Happy 20th Birthday, Buffy! Here's a new birthday song:

Here's a little tune I wrote about that really unhealthy relationship you had with that vampire guy:

Don't Break A Window

"a protest song is defined as a song they don't play on the radio."

(hey guess what this one's about)

Whatever you do, just make sure that you don’t break a window
‘Cause when your outrage smashes the glass, it lets them know how the wind blows
Not the black kids who died for the march,
Or the women and trans folk who want control of their own parts
It’s the shattered shards of pane they look through,
that’s where the real problem starts.

You can take to the streets just as long as you don’t punch a nazi
Exercising rights is like the gays: it’s fine as long as no one has to see
a way of life that doesn’t fit
into the narrow view controlling it
reality’s a one-way road you can’t just quit

It won’t go away
when the man upstairs says that “everything is great”
change won’t wait
for an open space in your Outlook calendar
Lives mean more than people’s property

Do I have your attention now that I’m condoning violence?
Well it’s funny how that works, and you should know, ‘cause you’re the one who came up with it
Make a profit while you’re promising rights
Keeping order never works when they’re fighting to survive
Justice only comes when we rage against the dying light

Now don’t get me wrong, I still believe that non-violence should work
But when the rules of the game have changed, things are bound to get worse.
Now that our truths are free of fact
Well, how else are the people supposed to react?
You can’t expect them all to keep the peace when you broke your part of the pact

We’ve heard say
that justice and truth are the American way
Things don’t change
at a convenient time for your Outlook calendar
Time is right to do what we’re gonna do
okay well technically the time that was right is now way overdue
But it all has to start with those same self-evident truths.

---

The inauguration of Donald Trump felt like a nightmare. The Women's March across the country was amazing. Here's a much more hopeful look at that inspiring day:

It was Christmas eve, babe, in the drunk tank...

This is a few years old, but I thought I'd share again. Enjoy!

In other news, Bill O'Reilly is still an idiot.

It's frankly embarrassing that Bill O'Reilly could be so oblivious to the blatant subtext of his own words. But sadly, it's the same logic that's used to spook people about "illegal voters." It's not about people of color or women have voting power, they say; it's about people of color and women largely leaning toward the Left.

Respectfully, this is totally B.S.

I actually got an argument about this with a friend-of-a-friend, just a few months back. It started as a discussion about voter ID laws, which I explained had recently been used in places like North Carolina to suppress black votes. "You just want all the black people to vote because they vote Democrat!" the other guy said to me.

"No," I replied. "I want black people to be able to vote because they're US citizens with a right to vote."

(Of course, when the North Carolina GOP got caught in the act of voter suppression, even they argued that it wasn't about race, but about stopping people from voting for the Democratic Party.)

The lesson that the Bill O'Reilly's of the world should be taking away from this is: perhaps there's a reason why POCs and women tend to vote liberal. Maybe, just maybe, it's because conservative platforms are at best, unwelcoming to them, and at worst, actively oppress them? And maybe instead of dividing things up into race and party lines, maybe we need to be looking at what the best ways are to help people, in the ways that we both need and want to be helped, so that we can improve our society as a whole.

(This is not to say that the DNC is necessarily better at handling issues of race, gender, or privilege; but they do at least try to address them, which is more than I can say for the RNC.)

If you do actually want people to stop thinking "in terms of race," then you need to abolish the White Establishment. "True meritocracy," for those who desire it, is also impossible without first abolishing the white establishment. Because issues of race are rooted in the existence of "whiteness" as a concept, which creates tension with those who are deemed "other."

tl;dr — Bill O'Reilly continues to be a loud-mouthed, narrow-minded idiot who refuses to examine his own pre-conceived notions about the world. Surprise?

I #StandWithStandingRock because Water Protectors whom I'm never met just showed me what it means to be a human living in the world.

I've spent my entire day on the phone with various Native American water protectors, all of them perfect strangers to me. Every phone call lasted longer than I ever thought possible, and left me on the verge of tears — both for the unconscionable atrocities enacted upon these people, and for the inspirational and spiritual power that has energized those individuals just the same.

On the other side, they fight entirely for money. Energy Transfer Partners moved fast on this project because they knew that Bakken oil prices were dropping. In order to lock their partners into 2014 oil prices — which were twice as high as they are now — they are legally required to finish the pipeline by January 1.

As a result, the violence keeps escalating. Speaking with the water protectors, they will readily acknowledge that the cops, construction workers, and security guards who threaten their lives are simple people, just like them, who are just trying to do a job and treat their families well. Still, those people should ask themselves: is the cash they make really worth the damage they inflict — to human beings, and to the planet Earth at large?

That being said: these water protectors are living in an historic moment, and that's the fuel they'll carry with them, regardless of the outcome. When their lives aren't being threatened by militarized police, they are re-inventing what it means to be a community — sharing food, song, culture, and prayer, and inviting others to do the same. There's no judgement, no one saying "Your beliefs aren't right" "Your religion is wrong" "Your perspective is skewed." Truly, there's only one shared rule among the tribes and allies: humans and our Mother Earth both have a right to live. So it's our job to be kind.

"Hidden Youth: Speculative Fiction from the Margins of History" is now available, and totally worth it. I swear.

My first professional-rate short story is now available in print from Crossed Genres! "An Baile na mBan" is just one of 22 tales of fantastical diversity in the pre-1930s world, all featured in Hidden Youth: Speculative Fiction from the Margins of History. (Perhaps not-so-surprisingly, mine's about pucas, Travellers, and abortion during the Irish Civil War.)

Publisher's Weekly said, "The offerings are solid, entertaining, and generally fascinating, conjuring up voices and experiences not often heard. This collection is well worth checking out for all fans of speculative fiction."

From the publisher...

“The sequel to the World Fantasy and Locus Award-nominated anthology Long Hidden, Hidden Youth focuses on children: underage protagonists marginalized in their time. 22 excellent stories ranging across nearly 2,400 years and spanning the globe, Hidden Youth reveals the stories of young people whose lives have been pushed to the margins of history.”

A Tale of Two Idioms: "The Ends Justify The Means" & "Let Those Who Have Not Sinned Cast The First Stones."

To live in — and, by extension, participate in — a democratic-republic system automatically means that you are comfortable with the ends justifying the means. I've heard that phrase used to pejoratively refer to fellow Hillary supporters, but I actually think it applies to *everyone* involved.

If you don't vote? Your means are a hearty shrug that justifies that whatever happens, happens, 'cause whatevs.

If you vote Republican in this election, you are saying that the means of bigotry, bullying, oppression, and the subjugation of fair working conditions for everyone justify either the maybe-possible potential of slight economic improvement for some people which hopefully includes yourself although you can't guarantee, or that you've eradicated the "establishment elite" (whatever that means) from the system to usher in some form of change (whatever that means, although it includes the means that you already justified).

Alternately, if you vote Republican strictly because you want to crush women's rights to choose, you are justifying those same means of bigotry, bullying, oppression, and subjugation of worker's rights justify that maybe-possibly-hopefully-for-you, there will be no more abortions. More on Jesus in a bit.

If you vote Third Party, you are saying that the means of either federally funding a Third Party in the future, or absolving yourself from the process of a two-party system, justifies whatever the end result may be.

(I suppose that, more specifically and less defeatist, Libertarian voters are okay with losing some administrative protections for people in the hopes that our social and economic rules both eventually level out in the favor of some Utopian ideal of freedom. Green voters are okay with electing a self-serving pseudo-fascist whackjob in the hopes of justifying the passing of literally any part of a far-left progressive that I, personally, agree with, which is why I'm being so unnecessarily harsh to Stein.)

If you vote Democrat in this election, like I plan to do, you are saying that some obvious cases of collusion within the DNC at large, and some unfortunate foreign policy issues, are okay if it means that the vast majority of our fellow US citizens still get to enjoy their civil rights, and that there will be more opportunities for advancement in this country for people from all walks of life.

(I guess it also means that you're okay with the means of a qualified leader who married a guy who can't keep it in his pants, finally having the power to make some damn decisions)

And here's where we get to the Jesus proverb, since the evangelical vote is so significant, and because Christian mythology so informs our social makeup, for better or for worse:

All of these situations involve throwing some stones — which, for the sake of this intellectual idiomatic exercise, are the "means" of the other overly-simplistic philosophy. None of our votes or beliefs come without baggage or compromise. And unfortunately, we are complicit in the means that justify our desired ends (specifically for the sake of rhetorical Facebook argumentative bullshit logic).

We all want to present an image of ideological purity, but unfortunately, that's just not a realistic possibility, given the way our country (and world) functions. So the question is: which stones are you most comfortable throwing?

#ImWithHer (even though she wouldn't let me wear my wookie onesie to the poll) #🇺🇸

A photo posted by Thom Dunn (@thomdunn) on Nov 8, 2016 at 6:07am PST

The Ballad of Bad Hombre Man & Queen Nasty Woman

He rode out at dawn
And he headed west:
The Bad Hombre Man
from the Yuge Land of Best

But when he arrived
she was already there:
The Queen Nasty Woman
mounted on her white mare.

They both drew their guns
packed with bullets of words.
Hers were sharp, smart, and clear;
His: the best that he'd heard.

Now I’ll clarify
this for those unaware:
Yes, she’s fine with guns
When they’re not everywhere.

Now back to their duel
in that desert, noon high.
Where Queen Nasty Woman
brought Bad Hombre to die.

For when she took aim
with her practice and plans
she sniped his small gun
from his small grabby hands

To that Bad Hombre Man
from the Best Land of Yuge,
It had never occurred
he could possibly lose

But he slipped from his saddle
and fell flat in the dirt
He was frantic to find
some new way he could hurt

that there Queen Nasty Woman
mounted high on her steed
laying traps all around
everywhere he might lead

Leaving Bad Hombre Man
with no pussy to grab
For the sword ‘tween his legs
was all he knew how to stab

And so Queen Nasty Woman
Turned her mare and she rode
towards that house, White and fair
to once more be her home

On the Statistical Anomaly — or not — of White Supremacy

Statistical anomalies can be tragic and regrettable without serving as evidence for anything all.

Less than 50 officers are killed in the line of duty each year on average, not counting accidents or injuries or deaths from illness. In the grand scheme of tragedy, this statistic means that policing is not a particularly deadly career. At the same time, this doesn't preclude officers from being brave and noble individuals worthy of appreciation.

The majority of those officers killed in duty are killed by white Americans.

By contrast, police are responsible for killing around 1000 people each year, and a disproportionate number of those people are black Americans, usually men, and whom in the vast majority of cases, did nothing to elevate the conflict but for existing in a high-tension situation with an armed officer while also being black.

These are all facts.

The photo on the top left was taken during the Black Lives Matter protest in Dallas last night, before further violence took place. This photo represents an ideal situation: if cops are meant to professionally stand against injustice, then it is right that they would stand in solidarity with those suffering from injustice. I like to think that the moment reflected here is an accurate representation of the majority.

The photo on the top right is the tragic reality that black Americans are forced to live with every day, due to the aforementioned statistics of black Americans being killed by cops. Regardless of your feelings towards police, you should be able to empathize with the fear that black Americans are feeling — because it is statistically justified. This is unfortunate, but it's the truth.

(If at any point in this ranting you have thought to interject something to the affect of "But isn't every death tragedy?", you're part of the problem, because that is such an obvious and foregone conclusion that it doesn't even bear clarification.)

At the bottom of this photo, you see a tweet made by a former US Congressman, in the aftermath of last night's protest and subsequent anomalous shooting. 

And that tweet at the bottom? That is the source of all of these problems. That is the insidious virus of white supremacy laid bare for all to see, by a white man in a position of power and influence. It still exists today, still oozing like snake venom through the veins of our country.

And it is not a statistical anomaly.

It is men like this who create a system that continues to keep black Americans down 150 years after the formal end of slavery.

It is men like this who pass laws that lead cops — essentially their employees, or at least, the professional enforcers of their will — to profile, punish, and sometimes and with increasing disproportionate frequency kill black Americans.

It is men like this who use their power to appeal to the most rotten fears in the hearts of white Americans, by pointing to statistical anomalies like a sniper at a Black Lives Matter protest and use that as evidence or justification of some greater evil, while ignoring all other steadily persistent evidence to the contrary. It is these same men who will readily classify any white shooter as a "lone wolf" or as "mentally ill" — perpetuating the idea that white people are allowed to be individuals, while all minorities must stand-in as representatives for their entire group.

It is men like this who encourage others like them to deny their human impulse for empathy. It is men like this who are the problem. (And yes, it is men like this who make up the bulk of Donald Trump's support base.)

I try not to be the person who shares every single meme in the wake of every single tragedy, who participates in the back-patting performance art of social media America. I try to stand in solidarity with my black friends, and let them feel their grief, while also knowing that I can never fully grasp what it is like to be in their shoes.

It is 2016 and these 3 photos represent 3 vastly different realities that all coexist in the United States of America today. Do you see the problem now?

If you care about #DiversityInSF — or diversity in general — you should help make this awesome anthology happen.

The sequel to Locus and World Fantasy Award-nominated book Long Hidden edited by Rose Fox and Daniel José Older, Hidden Youth is a new anthology featuring fantastical short stories from the margins of history — young adult sci-fi and fantasy stories about oppressed and marginalized groups throughout the generations.

Also, it includes a story by me. "An Baile na mBan" is about Irish Travellers, Irish Nationalism, abortion, and, uhhh, sketchy púca faeries using women to enact their revenge on the Provisional IRA. Obviously.

Did I mention that this will be my first professionally-published (as in, paying SFWA rates) piece of original fiction?

So as you might figure, it means a lot to me. But it won't actually happen unless the anthology reaches its Kickstarter goal of $23,000 by Wednesday, July 6, 2016.

tl;dr — help a brother out, and tell your friends to do the same. KTHXBYE.