"Atheism is not just about them not believing there is a god, but on the assumption there is one, what kind of god is he? It's perfectly apparent- he's monstrous. Utterly monstrous, deserves no respect whatsoever." - Stephen Fry

“Why should I respect a capricious, mean-minded, stupid God who creates a world which is so full of injustice and pain?"

POLICE SOLUTION TO MENTAL ILLNESS: FOUR BULLETS AND A BODY BAG

Kristiana Coignard was a 17-year-old girl with a history of mental illness who went to the police department in Longview Texas and asked to speak to an officer.  She allegedly had "I have a gun" written on her hand.  She was not in fact carrying a gun, but apparently brandished a knife and lunged at an officer, at which point she was shot multiple times by two officers.  A third officer, the first on the scene, claims to have fired a taser at her first, but it's too hard to make out in the video.  Not that it matters anyway- the bullets were fired by the other officers just seconds after.  The police did not treat her like a mentally ill girl seeking help, but like a dangerous criminal. 

It's clear that she went to this station for one of two reasons: to potentially receive mental help, or to commit suicide by cop.  There is no other reason someone would go into a police station with "I have a gun" written on her hand, when she didn't actually have a gun.

From the beginning, police handled this situation improperly, trying to subdue her before trying to talk to her.  A public psychologist could have been called to the scene; the cops could have knocked her unconscious; she could have received the help she needed.
Taser claims true or not, the other offices in the video had absolutely no intent of nonlethal force, as they fired without hesitation. 
The police NEED proper training around mentally ill people.  It's clear that this Texas department was entirely unequipped to deal with a situation like this- very American of them. 
From the LA Times, "'She says she has a gun, he has to secure her at that point,' Brian said." (1).  After the writing on her hand was shown to the officer in question, he immediately attempts (very poorly attempts) to subdue the teenage girl- no talking, no trying to diffuse the situation. 

Whatever you take from this situation, the video makes it apparent that Coignard had no reason to die.
This being America, the officers are of course on paid leave.  Kind of like a murder bonus.  The knife in the video makes this girl the attacker and not the victim- that's how it'll be spun.  It doesn't take a genius to realize that these officers will face no repercussions.  They will almost surely get to keep their jobs and return to work after this has "blown over."  That is, as much as the murder- medical examiners ruled Coignard's death a homicide (2)- of a mentally ill teenager can.  Sadly, we live in a place, a world, where no one really gives a shit.

The only possible form of fucked up justice in this situation is that this event will haunt them.  I hope these officers are not psychopaths- that at some point down the line this decision, and it was a decision, to kill this girl weighs down on them like a three-hundred-ton pile of rubble.  I hope they realize that they did not have to end this young woman's life, and that they are the opposite of heroes.

Unfortunately we exist in a place where these officers and most of America believe their actions to be justified.  Some American officers can be better classified as "trained psychopaths" than "police officers."
Maybe as an old man one of them will look back at this moment through the perspective of Coignard; the perspective of a depressed and hopeless 17-year-old trying to find help in a world full of uniformed men with guns aimed at her.


"Robertson previously told the political blog ThinkProgress that her niece had bipolar disorder, had attempted suicide twice but was not violent toward others and that the incident was a 'cry for help.'" (1).

1.  http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-texas-shooting-20150129-story.html

2.  http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jan/28/kristiana-coignard-longview-texas-police-killing

3.  http://www.inquisitr.com/1798843/kristiana-coignard-was-she-issuing-a-cry-for-help-before-being-shot-dead-by-cops-or-did-she-have-a-gun/

4.  http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/kristiana-coignard-cctv-shows-horrific-5063973

Scene from "Thank You for Smoking"

WHAT'S THE STORY?

Dickens wrote "Great Expectations" as an expression of his emotions; like most writers, he wrote it just as much for himself as for his audience.  He also wrote to explore the strict social classes of society and the effect they have on the individual.  He gave the working class a face (Pip) that it was not afforded in literature at the time.  He crafted this novel from the perspective of someone of a lower class- something not widely seen in 1861 London.  As well as this, Dickens wrote in slang in a non-derogatory way to create his lower class characters.
He set out to write something not only relatable to the working class, but that the upper class could read and potentially change perspective, if even slightly, on their societal caste system.

"'Your sister an't over partial to having scholars on the premises, and in partickler would not be over partial to my being a scholar, for fear as I might rise.  Like a sort of rebel, don't you see?'" -Joe, page 40.

***"And then I looked at the stars, and considered how awful it would be for a man to turn his face up to them as he froze to death, and see no help or pity in all the glittering multitude." -page 41.

"'Poor dear soul!' said this lady, with an abruptness of manner quite my sister's.  'Nobody's enemy but his own!'" -page 68.

"There's a dumpster in the driveway of all the plans that came undone."

GREAT EXPECTATIONS

Nightcrawler Script

Nightcrawler Script  My favorite film of 2014 was Nightcrawler.  It made me think about all of the elements of a film that have to be just right for it to work as a whole.  This script stands on it's own as a piece of art, but wouldn't have worked as a film without Jake Gyllenhaal's fucking crazy performance.  The poetic feel of this writing makes it worth reading even if you haven't seen the film.

There's a blackbird perched outside my window.

It's that time of the year again

It makes me physically sick to my stomach seeing white crosses littering every church lawn.  It makes me sick knowing that women who have had abortions are walking by these crosses- a forced reminder that they are being judged by the larger part of society.  Most women who get abortions do so because it's the best option in their situation, not because they want to.

I hate the fact that these parasitic churches don't just look down on these women but spit in their faces and shove white crosses down their throats.

 

A fetus is not a "person" as the joke of an educational facility that is St Joe's insists.  If they had a proper science department perhaps they could help students understand that.  It really fucking bothers me that high school students who have undergone abortions themselves have to walk by that every day.  

This is what bullying is.

Churches and private schools can put up all the white crosses they want- they have the right to.  And I have the right to tell them that these actions are disrespectful and fucking disgusting.

HACKING MY EDUCATION

Interesting Article

London Subway Bullshit Job Posters/Interview

THIS SHOULD MAKE YOU ANGRY VOL. 1: Hoodie Ban in Oklahoma - "Intentionaly Concealed Identities"

A certain Oklahoma law is facing an amendment that would give the state the power to fine someone up to $500 or lock them up for up to a year for wearing a hoodie or a mask in public.(1)  This huge infringement of human rights would supposedly reduce crime by making it harder for people to hide their identities.  It also makes people who wear hoodies criminals.  With the passing of this bill, police would be given the authority to arrest anyone wearing a hoodie or a mask.  All they have to do is say that they were suspicious that the individual was committing a crime... because he or she was wearing a hoodie.

At a time when police brutality and violent racism is ingrained in American society and accepted as normal, lawmakers would rather attack the individual, and place more restrictions on the lives of the public.  They do not care about you.  Your safety is secondhand to that of the police- America has made that VERY clear.

You become a criminal the minute you speak out against the police state.

The implications behind this bill make me fucking sick- it is an attack on the culture of the lower social classes.  How many rich white conservatives will be targeted with this law?  None.  This law is a victory for hoodie-fearing assholes everywhere.  It's a good reminder of what America really is- a playground for the rich white man.

Sources:
1.  http://news.yahoo.com/oklahoma-senate-mulls-very-important-hoodie-ban-174739117.html
2.  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/03/hoodie-oklahoma-bill_n_6410746.html?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000618

Week One

The seedlings are coming along nicely if not perfectly.  I originally wanted to grow two indoors and two outdoors but that proved impossible.  It gets too cold here at nights, and cannabis plants need warm and humid weather.

I am now growing all four inside.  While not entirely optimal, the plants would die outside from the cold.  Because I have a small room with a shower I have been able to give them a relatively humid environment for 1-2 hours a day.