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The community releases balloons into the sky in remembrance of VonDerrit Myers.

like this is so humiliating and im so stressed out even posting this but if anyone can help me out at all there is a link to my paypal on my page.

I feel like very few, or at least not many of the people of tumblr are aware of what is going on in my home country Hong Kong right now.

You guys gave alot of coverage and support when Scotland was voting for its independance, so I’m hoping you’ll all support the people of Hong Kong as well.

Right now, many of us are in a mass demonstration of pro-democracy against China. But wait a sec, isn’t Hong Kong China? This is a big misconception amongst foreigners, but please, we are far from being similar to China at all.

A little history class: Hong Kong used to be colonized by the British, and before you white-knights begin going all “them damn white racist ppl taking over another asian country” please don’t. We are thankful Britain took us under its wing and instilled in us values that I feel made us what we are today; that is, a democratic people with respect for free speech, amongst many things.

On the other hand, China is communist, with government controlled media and news. Google, instagram, facebook and many tv shows are blocked in China. It really is just a few steps from North Korea imo.

So what’s the problem here? Britain unfortunately had to hand back Hong Kong to China, but one of the requirements is that Hong Kong be allowed to operate as ‘one country two systems’, meaning Hong Kong should be able to have its own democratic government. But China has broken its promise. A while back, China tried to put a mandatory ‘national education’ curriculum in all our primary schools. We all know what that is; a communist brainwashing regime. And now, they have announced that in 2017 Hong Kong will be able to vote for its president; BUT only from 3 candidates hand picked by its PRO-BEIJING legislation.

As you can see, China is trying to takeover completely and turn us into another communist state.

Of course, we have taken to the streets. In a mirror if the Tiananmen protests, students have also stepped up to fight for our rights and our future, albeit in a peaceful protest of course. But the police force who have always been a friend of the people, are now responding with force, something that had never been done before in Hong Kong.

First it was pepperspray, then teargas. Then, armed forces came in qith rubber bullets. They warn they will come out with live ammunition soon if we do not get off the streets but the people continue to sit tight, disrupting businesses China so strive to takeover and make use of. It’s been 2 days now, but the people plan to continue at least till 1st October or even beyond. The significance is that October 1st is China’s National day, not ours, Hong Kong has not been granted it’s own National day.

Please spread the news. This is a country we’re talking about. These are my people.

You can join this event to wear yellow in support of my people on October 1st.

Yes, the Opium Wars fucked China up, but the Communists really ruined the country during the 1950s onwards with the disastrous Great Leap Forward. There was a horrible famine caused by state mismanagement- and by the end of it all, it’s estimated anywhere from 18 million to 45 million Chinese died. Far more than died in WW2. And then of course, the infamous Cultural Revolution where there were basically witch-hunts which just caused enormous upheaval and strife, where people were “outed” as “bourgeois” or capitalists or whatever and imprisoned, tortured and publicly humiliated. University students and professors were accused of being traitors. Even the Communist Party today acknowledges it was a complete disaster. While all of this was going on, by comparison, Hong Kong flourished under British rule.

The China you see today that is the world’s second largest economy is a product of Deng Xiaoping’s reform in the 1970s- which involved throwing out huge parts of the Communist economic policies to embrace capitalism- and putting a stop to the blind and rigid adherence to Communist ideology. Economically, China is in many ways very open to capitalism BUT politically, the government is pretty authoritarian still. And quite capable of oppression.

Chief Jackson and the Ferguson police intentionally caused real harm tonight. Faked compassion then police swooped in & brutalized people.

— Shaun King (@ShaunKing)

For many Muslim Americans, 9/11 was a double punch of tragedy and bigotry

The actions of 19 Islamic extremists on 9/11 left an indelible mark on America. Today, millions pause to commemorate the attacks’ 13th anniversary, to honor the victims and to remember that all life is special and sacred. But there’s an untold story amid the many speeches and moments of silence — one filled with a different kind of pain, grief and strong sense of loss. 

While there is a lot of appropriate rage about Ferguson right now, the killing of John Crawford, III is getting less attention than it deserves. I put Shaun King’s tweets and history lesson on the matter in chronological order for easier consumption.

Links:

Autopsy and video show John Crawford shot from behind in Wal-Mart

Witness in murder of John Crawford changes story

NBC News: The Justice Department intends to launch a broad civil rights investigation into the Ferguson, Mo., Police Department, officials said Wednesday.

The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division has been investigating the fatal shooting of Michael Brown for the last month, but the new investigation would look into the conduct of the entire department.