#people weren't meant to work in retail is what I am getting at

[wokeuplaughing]

have spent less than a week working in a restaurant and I am like damn this is so much more fulfilling then retail I think I am going to trade my soul to this mexican restaurant

[slimeywooper]

Labmas AU

Chapter One Part 1 - A Start

Maybe two weeks had passed since a portal, what you later found out was called an Ultra Wormhole, had opened up in your home. Terrified, you cautiously circled it, waiting for whatever may pop out. You certainly weren't going to jump in it yourself. That's when someone came from the other side. A person wearing a ridiculous get up, like some kind of medieval reject. They seemed nervous, but announced they were with Team Plasma and that they were looking to find out more about your world. You were getting ready to hit them with a frying pan when they suddenly sent out a Purrloin. A Purrloin! You've seen them before in a video game…. as crazy as that was to process. You lowered your improvised weapon and decided it would be best to at least listen to what this stranger had to say.

After a short conversation, you were guided through this portal with your new acquaintance to what appeared to be some kind of laboratory. Immediately upon entry, all the heads in the room turned to look at the two of you. A mass of lab coats, interspersed with a few chainmail sporting individuals crowded around you.

"The Ultra Wormhole we opened actually led somewhere! This is phenomenal!" One of the scientists exclaimed. Though you weren't positive he was a scientist, he certainly checked off the criteria of what a stereotypical scientist would wear.

"All right, all right, make some room. We don't want our guest to be overwhelmed. They must have many questions for us." Looking to your left, you saw the source of this new voice. A tall man with blond hair and spectacles. He was also wearing a lab coat, but it looked more formal, like a trench lab coat. As the other people dispersed, he drew closer.

Looking up at him, all you could initially think to ask was "Is that your real hair?"

He seemed taken aback, but smiled. "Of course."

"Even the blue lock?" You added, not sure if he really understood what you were asking.

"Yes. Every hair on my head is, in fact, mine." Smile not faltering from your strange questions, he motioned for you to follow alongside him. As the two of you were heading for the door, he looked over his shoulder, addressing the others. "Go ahead and send a few more grunts through the Ultra Wormhole. They should prioritize contacting government officials." With that, he faced forward once more.

Walking together, you exited the room and entered into a hallway with other doors leading to what you could only assume were rooms meant for different experiments. "Now that we're alone, let me properly introduce myself. I'm Colress, head of the science division of Team Plasma, and its leading geneticist."

You looked up at him awestricken. "Wow, I've never met anyone so smart before!" He beamed, a slight blush forming across his face. "I work in retail, so I usually only come across normal people… That's not to say you aren't normal! Just that---"

"I understand what you are trying to say." He interrupted. "I will take your statement as a great compliment. Thank you." Colress quickly shifted the conversation. "I must ask you if you know the reason you are here, and where 'here' is?" He ended the sentence with a slight tilt to his head.

"Um, well, the guy that appeared in my house said he was from Unova and that he and his team were trying to find other worlds so they can study them." You answered, trying to recall exactly what the young man had said.

"Very good! That is, for the most part, the goal of this excursion Team Plasma is taking part in. Though I'm not directly in charge of the subdivision responsible for the creation of the Ultra Wormholes, I oversee everything the science department of Team Plasma tinkers with, even if it is not in my area of expertise." He readjusted his glasses and excitedly added "I, myself, am much more interested in the pursuit of the perfect Pokemon. If we can manage to manipulate their genetic code so they can become even greater, we could open up a whole new world of possibilities. Not just for Team Plasma, but the entire planet!" He breathed heavily after his hyperactive barrage of words, but quickly composed himself with a single "ahem", moving a fist to cover his mouth.

[lunarsilkscreen]

Retail, Points Programs, and Addiction

For the longest time, humans didn't have a Tobacco addiction. Or drug addictions that weren't immediately solved by the community coming together to stage an intervention.

What Changed?

While Indistrialization is the core reason, there's another reason; and we currently use similar systems today that caused the problem for us in days past.

Points Programs.

Now, Points Programs guarantee free stuff for customers that buy a lot of stuff, but they weren't originally intended for the end user.

Retail and Small Businesses formed with the help of Big Business and Nation Wide retailers with the ability to "Buy In Bulk" so that the retailers could sell to individuals and make some sort of profit, While *also* being rewarded in limited edition merch that could be used in lieue of retailer necessities. Like Storage Shelves, Refrigerators, Appliances, etc...

Effectively propping up mom&pop convenience stores.

Everybody is familiar with the limited edition coke machines, or the Marlboro Tote bags from back in the day, or even the Magic:TCG Reserve list, or limited edition Jordan's or Life Size cardboard cutouts of Ryan Reynolds.

So what happened? Why did this become a problem?

Well, thanks to the post office and the late effects of nationalization of the United States; people learned to get their hands on the bulk sales items.

And because of the incentive to buy more of the limited edition items from the catalog meant for retail stores; people ended up using more.

So what used to be a cigarette a day habit (at the most) became a pack a day habit. What used to be a Budweiser a day habit, became a case a day habit.

And you can see this repeated with nearly anything that had a bulk points program attached to it.

Today, the "points" programs have been given to the end users and *massively* downgraded on points necessary to get a thing; but the system still stands.

Where there's a points program *intended* to be valuable to frequent fliers or early supporters... There's addiction; scalping; and even greed about these points program items.

<aside>I still can't believe I missed out on that Limited Edition Luigi's Mansion figure... I had enough points, I just didn't know it existed until it was too late and there was no stock left!

No I don't have a Gaming Abuse problem Mom.</aside>

This has of course gotten back to getting out of hand with microtransactions in certain games. Of which I may or may not have spent too much of my entertainment budget on the equivalent of Ape.Gif's... but that's neither here nor there.

Certain Games do it well, others not so much. Of th features I enjoy, are basically; in some games: once your caught up with the latest sets, you're basically done unless you're *REALLY* interested in older sets, which barely matters thanks to power creep.

And yes if you're wondering; I am talking about the well known psychological effect known as "FOMO". But; if you're talking about stocks... FOMO is a powerful driver in that circumstance as well. (NFTs+FOMO+Stock, think about it...)

The problem that we're face with today is a loss of personal equity due from psychological stress created by these programs. Purposefully leveraged against the idea of scarcity and investment we're all taught during school.

At Age 18, they say; a $1800 investment should be enough to retire on if you don't touch it until you're old.

But; if everybody is investing into every thing; a method we call "Diversification", which can include popular collectables, limited edition "drops", even stocks and bonds...

Shouldn't at least some of them be paying out in the long run? That's how Diversification works.

Unless of course; those assets are stolen, taken offline by content platforms, or otherwise legal removed from the hands of their owners.

Then that *also* results in a loss of equity. Which we can then blame on *addiction*. Creating a double bond against the consumer. They should've known better than to buy the things they're being psychological and economically leveraged into buying, and they should've also known every investment they ever made into anything (including the good investments) would be bad.

Or that they confused "Investment" with their "Addiction".

Curious how it's the consumer who is always blamed for playing the game...

[solanger]

friday, 31st may - 02:08

i'm supposed to be asleep! i have an exam at 9am. however my attempt at an early night-in has obviously failed. i'm also very hungry so i'll make myself a bagel.

this has been a weird month. firstly, i broke up with my ex-boyfriend. it's been really hard. i'm scared i'm unlovable. we were supposed to last, yet it was only 5 months. i watch most of my friends around me still in their relationships and i'm jealous. what are they doing that it's working? what am i doing that it's not? last summer i went through another break "off" (we weren't actually together). i had to learn how to be by myself. i truly did learn, however, it looks like i might have to relearn. i yearn for the touch and warmth from another. i am not ready for anything. my heart is still so delicate.

i'm still friends with him, we get along well. i wonder when he looks at me, if he ever has a moment of overwhelming love before remembering what's been said and done. i surely do.

it's been awfully boring. no boyfriend aside, i simply have nothing to do. i'm a hobby-less person, which is a problem on my part, but i don't think i've ever reached this level or boredom in my life. i used to have my phone taken away from me for months (almost a whole year!) and i still found a way to entertain myself. i am also very broke, so retail therapy is not the answer. i don't have a car, i cannot go on drives. maybe i'm not as introverted as i think i am. although i've never really said i am, i guess i equated reserved with introverted, which is wrong of me.

i wonder what this summer holds. i want to have the most fun one can have, like how everyone talks about 2016 summer. another confession - i have no clue what the whole craze is about when people talk about 2016 summer. i was 11 years old and due to start year 7/6th grade. i don't really remember what happened 8 years ago, other than being a little depressed - sorry for the bout of sad stuff (lol). i was racially bullied in year 6/5th grade a lot, so my main goal going into year 7 was to be as least "black" as possible, whatever that meant. it only took me *7* years to love my black self (sarcasm)!

wish me luck for tomorrow! and do not tell me i don't need it because i do because i didn't revise. yay?

talk soon!

mali

[local80smotel]

All knowing love

pairing; V x Trans Man! Reader

summary; being under V's loving and watchful eye.

requested; Anonymous

rating; T

warnings; transphobia, parental abuse (physical), hints of suicide (but never outright said)

word count; 2185

A/N; this isn't wasn't the fluffiest thing I could write but once talking to my trans boyfriend I couldn't help but feel having a bit of angst was acceptable.

When Y/N was still just a child, he knew something was off about him. Not something "bad" or "wrong" that people would call this feeling when he'd tell them. "It's just a phase" was a comment that was thrown at them mostly by their parents when they were still in their teens, just before high Chancellor Sutler was ever in the eye of politics. Oh, how those days would seem like a humid southern summer walk compared to when Sutler came into the picture. The transphobia he had experienced grew like how weeds grow in futile soil.

The comments like "You're confused" slowly started to warp into something more demeaning to the boy as the Chancellor candidate's toxic grip on the people of England started to squeeze any "unwanted" life out of it. "Undesirable" life as he would call it. When hair was cut after Sutler was elected, there weren't small arguments anymore that would be fixed when he'd be asked if he were hungry and wanted to eat supper with them. It became violent and unlike the people who had raised him for the last 15 years. Having handfuls of freshly cut hair be ripped out because his mother was holding him by his scalp just to yell in his face how much of a monster he was broke his heart.

Was it fear that caused this? Were they scared of losing their only child as many other families had? Was their bundle of joy in their life really an undesirable and the cause of this virus outbreak? Just why? He'd ask himself that as he was packing his bags in preparation to leave the family home for good.

Three long years had passed and at the ripe age of 18, he moved out into the busy streets of London. A small pit in his stomach began to form as the sickening feeling came back. The cause of it was from one simple but yet complex question; could he survive in this fascist regime? Sadness also fueled this emotional fire, sadness from knowing he'd have to use so many things he knew was wrong and didn't describe him truthfully just so he could get a place to come to when curfew hit; The name that was long dead to him the second it was given to him and female pronouns. He'd be signing his own death certificate if he put Y/N instead of his deadname on his application to rent.

They'd look it up and find no Y/N L/N in England and call the police on him in a split second. Shivers ran down his spine as he imagined what would happen to him if that became a reality. No one knew what happened when you were deemed "undesired" but everyone after having Sulter for three years knew that they would go missing and would be never seen of or heard from again. You were just wiped off the face of the Earth.

Y/N lucky had enough money saved from working in retail for the past 2 years to get a small apartment. When he was finally given the keys to the place he couldn't help but sigh in relief. At least in this tiny space, he could be his true self without shaking in fear as he had in his past while being stuck in his parents' home. The next three years were some of the worse when it came to dysphoria. Being forced to go to work almost every day and be called ma'am or miss and be deadnamed constantly damaged his mental health to the point it felt easier just to be open with his identity.

Anything would be better than being forced to hide in this shell of terror. Nights of panic attacks and sobbing that sounded like a wounded animal as he laid on the rotten wooden floor became a routine. On the morning of his 21st birthday, he woke up in the late afternoon. There was no panic in him when he realized he was late for work, how could someone care when this would be their last day on Earth?

With scissors in his hand, he grabbed his hair and began to chop it off sloppily but that didn't matter to him as long as it was finally short like it was when he was a child, and that was enough for him. The thought that when the police would see him, that'd see a man instead of what society had deemed him brought a smile to the young adult. The feeling of freedom pumped through his veins as he went on with his day. It felt odd but refreshing to feel the cold air from his AC on his neck as he fixed himself some bacon and eggs. It wasn't the fanciest thing someone could eat on this day, but it was enough for him.

Around ten AM he left his flat, walking with newfound confidence due to his hair and now his wrapped chest. He had heard from the grapevine that wrapping one's chest in medical bandages could cause serious damage like nerve loss but one this final day he decided to risk it so he could pass in normal daily life. Being called sir by ticket seller at the movies brought him so much joy as he grabbed his "Count of Monte Cristo" tickets and wished them a good day as he went deeper into the movie theater to find theater four to watch the movie. Y/N was somewhat surprised to see only one other person in the audience. Sure, he was 10 minutes late but this was a classic film that was finally being let out of the vault to be watched again! Nevertheless, the man sat down a few rows in front of the figure, settling down into the uncomfortable chair.

“I didn't expect you to come.”

He could tell from how the figure's words were muffled that they were wearing a mask. Y/N turned to them with a confused look on their face.

“Excused me?” Y/N asked but their confusion just deepened as he saw that the figure was wearing.

A Guy Fawkes mask with a matching hat while wearing pitch-black clothing. The man under the mask chuckled as they stood up, Y/N couldn't help but be slightly intimidated by the height of this masked figure.

“I should have done this first so you wouldn't be so perplexed, ” he cleared his throat as began monologing, using many words that start with the letter V in his speech which in turn slightly impressed the 21-year-old.

“But you can simply call me V.”

"V" said while taking a bow

Y/N couldn't help but snicker at this display of some kind of knightship which in turn had V cocked his head in slight confusion on what could be so funny

“Well, Mr. V, might I ask why you're here alone?”

“I could ask you the same thing, but as I am apparently on a tight schedule I won't elaborate”

“Tight sch-” the man interrupted them by placing his leather glove covered finger on top of their lips

“Yes, very much tight schedule as I only have 2 hours till your self made demise am I correct?”

He was blown away at the fact this random stranger knew of his most shameful plan, but the feeling of shock was soon replaced with anger. This creep was stalking me! He thought as he slapped away the masked man, getting up from his chair as he did so.

“You have some right talking to me like that!” he yelled as he started to march away from them.

V reached out and grabbed their hair in a somewhat gentle way

“Y/N wait please, ” he sighed as Y/N stopped who's face was twisted in bitterness “I understand how you feel Y/N, I truly do. I was labeled an undesirable so please don't think that I've been keeping an eye on you in for any other reason than just to keep you safe.”

When he said this Y/N rage seemed to melt away slowly. How was he able to survive being an undesirable? So many questions filled the male's head but the only word he could speak was

“How?”

V let go of his hair as he straightened his posture “If you come with me I'll tell you.”

The more sensible side of the man told him to run away from this masked freak and enjoy what little time you had left in peace but something stopped him. After a moment of silence, he nodded to V's pleasure. He took the 21-year old by the hand and lead them to the back exit. The two walked down the alley and what drew Y/N's eye other than the 6'3 black mass was the posters. Every single one they pasted seemed to have a V cut into them.

He broke the long silence with another question “Did you mark those posters?”

“Does a raven speak?”

“But why?”

V didn't stop walking but he could feel his eyes on him. For being an undesirable he sure seems fine being out after curfew Y/N thought as they waited for the answer.

“The people deserve a symbol. Something to get them through this.”

He opened his mouth to ask what he meant by that but quickly shut it once the meanings of the words came to mind. Maybe he wasn't this creep, more like this country's guardian angel that would save them all from high Chancellor Sutler. It didn't take long for him to reach what Y/N guessed as V's home which turned out to be an abandoned Victoria station. Y/N looked over at him with an eyebrow raised as V opened the hatch that kept the station locked to the public who had originally thought it was abandoned. V turned back to the man and gave him his hand simply saying "follow me, sir Y/N".

Once V was given the curious man's hand he rubbed his thumb over their knuckles before tenderly pulling them inside. He held the hand as they walked in the pitch black, guiding them until they found a giant door which to Y/N's touch felt like it had complex carvings in them. When the masked man opened the door Y/N couldn't help but wince as golden light hit his E/C eyes that had just gotten used to the dark. He had expected V to let go of his hand once they reached his "lair" but he didn't. Oh, what a perplexing and mysterious man he was.

Y/N would be lying if he said his face wasn't blushing at this moment in time. V led them deeper into his beautiful home until both of them to were behind his couch which was black leather. In front of the said couch was a glass coffee table with a box on it. Y/N's hand was finally let go of as V sat on the couch.

“Come sit, I have something to give you.”

“But you said-”

“Please?”

He sighed as he complied, arms folded as he sat next to him. V opened the box and to Y/N's surprise, there was a biner in it. Once again, all he could ask was "How?" as all production and selling of items that could help trans folk was banned just as the Koran was. The masked man took the folded bundle into his giant hands and gave it to them once again shocked male.

“Life has been tough enough on you even if we don't add our government into it. Thank you for holding on. For surviving this long and not letting them take away your love for life and your fighting spirit.”

Without any hesitation, Y/N pulled V into a tight embrace with tears threatening to fall. No one had ever put their life in danger to give them this piece of happiness like this stranger had. All he could do was whimper out a "thank you" as a sob shook his chest deeply.

“Since I showed you my lair, you're going to have to stay till the next November the fifth, is that okay?”

Y/N couldn't help but nod immediately. He could finally be somewhere he was truly accepted for who he really was; a man who was just simply given the wrong body at birth.

V placed his hands on top of the weeping H/C man, stroking the uneven hair and placed his head onto the others.

“I'm cooking ham, is that okay?”

“mmhmm..”

“Thank you, Y/N.”

[ecsta-zi]

My experience with white privilege (and how I found out it was real)

I was 20 years old and had been living in the Bronx for 4 years. I had a GED and seasonal/temp experience in both the restaurant and retail industries (3-4 months each.) So i only had about a year of experience working in retail and about 6 months or so working in restaurant. It seemed as though I was only capable of obtaining temporary jobs. It was frustrating because no matter how hard I worked at these jobs I just never seemed to be good enough to be hired permanently. Both times they simply told me that there were no permanent positions to be filled but my insecurities tell me I wasn't good enough.

When it came time to find a new job my boyfriend's mother referred me to Lisa Employment Agency at 247 West 35th Street New York, N.Y 10001. A job agency where you can only get restaurant jobs. She handed me my money and I was there at 8:45 am on 05/17/17.

When I came in, there was an area for people to wait. It was already filled for being nearly 9 :00 am and per usual I am the only caucasian in the room. Most of the people in the room were black and hispanic men. Some were half asleep, some of them were on their phone and some simply looked stressed. I saw an empty seat on the left side middle row at the end. Ahead there were a few desks. A Hispanic woman to the front left whos name is Sue and another Hispanic woman to the front right. In the back with the big desk there was a Hispanic man by the name of Rene Munoz.

Before my body even touched the seat I was called up by the big man himself (Rene.) I handed him the money and the resume I created myself. He looked at it and said "you don't have a lot of experience but that's ok because you're young." He made a phone call and I had a job interview set up for me to go to immediately. My position was "helper" at the juice bar at Pier 59 Studios. My starting wage was $15/Hr. This was BEFORE the minimum wage was set to $15/hr. If you don't know what Pier 59 Studios it is the LARGEST photography studio in the world. Name any fashion magazine! They've done shoots there. Now I am an obese pale white girl who wore their makeup like it was still 2010. Everyone there was GORGEOUS and the place was boujee as fuck. Even the damn secretary at the front desk was super model gorgeous. I felt out of place. Anyway, when Rene Munoz handed me the card he told me "bring more people like you, you know your kind....your friends."

He basically told me to bring more white people.

Prior to arriving my boyfriend's mother who was friends with sue (lady at the desk to the right who got my boyfriend the job at blake and Todd on 47th street) told me that sue told her that they were looking for more white people and that I would not have a problem getting a job because I'm white. My boyfriend's mother is hispanic as well as my boyfriend.

Since I was 14 I've been in and out of homes, cities, and towns where I was the only white girl. I was use to jokes like that. Like "oh don't worry you're white the cops won't pay you no mind" or the one time my friend said to her mom "don't worry mom she's white we won't get into any trouble." as a joke. I simply thought it was another one of those things.

I didn't actually think she was being deadass!!!

At the time I wasn't going to sit there and run my mouth about how racist that shit was. A bitch needed a job I didn't want to lose MY job opportunity by preaching. I shut my mouth and I went. [ Insert White Privilege Here]

At this agency you pay a fee and they give you three shots to try out different jobs. If i didn't like one they'd give me another.

My first day at Pier 59 studios was my training and I couldn't handle the pressure. There was so much perfection expected of you because you're serving drinks to people who worked in the fashion industry. There was talk about the famous people who came in and out of there, and there were perfect gorgeous people around me and i was a potato. Also apparently there was this very important french woman who worked in the industry having some brunch meeting. I wasn't about catering to people and celebrities in the fashion industry. I didn't show up the second day.

When I try to tell people this story, especially people from my race, they get so mad at me because they're the type of people who don't believe in "white privilege." They say the same thing as any other white person who doesn't get it. "I had a hard life, i was poor, i had no privileges, i had to work hard for everything I have. No that wasn't an example of white privilege it was an example of racism" That one was the most idiotic I've ever heard. But they fail to realize that there are employers out there that would literally take one look at you and one look at the black guy next to you and choose you simply because you're white. They don't understand that these men that were waiting in the waiting area were 10+ years older than me and obviously way more experienced! That they are waiting for jobs to accept them for an INTERVIEW because the employers working with the agency told them theyre not hiring black people and that they aren't hiring people who can't speak perfect english. I mean, it was heavily implied given the fact that only poc are sitting there and i walk out with a job interview in less than 20 minutes and was straight up told to my face to bring more people like me . They overlook the part where I tell them that Rene acknowledged the fact that I had little experience and he still gave me this boujee ass job with high expectations!! Completely missed the fact that the man told me to BRING MY KIND. That the color of my skin meant that I had a long list of employment opportunities because that is what they're looking for.

I was like them in a sense. I too grew up shit poor, i have a ged, I'm basically white trash and that I never got anywhere bc of my skin color. That day though, reality slapped me so hard I still can't believe that REALLY happened, that it still happens and that it happened right in front of my face.

I didn't do a thing about it. I felt so guilty for awhile and I still do. This isn't that "white guilt" shit or me "apologizing for being white." I know that pisses off white people.

Black and Hispanic people contributed a lot to who I am and where I am right now in my life even at 23 years old. I was raised and mentored by strong black queens who I would do anything for. If it weren't for them I probably wouldn't be alive. I was educated and influenced by black men. If it weren't for them I would still be struggling with reading comprehension, i would've failed english and history. I would've never got my GED. I wouldn't have gone to college. If it weren't for latinas I wouldn't know shit about cooking or cleaning or how to manage money, i wouldn't have a home, and i wouldn't have done anything decent in my life.

All of these people, people of color, who lifted me up off the ground, picked up every piece of my brokenness, and made me whole are the reason why I felt guilty. Not because I am ashamed to be white. But because I am ashamed of the fact that I wouldn't have even been there at that job agency if it weren't for them and that I failed to be an ally all for some boujee ass job I didn't want anyway.

I had to accept the fact that there wasn't much that I could do.

One day I was fucking around on google maps, writing reviews for places I've been to. I decided to look up Lisa Employment Agency and I wrote a review regarding what happened that day. A warning to those who are poc and desperate for a job to not give them their money. That was the best that I could do.

The purpose of me writing this is because people don't understand how real this shit is and that it still happens. White people don't understand that just because YOU yourself have never been in a position where you used your white privilege doesn't mean that it doesn't exist.

It does. Its real. And it's fucked up.

******Below I have a photo of the card that Rene gave me. I still have it for some reason. A big chuck of it was cut off but you can still see the name of the man at the agency. You can see where it says Pier, the date is there, and my starting salary. (I cut a piece of it off to scoop up my weed sorry) It is the only proof I have that it happened. The name and number written above my name was the name of the owner or manager at pier 59 studios.******

[msclaritea]

A very important history lesson and why we have to fight back this time.

A lot of people saw the White Tears Death March at Michigan's capitol & said: "If black people did that..."

"Some mentioned Reagan's gun control law after '67 Panthers protest But there are many historical examples of white people freaking out when blacks protested.

(A thread) 

After the Not-So-Civil War, this happened ALL THE TIME.

Remember, the states that got their asses kicked were not automatically allowed back into the Union. Southern white supremacists were so scared when blacks exercised their new right to vote that they started a race war. 

In 1866, La. reconvened its Constitutional Convention because Democrats were trying to stop blacks from voting. (This was before conservative Southern "states rights" advocates switched became Republican. We'll get to that)

Of course, black people marched (but not like that). 

When the black people showed up, a group of white supremacists (Y'all call them "Confederates now — same thing) was waiting on them and opened fire.

To be fair, the black ppl weren't actually protesting, per se when the racists opened fire. They were doing something much worse: 

They were dancing and playing music.

Y'all, those racist bastards opened fire on a MARCHING BAND.

Then this happened:

Partly because of the New Orleans Massacre, Congress passed the First Reconstruction Act. Black Louisianans were guaranteed the right to vote but the act did something else that would make the racists even madder.

It took away the right to vote for any ex-Confederate. 

If you think this was bad, Georgia was even worse.

Ga. holds the distinction of being the only state that was so racist that we had to kick the ENTIRE STATE out of America.

Seriously, that happened. And it was partly because of the Camilla Massacre. 

First, you gotta remember that blacks damn near outnumbered whites in Georgia. So, after they got the right to vote, 33 black ppl were elected to the state legislature.

Wypipo wasn't having that shit.

So the white legislators called their homeboys up (Y'all call them the KKK) 

The KKK ran the DULY ELECTED "Original 33" out of office.

Then the Ga. Supreme Court ruled that black people were technically citizens, but the Ga. laws were only meant for white people, so... Black ppl, y'all need to go somewhere with that "equality" shit.*

*I'm paraphrasing

A week after they ousted the Original 33, one of the (did I mentioned DULY ELECTED) legislators organized 200-300 blacks & marched from Albany to Camilla to hold a rally in the town square

When they got to Mitchell County, whites waiting in storefronts and on roofs, opened fire 

The Camilla Massacre got Georgia kicked BACK OUT of the Union and the state had to be readmitted for a second time in 1870 after it seated SOME of the Original 33.

Why not all?

Well, 1/4 of the Original 33 were murdered or attacked. 

On October 25, 1870, 2,000 black people gathered at a rally in Eutaw, Ala. right before the Nov. election. The crowd wanted to prove they weren't of white racists.

Why would they be scared?

Well, in March, 30 masked white men had lynched James Martin, a black Republican. 

It happened again in July, but they didn't just kill Gillford Coleman, they cut his body up into pieces. The racists were afraid Eutaw Co. blacks would help elect a Republican Gov. liked they helped Grant win the county by 2000 votes the 1868 election, 

Klansman rode into town and opened fire on adults and children and promised to do it again if Black people voted.

The tactic worked.

Instead of Republicans winning, the county by 2000 votes, the Democrat Governor won by 43 votes. 

That was lame compared to the Battle of Liberty Place.

Remember when this whole "Confederate Statue" thing first started a couple of years ago? It was partly about a monument to the Battle of Liberty Place, when a whole white supremacist army overthrew the Louisiana gvt. 



In 18 months a white supremacist ARMY called the "white league" (racists are notoriously bad for coming up with nicknames) killed hundreds of Black voters in Colfax, New Orleans, Coushatta & Opelousas

This is what led to the passage of the 2nd Ku Klux Klan Act 

(Side note: The Colfax Massacre also resulted in a Supreme Court Case, which was the first time the Supreme Court said the Second Amendment guaranteed individual citizens the right to own guns)

A lot of Black folks weren't having this shit. So they formed their own armies. 

In SC, the KKK and other Dollar Tree brand racist groups were killing Blacks in the lead up to the 1876 election. In Ellenton, over 100 black voters were murdered.

But it wasn't just about politics. White people HATED when blacks told them what to do. 

You gotta remember, most southern whites were Confederates, so during Reconstruction military occupation, a lot of the soldiers were black.

On July 4, 1876, in Hamburg, the town next to Ellenton, SC, a group of black national guardsmen were drilling while black people watched 

A group of these Dollar Tree white soldiers called the "Red Shirts" came through trying to flex and the Black Guardsmen told them to wait to pass until they finished.

Yall know those former whip crackers weren't having that. 

A white judge told the Red Shirts that they could take the black NATIONAL GUARDSMEN's guns, they found the black militia and began opening fire.

94 white men were indicted.

0 were convicted

The leader of the Hamburg Massacre?

He went on to serve 24 years in the US Senate 

Again, it wasn't just about stopping black people from voting.

In 1887, 10,000 black workers went on strike and started forming a union on La sugar plantations.

So the plantation owners hired the KKK to come in and kill the organizers. Then, it became any black person. 

No one knows how many were killed but the official number is "enough"

Louisiana sugar plantations wouldn't organize again for another 50 years. 

On July 3, 1919, a group of black Buffalo Soldiers went to Bisbee, Ari. Now, this may have been before cookouts were invented, because the soldiers had planned to march in the parade the next day. 

Bisbee's white sheriff told the black soldiers that they couldn't walk around with their guns. When the police officers tried to disarm the Buffalo Soldiers, the refused. So they deputized all the white men in town to disarm the negroes 

The soldiers were like: "Fuck y'all lil' parade, then," and were preparing to leave when one of the deputies was like: "You can't talk to a white man like that."

He opened fire.

The other deputies did, too. 

An investigation would later reveal that it was planned.

The Sherriff and others "had planned deliberately to aggravate the negro troopers so that they would furnish an excuse for police and deputy sheriffs to shoot them down."

No word on the cookout. 

Later that same year, black cotton sharecroppers met at a church in Elaine, Ark. They were trying to organize to get better prices but white farmers showed up. After an exchange of gunfire, a white man ended up dead.

The rumor spread that there was a black coup in Elaine 

Whites from all across the South came to Elaine to literally hunt Black ppl. No one still knows how many were killed. Estimates range up to 250. You know how they finally ended it?

Federal troops arrived...

And arrested all the black people who were left alive. 

In 1945, 19 black Air Force fighter pilots were arrested for trying to integrate an all-white officers club at an Indiana Airbase. 17 more showed up. They were arrested. 25 more showed up the next night, and were arrested.

Segregation was technically against military rule 

So the Air Force gathered all 101 black airmen in a room & offered a deal: All they had to do is sign a paper saying they agree to the segregation or,

Face arrest for violating a direct order, which was technically punishable by death.

All 101 refused.

They were all arrested 

Historically, the white "patriots" who love the flag and the troops treated black soldiers like they all took a knee before an NFL game.

In August 1947, Chicago residents grew angry when they realized the gov't was giving homes to Black veterans in the white Fernwood Park area 

The day after the families moved in, on August13, the whites attacked

For 3 days, as many as 5,000 white rioters pulled Black people out of cars and beat them. They threw rocks at the homes and smashed windows. Then they started setting fires.

The police did nothing. 

In 1949, black Chicago union stewards assembled went to a meeting. There were white people at the meeting, too. The meeting was even in the home of a white couple, but a rumor had already been circulating that black people were planning to buy a house in the white neighborhood. 

By the end of the meeting, hundreds of whites were outside.

This one lasted 5 days.

An estimated 10,000 white rioters took part in the Englewood riot.

Police did nothing to stop it. 

Remember when MLK wrote about "white moderates" in the Letter from a Birmingham Jail?" Well, those protests were partially successful.

On May 11, 1963 black protesters were celebrating. The city had decided to desegregate water fountains, lunch counters, retail stores... 

On May 11, 1963, the KKK was also planning a march in Bham because...you know.

Just before 11 am, a uniformed Bham police officer got out of his car and put a package on the porch of a small house.

It was dynamite.

It exploded. 

A few minutes later, another bigger bomb at the AG Gaston motel.

Everyone knows about the 16th St. church bombing in Birmingham, but few people know that there were more than FIFTY bombings in "Bombingham" during the Civil rights era 

One section of town was bombed so often it's still called "Dynamite Hill."

Of course, the KKK marched anyway.

Oh, and that bombed house belonged to A.D. King, Martin Luther King's brother.

King had left town a few hours earlier...

After checking out of the AG Gaston Hotel 

(Fun fact: Angela Davis and Condoleeza Rice grew up around the corner from each other in Dynamite Hill)

On February 5, 1968, black students from SC State tried to integrate a bowling alley. They were kicked out, but this time, the police were waiting to beat protesters. 

But students kept showing up. So the governor called the state troopers and the National Guard.

On Feb. 8, while attempting to put out a bonfire, the Troopers opened fire on 200 protesters, shooting dozens of black students and protesters. 

1 high school student was killed and 2 SCSU students. Police said they thought the students were shooting,

They weren't

One person was arrested, convicted and served time, Cleveland Sellers...

A student.

You might know his son @Bakari_Sellers 

In March, 1970, in Lamar SC, a mob of angry white people attacked black protesters. Well... these protesters were kinda young and they were protesting in a weird way:

They were going to school.

A judge had ordered the school district to integrate

There are so many more examples

Check out "Ax Handle Saturday" in Jacksonville, Fla.

Read about when Fannie Lou Hamer and the Mississippi Freedom Democrats showed up at the '64 convention

The Freedom Riders

Bloody Sunday in Selma

Art Bacon in Talladega 

So when white people show up to protests angry and outspoken, and nothing happens, you don't have to wonder what would happen if black people did that,

Just remember what happened when black people just SHOWED UP

Not if...

WHEN."

[tennesseestellamccartney]

Hey Taylor!! (And everyone else reading this!)

It's Nikkie. It's been three months since I've done a life update. I'm still not used to it being on the sixth. It's taken everything in me not to revert back to the 18th. Anyways, it's been nine months since you met me and that's literally insane. It's weird when you dream of something for so long, and it happens, and time just moves on. Like life after meeting you? What's that like?

I think we last left off before all the stay at home orders went into effect. I was working quite a lot in March which paid (buh dum push) off pretty well. I actually got hired at a second retail store and was going to be working two jobs, but it fell through due to COVID. I officially had gotten furloughed from my original job on March 22nd. Between that, the refund I got from the phone I bought (Did I tell you about that? I panic bought an iPhone 11 and it never came. Needless to say I'm glad T-Mobile was able to get my money back after a week of BSing with the Post Office and UPS), and the stimulus check, I've been okay financially. I am able to pay my personal bills. My mom's been struggling though. I went back and forth about making a post asking for money (for her. There's a lot I don't wanna go into right now.) but I decided against it because i felt like a lot more people were in more dire situations (or maybe I don't realize it's as bad as it is! I don't know.). I've just been asking people to stream my music . (I'm still wondering if you listened to Puppeteer? Haha.)

For the first couple weeks of this whole thing, I was really upset. My life was on an upswing, I was on the right track to move into my own place. I was starting to have a life. I had multiple concerts planned (both my own gigs and other people's shows). Things just... Were ACTUALLY going right. Then this knocked me down. It was hard. But I've been able to be productive. I kinda started learning production. I've been able to promote my music a lot. I'm working with my friend INES and we have a rough outline of my next album figured out. I've also been able to rest and take care of myself. I don't mind this new normal. I just miss being around people.

Speaking of people, I downloaded Bumble at the end of March for grins and giggles. I was surprised, within 24 hours, 50+ guys swiped right on me, and I had matched with a solid 10 of them. One of them really held my attention. I actually stopped talking to other guys because of him. He's a gamer type. He's a sweet talker. Things were going well, until they weren't. It's just super complicated. But whatever. Either things work out, or I get hurt. That's how it goes huh?

I also used their friend feature, and I've met a few really great girls! I really hope those friendships work out! Although it's funny. One of the girls that I matched with and r e a l l y vibe with? Is best friends with the guy I mentioned im really into?? Like God really said "you're meant to be in this social circle". So. Wig.

Finally, I celebrated a birthday! I'm 20 now. I had cake (two cakes haha), I got sushi, and I went over to that guy's house and we hung out for a bit. It was fun. Not the most exciting, but better then last year.

Well that's all! I'll talk to you later T!

Love,

-Nikkie

[priceoffishingrimsby-blog]

From the inside

I love being in my forties, I honestly do. It took me until then to get over a lot of my insecurities to do with self image and confidence, I was good at faking it but they weren't fun years. Then suddenly in my early forties I had a lightbulb moment, I stopped giving a fuck what other people thought about me and it was so wonderfully freeing.

I should qualify; I don't mean that I took this as license to act like a dick because that's just not me, I definitely subscribe to the treat others how you would want to be treated attitude - you never know what struggles other people may be going through. It's an attitude that has meant that I have been able to work in hospitality and retail for my entire career without turning into Michael Douglas in Falling Down. I mean that I had somehow found the volume control on that annoying and destructive voice in my head that had ruled my life from my earliest memories. I had a realisation one day that in the nicest way possible, most people just don't give a fuck about you, they've got their own shit going on to be bothered about yours.

It may seem dramatic but this has changed my life immeasurably. Two years ago I moved to the seaside and for the first time as an adult I was confident enough to wear swimwear at the beach and go swimming in the sea. I've had a horrific psoriasis flare up this year that has seen me covered literally from head to toe and still gone about my daily life.

For all my growth in self confidence there is still one place that absolutely terrifies me, and that is the front row of a comedy gig. My neuroses are absolutely off the charts in this situation, there are so many things I worry about that the following isn't even an exhaustive list:

1. Am I laughing enough? Do I have resting bitch face?

2. Am I laughing too much, do I look too eager like some sort of crazed stalker?

3. Am I managing to pull off the 'I'm really enjoying myself and think you are great but for the love of it all please don't talk to me and draw attention to me ' expression that I am aiming for or do I look like I'm trying to suppress a fart?

4. What if my chair suddenly and inexplicably breaks?

5. What if I really need to go for a wee?

If you book tickets for the first couple of rows of a gig you are essentially granting license to the comedian to interact with you in some way, and I hate the thought of being the focus of attention so much it is genuinely one of the reasons I have never wanted to get married ( I swear I am allergic to weddings and the thought of my own wedding day sends me in to a cold sweat). My sweet spot for comedy shows is just off to the left about five or six rows back.

One of the worst gig experiences of my life is when I was given free tickets to a show and it turned out there were only ten of us in the audience. The first act was amazing and got all of us on board. Then during the interval almost half the audience left, and the second act had a mountain to climb in the dark whilst wearing vaseline soaked slippers. So despite giving off extra hard please don't involve me body language they tried several times and it was a miserable  situation for everyone involved. It had gone from being an enjoyable let's make the best of it type of vibe to a car crash. I'd gone for a relaxing and happy night out for my birthday (oh yes it gets worse) to feeling personally responsible for this comedian who, let's face it, was only trying to do their job, absolutely dying on their arse. I know my place in a comedy audience and I know I absolutely do not belong in the front row.

I've had a really tricky few months with my mental and physical health for various reasons and so I was really looking forward to seeing Nick Helm last night. It was at the Glee Club,  not one of my favourite venues because the sears/ table ratio is little on the uncomfortable side. To make matters once it was assigned seating so you have no say in where you are sat. We got shown to our table and if we were sat any closer I would have been the opening act,  and none of us are ready for that.

FUCK. 

I threw every coping technique I could think of whilst trying to maintain outward appearances that I was totally fine (so trapped wind face probably), I overcame and Nick Helm was of course fantastic. *****

(I did have to go for a wee right at the start of the second half though, apologies. I was mortified.)