Growing up with a white and native mother and a black father has left me in the middle of a dialogue I want to see from both sides, but I am forced to go with what they "see". My skin. My mother use to get strange looks while I was growing up. Snotty looks, as white women and men stared at her black child and looked down at her. My experiences growing up here in Los Angeles has been a total and utter nightmare. The gang war that broke out here in the early 90's led to my brother's death. Shot 25 times. I was only 5 years old, but I remember my mother kissing his forehead, her red lipstick leaving the last bit of love she had in this world in that coffin, with him. From that point on, she spiraled, she lost herself and in the process I lost my childhood.
He was 23. 12 years later, I lost my mother. I know the pain of losing your family. It never goes away.
The end result of a murder, justified in the eyes of the law or not, sends ripples of pain that continues to torture the person(s) left behind. Depression rears its ugly head and eventually suicide becomes an option. The lack of mental health awareness and help in America for trauma victims would suggest we live in a third world country.
The division we are experiencing in our society right now gives us racially charged hashtags like, #AllLivesDidntMatter, #CrimingWhileWhite, #WhitePrivilegeMeans, and #WhiteInventions. Social Media has become the breeding ground for racist bickering and threats. There are extreme points of view from both sides, but what bothers me the most is those who want to bring up statistics of black on black crime. The conditions upon which poverty stricken blacks live in create the climate for these crimes.
The fact that they say these directions, "came from the top" speaks volumes.
Money plays a big role in how the police do their jobs. This
video (will open in new window) gives astounding proof as to why we are in prisons across America. There are quotas these cops must meet and the punishment for not meeting them are devastating. The fact that they say these directions, "came from the top" speaks volumes. This
article(will open in new window) further shows how the system is rigged to imprison ALL of us. Judges received kickbacks on handing out long sentences to our youth. To further top it off, prisons are privatized, not government owned, however they are government backed. Meaning they receive money to stay running. This
article(will open in new window) further drives the point home that we must end For-Profit Prisons.
With all this evidence stacked against our government,
We Charge Genocide(will open in new window)brought these issues plaguing our society to the United Nations, in an effort to charge the United States government with genocide. Information is available to us on this worldwide web, we have to begin using it for more than Likes and Retweets.
Second Life mimics Real Life and already I have been attacked in groups I thought were for the intelligent people.
In conclusion, I fear for our future. I find it difficult to feel safe driving, going to the store, walking my dogs or even standing on my street. Not that I have a criminal record or anything, just the tension in the air. It's palpable. I am getting phone calls from my family telling me that they are getting strange looks on the trains and buses on their way to work. White passengers are shaking scared and blacks are just as scared if not more. Second Life mimics Real Life and already I have been attacked in groups I thought were for the intelligent people. I no longer feel comfortable going out and exploring in fear of being ridiculed or targeted by others who, before this, never would have given a second thought about me teleporting into a sim.
The mean jokes and automatic responses to others has to stop.
Now, every comment I make on any platform, Flickr, Second Life, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram is being attacked, no matter the subject. The stress I feel from not being able to express myself openly about anything is painful on so many levels. We are all human, and anyone human, White, Black, Latino, or Asian should be equally outraged at what is happening to our society. I ask that we all show compassion to one another. The mean jokes and automatic responses to others has to stop. We have to be leaders, not followers of out of date ideas that no longer work in this melting pot we call America.
Went out looking for a romantic location for dinner and I ran across this place. S A L T Restaurant is a very modern, yet plush location that intrigued me the moment I landed. The leaves on the ground, the trees blowing and the sound of water. If you don't look in every direction, you might miss something. The entry way was grand, even a parking lot to park your Bentley for your roleplay dining experience.
