The last time I wrote any blogs for this thing, I was a graduate student at Georgia Southern. Now I'm a fourth-year grad student at the University of New Mexico. It's amazing to think of how much has happened in my life since I last posted. I've lost both of my parents, my sister, and a aister-in-law. I have a master's degree and all the joys and pains that come with writing a thesis. I have a real social life for the first time that has challenged me, and still is, in balancing work and life.
Living in Albuquerque has posed its own set of unique experiences for me, too. It's amazing how much more nuanced the world can feel when your social environment isn't literally black and white. In New Mexico, I'm truly a minority, seeing very few other black people in my daily life. I'm also not part of the most disadvantaged racial minority in the region either. No amount of reading could help me understand the discrimination that native peoples have to go through. It's also been interesting to hear about the racial struggles of Mexicans and Chicanos who live here and come from elsewhere. So many similarities, so many differences. I'm a six hour drive from either of the nearest large cities. I've been to Denver three times and have yet to have fun and hang out there. I've not been to Phoenix, but I have seen the Grand Canyon with my own eyes. There really are no words to describe such beauty.
On the national stage, I'm writing this in the middle of the turmoil going down in Ferguson, MO. Darren Wilson, a police officer in Ferguson, shot and killed Michael Brown, an 18-year-old black kid, who was unarmed and had his hands up to surrender. Brown's death is the latest in a series of nationally-publicized murders of black people either at the hands of the police or of white vigilantes. This also coincides with rampant police violence here in Albuquerque that's gone international. It doesn't surprise, but it still amazes me how much the right wing media is still allowed to fabricate events of Brown's death and promote racism through defaming his character. What is even sadder is how many people I thought were not racist are so willing to go along with these narratives and not challenge them. To be fair, there have been so many lies told on both sides of the story that it's hard to know what is true and what isn't. What I do know is that there is no evidence that Brown did anything to deserve being killed. It doesn't feel like society or the justice system will seriously attempt to make sure this doesn't happen again.
It's been an interesting year on the sports front, too. Just before the summer, my nephew was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks. He has yet to play for them yet, due to injury, but I will be buying his jersey relatively soon. The World Cup in Brazil was amazingly entertaining, despite all the worries over the justified protests from Brazilian citizens. Instead of studying for comps, I watched or listened to nearly every game that was played. Luis Suarez caused another big stir when he bit Giorgio Chiellini during Uruguay's game with Italy. That made the third time the idiot has bitten another player, despite being suspended for it before. I was shocked by how many Liverpool supporters still wanted to defend and support him after learning he wouldn't be able to suit up for the Reds until well into the season. I'm personally glad that he's gone. The guy put fans like me in an awkward position when he used racist language toward Patrice Evra. How am I supposed to feel when the manager and owner of the club isn't condemning the words, but supporting the player who said them? When he bit Branislav Ivanovic during a game against Chelsea, they supported him then too. I don't want a player like that playing for my team. If we win games, they should be won fairly. Players should have enough integrity and respect for their club not to do stupid things that will get them suspended. Losing to Crystal Palace, thus losing the league, last season hurt more than I can say. Suarez's supporters point to his 30 goals last season and say, "We would've never gotten that close if it weren't for him. Plus, he got us into Champions League." What they don't think about is, "How far could we have gotten if he had been able to play the whole season?" Our defense issues aside, I think it's fair to say that Suarez's countless suspensions cost us a league title, too. Thankfully, he's Barcelona's problem now, but it seems that Liverpool may have signed another potential problem. Here comes Mario Balotelli! Let's see what comes of this.
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