Don't get me wrong, I love Thanksgiving as much as the next person who celebrates Thanksgiving, but it was a little strange this year.
Don't get me wrong again, I had a great Thanksgiving!
Let's back up so I can get this all sorted out shall we?
This year for Thanksgiving I drove to Austin, and stayed with my brother. This was a pretty great change, because I hadn't ACTUALLY stayed with him for a long time. We did all the Thanksgiving festivities with Jessica's family. They had so much good food, and even sent me home with enough to get me through the next week! Thanks by the way, if you're reading this. The food was beyond amazing and I can't believe how much you sent with me. =D
It was a nice, fairly simple Thanksgiving.
One strange thing, was the lack of both my parents and sister this year. My parents had planned to be in Austin too, but my mother got sick and it was a lung thing, which is even worse when you've got Asthma, so they couldn't make the trip. My sister happens to be a working person and gets stuck working on Holidays, especially Black Friday, so she couldn't make it down either.
So while in Austin, aside from eating wonderful food with extended family, watching some sad football games, and just getting to have the wonderful company of Jess' family, I got to hang out with my brother and play games, chat with Jess, and play a lot with my nephew, Harrison. The only part that could be classified as less than exemplary was being woken up each morning to the sound of my nephew screaming, "I WANT STINGRAY I WANT STINGRAY I WANT STINGRAY" on repeat until someone walked into his room, after having only received 5/6 hours of sleep. I don't think I'm cut out for being a parent at the moment. Haha.
When I got back to Houston, I went to dinner with some friends from college, (Pedro, Arnold, Ernest, and Ger, specifically), and then went out to Main Event afterward and just chilled, which was definitely a nice evening. The next day I got to join my cousin Shaun and company, for lunch. We did Red Robin, and then I showed them my place, even if it wasn't the cleanest. I then played a little bit of Dragon Age, before I ran over to where they were to eat steak, and pie, and watch the Alabama/Auburn game. Then Sunday came along, which was mostly just video games, with the occasional meal thrown in.
So Thanksgiving, in and of itself was great. If you're curious as to some of the bigger things I'm thankful for check out this video here:
My major qualm with the whole Thanksgiving deal though, is that the idea of being thankful should be a year round thing. And I get it, it's nice to have a holiday where everyone can gather and do just that, but it doesn't work if you then turn around and fight crowds and people for a 35% off deal. Snagging deals is cool and all, but the rush of NEED is the exact opposite of what Thanksgiving is about, and the too are juxtaposed perfectly (Thanksgiving and Black Friday that is).
Maybe that's because I'm bad at wanting things though, so I just don't understand the hype about Black Friday. Not condemning it as a whole, just saying I think it's frivolous and a contradiction of the very holiday that precedes it.
FURTHERMORE
I found this Thanksgiving to be an especially tough one. Let's just jump into that, and I'll make a nice cut so anyone who feels tired of hearing about the following can skip out now, although I do recommend you continue reading because it is very much something that needs to be talked about.
FERGUSON
At this point, Ferguson is in the minds of people across the world. Everyone and their grandparent has an opinion on whether or not Darren Wilson is guilty or innocent, and people go to extremes to defend their view point.
See, I tend to shy away from controversy. I hate making choices, because I don't want to choose things someone doesn't like. I shy away from anything that could put me at odds with someone else, and too often take the path of silence, and thus quiet agreement with one party.
And I'm pretty much done with that. I don't want to be that guy who doesn't acknowledge atrocities, because it might make a few people on Facebook uncomfortable. I don't want to ignore social issues because someone I grew up with might have a differing opinion.
So here goes, my Second take on Ferguson, and this time a little bit less reserved.
The first thing I want to get out of the way here is the following:
DARREN WILSON SHOWS NO REGRET
I have a lot to say about this. I don't comprehend people who can be so cold as to not be bothered when they take the life of another human being. I've often wondered if I could pull the trigger on someone if they were threatening someone I loved. I always come back to, "I hope I could, but at the same time I know I'd have to go to therapy afterward." BECAUSE TAKING SOMEONE'S LIFE IS A HUGE THING REGARDLESS OF THE SCENARIO!!
If there's anything to really say here it's that I don't want the police officers who are supposed to be protecting me and other citizens to be cold. There is, and always will be, a difference between someone who is cold, and someone who makes the tough choices. I would much rather have someone who knows what those tough choices are, and makes them knowing that they'll have to live with the consequences.
To this point, it doesn't matter the races of officer vs. victim. I want officers who value life, all life.
Nice segue to the next point:
THE PROTESTS IN FERGUSON AND ELSEWHERE ARE ABOUT RACE
I have seen way too many people complain about people making this whole thing about race, and it sickens me to hear people who are so thickheaded that they can't comprehend that it IS IN FACT ABOUT RACE.
I get it though, I've been there. I've held an opinion and thought it to be the be all end all (See: William's old opinion on alcohol). I know what it's like to have someone shatter your world, and how important it is that you hold on to what you knew and learned.
However, this is not one of those times that holding on to the pieces is commendable.
As someone who is half Hispanic and half White, I know where a lot of people are coming from. While I look more Hispanic, and some would say Middle Eastern based on the skin color and hair/facial hair, I have known a very White life. I haven't ever REALLY experienced any outright racism.
In fact, I'm more racist when it comes to me than I think most people are. I talked myself out of even believing acting as a viable choice because there weren't good Hispanic actors to look up to. I've caught myself subconsciously keeping my hands in sight while in stores so I won't be perceived as a thief.
And that's where race comes into this issue. Someone with white skin doesn't have those same issues. They don't have to be extra careful when in stores, because they aren't expected to be thieves. They don't have to talk themselves out of careers, because chances are there's a lot of role models of a similar skin color in that field of work.
My most racist experience, though, came at the hands of a police officer. I was pulled over for driving on the ridges of the highway, the little strip that's supposed to wake you up. The officer asked me if I'd been drinking, which was an acceptable question, he saw me slightly swerve. He also asked if I was sleepy, again acceptable. He then asked if I had any firearms, and then if I had drugs in the vehicle. I guess those could be considered acceptable, questions, although the only "probable cause" he had at this point was that I had driven on those ridges, and that my car was packed due to moving out of the dorm.
At this point he still hasn't really told me why I was pulled over, which if I'm correct in thinking should be among the first things said. He then asks me to get out of the car. I comply. While standing behind me car he comments, several times to my car being packed. He asks me if I have drugs or firearms in my car, though repeats the drug question 6 or 7 more times. He asks if he could search my car, and what he would find if he did. I inform him books and clothes. He asks again if there are drugs.
I should note at this point that I'd never been pulled over before.
He still hasn't really informed me why I was pulled over, and hasn't taken my id or insurance back to his vehicle. He asks me to get in the police car, opening the passenger door for me, and I sit down. He goes back to his side, and runs the insurance/id or whatever they do. He asks AGAIN about drugs, and then notices my nervousness. He asks why, and I inform him it is due to never being pulled over. He comments, saying it's strange that I hadn't. Which was not the response I expected, as though he was taken back by the idea that I could have made it thus far and not been pulled over.
He finally gives me my WARNING and let's me go.
When I told my dad, he informed me that I shouldn't have had to get out of my car, and that getting in the police car was way beyond anything that was acceptable in that situation. My dad is White. See, my dad could have gotten away with being more cocky, and wouldn't have been put through what I was. He even acknowledged that it was probably because of my skin color.
SEE the thing is that most people will never face an injustice like that, but when you aren't White the chance is that you will experience something like that in your lifetime. THAT is what the protests are about.
The protests are for Tamir Rice, a 12 year old boy who was killed by police for having a toy gun in a park. The surveillance videos break my heart, as the cops shoot him down before they're even out of the car. THE WORST THING IS THE MEDIA! If you look up Tamir Rice in the media you'll see that he grew up in a rough neighborhood, you'll hear them say, "Young man", you'll hear that his father might not have been the nicest and his mother too. You don't hear them saying that the victim was a FREAKING TWELVE YEAR OLD BOY!
The protests are for Luis Rodriguez who was beaten to DEATH by FIVE police officers who showed up because a mother slapped her daughter for breaking the family rules in front of a theater. The police KILLED him and then got off scotch free in the process.
There are countless other stories of African Americans, and other minorities who have been killed by police for stupid or no reasons, and then failed by the very justice system that is supposed to serve them.
Final Point:
STOP SAYING BLACK ON WHITE CRIME HAPPENS TOO
Everyone knows this. White on White crime happens. Every race harms every other race. All this argument does is shut down and try to silence the actual issue.
The issue here is that the justice system in the United States IS RACIST when it wants to be, which ALWAYS hurts people who aren't White. We can't keep going on with "America is the best", and whatever sayings we have when our country can't even protect all of it's citizens equally.
Look through newsclips of White guys who went on shooting sprees. They'll almost always be conveyed as disturbed or in need of help. They'll be shown as the nice quiet guy who nobody could believe did this. Contrast that with the newsclips of Black unarmed kids who were killed by police and you'll see that they grew up in a rough home, that their neighborhoods were rough, that they once took a picture posing like a thug, all basically trying to say that THEY HAD IT COMING.
I'm going to end this post with that, because the next thing on my mind is Steubenville and how the rapists on the football team were victims because they had such aspiring careers in Football. Not to mention the whole town tried to cover it up and brush it under the rug. Which sickens me even more!
Ok, I'm sorry I'm done.
I hope you're tired of hearing about this. I hope that these injustices hurt you. I hope you think about the families that have to live on, and go through Thanksgiving, after a father, a son, a brother has been killed by someone who was supposed to protect them. Stop trying to say, "Not All Cops" and stop saying, "It isn't about race." Accept that it is about race, and it's not all cops, but it's enough of a problem that every minority grows up partially fearing the very institution that's supposed to protect them.
I'm sorry I went angry and blunt and what not, but it was needed. Even with that, lot's of people will write this, and me, off as a fanatical rant. Still, I couldn't sit by and not say something.
If there's any inconsistencies you'd like to discuss I'd love to. I like chatting about issues, and will do everything I can to make it a learning experience for both of us.
I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving, even with all of this, and that you take a moment every day to be thankful for what you have. Love you all, don't forget to smile, and see you next time! =D
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