My name is Connor. Yes, I have started this fundraiser for myself because unfortunately I have reached the point where I can’t seem to find the financial assistance that I require elsewhere. To be upfront, I’ve never started a fundraiser for myself, so this is kind of new for me. I will hold the thanks and appreciation for the end of this, and just get straight to the reason I created this fundraiser.

The start of my situation begins back in early January. I was at the department of homeland security building in Albuquerque, New Mexico, attending a protest against ICE. Not even 15 minutes into the demonstration, a handful of federal officers walked out of the building and immediately began harassing some of the protesters. I was near the front of the small crowd of attendees, when I was suddenly grabbed and dragged away from all safety. The officer that had forcefully taken me away from the crowd, then violently threw my body into the ground, pressed my face into the asphalt. As a result of the brutality one of my front teeth had fractured, the sharp edge managing to puncture a hole in my mouth bad enough for stitches. There was blood all over the ground, on my face, and drenching my clothes. (See picture in cover, compliments of ABQ Journal)

As soon as it had clicked in my head as to what exactly was going on, I immediately shut down and did not put up a fight. The moment I was recklessly forced into handcuffs, I remained completely compliant for the rest of my detainment. When I was dragged into the lobby of the federal building, the only words I spoke were to request a paramedic, who then briefly looked me over and determined that I had the choice of deciding for myself whether or not I felt the need to go to the hospital for stitches and/or to be scanned for concussion. I made the decision to remain where I was, at the small chance of being released from detainment sooner than I would be discharged from the ER. The rest of the remaining hours that I was held, I remained completely calm and silent until they finally made the decision to let me go with a few false charges of which details I do not wish to discuss.

Now, approximately 2 months later, my resulting concussion is thankfully long gone. On the other hand, the whole situation of what I had to deal with, has still been drastically affecting my mental and physical health, and has generally messed up a number of things in my life. There is some possible permanent damage that I have received, though mostly of the cosmetic nature, which is not all that important to me. On the more serious side of things that I’ve been dealing with are mostly of the financial nature, as well having to deal with a broken front tooth that’s yet to be properly fixed due to my financial situation, and it is still causing varying levels of pain & other difficulties that have been affecting my daily life.

The tooth that the officer had fractured, I originally attempted to fix a few days after the incident, at an emergency dental clinic where they shaved down the sharp edges that were causing immense pain in my mouth. Even then, I did not have anywhere near the amount of money that it takes to pay for something like that. The procedure ended up costing an absurd amount of $305, just to get the sharp fracture smoothed out. Because of the severity of the pain I was experiencing, and would continue to experience if not properly addressed, I was willing to risk paying that price even knowing it would put me in a bad financial situation.

Even now, I hardly have enough money to pay for the most basic things such as gas for my car and other much needed necessities which is something I need in order to work to pay off the 300 dollars that I had pretty much thrown away, because yet again, I am having problems with my tooth and the pain only seems to be increasing by the day. I am hoping that all it will take to repair my tooth is a crown, but the dentist I went to warned me that if that didn't work, I might have to get a root canal, but I’m hoping that’s not needed.

To those who have read all I have to say, I express the sincere appreciation I have, I mean even the smallest amount of anything will get me somewhere. I’ve never really cared much about my own self, and I usually struggle asking for any kind of assistance, but the things I’m dealing with have become too difficult to manage alone, so this is kind of a last resort. I’m also very aware of how much struggle others can face, especially with the way things are in the world right now. So, anyone going through similar situations has my full support & solidarity, I will even offer the only form of support I have left to give to others, and just throw it out there that I’m always down to help others out, always willing to listen, just talk about anything, or even provide small acts of kindness and positivity where I can and am able to. People who know me, know that I’ve often gone out of my way and outside my typical comfort zone in order to provide as much support as I can for as many people as I can, regardless of how well I know someone, or if I’ve even met them before, I have always found so much joy in showing others that I care.

Even if you don’t have anything to offer financially, which is something I obviously completely understand, showing any support by any means, I hold an incredible amount of appreciation for and could probably never properly express full appreciation for (even though I will certainly try!). Whether your support is shown through a couple of spare dollars, or whatever amount you’re comfortable sharing, even just the simple act of sharing a link and spreading awareness, is so important to me and everyone else in my life. I will also take the opportunity to tell others struggling, that there is a community out there that cares about you, even if you feel completely alone and hopeless as I often do myself (and so many others), It’s been made clear to me as of recently how much support there really is for any kind of struggles anyone. Never be afraid to speak up about the bullshit you or others you know have faced, speak up about all the countless injustices that go completely unnoticed by the majority, try not to be afraid to get loud about whatever you care about, despite how scary it is to demand something better in this massively unfair system, there’s always going to be people fighting for better days for all of us. There is only hope for the future if we have hope that things will work out, but that hope means nothing unless we act towards making things a little better for others.

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