On Gun Violence and Young Minds

TW: Trauma, gun violence, harm.

While the world erupted around the murder of Charlie Kirk, three students were critically wounded that same afternoon in a shooting at Evergreen High School in the Colorado foothills. And real talk?

You probably missed it because national news focused more time and energy addressing the visceral murder of a white supremacist bigot and social media influencer.

You probably missed it because school shootings are as American as apple pie, to the point where they get national attention just to be forgotten in 30 minutes or less.

Let's be real: both situations shine a glaring light on the seemingly never-ending debate around sensible gun laws in the United States, currently the only major country in world history that refuses to address how dangerous guns are to the overall mental, physical, and emotional health and safety of the citizenry.

One dominated the airwaves because of the celebrity of it all.

One has already been relegated to a footnote in time.

Both situations leave this country's legislators, once again, refusing to address one of the biggest issues in this country: we really don't care about the lives of children in the United States.

It's really sickening to watch.

We don't care about the young minds who witnessed Charlie Kirk's murder. How do you think those young people are doing today, after witnessing a murder?

We don't care about the young minds who witnessed their school become a firing range in the Colorado foothills. How do you think those young people are doing today, after witnessing one of their classmates attempt to kill them?

These young folx are never going to be the same again. I can't imagine the trauma witnesses and victims endured during both of these events yesterday. Traumas like this have no boundaries and choose no favorites. And yet, no one in the news media is talking about the harm done to these young minds. Nope, it's flowery eulogies for a horrid man and a blink-and-you'll-miss-it coverage of a school shooting that isn't even in the news cycle anymore.

I hope these children have helpful and supportive families and communities that will help them heal...because this country sure as hell doesn't care if they live, die, or thrive.

On Charlie

So...Charlie Kirk was shot this afternoon while in Utah on one of his college campus indoctrination of young adults tours. He was shot while in the middle of talking about how trans mass shooters are one of the largest dangers to our society when the truth is cishet men of pallor are overwhelmingly the largest demographic of mass shooters and domestic terrorists in the United States.

All reports state that he didn't make it.

In other news, I'm making okra and tomatoes, cornbread, and fish for dinner. So...I'm really looking forward to that.

Now, before some of y'all call me out for being callous, let me just stop you right there because you'll be wasting your time and energy.

Charlie Kirk was a deplorable human being. His legacy will be that of a deplorable human being who added nothing to society other than pain and oppression by elevating hate in every space he could present it in.

You get from the universe what you put into it.

That includes violence, hate, and harm.

I shed no tears for horrible people who believe me or anyone else shouldn't exist or should be oppressed. I have no thoughts and prayers for them. Yeah, it sucks that we live in a country where anyone can be shot at any given time, regardless of whether I condone their beliefs or not. Thousands of innocent lives have been lost because the U.S. cares more about the right to own a gun and do with it what you will than the lives of its citizenry. But people like Charlie Kirk literally advocated for opposing gun laws that could save lives. There's footage of him saying that he thought not having gun laws was worthwhile, even if it meant we "had a few gun deaths each year," because sensible gun laws would infringe on [white] people's "rights."

Ironic, and not in that Alanis Morrisette way.

You get from the universe what you put into it.

Regardless of how they view my existence or the existence of others without their privilege, power, and positionality, I don't want anyone to die at the hands of gun violence, or any kind of violence for that matter. But again, you get from the universe what you put into it.

And let's be real here: it'll be those who have no power who will catch the most harm from Charlie Kirk's death. The powers-that-be will be extra harsh toward "liberals" - not "liberals" of pallor, mind you, but those who fit the "DEI agenda" - in the aftermath of all of this. We'll all learn nothing from it and Charlie's hateful legacy will be viewed through rose-colored glasses. I'm already seeing news outlets gloss over how hateful and harmful he was, with pundits calling him a "godly man," "enormously courageous," "unapologetic about his views," and someone who "cared deeply about informing young voters."

So...yeah.

I'm making okra and tomatoes, cornbread, and fish for dinner.

I hope your dinner is equally as delicious as mine will be. Sending that energy your way...

...because you get from the universe what you put into it.

On Workplaces, Impending Doom, and Wearing a Smile

Workplaces are really expecting us to show up right now every day with a smile on our face and not a care in the world other than a project deadline or deliverable.

I guess we're supposed to just act like nothing's happening?

I guess we're supposed to leave all of this descent into autocracy and dictatorship and the absolute dread, anxiety, and fear it's creating for so many of us in the car or at home?

That's what white supremacist workplace culture wants, so if we want to maintain employment we better put on our smiley face masks.

Geezus.

Acting like something isn't happening and expecting us all to cater to that doesn't stop it from happening and permeating every aspect of our lives, including work.

Expecting Brown folx, Black folx, Black women, femmes, trans folx, and folx with disabilities to show up and "be OK" while the world around us gets increasingly more heavy is a clear marker that these workplaces do not care about us.

But y'all already knew that.

Y'all just like us better when we smile more and preserve the feelings of those who want to exist outside of reality.

On Racial Profiling, Pallor Shock, Performative Actions, and Saying the Not-So-Quiet Parts Out Loud

So, y'all's Supreme Court went ahead and legalized racial profiling, finally making sure the not-so-quiet part was out there loud and proud. And while many Black and Brown folx are now mulling over a new, now legal addition to the list of things you evidently can't do while Black or Brown, I'm seeing the usual wave of shocked people of pallor grappling with the notion that it's OK to pull Black and Brown folx over based on their perceived appearance.

"I can't believe this is happening."

"The rule of law is gone."

"We're all in danger."

"I'm not going to stand for this."

"We need to stand up together and fight."

So...you're shocked. About racial profiling. In 2025. And now you want to fight the system because it's "gone too far."

Oh, bless your "militant" lil' hearts of pallor.

Y'all are truly exhausting.

Yes, it's scary as hell that the country that has been profiling Black and Brown people for hundreds of years suddenly got the "right" people of pallor in place to make it the law of the land. It's pretty horrific, actually. I'm even more scared for my Black and Brown brethren than I've ever been. But you know what? I live in the United States.

I'VE ALWAYS BEEN SCARED FOR MY BLACK AND BROWN BRETHREN.

C'mon, y'all. Did people of pallor forget about all the murders of thousands of Black and Brown folx at the hands of law enforcement with no cause? The video footage, the failed verdicts, the lack of justice? Like, did y'all forget about Stop and Frisk? Where was all this outrage then, huh? Where were y'all at then?

Oh, I get it. You think YOU'RE in danger now because it's officially the law of the land, so it's relevant to you now.

That's on brand.

Even in the face of y'all callin' yourselves standing up for Black and Brown lives you find a way to make it about yourself while pulling out your virtue signal so your fellow people of pallor will see you as one of the good ones.

Don't worry: you're "safe." They won't mistake you for me or anyone else with melanin, even if your spray tan and collagen lips got you out here looking like a sentient fruit leather that, if you squint out of one eye and cover the other, could be mistaken as a person of color by a racist cop.

Save your shock and outrage for fuel to actually do something other than write a long post or post a video on social media about a reality you've failed to acknowledge until it made you squirmy in your tum-tum.

[Image description: A plate of dark red fruit leathers. They are bumpy in texture and shiny in appearance.]

Image description: A plate of dark red fruit leathers. They are bumpy in texture and shiny in appearance.

On The Benefits of Working Remote vs. Onsite While Black

Image description: a picture of R&B musician Carl Thomas. He leans back in his car, his face exasperated. The image is captioned, “Me when I see that one person of pallor who always wants to ‘chat’ with a melanated person about their most recent racist and white supremacist behavior happily entering my office without permission to force a nonconsensual conversation, dumping a bunch of hateful crap in my lap and forcing me to chose between ‘educating’ them or putting my continued employment at risk by checkin’ them.”

One of the most significant benefits I’ve received from transitioning to remote roles is not having to spend my time in an office where people of pallor can force their way into my personal office space any time they see fit and initiate nonconsensual conversations around how racist, oppressive, and harmful they are.

I have had countless unwanted conversations with “well-meaning” people of pallor in workplaces over the years, around how racist and messed up they are. Every in-person job I’ve had for over a decade has had people of pallor forcing me to be their constant sounding board and “teacher.” It’s draining. It’s oppression and abuse masquerading as curiosity and a willingness to learn when all they want is validation for their actions.

Now, some of y’all are probably like, “Why didn’t you have boundaries?”, which is a question that shows how privileged your life has been not to have
to worry about how having boundaries in the workplace unlocks a whole closet of stereotypes and white supremacist workplace-isms that ultimately threaten your ongoing employment prospects.

Boundaries? Oh, you silly lil’ privileged beavers. Of course, I had boundaries in those workplaces.

The thing is, the clearer I was with my boundaries - signage on my office door that made it clear that I was busy, being available by appointment only, asking people to leave and re-enter my office, stating that I was not willing to consent to a racism “chat”, and even making it clear that people had to knock and be invited in before entering - the more “well-meaning” people of pallor would report me to my supervisor. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve had to chat with leadership about how I’m not being a “team player,” that my boundaries were somehow in conflict with my job duties (they never were), or that I was the one being harmful to others because I didn’t want to be a racism and bigotry sounding board.

It has always been clear to me that working while Black comes with white supremacy, expecting you to shrink yourself and be used and mistreated as some form of servitude and gratitude to maintain a paycheck. And because I know this? I don’t think I can work in a physical office doing full-time work and feel healthy doing it ever again.

Working remotely has been a blessing for my mental and emotional health, and I don’t believe in letting blessings pass me by.

It’s also saved me from catchin’ a case, so win-win.

[Image description: a picture of R&B musician Carl Thomas. He leans back in his car, his face exasperated. The image is captioned, “Me when I see that one person of pallor who always wants to ‘chat’ with a melanated person about their most recent racist and white supremacist behavior happily entering my office without permission to force a nonconsensual conversation, dumping a bunch of hateful crap in my lap and forcing me to chose between ‘educating’ them or putting my continued employment at risk by checkin’ them.”]