They say, “Stay civil.” That voting for Dems is a civic duty, even if they terrorize us.

-@HariZiyad
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Dems say, “Stay civil,” and Black liberals roll their eyes in synch with us. How could they warn that our world is burning, then say we have no right to flood it out? Why would we let terrorizers be comfortable in our establishments, in our homes?

When their Education Secretary says we must let our terrorizers eat in peace, reminding us that once upon a time we weren’t allowed to eat in peace either, Black liberals laugh along with us at how someone with his job still does not know history. How could I not remember the day a white supremacist bartender told me Black people were inherently violent? It was only a few months ago.

I didn’t apologize for throwing a glass at that bartender, and many Black liberals agree: fuck Dems for saying I should. They were addressing Maxine Waters when they said a Black person standing up to terrorizers in public is “not right” and “unacceptable,” but we know Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and his House counterpart Nancy Pelosi were really talking to all of us. They don’t care if we turned incivility into a reclamation of our time. They need results that they can measure.

“Abolish ICE is a massive political mistake” – CNN. “Democrats took the bait from Donald Trump, it’s not a winning strategy at the polls” – USA Today. “A bad week for Democrats gives rise to a big problem: Outrage could become obstacle in midterms” – The Washington Post. “Urban: ‘Radical left’ hurts Dem 2018, 2020 chances” – CNN.

They say we are going too far, but we haven’t gone far enough. They say we should always stay civil, but that’s how fascists come to power.

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“All of that is shitty,” Black liberals agree, “but, look, Trump has another Supreme Court justice pick, and that’s more important than anything else right now.”

What they actually mean is, “What if we are sometimes your terrorizers, will you then decide to make us uncomfortable, too? Decide to push us out of your homes and establishments and movements? Decide to prioritize the work you do that does not benefit us or our bottom line? If you have really thought your position through, what does it mean that I refuse to?

Your world may already be burning, but think of all the others whose worlds will burn if you don’t make it to the polls? Forget the fact that no one asked them to think about you when they were supporting candidates who lock your parents up, kill your children, redline your neighborhoods. Just because a fire is deadly doesn’t give you the right to soak other houses. If you must do something, just smother it with ballots.

The Education Secretary says the best resistance is voting, and we laugh alone at how someone with his job still does not know history. But they say he must know what he is talking about because look at how so many Black Movement Leaders™ agree that we should have prioritized the vote 2016.

When people actually fight for things IRL, they warn, too many die. But some of us fought back and died just a few minutes ago. Too many of us have to fight for our lives every single day.

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They say, “Stay civil.” That voting for Dems is a civic duty, even if they terrorize us. You have to let the lesser terror be comfortable in your establishments and your homes and the places of sanctuary where you decide on best strategies for survival. That we shouldn’t have to do anything other than stand in line and check off names that have a ‘D’ after them. And if we must do something the other 364 days of the year, make sure it’s something that helps civil people like them stand in line and check off names that have a ‘D’ after them on Election Day. They don’t care about your copwatching, your grassroots organizing, your fundraising, your worldbuilding. They need results they can measure.

They say we are going too far, but we haven’t gone far enough. They say we should always stay civil, but that’s how fascists come to power.