Things That Matter

Racist Oregonian Plumber Can’t Tell the Difference Between Latinos and Arabs

By January 14, 2016 at 1:00 pm
Credit: @i440 / Twitter

Some people will never learn that if you’re doing something stupid and someone is recording it, it’s gonna end up on the Internet. Just ask this guy, who was caught on video spewing an anti-Latino racial rant while driving in Oregon.

A Facebook video featuring a man screaming anti-Latino slurs at another driver has gone viral. *Warning: Offensive language.*

Credit: Conald Frostig-Miller / YouTube

The incident happened in Beaverton, Oregon during the first week of 2016.

But the woman he was yelling at is NOT Latina…she is Arab.

Soon after the release of the video, the man was identified as Joseph Metoxen by social media users. He was promptly fired from his job at Wolcott Plumbing.

A note from our President:

“First of all, this is a very upsetting situation. Under no circumstances do I personally,…

Posted by Wolcott Plumbing on Wednesday, January 6, 2016

But that’s not all. Metoxen said he feared for his safety after the video went viral, so he called the cops to protect him.

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Credit: Minions / Illumination Entertainment / iamchrischow / Tumblr

Unfortunately for Metoxen, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office found an outstanding warrant (not related to road rage) and they quickly arrested him at his home.

giphy-5
Credit: Celebrity Dachshund / Giphy / momvsmarathon

^^Kind of like this.

READ: People React to Donald Trump’s Racist Slurs

One can only hope Metoxen is rethinking his actions on that fateful January day. Because all we’re thinking is:

giphy-4
Credit: Columbia Pictures / Reddit

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People Have Taken To The Streets Across The Country In Breonna Taylor Protests

Things That Matter

People Have Taken To The Streets Across The Country In Breonna Taylor Protests

By September 25, 2020 at 11:15 am
BY  | September 25, 2020 AT 11:15 am
@KRISTENCLARKEJD / TWITTER

Cities across the U.S. are seeing a new wave of unrest following the grand jury’s finding on the Breonna Taylor case. Emotions are high as people protest against the lack of charges against the officers who were involved in Taylor’s death.

Protesters are raising their voices after the decision not to charge all of the officers involved in Breonna Taylor’s death.

Breonna Taylor was shot and killed on March 13 when police raided her apartment. The 26-year-old ER technician was sleeping when the police executed a “no-knock” warrant. However, police had the wrong address and Taylor’s boyfriend, believe their lives were in danger, fired at the police. Taylor was shot and killed in her apartment that night.

Major cities across the country saw major demonstrations spurred by the anger against the justice system.

A grand jury found one officer responsible for wanton endangerment after firing his weapon into neighboring apartments. There were no charges tied directly to Taylor’s death. The lack of charges has angered activists and advocates who are seeking significant police reform to prevent tragedies like this from happening again.

People have become hyper-aware of the issue and are paying attention to the outcomes.

Protest signs in different crowds show that the American people are paying attention. The Black Lives Matter movement became the cause at the forefront of American mentality since George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis. Floyd’s death sparked national outrage and renewed energy into fighting to stop the disproportionate violence Black men, women, and children face at the hands of police.

Some motorists have turned violent against the protesters.

Video captured in both Denver and Los Angeles show vehicles driving through crowds of protesters. In Denver, the driver claims to have acted in self-defense after protesters surrounded his car. The driver claims that he did not intend to hurt anyone but reacted when protesters shattered his windshield.

In Louisville, police arrested the only Black woman in the Kentucky state legislature for protesting.

State Rep. Attica Scott was arrested for first-degree rioting, which is a class-D felony. The Louisville Metropolitan Police Department arrested 24 people Thursday night while protesting the decision not to charge the officers. Rep. Scott was arrested with other and charged with first-degree rioting and two misdemeanors for unlawful assembly and failure to disperse.

“Our call to action is to continue to make sure that the city of Louisville understands that we will not go away, that we will continue to demand the defunding of police and the dismantling of this police department because it’s corrupt from the inside out, from the bottom to the top,” Scott told NPR before the grand jury decision. “And it cannot continue to function in the way that it does.”

Taylor’s death has mobilized the nation with celebrities and politicians calling for justice.

View this post on Instagram

The last time I spoke to Breonna Taylor’s mom, Tamika Palmer, she was having a particularly bad day dealing with the loss of her daughter. She told me, “I can’t stop seeing her face. Her smile. It’s what I miss most about her…I’m still waiting for her to come through the door.” Everybody who’s lost a loved one knows that feeling. For every mother and father whose child is out in the world right now, imagine getting a call in the middle of the night that your daughter has been shot in her apartment. And then you find out the people who killed her were police officers who should never have been there in the first place. What would you want to happen now? Would you be content to hear five months later “there’s an investigation”? And that no one has been held accountable for shooting your innocent daughter multiple times and letting her life bleed out? If not for the coronavirus, I’d be out in the streets marching with the Black Lives Matter protesters. These 26 billboards, one for every year of Breonna’s life, are my offering. My form of protest. We cannot be silent. We have to use whatever megaphone we have to cry for justice. @oprahmagazine

A post shared by Oprah (@oprah) on

The fight for racial justice and a systemic change to our justice and policing systems is ongoing. The people are tired of being scared and are taking a stand with their protests.

If you are out there protesting, send us your videos and photos so we can see your activism in action!

READ: Oprah Winfrey Honors Breonna Taylor With Historic O Magazine Cover

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Police BrutalityBreonna TaylorRacial JusticeProtestRacism

An Abuelo Got A Hurtful Note From Bad Neighbors About His Decorations And Latino Twitter Came Into Comfort Him

Things That Matter

An Abuelo Got A Hurtful Note From Bad Neighbors About His Decorations And Latino Twitter Came Into Comfort Him

By September 18, 2020 at 2:13 pm
BY  | September 18, 2020 AT 2:13 pm
@goldenstef / Twitter

We are rarely more defensive than we are for our abuelos. The viejitos have always been there for us and seeing them treated unkindly is just heartbreaking. That is what one Twitter user experienced after her abuelo got a wretched note about his decorations outside his home.

This is the horrid letter left for @goldenstef’s abuelo by undesirable neighbors.

The letter, which is filled with misspelled words, calls the abuelo’s house an example of a “low class Mexican family.” The letter was written anonymously by neighbors and delivered to the abuelo in an attempt to shame him into changing his decorations. One of the most bizarre moments in the letter is when the angry author criticized the homeowner for having too many American flags claiming he isn’t patriotic and can’t fool the neighbors. Like, which one is it people?

The Twitter user followed up with photos of the house to show the decorations their abuelo has out front.

People flooded the Twitter post with comments supporting and sending love to the abuelo. Fellow Latinos are ready to stand with the abuelo and some just want the names of the people behind the letter so they can talk to them. Some people are stunned at how far the author was willing to go out of their way to be mean to an old man who just wants to decorate his home and front yard.

Latino Twitter wants to come together to let the abuelo know that his decorations are adorbs.

We need to come together to give her abuelo all of the wonderful decoration we love. Let’s turn his house and front yard into a showcase of all of the greatness that Latin America has to offer.

People are falling in love with this viejitos yard.

Honestly, this is a great yard. Who wouldn’t want a yard like this? This yard is original and adorable and worth all of the praise that we can muster. Thank you to people like this for making their yards something unique and worth seeing.

@goldenstef wants everyone to know just how much they appreciate the sweet messages about their abuelo’s yard.

It costs nothing to be kind. It is even better when you can be kind about something someone clearly cares so much about. Who cares if someone decorates their lawn a little too much. At least they are having fun with their lives and that is something we all need more of right now.

READ: Latinas Are Sharing Their Most Treasured Memories Of Their Abuelos And It’s Exactly What We Needed This Month

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