Why We March?

I spent my Saturday marching through downtown Houston with a bunch of teenagers.

As I stood on the hill in Tranquility Park listening to young adults, and some straight up children, plead with the adults that run this country to keep them safe, I thought about the idiocy of arming teachers. At one point, a fifth grader moved me to tears as he stated, without any doubt in his voice, that he would stand in between his classmates and a gun man if it would save them.

"I've already lived a pretty good life..." said Desmond Floyd, all ten years of him.

These kids have PTSD from going to school. They talk about watching doors and windows, about planning for the worst possible scenario every second that they are at school, about being worried about catching a bullet instead of catching a bus. I do that shit because I'm a combat veteran. They do it because they're American children. This is not normal. This is not right.

And as this young boy spoke, with police snipers overhead, a helo circling, and what seemed like the entire Houston police department surrounding us, I imagined a teacher in an urban combat situation surrounded by kids.

Walk through this with me:

- Scenario 1 - Shooter in hallway. Teacher in classroom. 

50 children in a small classroom. Teacher and shooter exchange fire through the doorway? What's that look like? Messy. A 9mm handgun versus an ak-47/ar-15 in a small space while you're trying to take careful shots and the rifle wielder is just fucking spraying? Good luck.

15 rounds, MAYBE, versus 30 rounds AT LEAST. How many magazines are we giving these teachers? Is the teacher wearing a vest? Is the gun in a holster on the teacher's leg or locked in a drawer or closet? Where are the spare mags?

Likely outcome = Gunman gets extra gun, more children killed in crossfire than if they'd just locked down in place. 

- Scenario 2 - Shooter and teacher in hallway.

How long is a school hallway? The maximum effective range of a 9mm pistol is generally about 50 meters, definitely so in a combat situation with a moving target and non-combatants in between and behind, so it's already useless. The maximum effective range of an AR-15 is about 500 meters POINT target. That means that a skilled shooter can hit you in the eye at 300 meters.

Likely outcome =  Gunman gets extra gun, more children killed in crossfire than if they'd just locked down in place. 

- Scenario 3 - Shooter and teacher in classroom.

Ever wanted to kick a teacher's ass? Ever had a teacher than you absolutely hated and you knew that you'd kick his ass in a fight? Imagine if he had a pistol. Any other measures, metal detectors, resource officers, video surveillance, are all made completely moot.

Likely outcome = You've just armed your gunman. You bought him the gun, loaded it, put it in his classroom, and then prodded him (Where's your assignment, Billy?) into grabbing it. Now he's free to go from classroom to classroom grabbing guns like it's team fucking deathmatch.

- Scenario 4 - Shooter(s), teachers, and resource officer.

Cop shoots teacher. Gunman shoots cop. Gunman now has three guns and the cops are confused who he is while they roam hallways full of running students and armed teachers trying to find someone that looks like either of them with a gun. And if you had multiple shooters on top of that?

Likely outcome = Absolute fucking carnage.

The scenarios just get dumber from there.

Arming teachers is a fucking stupid idea. In Iraq, we didn't let people get within 5 meters of us because hand to hand is a toss up... But, sure, a teacher should be fine. All teachers are bigger and stronger than their students, right?

They needed fucking snipers so a child could speak into a microphone in a park in downtown Houston steps away from Ted Cruz's office and across the street from city hall... But throw a school teacher a gun and the whole school is safe?

Nah.

Fuck the NRA.

- Soos

P.S. - If Killer Mike doesn't get his shit together I'm done with Run The Jewels and they're my favorite group. I will not support someone that supports the NRA. Period.

Out.

Give Me A Dollar! (Or Don't, It's Totally Fine)

I will now be releasing content on Patreon, as well as here, that I'm going to make people pay for. Well, try to. First up is a short story I wrote over New Year's. Writing has always been a passion for me and I've always found short stories fun to write. This one was more fun than most.

It, and all my fiction to come, will be available on my Patreon for the whopping tier 1 price of $1. More tiers will be coming soon with more exciting things. Real world things I'll be making that you can actually hold in your hands. This year is already a very busy one.

I was going to say "Stay tuned" but that's another phrase that Trump has ruined.

Instead, here's a little snippet of my short story "Last New Year's With Ricky" to whet your appetite. It was supposed to be a tiny story about New Year's. What it ended up being, however, is part one of a three part story. I hope you'll consider subscribing to read the whole thing, as well as the second and third parts coming soon.

Later.

- Soos

He was on her before she knew what was happening. He came from the street and hit her in her right side, driving her into a recessed doorway and off of the pavement. Mary glimpsed a red sweater and a dirty old coat as she slammed into the shop's door with sickening force. Feeling him behind her, she spun and lashed out with her right elbow, catching her attacker in the temple. His head bounced of the stone of the entryway and he fell past her. Then Mary ran.

She was running into David's shop before she even realized where she was going, covering the half mile at a dead sprint. She'd felt him chasing her. She hadn't looked back once to see if he was behind her, something had told her not to, and she assumed he was behind her still.

“Mary?! You alright?” David asked. Seeing her distress immediately, he came out from behind the counter to meet her.

"A man grabbed me." she blurted, trying to catch her breath. "Chasing me."

"He's chasing you now?" David asked, walking back to the counter. Mary nodded. David nodded back and, reaching down over the counter, producted a well worn cricket bat

"Ok. He might be gone. I don't know. I think he was trying to... You know..." she didn't want to say it. She didn't have to.

"Wait here, ok? I'll make sure he's gone. Just stay here. Go get you a drink of something, it's on me. Ok?” his brow furrowed angrily as he talked. She'd never seen him anything but happy before. He noticed her studying his frown and smiled reassuringly at her. He had such nice, straight white teeth. "It's fine. While I'm gone get you a drink or something, yeah? Grab one for Ricky, too. My treat. I'll make sure this bloke is gone."

"Should I call the police?" Mary asked him. She wanted to help somehow but she wasn't going back outside.

"Um... Nah. If he's gone what are they gonna do, right? And they usually just show up to fuck things up, anyway. Don't wanna get someone's mum shot on New Year's, right?"

Mary nodded, stiffly. The mention of Ricky's name had caught her off guard and she could feel the anger boiling up again. If the police escorted her home and found her fuckhead of a husband skagged out in his chair the night would be a damn sight worse. David disappeared through the dark doorway. She couldn't see him outside but she could hear him yelling. David had always been nice to her. She and Ricky had lived here for seven years now and this was their closest shop. Ricky liked his beer, and she her wine, so they'd been pretty regular customers of his. She'd always thought that he was sort of sexy, really, but she'd been with Ricky. Now, standing alone in his store as he defended her honor outside, she couldn't help but wonder. He was shorter than Ricky but taller than her. He was mostly bald but kept his hair really short. Mary didn't much care for long hair anymore, anyway. Ricky's was always greasy and nasty. It'd mat if she didn't make him let her brush it. She wondered then if he was still sleeping happily in his favorite chair, high as a kite, and content. "Fucking asshole." She muttered, again.

“You know what?” she said to herself, “Fuck it.”

She walked to the back of the shop, grabbed two bottles of cheap wine from the fridge, and brought them back to the counter to wait for David. If Ricky can go off and get smashed then she could, too. It was New Year's eve, after all. She glanced at the clock behind the counter, by the cigarettes that she was trying very hard not to notice, and saw that it was 11:11pm.

"Make a wish." Mary said to no one in particular.

Almost time for the ball to drop. Maybe she'd ask David to join her. The thought made her grin.

Then, she heard him scream.

Read the thrilling conclusion here! ----> https://www.patreon.com/posts/last-new-years-16209918

What's More Corrosive Than Racism?

Today, four students were attacked with acid in Marseilles. I'm sure that everyone has seen this being blasted across twitter by white supremacists that need to spread their xenophobic hate speech and, if you read my twitter, all over my timeline while I do the opposite. I'll just recap what is known thus far.

Names of victims - Courtney Silverling, Charlotte Kaufman, Michelle Krug and Kelsey Kosten.

Name of attacker - Unknown.

Weapon - A spray bottle filled with Hydrochloric acid.

Time of attack - 9am local time, Central European Standard Time, which is +2 GMT, making it 2am here in Texas.

Scene of attack - Gare de Marseille-Saint-Charles, Marseilles main train station.

Reason of attack - Unknown. The police say that the woman is "disturbed" and has a history of mental illness. After the attack, she remained at the scene until the police came and then talked to them about being attacked with acid once herself.

The victims are reported to be in good health.

Is it terrorism?

Well, a lot of the arguments I've seen revolve around the idea that any attack perpetrated with acid is a terror attack. Right wing twitter is especially abuzz with this new definition of terrorism. Disregarding for a moment that the actual definition of terrorism is "the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims" and just accepting this new narrative for the sake of argument, I have to wonder why the right only cares about brown terrorism.

I mean, I already know the answer... But apparently it's important to debate racists these days. I hope
this helps.

Meet John Tomlin.

This lump of pure England allegedly threw acid on two Muslims at a traffic light in East London. Resham Khan, 21, and her cousin Jameel Muhktar, 37, were left severely injured in the attack. Without going into too much horrific detail, and the details are horrific, Tomlin allegedly pulled up on them and motioned that they open their window. When he first began throwing the acid Jameel Muktar apparently thought it was a practical joke. Then he realized that Resham was burning. A moment later, he too was burning. Jameel attempted to drive away but, blinded by acid and I'm sure great pain, he crashed the car into a fence. The two then stripped from their burning clothes and begged local residents for water and help before being taken to an area hospital. The two do not appear to know Tomlin.

“My plans are in pieces; my pain is unbearable, and I write this letter in hospital whilst I patiently wait for the return of my face,” she wrote.

It was Ms. Khan's birthday and they were out celebrating. Khan is an aspiring model and a Manchester Metropolitan University student. Her facial injuries are substantial. She is a beautiful woman and I wish her well on her long road to what I hope will be a full recovery.

*Trigger warning* The pictures are rough.

Help her here.

"If this was an Asian guy like myself, going up to an English couple in a car and acid attacking them, I know for a fact and the whole country knows that it would be classed as a terror attack".

Mr. Muktar fared no better. After the attack he was put into a medically induced coma because his injuries were so severe. Since the attack he has become terrified to leave his house. He's also deaf in one ear now. I hope he, too, makes a full recovery.

Help him here.


So, is this terrorism?

If so, why isn't John Tomlin a household name? Why aren't the right wing Christians of twitter, of the fucking world, rallying to the cause of Jameel Muktar and Resham Khan? Is it because acid attacks aren't automatically terrorism? Or is it because it's only terrorism when a brown person does it? John Tomlin looks like a skinhead to me. The cross facial tat is a very common thing among English skinheads and while I'm not sure about the teardrops I know what they mean here!

What about this poor guy?

This man was also attacked by acid. His name and identity are being concealed because apparently acid attacks are under-reported in England due to fear of reprisals. No outrage for him? I wonder why.

Or what about this man?

This is the only picture I could find of this man. No name. No arrests. No outrage.

Or what about this case? 

The victim named, Jabed Duzzahuru, is just a delivery driver that was randomly attacked. Never heard of him. Weird. They even protested for protection from these attacks.

London has an acid attack problem. It's currently the acid attack capital of the world. Per this Guardian piece, In 2016 there were 455 crimes in London where a corrosive substance was used or threatened to be used. A quarter of these were street robberies. Are robberies terrorism if you use acid? If so, why aren't people screaming about these terrorist attacks?

Is it just because it's expected in London? Perhaps. It happens there a lot. So let's try another country. How about Germany? Earlier this year, a man on a bicycle was riding around Berlin spraying chemicals at random women. Why wasn't there outrage about this?

It is not yet known whether the six cases are connected, but the modus operandi appears to be the same: A man on a bicycle rides up to a woman walking at night and sprays her with a liquid.

This is what happened to a 41-year-old walking late on Monday around midnight in the eastern Prenzlauer Berg district, police report. 

The woman told police that a man rode by her and sprayed an as of yet unknown substance in the direction of her head. Police said that luckily the woman acted quickly to use her scarf to block the liquid from hitting her, meaning she was left unharmed.  

The man then rode away, but the woman was able to give police a description: He was between 35 and 45 years old with light skin, of medium height and a strong-looking build.

Oh.

Either it's all terrorism or none of it is.

If, when a brown person throws acid on someone it's automatically Islamic terrorism, then when a white man with a cross tattoo on his face throws acid on a Muslim it is also terrorism.

If, when a white man throws acid on someone it's not automatically Christian terrorism, then when a brown man throws acid on a white man it is also not terrorism.

Pick one.

But they won't. The main victims of these "terror attacks" are brown people and right wingers don't care about those victims because right wingers don't care about brown people. 

Unless they're guilty of something, of course.