DemonHide

I am a 1st generation American born of immigrant parents of radically different ethnic backgrounds and the first of my family to be born in this great nation. My brothers and I were raised by my single mother and she is my inspiration to never stay down, to always get up no matter how hopeless and difficult life may seem.

Though I am brown, though I am a minority profiled and hated after the tragic attacks of 2001, though I have lived in and loved many other places on Earth, the good ol' US of A with all of its problems and tribulations is where I choose to call home. This is not a special or extraordinary circumstance. Millions of people just like me feel more or less the same way.

I do not take for granted that I may possess firearms in my home and on my person more freely than any ordinary citizen elsewhere (though not without caveats). I enjoy this Right to its fullest as it helps protect the other Rights that this country recognizes as mine for the fortune of being born a human being: To speak and assemble freely, to be secure in my person, to not be imprisoned without fair trial, to be guarded from self-incrimination, to quarter no enemy in my house, and many others.

I am not without pain, sacrifice, and sympathy. There has been a great deal of hurt for myself and my family. I have been spat on and insulted and harassed and beat too many times to count. I was a child then and that did not stir me to fight. You do not need to fight to show dominance, nor to prove moral, physical or ideological superiority, nor to frighten and intimidate, nor to win. When my life is threatened, when my family is in danger, when my means of defense is attacked, then I would fight. It would be violent, swift and without hatred.

The lesson? Don't fret over a few sour words. Life is too short to worry about the small stuff. But if someone's gonna make it shorter for ya, give them a strong fucking reason to reconsider!

"Ain't no one gonna tell me what my life is worth and when I gotta pay the price."