Human beings could’ve been created to be perfect, lawful, loving creatures with no potential for evil or mayhem, but we weren’t. For some reason the powers that be saw it fit to create us with flesh counteractive to purity and here we are.

'12 Years A Slave' Review

I saw this film for the first time, last night and was completely blown away. The movie had received spectacular reviews (97% on Rotten Tomatoes), swept award season (Including Best Picture at the Oscars), and launched the career of Best Supporting Actress winner, Lupita Nyong'o.

The movie is simply…profound. There is no award worthy of this film. Not that the film is not worthy of awards of course it is. There is simply no award worthy of this film. It was devastatingly complicated and beautiful. I truly saw the humanity of the enslaved verus a film meant to coddle the imagination and guilt. it was also a painful film in ways that I cannot always fully articulate with words. I felt that pain in my spirit, my skin, my bones, my heart, my existence. I still feel it. 

Time Magazine compares "rape culture" cries to witch hunt

http://time.com/30545/its-time-to-end-rape-culture-hysteria/

I only briefly read through some of this but I have some reservations. I think that people first need to acknowledge where the "rape culture" comes from and why it is so prevalent in America versus other nations. Rape is only ONE form of violence that has been passed down in the American culture.

Violence, in general, is typically much more prevalent in America than anywhere else in the world. That's why you have cities like Detroit and Chicago among "the world's most dangerous places" next to countries like Sudan and other Third World, war-torn nations and they are both only a CITY in the U.S. This country was founded on violence and bloodshed and the rape culture was developed and passed down from slavery and years (actually CENTURIES) of sexual oppression and silence. 

Rape culture, TODAY, still has ties to actual rape and sexual victimization in the 19th and 20th century and that's why it won't go away. Everyone wants to put a band-aid on it and cover it up instead of getting down to the truth. They are asking to eliminate the talk of "rape culture" and not the actual crime and history of it.

Working at Target can actually be very fun and as a cashier I get to converse with so many different people. I usually try my hardest to accommodate the guest to my best ability and make sure that their shopping experience was nice. We're required to ask each guest to take an in store Guest survey ON THEIR PHONE (which makes no sense, when they can just take it at home). Today, one specific guest ask me, what the point of taking the survey was and I told her we ask so we can get feedback on how to improve. She says, she gets that, but why does she have to take it in the store. I thought I had told her the answer, but I guess it wasn't good enough so I ask one of my coworkers and she tells them that the survey won't count if they take it out the store (which was a lie).  She agreed to take it. Now, the guest behind her was extremely rude. I ask her, "how are you doing today?" and she blurts out "Just ring me up and don't ask me about any stupid RED card or survey." I do my job.

She didn't like the way I was bagging so she snatches the bag out of my hand and says, "I'll bag it myself, you're just a stupid cashier." At this point the fake smile I was wearing on my face fades away because I was so confused as to why she was mad. The guest behind her says, "leave him alone, he's just having a bad day" and the lady says, "if that's the case he shouldn't take it on us." One problem with this: why is this guest telling me I'm having a bad day when I'm interacting the same way I interact with every guest. I say, "I'm sorry if you feel this way, I was not being rude, if you like I can call my supervisor over." She rolls her eyes at me and tells me to just hurry up so she can pay and leave. She pays, I hand her the receipt and instead of saying the usual "Enjoy the rest of your day," I simply say "bye." She must've misheard me, because she starts yelling at me screaming, "How dare you call me a bitch! What kind of customer service training did you have!" My supervisor comes over and the bitter old lady goes on about how rude I was being to her. She told my supervisor that I threw her receipt at her and called her out of her name. My supervisor tells her she is sorry and assures her that she will deal with me.

The supervisor closes my lane and pulls me to the side to talk to me and I tell her what actually happened. She is fairly new to this store, so she doesn't really know me. Naturally, she believes the guest and tells me that she is going to have to write me up. She tells me that even if the guest was lying it is my job to make sure no one ever reaches that point which was kind of impossible in that instance.

Listening to Shame

Recently came across these photos of old family members when I visited my aunt.

My Great Great Aunt (Top), Great Grandmother w/ my late Great Aunt Cookie in her hands. (Bottom)

My Great Great Aunt apparently practiced voodoo.

My Great Grandmother apparently used to knit everyone's clothes.

Another Great Great Aunt.

She was one of the first women to cover Jet Magazine.

His story is very interesting. He was the first from my mom's maternal side of the family to migrate to San Francisco in 1939. He apparently hitchhiked his way from Lafayette, Louisiana. He spoke Cajun French (as well as the two women at top) and his english was very broken. When he got here he worked as a construction worker and eventually opened a BBQ Restaurant called Hickory Pit in the Fillmore. He was the third richest black man in San Francisco in the 1940s and owned 6 victorians throughout the city where various family members who came from Louisiana stayed. According to my aunt, the woman who he married was poisoning him. Apparently, my Great Great aunt (the one was into voodoo) right before he died informed the family that his wife was poisoning him, but no one believed her. The next week he was dead and she had taken everything.

My Grandmas (my mom's mom) as a child.

My Grandpa (My mom's father) as a child with some cousins.

LOL