#1000

An almost vulgar level of privilege allows this blog to exist. Without even really getting into the specifics, the fact that I have a working computer and have roughly 25 hours a week to dedicate to the undertaking is not something to which I am oblivious.

As such, I make a point of dedicating every 50th post to the broader real world context among which the usual content of this blog represent only an infinitesimal speck.

I’d planned to focus on the Stanford case where Brock Turner was found guilty on three charges related to sexual assault. Out of the up to 12 years in jail he faced, he will serve a total of three months.

Yes, his name will be added to the sex offender registry–something that his father famously referred to as an unfair punishment for ‘20 minutes of action’. Oh, and any MRAs or MRA supporters out there, you really ought to read the father’s statement in full. Rape culture is a feminist conspiracy, eh? Shut the fuck up, you’re argument is invalid–this letter exemplifies exactly what those screaming about rape culture have been saying for fucking decades.

Oh, you beg to differ. Check out Brock Turner’s statement where he refuses to take responsibility for any of his actions and instead blames drinking and the culture of promiscuity on campus.

But for all that: the statement given by Emily Doe–Turner’s victim–is one of the most incomparably brilliant, considered and deeply affecting pieces I’ve encountered in years. You really should read all of it. If you have sons, you should make them read it. (Also, if you want to know how to be a stand-up ally for victims of rape and domestic violence: be like Joe Biden.)

…

Early on June 12th, 2016, a homophobic bigot piece of shit opened fire into the crowd present at Latin Night at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando Florida.

The Killer (I refuse to use his name because I think the attention fuels a level of narcissism which assists in motivating attacks like this) had two weapons an AR-15 assault rifle and a handgun. Both purchased legally despite having been investigated twice before by the FBI for suspicion of links to terrorism.

He managed to murder 49 vibrant, amazing people before the police–after hearing him claim to have bombs–stormed the club and put the fucker down.

The response was swift. Starting with the Lt. Gov. of Texas tweeting Galatians 6:7– Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.

The tweet was quickly deleted and an explanation offered that it had been queued to auto-publish ahead of the attacks.

Another info graphic perpetuated by a country music singer blamed the problem not on guns but on the fact that America is a godless country. It was especially idiotic given that a 2011 Census of England and Wales noted that 59% of the population identified as Xtian and in a 2014 U.S. Census 70% of American’s claimed to be Xtians. (Compare mass shootings in the UK vs the US and then you’ll recognized the preposterous nature of the assertion.) But then the examples this fuckwit used when considered in context, actually proved that guns are the problem.

Then it was reported that the killer called a news outlet to proclaim his allegiance to Daesh. (We must stop calling them ISIS/ISIL as by calling them such we implicitly lend credence to their despicable ideology.)

I’ve spent the week listening to and comforting LGBTQAI friends.

The thing you won’t understand unless you are LGBTQAI is the extent to which the queer community takes on the role of an extended family–in many cases serving as the only real family you’ve ever had. That’s part of what is so terrifying about this attack: it was located in what would normally be considered a safe space–a gay club.

Republicans trotted out their usual bullshit ‘thoughts and prayers’ rhetoric. We don’t give a good goddamn about your thoughts and if those are the same prayers with which you are trying to pray away our gay, then you have to realize how colossally fucked that is, right? Those people in a position to effect real, lasting positive change are too cowardly to stand up to the terrorism of the NRA.

And as soon as queer folks start talking about the homophobic underpinnings of the attack and the need for comprehensive, effective gun control, we’re accused of politicizing a tragedy. Well, double fuck you, our bodies and beings are already politically charged–you’ve ensured that. So you don’t get to make it political when it benefits your agenda and then retract the politicization when it doesn’t suit your needs.

I’m tired of hearing about ‘radical Islam’. Note: that the larger Muslim community was very quick to castigate the teensy minority within their midst who hold onto such abhorrent ideas. But, I have to ask, after decades of spreading homophobic hatred, where’s the religious right’s repudiation of those in their midst who continue to stoke this same cycle? They are notoriously silent. They’ll note the tragedy but then they erase that it happened to gay people.

It was refreshing to see an attorney for the ACLU call out exactly this demographic in a tweet. I realize that to combat bigotry with bigotry is a grevious mistake but at the same time I wonder how Xtians would appreciate being considered potential terrorists until proven otherwise. (Realistically, they represent the biggest threat to Americans right now. After all, just like Daesh the view the majority of America as godless heathens–the only difference is in the case of the former the group is operating from a station of fundamental disempowerment, while Evangelical Xtians have convinced themselves that they are somehow victims despite the present system being built, administered by and for them and those like them.)

Lastly, two points on gun control. Whenever this shit happens we hear the left calling for gun control and the right fired up because Obama is going to confiscate their weapons. Here’s the thing, a week to the day before the Orlando shooting, Obama answered this exact question. His response is so incredibly important to wrap your head around: essentially congress forbids the CDC from investigating the cost of gun violence. If you wonder why, you really should read this account of the R&D that led to the manufacture of the AR-15 the weapon of choice in Sandy Hook, Aurora, CO, San Bernardino and Orlando. Ask yourself what a wound from an AR-15 on an elementary school age student looks like? That’s why.

Two things in closing: @jacsfishburne penned one of the most amazing things I’ve read in the fallout from the events in Orlando. She says with simple elegance everything I want to say but can’t find the words.

Also, if you don’t believe that one person can make a difference, here’s devastating evidence to the contrary.