What Are You Working Towards?
Policy
NBC: Enough Is Enough
The habitual line steppers at NBC Universal have gone from toeing the line, to jumping completely over it with the insanely racist, pro-human trafficking, family-friendly sitcom, Mail Order Family. The show revolves around a single father who buys a Filipino woman to come and live with him and raise his two, teen-aged daughters.
The series is supposed to be loosely based on Jackie Clarke’s life. “Her father had his children look through a catalog for a potential wife to be mailed over from the Philippines. He bought a wife and both lived unhappily together for several years. Clarke’s new stepmother not only rejected her attempts at closeness but also divorced her father after discovering he had a secret family in the Philippines. Eventually, Clarke’s father abandoned his kids to be with his new family in the Philippines as well. And now her story is being turned into a comedy.”
Words cannot convey my disgust with the gall of every person who has touched this story and script.
A petition has begun, calling to pull the show and fire the writer and producers.
https://static.change.org/product/embeds/v1/change-embeds.js
The Ease With Which You Can Register To Vote
Register Here: https://g.co/kgs/LvAk1S
Alfred Olango, 30
Police in the California city of San Diego shot and killed a mentally ill, unarmed black man after his sister called the department for assistance.
Police from the El Cajon suburb released a statement late on Tuesday night, several hours after the shooting outside the Broadway Village shopping centre, confirming that the man died in hospital. His family have named him as 30-year-old Alfred Olango.
Police had been called over by Olango’s sister, who said that he was acting strangely and not himself. The aftermath of the fatal shooting was filmed by a bystander who posted the clip live to Facebook. That video has been viewed almost 40,000 times.
“Why couldn’t you tase him? I told you he is sick. And you guys shot him!” Olango’s sister can be heard telling officers in the video. “I called police to help him, not to kill him.”
Jeff Davis, the El Cajon police chief, said that the man was not armed. He added that Olango ignored calls to remove his hands from his pockets and pulled out an object. Olango then pointed the object in a “shooting stance” towards two officers, prompting one of the officers to open fire, Davis said.
Local news agency CBS8 reported that “several witnesses alleged that the officers were unduly quick to open fire and suggested that their actions had been influenced by the fact that they were dealing with a black man, one they described as mentally challenged”.
“One man angrily told reporters at the news conference that the victim was suffering a seizure prior to the shooting, and another described seeing him with his hands raised at the moment the shots sounded,” CBS8 said.
The shooting spurred protests at the scene for several hours, alleging police racism. Demonstrations were also later held outside the police department.
The department released a photo still taken from a mobile phone video of the moment. Police said an object had been recovered from the scene, but did not say what that object was.
According to Mapping Police Violence, Olango has become the 217th black American to be killed by police so far this year.
Why Does Everything Have to Do With Race?
There are interesting, usually unasked, questions that are unintentionally answered in the course of discussion. I’m always fascinated by the views others provide you when they engage people. Those views always prove useful in future interactions/discussions.
To paraphrase George Orwell, white people have prejudices about people of color because American culture has normalized whiteness, but the fact that people of color act “differently” further entrenches the “obvious correctness” of a white cultural norm.
Why is it normal to eat with a fork instead of chopsticks?
Why is it normal for a man to wear a suit to a business meeting instead of a loose, colorfully printed robe?
Why is it normal to sit in a chair instead of on the floor?
Why is a woman in a long gown and a bonnet accepted — archaic, perhaps, but accepted? Why is a nun wearing a black gown and habit accepted? Why is a woman in a burka and hijab somehow threatening?
Why do we teach the way we do? Write our laws the way we do? In short, why is our society the way it is?
“When a white person says ‘It’s not about race,’ they are pretty much always saying it when a Black person, or a Latino person, or a Muslim person is not acting the way a white European would act or wants them to act.”
(John Metta)
Street Clashes and Election Protests in Congo Kill at Least 44 — TIME
KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — More than 44 people have been killed in Congo in two days of street clashes between security forces and protesters angered over a delayed presidential election, a senior Human Rights Watch researcher said Tuesday. Police said more than 100 people have been arrested in the unrest. Thousands took to the streets…
via Street Clashes and Election Protests in Congo Kill at Least 44 — TIME
Everything We Know About the Charlotte Police Shooting — TIME
Keith Lamont Scott was unarmed and disabled, reading a book while sitting in his registered vehicle. The police saw his dark skin, became afraid for their lives because black people, and fired a number of rounds into the car, murdering Scott without announcing themselves, nor informing Mr. Scott of what laws he violated to deserve being shot at by at least two officers. Brently Vinson is now on a paid vacation for successfully murdering a man who wasn’t a threat to anyone.
Protests erupted Tuesday night in Charlotte, North Carolina after an officer-involved shooting resulted in a black man’s death. The demonstrations lasted through the morning, leaving a highway closed, 12 officers injured and a city divided. Here’s everything we know so far: What happened? A 43-year-old black man was shot and killed by police outside an…
via Everything We Know About the Charlotte Police Shooting — TIME
21 States File Lawsuit Challenging President Obama’s Overtime Pay Rule — TIME
Officials from 21 U.S. states on Tuesday filed a lawsuit claiming an Obama administration rule to extend mandatory overtime pay to more than 4 million workers will place a heavy burden on state budgets. Hours after the states announced their lawsuit, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups filed a separate challenge to…
via 21 States File Lawsuit Challenging President Obama’s Overtime Pay Rule — TIME
Why Hasn’t Disney Gone Bankrupt?
Remember that time I got really angry about the portrayal of the Polynesian god Maui in the sure to be shit film ‘Moana’?
Well, it looks like Disney is doubling down on the bullshit. They made a Maui costume, complete with a stereotypical grass skirt and blackface, for children to wear this Halloween. Retails for $49. You can be racist for free.
If you feel the need to buy this for anyone, please hand your children over to CPS and sterilize yourself.
Riri and Voting?
With the election a handful of months away, Rihanna made a speech last week, urging all of her fans to vote because she cannot.
“It’s crazy numbers right now — over 70 million Americans are not registered to vote and it saddens me because young people are the future.”
As shocking as that number sounds, Rihanna is right about that statistic; according to U.S. Census Bureau Data, about 72 million eligible Americans aren’t registered to vote.
She’s also got a point about young people’s political power. Millennials are now as much of political force as baby boomers, making up 31 percent of the electorate, according to the 31 Pew Research Center. However, the generation has yet to fully exert that voting power. The Pew Research Center also reports that only 46-percent of 18-29 year-olds actually went to the polls in 2012.
If you need to register to vote, there is still time. Click away.
loudspeakerandlemonjuice 