I Love You to the Moon and Back

George Floyd was executed on camera after being arrested for suspected forgery (a suspicious $20 bill); he was compliant and told the 4 officers he couldn't breathe under the weight of officer Derek Chauvin's knee on his neck, which could be heard and understood by the bystanders filming the incident but did not move any of the 4 officers to stop/intervene.

The paramedics, after arriving on the scene, had to reach under Derek Chauvin's knee to check Floyd's pulse. By the time he had removed his knee, it had been a full 8 minutes, the final 3 of which he had already gone still.

The initial police reports of the incident were at best inaccurate and at worst outright lies. Floyd was described as "suffering medical distress" as they put him in handcuffs and that he "resisted arrest."

After the video surfaced highlighting how disgustingly false this was, they changed the narrative to "man dies after medical incident during police interaction."

All 4 officers were quickly fired, but not charged (however Chauvin just recently was taken into custody for 3rd degree murder)

Protests calling for justice were met with rubber bullets and tear gas fired into crowds (police were the first to turn the protests violent) beginning tuesday

An undercover protester, potentially identified as a St. Paul police officer, attempted to ignite riots by smashing the windows of an autozone as actual protesters told him to stop. He was dressed in all black with an umbrella (it wasn't raining) and tactical boots. People noted that broken glass provoking more vandalism is a known and understood phenomenon in the field of criminal justice.

Rioting, vandalism, and looting began as buildings were set on fire, including the precinct the 4 officers operated from. A local Target refused to sell milk to tear gas victims, and has now been all but destroyed.

A CNN reporter, Omar Jimenez, a poc, was arrested on live television, in an area secured by police and devoid of protesters, after identifying himself and voluntarily complying with their wishes. The reason given was that they were told to move and did not comply (a lie, as noted by the reporters commentating the live broadcast). A white CNN reporter nearby, however, was left alone.

A border protection predator drone circled the city today with no official explanation.

Trump tweeted that "looting leads to shooting," a quote from a 60s miami police chief notorious for civil rights abuses and even welcoming claims of police brutality. Twitter flagged it with a warning that it glorified violence.

Protests have spread to other cities throught the U.S. including Louisville, Memphis, L.A., and more, in response to similar and/or identical systemic issues of racial discrimination and brutality.

Police responses have varied in violence and intensity in each location; one police cruiser drove into the crowd in L.A., and seven people were shot in Louisville.

Minneapolis introduced a curfew to bring an end to the riots, calling in the national guard.

Ok, some of these reasons might be subjective or biased, but for whatever reason (maybe all the Ichi hate I’ve been seeing lately?), I felt compelled to gush about my favorite Berry-tan.

Ok, I’m probably gonna bring this up a lot, so I might as well say this now: I’m gonna compare Ichigo to other, typical Shonen leads. For the record, I don’t read or watch One Piece or Naruto, so I’m only using the basic knowledge that I have of Luffy and Naruto - so if I’m horribly wrong, please feel free to correct me! Sorry in advance! (*￣∇￣*)

1. He’s intelligent.

This is something I really appreciate in a character. I’m aware that the typical Shonen male is *usually* not the brightest (take Goku for example), they usually don’t do so well at tests, etc. I’m also aware that Shounen is aimed at a young, male audience, so having the MC be kinda dumb is funny and loveable! I get that, and it doesn’t bother me (hell, my favorite character in Slayers is Gourry).  It just makes it all the more refreshing when Ichigo, this scary-looking punk, is getting high scores at school, adores Shakespeare, studies instead of partaking in clubs, and says that writing was his favorite subject.

2. He’s relatable.

Maybe it’s just because I’m a nerd, or because Bleach is set in 90’s Tokyo (or both?), but having a character that likes video games, sports, movies, and literature is really, really cool to me. In a way, the beginning of Bleach was my favorite: When you get to know the characters, and just see them live their daily lives. For that reason, I also liked the Fullbring arc (and the beginning of another Shonen, Shaman King). As a middle schooler myself (when Bleach came to America), and even through high school to my adult self, I could relate to Ichigo’s struggles with fitting in, school, the future.. The fact that he is sarcastic, grumpy, and awkward is endearing to me because he has flaws. He’s not chipper all the time, and he doesn’t look on the bright side. I’m kind of a realist myself, so having a MC not being the unreasonably optimistic all the time is relatable for me.

3. He has flaws.

Continuing off of #2, I want to expand on Ichigo’s flaws. Like a typical MC, he has his moments of rushing in head first, acting without thinking. And ya know, that’s ok! He’s a teenage boy, and it happens to all of us, yeah? His “flaw”, if you’d call it that, is his depression. Something that makes Ichigo so relateable as a character, I think, is the fact that he’s not perfect.. And that’s beautiful. Since he was little, he’s constantly been bullied (because of his hair color), and since his mother died, he blamed himself. He doesn’t have the highest self-esteem because of it, and his depression even takes the physical form of “rain” that threatens to drown him when it’s just too much . I’ve read manga for a long time now, and I don’t think(?) I’ve ever seen a more realistic portrayal of depression. I know the fullbring arc got a lot of hate, but it shows Ichigo’s inner turmoil fantastically. His depression over losing his powers, his ability to protect, was one of the lowest times in his life - not an enemy, not losing, but this. I love Ichigo for being such a strong person, but also being fragile at the same time. It makes him feel so.. Real to me. 

4. He’s not a pervert.

THIS! To some, it can be such a small thing.. But to me, I really REALLY appreciate that Ichigo isn’t a pervert. In fact, he’s the opposite: Many people call him a prude.. And whats wrong with that? I think it’s adorable that he gets really awkward and shy around half-naked women. To me, it shows that he’s respectful to women (which makes sense, since he has younger sisters and his mother was his world), and he isn’t being used as a comedic device. Its a little thing, but I think it makes for a better male role-model in a Shonen title.

5. He’s honest.

Honest, blunt.. I tend to like characters with these traits.  Usually, characters that are blunt are that way because they are naive or .. Dumb (Gourry, for example). They don’t know any better, right? But Ichigo is intelligent. His sole reason for being blunt is that he’s an honest guy - he tells it how it is. Sure, it might hurt someones feelings (like when he mentioned Orihime was kinda heavy in the Hueco Mundo arc), but he’s not gonna lie about how he feels or what he thinks. I’d rather have a friend that tells me the honest truth, that I need to hear, than someone who will sugar-coat it for me… Maybe that’s just me, haha. Either way, it’s a character trait I personally like :)

6. He has no real goal in mind

Okay, that sounds weird, but hear me out. Naruto wanted to be the Hokage, Luffy wants to find the One Piece, Yoh wants to be the Shaman King, Goku wanted to find the Dragon balls.. I could go on. There’s nothing wrong with a character having a specific goal in mind; in fact, it’s a good thing! But, for some reason, I find it endearing that Ichigo puts his life on the line to help people, protect Soul Society, etc for no reason other than he wants to protect. He’s never asked for any reward, never asked for a position of power. Everything he’s ever done has been for the sake of others. <3

There’s probably more things I’m forgetting to mention, but this posts gotten pretty long.. Sorry about that! Σ(￣皿￣;;

Oh, and an honorable mention? Ichigo is hot AF. Lol. Not relevant in any way, but he’s the finest boy I’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing in a Shonen.. And his fashion sense is impeccable (///∇///) 

well. 

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