…as They Posted That Picture From Their “modern Prison” 🙄

the prophecy has read true

Just some of my favorite tweets from the night

top five things in cartoon trash

apple core, fish skeleton, bottle, tin can w/ ajar lid, miscellaneous background lumps of dark green

Can we just STOP with the “Martin Luther King, Jr., Didn’t Riot But He Changed the World” Thing?

First, MLK was relentlessly investigated by law enforcement authorities on suspicion of being a Communist. His supporters were abused and murdered by both civilians and law enforcement over the years. The FBI spent vastly more resources trying to demonstrate that he was causing riots as a paid agent of Soviet Communism than they ever spent investigating the endless murder threats to his life. And, of course, the FBI mounted multiple sting and other investigations to expose and exploit his all too human flaws, particularly his cheating on his wife. His life is hardly a good model of police-citizen relations.

Second, King faced endless, brutal criticism for the peaceful protests he led. Lots and lots of (mostly) white people insisted that now was not the time to protest, that social and political change would best happen at its own pace, over a long period. Heck, has anyone actually read “Letter from Birmingham Jail”? The whole thing is a response to a letter published in the Birmingham paper in which white ministers asked why an “outsider” like King would come to Birmingham to lead protests, leading to his famous response “I am in Birmingham because injustice is here.” There is never a convenient time for protest, or an acceptable way to demand change from majorities that like things the way they are. Martin Luther King may be an American saint now. But he wasn’t when he was alive. Let’s not kid ourselves.

Third, is it now required that we all be Martin Luther King? Is it required that we all have the patience to endure endless harassment and violence in order to be “worthy” to protest? Do remember that King himself had largely abandoned the philosophy of nonviolence at the time of his assassination. For example, he was only in Memphis in April 1968 supporting a direct action strike by sanitation workers in the city, an action LOTS of people would have called violently disruptive to the health of the community. His movement only seems beatific in retrospect, through the lens of the rioting and social chaos that ensued his marginalization in the later 1960s and 1970s.  There are no perfect protestors even when there is much to protest.

I do not think the Martin Luther King, Jr., you remember is the Martin Luther King, Jr., who actually lived. 

Oh boy, I really fucking love Travis right now

When it comes down to it, I feel like that’s why this show works so well as an exploration of adolescence and gender dynamics. Because it’s devoted to kind humor, it makes a space in which these kids can explore who they are and who they are going to be when they grow up without us as an audience feeling worried for them. 

I’m never afraid that Tina will discover an amazing talent only for it to be laughed away by her family or for it to be retconned out of the show an episode later. When Gene dresses up as a woman, I never cringe and think that Bob is about to say something degrading toward women or tell Gene to “act like a man.”

As an audience member, I feel safe. I feel like it’s going to be okay. And that gives the show license to do more interesting things with the development of these characters. Which is surely a good thing. In a world where the typical teenage drama on the CW stars men and women in their mid to late twenties, and the only other well known animated teens are from Family Guy, Tina and Gene are worth their weight in gold. Moreso is the writing team who are able to write them, and write them well.

So yeah. Bob’s Burgers is back. You should probably watch it.

It’s about damn time.

Unarmed Black Man With Hands Up Shot By Police.

Charles Kinsey, 47, a behavior therapist from South Florida was shot in the leg three times by the police in North Miami while laying on the ground with his arms up and trying to help his patient with autism who had run away from a group home.

It all started when someone called 911 and said there was a man walking around with a gun. However it was Kinsey’s patient who was sitting on the ground cross-legged, playing with a toy truck.

Charles got shot by police despite telling them he was only trying to help his patient.

The police shot him, handcuffed him and left him on ground bleeding.

North Miami police have not released much information at all. They haven’t released the officer’s name, they haven’t given us an update on the investigation. However, they did say that the state attorney is now a part of this investigation.

#CharlesKinsey   #BlackLivesMatter 

#StopPoliceBrutality   #NorthMiamiPoliceDepartment