Underneath my yellow skin

Tag Archives: ice

Rise up; stand up; don’t back down

I woke up to the news that there’s been another local shooting by ICE. Oh wait. It might not be ICE. It might be Border Patrol. At any rate, it’s federal assholes. This time, it was K messaging me. which meant I had to be angry, upset, depressed, enraged, heartbroken, and a whole mess of other complicated emotions upon waking. Once again, I’ve spent all day in a daze, avoiding the video and the pictures, but reading what happened to the young man. I’m numb, yes, but there’s a rage burning in my heart, and it’s only growing stronger. There was a sliver of hope after the peaceful economic blackout yesterday–and now? We’re back in the terribleness we were in two weeks ago.

Before I continue on my rant, I want to say yet again that while I’m not happy with the increase of filming in public in general, I’m beyond grateful that it’s a staple in all the protests. Because without the video footage from ordinary people, ICE, DHS, and all the other presidential shills would be able to spin the narrative much more readily. Lord knows they’re doing their best to do it, anyway, but with all the video footage of what actually happened, it’s a much harder task for them.

Oh, I know MAGA will believe whatever their dear leader tells them, no matter what he says. Even when he changes his mind two minutes later, they agree unthinkingly.

Side note to the side note: This is a drum I’ve been banging for decades to the Democrats. Fuck that group. No, serious. Fuck them. Write them off. You will never ever ever win them over. I’m talking about that thirty percent of the population (roughly twenty percent, that’s an ass number, of the voters) who are just gonna be the way they are.

Stop ppandering to them. Stop trying to lure them to the dark side. Just. Fucking. Let. Them. Go. The ones you want to try to win over are the moderates and the independents. Oh, and by the way, you’re losing me as well because I’m tired of being put dead last every year. And not even consciously–but just by omission. That’s more insulting than being deliberately ignored.

Here’s the thing. The Democrats are shitty at messaging. And, for decades, they’ve tried to define themselves as the ‘not-Republicans’. The Dems were always reacting and never being proactive. They’re too nerdy and wonky for the gen pop. one of the big reasons Obama won was beacuse he had a simple message that connected with a vast swathe of people. He saved his wonkiness for when he got elected, which was a smart move. Oh, and he mobilized the online youth like none other. He internet savvy, and he used that to his advantage.

Back to my post.


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I Can Fly! Oh, Wait. No I Can’t.

I was taking out the trash the other night, and it was dark out. I do it late at night, and my front light isn’t working. I went to check the mail, and I didn’t notice there was a huge slick of ice in front of my mailbox. I noticed when my feet went up in the air, and I landed on my knees and night elbow. If you ever want to feel completely in your body, just fall. You will be aware of muscles you never knew existed before.

The pain was sharply intense, and I’m saying this as someone who slept through a recent root canal. I couldn’t believe how much it hurt–and how quickly the intense pain went away. I admit I stayed on the ground for a minute or so, but I soon got back on my feet and checked all my limbs for possible damage. My right elbow was scraped with a little blood, my left knee felt puffy and sore, and my right knee ached a bit, but that’s it.

Nothing was broken. Nothing was wrenched, twisted, or dislocated. I kept an eye on it the next day, and while I was achy (especially in my left knee. My poor knees. They can’t catch a break), nothing actively hurt. My left knee still feels bruised and a bit puffy, but it’s nothing I can’t handle.

I bring this up for a few reasons. One, I’m still clumsy. I still fall on the regular, though not as often as I used to. Two, it wasn’t my fault this time. The last time when I fell on the stairs while doing the laundry (or more accurately, on my way to doing the laundry), it was my own damn fault for reading my phone as I was walking. This time, however, there wasn’t much I could do because I simply didn’t see the ice in the dark. It helps me understand that sometimes, things do just happen. Three, I instantly relaxed as I was falling, and this is something I’ve noticed in the last few years. Yes, I still fall, but I’m more able to do what needs to be done to minimize the damage. It’s not even something I think about–I do it automatically.

It’s the reason I walked away from my minor car accident with nothing more than a big bruise on my stomach (from either the seat belt or the airbag). It’s the reason I only have bruises and aches after falling off ladders or on the ice as I most recently did. It brings me a small measure of comfort knowing that while I may still be clumsy and fall from time to time, I don’t have to take maximum damage from it.

It’s a revelation to me as someone who’s been clumsy all her life. Yes, I’m working on being more observant and trying not to run into things in the first place, but it’s nice to know that when I make a mistake, I won’t necessarily have to pay for it (too much).

I Have a Dream (and Not a Good One)

Still fighting off a new round of crud. It’s cold and snowy (yay), which makes driving…interesting. I heard a good speech on MLK Jr. on NPR, but I had to get over the preachification cadence that I find off-putting. He brought up something I didn’t know–by the time MLK Jr. was assassinated, he had a 70% disapproval rating from white people and a 55% disapproval rating from black people because he was anti-war and focusing on eradicating poverty.

I hate how he’s been defanged and become some kind of teddy bear. On his day, people trot out his I Have a Dream speech in justification of wanting to be ‘color-blind’. It’s a good speech, don’t get me wrong, and has some strong aspirations. However, it’s used by white people to gloss over the racial strife that exists as well as the social injustices.

I much prefer Letter From a Birmingham Jail, which is sadly apropos today. MLK Jr. had no problem speaking his mind when he thought it was called for. He wasn’t just a wise old Uncle Remus telling a good yarn about peace and getting along.

I’m feeling pretty grotty, so it’s more fighting off the crud on this bank holiday.