I propose a replacement trend:

• “FUCK ICE we had a baby!”
• “BURN DOWN THE PATRIARCHY and come to my wedding!”
• “BE GAY DO CRIME it’s my Birthday!!”
• “ORCAS ATTACK YACHTS let’s have a goddamned LAN party!”
• “PUNCH A NAZI I got my PhD!”

I completely agree, there’s a definite layer of leading with a statement that you’re on the right side of whatever the dominant demographic feels strongly about. It seems like if you aren’t personally suffering enough it means you’re part of the problem. Call it non-poverty guilt?

I agree with this.

As a leftist, celebrate life and fight so others can have those celebrations. Checking your privilege can be an entrance to that battlefield, but it can also stall out there. And it can feel like something important has been done because of how much feeling it has. But stalling out there does nothing to liberate anyone.

How about we all work together to make the world a more livable place for everyone, stop being so self-centered and willfully blind, and then there will be no need for preamble?

I had a long discussion with my father last night about this - I’ve had long discussions with everyone about this, actually, now that I think about it. Everyone agrees that the world is broken and the system is rigged; everyone agrees that if we all took care of one another more and worried about ourselves less that the world would be all the better for it. And yet, everyone seems convinced that it’s impossible to do - that breaking away from this current mindset literally cannot happen.

Everyone always asks me “What’s one man to do about it?” But they can’t grasp that I’m not talking about one man doing anything. I’m talking about community, about brotherhood and sisterhood, standing together. This is especially disappointing to me because I come from an area surrounded by Coal. This was the place where people were shot and had bombs dropped on them by corporations and law enforcement alike - all because they were fighting for safety. For their lives. And now it’s like it never happened. Everyone just wants to lie down like a dog and take the kicks.

They told me my whole life not to back down where my morals were concerned, not to stand by and watch helpless people be taken advantage of- and now, when we should all be a little more mad and a little more fierce, I’m the bad guy for speaking out against it.

It makes me sick. It’s almost enough to make me want to leave them here to take their medicine. But I just can’t bring myself to turn my back on them. I know they’re just scared. But if they believed in me as much as they have all said they do, it would seem like they’d want to take my hand and stand next to me.