Gangster Rap vs. The World

Not really, we’ve come to love it. Although some lyrics go too far, the beat is what hooks most people. And if I have to listen to the objectification of poverty, minorities and consumerism, plus the glorification of police violence, gubernatorial overreach, and a certain colloquial term, so be it. Let the beat build.

https://linktr.ee/arturogt

Doing vs. Not

The daily daily. I am not who I say I am. I am who I have built myself to be. Day after day, doing the things, I am who I’ve created. The closer I keep to my daily goals, the easier my yearly ones will follow. 

https://linktr.ee/arturogt

Priority

What is the most honorable thing you can do? Too often, I get stuck on something. It doesn’t make sense, why won’t the world change to be more like I want, or even what the majority want? A police officer told me, and the group she was speaking to that everyone has the right to feel safe where they live. Being a good neighbor isn’t just about courtesy, it’s about building community. All progress may depend upon the unreasonable ones among us refusing to conform but we can’t lose track of what matters most. Priority is peace. Unfortunately, for some of us, that means captivity. 

The fight for what’s right, even if at the moment not at the forefront, will continue. 

Don’t bend laws, mend laws. We need to heal. Gratitude is best shown by action.

Love you all.

https://linktr.ee/arturogt

Cages vs. Apartments

There’s a problem with apartment housed drug use. Not always, but from what I’ve seen, a disturbance is almost guaranteed. The smell of burning cannabis is not always welcome, I get it. BBQ smoking? Yes please. Chimichurri simmering to the point doors and windows need to be opened? Even they know it's a pass. Broken meth pipes in the same parking lot where the kids play, prison. So here’s my stance, if someone is keeping to themselves, let them be. But when it’s 3 am and people want to sleep, and an apartment neighbor is vacuuming, we have a problem. Now, if you own your home, or at least can’t be heard by others, and the lights are still on in your living room at 3 am, party on player. We need not incarcerate IF there truly is no victim.

https://linktr.ee/arturogt

3,782,000 Kids Do Meth

Source: US Government and algebra (62% of 6.1M) https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/data.html 

Hard living is the problem, not narcotics. How easy is it to blame a substance when 1% of America is legally doing the same drug others are incarcerated for? Are there issues surrounding narcotic use, absolutely, but how many of those are exterorially imposed? Imagine a meth user was treated like a priveleged kid with ADHD instead of the scum of the universe. Imagine police COULD spend every second policing substances, policing pedophiles and their ilk instead. I think the world would be a better place. 

King Sugar still reigns in most households but we still care for our loved ones even if they’re causing significant damage to themselves. What if the blight that is homelessness had one less hurdle to jump? Or the cartels in Mexico went the way of the Mafia in the US after alcohol was re-legalized? But before that, we have to be at peace with our neighbors and the communities we aim to build. Compassion is due to everyone, especially the ones unwilling or incapable of having a dialogue. Respecting their peace is a good start.

When it comes to police, before you take a minute of their time ask yourself if there is something more important that they could be doing. Because, you call, they show up, every time, no matter what. So let it matter.

Adderall is the brand name for a mix of two stimulants called amphetamine-dextroamphetamine. Ritalin is the brand name for a stimulant called methylphenidate.

https://linktr.ee/arturogt

Politicking vs. Not

I don’t think I can live an unpolitical life. Politics is the business of policing others. We have undoubtedly gone too far in some areas and not nearly far enough in others. Priority #1 - Freedom. We need to free the unjustly imprisoned. We need to stop policing people that aren't harming others. I believe it's time we change our policies.

If a car is driving 10 miles above the speed limit in the fast lane it's illegal, there's no victim, and the driver gets a ticket! Another car is driving the speed limit but the driver loses focus for a couple seconds for whatever reason and slams into the car in front of him causing tens of thousands of dollars in property damage and bodily harm to the two passengers, this is not illegal, there are victims and no ticket! Where is the logic?

I don't think this is the best argument, but I hope it makes some sense. Because what we're doing right now across this nation and the world, isn't making much sense to me and it's time to act. From running red lights to regulating Sugar, things need doing and people need freeing. It's obvious our elected officials don't do what we want.

I have to be political because I wasn’t raised to be a pushover. I wasn’t raised to follow unjust orders. I was raised to fight for what's right. Arturo 2024. 

https://linktr.ee/arturogt 

Production vs. Consumption

Wake up, consume. Exist. Sleep. Repeat. I can’t do it anymore. 

My production to consumption ratio is terribly one sided. For every hour I spend consuming thoughts I should spend at least that producing my own. I don’t know if it’s going to work, maybe the ratio should be two to one (ears to mouth) but I’m certain 100 to 1 (or whatever it is) isn’t ideal for my mental health.

So, I’m back and seven days of posts are already scheduled. 

Current idea: alternate hours of consumption vs. production.

https://linktr.ee/arturogt

$2.3T, 230M American Adults

$10,000 each. We already owe about $80,000 each - $27.5T split 330M ways. What’s another $2.3T? Seeing how 82% of Americans don’t have $500 saved for an emergency, and were being put into $10k more debt, maybe we should get a much larger portion, $600, $2,000, how about half? How is $2k the ask and not the full $10k and settling at $5k? $5,000 would change lives. If $2,000 is too much for a politician to give you then there is a high probability that they shouldn’t be re-elected. $10,000 is being borrowed in my name, I won’t tell you how to feel, but I want my cut. If you agree, sign the petition I’m starting - http://chng.it/GSXG2MkrzC

Narcos Maintain Inequality

If you want to welcome Latin countries into the first world, legalize one of their biggest and most impactful export, narcotics. 

If you’d rather these countries be run by narco-terrorists then do nothing. Babies are murdered. Women are kidnapped, raped, and murdered. Men are tortured and murdered. All so a group of people can maintain control of the drug trade. If US politicians wanted to do something they would have. Is it fair to say they prefer these atrocities? They aren’t doing anything about them, so by default they’re supporting them. Or is that unfair? Maybe they think legalizing narcotics isn’t the solution. Well, what we’re currently doing seems to be making the problem worse. 

Either we do something differently, or admit the truth and take responsibility for our actions or lack thereof. We also must admit that the United States is on the Narco-Terrorist’s side. Because if we were not on their side, we’d do something about it. 

Healing the Unfortunate

Universal Healthcare isn't a good idea. We shouldn't have to pay for other people's poor choices. If someone overeats and gets Type 2 Diabetes or if they ride a bicycle and break their collar bone in a fall, we shouldn't nationalize that cost. Doing so creates moral hazard. We should all protect ourselves as much as possible. But what happens when you can catch something just from breathing the air?

Tax Payer Funded Care for Airborne Ailments makes sense.

If someone contracts COVID-19, we should pay for that treatment because some people can't afford it. By one person going without treating their symptoms, they can infect countless others who may suffer much worse consequences.

Financially, it's better to stop it as soon as possible as well, maybe not for health care providers who make money per patient. But for the nation, the healthier we are, the more productive we can be.

What's The Outcome?

Cash is king.

Bonuses aren't paid in stock.

So while we buy their "dip" in stocks, Corporate Executives (CEs) get cash. CEs pay their Elected Official's off in CASH.

We buy low, while the monied interests expect to sell at lower.

Stock buybacks aren't embezzled in the shadows, they're paraded on conference calls and letters to their investors. Legal means disclosed. By the time we vote with our dollars, they've been made more worthless. Inflation isn't magic, it's designed and created by the financial elite to ensure that their assets increase in value while the time you trade for income continues to decrease in cost to them.

Savings? Fuck Yourself.

A corporation should keep 3-6 months of expenses saved, just in case.

Fuck you! How about you bail me out when I overstep?

No way. Fuck that!

Here's reality: Corps borrow money to make sure they can buy enough shares to hit their target price (bonus to owners). Over time, trillions of dollars go to the pockets executives and owners, not you or I.

So why are we subsidizing their income? Because they've purchased congressional and senatorial influence.

Sunlight, meet bacteria.

Time to disinfect.

Bailing Out Embezzlers

Embezzlement is using company money for personal gain.

The elected representatives, CCC, seem to be using government dollars for their personal gain.

160M workers splitting $2.2T is $13,750 each. Where’s the other $11,750 per worker going?

Mostly to the corporate executives who just showed us that they are not to be trusted with money.

What the fuck are we doing?

Conniving Corporate Confederates

The Conniving Corporate Confederates AKA Our Elected Officials passed a 1000 page bill that was seemingly written in a week. No lawmaker read it. Corporations benefiting from the bill likely wrote some, if not most of it. When our elected representatives betray their allegiance to our nation, they should be removed from power, all of their assets seized, and be incarcerated for life. I don't know why what they're doing isn't considered treason. Defrauding the populace, enriching themselves and their conspirators, and it's getting worse. The good news is, we can change every single CCC within four years, so let's get to it.

$1200 > $6500, Trust Us

If $2,200,000,000,000 was divided amongst the 330,000,000 or so citizens, we would each receive just over $6500. That’s $6500 for the newborns, $6500 for the centenarians, and $6500 for every citizen in between. Instead, non-dependent adults max out at $1200 and will also get $500 per dependent child under the age of 17, but $0 if they're 17-24 years old. Instead of treating Americans equally, our elected representatives have shown us who they prefer to support. This is the best division of resources according to our representatives. How many of us feel represented at all?

You’re Fired

‪No Senator should be re-elected. Replace every single one of them with an adult that understands a penny of prevention is worth a dollar in treatment. In this case, ~$7B could have been 20 N95 masks per American. I’ll be shocked if we keep the financial cost under $7T. As far as the cost of lives lost, that price will go unpaid if we allow the same people that failed at their post to remain. 10 years ago experts said that this is coming and preparing isn’t difficult. If one thing had been different, masks. If we all had them from day one we would have saved tens of thousands of lives, thousands of businesses, and incalculable, irreparable damage to our society. If an elected official shows their incompetence or willful ignorance, believe them.

Wage Gouge Now

When minimum wage has increased historically, the middle class boomed, and the wealthiest were rich, but not 10% of people own 80% of all stocks rich. In 20 years Minimum Wage has increased $2.10 per hour. In that same time the top 10% went from owning 71% to 80%+. After this financial meltdown and SECOND bailout of the wealthiest among us, how can those numbers reverse? Undoubtedly the poor are even poorer. $15 an hour would drive innovation, sure we’d lose jobs but most employees are dissatisfied with their position so the sooner we can liberate them, the better for all.

Where Government Dollars Go

In 2007 the national debt was $9 trillion, today it’s $23 trillion. Where did all of that money go? To the top 10% of course. As time goes on they get richer and richer.

These investors/gamblers took a chance, they were wrong, but will still win. This could be a great time for people who have been shut out of the investment world to be able to buy into companies they believe in. But the wealthy aren’t fans of that idea at all. So the wealthy get their friends in government to borrow money on all of our behalf’s, cut small checks for the masses and practically blank checks for the wealthy and try to get things back to how they were as fast as possible. Instead of letting stock prices drop and allow more people access to investing, the wealthy are capitalizing on the opportunity to take even more for themselves at the expense of everyone else.

Part of the solution is to get every senator and house representative that voted yes to the bailout out of office. They’ve shown us who their allegiance is to. 

When Money Meets Politics

10% of Americans own 80% of US stocks. The same people that oppose the $68B we give citizens annually for food are clamoring for the $700B+ made available by their friends in public office. It’s not that the 10% need 10 times as much food, they need yachts, mansions, servants, jets, etc. The bailout bill was turned into law within 24 hours of being introduced. 60% of Americans have wanted legal cannabis for years and it’s still a Schedule I drug. 10% of the population sees their wealth drop by 20% and within days, they’re having the rest of the nation pay for their losses. In 2030, when they own 90% of all stocks and prices drop, let them. If they aren’t sharing the profit, then let them keep the losses. Refuse to re-elect any politician that voted to give your future earnings to the wealthiest among us.

Bailing Out Selfish Failures

Executives and board members chose bonuses and stock options vs. building emergency funds. Over the last 10 years, they gambled with the businesses they were entrusted to run, they took trillions of dollars off the table, and now want to keep their positions of power as taxpayers cover their losses. Executives should have to use their own money before taking ours. If they refuse to pay for their own mistakes, then why should we? The people running these corporations have failed their shareholders. Letting them keep their money and jobs validates, condones and applauds their selfish behavior. 

Necessary Purchases

Before putting that item in your grocery cart make sure that it’s out of necessity and not an emotion, like fear, uncertainty, or panic. When you do the right thing, it gives other people the opportunity to follow your lead.

Regarding people overbuying to the point where they’re throwing away large amounts of spoiled food, I’m just glad I don’t suffer from whatever it is that they do.

Politics are Broken, Fix It

The impeachment proceedings are evidence that the system is broken. The president broke the law, admitted the act, but because his party controls the senate, he stays in power. Imagine someone could take/offer/initiate/whatever a bribe at work, get found out, admit it, but because enough people back them in that company, they don’t go to jail for the crime and even keep their job. It's a broken system.

I don’t know which way this will go for republicans moving forward but I see a blue wave rising because these politicians refuse to do what’s best for the majority of their constituents. If your party is more important than your nation then your days are numbered. The nation will be here much longer than any party or politician. 

If these words resonate, share them.

Tesla Cybertruck

The Cybertruck will be an electric vehicle with a 500-mile range that you can take a sledgehammer to. Elon Musk took a leap that truck manufacturers must respond to. Ford, Chevrolet, and Ram seem to gradually change about 5% of a vehicle, year over year. Elon kept 5% and changed the other 95. Tesla raised $18,700,000 from $100 deposits in just three days. I don’t know what the numbers look like now, but three weeks ago it was 250,000 deposits. It’s like Elon brought the first knife to a rock fight, ever. 

If Tesla made the first knife, then who’s going to make the first spear? What will it look like? It’s going to look like nothing you expect, just like this knife did. It will make people rethink electric vehicles, it will be paradigm-shifting. 

Is The Cybertruck even a knife in the first place or is it just a better rock? I think it’s a knife because it’s going to be the best pickup truck for most people in most situations. Just like in a fight, someone with a knife usually beats someone with a rock.

If these words resonate, share them.

Civilians

Stop breaking the law. Yes, sometimes the law is dumb. Yes, some of those laws will change in the future. Until then, make it your goal to avoid citations, jail, and prison. Make it so that the only way you could ever be incarcerated or even have to pay a ticket is to be framed. Why?

Because cops have better things to do than pull over people rolling stop signs. About 6,000 murderers didn’t get caught last year. 

While that cop was pulling me over to give me a warning for slow-rolling a stop sign, a drunk driver could have been up the road, and now home free. 

When it comes to how we should act as civilians, remember we outnumber police by nearly 350 to 1. They have better things to do and so should we. 

If these words resonate, share them.

Police Pt. 2

Should the police be held to a higher standard? Cops drive around town looking for opportunities to issue citations and bring in revenue for the state and city. I’ve seen cops on their phones, laptop and even texting while driving. But who tickets the ticketers? 

Speeding will be a thing of the past in the future and civilians or drones will be able to issue parking tickets. Breathalyzer interlocks could easily go into every car and if drunk drivers keep killing innocent families, it’ll probably happen sooner than we think. 

Imagine all cops fighting crime, real crime, crime with victims instead of what some are spending their time on now, revenue generation. Things will have to change though, because if these are supposed to be our heroes, then we need to hold them to account.

Here are some ideas:

1. No longer allow cops to use fear for one’s life as a justification for killing unarmed civilians. Shooting someone with a phone in their hand and claiming you saw a gun is 2nd degree murder. 
2. Unlawful murder settlements will be paid by the police officer, the retirement fund and/or insurance paid for by the fund or officer, not the general public via taxation. 
3. Cops should be held to a higher standard and do the maximum amount of prison time for any crime they commit. 
4. Fire all racist police officers and anyone knowingly not turning in a racist coworker. 
5. The immediate firing of any police officer proven of making a false report and prison time.

The alternative is to keep doing what we’re doing, where an officer gets killed every week and about three civilians per day. This isn’t a Us Vs. Them situation, the fact that we’ve created such a large schism in a cop and a civilian is revolting. Protect and Serve, at least, that’s what it used to be.

If these words resonate, share them.

Police Pt. 1

In 2018 police officers killed 992 civilians and 55 officers were murdered in the line of duty. There are about 800,000 officers and about 243,000,000 adults in the US. That means, per capita, cops are almost 17 times more likely to be killed than to kill someone. If the ratio was equal, police would have killed 16,706 civilians last year. Their jobs are outrageously dangerous. Why don’t we help by making some changes?

Legalize prostitution, if you can do something for free, why can’t you get paid for it? Also, it would free up cops to go after human traffickers instead of street walkers.

Legalize every drug, lessening their load and decreasing all of the associated crime that goes along with black markets. 

The worst thing is, we can see other countries doing these things and benefiting. We see that it works to decrease crime, incarceration, and death. But we change little, because the news, which is paid for in part by pharmaceutical companies, tells us it’s scary and bad. I think putting people in harm's way when it could have been avoided is much worse. 

If these words resonate, share them. 

Gangs, Cartels & Prison Owners

If someone wants to use and potentially harm themselves with a drug, let them. 

If someone wants to criminalize a drug so that a black market, a cartel, or a gang can flourish, stop them. 

Would you rather someone buy a bag of pure heroin in a store for $5, take it home and do it knowing exactly what they’re taking or would you rather them buy something that’s probably laced for $50 on the street and fund the cartels and street gangs while doing so? Because right now, our inaction is choosing that second one every single day. Every life lost, could have been avoided. We saw this 90 years ago with alcohol and mobsters. Newsflash, prohibition doesn’t work. 

Two of the last four presidents have admitted their drug use. One claimed he didn’t inhale and the other might currently be on something ephedrine based, according to the contents of his desk. 

Children and innocent bystanders are dying every day because of how lucrative the black market from the drug trade is. Theft is higher than it would be because drugs that could cost $1 a gram, cost $100 instead. Families are torn apart and lives are ruined because of prison sentences and criminal convictions that never go away. The United States is home to 5% of the world’s population and 25% of its incarcerated population. Are we really that evil?

So what are we doing? Who are we protecting? Is it the addict that needs his fix but has to make do with the fentanyl-laced junk on the street? Is it the child that got hit with a stray bullet from a gang member's pistol? The families who have lost fathers and providers to incarceration? Or are we protecting gangs, cartels, and prison owners?

If these words resonate, share them.

Cast the First Stone

I think that most people believe that it is important to keep yourself accountable. A common phrase is, "keep your side of the street clean." There's a problem with that metaphor though, wind.

If your side is clean, but your neighbor's side isn't, then what happens when the wind blows?

Think about how natural it is to give advice to someone but when we're in a similar dilemma it's much more difficult to see the solution. Mirrors have been around for about 8,000 years and some people have never seen a mirror in their life. Before mirrors, we used each other. I can see the speck in your eye and you can see the speck in mine, lucky us. 

Of course, sometimes we'll be wrong. A speck that I see may actually be just the opposite. What's the harm? A few wasted minutes. But the benefit, even if I'm wrong, is that the other person knows that I care. A big part of that is remembering it's not what you say, but how you say it. 

If these words resonate, share them.

Winning Raffles

If you buy tickets early, you’re gambling.
If you can see how many tickets have been sold, can value the worth of the prizes, then it’s no longer gambling, it’s statistics. 

Sometimes we have to gamble, but most of the time we can wait and the results should be much better. This is one reason why math matters.

If these words resonate, share them.

Juggle

You can juggle many different balls or pins or whatever you’re juggling at once if you know how to juggle well. But you can’t juggle and paint at a high level simultaneously. You can do almost anything, but you can’t do almost everything. 

Priority used to mean something, now it’s how we talk about our todo list. Whatever you’re juggling in life just try to be thoughtful of what will matter in the future. 

If these words resonate, share them.

Into the Ether

Where do the comments go? 

You see something, post something, maybe read a couple other comments and move on with your life. I can’t tell you the articles I read last week, or my thoughts about them, but I know I read something and I know that I commented something. 

Being busy is okay, but I feel that being productive is better. After a month off I can see what’s important more clearly. I’d rather be focused, creative and productive than busy. But in a world full of distractions, and more being created daily, all we can do is our best.  

If these words resonate, share them.

What If You Didn’t?

We do things because we’ve done things. I put my left leg into my pants first, every time. 

Our lives are built on a simple formula:

When X happens, we do Y about it. 

That is until we decide, when X happens, we do Z instead. 

Idk what things need changing in your life, but what's one thing you can do differently? Instead of doing what you always do, getting what you have always gotten, what if you didn’t? 

Thoughtleaders Are Still Employees

It’s rare to see someone on TV that wants to change the status quo. Major media companies are owned by wealthy people. The host, is usually a millionaire as well. How likely is it that someone in power will actively try to reduce their power? Before we take someone at their word, we should look at standing in society. 

Regrettable Habits

What’s something you do and almost always regret?

Become aware of this habit. Do your best to stop.

You may even need to get help for this. Professional help isn’t the only answer. Getting a friend or trusted acquaintance to be your Accountability Partner can be quite effective.

If you’re past the oblivious and denial stages in your regrettable habit, the next step is to do something about it. Reach out for help if you feel like you need it.

What’s Wrong With Judgment?

People say, “Don’t judge me.” I ask, why not?

“Don’t judge others unfairly,” is something I’ll argue for. Imagine living a life without judgment, you wouldn’t last long. You need to make calls from the time your eyes open in the morning to when they close at night.

Fair judgment is based on things like actions and words, where a choice can be made.
 
So judgment isn’t the issue, the issue is judgement when the other party has no blame in the matter. It’s why people get defensive, especially when they’re in a position of privilege. It’s not their fault, just as it isn’t a colored person’s fault for the color of their skin. Now, the actions that are taken in conjunction with that privilege, fair game. But don’t make the uncontrollable factors a point at all, you can’t win that argument.

Where Are The Solutions?

People are strange. In one breath they say they can’t complain and in the very next they complain about something. 

I don’t know if complaining about something without offering a solution is healthy but it doesn’t seem like it would be. Bringing pure negativity into your life hardly ever is. 

If you want to change the world, start. 

Complaining Can Be Productive

Progress comes from complaints. The first person to invent something has a complaint about the current state of affairs. 

A bag was probably one of the first inventions, dry out this animal hide, roll my stuff into it and all of a sudden I can carry more than a handful of things. But then someone tied that to their back, freeing their hands, changing the game. 

But what if we stopped complaining and said everything is as good as we need it to be? Then this will be as good as it will ever get. 

Complaining without changing something is borderline insanity. I don’t want to live in a prison of negativity built by my own thinking. 

Easy Is Interesting

What’s the easiest thing you can do? How will that get you to success or happiness?

What’s the hardest thing you can do? Will that get you to success or happiness faster? 

We always like doing what’s easy, because it’s easy. I hope I can do what’s hard, what’s purposeful. Short term sacrifice, long term gain. It isn’t easy saying no to instant gratification. However, by doing what’s hard, it will make your life much easier in the future. 

Imagine what your life would look like if you did what you knew you should be doing. 

Nonprofits Should Expire

If someone starts a homeless shelter, should there be a plan for it to be ultimately converted into something else?

When a nonprofit becomes a business all of a sudden ending the problem doesn’t seem that good for the employees of that business. 

I think a better model would be something with a definitive goal. House 100 people for example. Once they do that the non profit would shut down and sure the same people could start another but we’d see the numbers.

 We’d see that it took in $2,000,000 to house those 100 people. But there’s another nonprofit that housed 100 for $600,000. So, where would people want to put their money in for the next one?

Are we looking for cures or treatment plans? 

Judging Consideration

Courtesy. Is someone thinking of you or not? 

Too often we think about what someone does for us and not what they didn’t. If someone knows you’ve been outside in the heat all day and the first or second thing out of their mouth isn’t “Can I get you something to drink?” then you might have a problem. 

Someone explained this to me much better a long time ago, but it’s worth pondering. What is someone not doing that would be nice if instead, they were doing?

Ratings Over Everything

We’re sheep. Being herded.
They control what’s on the screen, picking what will make us watch the most. Even furthering theories to entice people to act more in the future so that they can create more “news” stories.

The self-creating self-eating serpent. What a world.

Media companies have one job, to get ratings. If they lie for it, so what? If they create narratives that lead us to war, so what?

We have to at least acknowledge that some people value money over human life. What happens when they own the media?

Be A Fan

It’s easy to hate on and make fun of something. 

It can be just as easy to praise and appreciate as well. 

Be a fan. Wish for people to succeed and they’ll probably wish you well in return. 

The world has enough haters, be a fan for a change. 

Kids Can Do Almost Anything

Consistency. 

If a child does two years of this or that, here and there throughout their academic life not much impact will be created. Imagine instead, that same child doing 10 years of math club. She’s going to Harvard, Yale, CalTech, pretty much guaranteed. 

Focus. 

You’re not a kid, but you probably know one. Just because your ship has sailed doesn’t mean you can’t be the wind in someone else’s sails. 

Even if your ship has sailed, in five years you’ll be five years older. How will you grow or shrink?

Nine Cop Cars

I’ve been in the back of nine cop cars. My only criminal record consists of two DUIs. When I see police, I see my freedom at risk. My first interaction with them on the street when I was 11 or 12 and got stopped and frisked, a short, mexican boy with a backpack walking in a mostly white neighborhood. Did it matter that I lived there? No. I was a suspect, automatically.

When others see police, they may not feel the way I do and that’s probably because of their experiences with police in the past. Cops need to do better. We need to make their job easier as well. One day at a time, all we can do is try to change the laws so that people like me and victims of much worse can live a little easier.