On The Spectrum and Fake Empathy

So...let me speak on this one time, mainly because I realized that I've talked about it everywhere else but here:

If you heard what RFK Jr. said about autism and you didn't find yourself infuriated, scared, and ready to stand up for people in your life and community, it says a lot about how you're deciding to be "present" in the moment right now.

It speaks volumes about how performative your "allyship" is in moments of grave danger. It is an indictment of how you view Black and Brown lives. It's shows how you view people with disabilities. And it wipes away you showing up at those Hands Off protests a few weekends ago.

Now, some of y'all are gonna read that and be like, "It can't simultaneously be all of that, Pharoah." But, you see, it can and is ALL OF THAT. Past precedent, established over hundreds of years, has shown us time and again that it is all of those things. Those of you who say it can't be are choosing to be highly uneducated in the ways of oppression and refuse to see how picking and choosing what you care about to feed your "good person" complex is a key component of white supremacist culture. And real talk?

Ain't nobody got time for your apathy and discomfort with things you feel don't impact your life poorly disguised as empathy. Lives are at stake.

History has shown us that when dangerous, uneducated people are given power and control over any aspect of the populace, they more often than not create an even more dangerous set of precedents than they inherited. RFK Jr. and the deceased brain worm chillin' in his head should've never been given dominion over the health and well-being of the country, but because 60% of men of pallor, 53% of women of pallor, and 50% of Latine and Hispanic men voted for y'all's president, we now have a man who staged a bear homicide out here saying inaccurate, derisive, and dangerous statements about autism that will endanger the lives of millions of people.

I refuse to reiterate anything that man and his parelaphostrongylus tenuis said, but we should all be able to see that his hateful words masquerading as "expert" and "empathic" language are going to cause so much unnecessary harm, sterotyping, and prejudice for millions of people. He clearly doesn't understand autism in any way, shape, or form, yet here we are with the safety of millions in the hands of a person who refuses to believe decades of legitimate research and thinks he knows something when he has shown us time and again he knows nothing.

This transcends race, gender identities, socioeconomic statuses, and any other protected or non-protected class you might want to throw into the pot. But you know what?

EVERY FORM OF OPPRESSION DOES.

But y'all don't hear me, though.

And the wild thing is that most of y'all have autistic folx in your lives.

Just as wild is the fact that a whole grip of y'all are undiagnosed autistic folx who voted for what's about to happen.

Well, may the odds be forever in your favor, with yo' fake ass.

Day 11

Y'all's president blamed DEI for the unfortunate and fatal collision of an American Airlines passenger jet and a military helicopter.

You read that right - he blamed DEI.

Dozens died, their families grieving, after the deadliest U.S. air disaster in two decades, yet somehow, Black and Brown folx, queer folx, and people with disabilities are the reason this happened. Not the FAA being in disarray due to his executive orders; no, that can't be it. According to y'all's president, it has to be the Blacks, Latinos, and people with disabilities whom the FAA and airlines have hired "overqualified, intelligent" white cis male candidates.

Sounds about white.

He has no evidence of anything regarding diversity, equity, or inclusion having ANYTHING to do with this horrific tragedy, but, you know, white supremacy and bigotry have never had to have an excuse for levying out hate, even in the most inappropriate moments like, I don't know, people mourning the loss of their loved one.

60% of cis males of pallor and 53% of cis women of pallor voted for this. You voted for this lack of empathy and humanity. You voted for misinformation, deflection, and no accountability. You voted for a man who fired the heads of the TSA and the Coast Guard on his second day in office because he felt they were "too woke." You voted for a man who is so harmful that the previous head of the FAA resigned rather than serve under him (he was likely going to get fired like the heads of the TSA and Coast Guard). You voted for a man who gutted the Aviation Security Advisory Committee. What's that? Oh, just a bipartisan committee created to examine safety issues at airlines and airports. Before he disbanded the committee, the group included representatives of all the key groups in the aviation industry — including the airlines and major unions as well as representatives from groups that represented the families of people lost to airline bombings. The vast majority of the group’s recommendations were adopted over the years. But they don't really exist anymore.

Because, you know, DEI.

It's day 11, y'all.

On Resilience, Privilege, Catchphrases, and Affirmations

If you view resilience as something you can quantify as a "side quest" achievement that can be yours if you "work hard" and "dedicate yourself" to cultivating it, then you need to take a moment to acknowledge that you have led a privileged life.

A whole lot of us are resilient because we had no choice.

For many of us, it's about being resilient or perishing. Many of us come from lineages and ancestries that had to be resilient in the face of overwhelming oppression, racism, colonialism, elitism, classism, and white supremacy. Many of us carry the weight of our ancestors in our bodies while we navigate a world still using the same tools to oppress our communities 300+ years later. Many have identities that put us at odds with societal "norms" when all we want to do is live and thrive. Many of us tap into our resiliency daily because it's either fight or die.

There's no in-between.

If you're able to view resilience as a catchphrase, a watered-down yoga affirmation from your "guru" of pallor, or a "workplace value" for your company that you espouse to new hires with glee and gusto, you have no idea how privileged you are.

But hey, at least it looks "awesome" on that Etsy motivational poster you've got up in your house or cubicle, right?

People of pallor virtue signaling and trying desperately to be viewed as “allies” during celebrations of non-white cultures and heritages like Black History Month:

[Image description: a concrete wall plastered with non-artistic graffiti. Sprayed on the wall in black letters is an attempt at writing “Be the change.” The wall is actually tagged with the words “Be the chage.”]

[Image description: a concrete wall plastered with non-artistic graffiti. Sprayed on the wall in black letters is an attempt at writing “Be the change.” The wall is actually tagged with the words “Be the chage.”]

On Nat, Magical Girls, and the Intersection of Justice

Sometimes, my energy is magical girl energy.

Sometimes, my energy is Nat Turner energy.

Either way, understand that justice is always at the center of who I am.

Also understand that you do not wanna come around me with hate and bigotry and catch me on a day where the Nat Turner in me pulls out his Sailor Scout wand to dispatch you and your ugliness.

Believe that.