On 33 hours of Prayer, Xenophobia, Bigotry, and the Cool-Down Period

"You know, this bad stuff happens...and for 33 hours, I was praying that if this had to happen here, that it wouldn't be one of us. That somebody drove from another state, somebody came from another country. Sadly, that prayer was not answered that way. I hoped for it, just because I thought it would make it easier on us if we could just say, hey - we don't do that here."

- Utah Governor Spencer Cox, sharing his disappointment that the person who killed Charlie Kirk wasn't from a race or culture they could easily scapegoat, villainize, and politicize at the press conference announcing the capture of Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old cishet white male suspected of the murder.

Prayed for 33 hours, eh?

Cool story, bro. 😑

It's interesting how fervent people of pallor have been over the past few days about seeking "justice for Charlie." It's interesting how many cishet males of pallor have been online threatening violence toward "liberals" and trans folx, and how many bomb and mass shooting threats were called in to HBCUs and DNC offices.

It's also interesting watching that fever pitch of white supremacy and bigotry slowly decline and become more and more about "togetherness" and us "hearing each other" and agreeing to disagree around bigotry and hate as it became crystal clear that the murder suspect was not an "illegal" immigrant, melanated person, non-Christian, or trans person, but one of their own: a young cishet male of pallor from a conservative family, a family who has always supported y’all’s president.

Interesting, ain't it?

Sorry your prayers didn't get answered, Spencer. Maybe the line was busy?

On Blackness as a Scapegoat For White Supremacy

It took hateful, emboldened people of pallor less than 24 hours to blame Black people for the murder of one of their hate idols, even though all the evidence points to a shooter of pallor.

Less than 24 hours to begin threatening violence at HBCUs across the country, forcing them to lock down their campuses or outright cancel classes to ensure their Black students, who had NOTHING TO DO with yesterday’s violence, don’t become casualties of anti-Black hate and terrorism.

Less than 24 hours to see Black bodies as their perfect scapegoats for the violence they feel justified to inflict on their ”enemies.”

I swear racism and white supremacy have had the same playbook for 400+ years.

On 9/11, Islamophobia, and Being United in Hate

TW: Mentions of September 11, harm, islamophobia.

I remember the events of September 11, 2001, vividly.

I was at work, sitting in the break room, about to eat lunch when I looked up at the television and witnessed one of the most horrific events of my lifetime. Everyone in the break room stopped what they were doing. No one knew what to say, what to do. We all felt powerless, small, insignificant, and scared.

Scared of the reality we were now living in.

Scared of what this means for us as citizens.

Scared of the unknown.

So people were driven to come together, to face the unknown. And on paper, that kind of mutual support and solidarity sounds great. In reality, though?

It was far from great.

Some people view 9/11 as a dark moment in U.S. history that "united us all as [U.S.] Americans." And it did unite a lot of U.S. Americans. We came together. But it also united some folx in some other ways.

It united them in a campaign of hate against their fellow citizens.

What unfolded in the years that followed was a level of islamophobia and hate that still shakes me to my core because it's still happening every day. I have so many friends and colleagues who still fear for their lives and safety because the level of "national sentiment" and "U.S. pride" that flooded this country after 9/11 fed into the casual, everyday racism and xenophobia that the United States was built on in such a way that it has never truly petered out or died down. I have witnessed "good people" and "patriots" harass folx and resort to violence without thinking just because they believe they've pegged someone as a "terorist" or "not a 'real' American."

And I've witnessed this in 2025.

Truth is, the United States is a country built on hate and too many of its citizens are more than willing to participate in said hate. We could be better but it's much easier for many of us not to be.

If you decide to sit and reflect on September 11, 2001, I want you to also reflect on how complicit you were in getting caught up in the wave of "American pride" that swept this country. I want you to reflect on how much of this you still prescribe to. And I want you to realize one thing:

Pride in one's home or way of life does not, and never has had to, represent harming others.

I wish more U.S. Americans understood that, but their ancestors and forefathers didn't get it either, so...

Love and strength to all of those personally impacted by the tragedies of September 11. May today provide you peace and healing.

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.