Kyler Lehrbach
I try my best to start classes, therapy sessions, and interactions with others by acknowledging good news. To me, good news could be something to look forward to, something to be proud of, or anything deemed positive.
Today's good news includes:
- I learned I will be teaching the same class this summer that I taught last summer
- In California there was the largest student assistant union victory in US history
- I am successfully finding more folks to help with the statistics for my dissertation (I need a lot of help)
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I woke up a little before 8am and scrolled on my phone for a while before getting out of bed. I took my morning caffeine pill and started getting ready to head to campus to teach. I threw some fries in the air fryer to take with me for lunch while I took my time getting ready. As soon as I got out of my apartment building I realized I forgot the fries in the air fryer.
I was looking at Instagram while riding the subway north to campus when I saw the post about Alexander Spencer. He was murdered by the Philadelphia Police Department on Friday January 26th when the police stopped and frisked him while he was playing a game in his local deli in North Philly. After trying to pat him down, the police tackled him to the ground and shot him in the back, murdering him. I went to a rally for Spencer and his family a few weeks ago, and there was another rally tonight. This Instagram post wasn't about the rally though. It simply said "#JusticeforSpence #forever28." I turned 28 a few weeks ago, 11 days after Spencer was murdered.
After I got off the subway and walked to my academic building, I was still thinking about that Instagram post. I'm not sure how to describe what I was feeling.
While walking I also noticed that the blisters on my heels were bothering me. I got new boots (Solovairs) for my birthday and tried to break them in earlier this week, which resulted in lots of heel blisters. I was wearing different boots today (Converse x A Cold Wall) that I had also bought for my birthday. I think these feel good but it is hard to tell because of the existing blisters.
I taught three discussion sections in a row of Intro to Psych today. The lesson was about social psychology with a focus on the ethical problems in historical psychology experiments. Nothing quite like talking about the Zimbardo Prison Experiment. I always feel like the first section is the worst, because I don't know exactly how I'm going to say things yet. The second section is the best because I've learned from the first. The third section is the worst because I am tired of talking about this shit (except for last week when we talked about the prison industrial complex, I would have happily done that several more times). A student in the second section was wearing a hoodie that said "got milfs?" in the style of the old "got milk?" advertisements. He made a few good points today regarding the ethical problems with Milgram's experiment on obedience.
After I finished the third recitation I took the subway south to head home and get ready to go to the gym before the rally to remember Alexander Spencer. On the walk to the subway I got a twitter notification from @UnionElections that 20,000 student workers just unionized with the California State University Employees Union. The largest undergraduate union victory in history!!
I declined my afternoon caffeine pill because I was feeling drained and also bland from a day that has felt underwhelming. I stopped at the grocery store to buy an energy drink (swedish fish flavored) before the gym. On the walk to the gym I came across a tree with a lot of broccoli carefully placed around the base. I don't know what this means.
Even with the tasty treat, I still felt bland at the start of my workout. After the first ten minutes I decided to swap out my audiobook for Al Green's 1972 album Let's Stay Together. That did the trick - I was dancing in between sets for the rest of my workout.
After the workout I went home to get changed to head to the rally for Alexander Spencer. I wasn't expecting to see a big turn out because I haven't seen many folks talking about his murder. The initial story reported was that Spencer was trying to shoot people in the deli, leading to a police response. A few days later it came out that he was minding his own business in the deli when the police began stopping-and-frisking patrons. He lifted his shirt when asked but he was still tackled to the ground. While they were wrestling with and on top of him, one cop was shot in the leg (while the cop had his hand on his own gun...with bullet wounds in his leg lining up with his gun's angle..) and he proceeded to immediately shoot Spencer in his back, who was underneath him on the ground. A gun fell out from underneath Spencer a few seconds before he was shot. While he was laying there, witnesses say that he was crying and called out for his mother. Alexander Spencer leaves behind several young children, including a new baby. He was known for trying to build community amongst those around him. Every football season he hosted watch parties for Eagles games and was always buying food for his neighbors and community members who could not afford to eat.
The Philadelphia Police Department receives $856 million from the current city budget.
Before the rally even started, which was only attended by ~40 people, there were dozens of cops nearby and a police helicopter.
Once the rally had started, I couldn't really think about much from earlier in my day. I also could tell that I wasn't going to be able to meaningfully engage in anything else for the rest of the evening.
Rest in Peace to Alexander Spencer. Forever 28.
Kyler studies clinical psychology and is passionate about access to healthcare, resistance, and the power of the people. They encourage you to support your local labor union! They can be found on instagram @ky.lehr
