i feel like something bad has happened

This is my hometown – Birmingham, Alabama. I ache to be with my community, no matter how far removed I am from it now.

She's lost to the injustice system, she's lost to the racist, antiblack, transmisogynistic empire we inhabit and that many, many people benefit from upholding.

I'm so sorry Peaches. You deserved to live, and be loved by everyone who so clearly loved you. I hope you're listening to Beyoncé, or something even better tonight.

This loss is not accidental. It is a tragic reminder of the failures within the carceral system. The lack of adequate mental health resources, combined with negligence and systemic shortcomings in our system, continues to cost lives.

Far too many people are dying at the hands of systems that cause harm rather than healing. Incarceration should never lead to dehumanization. Peaches was a human being. She deserved dignity, respect, compassion, and access to the care she needed.

As we mourn her loss, we also honor her life. Let Peaches’ legacy be a call to action. We must continue advocating for a transformation of our systems of incarceration and for better responses to individuals living with severe mental illness. No one should be forgotten, neglected, or stripped of their humanity. Rest peacefully, Peaches. Your life mattered, your presence was felt, and your memory will forever remain with us.

The Kingdom of Hawai’i was illegally overthrown with the help of American businessmen and we have suffered under the iron grip of America.

Our land is simply seen as a vacation spot, my people are simply seen as tour guides and hula dancers. We have had our culture, our history, and our people turned into a commercialized joke by America.

The rampant tourism kills our islands with endless hotels, attractions and overcrowding. The housing and living costs are out of control because of the false “paradise” narrative. The Navy poisons our water and destroys our land. Covid has killed so many of my people due to the reckless and selfish nature of tourists. I have lost loved ones to this virus, because tourists “couldn’t stay away”.

My people have suffered. I have suffered.

We are more than your vacation. We are more than an aesthetic.

We are a sovereign nation illegally occupied by the United States of America.

Restore Hawai’i to Hawaiians. End the American Occupation.

See the links below to learn more and to read up on your Hawaiian history.

As a white person raised in a white supremacist society, you’re gonna fuck up sometimes. That’s just a fact. But racialized people often aren’t able/comfortable speaking up when y’all do some shit because of the power imbalance/not feeling up to educating when you may be resistant/don’t think the “fight” will be Worth It.

Show initiative without making it A Struggle or playing the white guilt card. Show you actually care about them, their struggles, and the way you interact with them BEFORE they have to have a bigger Conversation with you, beyond when they need to yell about someone else being racist.

Even close friends or partners are not necessarily safe. I have had partners dismiss accusations of racism just off hand, I have had partners treat me like a repository for knowledge on Muslim cultural practices despite the fact that *my family has been Christian since Jesus,* hell I have had a partner say I was overplaying my pain at the genocide to get sympathy.

IF YOU ARE WHITE YOU HAVE TO TAKE THE FIRST STEP OR YOU ARE JUST PUTTING MORE LABOR AND DANGER ON YOUR RACIALIZED FRIENDS FOR YOUR FUCKING COMFORT