On Safety and the Were-Douche

Safety isn't a given in any workplace environment, especially when you add in the number of degrees you are from being a heterosexual, cisgender person of pallor. And it's definitely not a given in any environment in our society.

And there is no dichotomy that exists between how things happen at work and how they happen in your neighborhood, down to whose safety is prioritized and whose safety is a concept of a plan.

It ain't like Bob from Accounting is a great human being when he's not at work but somehow work "brings out the worst in him." He's not a were-douche who only transforms into a creature that harms and harasses human beings Monday through Friday from 9:00 am - 5:00 pm. Nope - Bob is a crappy human being EVERYWHERE, and he's given passes and protection by systems and white supremacist culture and societal norms EVERYWHERE.

Work culture is societal culture. Period.

Let's not tell ourselves otherwise.

[Image description: a snapshot of Pam from the classic sitcom The Office. She can be seen saying, "They're the same picture."]

Image description: a snapshot of Pam from the classic sitcom The Office. She can be seen saying, "They're the same picture."

This Week's Opening Thought: July 22, 2025

Trigger warning: anti-Black woman hate and harm, anti-Black violence, murder of Black bodies, transphobia, white supremacy.

This week's opening thought: Brett Hankinson, one of the Louisville police officers who murdered Breonna Taylor in her home on March 13, 2020, is due to be sentenced this afternoon. As we wait in unity with Breonna's family for a verdict that somewhat resembles some kind of justice, never forget that y'all's president's hateful and racist Department of Justice has recommended that Brett serve just one day in prison and three years of supervised release for his violent actions, a sentence that will likely never be served due to time served. Also, never forget that this recommendation was pushed forward by the chief of the Justice Department's civil rights unit.

Yep, you read that right.

The Justice Department's civil rights unit is pushing for a violent man of pallor to get a slap on the wrist for his contribution to the murder of a Black woman whose home was invaded and riddled with bullets.

And who was the person tasked with the responsibility of submitting this request to the Louisville courts?

Harmeet K. Dhillon, an Indian woman who has led a privileged life defending people of pallor's "civil liberties" through private practice and her legal nonprofit, the Center for American Liberty. What kind of "civil liberties" are Harmeet and her team fighting for?

Harmeet was the main leader of the legal fight against California’s stay-at-home order during COVID. Harmeet has also supported such wonderful people as a group of "non-transitioners," people who feel that they made a mistake during their transitions who now want to stop everyone from seeking gender-affirming care, a young male of pallor in Texas who claims he was racially discriminated against in school due to showing up every day in his MAGA hat while espousing MAGA talking points, and multitudes of "concerned" parents of pallor who believe their children are being indoctrinated with DEI and LGBTQIA+ "ideologies."

The truth is, Harmeet could care less about actual civil rights but, evidently, her "tireless" work defending and supporting people who want to harm other people because they think it's their right to do so - and fragile people of pallor in general - made her y'all's president's top choice to lead the Justice Department's civil rights division.

And why does Brett Hankinson deserve such a non-sentence? According to Harmeet, Brett's life has been ruined and he's already paid enough for his actions so why punish him more? Because, you know, Breonna Taylor's life is worth a day in prison and some supervision.

Breonna deserved better.

Breonna's family deserves better.

Black women deserve better.

But we live in the United States of America, so none of us should be shocked that a man like Brett's "suffering" matters more than the life of a young Black woman whose life was taken due to hateful action from violent police officers.

On "Breaking the Ice", Stereotypes, and Montell Jordan

Hey, people of pallor! Happy Tuesday! Just wanted to give you a quick reminder that you can find commonality with Black, Brown, Indigenous, Global Majority, and non-white folx without having to resort to stereotypes and things you think are our identities. Just because you can't fathom the notion that melanated folx are more than the elements you'd need to pick up at your local Spirit Halloween store to build a racist Halloween costume doesn't mean we have to want to engage with yo' ass around this kind of "icebreaker" nonsense.

Just because you figure out that I like R & B doesn't mean I want to talk with you about how Montell Jordan's "This is How We Do It" changed your life.

Just because I'm a Black person who cooks doesn't mean I want to "bond" with you over your "recently discovered love" for collard greens (which, might I add, most of y'all be saying as "collared greens", a pronunciation that makes me choke on my LaCroix every time I hear it) and black eyed peas.

Like, read the room and check yourself. Geez.

I'll be in a Batman shirt and y'all will look at me and be like, "I just watched this riveting documentary about apartheid!" WHAT?! How in the Hell are we not having a comic book conversation?! That's an instant “in” for a chat!

UGH. Do better.

This Week's Opening Thought: July 14, 2025

Trigger warning: brief mentions of sexual abuse, pedophilia, and human trafficking.

This week's opening thought: It is wild to me that after everything we've all collectively had to endure with y'all's president and his administration, not to mention the things they've done that have targeted the most impoverished and vulnerable communities in our country, that the one thing y'all's president's fanbase is angry with him about isn't his "big, beautiful bill," tariffs, constant warmongering, and the upcoming widespread harm to their lives, medical care access, and financial situations but the DAMN JEFFREY EPSTEIN FILES.

Like, I'm not against outing pedophiles, abusers, and wealthy creatures who have engaged in assault and human trafficking. Far from it. Get 'em all, regardless of their political affiliations. But MAGA folx, y'all's president gaslighting y'all about the Epstein evidence and documentation we've all known has existed for some time is the one thing that was somehow the final straw? I mean, he's been gaslighting y'all MAGA folx for years now and doing harm to you and your families for 10 years, but this was somehow all that y'all could stand and y'couldn't stand no more? Y'all are burning your MAGA hats and posting TikTok diatribes with tears in your eyes over this situation when he's been dogwalkin' y'all for a decade and telling you to your face that you're better off with him as y'all's president when you weren't? And you've been defending y'all's president and his billionaire buddies for years because he told y'all to, even when it was obvious they were doing heinous things he was protecting them from having to atone for, but NOW you're enraged?

I ... don't even know how to begin to unpack that.

That's gotta be some damn good Kool-Aid for y'all to keep drinking it this long. What did he do, swap out the sugar for Sweet'n Low?

White supremacy is wild, y'all.

On Crate Walking, White Supremacy, and Reckless, Stupid, Dangerous Behavior

Y'all remember when people were out here tryin' t'walk up a pyramid of milk crates?

Image descriptions: the first image shows a woman of pallor precariously trying to scale a pyramid of milk crates. The second image shows the woman from the first image plummeting to the ground after the milk crate she was on failed to stay steady. In both pictures, people can be seen filming the fiasco with their cell phones.

Pepperidge Farms remembers.

That was some wild sh--, wasn't it? Just reckless, stupid, and dangerous behavior. And y’all was doin’ this nonsense in the middle of a pandemic! Like, bruh.

I remember at the time thinking, "Man, with everything going on, this is one of the dumbest, most dangerous thing I've seen people intentionally do in years." But now? It's not even in the top five reckless, stupid, and dangerous things I've seen people intentionally do in the last decade.

That distinction goes to everyone who voted for y'all's president and this current administration that thought they wouldn't get hurt by their idol who are still holding out hope that they'll be magically spared from the complete dismantling of the systems and protections that are keeping them alive and safe.

Just reckless, stupid, and dangerous behavior.

I would say you should've know better but a lot of y'all really thought you could walk up a stack of milk crates and come out unscathed so c'est la vie, eh?

[Image descriptions: the first image shows a woman of pallor precariously trying to scale a pyramid of milk crates. The second image shows the woman from the first image plummeting to the ground after the milk crate she was on failed to stay steady. In both pictures, people can be seen filming the fiasco with their cell phones.]