Third Shift Musings - We're In It Now
How this presidency has fueled the anger I thought I had let go of.
I am angry. I am very, very angry. I am angry because President 45 (I never say his name and never will) is in the White House, making it the very whitest house since John Adams. Since January 20, President 45 has done nothing but caused chaos, emboldened racists even more than he did during his first shit show, and allowed a private citizen to take control of the Treasury. If this isn’t a coup, I don’t know what is. To make matters worse, Senate Democrats like Amy Klobuchar and Andy Fucking Kim have voted yes to some of the GOP’s ridiculous nominees (like Sean Duffy’s dumbass as Secretary of Transportation (thanks Amy) and Kristi Noem’s puppy-killer ass as Secretary of Homeland Security (thanks Andy)). WHAT?!
It fills me with a burning hot rage to know that Senate Democrats are playing nice with Nazis. Yes, Nazis. This Administration is going full-on dictatorship, with apparently Elon Musk playing fast and loose with our money. Supporters of that orange fool who were so happy just two weeks ago that he’d won are now crying on TikTok because they’re at the finding out part of what happens when you vote for a fascist. What galls me is that aside from pretty much everyone potentially being harmed by their stupidity and outright greed, 45’s constant chaos and willingness to burn everything down will harm children the most. And that’s what burns me up more than anything.
It’s bad enough that this country does not give a damn about children. None of them. If it did, children would be free to go to school without having shooter drills, eat to their heart’s content during lunch without having a ghoul of an adult embarrass them because their parents owe the school money, would make it easier for parents to find childcare so they can work, the list goes fucking on. Hell, we can’t even get SENSIBLE gun control without some Republican fool foaming at the mouth. They would rather have an arsenal than know that their kids are safe at school. Gun nuts can’t even use the “get more cops” rhetoric because we all saw what happened at Uvalde. Those babies died because the cops there were too chickenshit to go in and save them. And more children will die because America couldn’t handle having another Black person as president.
White people, white men specifically, were so incensed that a Black man became president (twice), they have been doing everything possible to make sure it never happens again, including drafting Project 2025. If you haven’t read it, take the time to read it. I haven’t finished it but what I’ve read so far should have kept that orange pumpkin out of the White House forever. But, as usual, whiteness is too much of a high to give up. Cuz when you’ve had 400 years of being on top of the food chain, you’ll do whatever it takes to stay there.
I was talking with my mother right after that monster was re-elected. She said something that shook me to my core but also gave me the strength to fight as much as possible. She said, “J, I’ve already been through this before. I’m not going back. And if it means my life ends at least it’ll end with me fighting.”
What we’re all experiencing right now will test us like never before. Because 45 wants most of us to suffer. He wants everyone but rich white men (not you poors, he doesn’t care about any of you) to suffer and die and never bother him again. He thinks he deserves everything he’s been given/stolen because men like him ALWAYS believe they are owed. They believe the minimal amount of work they do (if any) is enough to reap all the benefits and make them incredibly wealthy. But the rest of us need to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and be grateful we have those minimum wage jobs with no healthcare. Because they believe it’s what WE deserve. I say fuck that. We deserve more. We deserve to see our children thrive and grow and live their dreams. We deserve to see a doctor who won’t turn us in to the police because we need an abortion. We deserve comfortable homes that won’t take our entire paychecks to keep them. We deserve great food that nourishes us. We deserve clean, safe parks so we can literally touch grass. We deserve to go to our local library to feed our minds and imaginations, or to learn a new language or the latest audio equipment. We deserve clean water, clean air, warm beds and community with our neighbors.
We deserve.
Below are some organizations that are taking the fight to this administration. Donate if you can. If not, look up your local school board, city council or state representatives and give them hell. Attend meetings, write letters/emails or call. Volunteer with mutual aid groups. Above all, take care of your mental health. You can’t do it all. Pick one or two things you’re passionate about and then find a way to get involved.