Cheerio, my niggas

When one side cuts off water, food and electricity on another then it’s not war.

When one side has nuclear weapons then it’s not war.

When one side is getting funded with billions of dollars then it’s not war.

When one side uses AI pictures to spread misinformation about another then it’s not war.

When social media is censoring the content of one side and not the other then it’s not war.

This isn’t a conflict and it’s not war.

This is genocide and mass destruction and we’re witnessing it happen live.

MEGAN THEE STALLION in HOTTIEWEEN

I know it sucks we have to talk about this but in light of the fact that Black Panther is coming out this weekend I think it needs to be addressed. The possibility of a shooting happening at a Black Panther screening is very real, seeing as there will be very high populations of people of color going to see this movie. 

Here are some tips I learned in school for surviving a shooting, modified a bit to match the setting.

1. TAKE NOTE OF YOUR EXITS. Your first instinct should be to GET OUT if at all possible. If you are near an exit, GET TO IT and run. Call the police and get somewhere safe. Remember, shooters have tunnel vision. If you are lucky enough to be within a shooter’s peripheral vision, you have a good chance of being able to escape. 

2. If you are unable to exit the theater, HIDE. Get down under your seats, crawl underneath chairs to get to an exit, whatever. If necessary, smear yourself with blood and cover yourself with a dead body and play dead. I know it’s gross and horrible, but this is something that can save lives. Many shooters are not going to go around shooting dead bodies; their goal is to kill as many people as possible. If you look dead, there’s a chance they won’t shoot you.

3. If you cannot hide and you cannot escape, AMBUSH THE SHOOTER. You need to get a group of people to do this, and I’m not sure how that would work–if you’re going with a group of people you could all agree to jump the shooter if you were near him, or someone could shout “JUMP HIM” in the theater and a group of people would jump him. 

This is very effective. A single person WILL NOT be able to withstand a group of four or more people bringing him down, especially if you distract him beforehand by throwing WHATEVER YOU CAN at him. 

That means food, popcorn buckets, sodas, purses, bags, WHATEVER. Like I mentioned before, shooters have tunnel vision and will not be expecting objects being thrown at them. 

It takes a shooter a certain amount of time to go through the mental process of finding a person, locking that person as a target, aiming, and shooting. Anything you can do to disrupt that process causes that person to start it all over again. DISRUPT THAT PROCESS BY THROWING WHATEVER SHIT YOU CAN FIND AT HIM. In the seconds he has to go through that mental process again, ambush him, get him on the ground, kick his weapon away, and call 911. 

These are the victims of the MSD school shooting. Take a few minutes out of your day to read about them. They deserve to be remembered. 

Alyssa Alhadeff: 

Alyssa was 15 years old.

She played soccer and was on the track team.

Alyssa was said to have been introverted and very close to her family and friends.

She was a straight A student.

Alyssa attended a jewish sleep away camp during the summer.

Scott Beigel: 

Scott was a geography teacher at the school.

He is pictured above with the cross country team he coached.

He was killed after unlocking the door to let students into his classroom to hide from the shooter. 

Scott was also a counsellor at a summer camp in Pennsylvania.

Jaime Guttenberg:

Jaime was 17 years old.

She loved dancing and was in a local competitive dance program.

She was described as being kind-hearted and having a contagious smile.

Her facebook page has been memorialized as tributes pour out.

Martin Duque: 

Martin was a 14 year old freshman.

His brother described him as very funny, outgoing, caring and very sweet.

His family is devastated at the loss of Martin, he was very loved.

A gofundme page was set up by his brother, to help cover the funeral costs. The link is: https://www.gofundme.com/32z7etk

Nicholas Dworet:

Nicholas was 17 years old.

He was given a swimming scholarship to the University of Indianapolis.

He also played for the school water polo team.

Nick aspired to be in the 2020 olympics.

He was described as being very charismatic and a very likeable guy.

Aaron Feis:

Aaron was a football coach at the school.

Aaron was shot and killed, shielding students from bullets.

He was also reported to have been a security guard.

He was loved by students at the school.

Chris Hixon:

Chris was the school’s athletics director.

He was described as the kind of person who would do anything for anyone.

He had a son with special needs who followed him everywhere.

Luke Hoyer:

Luke was 15 years old.

He loved playing basketball.

He is described as being very laid back, never causing any trouble.

His family is devastated, saying that “it doesn’t feel real”.

He was very happy-go-lucky. Never getting upset.

Cara Loughran: 

Cara was 14 years old.

She was a great student.

She loved the beach.

Her family says that her death is “too horrible to be processed”.

Gina Montalto:

Gina was 14 years old. 

She was a member of her school’s marching band.

Her mother described her as being smart, caring, and brightening any room she entered. 

Joaquin Oliver:

Joaquin was 17 years old.

He was born in Venezuela, officially becoming an American citizen on January 17th.  

He was described as being extroverted and always trying to make new friends.

Alex Schachter:

Alex was 14 years old. 

He was a member of his school’s marching band. 

He was described as being a great kid, full of love and life. 

Carmen Schentrup:

Carmen was 16 years old.

She was a national merit scholar semifinalist. 

A family member described her as being the smartest 16 year old they had ever met. 

Alaina Petty:

Alaina was 14 years old.

She was part of her school’s JROTC program.

She devoted countless hours to volunteering.

Alaina was described as vibrant, determined, and loved by all.

Meadow Pollack:

Meadow was 18 years old.

She planned to attend Lynn University next year.