#hes also a faggot i dont believe he is into women | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

cowboyguts-moved · 6 years

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tell me about your new ocs ^^

so any and all artwork i show you is done by @shit-stains (:

everyone listed is from a made up oregon beach town called Mystic Overhang infamous for its creepy bottomless lakes and a cliff that leans over the pacific called Mystic Overhang. the town is full of mysterious happenings and unexplained missing persons and something downright evil is going on under their noses..but more on that another time ha ha. the story takes place in 1989. and i just realized this is basically just IT but i didn’t exactly mean for that…they definitely are not plagued by a killer clown.

Church Shelton (my oc) is 17/18. His mom had him too young and didn’t want to have to raised him, frankly, so she ended up leaving him on the stairs of a synagogue. His biological family is Jewish even though Church doesn’t grow up with religion and didn’t even know he was Jewish, because Josiah (Jo), tristan’s oc, was about 2 years old when he and his mom came by and saw a baby crying on the steps and the boy wanted to keep him and name him Church because he thought it was a regular christian church and… it’s cute. And through a ton of convincing and considerations, his mom agrees to care for Church and adopt him. Its a simplistic way of putting it, but there’s a lot that goes into it. He and Jo grow up as brothers and Jo takes such good care of him (: sometimes he has to be a parent to Church even though he’s only two years older, especially when their mom gets UHHH murdered during a robbery in their own house… ……….and they come home and find her at about 12 and 10 years old and Jo makes the decision that they’re not going to tell anyone and risk him living with his father and Church being placed in foster care. so they run away and become street kids for 4 years. When they’re older, 14 and 16, they get caught for stealing when they weren’t careful enough and the social workers put them in foster care, seeing as Jo’s dad is very unfit. They stay there until Jo aged out at 18 and got guardianship of Church after getting them a place to live, that’s a long complex process as well… and was obligated to care for him and provide income and stuff and they live together, just them two in a trailer, for awhile.

Church’s whole thing is that he loves to read and write. He reads so many books and he’s not great at first and is in remedial classes, but then he advances a shit ton with how hard he tries and how much he wants his love for English to succeed. Uh he has narcolepsy!!! Meaning he has a lot of daytime sleepiness, falls asleep frequently in the day and has bad insomnia at night and this hinders him a lot. In some cases his narcolepsy comes with cataplexy, this is when he has muscle weakness/paralysis caused by strong emotion like excitement and laugher. His brother Jo helps him a lot through that. I theorize that it happened because of a natural immune issue he has, which was most prevalent when they were living on the streets.

Church is really funny and sweet and sarcastic. He’s such a cute boy and everyone in their town LOVES him just cause he’s so charming. he gets really cynical and depressed sometimes and can be mean when he wants to be, however and it’s his biggest downfall. He’s a bit of pyro he loves to set shit on fire. Oh, and he has a southern accent (: he loves to eat too, he’s always down for snacks. He’s bisexual but he doesn’t really call it that, he doesn’t take much note of his own sexuality, he does what he does. He works at an amusement park most of the time and has to put up with Jo constantly coming to his work when he gets lonely and riding the roller coaster he’s operating. Then when he graduates he goes to University of Oregon and has a bit of a big depressive self destructive path he follows and ends up overdosing on drugs on what of his partying nights, he self harms by being uncaring and his many intrusive thoughts about his mother dying and his huge fear of not seeing the world and being too dumb and poor to get an opportunity to really live. He’s put in the hospital and goes to rehab and Jo is there with him every step of the way. He’s so sweet and caring and worries about him but Church is a little belligerent sometimes. He wants to get better and be better for everyone and himself, and he does through a long emotional school break. He doesn’t end up going to his previous college again but he transfers and gets in the Columbia in new york for his English degree (: he lives in an apartment with his boyfriend Mason.

Church is white, 5′7 and he’s stout and chubby. He’s got green eyes, freckles, a piggy nose, big sunburnt cheeks, and auburn hair, mostly shaved into a curly mohawk. and he got a fat ass and killer thighs.

His beautiful big dumb brother Jo Shelton (tristan’s oc) has a story that is obviously parallel to church’s, but i think it’s important to mention that he’s kinda slow, slow thinkin’ and a bit hyper…and an asshole to everyone but the ones he really loves like church, he’s as sweet as he can be with him. he loves working on cars and he has a beautiful truck that he put a lot of work into..that is until he crashed it horribly while drunk driving after he got into a fight with church when church was in the hospital recovering from his overdose. and he got mild temporary brain damage… so…and then had to spend 6 months in jail for a DUI. that really fuck him up for a good while! and that’s a huge dent in their lives.

but anyway lol… he also loves to meet chicks and do speed dating.. and he hooks up with a wide variety of girls, he’s not picky at all and doesn’t believe in types, he just loves dominant women. he does have one important stable girlfriend for awhile named Rosa that he met at his grocery store job! he spilled spaghetti sauce on her white shoes (: and they were truly in love and dated for 3 years until it became dangerous for her to be with him because one of her weird ass fuckinnnn dangerous ex boyfriends got out of prison and she didnt think he would be safe if they remained together and it’s devastating for him and hinder him for a good while. he kinda fills that void by becoming a big brother figure to church’s biological sister Jude, who is 12 and in need of good old fashion josiah guidance. jo has that natural dumb dad vibe to him. (by the way..church’s mother reenters church’s life very briefly and that’s why jude and church meet and jude eventually lives locally to the boys because she moves in with Her real dad.) Later jo works at a mechanic shop and his ultimate goal is to open his own! uh also haha important detail..jo struggles with his sexuality and on the low meets up with dudes in alleys and lets them smash cause he’s a big bottom so. and he has sorta of thing for someone he met in the mess of foster care, just one of the kids he hung out with in passing, and his names Riley and they meet up later on when they’re older and fuck around a bit.

jo is 6′3 and he has golden honey hair and blue eyes and he’s freckly and has some beauty marks on his face. he’s pretty darn hairy..and he kinda smells. he’s a real country bo. he’s super skinny and hes got huuuge hands!

here’s jo and church (:

Mason Uley (mine), Church’s boyfriend, doesn’t meet church until he’s 22 and Mason is 13, and is a rich boy who’s siblings all died in one way or another…JDBSJD he’s the only child left and he is very neglected by his parents because of their coldness and grief and little regard for caring for their last kid. They’re never home and they ignore him completely which leaves him in search for attention in all sorts of wrong ways and he acts out. He does motocross at the local track. He loves rap music and is very embarrassing about it considering he’s very white..he loves flexin’ with that name brand clothing and shoes and wears skate shirts even though he doesnt skate which is a big smelly whatever but in general he’s a big poser. but its fine because we love him and its apart of his charm. He has a slight limp because at 13 he shattered his ankle and it never healed right. He loves Church very much and they’re SUPERR gross and lovey, their dynamic is so adorable, as you can imagine his goofy ass and church’s more dry sarcasm. He wants to be an architect and goes to college for that at Columbia later. He’s smart and has a very dry kind of humor and he hates Jo until he’s forced not to because of their mutual love for Church. He’s 1000% gay. He has blond hair and he looks like a 90s heart throb and Jo affectionately calls him “faggot” more than his name.

i dont have a Current drawing of mason all i got are old ones that tristan doesnt really like l o l

Okay……….. and then there’s Lewis. he’s 18. His full name is Aloysius St. Lawrence (AL oh wish iss) (mine), and he grew up in a deeply religious cult in northern California where many Horrible things happened to him that I’ll spare the details on but he’s a very traumatized boy and i thinkg about the complexity of him trying to come to grips with it and learning how to live with the immense pain he was dealt with! so. it’s really fun.

he was born with a sorta Purpose, his dads family started this commune, and the dad wasnt at fault, he’s not malicious he’s really sweet and a bit slow and is often mistreated, he’s forced to have relations with lewis’ mom, who was sort of a nomadic runaway girl perfect for procreation after she got caught in the entanglement of this commune business in california. theyre both really young when they have lewis and his twin sister, lewis being prime because he’s the Male. lewis grew up believing all kids in the commune were his siblings and so he never realized the one girl he’d see all the time was his biological sister. so bascially they take lewis from the mom, say he’s not only her child but the communities child, just how it is with all kids, and she betrays the commune in a way i havent figured out and goes beserk because obviously everyone there is insane and shes exiled and lewis, all the while has no idea shes his mother. so great childhood… full of hard labor and sleeping in a room with rows of beds and dreaming about a woman and not knowing why, not knowing its because shes your mom (: haha

In 6th grade he’s finally allowed to go to a school with other boys because before this he was homeschooled and his world was reduced to the confinements of his commune. He goes to a spooky and prestigious boarding school in southern Oregon and wears a uniform. The place is really huge and brick and creepy but it feels like paradise with this freedom he finally gets to some extent and he’s learning how to function as a regular boy, although he finds it kind of impossible.

CHRIS!!!!! Is his roommate at this boarding school in 6th grade. Chris is a very goofy lovesick boy who believes heavily in the energies of the earth and charging his crystals his hippie mother gave him and he paints his nails black and pushes the rules of the dress code every single day and tends to break it completely. He’s a punk who loves to piss adults off. He was forced to go there by his very strict abusive father and there he meets sweet sweet Lewis (:

Lewis has never had a friend like Chris and he doesn’t know how to successfully keep one and it’s a really stressful emotional cycle of enduring the weekends at the commune and coming back to school and to Chris amongst all the happy boys that lead mostly normal lives. Chris sort of realizes that he has feelings for boys in this time and has strange urges to hold Lewis’ hand and kiss him and stuff, but he refuses to truly acknowledge his feelings about who he is. but he does, in fact, hold his hand and Lewis lets him and they’ll just hang out for hours in their room holding hands and talking about silly stuff. They come to be really close and mean a lot to each other, chris invite him over to his house on the weekends and lewis sneaks off with him, risking being punished because he didn’t go back with one of the Father’s or Brother’s of his commune. Chris and lewis are very adorable and they play with makeup together in chris’s room and eat snacks and explore mystic overhang and chris teaches him about the ways of modern life. in 7th grade they grow apart when they don’t share a room or anymore and Chris gets involved with different people, starts smoking weed and eventually gets with a guy in 8th grade hhhh… and Lewis focuses really hard in class and it’s sorta the end of that.

When chris gets expelled in 8th grade they don’t see each other anymore, the only departing thing being chris’s journal that he gave to lewis before he was escorted off the premises, and in it is filled with entries about him. this journal was taken and destroyed at his commune by one of the Fathers when it was found, though :/ so yes, Lewis goes back to the commune because they plan on keeping him homeschooled for high school but there’s a group of 5 kids and 3 men from the commune that are heading to Nebraska around the time he’s 16, and they force lewis to be the 6th child that accompanies them in their trip. once there, he’s kept in a creepy abandoned house, hardly set up for living in and he’s living with these other children, like an odd family that has to function around one another, him being the oldest of “siblings”. he finds out eventually that they’re there for a weird ritual/sacrifice thing.. probably the most horror-ish horror element i developed for him thus far, its frankly insane and disturbing and theres a lot of layers and rituals they must do and humiliating tasks they must do all for a Grander godly purpose. the sole purpose of it is to reach ultimate redemption in heaven after a sinful life ahahahaa.. so basically the whole time they’re there, they’re trying to accumulate sin by being unloving, disciplinary, neglectful, …uhh…and lewis kept in a dark room, only candles and daylight light the house and they’re severely mistreated and malnourished. Lewis runs away at 18…but, through constant mistreatments of his body he ends up having gangrene in his left leg and has to have it amputated above the knee by a doctor he meets whom he has to give a Favor to as payment because he doesnt have money. and he gets a real shitty wooden prosthetic that isn’t comfortable at all and its not healing right, it’s a bit botched actually.. and he has crutches and that’s how he gets around. He goes back to Oregon to the town Mystic Overhang that Chris is from because remembers the town name vaguely, not even who said it or when he heard it, but he goes there because he doesn’t know many towns, so he decides to settle there and he makes a living prostituting for awhile at an area called Mouth’s Edge. he sees Chris again when Chris pays him for a bj l o l. and Chris recognizes him even though chris is coked out of his mind because he had a really rough night and got his shit kicked in by his dad… and Lewis almost shits himself because someone from his past is back and he’s really paranoid and weird about it cause he just blew one of his only friends he used to have. and he wants Chris to fuck off, but eventually Chris keeps coming back just to talk to him and see what he’s been up to and stuff, cause he still feels this familiar need to protect Lewis that he had back in middle school. He’s very consistent about seeing him and does every single night even when Lewis is working. lewis’ love for him comes gradually, even through chris is in love with him pretty much instantly. It takes a long time for Lewis to want to be touched and held but he lets people do it anyway, including chris, it’s an unhealthy thing he obviously needs therapy ha ha. they don’t officially date until an entire year later

lewis is very sweet boy he’s shy and he has trouble making eye contact. He’s really smart and loves to paint! That’s what he wants to do with life. He’s not gay per se, he doesn’t really feel much romantically unless someone, anyone is kind to him and patient and reeeeeeeally really consistent or else he would probably never fall in love, but any gender has the potential with him. He loves 40s-80s music so much and dances to it really dorky when he thinks no one is looking and Chris has sooooo many records. he loves to rollerskate! and he’s really good at it. he’s pretty damn masculine, more so than chris. and he’s strong (: and he wears ugly clothes that he finds in dumpsters. eventually he gets enrolled in college for art and sees a therapist he grows to love like a dad to be honest.. lewis he dyes his hair a lot (: it’s naturally golden but at first when he’s prostituting its short and purple and then grows out very long and then he cuts it a lil and dyes it pink..orange..etc etc. he’s a hard worker and he gets a job at the Junkyard where he meets his best friend Cody (:

This is Lewis :) he’s white, 5′4 and he’s soft but strong and handsome and he’s got golden eyes and hair and he’s sweet n freckly.

Chris Russell (tristan’s) is 19… chris is greek and pakistani from his dad and white italian from his mom. he grew up an only child with them in an upper middle class environment because his dad … i don’t even know the legit title but he buys and sells properties for a fancy shmancy company. his mom is just a kindergarten teacher and that’s not a killer wage but. he’s very close to his mom he loves her to pieces, she’s a big stoner hippie (:. his dad on the other hand has always been really disciplinary and cold towards Chris, his dad is straight up abusive though, so there’s no excuses being made for him, but at first he didn’t do it just because he felt like it. he was just raised learning that it was the only effective way to discipline your kid and that it was the dynamic that Worked the best. Chris is a little problem child though, and not so much when he was a kid! he was so sweet and all he wanted to do was wear his mom’s makeup and clothes. he wore clips in his curly hair and pretty skirts and he loved music and being a mama’s boy and he loved her cooking. he loved reading and writing. but he was still abused by his dad, especially for his natural femininity. and as Chris got older he was such a rebel. he’s a mouthy, snarky, blunt little shit that never behaved or was cowered into doing things as his dad wanted. it wasn’t like he wasn’t afraid to get hit or anything but he didn’t show it and constantly provoked it. that’s in his teen years though especially

chris goes in and out of depression and mania constantly after middle school. he’s doing drugs, just weed at first but he’s always always high and he’s a big loner until he meets his Boys in 10th grade (: mikael ben and kylo. his parents divorce when he’s 15. he tries to convince himself he’s not gay and he gets with a girl but the ordeal is humiliating and she spreads the rumor that he was so bad at fingering her and touching her boobies that he must be Gay and so he retaliates by making photo copies of her nude pictures and spreading them. chris has questionable morality. you GOTTA know that about him.. he has problems and he can straight up not be a good person sometimes but overall he really is one and we be loving him or whatever. and he evens out in his 20′s and 30′s so it’s fine. HFSFSS but yeah! after awhile it’s sorta easy just to come out, and then he gets cocky and his gayness bleeds through everything he does. he starts dressing more effeminate again and he fucks around with a lotta guys and is really stupid about his recklessness. he gets into cocaine and gets so fucked up he doesn’t know who he’s banging half the time he just parties and is a big smelly butthead. and around the AIDS crisis no less… dumb ass. by some miracle he doesn’t catch anything or get anything so… this all happens, the worst of it anyway, when he’s 18 and stuff after he has this weird hook up relationship with Mikael his friend and our other OC hsdhbsd. and then he kinda just Takes himself off it after he bumps into Lewis again and goes through his withdrawals and smokes a ton of weed, i mean he’ll never quit that, its fine.

he loves to skateboard! he loves reading and writing. he aces his english classes and was in AP his whole life in that subject. he’s a big debater and critical thinker in those classes and the teachers love him and hate him for that. he writes in his journals constantly and he wants to be a writer someday.. he loves drag. he has a whole persona. her name is Crystal Balls. he’s really fuckin good at it too, he’s good at makeup and tucking and dressing up and caring for his wigs. he’s a big major faggot. he’s a top! even though everyone in the world does not think he is (: he’s a big top. and he can be masculine when he wants. he has masculine body language and a manly voice and he’s a big stoner skater but he can turn on that faggotry whenever he wants and its especially apparent in his Crystal persona. he plays piano and is very good at it (: he’s bipolar clinically but does not take meds (: he self harms as a result of his polarizing emotions and his home life. he’s the horniest emo anyone will ever meet and legit is addicted to feel-good stuff and has a really addictive personality in general. so weed, food, sex, Lewis, etc. he’s really insecure and he thinks he is BUTT ugly but high key he’s the hottest OC either of us have like he’s just gorgeous that’s all there is to it. and he’ll go back and forth from Damn im fuckin hot to holy fuck i look like my dad i want to wear a ski mask everywhere. its mostly the latter though (: he hates his dad and hates that he looks so much like him. the only thing he likes about himself is his big dick and his legs that are straight up chick legs

here’s chris heh

Cody Glorymoon (mine), Lewis’ best friend, is 20 and she’s very pretty and she has delicate features but she’s big tomboy and works for her dad at the junkyard. she’s a ginger and she’s very tall and slim and she’s a little rough and cynical but she’s super soft and loving and smart. and she cares for lewis so much that she’s a little in love with him at one point and it hurts her to be that way because she’s having her own sexuality and identity crisis and shes knows they can’t be together. she hates chris…because the girl chris used to date and spread her nudes was her sister and she’s extremely protective of her sister because they grew up very close and had traumatic experiences being put through frequent pageant shows and training as little girls? their mom was a piece of shit and eventually dumped them on their dad who previously was kept away from them. she also, in general, just doesn’t like chris and his personality. he’s a huge douche to her. until she softens for him in later years when she sees him a lot because he’s her best friend’s boyfriend. chris actually needs her help pretending to be his girlfriend in order to please his dad and keep him off his back so he can see lewis on the low… and she does it because she’s the only girl he knows that tolerates him enough and would do it for him and she comes over for dinner and other events hsdfjsdf its really funny watching chris pretend to like her. they grow closer this way and become real friends even though they always have this love/hate dynamic.

heres cody and cody giving lewis a smoochie

here’s some gay and lesbian solidarity between chris and cody

Mikael Taylor (tristan’s) is 19 and one of the boys in Chris and Lewis’s friend group. He’s a foster kid who has really long hair and smokes too much weed because if he doesn’t his adhd gets the best of him. He and church have an on and off thing for quite a while until they break up and church moves away and gets with mason, although mikael is sort of crazy in love with church whether he likes to admit it or not, he’s always sorta waiting for him and mason to be Done even though it takes a long ass time, he really misses his opportunity with him the beginning. He likes to fuck and be with all kinds of different people, though, and commitment is definitely a fear of his (hence the on and off thing with church). He’s really sweet though and he loves lewis to death. Hes funny and outgoing and cool and Everyone likes him. Everyone. He’s got a cool septum piercing and one of those gum piercings right under the lip as well. He’s also huge gauged ears and he wears a beanie and hawaiian shirts with dad shorts and socks and sandals (which are like the only shoes he owns). He’s half native american and half caucasian, he sleeps a lot and he has a huge thing for milfs. (chris and ben’s moms especially)

mikael is 6′4, and pretty lean and has got some muscles. he’s got sharper features and he has green eyes and gross facial hair wispies

Benjamin Jacobs (tristan’s) is 19 and is another one of the boys from the friend group. He’s a big, heavy jock who really enjoys theatre and foootball. He’s from up north, so he has an accent thats quite strong and pretty cliche. He’s got pretty short blonde hair and freckles spread across his soft cheeks. He’s quite angry most of the time and he can be very loud, especially with chris whenever chris is being himself and annoying the shit out of him. He does have a temper but he tries his best to control it around lewis. Oh yeah and he also loves lewis a lot (: he lives in a really nice suburban neighborhood and his home is loudly occupied with his mother, dawn, who is your classic 80’s rhode island mom complete with the big poofy curls and the hoop earrings, and his two brothers and one sister. He has a man cave which is the entire home basement that he and the boys all hang out in 24/7, filled with beanbags a television, a pool table and a blow up doll named Patrisha that chris drew a penis on. Again, he hates chris. ALSO he’s in love with kylo’s sister named Leslies and he pines for her 24/7

ben is big chubby and blond, he’s 6′1 and hes so hot i think he’s so hot bro. he’s juicy he’s a thick quarterback with blue eyes

Kylo Cavillo (tristan’s) is the last member of the boys group. Kylo is a sweet Hispanic boy with vitiligo who has a hard time expressing himself. He’s very excitable and he falls in love with people very easily… he has this weird crush/obsession with chris that’s not talked about within the group much but it can be more than obvious at times even though he denies that he’s gay. He and lewis get along very well and he loves him a lot, they both were deprived of a lot of the modern things like certain tv shows and games and phrases and ways of doing things so they’re able to bond on that fact. Kylo lives at home with his mother and father, who is a big part of the Mystic Overhang Tiburón’s (a gang) and he owns their family restaurant called El Baño HHHDSF which kylo comes to take over himself when he’s older. He has three sisters and he is the youngest of all siblings, so he grew up with girls his entire life and definitely has some femininity to him. He’s very sweet and innocent, though, and means well with all his endeavors. He likes to grease his jet black hair back and wear gold chains with his baseball jerseys and blue jeans. OH he also has epileptic seizures and it’s very scary but mikael knows well how to deal and handle them when they happen because he has experience both with his foster siblings and kylo himself because mikael knew him the longest!

and here’s mister kylo, he is very small about 5′1 and skinny, he has big pretty expressive brown eyes and lil cute mustache and unibrow (:

#ocs #lewis #church #chris #mason #jo #abuse #self harm #drugs #cody #kylo #mikael #ben

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allofbeercom · 6 years

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Violence in Capitol Hill: is this the end of the line for Seattle’s gay neighborhood?

In response to the recent spate of LGBT hate crimes, residents are pushing back against the influx of tech bros who are displacing and harming the community

It was barely 10 minutesinto 2014 when smoke began to float towards the ceiling in Neighbors, a Seattle LGBT nightclub where around 750 people partied to welcome the new year. Empty glasses of champagne began to pile in trash cans around the dance floor.

As the stairwell fire started, alcohol-infused club goers continued partying as the music played on. It was at that point that Steve Tracy, the clubs general manager for over 20 years, smelled the smoke.

As the club was evacuated by Tracy and his staff, the party-goers still didnt realize what went on. They were pushed into an alley near the intersection of Pike and Broadway in the traditionally LGBT neighborhood of Capitol Hill. Thankfully, no one was hurt.

Musab Masmari, the man who had jumped a fence to enter the club with a gasoline canister to start the fire, now faces 10 years in prison.

This type of incident would become emblematic of a climate change already in progress within the LGBT neighborhood. Since 1 January 2014, there have been more than 200 reported bias incidents in Seattle, including a double homicide involving two gay men and a second fire-attempt at the nightclub all disproportionately targeting LGBT people. The latest report for the first half of 2015 showed a 56% increase compared with 2014, according to the Seattle police department.

Long-term Capitol Hill residents dont know how to stop this influx of violence. But for some, the culprits are easily identifiable: tech bros.

My husband Michael and I were recently out on a Saturday night and were walking around the Pine/Pike Corridor, Mayor Ed Murray, the citys first openly gay mayor, said sitting his office one recent afternoon. And we looked at each other and said: my God, what happened to the gays? Literally, who are all of these straight people in our neighborhood?

These straight people the mayor refers to are part of the influx of tech workers who have flooded the city since the opening of major campuses and offices in the area close to Capitol Hill.

Although Seattle is one of the gayest city in America recently released census data shows the city of Seattle saw a 52% increase in same-sex couples from 2010 to 2012 the Capitol Hill neighborhood saw a 23% decline of LGBT people living there during the same period. Meanwhile, rents have also gone up by more than 33%, according to Zillow.

As new glass and steel condos are sprouting across the skyline, many LGBT people fear to walk down streets they used to call their own. So theyve begun to push back.

John Cristicellos artwork. Photograph: Conor MacBride

The artist John Cristicello, one of the many LGBT people against this dwindling of queer in the area, sits atop a magazine stand outside his art studio, arms covered in tattoos. His artwork is now infamous the area. One of his pieces states: We came here to get away from you. Another shows a tech bro in a hat, holding a beer and stating: No faggots better look at me. Cristicello explained: I saw that guy. I heard him say that. And I was like, why are you even fucking here if you dont want faggots to look at you?

My art is a declaration to interlopers in the neighborhood like, dont fuck with us, Cristicello explains. It wasnt me trying to fix anything, but hold a mirror up.

Above him is a large painting in progress showing the iconic Space Needle on fire.

In fall 2014, openly gay police officer Jim Ritter, the LGBT liaison for Seattle police department, began receiving phone calls asking the same question: Why is there such explosive growth of hate crimes in Seattle?

I [remember pulling] the statistics for the previous year and not seeing any explosive growth, Ritter recalls. But he would then ask: Why do you think there is such explosive growth?

Callers would then spout off names of friends they knew were attacked, or the name of intersections where they knew bias violence had occurred. Ritter quickly realized that none of these had been reported to the police.

Oh, boy, Ritter remembers thinking. We have a problem here.

Victims had compelling reasons for not doing so. I am not out yet. I was intoxicated. I didnt think the police would do anything, Ritters said. A lot of people were listening to the rhetoric around the country at the time to not trust the police, he added, referring to the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson.

To address this issue, Seattles Safe Place program began taking shape and eventually launched in May 2015. The program trains business owners on how to respond to bias incidents specifically LGBT ones if and when they happen around their business. It already includes 1,000 businesses displaying rainbow shields on front doors, including every Starbucks in the city.

Thanks to this gesture, LGBT people in Seattle now know they can enter that business if attacked and that owners will not hold any LGBT bias, allow them to call 911 and use their business as a safe place to hide until emergency responders can arrive.

Ritters feels its working. This past weekend, three people were attacked and reported the LGBT bias incident at a business with the rainbow shield stating Safe Place stuck on the front window.

Shaun Knittel, the founder of Social Outreach Seattle, has been of the most visible leaders in stopping the violence. As Knittel grew concerned about reports of violent assaults after the fire at Neighbors, he decided to launch a shuttle service to help people get home safely after a night out. The shuttle is an old van that he has painted pink and has the number to call for a ride displayed on the sides. Since it launched in March 2015, the shuttle has driven more than 700 people home.

We sometimes beat the police there and have to help the victims, even taking them to the hospital sometimes, Knittel says when discussing the weekends the service is provided. And that gives us a chance to talk to them and get them to report the incident, so its documented by the police.

But even with the success of this service, many still do not report hate crimes targeting the most vulnerable people within Seattles LGBT community.

Most of the people I know who are victims of hate crimes in the past few months are all trans women, says Jackie Sandberg, a hate crimes survivor in the area and leader with a local LGBT homeless group.

Sandberg, who works with many of the transgender and queer homeless people, believes they are probably targeted the most, but will not report to police because they are homeless, have prior arrests or just fear the police.

Sandberg, who has faced homelessness and has once been attacked by a couple who used a skateboard as a weapon, is part of a growing group of LGBT people in Seattle who believe these new efforts only protect well-off Capitol Hill residents.

I dont think queer people feel any more comfortable reporting the hate crimes now, Sandberg said in regards to the shuttle service and the police working intentionally on this issue. I think its more of an attempt by SPD [Seattle police department] to endear themselves to the more privileged white, higher-income queers that are [still] moving into the neighborhood.

So life goes on as usual for many.

A couple weeks ago, one of my trans girlfriends was walking up the Hill with her partner and there was a guy walking down the street, Sandberg said, before resuming passing out condoms on the streets of Capitol Hill. And all of a sudden he punches my girlfriend in the chest and then starts threatening her to come at him.

Sandberg says the friends escaped and didnt engage the man. When asked about the assailants appearance, the response is immediate: He seemed like one of those hip party people. Bro type.

The incident was never reported.

from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/violence-in-capitol-hill-is-this-the-end-of-the-line-for-seattles-gay-neighborhood/

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coronalthoughtejection · 8 years

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"probablt allows him to justify his views" my dide fascists and nazis in particular make shit up and lie and pretend its fact to begin with if u dont attack em they wont step down and theyll still have their fucked up views regardless

TL;DR Don’t hit Nazis in the face because it’s morally indefensible, because you’re strengthening their argument, and because you’re alienating people, like me, who would be willing to engage in reasonable debate.

So I’m actually not entirely sure what you’re trying to say, so I’ll answer what I THINK you’re trying to say.

What I think you’re trying to say is that it’s ok to physically assault Nazis because they make up “facts,” and because you might, somehow, make them back down from their ridiculous views through physical intimidation.

Both of these are wrong, but let’s tackle the first one first.

First off, it is ALWAYS morally indefensible to physically attack someone for having different views than you. It has always been wrong and it always will be wrong. There is simply no justification for it.

Not only that, but attacking someone because they’re liars or because they make up “facts” is even worse because you are then dictating what facts are acceptable and what people can believe and what they can’t. After all, we don’t go around punching vegans or flat earthers, no matter how infuriating they are, or how wrong they are. After all, they BELIEVE the propaganda, which means that they’re pushing their views in good faith. It would, essentially, be no different than someone coming up and punching YOU in the face because you sincerely believed that Chihuahuas were just a larger species of rat, or that Donald Trump was a sentient Cheeto, for example. Nazis are no different. With the possible exception of the leadership, these are people who have been deceived, and who now sincerely believe that whites are better than blacks and that men are better than women.

Yes, they’re wrong. Yes, we need to oppose these views. No, physical violence is not the answer.

Why? Because contrary to what you think, assault doesn’t make people “step down.” Especially not these people.

Let’s look at this logically. We have Richard Spencer, who is preaching his erroneous views.

“Blacks are subhuman and violent!” he says. (I actually have no idea if this is actually something he says, and I’m not willing to put in the time to find out)

Then he gets punched in the face.

So what happens? Do you think he hasn’t faced opposition before? Do you think he’s going to back down? From a simple punch?

“Wow. That punch was really scary. I think I’ll abandon my organization and my deeply held views, as well as all of the time and money that I’ve dumped into it.”

Like hell.

He’s gonna double down. He’s gonna make himself into a martyr.

He’s gonna say, “Blacks are subhuman and violent! You know how you can tell? Because one attacked me! Violence is inherent in their culture! We need laws to protect us against their violent natures!”

In fact, this is what the alt-right is already doing.

Here’s a video of our Fürer and his response to the attacks. Notice how he’s branding the Black Bloc (or however you spell their name) as violent (which, to be frank, they are), and how he’s generating fear on how the Left isn’t going to care if you’re a Nazi or if you’re just a run of the mill Trump supporter, or even a conservative who DIDN’T support Trump.

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So not only do we see him doubling down on his argument, doubling down on his beliefs, but we also see him fearmongering among conservatives (the people most likely to be persuaded by his arguments) that they are now likely to be attacked in the same cowardly manner that he was.

In other words, the two people who sucker punched Richard Spencer have done more for his cause then all of his own campaigning for the last year. Why? Because they’ve given him proof that his opposition is violent, is lawless, is cowardly, and he’s going to use that proof to the fullest extent.

Furthermore, here’s an excerpt from the alt-right’s website:

…I will say that complaining about the “intolerant left” as they are bashing your heads in, setting fires, and smashing windows is probably not going to get you very far. They aren’t really interested in hearing how you are “one of the good Trump supporters” unlike those “bad people” over there, like Richard Spencer. To them, you are equally as deplorable as Richard Spencer. I mean, come on, you did vote for Literally Hitler TM over the almost First Female President, Hillary Clinton… and anyone who voted for Literally Hitler TM is a Nazi too! No amount of reasoning with these degenerates is going to change their minds.

The alt-right has its disagreements with the various personalities in the cultural libertarian movement. However, we are still willing to agree to disagree with you. We are not committing acts of violence against you (the alt-right is the religion of peace!) Meanwhile, le edgy faggot, Milo Yiannopoulos is having his speaking tour interrupted by violent antifa on a semi-regular basis. It’s only a matter of time before someone is seriously harmed at one of his events (oops,too late).

I know this is a lot to ask of the alt-lite but it’s time to snap out of it already. It’s time to drop the rationalist way of looking at the world. That way of thinking is quickly becoming outdated. We are slowly finding ourselves moving closer and closer to civil war. There is already an unspoken civil war taking place as we speak. We see interracial violence in our country on a daily basis.

And guess what.

THEY’RE NOT FUCKING WRONG.

Because, guess what? As a Libertarian, who would I rather debate with? The far left who’s constantly shouting me down, insulting me, attacking me with ad homenims and constantly moving the goalposts, and throwing their hands up in the air and shouting with indignation, “I can’t believe you even have that kind of view! This is 2017!”, and even has the potential to violently assault me?

Or would I rathe debate with someone who, though I intensely disagree with on nearly every level, but at least treats me like a human being and is willing to debate me with actual facts and common decency?

Now, to be fair, all of my left leaning friends have been a pleasure to debate with, and I say this quite honestly. They have good arguments, they are reasonable, they will listen and even sometimes change their point of view as a result of our discussion. I try to be the same way.

But then I look at the news and I see all these “antifa” and self proclaimed commies and far leftists who’re rioting and attacking people, and I start to think that maybe my friends are in the minority.

#politics #i'll probably regret this #nazis #and the punching thereof in the face

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sonnefur · 7 years

Text

I am going to cry

I’ve found the first hard evidence that my religion has been coopted by... troubling people. They’re bigoted, sexist, misogynistic, homophobic, anti-semitic hateful people. Nationalists. Presumably white.

I feel... sick to my stomach. My heart hurts. I’m afraid. I’m so afraid.

Content warnings for homophobia, misogyny, xenophobia, so much hate.

I’ll admit I started off kind of snippy, but then horror. I didn’t have the will to be snippy any more.

You both like paganism, and pagan.

Stranger: hey you

Stranger: you need to come to terms with reality

You: huh?

Stranger: there is nothing wrong with traditional patriarchal norms

Stranger: nor is there anything wrong with a masculine dominated polytheistic ethos

You: ill disagree with you there

You: probably because youve never been hurt by the patriarchy

You: but these things happen

Stranger: patriarchy will return

Stranger: no but it's okay to hurt people who aren't hetero males

You: unfortunately its never really left

Stranger: they are actually problematic

Stranger: it isn't strong enough

Stranger: we need full patriarchy

Stranger: not just implicit

You: im sorry you feel that way

Stranger: i am sorry but you have no right to tell me what to do

Stranger: I am born superior to you

Stranger: We need to bring back those values

You: thats cute but no

Stranger: you only exist like this because of the law

You: i exist as i choose to exist

Stranger: what if the law made you legally effectively a 3rd class slave?

You: thats all

Stranger: no you don't

Stranger: you have no rights

Stranger: you fucking faggot

Stranger: you owe me respect

Stranger: I am sick of having to live in this stupid monotheist nation

You: respect is earned not owed

Stranger: it is earned only by men

Stranger: never by faggots

You: cute but youre wrong again

Stranger: you're brainwashed by egalitarianism

Stranger: why does equality make sense at all?

Stranger: equality is a bad thing

You: and youre obsessed with your dick

Stranger: no

You: yeah

Stranger: masculinity is about chromosomes and testosterone

You: and your rage boner because you think your rights are being impinged upon

You: women have testosterone

Stranger: not as much

You: everyone has testosterone

Stranger: not even close to as much

Stranger: women are stupid trash

You: tell that to women with pcos

Stranger: look, the idea of love is another stupid idea

Stranger: any man who loves a woman or another man, romantically, is just a tool

Stranger: that shit is shameful garbage

Stranger: we need to bring back the roman value of gravitas

You: sounds like someone is bitter

You: hm

Stranger: i simply want to rule

You: solemnity?

Stranger: i want a new roman empire

You: you dont seem particularly solemn

You: i stand by my observation of the rageboner

Stranger: we need a class of highly selected highly intelligent males who can wield power

Stranger: no sissy talk

Stranger: you're just a fucking faggot who thinks he has any say in the world

You: wrong on two counts

Stranger: protip faggot: you shouldn't

You: You know who liked men?

Stranger: pure patriarchal power will return with brutality

You: Roman men

You: And Hellenic men

Stranger: actually romans considered the men who were penetrated low status

Stranger: and guess what freak

You: More rageboners?

Stranger: by the 3rd century roman culture had come to consider homosexuality a bad thing

You: Sources?

Stranger: the medieval world was roman-esque in culture, largely, and was homophobic

Stranger: homophobia was a step forward in civilization

You: Sources?

Stranger: we must revive romanitas

Stranger: oh my god faggot

Stranger: this shit is basic

Stranger: KNOWLEDGE

Stranger: you fucking FREAK

You: I'm quite familiar with Roman and medieval history

You: I'd like your sources

Stranger: this is incredibly basic, what am I wrong about?

Stranger: please, tell me anything I'm not accurate about

You: So you're saying you have none

Stranger: you're insane

You: No sources?

You: That's unfortunate

Stranger: you don't have sources for telling me caesar got assasinated either

Stranger: you dumb fag

Stranger: it's called common knowledge

Stranger: you're feigning ignorance to spread your aids

You: Not necessarily

Stranger: you filthy faggot freak

You: Maybe you should get the rageboner looked at

You: An erection lasting so long can't be good for you

Stranger: maybe you can go google if it's livy, or suetonius

Stranger: or someone else

You: Priapism is not healthy

You: Maybe it's Livy or Suetonius?

You: That's not a source

Stranger: you're very focused on erections, faggot

Stranger: maybe is maybe

Stranger: you don't fucking know either

You: And you're very focused on men who love men

Stranger: god you fucking pathetic sicko

You: How does it harm you, when a man loves another man?

Stranger: look, homosexuals are fine as long as they do their shit in private and hide it out of shame

Stranger: stay the fuck away from normal society and children

Stranger: and maybe your extra nice relatives won't throw you to the dogs

Stranger: maybe

Stranger: that's returning

Stranger: you'll see

Stranger: you think it's not? you're nuts

You: I'm curious

You: If homosexuality is fine, why bring up 'faggot' as a constant pejorative?

Stranger: I've been part of a nationalist pagan revivalist group since 2015

Stranger: we revive graeco-roman mores and religion

You: Oh?

Stranger: and by the way a more highly romanized form of christianity is acceptable

You: What's it called?

Stranger: but we must actually revive the empire itself

Stranger: i'd rather not tell you, you could easily use that info to find my real name and location

Stranger: it's all very public

Stranger: so no, I can't reveal that

Stranger: just know that the roman revival is coming

You: I have better things to do than try and look up some random person on the internet

Stranger: people think paganism is all viking fans

Stranger: we're here to bring back the romano-greek pantheon

You: Interesting

Stranger: and by the way the men of the iliad would strike you down just for being the sissy that you are

Stranger: sure the archaic classical world accepted homosexuality

You: Unlikely

Stranger: but they later came to revile it

Stranger: by the time of neoplatonism, homosexuality was reviled

You: Proper guest-host relations were very important to the Hellenes

Stranger: yes, as to the Germans

Stranger: common cultural traits

You: It would be a violation of xenia for me to be stricken down for simply existing and asking for hospitality

Stranger: Greeks were still barbaric until the 3rd/4th century

Stranger: Romans held onto some barbaric views allowing pederasty too

You: Incidentally, a massive violation of xenia was the cause of the Trojan war

Stranger: anything but normal male/female relations that can potentially produce offspring

Stranger: is evil

Stranger: and by the way there is no such thing as rape in marriage

Stranger: the woman belongs to the an in a state of marriage, sans abuse or beating

Stranger: my tribe believes strongly in this principle

Stranger: we raise our girls and our members to reject these post-christian ideas

Stranger: post-christian ideas like the individual who wants to divorce is more important than the collective of the married couple

You: Despite the fact that the Romans permitted divorce?

Stranger: but it was greatly limited

Stranger: also the early julian emperors heavily encouraged popular fertility

Stranger: high fecundity is a primary value of my group

Stranger: we see that christianity largely took over due to high fecundity

Stranger: it's up to us to trust in the Dei (Gods)

Stranger: and produce many, many offspring

Stranger: we need to carry forward the classical spirit

Stranger: and none of that included equality for women, foreign scum or perverts

Stranger: sorry but you are just tolerated as long as you lay down and shut up

Stranger: people like you make me deeply sick

Stranger: if your values are post 1800 then you really deserve to be flogged

Stranger: we need strong, primary, ancient values

You: Interesting idea of 'foreign'

Stranger: yes

Stranger: foreigners are 2nd class in any society

Stranger: that's only right

You: Who is a foreigner?

Stranger: non-Americans

Stranger: those who speak no English

You: Anyone can learn English

Stranger: yes

Stranger: they can assimilate

Stranger: but too any foreigners coming in too quickly can dilute a culture

Stranger: look at what happened to Dacia, you ignorant cumbucket

Stranger: educate yourself!

You: What are you afraid of losing?

Stranger: I'm not going down your rabbit hole, cocksucker

Stranger: you know very well why people naturally oppose foreign incursion

Stranger: the same reason the Gauls resisted Rome

You: I'm afraid I can't really agree.

Stranger: these basic universally applicable concepts are easily understood

Stranger: sorry, but you are just stupid or dishonest

Stranger: more likely the latter

You: Ah, not everyone who shares your opinions is stupid and uneducated, I see.

Stranger: they are though

Stranger: everyone outside my faith is stupid or uneducated

Stranger: if a smart person is educated properly, they will see it

Stranger: we have the supreme culture

Stranger: the knowledge

Stranger: the whole legacy of greece, rome and the west is ours

You: Is my father a foreigner?

Stranger: the gods chose us to bring back their holy epire

Stranger: he might be

Stranger: empire*

You: He's an immigrant. He's lived here for over fifty years

You: Speaks English, barely remembers his mother tongue

Stranger: where did he come from?

You: He shed blood for this country

You: Italy

You: He also isn't a US citizen

Stranger: well he is welcoe here especially as a son of the Romans

You: Is he a foreigner?

Stranger: not anymore

Stranger: but he should really study platonism, the pantheon, the classics, etc

Stranger: we need to bring the world kicking and screaming into a neopagan future

Stranger: monotheism out

Stranger: but a fresh off the boat disrespectful entitled foreigner needs to be slaughtered or beaten

Stranger: like the Romans slaughtered Celts

Stranger: we honor that

Stranger: the celts who sacked Rome are fine to kill

Stranger: they have no right to live as foreign invader scu

Stranger: m

You: And the people who come here seeking asylum?

Stranger: fuck that

You: Like my maternal family?

Stranger: if you don't benefit us economically, fuck off

Stranger: oh is your mother jewish?

You: Yes

Stranger: so surprised!

Stranger: not

Stranger: jews are a filthy people who brought the world monotheism

Stranger: that was the original evil action that made them cursed

You: I hope you rot for the rest of eternity in Tartarus. Shame on you for twisting the mos, and for twisting history to suit your hateful wishes. May the gods of the infernal realm make it so.

0 notes

viralhottopics · 8 years

Text

Janelle Mone: I am the whole package

Shes a musician whose work has brought her massive acclaim. Shes also an outspoken activist in the Black Lives Matter movement, and now Janelle Mone is in Moonlight, one of the most talked about films of the year

One of Janelle Mones earliest childhood memories is of being hugged by her grandmother, a former sharecropper from Mississippi, and listening to her stories from the past: her years as a cotton picker; how their family came to be in Kansas City; the importance of connection to others. It was there, in her grandmas arms, that a slip of a six-year-old girl decided that one day she would become a storyteller, too. She wrote precocious plays and poems, sang and entered talent competitions that she often won, and gave her mother the winnings to help towards the electricity bill.

Twenty five years later, and Mones an acclaimed musician, record label boss and activist who is about to make her acting debut. Ive never viewed myself as just a musician or singer, she says. Im a storyteller who wants to tell untold, meaningful, universal stories in unforgettable ways. I want to do it all, study it all and find my place in it.

Her first role provides a great opportunity for telling an unforgettable story. Barry Jenkinss Moonlight is the coming-of-age tale of Chiron, an African American boy dealing with his sexuality. Its based on the play In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue by award-winning writer Tarell Alvin McCraney and is all but certain of Oscar nominations when theyre announced on Tuesday. Mone plays Teresa and she and her drug dealer boyfriend Juan become surrogate parents to little Chiron. Mone calls it her Neo from The Matrix moment, explaining that this film, and her recent move into acting, has always been her destiny, that she doesnt believe in coincidence: Things dont just happen, she says. Its all connected.

Its odd to hear her say this, as in person Mone doesnt feel very connected. When we meet she wears huge, round mirrored shades which obscure her face and stay firmly on throughout our interview, reflecting my own face back at me twice over. She sits neatly at the table, her legs curled beneath her. Shes courteous and friendly and businesslike. She chooses her words carefully.

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I had a strong visceral reaction to the Moonlight script, partly because I felt I knew all of these characters, she says. I grew up with a drug dealer like Juan in my neighbourhood who was a mentor to local young people. I had a family member who was addicted to crack, like Paula [Chirons biological mother, played by Naomie Harris]. Chiron himself reminded me of my little cousin they were all characters I could relate to from my upbringing. And Ive played the role of Teresa in real life: my family and friends always have a shoulder to lean on with me, she says.

About 40 minutes into Moonlight, Chiron, sitting at Teresa and Juans table, asks what a faggot is and whether he is one. Theres no music in this scene; Juan doesnt grab a gun and try to blow anyone away. Instead, he gracefully picks the word apart. Its an unexpected reaction.

The misconception is that drug dealers are all monolithic, says Mone, that what you see on TV is how they are in real life. The dealers I knew growing up were hustling and making choices they may not be proud of, but they were also giving back to the community, mentoring young boys and girls, helping people to pay their bills. They can be surrogate mothers and fathers to people in their communities, just like in Moonlight.

Mone grew up in Kansas City with her mother, a janitor, her truck driver stepfather and a sister. Money was tight but her large, devoutly Christian family she has more than 50 first cousins were close. My grandmother had 11 children and although we didnt have a whole lot of money, what we did have was a lot of love, she says. My grandmother was the matriarch. If you didnt have a place to stay, if you needed food, if you were just coming out of jail or rehab, you went to her. Watching her in our family and our wider community was what inspired me and still does.

Doing her sums: in Hidden Figures with Taraji P Henson and Octavia Spencer. Photograph: Allstar/20th Century Fox

Life was tough. There was a lot of nonsense growing up so I reacted by creating my own world, she says. The arts local theatre groups, singing and drama classes gave Mone the drive and focus to finish high school and temporarily work alongside her mother as a maid to save enough money to study at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York.

She then moved to Atlanta, Georgia, after she finished her studies. Shed update her MySpace profile while working at Office Depot to make ends meet, and came to the attention of fellow Atlantan Big Boi of Outkast. They became collaborators and, in 2006, he introduced her to Sean Diddy Combs, who offered her a recording contract. Mone was initially wary of signing her creative control away, but took the chance and it paid off. Diddy was hands off and wanted me to do my thing. Thats why hed offered to sign me in the first place, because I was different and I was the whole package.

For Mone, at 31, with three albums and six Grammy award nominations under her belt, her own record label up and running and two film roles in the pipeline (she also co-stars in the film Hidden Figures, the true story of the African American female mathematicians who helped catapult US astronaut John Glenn into space in the 1960s), 2016 was a year of professional triumphs but personal heartache. She had spent the early part of the year working on new music with her close friend and collaborator, Prince. He was actually helping me with my new music during the time before he transitioned. I was lucky enough to see his last show and tell him how much I loved him. He was a giver people dont know that. He gave so much: advice, very quiet donations to charities. He was a truly incredible soul.

Making her point: on a Black Lives Matter march in San Francisco. Photograph: Breningstall/REX Shutterstock

Still mourning for Prince, Mone was grief-struck a second time last year when, in August, her cousin was killed in a drive-by shooting. The 37-year-old was shot several times when the gunman sprayed bullets into the Kansas City home where she and her three children were sleeping. The gunman remains free. Mone, a long-time advocate of tighter gun control and an active voice in the Black Lives Matter movement pauses, and says quietly: My family is heartbroken and Im still devastated. My cousin was an innocent mother of three children. How? How can this be real life? She continues: We have to do something about gun laws. And we also have to do something about police brutality towards African American people. She points out that they are two different issues, but that we need more allies. People need to continue to speak out about the way African American people are being treated. An injustice to one black man or woman is an injustice to everybody.

Mone has led marches for Black Lives Matter, performed at a concert in aid of the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, alongside Stevie Wonder last year, and released a protest song, Hell You Talmbout, in October in response to the police brutality. Unsurprisingly, she is no fan of Donald Trump. Millennials will not be silenced were the powerhouse now. Were not going to let those who want to make America great again truly take over. Because what Trump means by making America great again is oppressing women, oppressing minorities, creating hate. Were not allowing him to run the world, even though he thinks he is.

I ask her how she feels she can make a difference personally. Mone takes a deep, considered breath and says calmly: Music is my weapon. I wont remain silent. Michelle Obama having been our First Lady for eight years set an example of how we need to be. We need to be visible and we need to be loud. Were not objects. For the first time during the interview, Mone shows more than a crack of emotion not much but enough to know that the sunglasses stay on for a reason.

Moonlight opens in the UK on 17 February