A Black Trans Woman Was Brutally Attacked At A Cookout And She Needs Help

This post predicted the future

From Girl Scout’s social media. The original Twitter thread is here.

Representation matters

With the Ansel Elgort situation going on, I just want to remind you all of this: DO NOT. IDOLIZE. CELEBRITIES. Yes, you can be fans of their work. You can admire how they give back and/or support good causes. There's nothing wrong with that. But to put them on a pedestal, see them as a "God", "Flawless", or "perfect" is truly stretching it. You never know how they behave behind the scenes, and most importantly, you don't even know them personally. So, when a certain celeb does something really screwed up that no one should ever condone (r*pe/s*xually assault, say slurs, etc.) what are you going to do then?

Celebs are not worthy of praise unless it's for their work. And they are not Gods. They are just regular people who are just more recognizable to the public.

So, if your fave has done problematic things, you need to rethink how you see them. If they've done inexcusable things like Ansel did, then you need to find someone different to be a fan of. If they made a mistake years ago and it just came back into light, don't go "so-and-so is over party". That's just childish. If they acknowledge their past mistakes and apologize for it, forgive them, but don't put them on a pedestal. Because like I said earlier, celebrities are human beings, and as humans, we're not perfect. You, the person reading this, aren't perfect either. So don't think big name stars are no different.

Most of the “keep up the work after the protests have ended!”-type posts I’ve seen are mostly focused on like, reading Black authors and listening to Black voices and unlearning racism, and obviously all of that is absolutely vital - but no amount of individual self-reflection will be able to dismantle institutional systems of oppression. So I wanted to put together some resources for continuing to build a culture of noncompliance and resistance to the police and prison system even after things have calmed down

But first, be aware that the protests aren’t over. It’s June 29th and there are still events and actions being planned regularly across the nation, and they still need your participation and support. If you’re able, please keep your focus there; this list is for what can be done long-term outside of the protests

Know your rights. Giving the police any more information than you absolutely have to will never and can never benefit you or anyone else - positive evidence given to the police is regularly thrown out in court, whereas negative evidence will be used against you. Know what to say and what you have the right to refuse. You don’t have to answer any questions without a lawyer present, you don’t have to give the police access to your house or car unless they have a current warrant signed by a judge. They will try to intimidate you - learn your rights and don’t let up, don’t ever cooperate with the police

Don’t snitch. If you see someone breaking the law in a way that doesn’t hurt anybody, keep your mouth shut. If cops knock on your door asking you questions about your neighbors or anyone you know, don’t answer

Don’t call the cops. If you can solve the problem in a different way, do it. Cops have on multiple occasions murdered the people they were called to help (or bystanders) without provocation. Don’t be complicit in that. Learn how to handle situations as a community or with the help of qualified experts

When you see an interaction with the police happening, stop and observe. If necessary, film the interaction. Organize and work with groups such as Copwatch to observe the police and hold them accountable

Use proper opsec, especially if you’re involved with anything that might make you a target for the cops. Downloading Signal is a great simple place to start

Learn about jury nullification, and spread the word. When serving in a jury, you have the right to vote not guilty on a defendant that you believe did commit the crime but doesn’t deserve punishment for it. Don’t be complicit in unjust punishment

Refuse to do work for the police or prison system. Workers keep the world running and the state relies on our compliance to keep our neighbors under their thumb. We can shut it down

Continue to support bail funds, even for non-protesters. Cash bail is unjust, and people shouldn’t be in jail just because they can’t pay

Continue to support legal defense funds as well, such as that of the National Lawyers Guild

Write to prisoners, either by yourself or with groups such as the Anarchist Black Cross or Black And Pink, and organize/support books to prisons programs, commissary funds, reentry programs, and other forms of prisoner support

Organize and support community-run crisis response organizations like the CAHOOTS program in Eugene, Oregon or the Birmingham Peacemakers in my hometown

Here are some other organizations to join that are doing good work in this area:

Black Lives Matter is obviously a huge voice in racial justice right now. The list of “official” chapters on their website is very incomplete, though, so you may have better luck doing a web search for “[your area] black lives matter” (beware of fakes though)

Showing Up for Racial Justice is another very active and widespread racial justice network

Critical Resistance is a grassroots prison abolitionist organization founded by Angela Davis

The Revolutionary Abolitionist Movement is another active prison abolitionist organization

The IWW’s Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee works with prisoners to organize strikes, phone zaps, and other actions combating injustice in prisons

Again, the Anarchist Black Cross does great work supporting political prisoners through letter-writing and more. The link I’ve been including is to an unofficial federation of ABC groups, though - there may be a group in your area that’s not part of that federation, so a web search for “[your area] black cross” may be better

Black And Pink is a prison abolitionist organization focused on queer people and people living with HIV/AIDS

Antifascism is of course an important aspect of racial justice and community safety. See @antifainternational‘s guide to getting connected to your local antifascists - though, again, beware of fakes (the “antifa checker” accounts on fedbook and twitter can help)

The police state and prison industrial complex rely on the complicity and cooperation of all of us to function and be effective. By building a culture of noncompliance and active resistance, we can drastically reduce the state’s ability to oppress communities of color. Don’t let the struggle be forgotten with the changing of the news cycle - keep up the struggle until all are free!

Boosts and additional resources are very much appreciated!

No wonder Meghan Markle wants to leave UK

"real rednecks aren't racist! real punks can't be bigots! real (insert x social group) can't-"

Not my normal post, but please spread this around!! I live fairly close to the fires and I know that is bad and how frightened they are! I lost my house in a fire once and the experience was traumatic. So if you, or someone you know lives in the area of the Paradise, or Malibu fires, please do this or share it if you don’t!

Ramadan for non-Muslims: An etiquette guide

During Ramadan, when your Muslim friends are fasting, is there anything you should be doing? You can follow these tips

Read this & be mindful of those partaking in Ramadan.