This Week's Opening Thought: September 15, 2025

This week's opening thought: People are legitimately losing their employment over posting the actual words and recorded actions of a bigot and white supremacist terrorist in protest to the idea that said bigot and white supremacist should be seen as a "civil rights activist" or "advocate for free speech" and not the bigot and white supremacist that he was.

His actual words and actions.

Not made-up quotes, paraphrasing, or conjecture.

His. Actual. Words. And. Actions.

Things he said. Things he was recorded saying. Things that he actively did and said that caused harm to thousands of individuals and threatened multiple communities.

His actual words and actions.

People are losing their jobs over being honest about a dangerous individual who terrorized people for over a decade and made money doing so.

Look, as a company I can understand if you have an issue with an employee who represents you as a public face posting "dancing in the streets" memes about a public figure's murder and deciding it would be best to cut ties with them. I get it. In this case? It may not be the approach I would take, as I think things aren't as black and white as that, but OK. I kinda get it. But firing people for quoting someone? For posting videos and recordings of them saying and doing horrible things? For stating the truth?

I mean, damn, y'all.

Regardless of how this has all played out and will continue to unfurl, the biggest things I will walk away with from all of this is that white supremacy REALLY does not like having to look in the mirror at what it's done and capitalism desperately needs white supremacy to ensure the mirror can't be held up to its face because that reflection is a doozy.

Meanwhile, a morning "news" show host on a conservative "news" network happily and firmly stated that he believed we should be euthanizing homeless and housing insecure citizens. He still has his job because that evidently isn't horrible enough to even elicit a meeting with HR let alone a termination.

Sounds about white.

On 33 hours of Prayer, Xenophobia, Bigotry, and the Cool-Down Period

"You know, this bad stuff happens...and for 33 hours, I was praying that if this had to happen here, that it wouldn't be one of us. That somebody drove from another state, somebody came from another country. Sadly, that prayer was not answered that way. I hoped for it, just because I thought it would make it easier on us if we could just say, hey - we don't do that here."

- Utah Governor Spencer Cox, sharing his disappointment that the person who killed Charlie Kirk wasn't from a race or culture they could easily scapegoat, villainize, and politicize at the press conference announcing the capture of Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old cishet white male suspected of the murder.

Prayed for 33 hours, eh?

Cool story, bro. 😑

It's interesting how fervent people of pallor have been over the past few days about seeking "justice for Charlie." It's interesting how many cishet males of pallor have been online threatening violence toward "liberals" and trans folx, and how many bomb and mass shooting threats were called in to HBCUs and DNC offices.

It's also interesting watching that fever pitch of white supremacy and bigotry slowly decline and become more and more about "togetherness" and us "hearing each other" and agreeing to disagree around bigotry and hate as it became crystal clear that the murder suspect was not an "illegal" immigrant, melanated person, non-Christian, or trans person, but one of their own: a young cishet male of pallor from a conservative family, a family who has always supported y’all’s president.

Interesting, ain't it?

Sorry your prayers didn't get answered, Spencer. Maybe the line was busy?

On Workplaces, Impending Doom, and Wearing a Smile

Workplaces are really expecting us to show up right now every day with a smile on our face and not a care in the world other than a project deadline or deliverable.

I guess we're supposed to just act like nothing's happening?

I guess we're supposed to leave all of this descent into autocracy and dictatorship and the absolute dread, anxiety, and fear it's creating for so many of us in the car or at home?

That's what white supremacist workplace culture wants, so if we want to maintain employment we better put on our smiley face masks.

Geezus.

Acting like something isn't happening and expecting us all to cater to that doesn't stop it from happening and permeating every aspect of our lives, including work.

Expecting Brown folx, Black folx, Black women, femmes, trans folx, and folx with disabilities to show up and "be OK" while the world around us gets increasingly more heavy is a clear marker that these workplaces do not care about us.

But y'all already knew that.

Y'all just like us better when we smile more and preserve the feelings of those who want to exist outside of reality.

On Racial Profiling, Pallor Shock, Performative Actions, and Saying the Not-So-Quiet Parts Out Loud

So, y'all's Supreme Court went ahead and legalized racial profiling, finally making sure the not-so-quiet part was out there loud and proud. And while many Black and Brown folx are now mulling over a new, now legal addition to the list of things you evidently can't do while Black or Brown, I'm seeing the usual wave of shocked people of pallor grappling with the notion that it's OK to pull Black and Brown folx over based on their perceived appearance.

"I can't believe this is happening."

"The rule of law is gone."

"We're all in danger."

"I'm not going to stand for this."

"We need to stand up together and fight."

So...you're shocked. About racial profiling. In 2025. And now you want to fight the system because it's "gone too far."

Oh, bless your "militant" lil' hearts of pallor.

Y'all are truly exhausting.

Yes, it's scary as hell that the country that has been profiling Black and Brown people for hundreds of years suddenly got the "right" people of pallor in place to make it the law of the land. It's pretty horrific, actually. I'm even more scared for my Black and Brown brethren than I've ever been. But you know what? I live in the United States.

I'VE ALWAYS BEEN SCARED FOR MY BLACK AND BROWN BRETHREN.

C'mon, y'all. Did people of pallor forget about all the murders of thousands of Black and Brown folx at the hands of law enforcement with no cause? The video footage, the failed verdicts, the lack of justice? Like, did y'all forget about Stop and Frisk? Where was all this outrage then, huh? Where were y'all at then?

Oh, I get it. You think YOU'RE in danger now because it's officially the law of the land, so it's relevant to you now.

That's on brand.

Even in the face of y'all callin' yourselves standing up for Black and Brown lives you find a way to make it about yourself while pulling out your virtue signal so your fellow people of pallor will see you as one of the good ones.

Don't worry: you're "safe." They won't mistake you for me or anyone else with melanin, even if your spray tan and collagen lips got you out here looking like a sentient fruit leather that, if you squint out of one eye and cover the other, could be mistaken as a person of color by a racist cop.

Save your shock and outrage for fuel to actually do something other than write a long post or post a video on social media about a reality you've failed to acknowledge until it made you squirmy in your tum-tum.

[Image description: A plate of dark red fruit leathers. They are bumpy in texture and shiny in appearance.]

Image description: A plate of dark red fruit leathers. They are bumpy in texture and shiny in appearance.

On a Logo With a White Man and a Barrel, a.k.a. "The Country is on Fire, But The Most Important Thing in My Life is This Cracker Barrel Logo"

This week’s example of how fragile whiteness is...

"Cracker Barrel announced Aug. 26 that it is dropping its much-criticized new logo and returning to the 'Old Timer.'

"We thank our guests for sharing your voices and love for Cracker Barrel. We said we would listen, and we have," the company wrote in a statement provided to USA TODAY. “Our new logo is going away, and our 'Old Timer' will remain."

The nationwide restaurant chain and country store, known for its comfort food and nostalgic atmosphere, unveiled a new, simplified logo with the launch of its fall menu campaign on August 19.

The "enhanced brand look" was intended to modernize the company’s brand, executives said. The intent includes moving its restaurants away from nostalgia-rich decor to something more contemporary and less cluttered.

The change drew sharp criticism from customers and politicians, with both President Donald Trump and the Democratic Party decrying the change.

"All of your fans very much appreciate it," Trump said in a post on Truth Social following the announcement. "Make lots of money and, most importantly, make your customers happy again!"

USA TODAY followed up with Cracker Barrel, asking if Trump’s comments had influenced its decision, and did not receive an immediate response."

A logo.

Y'all went apesh-- over them removing an old man of pallor and a barrel from a logo.

Y'all's president is literally trying to be a dictator by Christmas, yet y'all lost your minds over a person of pallor being removed from the logo of a restaurant chain that has always had big white supremacist Klan energy.

Good to know what really matters to U.S. Americans of pallor.