What People Care About This Week: Ahmed Mohamed

For this post I'm gonna have to ask all of you to not put on your Social Justice Warrior t-shirt, form your own opinion, be honest, and realize that things are not the way they used to be. A few days ago a 14 year old student in Irving, Texas named Ahmed Mohamed was arrested for bringing a home made alarm clock to school. His teacher freaked out thinking it was a bomb, just like I would've, and called the police which led to his arrest. “I built the clock to impress my teacher, but when I showed it to her, she thought it was a threat to her. It was really sad that she took the wrong impression from it” Ahmed said after being released from a detention center to his parents.

The school, MacArthur High School, said that they are willing to allow Ahmed to return to the school but the family does not want him there and deciding where he'll go instead. The internet has started the hashtags #IstandWithAhmed and #EngineersForAhmed because that is what the world does now. President Barack Obama even invited him to the White House. Why? I'm not sure. I'm really not.

What People Care About This Week: Live WDBJ Killings

People are going to be talking about this for the next few days so I felt that I should write about it. Recently at work someone asked me if I had heard about the Paris train attack and I said no. When asked why I said “I try my best to choose what I absorb.” What I mean by that is I barely watch the news, don't care much for world issues, and the only things that I pick up on are from social media or friends telling me. I'm comfortably ignorant. I know some people will read that and sigh or feel bad for me. Don't. This is a nice place to be. This post will be about a shooting that was aired on live television. You probably shouldn't keep reading this if you're sensitive. 

During a live on the scene broadcast at 6:45am WDBJ reporter Alison Parker who was 24 years old and 27 year old cameraman Adam Ward a former employee of the news station Bryce Williams aka Lester Flanagan walked up and shot and killed them. The lady being interviewed, Vicki Gardner, was shot in the back and as of this writing in surgery. Ward's fiancee was in the control room when this happened and saw him shot.

What People Care About This Week: Samuel Dubose Murder

As of today 671 people have been killed by police in the United States. When I typed in “How many people have been killed by...” the sentence filled itself in with ...”ISIS” and “...the police in 2015.” On July 19th 43 year old Samuel Dubose of Cincinnati, Ohio and father of thirteen was shot and killed by 25 year old officer Raymond Tensing during a traffic stop over a missing plate. The entire incident was recorded on a body camera which once again made me want to shout at everyone about how having a camera on every cop will not stop them from beating or killing anyone the same way surveillance cameras don't stop crime. Is it better that people that commit these crimes can be caught because there is footage? Yes. But that doesn't bring back someone who was killed for no reason.

Prosecuting attorney Joseph T. Deters stated “It was a senseless, asinine shooting. This doesn't happen in the United States, okay? This might happen in Afghanistan. People don't get shot for a traffic stop.” He also said “This office has probably reviewed upwards of hundreds of police shootings, and this is the first time that we've thought this is without question a murder.”

What People Care About This Week: Raynette Turner

Another arrest, another person dying in police custody. This time it was mother of eight kids 42 year old Raynette Turner of Mount Vernon, New York. While waiting for arraignment after being arrested for shoplifting she was found dead in her holding cell. Her husband of 23 years, Herman Turner is not taking this lightly. “Sounds like a cover-up to me. If they Mount Vernon police did their job she would still be alive. I want somebody's head to roll on this. I am not going to rest until I get some type of justice for my wife. That's the bottom line.”

So far the officials results have been inconclusive as to how she died. Herman wasn't even sure that his wife was arrested on Friday of Saturday for stealing crab legs where she was found a short distance away from by police. He was told she was complaining of feeling ill on Monday and was found dead on Tuesday. He didn't find out that his wife was dead until two detectives showed up at his house to tell him. “We know she was requesting medical treatment and it seems that, at some level, the system and the protocols that the city was following failed.”

What People Care About This Week: Troy Goode & Sandra Bland

Been a hell of a last few days regarding the use of force by police. Well, a hell of a last few years particularly. 30 year old Troy Goode died two hours after arriving at a hospital after being arrested by police after a concert in Memphis, Tennessee. The lawyer for the family, Tim Edwards, reported that the asthmatic was placed face down on a stretcher and hogtied by Mississippi because he was being disruptive. “His face was buried in the mattress of the stretcher. There was a strap over the back of his head so he couldn't move his head. His hands and feet were hogtied so he couldn't move those, either.” This was recorded on video.

It is being investigated whether or not Goode and his friends were intoxicated before the show. “That'll be determined by the toxicology screen. Whatever was ingested, it was done by all five of them” Edwards said. Police have already been using the phrase “alleged LSD overdose” before any real information has been released to disavow any responsibility. The family meanwhile believes that excessive force may have been a contributing factor in his death. The family has asked for an investigation to begin but as of me writing this none have begun.

What People Care About This Week: McKinney Pool Party Chaos

Last week video came out from a pool party in McKinney, Texas where a bunch of Black teens were being rounded up, handcuffed, and threatened with more force. There are a lot of people involved in this story which means that we'll never know the entire truth of it. If you have three teens you'll get five stories and once you involve police you just multiply that by two.

I watched the video and the first thing I thought was “This cop wants to fuck someone up!” When you see officer Eric Casebolt come barrel rolling into the shot you know from the start that he is not there to make peace. He's not there to calm everyone down and find out what's happening. He is excited that he gets to exert force. I'm a cop. You're not. Get wrecked. Well, turns out he got a little bit too turnt up and now he's resigned before the investigation into this while he was on leave was done.

What People Care About This Week: Child Molester Josh Duggar

Scumbag Josh Duggar is a child molester. There are a lot of things that I think people can be rehabilitated from but this isn't one of them. If you have it in you to molest a kid you need to not breathe anymore. Josh is 27 years old and the oldest child of the Duggar family known for being scary Christian and their TLC show 19 Kids And Counting which debuted in 2008 when there were just 17 kids. I say “just” in the loosest of terms. No one needs to have that many goddamn children. Even when having a lot of kids was useful like in farm times and shit if you were a family that had that many kids the town would probably kill you.

Last Thursday he issued an apology via Facebook saying “Twelve years ago, as a young teenager I acted inexcusably for which I am extremely sorry and deeply regret. I hurt others, including my family and close friends. I confessed this to my parents who took several steps to help me address the situation. We spoke with the authorities where I confessed my wrongdoing and my parents arranged for me and those affected by my actions to receive counseling.”

What People Care About This Week: Freddie Gray

Recently 25 year old Freddie Gray died after injuries sustained after his arrest in Baltimore by police. This has led to riots, protest, and multiple injuries. But first I'm gonna go back to what caused this to happen. I am gonna try and be as factual as I can be while writing this because this is all still under investigation and not all of the information has been released. Every day more comes out that makes me go “Okay, but...” and “I get that, but...”

To me a lot of what is wrong with this case, the people involved, and not to sound like a hippie, the system, is the procedures that are in place.

Gray lived at home with his two sisters, one of whom was his twin. He had been arrested a lot of times. A lot. It is shown that he was arrested 22 times for various crimes, primarily drug related and some assaults. There has been 20 cases against him in court with five of them still being active. I'm not writing this stuff to paint this guy as a criminal. He was a criminal. That isn't even a question. I'm just stating what I believe are facts. But criminal or not he didn't deserve what happened. 

What People Care About This Week: Bill Cosby Rape Allegations

You ever have one of those situations in life or a series of events that happened that you had hoped was gone and no one would bring up again? I'm sure Bill Cosby does. For the past few weeks his history of rape allegations has been front and center in his life and while it was known by the public for quite some time it didn't come to the forefront again until a stand up routine by comedian Hannibal Buress where he made this statement.

“And it's even worse because Bill Cosby has the fucking smuggest old black man public persona that I hate. Pull your pants up, black people. I was on TV in the '80s. I can talk down to you because I had a successful sitcom. Yeah, but you raped women, Bill Cosby. So, brings you down a couple notches. I don't curse on stage. Well, yeah, you're a rapist, so, I'll take you sayin' lots of motherfuckers on Bill Cosby: Himself if you weren't a rapist. I want to just at least make it weird for you to watch Cosby Show reruns. I've done this bit on stage, and people don't believe. People think I'm making it up. That shit is upsetting. If you didn't know about it, trust me. You leave here and Google ‘Bill Cosby rape.' It's not funny. That shit has more results than Hannibal Buress.”

Since then it has resulted in shows canceling interviews with Cosby, more allegations or various forms of sexual misconduct, the cancellation of an upcoming Netflix series, and interviews that are uncomfortable for everyone except the interviewer because this stuff gets views and attention. I think the interviews bother me because it is the perfect example of the “gotcha media” that Sarah Palin's crazy ass used to complain about.

What People Care About This Week: Brittany Maynard

This week 29 year old Brittany Maynard decided to end her life through means of a medicine that is available through a doctor in the state of Oregon. She began speaking for patient rights after being diagnosed with a powerful form of brain cancer, glioblastoma, and given six months to live. She posted a farewell message on her Facebook page.

“Goodbye to all my dear friends and family that I love. Today is the day I have chosen to pass away with dignity in the face of my terminal illness... the world is a beautiful place, travel has been my greatest teacher, my close friends and folks are the greatest givers...goodbye world. Spread good energy. Pay it forward!”

Oregon has something called the Death With Dignity Act. If someone is terminally ill and in the right state of mind they have the option to end their life. She had to move to Oregon just to have the opportunity to end her life this way. She knew what that form of cancer was gonna do to her and decided she didn't want that or to put her family and husband through that.

What People Care About This Week: Catcalling PSA

Last week I saw a video featuring a woman named Shoshana Roberts that is an actress walking the streets of New York and being catcalled by a bunch of different guys. When I saw it I had a range of emotions and none of them were what would be called “surprised.” Dudes catcall. Here in L.A I have said for years that different races do it differently with Latino men being in the lead for most hardcore at it. They will physically move women with their gaze!

I had a lot of problems with this video. A lot of men I read commenting on this did as well but I don't have the angle that they're coming at it with. Just yesterday I had a guy catcalling me. He tried three times. Yes, I am a dude in case anyone is new here and puzzled. What you know about that West Hollywood Life? When I walked my cousin to her car and came back he whistled to me and said “Hey, brother? Look over here!” Of course I didn't because besides not being gay being whistled at will not get me to respond to you. I'm not a dog.

What People Care About This Week: Ray & Janay Rice Abuse Scandal

This week everyone has been talking about Ray Rice's assault of his then fiancee, the new footage released, and Janay Rice's reaction to the public reaction of her reaction. I have found a timeline of the events that have led to a public case of abuse and an organizations pathetic attempt to cover it all up. This is a batch of nonsense that will get a lot worse before this is all said and done.

In the last few days since the video has been released there has been an 84% increase in calls to the National Domestic Abuse Hotline. Click here to contact them.

February 15. At the Revel Casino Hotel in Atlantic City Ray and Janay got into a fight. Both were charged with simple assault-domestic violence and were summoned to appear in court.

February 17. Ray Rice's Baltimore Raven's team manager Ozzie Newsome released a statement saying that they would wait for more information before taking any actions. Bad move.

What People Care About This Week: ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is all the rage right now but I doubt many people who are now doing it know exactly what it is or even what they are even doing the challenge for. Like most things that are the rage, like that Harlem Shake stuff that happened a while back, people see it and want to tape themselves doing it for views, not the cause. I've always known ALS as Lou Gehrig's Disease. Here's a description of what ALS is and how it effects people.

“Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as 'Lou Gehrig's Disease,' is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS eventually leads to their death. When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. With voluntary muscle action progressively affected, patients in the later stages of the disease may become totally paralyzed.” Source ALSA.org.

What People Care About This Week: Michael Brown Shooting

Shit is shady in Ferguson, Missouri. An 18 year old kid named Michael Brown that was getting set to head to college was shot and killed in the street by an unnamed police office. On one side, meaning the public, they say that Brown held his hands up when confronted by officers and shot down. On the law side they say that he attacked an officer as he attempted to leave his vehicle and was shot and killed. You can probably guess who I believe. New reports say that the cop who shot Brown has been treated for a swollen face. That's better than being shot, killed, and left in the street.

Brown's friend, 22 year old Dorian Johnson, told his account of what happened since the kid killer is still in hiding. Johnson said the police pulled up and said “Get the fuck on the sidewalk. Not but a minute away from our destination, and we would shortly be out of the street. We were so close, almost inches away, that when he tried to open his door aggressively, the door ricocheted both off me and Big Mike's body and closed back on the officer.” He says the cop grabbed Brown by his neck and Brown tried to get free which, cop or not cop, you grab me by my goddamn neck we have problems.

What People Care About This Week: Missing Nigerian Girls

This week the story of the kidnapped girls in Nigeria has found its way back into the public. When I first heard this story months ago I was not shocked in the least. Whenever I hear about this like this happening in other parts of the world, particularly the Middle East and Africa, I just figure that is how these countries operate. I decided to do a little research into the men who have committed these crimes for years now not just this year and exactly what justifications they use to perpetrate their crimes. There is an insurgent group known as Boko Haram which loosely translates to “West education is a sin.” I doubt that is the exact meaning but whatever. Let's go with it. Their official name translates to “people committed to the propagation of the tradition and jihad.” Last year a state of emergency was declared against the group which led to hundreds of their members being killed.

Those that survived had moved to the mountain areas where they continue their assaults. The group, still as strong as ever, have mostly been forced into the areas surrounding Nigeria. The group, as their name states, does not want people, specifically women, being educated as it is seen as going against their Muslim beliefs. Instead girls are seen as tools for sex and cooks. That doesn't sound too different than this country less than a hundred years ago and yesterday in some parts of of right now.

What People Care About This Week: School Shootings

This week people are freaking out about school shootings. No one is sure who to blame but, as always, people begin lobbying their causes. There are the mental health aspects, the gun control issue, the school security issue. Eventually it all gets brushed under the rug because something more scandalous happens and draws attention away from the fact that kids get shot at school on a pretty regular basis now. The most recent shooting happened in Oregon yesterday. I actually saw this on the TV at work right after it happened and a guard said “Makes you not wanna send your kids to school.”

15 year old Jared Padgett shot and killed 14 year old Emilio Hoffman before shooting himself in the bathroom of the school. In his guitar case he had an AR-15 rifle, a semi-automatic handgun, nine loaded magazines, and a knife. During the shooting his sister, Chelsea Cooper, posted on her Facebook account.

“Praying for everyone at Reynolds! My little brother is still there & I'm freakin out! I hate being states away :-( So stressful!” as well as “They keep saying the shooter is dead but I wanna know who it is!!! I'm so stressed right now.” Of course she had no idea that her brother was the one who'd been the shooter. So far no one knows why he decided to shoot up the school. Many are confused because he didn't fit the “profile” of someone who would do such a thing. He was in the JROTC. Played track and field. Yeah, he liked heavy metal but also Christian bands. He idolizes his brother who is in the military.

What People Care About This Week: Elliot Rodgers

Back when I was younger me and my friend agreed that if we didn't get laid by the time we were 16 that we would kill ourselves. I mean, if we couldn't get laid then why the hell would we want to continue living? As you can tell I didn't kill myself even though I didn't lose my virginity until I was 17. Sex was that important. But now as a grown ass man I realize how stupid it is to put that much emphasis on sex. There is a line from the book Carrie that I've always remembered but can't recall who said it. I think it was the meanest chick. She was talking about boning her boyfriend and said it “seemed like a lot of rubbing or a little heat.” Someone should've explained this to Elliot Rodgers.

Or maybe not.

Maybe it wouldn't have made much of a difference. Some people are just fucked up and no matter what you say they're gonna go on and just ruin other people's lives because they aren't happy. Elliot was upset that at the age of 22 he was still a virgin. He made videos and wrote about the revenge that he was going to take against every woman that ever did him wrong. Nay! The world! Fucking maroon. He even wrote a 140 page story detailing his plan. This is gonna be long so feel free to grab a cup of tea and sit back as I attempt to figure out a lunatic.