jawdust: stunthusband: goodstuffhappenedtoday: Bikers Against Child Abuse make abuse victims feel safe These tough bikers have a soft spot: aiding child-abuse victims. Anytime, anywhere, for as long as it takes the child to feel safe, these leather-clad guardians will stand tall and strong against the dark, and the fear, and those who seek to harm. The 11-year-old girl hears the rumble of their motorcycles, rich and deep, long before she sees them. She chews her bottom lip, nervous. They are coming for her. The bikers roar into sight, a pack of them, long-haired and tattooed, with heavy boots and leather vests, and some riding double. They circle the usually quiet Gilbert cul-de-sac, and the noise pulls neighbors from behind slatted wood blinds and glossy front doors. One biker stops at the mouth of the street, parks in the middle of the road and stands guard next to his motorcycle, arms crossed. The rest back up to the curb in front of the girl’s house, almost in formation, parking side by side. There are 14 motorcycles in all, mostly black and shiny chrome. The bikers rev their engines again before shutting them down. The sudden silence is deafening. The girl’s mother takes her hand. The leader of this motorcycle club is a 55-year-old man who has a salt-and-pepper Fu Manchu and wears his hair down past his shoulders. He eases off his 2000 Harley Road King and approaches the little girl. He is formidable, and intimidating, and he knows it. So he bends low in front of the little girl and puts out his hand, tanned and weathered from the sun and wind: “Hi, I’m Pipes.” “Nice to meet you,” she says softly, her small hand disappearing in his. ….The unruly-looking mob in her driveway is there to help her feel safe again. They are members of the Arizona chapter of Bikers Against Child Abuse International, and they wear their motto on their black leather vests and T-shirts: “No child deserves to live in fear.” Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/news/azliving/articles/2012/07/13/20120713bikers-against-child-abuse-make-abuse-victims-feel-safe.html?page=1#ixzz214xfChtS I’ll admit - this made me tear up. I’d never heard of BACA before. Now I want to find the WA and OR chapters, and give them some money. I can’t give them a lot - I live hand-to-mouth - but they deserve my support. Surviving abuse is not - *not* - easy. These bikers have taken on a nearly-impossible task, struggling to make it a little easier. Amazing. Absolutely wonderful. The bikers aren’t looking for trouble. They are there so the kids don’t feel so alone, or so powerless. Pipes recalls going to court with an 8-year-old boy, and how tiny he looked on the witness stand, his feet dangling a foot off the floor. “It’s scary enough for an adult to go to court,” he says. “We’re not going to let one of our little wounded kids go alone.” In court that day, the judge asked the boy, “Are you afraid?” No, the boy said. Pipes says the judge seemed surprised, and asked, “Why not?” The boy glanced at Pipes and the other bikers sitting in the front row, two more standing on each side of the courtroom door, and told the judge, “Because my friends are scarier than he is.” This is the most beautiful, awe-inspiring thing I’ve read in a long time. I wanna write a book about these guys, Jesus Christ. Where’s the blockbuster movie about these badasses?

jawdust:

stunthusband:

goodstuffhappenedtoday:

Bikers Against Child Abuse make abuse victims feel safe

These tough bikers have a soft spot: aiding child-abuse victims. Anytime, anywhere, for as long as it takes the child to feel safe, these leather-clad guardians will stand tall and strong against the dark, and the fear, and those who seek to harm.

The 11-year-old girl hears the rumble of their motorcycles, rich and deep, long before she sees them. She chews her bottom lip, nervous.

They are coming for her.

The bikers roar into sight, a pack of them, long-haired and tattooed, with heavy boots and leather vests, and some riding double. They circle the usually quiet Gilbert cul-de-sac, and the noise pulls neighbors from behind slatted wood blinds and glossy front doors.

One biker stops at the mouth of the street, parks in the middle of the road and stands guard next to his motorcycle, arms crossed.

The rest back up to the curb in front of the girl’s house, almost in formation, parking side by side. There are 14 motorcycles in all, mostly black and shiny chrome. The bikers rev their engines again before shutting them down.

The sudden silence is deafening. The girl’s mother takes her hand.

The leader of this motorcycle club is a 55-year-old man who has a salt-and-pepper Fu Manchu and wears his hair down past his shoulders. He eases off his 2000 Harley Road King and approaches the little girl.

He is formidable, and intimidating, and he knows it. So he bends low in front of the little girl and puts out his hand, tanned and weathered from the sun and wind: “Hi, I’m Pipes.”

“Nice to meet you,” she says softly, her small hand disappearing in his.

….

The unruly-looking mob in her driveway is there to help her feel safe again. They are members of the Arizona chapter of Bikers Against Child Abuse International, and they wear their motto on their black leather vests and T-shirts: “No child deserves to live in fear.”

I’ll admit - this made me tear up. I’d never heard of BACA before. Now I want to find the WA and OR chapters, and give them some money. I can’t give them a lot - I live hand-to-mouth - but they deserve my support. Surviving abuse is not - *not* - easy. These bikers have taken on a nearly-impossible task, struggling to make it a little easier. Amazing. Absolutely wonderful.

The bikers aren’t looking for trouble. They are there so the kids don’t feel so alone, or so powerless. Pipes recalls going to court with an 8-year-old boy, and how tiny he looked on the witness stand, his feet dangling a foot off the floor.

“It’s scary enough for an adult to go to court,” he says. “We’re not going to let one of our little wounded kids go alone.”

In court that day, the judge asked the boy, “Are you afraid?” No, the boy said.

Pipes says the judge seemed surprised, and asked, “Why not?”

The boy glanced at Pipes and the other bikers sitting in the front row, two more standing on each side of the courtroom door, and told the judge, “Because my friends are scarier than he is.”

This is the most beautiful, awe-inspiring thing I’ve read in a long time. I wanna write a book about these guys, Jesus Christ. Where’s the blockbuster movie about these badasses?

rainycloudsunnydays:

This is a documentary made by one of my mock trial teammates, Shayan. The trailer is absolutely amazing and beautifully presented! 

Spread the word! 

commanderspock:

zikrayat

I can’t believe that the Joplin mosque was burned to the ground. Some prayer rugs didn’t just get burned, we didn’t lose a few Qur’ans. The whole masjid was razed. 

Someone came to the Joplin mosque last night at 3:30 am with the intention of wiping it off the map. The loss would be felt even if this was an accident, but we know that the pain is magnified under these hateful and bigoted conditions. During our most holy month, the Islamic community of America has lost a place to pray and a place of peace. But what these arsonists don’t understand is that the real mosques and the foundations of Islam are not in mortar or brick, but wherever the believers are. The foundation of Islam is in over one billion people in this world, in every state, country and language. You might be able to get rid of a mosque, but you can’t get rid of Islam.

 ”But since we are people of faith we just can remember that this is a thing that happened because God let it happen, and we have to be patient, particularly in the month of Ramadan, control our emotions, our anger.” - Imam Lahmuddin of the Joplin Mosque

masononi: seoulsister: This is NOT okay at all Here’s the number for the hospital that did it, flood it with phone calls. Reblog this and stuff, friends that have followers.(732) 914-3800

masononi:

seoulsister:

This is NOT okay at all

Here’s the number for the hospital that did it, flood it with phone calls. Reblog this and stuff, friends that have followers.

(732) 914-3800

The tragic shooting in Colorado shook us all wide awake and reminded us of our mortality. It brought sadness and fear, disgust and outrage. James Holmes’s name has been heard on various news outlets and talk shows. He trended on Twitter for a whole day. He gained what he sought, fame. IBut it is…

"The funny thing about arguing that same-sex couples will damage the lives of the children they raise is that never once has a same-sex couple conceived a child by accident. Every single gay and lesbian couple who decided to have a child together must plan for it, often in great detail; whether this is a lesbian couple who need to find a sperm donor, a gay couple who must find a surrogate mother, or either of these looking to go through the lengthy and often difficult process of adoption. Every single child brought into the home of a gay or lesbian couple is wanted."
— an incredible point which i have been trying to put into words for years (via obegriplig)

askgaywrites:

eviscerate-you-in-fiction:

jaycereinhardt:

meandnothingless:

Got a problem with gay marriage? How about gay rights in general? Want to know what the Bible REALLY says about homosexuality? PLEASE reblog this so everyone can be educated. 

Love, meandnothingless.tumblr.com :) 

It’s nice to know someone who really gets the true meanings of my religion. Now if all the others who claim they are in my religion could get this we would be in a better place.

This. ALL of this.

Necessary.