Merry Xmas and a hopeful New Year...

Here we are again. Tis the season where people make the attempt to be better people. They try to be a little nicer. Try to be more considerate of their fellow man. But let us not forget that we are on the verge of having a new president that seems to be hell bent on going to war in every way possible. We are going to need this holiday spirit to last as long as possible. We are going to have to look out for one another even more as the incoming administration seems to only be looking out for the upper one percent.

But the change of season and turning of the year is a sign for new beginnings, fresh starts and for letting go of old stuff. For myself, I'm looking to try new things, learn some new stuff, and take a big step for my future (details to come as i get closer). I plan on taking this step alone but it doesn't have to go that route (time and attitudes will tell). It's the first time in awhile that I'm kind of excited about the future, excited about having a sense of purpose again. Last time I felt like this was when I paid off my student loans in the winter of 2014.

I'm not much for the holidays. I've been single for too long and coming "home" to an empty, rented  apartment just doesn't have any sense of merriment or joy or happiness. Maybe that will change in the upcoming year. As for the end of this year, I've reconnected with some old friends that kind of miss having me around. It will be nice to see them again. It will be nice to be social (semi-social?) again. It will be nice to get out of the rut of the daily routine.

So to those who find this blog, happy holiday (pick one).
Show a little extra kindness, be a better person. We're going to need that extra compassion in the days and years to come.

PEace

Is it just in my head...

December is here. The end of 2016. And ever since the presidential election in November, everything feels off. It feels as if we're going  backwards in time. That all the progress the USA has made over the past 50 years has come to a halt and is trying to revert back to the 1950's. I fear that murders that have happened over the past years, of unarmed black people, are only just the beginning. The hatred, the fear, it has all risen to the surface of the American consciousness. Bigots, hate mongers, racists... they have no fear of the repercussions that would normally come with their outspoken hatred.

Is this what we really are as a nation? As a country? We are supposed to be the example, the beckon on the hill, the light in the darkness! And after 8 years of repairing the damage caused by the previous American President, the American people have placed into power a man with no experience in public office, a man who has only served himself and his interests into the highest position of our nation. This is going to be a hard lesson learned for the American people. 2 years to see and feel the direction this man is going to try and take the country, and another 2 years to remove him for the office. But will we learn from this mistake? Or will it take another 9-11 for us to get things right, for people to stop voting against their best interests?

Personally, I can already feel the change. In my gentrified neighborhood, the white people who have moved into the area already look as though I'm the outsider. For fuck sake, I was born and raised in this neighborhood and I'M THE OUTSIDER?!? Get the fuck out of here! But that's not what I'm talking about. My so-called neighbors aren't the problem (yet). It's the people who uphold the law. The people who are to serve and protect the people, all people, black people, white people, brown people, yellow people... ALL OF THE PEOPLE! I fear that, I, my father, my brother, any of the people of color that matter to me, might find themselves starring down the barrel of a gun of a police officer for no other reason that they were in the wrong place, at the wrong time, and some asshole office felt the need to exert their authority over someone. I can only hope that this will never happen.

To the readers who find this blog, please, PLEASE try to find it within yourself to imagine that you are a person of color, and try to understand what we go through on a daily basis. Try to empathize. Try to understand. But more importantly, try to just be a good person and act accordingly.

If you've read this blog, you know a little bit about the kind of person I am. You might realize that I feel things deeply. So I say this, thank you for taking the time to read this.

Until next time,
PEace.