I Might Not Be American, But I Read It To Better Educate Myself On How The Police Work In America.

I might not be American, but I read it to better educate myself on how the police work in America.

“I was a police officer for nearly ten years and I was a bastard. We all were.

“This essay has been kicking around in my head for years now and I’ve never felt confident enough to write it. It’s a time in my life I’m ashamed of. It’s a time that I hurt people and, through inaction, allowed others to be hurt. It’s a time that I acted as a violent agent of capitalism and white supremacy. Under the guise of public safety, I personally ruined people’s lives but in so doing, made the public no safer… so did the family members and close friends of mine who also bore the badge alongside me.

“But enough is enough.

“The reforms aren’t working. Incrementalism isn’t happening. Unarmed Black, indigenous, and people of color are being killed by cops in the streets and the police are savagely attacking the people protesting these murders.

“American policing is a thick blue tumor strangling the life from our communities and if you don’t believe it when the poor and the marginalized say it, if you don’t believe it when you see cops across the country shooting journalists with less-lethal bullets and caustic chemicals, maybe you’ll believe it when you hear it straight from the pig’s mouth.”

Read the full article here.

Via medium.com

From the wise shield director and the guy with a awesome lightsaber.

RE: Naya Rivera

I’ve seen a lot of people be told off for expressing their feelings over this situation by contextualising their sadness through how much the character, Santana Lopez, meant to them.

Naya Rivera is beloved by the LGBTQ* community, a longstanding ally who never dropped the ball, who showed up for us time and time again, who pushed tirelessly behind the scenes for Santana Lopez to have meaningful storylines rather than just flippant derogatory jokes about her homosexuality. 

Naya saw us during a time when nobody saw us, and we saw Naya during a time we had never before seen ourselves depicted on television living full happy lives. The last few days I have been reminded of her kindness and utter humility, whenever she was commended for her contribution towards the progression of LGBTQ* representation on television she never failed to acknowledge the community:

“It has been one of the great blessings in my life to receive such love and touching stories as a result of my portrayal of Santana Lopez on Glee. We are all put on this earth to be a service to others and I am grateful that for some, my Cheerios ponytail and sassy sashays may have given a little light to someone somewhere, who may have needed it. To everyone whose heartfelt stories I have heard or read, I thank you for truly enriching my life.” – Naya Rivera, 2017.

When I saw the headlines I felt instantly transported to being sixteen years old again, to the incredible impact this woman had on my life, and for the first time in longer than I care to admit I shed a tear and hoped for a miracle. Now, I hope for her to find her way home in the most respectful and dignified way possible.

Please, if you see people expressing their sadness or feelings by referencing Santana Lopez, don’t assume it’s virtue signalling or shallow commentary. We understand she was a real human, and I know for me personally it’s because of her humanity and generous kindness to my community that I feel personally touched and saddened by this tragedy.

Thank you, Naya. You didn’t let them make us the butt of the joke, instead you opened the door so we could laugh and share in just a little bit of the glee too.

I had a head-cannon

What if in an alternative Universe Bridge Carson 

was the nephew of Clint Barton (which Clint didn't know about)

because Barney Barton had a secret affair with someone.

Imagine Tony Stark interacting with the green ranger.

I miss her....

I feel like people forget how chill Naya really was when Glee first aired. She was really quick to take LGBT representation seriously at a time when that really wasn’t discussed very much in the mainstream, and she wasn’t exactly asked a lot of questions that would’ve portrayed it in a positive light? I remember interviewers back then being like “is it weird to have to act like you’re in love with a girl?” “how does your family feel about you playing gay” and stuff like that. This was 10 years ago, after all. And as far as I ever saw (and I was a huge Gleek NERD) - she never hesitated, she was always an ally and always chill. She never made fun of fans in that *eyeroll* “yeah they’re nuts” kind of way that some other actors in queer ships did back then. 

Also keep in mind Naya was just 23 years old when Glee first came on. And Glee was kind of her comeback role, she’d had a career as a kid and then had a tougher time finding work. Ten years ago, being more coy and wink wink nudge nudge about it would’ve probably been the easier way to play it but she really didn’t. She kept saying on every panel, every interview I ever saw - that it wasn’t a joke and it was people’s real lives and she was happy people felt seen through her work. I just remember it meant a lot at a time when other actors who played queer favorites would often kind of play it off or try to answer things in a way that was very “BUT I’M STRAIGHT NO ONE GET THE WRONG IDEA!!!”. She never did that. She was gracious about it and still funny and witty and sharp as hell. 

I don’t know I just really admire the way she had pride and wouldn’t let people shame her or others. She wouldn’t let interviewers laugh representation or fans off, and she wouldn’t let the press or other people shame her for things - she went on freaking lipsync battle and did a song her ex wrote to diss her for crying out loud. She wrote a very honest autobiography and didn’t back down from difficult topics or stories where she wasn’t perfect, and she tackled questions (at times invasive ones) about those things from the press with grace and humor. 

She held her head up high and I just really admire that about her. 

Reblog this if these aren’t cutest little cutesters you ever saw.