DAS RACIST

Okay, so I have a Tumblr that I frequent quite often. The blogs I follow range from fandom to photography to fashion to music to social justice - the latter category is usually the most interesting to me, because I consider myself a social justice advocate.

And the topic of this post is racism because of something I saw today, stemming from a discussion by a white person who said they don't date people of color at all - someone added a comment saying that "people of color can be hella racist."

Normally, when reading/discussing social justice topics, I try and remain neutral and objective, but this was just too much. As a person of color, it is literally impossible for me to be a racist in the United States, because the social, political, and economic systems all reinforce each other to place white people at the top of the hierarchy at the expense of everyone who isn't white. Luckily, the USA's manages to conflate racism and sexism and heteronormativity and cisnormativity, so basically everyone who isn't a heterosexual, cisgender, Protestant Christian, white male is lesser.

But we're going to keep this as closely related to race as possible, because race is probably the subject I am the most comfortable talking about with regard to oppression.

Do you know why I as a biracial (Black and White) man cannot be racist? That is because in the United States, racist sentiments necessarily include notions of inferiority/superiority based on race - people of color are not white, therefore they are lesser than white people, therefore they are to be oppressed by the "better" white people. This is not a new concept - White Man's Burden, anyone? Where the entire point was to go to places where non-white people lived and "improve" their lives by making them more like white people, because by virtue of their race and non-European ethnicity they were barbarians who needed to be controlled for their own good?

Benevolent racism is possibly the only thing worse than aggressive racism, because it allows people in positions of racial privilege to oppress and marginalize and be okay with themselves at the end of the day. There is nothing okay about profiting from a system that built itself on the oppression of an entire race just because of the skin color you're born with. There is no science behind this, there is no intellectually or logically valid argument to prove that people of color are lesser than white people simply by not being white.

And as for why I especially cannot be racist in the United States - I'm half-black. One half of my racial heritage was systematically subjugated, oppressed, exploited, murdered, tortured, marginalized, and demonized for at least three centuries. Why? Because they were not white. Because they were not European, because they were not industrialized, because they were not similar in infrastructure and civilization to the West - that was the rationale behind the enslavement of Africans by the West. I am refraining from talking about Arab slavery, since Arabs did enslave Africans as well, because I am unfamiliar with that history, and additionally I have no frame of reference, never having lived in an Arab nation. I live in the United States, where it was acceptable, expected, and praised for refusing to allow people the right to live their lives free of terror, to wake up and have a choice as to how they wanted their day to go.

For over 300 years, Africans and African Americans (a distinction should be drawn, incidentally, because they are not the same) were relegated to less-than-personhood simply because white people said so.

I have never been able to make someone feel like they are not a person because of their race.
I have never been able to tell someone that I am better than them because of my race.
I have never been able to tell a white person that one point in history they were considered only three-fifths of a person.
I have never been able to ridicule someone for being white, or for being part-white. There is no stigma attached to having "one drop" of white blood.
I have never been able to successfully accuse and murder a white man for raping a black woman just because he looked at her on the street and whistled.
I have never been able to tell a white person that they are lesser than I am.
I have never been able to refuse to let a white person learn to read for fear of them becoming too educated and potentially overturning the entire social/political/economic system on which my livelihood was based.
I have never been able to tell a white person that they are genetically inferior to me because of their race; whites were never part of a "mudsill class."
I have never been able to have the luxury of not noticing when I am the only person like me in the room.
I have never been able to look at television programs and count on the fact that my race will be more represented than any other.
I have never been able to call a white person a term so offensive that in modern consciousness people have to refer to it by its first letter followed by "word."
I have never been able to refuse to allow a white person to sit at a counter, use a restroom, drink from a fountain, live in a certain area, obtain a certain job, make a certain salary, marry another white person, keep a white person from finding jobs other than service jobs, keep a white person from moving to another state.
I have never been able to tell a white person that regardless of their family heritage, they are still white, with a negative connotation.
I have never been able to tell a white person that they have no rights that I am bound to respect.

So do not ever presume to tell me that, should I state a certain racial stereotype or exhibit certain behaviors toward people of my race or of other racial minorities or white people, that I am being racist. Simply by virtue of being half-black, that is what people see about me before they see anything else. They see the color of my skin and know instinctively that I am somehow "other." And 300+ years of inferiority is hard to forget, on both sides. White people find it hard to forget that even less than 50 years ago, I would've been inexorably beneath them because of the color of my skin; I find it hard to forget that less than 50 years ago, I would've been somehow less of a valued person because of the color of my skin. White people find it hard to forget that they aren't automatically better than everyone else; I have trouble forgetting the same thing.

Now, that isn't to say that people of color (I spoke only about African Americans, but that's because I am one; the concept works for all racial minorities, though none except Native Americans have suffered as African Americans have - that isn't the oppression olympics, that's history) can't express harmful stereotypes and discriminate against themselves and other racial minorities. But that isn't racism, because guess what? Here in the US of A, no person of color is better than any other person of color because we're all not white. Sorry to burst your bubble, but victims of racism can't be racist.

We can exhibit what is called "horizontal hostility" - that is, harmful behavior or discriminatory attitudes toward those of the same race or those of different racial minorities - and we can exhibit what is called "internalized oppression" - the adoption of the same attitudes that white supremacists have, that people of color are intrinsically lesser than white people, that they cannot be trusted, that they only want what is best for them instead of everyone, that they are out to ruin society - but we cannot be racist. Blacks cannot be racist against Hispanic peoples, who cannot be racist against Asian peoples, who cannot be racist against Pacific Islander peoples, who cannot be racist against Native Americans, who cannot be racist against African Americans. It just doesn't work, not here. How can we put ourselves above anyone else when we're already at the bottom?

So until my people have been credited with oppressing another people for half a millennium for no reason other than that the color of their skin is different, do not ever call me racist, because I will lose much of any respect I had for you. Calling a person of color racist is ignorant of the history (in the United States) that makes the term "racist" such an insult.

Until I can call into question the citizenship of the President, I am no racist.
Until I can call myself "color-blind" and say that we are living in a "post-racial" society, I am no racist.
Until I can have children that I won't have to automatically worry about their emotional, mental, and social development by putting them in public school, I am no racist.

TAYLOR: Totally Asinine Young Lady Openly Repulses

Today, instead of making a blog post, I took a nap. I wanted to make sure I had the requisite energy to handle this particular issue. This is the first "actual" post on my blog, and it's dedicated to a topic that has been a constant source of my eternal ire since the day I watched it.

I'm sure people remember "Taylor," the "teenaged" "girl" who was a "Girl Scout" for "eight years" and made a video wherein she "discussed" her "concerns" about GSUSA allowing a transgender girl to join a Girl Scouts troop in Colorado. Note the number of things I put in quotation marks, as I have good reason for doing so.

• I am unsure of whether Taylor is her actual name or this post's titular acronym.
• I am unsure of whether Taylor is actually a teenager.
• I am unsure of whether Taylor is a human girl or the earthly manifestation of the Tea Party's demonic energy.
• I doubt the Girl Scouts organization that Taylor claimed to be a part of was the actual Girl Scouts, whom I commend for their stance of letting girls be Girl Scouts. It really is that simple, folks.
• There was no discussion here; it was simply this probable construct of hate spewing ignorant vitriol and thinking that she would garner support.
• Her concerns are not valid, which I intend to demonstrate. 

I'm currently debating putting a little bit of a disclaimer on this to identify myself as a cisgender male who as a trans* ally and decent human being took deep offense to what this girl was saying and calling for. As I said, I'm sure that everyone is already aware of this...person; however, my feelings about this girl have turned into a rant that a good friend calls her favorite. So I'm dedicating this blog post to Lyn, who also has a blog that you should definitely check out. Hey Lyn, this was supposed to be funny, I guess, but it didn't really turn out that way (maybe). I dunno.

Oh, and I did manage to find a copy of the full video, since shortly after it was posted the original video was made private. Way to stick to your guns, "Taylor." So let's go. 

If you want the link to the video, that is here.

The website that "Taylor" promotes in the last four seconds of the video is HonestGirlScouts.com, a site that is still up. Check it out...if you dare.

Oh, one last thing. Like I've said before, I welcome any and all topics to discuss; however, I reserve the right to refuse to discuss something I may feel unable to properly address. So if you've got something for me to talk about, don't be afraid to let me know. :)

First and foremost, "Taylor" prefaces the entire video by saying that she has been a Girl Scout for eight years, and asks why then she is asking people to boycott GSUSA. 

Another good friend of mine, who was also a Girl Scout, watched this video and could not believe that someone who was a member of the same organization she was could say things like this. I'm inclined to agree, and I was even before I showed it to her. I didn't know what the hoopla was about, but I knew that some girl was calling for a boycott of GSUSA and it had something to do with trans* people. Imagine my surprise and rage to find out that "Taylor" was calling for people to refuse to support the Girl Scouts for their position to allow girls to be Girl Scouts. 

And I'm gonna go on a tangent here because:

1. Girl Scout cookies are incredible and probably made from the tears of baby seals mixed with a little bit of angelic light and a dash of perfection. 
2. A person's gender identity is unquestioned. If a girl says she is a girl, then she is a girl. If a boy says he is a boy, he is a boy. If a person says xe has no gender, then xe has no gender. If a person says they are bigender/genderfluid/genderqueer, then they can present whoever or whatever they choose to present on any given day. To ignore this and say things like, "But you're REALLY a..." is unacceptable, because not only does it showcase your own ignorance (general "you" here, but also "Taylor"), it marginalizes, trivializes, and erases whoever's gender identity you are denying. YOU do not have the right to decide a person's gender identity for them, nor do YOU have any say in how you are to refer to them, nor do YOU get to choose whether or not you respect them. Gender identity is not about what makes YOU comfortable, it is about a person identifying with how they feel inside.
3. Asking people to boycott Girl Scouts by refusing to buy Girl Scout cookies would never have worked anyway (see #1 which supersedes hatred; I'm fairly sure Girl Scout cookies could bring about world peace if utilized correctly), because such blatant hatred and ignorance is unsupportable by anyone with morals or a brain or common sense. 

Tangent done. Let's keep going. Gosh, all of this talking and the video isn't even 20 seconds in yet. This is gonna be interesting, I think.

"Taylor" says that one reason she is calling for this action is that she is fulfilling something she was taught as a Girl Scout: to "discover, connect, and take action when I see something I want to change in the world."

I'm fairly sure that using Girl Scout ideology to support your hateful words isn't quite what GSUSA had in mind. Oh, but you haven't claimed to do that yet? Okay, "Taylor," continue.

"Did you know that in October 2011, Girl Scouts admitted they allow transgender boys from kindergarten through the 12th grade?"

Well, "Taylor," I had assumed that Girl Scouts was for girls. Why would they allow...oh. Oh. What you meant to say was that GSUSA allows people born as male and who identify as girls from kindergarten through the 12th grade. Okay, so first, let me say that people who identify as girls are girls. There's really no two ways about it. So if Girl Scouts allows people who are girls to join Girl Scouts, what's the problem here? I do believe this question has not only been answered but made irrelevant since you are asking whether or not I knew that Girl Scouts USA allowed girls to join. Yes, "Taylor," I knew that.

"Colorado Girl Scouts' Vice President for Communications, Rachel Trujillo, was quoted as saying, quote: 'We accept all girls in kindergarten through 12th grade as members. If a child identifies as a girl, and the child's family presents her as a girl, Girl Scouts of Colorado welcomes her as a Girl Scout.' Endquote. That means that as long as a boy WANTS to be a girl (Transgender Girl Scout = boy who wants to be a girl), they'll let him join based solely on his wishes and desires."

First, four for you, Rachel Trujillo, for allowing girls to be Girl Scouts. Again, I really don't see the problem here, but let's go ahead and talk about what "Taylor" said. "Taylor," I am not at all sorry to break this to you, but a transgender Girl Scout is a girl who wants to be a Girl Scout. This would mean that as long as a girl wants to be a Girl Scout, they'll let her join based solely on her wishes and desires. I think what you aren't getting here is that no boy asked to be a Girl Scout. A transgender girl is not a "boy who wants to be a girl," she is a girl who wants to be a girl. I really can't make it any simpler, "Taylor."

Let's move on.

"But most disturbing to me and my family, is they also admitted to having already placed transgender boys through America (Is that...Honest?) without letting everyone know."

Well, see "Taylor" and "Taylor"'s family, Girl Scouts admitted to placing girls in Girl Scouts troops across America without letting everyone know. That would make sense, since it would be weird to question GSUSA for letting girls join. Oh, you're still on that whole "boy who wants to be a girl" shtick, huh? Okay, see, the thing is that you are wrong. There is quite literally no way in which the implications you are attempting to present are at all correct. Girl Scouts is not, by allowing girls to join, allowing boys to join. 

And since you brought up the topic of honesty, how honest is making a video like this and then making it private so that no one can see it? That doesn't sound honest to me, "Taylor." That sounds to me like someone who's trying to hide what they have done because they don't want to own up to what they have said. That sounds to me like someone who does not want to accept that she has badly miscalculated public sentiment and the possibility of anyone with common sense or human decency agreeing to take the sort of action for which they are calling. Before you start calling people dishonest, "Taylor," maybe you should be an adult and admit to the ramifications of what you attempted to do. 

But, since you want to talk about GSUSA, let's go ahead and think about the honesty of letting girls join Girl Scouts without letting everyone know. Do you see the ridiculousness of your statement? Do you really expect to be informed every time a girl joins Girl Scouts? It is none of your business other than to know that you have another sister...if you're still in the Girl Scouts, something I highly doubt. 

Continuing on (we're now at the 2:15 mark, folks, wow isn't this exciting! Incidentally, I am extremely infuriated by what this girl is saying, but it is an old rage, one that I am capable of looking past in order to rationally discuss this with a clearly irrational person).

"So, what's wrong with that?"

What's wrong with...what? Oh, letting girls join Girl Scouts without letting everyone know, right right, okay, I'm with you. Well, no, I'm not, but I meant to say that I am following your monologue. Please continue.

"For one reason, Girl Scouts describes itself as an all-girl experience (all-girl = no males).With that label, families trust that the girls will be in environment [sic] that is not only nurturing and sensitive to girls' needs, but also safe for girls. (Is it safe to hide boys in Girl Scouts?)"

Ohhhhh "Taylor." For one thing, Girl Scouts IS an all-girl experience; last I knew, there WEREN'T any boy scouts in Girl Scouts. Families trust that girls will be in a nurturing and sensitive environment that is also safe. I would argue, "Taylor," that for transgender girls such an environment is even more necessary. Transgender girls have needs like cisgender girls do; though those needs are different, they are still GIRLS' NEEDS and deserve just as much attention and care. ALL girls have a right to feel safe and cared for - they need to be protected from people like you, "Taylor." And your clever little WordArt question that flashed across the screen as you said "but also safe for girls" is completely irrelevant, because THERE ARE NO BOYS HIDING IN GIRL SCOUTS. Transgender GIRLS are GIRLS. Your refusal to understand this is really getting on my nerves, "Taylor." It is also apparent that you don't intend to correct yourself, so from this point on I shall correct you because you are not making any headway in your counter-intuitive argument.

In Ten Emerging Truths: New Directions for Girls 11-17, a publication made by the Girl Scout Research Institute after studies costing "many thousands of dollars...raised for them through cookie sales and donations, the argument is made that all-girl groups are important to girls in that it allows them to be free from a co-ed environment where they can talk about problems that they all face, talk about different things that they can't talk about with boys. All-girl groups allow girls to be themselves, not something that they are not. In all-girl groups, it is easier to: relate to other girls; talk about issues you can't talk about in front of boys; be yourself; and look how you want to look. "So if Girl Scouts claims they provide an all-girl experience, but then admit boys without letting girls and their parents know about it, isn't that deceptive? (Where do transgender boys sleep on overnights? Which bathrooms do they use?)"

"Taylor," if I had any faith in your ability to understand reason, it was completely lost after this point. Who knows why I am continuing to try and explain this to you, but I will try. By allowing transgender GIRLS to be in all-girl groups, those GIRLS are being removed from co-ed environments where they face the very real, very present, and often already experienced danger of being harassed, humiliated, or beaten by cisgender boys who do not understand that boys who identify as boys are boys, and that girls who identify as girls are girls. Transgender GIRLS may feel more able to talk to OTHER GIRLS about their GIRL-RELATED problems and trust that those all-girl groups will allow them to be themselves and not have to worry about being in danger for being who they are. The experiences of transgender GIRLS are vastly different from the experiences of cisgender GIRLS, but they are all still GIRLS and deserve to be treated as such; this is basic respect, "Taylor," something you clearly lack and which you are quickly proving to be undeserving of yourself, from my perspective. 

Additionally, Girl Scouts is not being deceptive by allowing transgender GIRLS who present themselves as GIRLS and whose families present them as GIRLS to join an ALL-GIRL experience. What is deceptive is you presenting information in a way to (badly) support your own skewed misjudgments. What is deceptive is you referring to transgender GIRLS as transgender boys, because what you are doing is misrepresenting them for who they are and who they want to be. What you are doing is lying to people about young girls who just want to do things that girls do, including join GSUSA. YOU are the one being dishonest by using factual information to support your lies and false representation, "Taylor." Check yourself. 

Lastly, and this really gets me, what right do you have to ask those last two questions? Transgender GIRLS would sleep with cisgender GIRLS, I would imagine. They are all girls, so them sleeping together would make sense. Your second question is so rude, invasive, entitled, and unnecessary that I will not answer it, because not only is it NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS, it should be self-evident that girls would use the girls' bathroom if they chose to do so. If they chose to use the boys' bathroom, that is STILL NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS. Bathrooms are bathrooms, and using them to try and define someone's gender is childish, misinformed, judgmental, ignorant, and ridiculous, because using bathrooms no more defines someone's gender than their eye color does. 

In Safety-Wise, safety guidelines that all Girl Scout leaders and volunteers are required to respect, the provision for overnight safety is that, "Quote: 'Separate sleeping and bathroom facilities must be provided for adult males accompanying the group.' End quote. So, if a man is not allowed to share a tent with girls, what would you call a 12th-grade boy who turns 18 years old?" And in a revision, Girl Scouts stated that they were to "ensure that no girl is treated differently regardless of age, race, ethnicity, culture, background, sexual orientation, gender..." (Emphasis added by "Taylor.") "So, Girl Scouts admits that different genders - or boys - can enter Girl Scouts, and that they don't require proof of their gender, either. Then really, any boy can join Girl Scouts simply by saying that he WANTS to be a Girl Scout. But the real question is, why is GSUSA willing to break their own safety rules...to accommodate transgender boys?"

So, if separate sleeping and bathroom facilities are established for adult males during Girl Scout overnight stays, what's the problem here? Additionally, though I do not understand the smirk on your face, I would call a boy who turns 18 a man. "Taylor," once again, I am going to state: transgender GIRLS are GIRLS. 

Furthermore, by GSUSA ensuring that no girl is treated differently because of her gender, you do realize that what you are doing is going directly against that principle? What Girl Scouts USA is saying is that they allow people who are GIRLS to join Girl Scouts. What you are not comprehending, "Taylor," is that by acting the way you are, and saying the things you are, you are insulting the very organization you represent, you are acting in direct opposition to one of their core safety principles, and you are making yourself look more and more like you have no idea what you're talking about, spewing things that make no sense to anyone with a basic grasp of logic. 

Oh, and while we're talking about this, I suppose I should let you know that biological sex and gender identity are two different things? Sex is biological, gender is cultural. And even then, studies have shown that trans* people have slight biological differences from their cisgender counterparts. So by asking for proof of gender, not only are you asking an inappropriate question, even if such hatred was allowed to influence organizational policy, it would be the wrong question. To be a Girl Scout, one would assume that you simply have to be a GIRL. Not all girls are biologically female, "Taylor," and not all biological females are girls. Just because you may be a cisgender girl does not mean that all girls are cisgender, nor does it mean that all girls have to be cisgender to be considered "real" girls. Someone who identifies, presents, and lives as a girl is a girl, "Taylor." It really is that simple; the only reason you are not understanding this is because you are remaining willfully ignorant and hateful, with your sexism and cisnormativity. 

GSUSA, by accommodating transgender GIRLS, is not breaking any of its own safety rules; breaking the rules is what you are doing. 

Hold on, folks, there's still two more minutes left. 

"I think it is because GSUSA cares more about promoting the desires of a small handful of people than it does for my safety and the safety of my friends and sister Girl Scouts, and they are doing it with money we earned for them from Girl Scout cookies, and money we pay them for uniforms, books, patches, and anything with the Girl Scout logo on it."

"Taylor," what GSUSA is doing is protecting the safety of its members. Tell me, how does allowing transgender GIRLS threaten anyone's safety? Perhaps you are unaware, but 41% of trans-identified people have admitted to contemplating suicide because of the difficulties they face by choosing to acknowledge who they are and trying to live the way they want to. Cisgender people face no danger from trans* people, "Taylor." That GSUSA is protecting the people it needs to protect should not be cause for your ignorant, misguided, dismal attempt at social engagement. GSUSA uses the money it receives to fulfill its goals; you are not the entire Girl Scouts of USA, "Taylor," and that you would expect to be treated as though you are more important than everyone else because of your irrational hatred speaks more to your entitlement and sheer lack of maturity than anything else, especially more than any danger posed by trans* people.

Tell me, "Taylor," what danger is there in allowing people to live as they are? What danger is there in allowing girls to join Girl Scouts? You are the only one presenting any danger, "Taylor." You present a danger to trans* people, to the mission and goals of GSUSA, and to yourself by acting this way. Your cisnormativity poses a danger to trans* people who want nothing other than the freedom to be who they are; you pose a danger to GSUSA by associating yourself with them in order to criticize them, jeopardizing their reputation by letting people know that such a hateful being was a member with access to Girl Scouts resources and information; and you pose a danger to yourself by posting this video online. Do you realize that you will never be forgotten or forgiven for what you have done? Your hatred has sparked a massive backlash that you are only too deserving of. Your ignorance has (hopefully) resulted in you being removed from Girl Scouts, something that you are also deserving of. This is your legacy, "Taylor." This is what you will be remembered as, a young girl who tried to use fearmongering and transphobia to boycott an organization that is only trying to fulfill its mission and protect its members.

I hope you're proud of yourself.

Introductions and Stuff

So, since all of my friends decided that having a blog would be neat, I said to myself, "Self, why don't we have a blog?"

And then I replied, "Well, Self, usually when we try and blog about things, we either lose track of what we were talking about, lose motivation to maintain the blog, constantly change our mind about the blog, or get lazy and forget that the blog exists."

So then I thought to myself, "What if I had a definite theme-like idea for a blog that I'd make?" And since I am completely incapable of making decisions for myself, I took my dilemma to the one place I knew could solve all of my problems - Facebook. "Facebook friends!" I called out, "I want to make a blog, but I don't know what to write about!"

And eventually a good friend said, "Well, you're a great conversationalist, and you get irritated at so many things that people do, you could literally turn it into an entire blog!"

And I said, "Wow Friend, that's brilliant!" So then I set up a blog, and then I thought, "What should my first post be about?" And then I said to myself, "Well, Self, usually when people go to a blog they want to know about the person writing it, right?"

And then I replied, "Self, that's completely true, probably! Let's do that!" So I sat down and started typing - but before I could do that, I wanted to make sure I knew how I wanted to write the blog. So I thought to myself, "Self, how should we do this?"

And by this point, I was getting really irritated with myself, so I figured why not take this about seriously as I take everything that irritates me? So I began to write in a style that I thought felt both extemporaneous and to-the-point, and like I wanted to have a conversation with anyone who reads my blog, since one of my strengths (apparently) is that I am a great conversationalist. I apparently have this knack for making words say exactly what I want them to say.

So now, quite literally, here we are. And now that my extensive (and probably unnecessary) banter has filled up far more of this introduction post than it should have, we should probably get down to the nitty-gritty, huh?

My name is Devaun, and I am 20 years old. I'll be 21 on July 31st, something that I (and my parents, and my friends) am looking forward to (though probably for different reasons). Currently, I will be an incoming senior at the University of Akron, pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree in History, with a minor in Pre-Law and an Undergraduate Certificate in Conflict Management. And now I'm going to derail myself before I get too caught up in academia, since quite literally I could write a book on everything that I've done and want to do in school. So moving on!

I am at present only involved with one student organization at my university, and that's the Akron Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Union. For someone who only came out as bisexual at 16, and then as biromantic demisexual at 20, I like to think I'm not doing too bad at being the Director of Communications. I'm very proud to be a member of that incredible organization, and don't regret joining it in earnest for a nanosecond.

Let's see...outside of school, I love music. All kinds, really - pop, R&B, hip-hop, electronica, dance, trance, house, techno, rock, metal, polka, j-pop, j-rock, k-pop (fight me), and just about anything and everything in-between. The only genre I really don't care for is country music (fight. me.), but even then I still listen to it sometimes. I also love to dance, and I like to think I'm fairly good at it. I'm not professionally trained or anything, but I take to dancing very easily - I have a talent for watching people dance, committing what I see to memory and then to muscle memory, and then replicating it.

I'm trying to think about what else is important...but wait, this is my blog! Oh, what freedom! Gosh, but the Internet is a great place.

I watch a number of television shows, enjoy a number of movies, read a number of webcomics, have read a multitude of books, have played a number of video games, and I like to think I'm fairly knowledgeable about a number of various random topics - listening to my mother and I talk sometimes is a little like watching two people play Trivial Pursuit, we'll put it that way.

And now that I can finally be done talking about myself, maybe we should talk about what this blog will be for, huh? I mean, if you I want to. Yeah, I think you I do. So basically, like I said previously, this blog will be the manifestation of two things for which I am apparently known for: a propensity to be constantly angry at someone or about something, and a talent for making words say exactly what I want them to. If I'm gonna be an angry youth, may as well talk about it, right?

To that end, what I intend to post about will cover various topics that I don't care to list right now, since usually when my gears get ground and I tell someone about it the words just kind of go and I can only organize them later. My posting style will be somewhat similar to this, since the way that I type is exactly the way that I talk; and though I can't promise that I won't curse at all, I can promise that I will attempt to minimize my use of it (those who know me in real life know how fond I am of profanity, so count yourselves lucky).

And as a general disclaimer, if I take issue with something and blog about it, I am only ever blogging my opinion. If I can back my opinions up or they can be refuted, I will of course welcome that; the only thing that makes me angrier than ignorance is being wrong and not knowing it. I'm not sure if this blog will only ever be me ranting about things, but I guess we'll have to wait and see.

I think that's everything I wanted to say for right now. So hello, welcome to my blog, and happy reading. c:

- Devaun

PS: My posts may or may not all be this long-winded. If they do get too long, rest assured that I will use jump breaks if they are needed. I know that I tend to get a little bit tired if I go to a blog and see that all the posts are massive walls of text. So there's that. And I think THAT'S all.

PPS: I'm actually quite bad at simply picking things to talk about (weird, I know), so if there's anything at all you want to know my thoughts about, or if you just want to find stuff that you think'll make me angry, leave it in the comments. c: Of course, if you think that you can rile me up by making questionable accusations of my maternal lineage, you can just forget it. But other than that, go for it.