Stepping in as alpha for a pack of 6 sweet, playful pups this weekend. Got my hands full but we sure are having fun!
Meet Frankie. He’s one of two miniature poodles I get to hang out with. What great company I keep, eh?
NOT. CAMERA SHY. AT. ALL.
(His paw’tner in cuteness, Emma asked for her portrait to be taken too but got distracted by the stuffed squirrel across the room…)
(Source: on.fb.me)
- May 25
- , 2013
the second blue line
will never appear
not if it’s me watching
and if it does
they warn me
there will be bloodshed
there has always been bloodshed
can’t even begin
can’t even tell you
about the collateral damage
how do you say goodbye
to someone you will never know
someone you will always love?
All my cells are sleeper cells
I whisper to their ear:
Please open up
Please dream for me
Close all the chapters that need to be closed.
This is how to let go:
By breathing in fire.
By breathing out blood.
By breathing in water.
By breathing out mind.
By permanently fixing the gates of the heart open
so that nothing gets trapped there.
(I think I could want you,
but I want spring instead).
Close all the chapters.
When I say “letting go” I mean burning up.
When I say “letting go” I mean standing up.
When I say “letting go” I mean speaking up.
When I say “letting go” I mean blooming in spite.
When I say “letting go” I mean seeing.
When I say “letting go” I mean healing.
beautiful, powerful words from an equally beautiful, courageous soul. thank you for this @thehoopoe
Thanks Mom
for always looking out for me,
supporting me,
and encouraging me.
You don’t need to strap a helmet, elbow pads, or knee pads on me anymore.
You’ve raised me to know how to roll with the punches and bounce back up when I fall.
Because of you, I’m not afraid to take the risks to pursue my dreams, to fight for a better world, to love.
Thank you.
In Loving Memory of Alan Blueford
December 20, 1993 - May 6, 2012
Rest in Power, Alan.
On the one year anniversary of Alan’s murder by OPD Officer Miguel Masso, we come together for a Candlelight Vigil in Honor of Alan Blueford:
Sunday, May 5th, 6pm
Meet @ Sunnyside Park (98th & Bancroft)
We’ll walk together to the 9200 Block, the site where he was murdered.
Candles will be provided.
Please RSVP and invite folks you know:
https://www.facebook.com/events/500303563352547/
(Source: bit.ly)
- April 23
- , 2013
Oakland Police Officer Miguel Masso
for the Murder of Alan Blueford
MASSO IS CONSIDERED ARMED AND EXTREMELY DANGEROUS!!
…
On May 6, 2012, Masso shot 18 year-old Skyline Senior Alan Blueford 3 times, killing him.
Alan was on the ground with his empty hands raised. His last words were “I didn’t do anything.”
The District Attorney has thus far failed to investigate or charge Masso for his crime.
Despite murdering Alan last May, Masso is still working out of Eastmont Station, and is a continued threat to the people of East Oakland.
What happened to Alan is part of broader OPD culture of treating every black and brown young man as a suspect, constantly harassing and profiling people, and using excessive force without oversight or punishment. It is a culture of racist harassment and violence that must be destroyed.
For more information: http://www.justice4alanblueford.org/
(Source: on.fb.me)
talk about perspective.
grateful for a friend who shared this, and did so acknowledging the tragedy of what happened in boston today but did so in a compassionate and respectful context.
sharing my rambling response to her and her post because it’s bits and pieces of the many conversations and reactions i’m having and overhearing as folks wrap their heads around today’s tragedy in boston:
was outside working in the yard with my parents when i heard my phone buzzing on the back deck. when i checked, it was messages from a couple of folks in boston checking in to let people know they were “ok.” i had no idea the context at that time.
just came in a little while ago ‘cause i got worried once i found out, from them and others posting updates. couldn’t stay focused on the work i was doing while waiting to hear back from others i know who were participating or come out to support.
and i ended up getting caught up in a couple of conversations online with folks who were on various ends of the spectrum… some being slightly dismissive of sympathy being expressed for today’s tragedy in boston because bombs explode across the world, many of them with the blood on america’s hands… and where is the collective outcry and outpouring of sympathy for those affected?
on the other hand, i was also moved by folks who were requesting that we just be present in the moment and offer up our sympathy and compassion.
but, part of what i was reading in these threads, often between the lines, is about if/how can we function if we find ourselves constantly present with such pain, sorrow, grief, and sympathy?
how do we not feel overcome with powerlessness when there is so much tragedy on the daily? what of the daily violence and suffering inflicted by capitalism and resulting poverty and all it manifests throughout our communities and across the world?!
i find myself grappling with these questions on the daily.
the truth is, if your eyes and heart are open, every day is filled with extreme joy and sorrow.
humans are destroying the world and each other everywhere, on a daily basis.
sometimes the most we can do is just to be present to hear and witness, to hopefully learn from it. to be reminded of our own humanity and interconnectedness.
and yet, i refuse to believe that’s all we can do. and i know many of you share that belief with me.
for me, i find i need to first be in tune with my heart though and let it guide me to take action. sometimes that does mean simply listening and reflecting. and i know that, in general, my energy, skills and knowledge are most effective in focusing on how to work within my communities closer to “home” (which in itself is a complicated thing for me to define) - with many of you - to build our collective vision of a world with stronger, safer communities for all.
having been on the other end of this - in the midst of both manmade and natural disasters - i can tell you that, yes, simply knowing others cared meant a lot to me. (whether they knew me or not..sometimes especially because they did not!) just that knowledge gave me much mental and emotional strength which is a very important and necessary thing to help push through and cope with such difficult circumstances.
i’m rambling now ‘cause i’m a bit worked up. my apologies. my heart is heavy, filled with sorrow. but also gratitude.
thank you, friends, for having open eyes/ears/hearts.
(Source: on.fb.me)
The difference between police accountability and cover-up?
Film
the
Police!
Don’t let the cops hide behind their badges and their lies.
Stop, Point, and shoot your camera.
Capture them on film.
Or, as the Blue Scholars say: SHOOT THE COPS!
(We got the right to bear arms)
Shoot the cops, shoot the cops…
Take your cameras out your pockets people
Shoot the cops, shoot the cops
If they wanna shoot at us, got a right to shoot em up
They shoot us in the back, then they say its from the front
You’re warned even if you aren’t armed
They will find an excuse to do you harm if they think you’re out of line
In every city’s urban jurisdiction you will find
Some people making livings out of creeping from behind
And even if behaving most the time man they know that if an officer’s to blame they need to let it go
With a family at home, a mortgage to support
In times when its hella hard as fuck to find a job
If you wanna keep yours you better not inform
Don’t wanna be the side on the wrong side of the law
But guess what the people got a weapon of their own
The lens and a shutter built into a mobile phone
Evidence admissible in court even more more documented cases of what thing going on
Shoot the cops, shoot the cops,
Take your cameras out your pockets people
I hear them saying that this shit don’t ever happen in Seattle
And if it does it’s really just a couple bad apples
But if you’re keeping count you will see the shit is not the apple it’s the tree
Its rotten underneath
Oh say can you see no way that its true
they don’t wanna see another south central ‘92
or Seattle ‘99
Even if it happens what they’re saying on the news
Bad people mad justifying the abused
And youth especially the ones with darker features being targeted to boot
And true some people can’t handle the truth
Now keep that feeling in mind when you pull the camera out
and ask a pig to smile at you
I ain’t talking one I’m talking 3 or 4 or 5
What you so afraid of if you ain’t committing crime?
We are merely doing what a citizen should do
I would act right if I were you the world is watching you
Shoot the cops, shoot the cops…
Take your cameras out your pockets people!
(Source: on.fb.me)
There are no photos nor any video of Alan’s murder. Surprise, surprise that Officer Masso didn’t turn his lapel camera on as he chased and gunned down Alan (…and shot himself in the foot!)
So, what’s pictured here, unlike the murder of Oscar Grant (http://on.fb.me/12RpeV5), isn’t based on an actual photo taken from the night the cops killed yet another one of our youth. It’s an image that has haunted me because the only photo I’ve seen of Miguel Masso, he’s posing in a suit and tie, grinning.
I wish I had the video footage to wipe that smirk off his face and bring the truth to light. We won’t stop until justice is served…and until they stop killing and attacking our communities!
This just makes me want to scream, “FtP!!!”
…
Just after midnight on Saturday May 6th, Alan Blueford and two of his friends were waiting for some girls to pick them up on 90th Ave., in East Oakland, after the Floyd Mayweather fight. Not long after Alan had phoned his parents to check-in with them, a car slowly pulled up to them with its lights off. Alan ran.
It turns out it was OPD. One officer gave chase. A few blocks later Alan was shot by OPD officer Miguel Masso. Masso also shot himself in the foot. Over a dozen witnesses all said that Alan had no weapon and posed no threat to the officer.
Why did the police approach Alan and his friends with their lights off?
Why did they give chase when Alan had committed no crime and posed no threat to the officer?
Why was Alan shot three times when he had no weapon?
How did a trained officer shoot himself in the foot?
The Coroners’ report said that Alan had no gun powder residue on his hands and no alcohol in his system. Why was Alan not given emergency CPR?
Why was there an unexplained gap of several hours between when Alan was killed and when his body arrived at the coroner’s office?
Why did they refuse to release the coroner’s report for months, despite the fact that it has been complete for weeks?
Why did the OPD change their story to the family several times in the days after the shooting?
The family has gotten nothing but lies, distortions, and stalling from the OPD.
Don’t let OPD continue to hide behind their badges and lies!
Film
the
Police!
Rise in Power, Alan!
Justice 4 Alan Blueford! FtP!!!
Alan is gone. He’s not coming back…He can’t speak for himself, so I’m going to speak for Alan.
I am Alan Blueford.
Alan’s murder was arbitrary, unnecessary and racist. It’s sad to say but he was shot down because of the color of his skin. They profiled him by saying he looked suspicious…
My son’s last words were “I didn’t do anything!”
We will not take this in our community!
- Jeralynn Blueford (mother of Alan Blueford, 18-year-old murdered by Oakland Police Officer Miguel Masso)
Demand Justice 4 Alan Blueford!
(Source: on.fb.me)
I’m not a fan of HRC. In fact, that’s an understatement. I find them rather upsetting and not just because of what they do (or don’t do) for our our trans brothers and sisters, but for now I’ll leave it at that. This made me giggle though, and now that I have your attention…
I love that so many of my friends are wanting to express their desire for a sense of equality for all. This morning, my facebook and twitter feeds were a sea of red.
While that made me smile, it also made me very sad, angry even.
Many of you know that I’d be more apt to have a “commitment-to-not-letting-the-state-define-my-relationships ceremony.” While I do not wish to bring the state into my relationship and refuse to “ask” them to validate it, I absolutely want everyone to have the right to decide for themselves whether or not marriage is right for them and have the equal opportunity to make that choice.
Being queer, for much of my life the state has denied me the option to even consider the possibility of “marriage.” Hell, for much of my life, even being seen in public holding hands with the one I love has been a dangerous act, often met with a barrage of verbal and physical assault. In many cases, that’s still true for folks. Still, I never wanted to hide my love and I don’t want others to have to either. While I happen to be madly in love with someone now that the state would deem fit for marriage, many of my friends and loved ones are still denied the choice of marriage and equal access to the rights the state associates with it. Fuck that!
To be clear, “marriage” as defined by the state, is much more than publicly acknowledging and affirming a relationship. There are numerous legal rights associated with it. And, while there are many ways to work around that to still obtain those rights, it is often a rather difficult and expensive process. In many cases these rights (touching upon adoption/parenting, immigration, and healthcare) are denied.
While I believe the institution of marriage to be fundamentally flawed, and would much rather focus on access to the benefits associated with it for all (universal healthcare, etc), I do believe marriage equality is important. And because it’s important, I hope that more people do more than simply change their profile pics and avatars to show support. I also hope that more folks realize that marriage equality - if we really want equality for all - shouldn’t be the focus of our struggles.
I hope we all recognize that we cannot “ask” for freedom and equality. We must demand it and fight for it, daily.
(Source: on.fb.me)
From Oakland to NYC, SOLIDARITY!
Justice for Kimani Gray! Justice for Alan Blueford!
Justice for all victims of police violence!!
#OaklandProtest in solidarity with #BrooklynProtest
Rally this Thursday, March 21st, 5pm at Oscar Grant Plaza:
https://www.facebook.com/events/432846046797126/
#solidarity #AnInJuryToOneIsAnInjuryToAll! #NoJusticeNoPeace!!
#OaklandProtest in #solidarity with #BrooklynProtest
5pm, Thursday, March 21 @ Oscar Grant Plaza
RSVP and spread the word: https://www.facebook.com/events/432846046797126/
This Thursday, March 21, join the Justice for Alan Blueford Coalition and other members of the community as we hold a rally to express solidarity with the family of Kimani “Kiki” Gray, a 16-year-old murdered by the NYPD in Brooklyn. We recognize the rage in the community as this killing closely resembles so many other killings by police in Oakland, including the murder of Alan Blueford, but out of respect for Kimani’s family, we ask that this specific event not be a place for window smashing. We know that it is the police who generally bring physical violence and need no provocation, but we ask that participants come not with the intent to provoke that response but rather with their own expressions of solidarity for Kimani’s friends and family as well as the dozens of people who have been arrested in Brooklyn for protesting his killing.
Just before midnight on Saturday, March 9th, Kimani Gray was returning home from a baby shower. Two undercover police officers in an unmarked vehicle thought the group of young men Kimani was standing with looked “suspicious” (by which they mean Black) and jumped out with guns drawn. Although the officers claim that Kimani pointed a gun at them, witnesses have said there was nothing in his hands, and preliminary reports have shown that Kimani was shot in the back and side. Eerily reminiscent of Alan Blueford’s own last words, Kimani begged the officers not to shoot him, and after he had been shot cried out “Please don’t let me die!” The officers threatened to shoot him again and let him bleed to death on the sidewalk.
Much like Miguel Masso who killed Alan, the two officers who shot Kimani have a long history of violence. These police, Sgt. Mourad Mourad and Officer Jovaniel Cordova, have previously cost the city of NY (meaning the taxpayers) $215,000 for abuses ranging from illegal stops to shoving a man’s face into a puddle to punching someone they stopped in the face to pulling off a suspect’s pants and underwear. Both officers had previously been involved in shootings (something we see here in Oakland as well with most shootings).
According to a lawyer for some of the people who sued Mourad and Cordova, “In each case, Mourad and Cordova attempted to cover up their misconduct by falsifying and fabricating evidence,” and all but one of the arrests were dismissed.
As usual, the Police have published their lies about what happened, inventing witnesses who no one else seems able to find (much as they did in Alan’s case), and as usual, the media has simply reprinted the lies straight from NYPD’s mouth as if they are truth.
The JAB Coalition does not accept these lies, we do not accept the racial profiling and stop and frisk policies that led to the two police jumping out on Kimani, and we do not accept the continued slaughter of young men of color with the platitude that police were just doing their job. If the job of the police is to provoke a response and then kill a teenager, then we do not need them to keep doing that job. Far from keeping the community safer, the police only bring more violence and more loss of life, and the people have had enough.
In solidarity with the people of East Flatbush, who night after night this week have come out to demand justice and to demand the truth, the JAB Coalition calls on the community to show our support for their cause as well as to continue our own calls for justice and truth. Officers like Mourad and Cordova, and officers like Miguel Masso must be fired, and they must be prosecuted for murder. No badge or uniform gives them the right to kill with impunity.
Justice for Kimani Gray!
Justice for Alan Blueford!
Justice for all victims of police violence!!
