Get Bent

Talented boy

My mother forced me to become an actor when I was seven, and then refused to let me quit, even though I literally begged her to stop making me work. She used and exploited me to get things she wanted for herself.

I sincerely believed acting was something I wanted to do, because my mother manipulated and gaslighted me my entire childhood. I was completely brainwashed. By the time I was old enough to realize that not only was it not my idea, but that I didn't have to be an actor any more if I didn't want to, I was terrified I would be the huge failure my abusive father always made me believe I was, so I kept trying to be an actor well into my 30s.

In my 40s, I decided to retire from acting on-camera, and use what I'd learned over the years to work as a voice actor, audiobook narrator, and writer. I'm a New York Times bestselling author! And number on audiobook narrator!

I just turned 50 in July. I'm still doing the performing and entertaining work I'm pretty good at, but I'm only doing it on my terms. My favorite thing I'm doing right now is hosting The Ready Room, the official online destination for all things Star Trek universe.

I am FURIOUS and BAFFLED that major news outlets are not covering what’s going on in Iran right now and I don’t fucking have a twitter so I can’t make noise over there, even though apparently that’s the only social media platform people pay attention to????

Students at Sharif University of Technology in Tehran have been one group of many students and professors across the nation protesting, and NOW, the regime’s security forces have LOCKED THE STUDENTS IN THE UNIVERSITY AND ARE ARRESTING THEM IN MASSES AND SHOOTING AT THEM IF THEY TRY TO ESCAPE OUT THE GATES.

You have DOZENS of teenagers running for their lives in the dark while their parents and fellow citizens are protesting outside the gates chanting “free the students”. And NOW, the they’re sending more repression forces to the University!!

A BBC article says it’s unable to verify the events at the university in the same space it writes that VIDEO FOOTAGE on social media shows students RUNNING FROM SECURITY FORCES ON CAMPUS.

THE AUDACITY.

Share as much as you can about this on all of your social media platforms. Tag as many human rights activists and groups and news outlets you can think of to get the information out there. And if you have any friends or family in Tehran, let them know if they already don’t that people are mobilising to the university. Help the students!! Use the hashtags that are going around on social media (#mahsaamini, #jinaamini, #opiran, #iranprotests, to name a few).

I’m adding photos from instagram that give more information. Follow @1500tasvir on instagram for on the ground footage, @middleeastmatters, and @golfarahani to name a few.

[If someone has the time to ID these, you are more than welcome to.]