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.

This Week's Opening Thought: September 8, 2025

This week's opening thought: Y'all's president spent his weekend openly declaring war on multicultural cities in the United States that he has a personal issue with under the guise of "combatting crime." He's done it in D.C. and now he's declaring war on other cities to the point that he happily posted an AI image of himself referencing the film "Apocalypse Now" about his impending unfounded miltary occupation of Chicago, and a "fun" lil' sentence stating that "Chicago is about to find out why it's called the Department of War" with a couple of helicopter emojis for good measure.

You know, "presidential behavior."

And let us not forget that y'all's president is moving to take unfounded military action in Chicago based on false narratives that his voters have been eatin' up with a spoon about it being, and I quote, "the most dangerous place in the world." Actual data and statistics state otherwise but, you know, the president told y'all to eat it up so eat up!

Meanwhile, members of that same enthusiastic flock of voters filled up multiple town halls across the United States over the past four days, begging for relief as their president destroys their livelihoods with trade wars built upon false narratives that many of them happily gobbled up without even thinking about how anything he said to them worked. And many of those folx?

They live in regions of the United States with the most poverty and highest crime rates.

And now their farms and businesses will likely not make it to next summer, as all of their usual trade partners from other countries have moved on because their president-elect made any negotiations evaporate.

The most ridiculous part of it all is these loyalists, even as they are destroyed at the hands of their beloved dictator, still think everything going on and everything their president is pushing for is OK, because their president is gonna "own the libs" and "make this country great again" while he's also owning them on multiple levels. They still think that they are going to come out of this unscathed, even as their bodies are dragged through thorns and brambles. They somehow think that their loyalty will yield dividends and they'll somehow be spared of the wrath of ignorant policies and executive orders because they voted for him. Most of their cities will likely be occupied with a military presence at some point as their president normalizes oppressing the citizenry "for their own good." Their healthcare options will cease to exist, and their elected officials will ghost them and ignore them. And yet, after all of that, they will continue to cling on to their choices and ultimately cease to exist themselves. But it'll be "their America again," right?

Man, being a white supremacist bigot comes with quite the heavy price tag.

Too bad we've all gotta pay the price when a lot of us ain't even purchase anything and a whole chunk of folx aren't even willing to split the bill or get a separate check.