went on a lunch date recently where the guy like. didn't mention what job he did on grindr, just that he'd been working late etc, and then when i got there and mentioned it i asked what he did, and he was like "oh well i work for the police" and i was. immediately shut down, understandably
and later on i asked his opinions abt police brutality, police abuse rates, if he thinks the police should be abolished etc, and later was like, yeah, ethically this is a bad match
but idk like. when ppl tell me they're a cop or a gard (or in the military) on grindr i just block them from the off, bc it's like, well, you're cool w brutality, rape, and abuse, there's no reason you could or should be trusted with an intimate partner. and this guy had mentioned he followed me on twitter and didn't at all seem surprised by my open disgust for his profession, and idk if that was why he didn't mention it up front and thought i wouldn't make a big deal about it (as if) or if he just doesn't mention it to anybody
but i'm still so like ??
like my house has a very explicit no cops policy. if sb else brought their partner or brother or whatever to dinner and they were a cop, they would be told to fucking leave. as if i'm gonna fuck one myself
in light of police across the country cracking down on pro palestine protests with brutal force, it feels like a great time to remind everyone to shut the fuck up around cops. don't make small talk, dont act friendly, don't fucking engage with them!! if you are arrested DO NOT speak without a lawyer present. protest organizers, get into contact with local pro bono lawyers who can be there for your arrested comrades. no matter what, if cops are there, shut the fuck up unless you are actively doing a protest chant. dont tell cops why you were there, dont tell them if you're affiliated with the school you may be protesting at, dont tell them if you came there with anyone, dont tell them anything!!!
i love graffiti. "comics and jazz are the only american art forms" you forgot graffiti. did you remember graffiti? That art form birthed in Philly and NYC in the early 70s by poor Black kids. that art form that spread all over the world and influenced so many. that's used without irony in commercials when they're trying to appeal to a "young urban" customer.
did you forget graffiti? that racism broken windows theory victim? that reach the establishment takes claiming that it's exclusively violent gang members throwing up those full-color pieces and wildstyle tags in the middle of the night outsmarting fifty security cameras because the billboard was ugly anyway. as if, even if it was, it wouldn't be impressive as all hell. risking brutality and fall damage so your art can occupy the space a gentrified condo named something like "Coluumna" took away from you. proving that despite only assholes affording to live here anymore there's still a soul beneath it. an animal with dripping stripes and teeth that go clack-clack tsssss
seven years ago in the name of tolerating free speech from all political perspectives my nasty ass evil university let an army of tiki torch wielding nazis shouting jews will not replace us march through grounds threatening the lives of students and community members with zero police presence. and today they retroactively changed campus policy around tents so they could send in the cops to bust up the gaza memorial vigil. genuinely fucking stomach turning
i hate whenever theres a paladin/knight/generally gruff protector-type character in an alternate or historical time period, and when theyre adapted to the modern day or theres a popular modern AU headcanon theyre ALWAYS a cop. you fools. you fucking fools. a good aligned paladin wouldnt be a cop they would be a drug sponsor. a domestic cleaner. a child support worker. a sanitation worker. its not about cutting people in half with a zweihander its about serving the goddamn community
why should palestinians have to leave behind their land because israel wont stop killing them. why should anyone have to leave behind their life and memories and sentimental value just because an aggressor is left unchallenged. please think this sentiment through and delete it from your thoughts. instead of blaming an oppressed people for living in a hostile land, ask who is making that land hostile to live in.
the police drive their SUV into a gay couples place of business and then proceeds to arrest one of them for refusing to show identification. allegedly they were swerving to avoid a dog which totally exists
i remember when Instagram mostly banned me from my account for an entire year after posting about police brutality and its' links to white supremacy and institutionalized violence -it was during the height of the BLM movement after George Floyd was murdered. i remember calling out ex-co-workers at the time and people on social media i was mutuals with at the time for saying 'but it's not all cops, some are good,' and my response to that, and will always be: policing systems do MORE harm than good in communities. cops get little to zero training and are allowed to bear arms and have a licences to maim, injure, and kill people (most of whom, are NOT threats). and it's beyond unacceptable. the amount of funding these fucking systems get too when it can be allocated to programs that ACTUALLY do good.
defund the police.
end the occupation and free palestine!
*also, a few people have noted this, but yes, I believe it appears that the cop spat on the memorial candles too. and the fact he will never be fired and told to give up his badge for doing such a heinous thing is just despicable* -and yes all cops are bad.
What really gets me about the sentiment "Don't look away" is that its always used in the wrong context. People may be well meaning, but what they end up doing is flooding the conversation with zionist carnage in a manner not unlike the way zionists *want* their atrocities to be seen.
Rather than thinking, "I must traumatize myself with this image for Palestine," try, "I will not turn my back on the people of Palestine." Watching them die is not enough. Speaking only of their suffering is not enough.
Don't look away when Palestinians resist. Don't condemn them when they fight for their lives and land. Speak for their rights to live and move freely in their own homeland. Do not look away from their life. Palestinians are here, they remain, and they will remain, and they are in the future, and they will live free and happy lives just as anyone else should be able to.
"Don't look away" should not be a call to engage in real life atrocities like its a horror movie. "Don't look away" should be a call to make Palestine the focus of everything. Don't let people FORGET or IGNORE what is happening. You can talk about what is happening without sharing the same ghoulish photos that zionists love.