Darryl Zero
@darrylzero.bsky.social
Dad. Blackman. Partner. PhD candidate. Greñudo. All opinions mine and not my institution's. Black man with a white mom. Not biracial.
How would a national intelligence service know more about what goes on within their borders than the US military, though? /s
December 16, 2025 at 1:51 AM
How would a national intelligence service know more about what goes on within their borders than the US military, though? /s
If you've been walking around without your ID on you at any point over AT LEAST the past 24 years, you're lucky enough that authority doesn't see you as a target, or at the very least that people think you belong where you are.
I've almost never had that luxury.
You get used to it. 11/11
I've almost never had that luxury.
You get used to it. 11/11
December 15, 2025 at 2:41 AM
If you've been walking around without your ID on you at any point over AT LEAST the past 24 years, you're lucky enough that authority doesn't see you as a target, or at the very least that people think you belong where you are.
I've almost never had that luxury.
You get used to it. 11/11
I've almost never had that luxury.
You get used to it. 11/11
The worst part is knowing that I could have all the verification in the world, and that it wouldn't matter if the person messing with me was having a bad day, or got enough panicked calls from concerned citizens, or just felt like wielding power over someone that day.
But that's every day. 10/
But that's every day. 10/
December 15, 2025 at 2:41 AM
The worst part is knowing that I could have all the verification in the world, and that it wouldn't matter if the person messing with me was having a bad day, or got enough panicked calls from concerned citizens, or just felt like wielding power over someone that day.
But that's every day. 10/
But that's every day. 10/
These days, I carry FOUR photo IDs on me at all times--driver's license, two school IDs, and my passport card, because I've ALWAYS needed to have some kind of documentation proving I deserved to be where I was, and the more documentation I had, the better. 9/
December 15, 2025 at 2:41 AM
These days, I carry FOUR photo IDs on me at all times--driver's license, two school IDs, and my passport card, because I've ALWAYS needed to have some kind of documentation proving I deserved to be where I was, and the more documentation I had, the better. 9/
I get that, being unambiguously Black, I'm going to get stares being in certain places, but when people look at my faculty ID and don't believe I'm faculty, I'm not panicking at the prospect of having security called; I'm thinking "damn, another Thursday."
And I'm LUCKY. 8/
And I'm LUCKY. 8/
December 15, 2025 at 2:41 AM
I get that, being unambiguously Black, I'm going to get stares being in certain places, but when people look at my faculty ID and don't believe I'm faculty, I'm not panicking at the prospect of having security called; I'm thinking "damn, another Thursday."
And I'm LUCKY. 8/
And I'm LUCKY. 8/
Having a blonde & blue kid made the act of being in public with my own child terrifying. I'm sure your kids have cried in stores or parks; anyone ever call the cops on you for it?
Ever have a nurse ask what your relationship was to a kid that has the same first, middle, and last name as you? I have.
Ever have a nurse ask what your relationship was to a kid that has the same first, middle, and last name as you? I have.
December 15, 2025 at 2:41 AM
Having a blonde & blue kid made the act of being in public with my own child terrifying. I'm sure your kids have cried in stores or parks; anyone ever call the cops on you for it?
Ever have a nurse ask what your relationship was to a kid that has the same first, middle, and last name as you? I have.
Ever have a nurse ask what your relationship was to a kid that has the same first, middle, and last name as you? I have.
...the only time police would let me pass after seeing me without some kind of mess-with-you was when I was behind the wheel of a school bus. Off the bus, I took to only using the restroom at the school for which I was also the debate coach, or wearing my district badge on my forehead otherwise. 6/
December 15, 2025 at 2:41 AM
...the only time police would let me pass after seeing me without some kind of mess-with-you was when I was behind the wheel of a school bus. Off the bus, I took to only using the restroom at the school for which I was also the debate coach, or wearing my district badge on my forehead otherwise. 6/
While my luggage has mostly avoided the random check since then, my person was and remains a hot topic for law enforcement. The TSA grope-down is always a fun experience.
Being Black in Portland in my 20s meant having to carry multiple forms of ID pretty much anywhere. I was used to it... 5/11
Being Black in Portland in my 20s meant having to carry multiple forms of ID pretty much anywhere. I was used to it... 5/11
December 15, 2025 at 2:41 AM
While my luggage has mostly avoided the random check since then, my person was and remains a hot topic for law enforcement. The TSA grope-down is always a fun experience.
Being Black in Portland in my 20s meant having to carry multiple forms of ID pretty much anywhere. I was used to it... 5/11
Being Black in Portland in my 20s meant having to carry multiple forms of ID pretty much anywhere. I was used to it... 5/11
...when I flew to-and-from New York City in 2000 for CMJ. After airport agents in PDX messed up my black Flash t-shirt in summer of 2001, I was excited to fly back to NYC in September and have a reprieve from getting racially profiled.
Be careful what you wish for. 4/11
Be careful what you wish for. 4/11
December 15, 2025 at 2:41 AM
...when I flew to-and-from New York City in 2000 for CMJ. After airport agents in PDX messed up my black Flash t-shirt in summer of 2001, I was excited to fly back to NYC in September and have a reprieve from getting racially profiled.
Be careful what you wish for. 4/11
Be careful what you wish for. 4/11
The first time my luggage was "randomly" searched at an airport was when my family was moving back from Hawaii in the mid-1990s. My father's also was, for some reason. Every time I flew between then and 2001 (at least once a year), mine would get searched, with one exception... 3/11
December 15, 2025 at 2:41 AM
The first time my luggage was "randomly" searched at an airport was when my family was moving back from Hawaii in the mid-1990s. My father's also was, for some reason. Every time I flew between then and 2001 (at least once a year), mine would get searched, with one exception... 3/11
I was 18 the first time a cop pulled a gun on me, and the only reasons I'm alive are that 1) I'd already removed my ID from my wallet before he'd even gotten there, and 2) that my white boss arrived in time to tell him that I did, in fact, belong where I was. This was months after Amadou Diallo.
December 15, 2025 at 2:41 AM
I was 18 the first time a cop pulled a gun on me, and the only reasons I'm alive are that 1) I'd already removed my ID from my wallet before he'd even gotten there, and 2) that my white boss arrived in time to tell him that I did, in fact, belong where I was. This was months after Amadou Diallo.
From the moment I could be in public alone, I had ID on me, because you never knew when the police were going to shake you down just for existing. By the time I was 17, it was actually MORE important for me to have papers when I'd be with my white mom, lest someone think I was kidnapping her. 2/11
December 15, 2025 at 2:41 AM
From the moment I could be in public alone, I had ID on me, because you never knew when the police were going to shake you down just for existing. By the time I was 17, it was actually MORE important for me to have papers when I'd be with my white mom, lest someone think I was kidnapping her. 2/11
"Hate crimes against Arabs & Muslims went up over 1000% after 9/11, which still put us in 4th place, behind Blacks, Gays, & J*ws. What the fuck do we have to do? We can't even win at being hated." -Ahmed Ahmed
December 13, 2025 at 8:44 PM
"Hate crimes against Arabs & Muslims went up over 1000% after 9/11, which still put us in 4th place, behind Blacks, Gays, & J*ws. What the fuck do we have to do? We can't even win at being hated." -Ahmed Ahmed
I mean no disrespect to Mr. Serwer, whose work I have followed for years (#Blackwriters), but I've had to prove my "belong here" status my whole life. 9/11 gave me a reprieve from my luggage getting randomly searched for a few years, but I've always needed to have papers on me.
December 13, 2025 at 6:29 PM
I mean no disrespect to Mr. Serwer, whose work I have followed for years (#Blackwriters), but I've had to prove my "belong here" status my whole life. 9/11 gave me a reprieve from my luggage getting randomly searched for a few years, but I've always needed to have papers on me.
As a Black man who has carried his passport card around since before Drumpf, I'm intrigued that there are any nonwhite people who are only now realizing this is important.
December 13, 2025 at 6:00 PM
As a Black man who has carried his passport card around since before Drumpf, I'm intrigued that there are any nonwhite people who are only now realizing this is important.
I feel less grouchy--we've gotten a little over a foot-and-a-half over the past two weeks in my 'hood. The City is kicking ass plowing, but it's a pain in the butt to clear before taking my partner to work.
December 13, 2025 at 5:57 PM
I feel less grouchy--we've gotten a little over a foot-and-a-half over the past two weeks in my 'hood. The City is kicking ass plowing, but it's a pain in the butt to clear before taking my partner to work.
Exactly. Do Dems actually think they can use the same "wE aR yOUr oNLy HopE" threats when we know EXACTLY what happens (or doesn't happen) when they get elected?
December 9, 2025 at 1:38 PM
Exactly. Do Dems actually think they can use the same "wE aR yOUr oNLy HopE" threats when we know EXACTLY what happens (or doesn't happen) when they get elected?
I ferociously hated it when it came out, but when it became clear that it's not a bit and he really is that positive and sincere, I hated it a lot less.
December 4, 2025 at 1:57 PM
I ferociously hated it when it came out, but when it became clear that it's not a bit and he really is that positive and sincere, I hated it a lot less.
Reposted by Darryl Zero
Basically every person defending Platner (especially at this point) is someone who thinks that woke went too far and we need to let white guys say slurs and be racist otherwise democracy will die
November 1, 2025 at 5:26 PM
Basically every person defending Platner (especially at this point) is someone who thinks that woke went too far and we need to let white guys say slurs and be racist otherwise democracy will die
I do this often enough to know how good it feels.
November 1, 2025 at 6:40 PM
I do this often enough to know how good it feels.
...you realize the 1600s IS the 17th Century, right?
October 28, 2025 at 8:48 PM
...you realize the 1600s IS the 17th Century, right?