Tag Archives: social justice

2021 Insurrection.

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Yeah... it definitely captures both sides. The moment I saw the flag I knew i had to snap a photo of it. -- InhaleMC, Reddit user. The American flag, divided apart, blowing in the wind.
Shared with permission. Credit: https://instagram.com/doseofjean . From Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/ksg27a/i_took_this_photo_four_months_ago_i_think_now_is/

01/06/2021: Sedition Wednesday.

On a date that should’ve ended in joy as Democrats Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff won the senate election in Georgia. It feels like a miracle… The state of Georgia turned blue after decades of being a deep red Republican state.

But that was ruined when the Trump protesters turned into a riot. The election results certification for POTUS Joe Biden was interrupted by a domestic terror attack. An attempted Coup trying to keep Trump as president.

It didn’t matter that Vice president Pence was there. Doing his job as Vice president presiding over the election certification as electoral college votes were tallied. It didn’t matter that fellow republican party supporters were there. Trump and his supporters would do anything to stay in power. Even if it would mean treason.

It feels fucking strange to mention or give credit to Mike Pence of all people after these hellish four years of Trump. After all the illegal criminal shit Trump has done, Pence supported him every step in the way. I still don’t like him, and hate his politics, but props for following the constitution. He believes in this democracy and this country. It feels weird to feel patriotic for my country as a liberal. I’m absolutely horrified at the violence, livid that this terrorist attack happened with little resistance by police. A protest follows the laws. It’s not a protest when you force your way into a closed building. It’s not a protest when you go in with weapons and tactical armor. When you carry in the flags of enemies of America, it’s not a protest.

Helpful reminders to keep in mind:

A post from reddit, adapted from Arrested Development that sums up the insurrection:

“Bro….

Getting caught up in a moment is making an off-color joke in front of your boss at a Christmas party…

Getting caught up in a moment is laughing at a fart noise without realizing that your wife is on speaker phone with her parents.

Getting caught up in a moment is forgetting to say thank you for a gift because you were distracted by how hideous the sweater is.

Getting caught up in a moment is being caught staring at someone attractive for a second when your gf/bf notices.

“Caught up in a moment” is for minor faux paus and small infractions of behavior and decorum.

Wearing tactical gear, helmets, gas masks, taping cellphones to your chest… planning for months to attend an “overturn the election (Democracy)” rally… buying airplane tickets, renting a car, getting a hotel room, meeting up with your co-conspirators, marching en masse to the capitol building, climbing over and through barricades, smashing windows, doors, fences, battering, crushing, and murdering police as they scream for help that never came, shoving past them screaming for blood and chanting horrific slogans, calling the few black cops you see the ‘n’ word over and over, while you wave the confederate flag, rummaging through files, stealing laptops, taking peoples files and decorations, climbing into the senate or house chamber, overturning tables and chairs, leaving heaps of garbage…

That is sedition. That is insurrection. That is not ‘caught up in a moment’

Your whole life listening to Trump and his enablers is based on lies, and hate. That is why it resulted in the very thing you say you believe in being tarnished, damaged, and very nearly broken. (Freedom).

You need to re-examine how your beliefs led you to invade our nations capital like a Vandal or Gothic Tribe, with others of your ilk who came for literal blood, and why you are now part of a dangerous and growing insurgency, that is cancer to our country, and very well may lead to many more people dying. Stop listening to white rage radio, stop allowing people who hate your guts and could care less if you live or die to pull your strings like an automaton.

You weren’t caught up in a moment. You were/are in a cult, where the leader doesn’t care how many people get hurt as long as he is still loved. You were “caught up being what you are”, a riotous dangerous criminal in the midst of an attempt to end democracy, and usher in mob rule.” Source

Or said in my favorite Dave Chappelle bit, Chivalry is dead, and…

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Please wear a mask outside that covers your mouth and nose, wash your hands, clean your cell phone, and keep your physical distance (6 feet) from others to fight Covid-19! 

© Reilly Anderson. 2020. All rights reserved.

Seattle in June 2020

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It’s a rainy June day in Seattle.

Today the grey clouds and rain, a welcome change.

The peace roses outside my window in bloom.

Hues of yellow, cream, and pink.

A welcome break from the police violence.

All the protestors want is to be heard, peacefully.

Rubber bullets, flash-bang grenades, and gas warfare are unnecessary.

Please take off your armor.

Disarm your weapons, throw them to the ground.

March with us. 

I’m at home in my green walled room.

I’ve been too afraid of covid19 to march in protest.

I must manage my mental health.

While an excuse, it’s still giving in to fear.

Fear that if I’m exposed that I will put my older mother in danger of dying because she is part of the vulnerable group.

But that is what the civil rights movement, Black Lives Matter movement is all about.

It’s about showing us white folk the fear, violence, and injustice that Blue folk have been doing to them since America started. Blue uniforms with red on the mind.

Facebook posting isn’t enough.

You gotta show up too.

Voting will help… But that’s months away.

March in June.

In the name of love.

Song of the post, Pride by U2:

Song of the week: Pride (In the name of love) -Live- By U2.

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Don’t forget to wash your hands, clean your cell phone, and keep your physical distance from others to fight Covid-19! The facebook page is also what I use to post updates if late, like I was last week.

Brownies for a friend

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Slice of delicious Brownies.

Photo from the brownie batch I made for myself earlier in the week.

Brownies

3 cups almond flour (if substituting for regular flour, use 2 cups)

4oz butter (or one stick)

1 cup cocoa powder (The quality of your cocoa powder makes the difference in how tasty your brownies are. I haven’t found a cocoa powder as good as this one yet… https://amzn.to/3gYL6a9

3 whole eggs (2 if using regular flour. Almond flour needs an extra egg in the recipe to have the same consistency)

1 cup chocolate chips

1.5 tsp salt

1 cup sugar

1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

Pinch cayenne pepper

Equipment needed: A whisk, a spatula, mixing bowls, glass 8×8 pyrex pan, a metal pan if using stove melting method.

Start by combing the almond flour, salt, cayenne, and cocoa powder into a mixing bowl.
Mix together with a whisk, or fork.
It needs to look close to this to be mixed properly. It’s okay if there are little chunks of cocoa powder. Mixing properly ensures that the brownies turn out.
Add the eggs,sugar, and vanilla extract into a bowl, and vigorously whip them with a fork or whisk. Unrelated, but also included in the pictured… A dirty cutting board from cooking dinner, and 70% isopropyl alcohol for cleaning.
This is the consistency you are looking for your egg mixture to be after whipping. It should run in a stream like this when lifted from your mixing instrument, in this case a fork.
Add the chocolate chips and butter into a pan on the stove on low heat. The goal is to emulsify the butter and chocolate into a new mixture. You can also do this in a microwave. If you done in a microwave, slowly heat in 20 second increments, stir, then melt another 20 seconds, stir, until it is the same consistency as this picture. Low and slow melting is the goal.
Pour the egg-sugar-vanilla mixture, and the chocolate-butter mix (also called a ganache!) into the center of the bowl of dry ingredients.
Mix the shit out of it with a spatula. Note: if using regular flour, you must be careful of over mixing as the gluten in flour changes the process. Almond flour doesn’t have gluten so you don’t have to worry about this.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F, or 176 C. This is the batter partially mixed.
Your brownie batter should look like this when fully mixed. Before spooning it into the Glass Pyrex pan, spray the Pyrex with nonstick oil spray.
Spread the batter around the pan with your spatula. This is how it looks when ready. Bake in your oven for 45 minutes at 350F/176C
This is how they look, hot out of the oven. To tell if they are ready, poke the center with a toothpick or thermometer, and it it comes out clean, they’re ready. It’s okay if it has cracks like this. Once cooled the cracks should recede. Its important that you allow the brownies to cool for a minimum of 1 hour. Almond flour brownies are much more delicate hot and will fall apart if not given enough time to cool. Its hell when they smell so good, but patience is key.
Money shot at my computer desk of the finished brownies.

A look into America this week…

My neighbors tribute outside her house to George Floyd.

As American as….

    I first must acknowledge that I despise the current format for recipes rewarded by google in food blogs, so I’ll leave this entry after the recipe for those interested in reading it. Gimme the damn recipe, not your story about it. Put it after the recipe. So I will, even if I get less views. Be the change you want to see in the world. I apologize for being two days late on this post.

As a white man of privilege on the autistic spectrum, I only know a little bit about being an outsider, to be considered different from society. I’ll never know what it feels like to be a person of color in America. I’ve been absolutely ashamed and disgusted at America since 2016. Growing up, it seemed like things were finally getting better for everyone in this country. I thought the future was finally here in 2008 when our first black president, Barack Obama was elected. That change was finally on the way. Like many progressives on the left, I was disgusted at the outcome of 2016’s election with POTUS 45. I never thought things would be this bad. 

I’m 34, so the first election I could vote in was in 2004 with Bush v Kerry. I didn’t agree with George W Bush’s policies, but at least he cared about America. At Least he considered the voices of everyone, and reached across the aisle when things got tough. POTUS 45 never  has given a fuck about anything other than himself since 2016. Republicans took their masks off, and fell in line treating him like a king. This is a direct attack to the very soul of being American. Our country is built upon protesting the King of England, “No taxation without representation!” Where the hell is the representation? Seems rich old white men continue to rule the world, while everyone else is supposed to beg for scraps with the government. 

Image source: https://wyrz.org/governor-mike-pence-directs-flags-flown-half-staff-statewide-honor-law-enforcement-officers-killed-dallas-shootings/ Thanks Pence, we can use this image to honor those brutalized by police too!

    “That’s one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.” – Neil Armstrong

This week I have been questioning how I can make an impact. How I can best use my voice to help those that are struggling. It felt like a weight too heavy to bear alone. So, after running into paths that led nowhere, I had to simplify things and recharge from this emotional ride this week. I felt like I had to be there for my family and friends. I didn’t know what to do, thoughts racing, feeling paranoid even going outside at night past curfew to smoke so I could even sleep… When every other self care method I used wasn’t working. I realized that I was overwhelmed by PTSD from this traumatic week. I needed to recharge. Making decisions while angry isn’t productive if you aren’t able to use your anger in a healthy way. 

Sometimes, the answer to what to do is right in front of you. My answer to all this is: Meditation, cooking, music, and anime. All of which are cultural symbols from across the world. I’ve learned from meditation that you can always close your eyes and focus on breathing to calm yourself. To clear your mind of  thoughts. It is our ultimate privilege as the living. Nothing made this more apparent than the murder of George Floyd. Unfortunately kneeing a person on the neck is common practice by police across America, as demonstrated as the protests amped up and police brutality escalated by the worst departments such as the Seattle Police Department.  Maybe all this suffering will finally lead to an overhaul of the American police system. November can’t come soon enough. While dumping the current POTUS will greatly help, even more important is to vote in your local elections. Change starts at the local level, and every vote counts. As broken as voting for president is, it’s still effective in enacting change at the local level. Vote!

Voting info below:

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