Lots in the news last week about anti-Asian sentiments.

Some kind folks reached out to my little half-Filipino self with their support. Much love 🙏🏽

What happened in the ATL area was terrorism.

The FBI defines domestic terrorism as "violent, criminal acts committed by individuals and/or groups to further ideological goals."

Now, will his acts be legally categorized and condemned as terrorism? It's unlikely.

But it was terrorism.

Perhaps it was terrorism against Asians, or against immigrants, or against women. It may have even been terrorism against sex industry workers.

But it was terrorism.

It was terrorism as much as lynching was terrorism. Lynching dressed up as "justice," despite carrying no semblance of justice.

Lynching was meant to terrorize black folks into submission. To solidify their place in a social structure that benefitted one group at the expense of another.

Robert Aaron Long murdered these people to remind them--and to remind us--of what he believes the social structure should be.

But Robert, you're wrong.

And more than simply being wrong, you’re also not scary to us. You’d like to be terrifying, but you don’t terrify people like us who understand that you’ve given into a spiral self-hate and self-loathing.

You can escape that spiral, you know.

Your online friends can escape it too. You all may not be able to see it yet, but you’ve been deceived. Someone has convinced you all of your own superiority by preying on your inferiority.

But Robert, you’re neither inferior nor superior. You just are.

You just are, just like your victims just were before you decided to give in. You gave in, Robert, and you’ve gone and done something that you can’t undo.

It’s going to be difficult for you to end this spiral.

There’s going to be a very small community of like-minded people who celebrate your actions. They’ll examine your murders one by one. Some will begin to wonder if they could ever be as “brave” as you.

This will make you feel incredible, because it feels beautiful when you don’t feel like you’re the only person being fooled. It’s like a magic show.

Some people will write you letters, and some of those people will be women.

Some of those women will develop a strong emotional attachment to you. They’ll send you photos to hang on your cell wall. They’ll write to you even when you don’t write back. They’ll adore you.

And you’ll feel as if you’ve achieved so much more than what you bargained for.

But there may be a moment when you begin to feel yourself in the spiral. You may one day begin to see things differently, soberly. When you feel this way, lean into it until you force your way out of the spiral.

Allow yourself to feel the gut wrenching guilt and soul churning remorse. That’s what what it feels like to escape the funnel.

You have a lot of life left to live, Robert. Don’t waste yours the way you’ve wasted others’.

Aye, I’m Jay. You’re on my personal site where I post things I make about interrupting mass incarceration, protecting migration, environmental justice & sustainability, language, communications, storytelling, creativity, and tech.

Learn about my ventures here, check out my non-profit initiative here, or explore my consultant services here.

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