BY THE WATERS OF BABYLON

Josh Levin, Colin Kaepernick’s Protest Is Working

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mehreenkasana

A piece from New York Magazine’s Andrew Sullivan over the weekend ended with an old, well-worn trope: Asian-Americans, with their “solid two-parent family structures,” are a shining example of how to overcome discrimination. An essay that began by imagining why Democrats feel sorry for Hillary Clinton — and then detoured to President Trump’s policies — drifted to this troubling ending:

“Today, Asian-Americans are among the most prosperous, well-educated, and successful ethnic groups in America. What gives? It couldn’t possibly be that they maintained solid two-parent family structures, had social networks that looked after one another, placed enormous emphasis on education and hard work, and thereby turned false, negative stereotypes into true, positive ones, could it? It couldn’t be that all whites are not racists or that the American dream still lives?”

Sullivan’s piece, rife with generalizations about a group as vastly diverse as Asian-Americans, rightfully raised hackles. Not only inaccurate, his piece spreads the idea that Asian-Americans as a group are monolithic, even though parsing data by ethnicity reveals a host of disparities; for example, Bhutanese-Americans have far higher rates of poverty than other Asian populations, like Japanese-Americans. And at the root of Sullivan’s pernicious argument is the idea that black failure and Asian success cannot be explained by inequities and racism, and that they are one and the same; this allows a segment of white America to avoid any responsibility for addressing racism or the damage it continues to inflict.

“Sullivan’s comments showcase a classic and tenacious conservative strategy,” Janelle Wong, the director of Asian American Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park, said in an email. This strategy, she said, involves “1) ignoring the role that selective recruitment of highly educated Asian immigrants has played in Asian American success followed by 2) making a flawed comparison between Asian Americans and other groups, particularly Black Americans, to argue that racism, including more than two centuries of black enslavement, can be overcome by hard work and strong family values.”

‘Model Minority’ Myth Again Used As A Racial Wedge Between Asians And Blacks

Long story short, she thought I was cishet when we started dating, reluctantly said she was fine with me being transgender before moving here, moved here and we soon found out that was not the case lol

So she cheated on me, I was actually incredibly cool about it all things considered: kept her on my health insurance, let her keep my car for a bit so she could keep her job, kept her on my cell phone bill, etc.

Annnnnd about a month after she cheated on me, all of her stuff was gone, including an 800 dollar computer and my car? So she bounced with my car, my computer (both of which I needed to sell) and before she left she took what she wanted out of my makeup, dumped a bunch of my HRT and I found some of my cutest undies stuffed between the washer and dryer with GUM stuck in it? Like seriously?

So yeah she left me with all of the bills and loans, which I defaulted on: credit card that I took out to buy that computer, Verizon account that was forcefully closed and most importantly, the lease on our apartment which was 6 months from being over.

So I did full service, in person sex work for a while to try to keep my lights on, while trying to not kill myself or get killed by my dates, but eventually Roxie (the only person that gave a shit about me, who was just my friend at the time) convinced me to stop putting myself in danger and just deal with the fall out as it happened. It was absolutely the right choice and she and I have rebuilt so much since then: paid off the credit cards (1.5k) the Verizon balance (1.5k) and done so much personally that it’s weird to think it all looked so grim

So the final chapter in this shitty book is that I got a summons from the landlord of the apartment I was evicted from for a $7,000 lawsuit summons and because they’re not interested in tracking her down, I’m the only one they can reach and so I’m going this alone, essentially. I could really use a fucking break at this point because I’m trying my absolute best to not have to do anything stupid for money and still rebuild my life after all of this

So anyway I made a venmo (@tvsxe) and I have paypal info if anyone wants to donate

White kids are punished less for the same behavior than black kids

White convicts are more likely to get a job than black people without records.

A white person with no college degree is just as like to get hired as a black person with a college degree

All white juries (it’s starts on page 11) are  more likely to convict black criminals than white ones.

Black people are more likely to be stopped and frisked than white people even though they have a higher drug usage than us.

White people (majority of doctors) think that black people feel less pain

Black people get longer sentences than white people

White people use the majority of drugs but black people go to jail longer. This talks more about why our jails and prison are full of black and poor people

White people push for harsher laws when they think it will affect black people

Black people are more likely to get death penalty if their victim is white vs white people if their victims is Black. (Really it applies to all races. Any race that isn’t Black is less likely to get the death penalty if their victim is Black.)

Since this is much longer than the others if you scroll down to figure 5 and read the information about it that’s where this is detailed but the whole thing is a good read.

Take this information if it is new to you, and let it motivate you to activate. If you see it happening, call it out. In your life, workplace, environment. Document it, end it. Step out of the way, listen, boost voices, and do not ever do it for praise, or conditionally. If a PoC is mean to you, work harder. They’re still angry. They have every reason to be. Let their anger at you motivate you to work harder for justice. They might never not be angry. A bad history is hard to forgive, let it be and try for a better future.

As they say, stay woke. Don’t ignore it. Ignorance is complicit. Don’t allow your freedom to lack of concern be yet another way you exercise your white privilege.

Hello my name is Kimola (picture on the left). I’m raising money because my little brother (who’s picture is on the right with my mom) was murdered Friday, March 10, 2017 in Jamaica and I’m really scared for their lives and trying to get my mom and little sister out of the dangerous area that they live in. I moved from Jamaica to the United States because my dad brought his children out here years ago because of how dangerous the area is. However, him and my mom weren’t together, and when he left, he left her and the children she didn’t have with him in Jamaica (my little brother and sister). Now, it’s only my mom and little sister. The Immigrant Visa Application Processing Fee is $535 to first get my mom into the United States and after, get my little sister here. Anything would be greatly appreciated, even a dollar. My goal is to get my mother and little sister out here in Georgia with me as quickly as possible, please help if you can, and thank you so much for your time.

don’t you fucking dare tell me that trump’s new travel ban is “keeping the bad people out” when the bad people are right here under our noses. 

PayPal.me/NiahP

“It’s time y’all. It’s time.”

We have not forgotten you, Sandra. 😔 Continue to rest in infinite power. 

Information for the go fund me:

Our grade 7/8 students are hoping to take a trip to Toronto to experience life beyond their fly in First Nation community. They have been doing some fund raising within the community but its difficult to raise $40,000 in a small community of 500 people. This is the experience of a life time for the students.  Please help make their dream come true.

Donate here

The community the youth is from is the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug or Big Trout First Nation, in Northern Ontario.

The Canadian government isn’t doing enough to provide resources for FN youth to find opportunities which, when combined with the intergenerational trauma of residential school, is leading to an atmosphere of hopelessness about their future.

Traveling isn’t easy to and from Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug, and these kids deserve to have a chance to explore themselves beyond tragedies.

I’m donating what I can. Please consider doing the same.