430 species of mammal. Every year, scientists discover new species in this region. In fact, according to the World Wildlife Fund, scientists observed more than 2,000 new species between 1997 and 2014.  90 plants, 23 reptiles, 16 amphibians, 9 fish, and one mammal were discovered in 2014 alone. Among the 139 new species were the soul sucking Dementor Wasp:

Ampulex dementor (Credit: Michael Ohl/Museum fur Naturkunde)

The color-changing thorny frog:

Gracixalus lumarius (Credit: Jodi Rowley / Australian Museum)

The second-longest insect in the world:

Phryganistria Heusii Yentuensis (Credit: Jerome Constant)

The crocodile newt:

Tylototriton shanorum (Credit: Tim Johnson)

and the 10,000th species of reptile:

Cyrtodactylus vilaphongi (Credit: Truong Nguyen)

These new species are part of the amazing biodiversity that is an important part of the lives of the more than 300 million people who call the region home. From the 2.6 million tonnes of fish generated every year by the Mekong to the forests and wetlands that protect towns and cities from mother nature, the Greater Mekong Region provides essential natural resources to nearly 80% of the population of the area. Unfortunately, those same essential resources are in peril:

The Greater Mekong is one of the top five threatened biodiversity hotspots in the world, according to the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund.  Hydropower developments threaten the integrity of the Mekong river; later this year, construction on the Xayaburi Dam in Laos will block the lower Mekong River for the first time, disrupting the free flow of fish and sediment. Communities downstream have vocally protested against Xayaburi and the impending construction of the Don Sahong dam near the border of Cambodia, one of an additional 11 planned mainstream dams that would irrevocably transform the Mekong. Roads and other planned infrastructure developments through the region’s wilderness areas will fragment habitats and provide access to saola and other endangered species. Climate change only increases the pressures on the landscapes through rising temperatures, rising sea levels, and more extreme storms, droughts and floods.

WWF works with governments, businesses, and civil society to create a sustainable future for the Greater Mekong based on healthy, functioning ecosystems. We are spearheading efforts to protect species, helping businesses develop sustainable supply chains, encouraging sustainable forestry and non-timber forest product management, helping communities and governments adapt to climate change, and promoting the sustainable use of freshwater resources.

Scientific exploration has an important role to play in the future of the Mekong region. Fascinating new species like the ones discovered in 2014 can draw more conservation attention to the region, while a thorough understanding of the patterns and distribution of biodiversity can help direct conservation resources to the highest priority areas.

The WWF recognizes that no single solution is sufficient to protect the rich biodiversity of the Greater Mekong Region. Habitat conservation, protection from poachers, smart infrastructure development, maintenance of free-flowing rivers and more-these are important to the future of all the species living in the Mekong (including humans). While there is no single solution to overcoming the threats facing the Greater Mekong Region, there is one important step governments, businesses, and citizens can (and should) take: a commitment to the growth of a green economy:

For the purposes of the Green Economy Initiative, UNEP has developed a working definition of a green economy as one that results in improved human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities. In its simplest expression, a green economy can be thought of as one which is low carbon, resource efficient and socially inclusive.

Practically speaking, a green economy is one whose growth in income and employment is driven by public and private investments that reduce carbon emissions and pollution, enhance energy and resource efficiency, and prevent the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services. These investments need to be catalyzed and supported by targeted public expenditure, policy reforms and regulation changes. This development path should maintain, enhance and, where necessary, rebuild natural capital as a critical economic asset and source of public benefits, especially for poor people whose livelihoods and security depend strongly on nature.

The threats facing the Greater Mekong Region are not unique to that area. Thanks to human activities like habitat degradation and destruction, the invasion of non-native species, over-hunting and pollution, species and ecosystems around the world face the threat of destruction. Humans are also responsible for another dire threat to life on this planet: global warming.

“Surveys of the peer-reviewed scientific literature and the opinions of experts consistently show a 97–98% consensus that humans are causing global warming.” –Skeptical Science

Anthropogenic (human-induced) global warming is a planetary health threat. Left unchecked, global warming will cause changes in the pattern of diseases, food and water insecurity, rising sea levels leading to flooding and migration, increased frequency of extreme weather events and more. It is imperative that governments, businesses, and citizens take steps to address, mitigate, and where possible (if possible), reverse the effects of global warming and other environmental problems caused by human activities. We created these problems. We must take immediate action to prevent them from worsening.


Looking for steps you can take to live a greener life? The Worldwatch Institute has some helpful tips.

Want to support the World Wildlife Fund? They take donations.

For a look at some of the other new species found in the Greater Mekong Region, see here or here.

Want to know more about anthropogenic global warming? Check out the United Nations Environment Programme.

Hopefully we won't kill off the 139 new species discovered in the Greater Mekong Region

Black lives are devalued in Barstow, California

A woman in Barstow, California found herself wrestled to the ground and arrested in the wake of a traffic dispute. The dispute involved an unidentified white woman and Charlena Michelle Cooks, an African-American woman who was pregnant at the time of the incident. Here’s the video:

In police body camera video obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Southern California (ACLU SoCal), an officer is responding to an apparent traffic dispute between Charlena Michelle Cooks, who is 8 months pregnant and black, and an unidentified white woman.

The officer first talks to the white woman, who accuses Cooks of acting “all crazy.”

“I don’t see a crime that has been committed,” the officer admits after examining the woman’s car. After promising the woman a police report, the officer heads over to talk to Cooks.

Cooks explains that the argument occurred because the woman disagreed with the way she was driving in the parking lot. Cooks also said that the woman frightened her daughter, who was in second grade.

“She called the police for whatever reason, I don’t know,” Cooks says. “Should I feel threatened by her because she’s white? Because she’s white and she’s making threats to me?”

At that point the officer asks for Cooks’ name, but she insists that she does not have to tell him.

“I actually do have the right to ask you for your name,” the officer replies.

I wonder-did the officer ask the white woman to identify herself, or was this request made only of Cooks?

“Let me make sure,” Cooks says as she makes a phone call to someone.

The officer says he will give Cooks two minutes to verify his right to ask for her identification. But less than 20 seconds later, the officer and a colleague are performing a painful wristlock takedown on Cooks. The pregnant woman screams as she is forced belly first into the ground.

Translation: “I know I said I’d give her 2 minutes to verify, but my life was threatened by a pregnant black woman talking on the phone. Do you hear me?! My life was threatened! No, I don’t have to justify my fear. I’m a cop. We don’t have to do that.”

“Why are you resisting?” the officer demands.

Oh, I don’t know, maybe she was resisting because she was in a painful wristlock and was forced belly first onto the ground, which isn’t something many pregnant women are likely to be comfortable with. Y’know, given the actions of this cop, the forced birthers should be out in droves supporting Cooks. After all, assaulting her could have harmed the fetus.  And we know how concerned they are for fetuses.

ACLU SoCal staff attorney Adrienna Wong pointed out that Cooks had a right to refuse to show her ID.

“It would be a wrongful arrest, but it would be an arrest,” she noted. “Even if an officer is conducting an investigation, in California, unlike some other states, he can’t just require a person to provide ID for no reason.”

Interesting. At least one cop in Barstow is unaware of a law that he ought to be knowledgeable of.

ACLU SoCal staff attorney Jessica Price observed that Cooks, who is black, was handled very differently than the white woman.

Happens quite a bit in this country. Why, it’s almost like the lives of black people aren’t valued as much as the lives of white people.

“Imagine getting wrestled to the ground and handcuffed in front of your child’s elementary school,” Price remarked. “Imagine interacting with other parents afterwards. Imagine what kids who saw the incident tell your child. And if you think the whole incident happened because of your race, how does that impact your view of police?”

Oooh, I know!

It might cause you to distrust the police more than you already do.

The charges of resisting arrest against Cooks were also dropped, but the city insisted that it acted properly in that case.

“The Barstow Police Department continues to be proactive in training its officers to assess and handle interactions with emotionally charged individuals while conducting an investigation, for the protection of everyone involved,” the city said in a statement.

“This incident was in no way racially motivated, as implied by the ACLU,” the statement said. “Barstow is a racially diverse community, as is our Police Department, and we affirm our Police Department’s commitment to protect and serve all of our residents.”

It’s proper to detain a citizen for no apparent reason, demand they identify themselves for no apparent reason, use a painful takedown maneuver on them for no apparent reason, and then wrestle them to the ground for no apparent reason?  If that’s proper and not racially motivated, why was the white woman treated differently?

To make matters worse, Cooks was banned from her daughter’s school until the charges were dismissed. She said that she has not decided whether or not she wants to sue the city. But ultimately, her goal is to move out of Barstow as soon as possible.

“I’m still trying to process everything and get in a good state of mind,” she told the Desert Dispatch. “I’m in a very fearful state of mind. Barstow is so small and I used to be comfortable living here. Not anymore. I really felt like after all that happened I had some of my everyday freedoms taken from me.”

Sadly, that’s what happened. Your freedom to move about in the public was infringed upon by the state for absolutely no fucking reason.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been that terrified in my life,” Cooks continued. “I never saw that coming. I told him I was pregnant so he could proceed with caution. That didn’t happen and the first thing I thought was I didn’t want to fall to the ground. I felt the pressure on my stomach from falling and I was calling for help. But those guys are supposed to help me. But who is supposed to help me when they are attacking me?”

And that’s one of the scariest things for many African-Americans terrorized by law enforcement officials. There’s nowhere for them to turn to. No one to help them. And that includes the courts. Sure, victims of police brutality and harassment can sue the city. They often win such cases too, but that doesn’t ensure that they’re safe from police harassment and brutality in the future.

Btw, if the Barstow PD thinks that is protecting and serving their residents, they have a warped view of what it means to serve and protect. Or maybe they devalue the lives of black people. Or both.

Black lives are devalued in Barstow, California

A bit more gender diversity from Marvel Studios

One of the many upcoming projects from Marvel Studios is the long-simmering Doctor Strange movie. In the comics, Doctor Stephen Strange was a talented yet arrogant neurosurgeon who sought to regain the use of his hands after a tragic accident. He traveled around the world seeking the best doctors to repair his hands, but all to no avail. Despondent, distraught, broke, and homeless, Strange continued his search and eventually learned of the Ancient One, a hermit in the Himalayas who might be able to assist him. While he is initially rebuffed by the hermit, Strange eventually proves his worth and the Ancient One agrees to help the doctor, though not by repairing his hands. Instead, he trains him in the use of the mystic arts and eventually grants him the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme.

Why all this background about Dr. Strange and the Ancient One? Weeeeell, Marvel is currently in the casting stage for the upcoming Dr. Strange film. They already have Benedict Cumberbatch lined up to play the arrogant, former neurosurgeon, and they might be close to picking someone to play the Ancient One. And they’re thinking outside the box on this one. In a move that many (myself included) see as a positive step, actress Tilda Swinton is in talks to play the Ancient One:

The Ancient One is a hundreds year old mystic who has mastered magic and travels the Earth, battling demons, later settling in the Himalayas with an order of monks. In the comics, The Ancient One was an older, Tibetan man, — and earlier in the film’s production, they had talked with Ken Watanabe, Morgan Freeman and Bill Nighy for the role — but the character’s identity is being altered slightly for the film. In the film, the character will train the villainous Baron Mordo before sensing evil in his heart and turning to mentor Dr. Stephen Strange, eventually bestowing on him the powerful Eye of Agamotto.

Swinton’s casting is exciting for a variety of reasons. The first, and most obvious, is that the Marvel Cinematic Universe (and superhero movies as a whole) don’t need another all-powerful male character; there are plenty of those. It’s honorable that Marvel was looking at a group of actors that were ethnically diverse, but even better than they were thinking further outside of the box to cast a woman.

For all that Stan Lee’s work at Marvel was groundbreaking and noteworthy, he was still writing comics at a time when women were not well represented in pop culture because the socially approved role of women was homemaker or housewife. Yes, Stan created the Wasp, the Scarlet Witch, and the Invisible Girl, but they were frequently relegated to the role of damsels-in-distress or the girlfriend (and dear Odin, Stan wrote many a cringe-worthy scene involving female superheroes). Meanwhile, their male counterparts rarely (if ever) received such treatment. No, male characters in the various titles written by Stan got to be more than the boyfriend. They didn’t have to worry about being hogtied, captured, and held hostage waiting for a savior to swoop in and free them. The men got to steer the plot. The women were treated as window dressing. So it probably never crossed Stan’s mind that a woman could serve as mentor to Doctor Strange.

It’s sad in a way. Like so many people back then (and plenty today), Stan Lee’s creativity was constrained by an adherence to rigid gender roles imposed by society-he was thinking inside the box. As a result of such limited thinking, Stan Lee’s comics did not-contrary to a long-running narrative about Marvel Comics-“reflect the world outside your window“. How could it, when the Marvel Universe as created by Stan was populated by a sea of white, male faces (with a few women and a smattering of black folk included for token attempts at diversity)? That’s not what the real world has ever looked like.

That’s one of the reasons I like the idea of casting Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One. Women exist in the world outside my window (and everyone else’s). Yes, some women are housewives and homemakers, but they’re also sanitation workers and teachers, doctors and dental hygienists, lawyers and judges, astronauts and chemists, sociologists and electricians, librarians and painters, writers and activists, and so much, much more. That’s why it makes sense to me for Hollywood executives to widen the pool of potential candidates for movie roles. Instead of treating men as the default, they’re slowly beginning to realize that women can do the same things as men (hello Charlize Theron in Fury Road), and that includes playing the role of wise and aged mentor to the master of the mystic arts.

A bit more gender diversity from Marvel Studios

How to make an MRAs head explode

Disclaimer: The title of this post is meant metaphorically. I am opposed to violence in all its forms (though I accept that there are times when the use of violence is justified), and I do not engage in, advocate for, or support violent actions. So no, I don’t want the actual, literal heads of MRAs to go kablooey. Sending them into fits of incoherent rage? I’m all about that.

If you don’t know what an MRA is, go read this and this first.

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All done? Cool.

Regular blog readers know that I’m a feminist. That means I advocate for gender equality in the social, political, and economic arena (basically all areas of society). Over the years, I’ve encountered more than a few MRAs in my online travels and read more than enough comments from them to know that I find them vile. They like to claim their goal is to fight for men’s rights (hence the name), but I’ve yet to see them do anything other than harass women and feminists (while there is significant overlap between both groups, not all feminists are women). Feminists advocate for eliminating the gender wage gap, paid maternity leave, an end to restrictions on women’s reproductive rights, equal gender representation in all areas of society, an end to Rape Culture, and more. In addition, feminists have accomplished a great deal (not a comprehensive list by any means) in the fight for gender equality. Meanwhile, MRAs advocate for…well, I’m not quite sure what, if anything, they advocate for (and yes, I’ve looked); nor what, if anything, they’ve actually accomplished (and again, I’ve looked). They have grievances, some of which are legitimate, but the kicker is that feminism addresses those issues while MRAs don’t address the grievances of feminists. If they spent their time, energy, resources, and person-power working on those legitimate issues, their “movement” might actually have a r’aison d’etre. Instead, these rage-filled misogyny-bleeding douchebags spend their time spewing lies about feminists, co-opting campaigns aimed at ending violence against girls and women, and generally engage in vile behavior directed almost exclusively at women. Hell, these supposed activists for the rights of men are so disgustingly misogynistic that the Southern Poverty Law Center keeps tabs on them.

Given their misogyny and opposition to all things related to gender equality, I imagine MRAs will suffer from a case of exploding heads upon seeing the work of 18-year-old Hungarian blogger Agnes In a series of gender-swapped portraits of various characters from the first Avengers movie, Agnes takes aim at the lack of gender diversity in superhero movies:

Shailene Woodley as Hawkeye
Kristen Stewart as Loki
Kate Beckinsale as Iron Man

Click the link for images of a gender-swapped Captain America, Bruce Banner, Thor, and yes, Black Widow.

While you’re doing that, MRAs will be doing this (warning: graphic imagery of exploding heads…ahead):

In true Scanners-style, the heads of MRAs go all KABLOOEY when gender equality and representation are discussed.
How to make an MRAs head explode

Police Behaving Badly 5.27.15

From the use of excessive force to stealing drugs from suspects…from racial profiling to abusing the power of their badges…from sexually assaulting suspects to planting evidence…there is a never-ending stream of stories of law enforcement officials behaving irresponsibly, unethically, immorally, and/or criminally. Here are five recent examples from across the nation:


Baltimore cop beats a man, keeps his job

Stop me if you’ve heard this one. A cop uses excessive force against a suspect, but even with video of the incident, is allowed to continue being an officer of the law. I don’t place much faith that recording the actions of police officers will hold them accountable.

The violent arrest occurred in Baltimore City last June. Baltimore Police Officer Vincent E. Cosom was caught on the city surveillance video beating a man at a North Avenue bus stop.

Officer Cosom recently pleaded guilty to assault. Last Friday he was sentenced to six months in jail.

Even that hasn’t been enough for his department to fire him.

Shaun Owens, Cosom’s attorney, said his client had an “unblemished record” before the incident and was a veteran police officer.

“This was quite simply a lapse in judgment,” Owens said after the plea.

Oh FUCK YOU Mr. Owens. This was no lapse in judgment. This was a police officer using excessive force against a civilian, something that happens all the goddamn time in this country. Apparently it’s not a big deal to you. Did I mention FUCK YOU?

The sentence, which includes another four and half years suspended time, was handed down as part of an agreement with prosecutors.

The incident happened in June and came to light in September when the victim, Kollin Truss, filed a lawsuit against the police. Cosom and Truss had been in an verbal altercation that appeared to be winding down until Cosom approached him and dealt out the beating.

The video showed Cosom landing a series of heavy blows on Truss, sending him lurching backward at one point. Truss was arrested but officials at Central Booking said he was too injured to be put in jail and ordered medical treatement [sic], according to the lawsuit.

* * * *

 Texas SWAT breaks 81-year-old man’s hip, family finds him lying in his own feces: lawsuit

Herman Crisp told KTBC that Georgetown deputies wearing SWAT uniforms gave no warning before throwing a flash-bang device outside his home last September as he was sitting in a chair and smoking a cigarette.

He said that the explosion knocked him out of his chair, and then officers slammed him on the ground and handcuffed him. The force of hitting the ground broke his hip, according to Crisp, who was 81 years old at the time.

Of course they gave no warning. Why would state-sanctioned thugs need to warn people that they’re about to uproot and destroy their lives when they’re fighting for a much greater cause- the global “War on Drugs”? Obviously, continuing to fight this war-one that has proven to be a catastrophic failure at eliminating or even significantly reducing the distribution, possession, and consumption of illicit drugs-is more important than silly little things like human rights.

Eventually officers did help inside the home before leaving, but they did not call paramedics, he said. The next day, his family said that they found him lying on the floor in his own feces.

“After they left, I tried to get up because I had to go to the bathroom,” he explained to KTBC. “And I couldn’t go. So, I just crawled over and laid on the floor right down through here. My sister had to call paramedics.”

Attorney Boadus Spivey, who is representing Crisp, accused the Georgetown Sheriff’s Office of a “conspiracy of silence.”

It is deeply ironic that various world governments have been waging this decades-long “War on Drugs” under the cover of promoting and ensuring public safety when the very war itself has resulted in untold damage to the lives of the people ostensibly being protected. Dear world governments: if this is your idea of “protection”, THEN PLEASE STOP PROTECTING US.

“Things like this don’t happen in a vacuum,” he pointed out. “There’s nothing that we’ve been able to get that identifies the officers, that identifies the action that occurred. We have our client’s information but I had to hire a private investigator just to get enough faxed to determine whether I should file a lawsuit or not. And I’m convinced that the facts are adequate to file this lawsuit and we’ll find out now that we have some way to get accurate information.”

A lack of transparency on the part of law enforcement agencies? I’m shocked I tells ya. Shocked.

Crisp said that Georgetown deputies had a warrant to search his home as part of an investigation into his nephew, but it was not clear what they were searching for.

This is why I think this story is yet another example of the “War on Drugs”. No, there isn’t anything in this article that directly states the SWAT unit was after Crisp’s nephew for drug-related offenses, but given that 62% of SWAT raids are for drug searches, I don’t feel it is unreasonable-absent evidence to the contrary-to believe it is true in this situation (if it turns out that my assumption is false, I will revise my opinion).

The lawsuit filed against Williamson County and the City of Georgetown seeks damages in excess of $1 million for Crisp’s medical care and mental anguish. The lawsuit alleges that officers used excessive force and caused bodily injury.

‘Excessive force’? Pshaw.  Look at Herman Crisp:

He’s African-American, and as we all know, the use of force (excessive or otherwise) by law enforcement officers against black bodies is justified because well, you know-they’re black. It’s not like black lives matter or anything.

* * * *

Disturbing video shows criminal justice student assaulted & tasered by Border Patrol, for no reason

A young woman travelling through an interior US Border Checkpoint in Waddington, New York Thursday was assaulted and arrested by border patrol for no reason.

Jess Cooke, 21, says she was driving through the checkpoint, when agents said she looked nervous. She was then routed over for a secondary inspection.

Shoot, by the “logic” of you look nervous so we’re going to detain you, I’d be stopped going through a checkpoint. After all, given the treatment of African-Americans by so many police officers, I think it’s reasonable for me to be nervous around them.

Knowing that the agents had no probable cause to search her vehicle, Cooke refused to consent to search. She was then told that she had to wait for a K-9 Unit to arrive before she could leave.

Being nervous is not probable cause nor reasonable suspicion for a search. While inconsistently answering questions may result in reasonable suspicion, it is unclear whether or not this happened prior to Cooke’s detainment.

Because Cooke had committed no crime she demanded to be let go. However, these agents were set on violating her rights.

The conversation between Cooke and the agents quickly escalated and Cooke was thrown to the ground by the male agent as the female agent deployed the taser.

Cooke said the taser was continually deployed until she stopped screaming. After handcuffing her, agents then illegally opened her trunk and searched her entire vehicle, according to Cooke.

The subsequent search turned up nothing.

As the U.S. continues its descent into a police state, this type of situation is likely to occur with greater frequency. Law enforcement officers across the country have (as a whole) far too much power, lack sufficient accountability & oversight, and have insufficient respect for the well-being of all civilians.

* * * *

Angry traffic cop threatens to smash Connecticut man’s phone for filming him

Man! Are there really this many law enforcement officials who do not know that citizens have the right to film them? Or maybe there are just a metric fuckton of authoritarian thugs who think they can intimidate civilians into submitting to their so-called authority? I lean towards the latter. In any case, here’s the story:

Around 11:00 a.m. on April 14, 30-year-old William Ramos began recording officer Kevin Nesta, who was hiding behind a tree along a busy road, radioing to colleagues about ongoing cars whose passengers were not properly restrained in their seats.

Nesta observed Ramos, ordered the guerrilla journalist to stop filming the public display of law enforcement, and threatened to destroy Ramos’ phone.

“Turn the phone off before I smash it,” Nesta says as he walks away from his covert vehicle monitoring spot and approaches Ramos.

I wonder why the officer was so angry and emotional.

Ramos, meanwhile, is still pointing his camera toward Nesta. Nesta, in turn, takes out his own mobile device and films Ramos right back.

“Is there a problem?” Nesta demands.

“There’s no problem,” Ramos replies.

“I didn’t think so,” responds Nesta in an authoritative tone that is also menacing. “Is there something you want to videotape?”

“No,” Ramos clarifies. “Just wondering.”

“No?” Nesta inquires, “But you’re videotaping. Why?”

At an impasse, the camera phone-wielding duo put away their phones and mumblingly part ways peacefully.

Hartford Deputy Police Chief Brian Foley tells the Courant that Nesta has been reprimanded and retrained, and that the officer’s filmed interaction with Ramos will help colleagues on the force “understand that they can be videotaped at any time while they are on duty.” “That’s certainly not the image or the professionalism that we look for in our officers,” Foley adds.

Ramos tells the Courant he has been concerned about accountability for law enforcement officers ever since his 22-year-old half-brother died at the hands of the East Hartford Police Department in April of last year.  “He was tasered and he passed away,” Ramos says of his sibling, now deceased. “Those officers were very hostile toward him… It’s intimidating when they treat you so hostile.”

Stories like Ramos’ (and his brothers’) are depressingly common in the United States, and are a big part of the reason that trust in law enforcement officials is declining in many communities.

* * * *

Cops were hours late to 911 call, when they finally showed up they killed the caller’s dog

Deborah Jones called for help early Sunday when her and her boyfriend had gotten into an argument, which caused her to feel unsafe. When the heroes didn’t show, she was forced to leave her home, only to return to a devastating scene. According to WFTV, “she found deputies surrounding her home and a paper authorizing the county to pick up her dog’s body.”

Residents of the Tymber Skan condominiums told local news that they advised the Orange County deputies that no one was home, but were ignored as the incompetent and trigger-happy cops kicked down Jones’ door, damaged her property, and killed her dog.

“They had to shoot my dog for no reason. They kicked my door in. I can’t even lock my door,” Jones said.

Jones’ daughter, Kita Williams, stated, “That’s his house. This is his house. He’s got to protect this house.”

A spokesperson for the cops said the deputies had to kick in the door due to nature of the call, and shot the dog only because he was charging at them. What they neglect to mention is that if the deputies had responded when help was actually needed, none of that would have been necessary.

Police Behaving Badly 5.27.15

This looks SUPER promising

In 1985, DC Comics published the maxi-series Crisis on Infinite Earths. The purpose of the 12-part story was to streamline DC’s continuity, which stretched back to 1938 and involved multiple versions of characters from a near-infinite number of parallel universes. At the time, DC’s head honchos feared their history was an impediment to new readers and sought to eliminate multiple versions of characters and [what they thought were] confusing-and at times, contradictory-histories, by eliminating one of DC’s central concepts, the multiverse. In DC’s fictional universe, the multiverse consisted of an infinite number of parallel realities occupying the same space, but vibrating at different dimensional frequencies. The maxi-series saw the introduction of the Anti-Monitor, a being of immeasurable power who sought to annihilate every universe in the multiverse, leaving his home realm-the anti-matter universe-the only reality in existence. His efforts were opposed by his positive matter analog, the Monitor, as well as scores of heroes (and villains) from across multiple universes and timelines. In the end, the Anti-Monitor was destroyed (though he got better when the multiverse was later recreated), but his goals were largely achieved. Not only did he destroy all but 5 universes of the multiverse, but he had a significant role to play in the events that caused the DC Universe to be rebooted. In the wake of this reboot, only one universe existed and in fact, the multiverse was retroactively eliminated from the official history of DC’s fictional universe. Thus, in the history of this new universe, there never was a multiverse (making CoIE one of the few comic book stories I’ve ever read that retconned itself). Despite its flaws (and there are several), Crisis on Infinite Earths is near and dear to me-for two reasons.

Reason #1- My introduction to DC Comics happened in the midst of the Crisis. If I recall correctly (I was a wee child at the time, so my memory may be off a little), the first DC comic I ever owned was Crisis on Infinite Earths #3.

The cover to Crisis on Infinite Earths #3

I was sucked in. Who were these characters? What were they doing? What mysterious force were they battling? For all that these questions enticed me-contrary to the beliefs of DC management, this new reader wasn’t turned off or confused by multiple versions of characters or parallel Earths-the answers to my questions eluded me for years because I wasn’t able to make regular trips to the convenience store (back then, comic books were available at local 7-11’s or Circle K’s). I was able to make it back to a convenience store to buy Crisis on Infinite Earths #7. Which leads me to the second reason CoIE is dear to me.

The cover to Crisis on Infinite Earths #7

Reason #2- In issue seven of CoIE, the heroes from multiple Earths (and one or two from the future of one Earth) learn the history of the multiverse as well as the existence of the Anti-Monitor and decide to launch an assault on his base in the anti-matter universe.  Despite the presence of Captain Atom, Captain Marvel, the Ray, Firestorm, the Earth-1 Wonder Woman, the Earth-2 Green Lantern, the second Dr. Light, Jade, Lady Quark, Martian Manhunter, Pariah, Wildfire and Mon-El (of the 30th century super teen team, the Legion of Super-Heroes), Supergirl, and the Supermen of Earth-1 and 2, the heroes quickly come to realize their foe possesses power on a scale they were not prepared for. The Anti-Monitor possessed sufficient power to not only engage in hand-to-hand combat with the Superman of Earth-1 (who was able to move planets), but to actually hurt him. Indeed, he even rendered Superman unconscious at one point and likely would have killed him, were it not for the timely arrival of Superman’s Kryptonian cousin, Kara Zor-El, aka Supergirl.

Supergirl gave her life to save not only her cousin, but the lives of untold numbers of sentient beings in those universes that still existed. This was not a case of a female comic book character being fridged. Supergirl’s death wasn’t used to further the story of her cousin or any other male character. Her actions in this issue were character-driven and served to further the story’s plot. This was her story. Moreover, she died heroically, saving not just one, two, or three universes, but 5. When I read this story back in 1985, I was 9 years old. Be it Marvel or DC, 9-year-old me was unfamiliar with comic books. My understanding of the characters in CoIE #7 was limited to what I read in that comic. And yet that comic affected me so much that I cried.

I was in tears because Supergirl-a character I knew very little about-heroically sacrificed her life so that countless others could live.

I’ll be 40 at the end of this year. Even though I’ve read thousands of comics in the years since 1985…even though I’ve read comics that were written far better than any issue of CoIE (including #7)…even though Superman’s cousin from Krypton has been reintroduced to DC’s fictional universe…this issue still brings tears to my eyes. Composing this post and re-reading the above pages brought tears to my eyes.

So yeah, there’s a spot in my heart for Crisis on Infinite Earths. Especially issue #7.

And that’s all due to Supergirl.

It is because of this love for Supergirl that I am excited at the upcoming series from CBS. I’m even more excited about the series after watching the recently released trailer and if you’re as big a fan of Supergirl as I am, you will be too.

Things I like:

  • First and foremost, I love, Love, LOVE the way ‘Kara’ is pronounced (car-uh). It’s how I’ve always pronounced her name and I disliked the pronunciation of ‘Kara’ in the CW’s Smallville (care-uh).
  • Despite reminding me of Meryl Streep’s character in The Devil Wears Prada, I enjoyed the portrayal of Cat Grant (Calista Flockhart). She provides a nice contrast to Kara.
  • I like that the show’s creators chose to cast a black man in the role of James ‘Jimmy’ Olsen, because Hollywood has a poor history of representation of African-Americans.
  • I like the chemistry between Kara and her sister. Despite the fact that Kara is literally from another planet, it’s clear that she and Alex have a strong-and friendly-bond.
  • The humor. At least in the trailer it feels like its, I dunno, earned. I don’t really know how to put it, but I’m turned off by traditional sitcoms and big-screen comedies. So often, they try too hard to be funny (or use way too many grade-school level jokes)
  • I’m going all caps here bc this is a biggie-KARA’S FIRST DISPLAY OF HER POWERS IN PUBLIC WAS AN ACT OF HEROISM! This is important bc in the atrocious Supergirl movie, she publicly used her powers for the first time to fend off sexual harassment (and most likely an attempt at sexual assault). Male heroes almost always get to debut heroically, and I’m glad to see that Melissa Benoists’ Supergirl gets to do the same.
  • I wondered how the writers were going to handle giving the moniker ‘Supergirl’ to a grown woman. I’m still not completely comfortable with it, given the infantalizing nature of referring to a grown woman as a girl, but I did like Cat Grant’s rationalization. And it’s not like Kara named herself. Perhaps in time, she’ll come to formulate an argument as to why she shouldn’t be called SuperGIRL (feel free to use mine)
  • I like that she doesn’t keep her identity a complete secret and I’m curious to see if the writers will address her attempts to keep her identity under wraps.
  • I like the idea that the ‘S’ is the El family’s coat of arms (for those who prefer it to mean ‘super’, there’s no reason it can’t have both meanings).
  • The special effects look amazing.

One minor gripe is the indiscriminate use of her powers against normal humans. Kicking a gunman through a concrete wall would likely leave them with serious back problems, if not outright breaking their back. Does she understand the extent of her powers and the potential harm she could bring to the humans she seeks to protect? Here’s hoping this is a plot point the writers plan on addressing.

But really, that’s a minor gripe in an otherwise excellent trailer. If the show can live up to the promise of the trailer, Supergirl will be on my must-watch list.

Supergirl  will air Mondays at 8pm (EST) beginning in November.


In honor of the show, here’s a fantastic piece of artwork by Mike Maihack:

This looks SUPER promising

The week in racism 5.21.15

Deniers of racism love to assert that racism is a thing of the past, that the U.S. is a post-racial society (we have a black POTUS, so that means…absofuckinglutely nothing). If one follows the news, it’s clear that such a belief is utter balderdash and is directly contradicted by reality (the shared one we all live in. Not the faux reality created by outlets like FOX “News” or the Blaze). Here are five recent examples of racism in the U.S.:

Woman posts profane anti-Native rant; gets fired

A woman who went on a racist rant against Native Americans was fired from her job on Monday.

The woman in the video, allegedly Ryane Oliva, was a nurse at Rapid City Regional Hospital in Rapid City, South Dakota, until it went viral on social media over the weekend.

The 13-second clip first surfaced early Sunday morning, along with screenshots of other Snapchats and Facebook posts from Oliva, including one Snapchat sent to a 15-year-old girl that shows her making rude hand gestures with text reading “[expletive] bitch.”

Oliva had called her the N-word in the text.

Rapid City Regional Hospital is the same institution in which a Lakota elder, Vern Traversie, said he awoke from a double-bypass surgery in September 2011 with “KKK” and other wounds carved into his chest and abdomen.

In the video, Oliva is clearly featured saying, “The [expletive] Indians can suck a mother [expletive] fart out of my [expletive] ass because the [expletive] Indians, they suck.”

As video spread quickly on Facebook and Twitter, Oliva allegedly made her personal page private and reported anyone sharing the video, causing the video to be deleted and accounts suspended. Patrick Gauthier uploaded it to YouTube, where it seems to be staying put.

Screenshots of an explanation and apology surfaced before Oliva was able to make her Facebook private. According to screenshots of a conversation with Manila Thomas, the mother of the 15-year-old girl who received the racist Snapchats, Oliva claimed that a group of girls, including Thomas’ daughter, had chased a group of girls, including Oliva’s sister, with a bat. According to the screenshots of the conversation, Oliva later admits she was not present during the alleged incident.

Cody Hall, a community organizer in South Dakota, created a Facebook event page for a rally to protest Oliva’s employment at noon on Tuesday, May 12 at Rapid City Regional Hospital. Rapid City Regional Hospital was unable to return phone calls but did issue a press release confirming Oliva has been dismissed.

“Regional Health has a zero tolerance policy regarding this type of behavior by its caregivers inside or outside the workplace,” wrote Brent Phillips, President and CEO of Regional Health. “We will not stand for any type of racism or bigotry on the part of our caregivers or physicians. We take this type of behavior very seriously and the employee has been terminated, as it clearly violates the Regional Health Code of Conduct.”

Stories like this serve as a reminder that-

A: African-Americans are not the only minority group to feel the sting of racism.

B: If racism were truly a thing of the past, people would not hold biases against or negative prejudices about members of minority groups.

* * * *

‘I will fuck you up’: School nurse gets two-day suspension for racist tirade against sixth-grader

The sixth-grader and another boy were throwing a bag of chips back and forth in the cafeteria at Mundy’s Mill Middle School when Beverly Barnes started yelling at them to stop, reported WXIA-TV.

“The nurse kept asking why he threw it, (and he) was saying, ‘Huh, huh,’” said one of the witnesses. “Then the nurse got mad and pushed his head and was saying, ‘I will knock your lights and I will f*ck you up.’”

That seems like a perfectly reasonably way to resolve the situation.  Not. There is no excuse for pushing the student’s head, nor for those inappropriate comments.

Witnesses said Barnes used a racial slur and followed the boy “like she wanted to fight” before a teacher intervened.

I’m not surprised to hear this. From personal opinions and beliefs to corporate policies to whole institutions, racism permeates our culture. As a result, every person living within the borders of the U.S. lives in a racist society, and cannot help but absorb racist beliefs. So its not surprising to hear of people saying racist shit. That’s made all the worse bc so many people refuse to educate themselves on racism. It’s hard to get a conversation started on ending the racism in the criminal justice system when so many people (by this I mean white people, since that is the group that dominates and controls the criminal justice system in the U.S. and are the ones who have the power to change that system) refuse to acknowledge that racist beliefs inform cops, lawyers, judges, and juries.

The October incident was captured on surveillance video, which the boy’s mother was permitted to watch but has not been released publicly.

Why is that?

“My heart, I swear, was going 100 miles per hour, and I had to remind myself to breathe,” said Tormeka Ezzard.

She said the nurse’s actions were degrading to her son, Jason Ezzard, and completely inappropriate for dealing with an 11-year-old child.

“She’s abused my child physically, mentally, and verbally, and no one will help me,” Ezzard said.

My heart goes out to Ezzard. School officials should have her and her son’s back, but since we live in a culture that devalues black lives, they don’t.

School officials suspended Barnes for just two days, saying she was permitted to keep her job because no previous complaints had been lodged against her.

But Ezzard wants the school to reopen its investigation and punish the nurse more severely.

“If it would’ve been the other way around, Jason would have been locked up on the spot,” Ezzard said. “I would have been going to pick my child up at the Clayton County Juvenile Detention Center. What makes her any different from Jason?”

That two-day suspension is a fucking joke.

* * * *

FL Tea Partier kicked off county board for blaming black unemployment on laziness

I’m sure this guy has plenty of studies to back up his opinion and he’s not at all engaging in racist talking points that have been refuted over and over again…right?

Tuesday afternoon, Florida’s Marion County Developmental Industrial Board voted unanimously to oust member Marcel “Butch” Verrando after he posted disparaging remarks about black people on Facebook.

Verrando’s term would have ended in November, but his separation from the board is “effective immediately,” WCJB reports.

On Tuesday morning, Verrando wrote the following observation on the Marion County Political Forum’s public Facebook page: “Black unemployment percentage is exceeded only by Native Americans and in 2012 they had the highest unemployment rate, education is way a head of hispanic so why can’t they get a job? My experience was that the only time a black guy applied for work it was because they were on probation and HAD to have a real job.”

Verrando follows his grammatically unconventional observation with a link to analysis from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which offers no data supporting the assertion that black people only seek employment when they are on probation.

So much for any proof to back up his assertion. Also of note-he goes from talking about black unemployment in general to an anecdote about a black man as if that is evidence for his assertion. Even if we take his anecdote at face value, anecdotes are not evidence.

* * * *

 

The above poem is a vile piece of racist whitewashing history that paints European colonists as kind-hearted saviors. The real history is one of European colonists invading and decimating the natives of the Americas, forcibly converting them to Christianity and enslaving them. The poem was taught in a music program at Visalia Unified School District in California. One of the students in the class, a 10-year-old Wukchumni boy, took issue with the poem:

Alex Fierro, a fourth-grader in the Visalia Unified School District, was uncomfortable with a song he was learning in the music program. The song, called “Twenty-One Missions,” references a difficult chapter in the history of California’s coast.

The Spanish missions in California, established by Catholic priests of the Franciscan order between 1768 and 1833, were part of the first major effort to colonize and Christianize the Pacific Coast. The missions, 21 of them built in a chain along the coast, were founded to convert, educate and civilize the indigenous people—usually by enslaving them and using them for labor.

The song, written in a minor key, calls attention to the missions, which were “made of earthen brick” with “massive walls, three feet thick.” The lyrics also explore the purpose of the missions: “To save the soul, soothe the savage breast.”

When he first heard the lyrics, Alex decided not to sing them. Eventually, he told his mom that they made him uncomfortable.

“When I heard the lyrics of the song, I didn’t really like them,” Alex told ICTMN. “I thought it was offensive.”

Alex took a copy of the lyrics home and his mom, Debra Fierro, wrote a letter to Alex’s teacher, principal and district administrators.

“I tried to get Alex to sing part of the song, but he wouldn’t do it,” she said. “He didn’t even want to say the words out loud. So he brought home the lyrics, and I just got this pit in my stomach. I felt horrible.”

Fierro also alerted Darlene Franco, chairwoman of the Wukchumni Tribe, who wrote a letter of her own to administrators, asking that the district do four things: remove the song from its list of approved materials, provide information about the origin of the song, introduce cultural sensitivity training for teachers, and apologize to Alex.

The missions almost wiped out the Wukchumni, Franco said. The tribe was located in central California, and the missions relocated the people to the coast.

“As a result, there was a lot of death,” Franco said. “It was another genocide. It was enslavement, mistreatment. It was 10 times worse than boarding schools, and as a result, most of the Native people on the coast are not federally recognized.”

The song, Franco said, was part of the curriculum for fourth-grade California history. It told the story of the missions from the Catholic perspective, but failed to capture the full impact on the Natives.

Franco also found the lyrics offensive, particularly the “noble goal” of “praying, teaching, searching, reaching out to the red man’s soul.”

“It’s all a part of the white fathers looking down on the Indians,” she said.

District officials jumped into action, responding to Fierro’s letter the day after she sent it, Assistant Superintendent Doug Bartsch said. Within a week, the song had been pulled from the curriculum and Alex received an apology.

I’m rather shocked that the school district acted as swiftly as it did and in the correct manner. I expected them to act like the administrators in the next story.

* * * *

School bans parents after they complained their daughter was told ‘niggers don’t belong in class’ 

An Indiana school recently banned parents of a sixth-grader for complaining about their daughter being called a racial slur in class.

Instead of confronting the racism, the school administrators decided to punish the girl’s parents for making an issue out of the incident.

NyZeria Neely is the only African American student in her class at Concord Intermediate School.

Neely is classified as a “gifted” student, and has been placed in a high-ability class.

But not everyone thinks she belongs in the class. For two weeks in a row, she has received threatening notes in her locker that have read: “Watch your back,” and “N****rs don’t belong!!!”

In the school as a whole, African Americans account for 10 percent of the students but only 2 percent of the school personnel.

NyZeria showed an image of the notes to her teacher, then school principal Chad Stamm.

“He told me not to worry because it’s just words,” NyZeria recalled. “But it’s more than words. I felt that it was offensive — very offensive.”

But her parents weren’t accepting that answer. They complained that administrators did nothing when NyZeria was called the same slur “n****r” three weeks ago, even before the notes were found.

“They have taken it lightly,” Gina Neely, NyZeria’s mother said. “It’s too severe of a case to ignore something like this. They don’t want to hear me.”

The parents showed up at the school with a sign that read: “STOP BULLYING OUR CHILDREN.”

But shortly after their meeting with administrators, they were issued a no-trespass order by the Elkhart County Sheriff’s Department.

Neely has now pulled NyZeria and her three siblings out of the school saying that it is absurd to send her children to a school that she has been banned from.

The family is now considering sending their children to Elkhart schools, where approximately 15 percent of the students are African American.

Words don’t convey the biases of the people who use them. Words can’t be used to persuade people. Words cannot move people to feel anger, sorrow, or joy. Words can’t be used to inspire others. Words can’t be used to immerse readers in a fictional world. Words can’t be used to demean others. Words can’t be used to reinforce social dominance. In short, being called a ‘nigger’ ain’t a big deal ya’ll. It’s just words and as we all know, words have no power.

The week in racism 5.21.15