Weekend Warble 323

This Weekend Was Hard

I want to state firstly that I'm gonna delve into exactly why this weekend was hard, but if you're not here for that, you can stop before the break. Compassion fatigue is real, and if you are at your limit, you shouldn't feel bad for skipping the end of this blog. Keep yourself going. You matter.

Here's the light part:

This weekend I received a few packages from my partner, who decided that I needed snacks and who I am eternally grateful to. In these packages were a big bag of Japanese snacks I'm working my way through slowly (so far my favorites were the green apple konjac jelly cup, the grape konjac jelly tube, and the Texas Corn!), a 4lb (1757.7g) container of M&Ms, and an 8-pack of homemade pretzels from Kentucky that are just as good in the microwave as they are in the toaster oven, taste faintly of honey mustard, and are bigger than my ding-dang hand! These snacks are a lifesaver, since I haven't really been able to get to the store lately. Some friends of mine also sent me a lovely cloth mask that I'll be using to pick up some bottled water and/or juice later this week, I think.

I haven't been watching much tv or many movies, though I learned a bit about a failed Gilligan's Island follow-up and I've been watching both a PPV for the blog and a lot of Ghost Adventures for research purposes (story idea). I've been writing a lot, I've been practicing my digital art, and I've been crocheting.

I've played so much Breath of the Wild lately, because it's the only thing that has been able to keep my attention. I've tried to play quite a few Kongregate games, but none of them are keeping me focused, which isn't the games' fault. There's a lot on my mind.

I enjoy cooking, and I did actually make more quickbread with Everything Bagel mix for my partner, but I didn't cover it. I might eventually make some Soda Bread for home, but between the pretzels and the fact that it vacillates between 80℉ (26.7℃) and 60℉ (15.6℃) I haven't really felt the need. Also, I have to see if I can use one of the lidded casseroles to stand in for a Dutch Oven, which I don't believe we actually have here...

So this weekend was productive, just not maybe blog productive, lol.  It's been a lot of practice, novel progress, and listening to Dandy Wellington.

***

Now for the heavy:

It's been a bad weekend across America. Our 400 year history of screwing over people of color is really coming up, and it hasn't been pretty. People are dying. Police are killing people. A reporter was blinded by police who targeted her. A very old man was shoved down by police for the crime of walking slowly with his cane. It's... not good.

I hope there is progress made. I hope the officers involved in George Floyd's negligent homicide are charged. Not stopping a fellow officer from taking a life for no reason - no one was endangered by Mr. Floyd, who was accused of passing a counterfeit $20 (a nonviolent crime that anyone could commit by accident, think about that) - is, I believe, a crime in and of itself.

Now there are protests across the nation, and just like in the 1960s, when there were righteous protests filled with angry people who were tired of being commanded to die for no reason (Vietnam), angry people tired of being beaten and abused by society (people of color), people who were tired of being mistreated for their very essence of being (LGBTQ folks), and so many more people who were crying out for justice, these protests have been met with violence by the police. Just as wretched are the people who are obviously unconnected to the protests themselves who go about committing arson and looting and acts of violence of their own - the Umbrella Man with his very suspicious tactical gear, the old scumbag with the bow and arrows (trying to murder protesters!), the white morons with their automatic weapons, the white monsters starting the riots themselves while black organizers scream and plead for them to stop...

It's a terrible mess. It's a terrible time.

I suppose we never learn.

There are good things to focus on, though.

There are the hundreds of law firms who see the protesters who have been arrested (not, likely, the actual looters and provocateurs, if I had to guess) and are offering pro bono services.

There are doctors, nurses, paramedics giving advice on how to treat the most common protest-related injuries (chemical burns from tear gas and pepper spray, bruises, light dislocations, etc), offering confidential medical assistance.

There are people passing out water so no one gets dehydrated.

There are people who are using their voices.

Hopefully there will be justice for George Floyd. Hopefully, there will be justice for the reporters who have been beaten, bloodied, one with her (thankfully non-dominant!) eyeball exploded by a rubber bullet despite her obviously not being a threat. Hopefully, there will be a disarmament of the police, because as we see time and time again, the more weapons you give a person, the more often they will use those weapons, whether they need to or not.

I have hope that the people of America will (eventually) start doing the right thing. That we will destroy the systems that allow men like George Floyd to be held down until they die, or that allow police to destroy the private property of citizens without regard, or that allow police to slaughter women in their sleep (Breonna Taylor). This has to stop.

Black Lives Matter.

FC