On Emails, Allegations, and Collective Engagement

TW: mentions of homophobia, pedophilia, hebephilia, ephebophilia, sex trafficking.

So... let’s talk about the elephant in the room.

At this point, I’m sure you’ve seen that one email from the 20,000+ Epstein emails alluding to an alleged sex act between two former presidents (one of them being the current acting president).

In less than 24 hours, that damn email has produced countless memes, skits, sketches, and jokes, and has become one of the hottest topics of conversation across the internet. We’ve all had us a nice lil’ laugh about it, our minds speculating wildly. I, too, got caught in the salaciousness of the situation, bringing it up to my wife a couple of times last night. My wife, being the person that she is, did not engage in the laughfest. Instead, she hit me with some realness.

We’re all participating in some groupthink homophobia, and it is not a good look, y’all.

Real talk? An alleged sex act between two consenting adults, regardless of their public personas and heteronormative nonsense they’ve both spewed over the years, is the most “whatever” part of this email leak at this point. Seriously. There are thousands of emails talking about sex trafficking, sexual abuse, and the assault of minors by prominent and wealthy people, y’all’s president likely being one of the people who either openly participated, knew all of this was happening, and decided not to stop it, or both. And yet here we all are, stuck on an alleged sex act between two cis men. We’re laughing about sexual relations between two men, likely because many of us are either unconsciously latching onto the piece of information from this info dump that is the least upsetting to us or taking this as another opportunity to engage in anti-gay rhetoric. Either way?

We’re collectively in the wrong, and many of us are doing inadvertent harm to our gay and queer friends, family, and neighbors.

Let’s not allow this distraction - because that’s precisely what it has become - to dominate our collective consciousness and pull us away from the fact that two of this country’s presidents were likely a part of a sex trafficking ring that catered to pedophiles, hebephiles, and ephebophiles.

And their victims deserve justice.

On Megyn and White Apologism

TW: mentions of pedophilia, sex trafficking, harm.

"I know somebody very close to this case…Jeffrey Epstein, in this person's view, was not a pedophile…He was into the barely legal type, like he liked 15-year-old girls…He wasn’t into like 8-year-olds…There's a difference between a 15-year-old and a 5-year-old."

What you just read came out of the mouth of weak-sauce woman of pallor and faux investigative journalist Megyn Kelly. Megyn Kelly thought this morning that, after seeing the dozens of email excerpts floating around out there as well as the mountains of evidence showing that Jeffrey Epstein was a sex trafficker and pedophile, today was the day to grace the world with this horrific take on her raggedy-ass podcast.

This right here is an impeccable illustration of one of the many instances where white supremacy, as a concept, action, and movement, has always been absolutely bonkers to me.

You see, white supremacy is an exercise in apologism: whiteness traumatizes, hurts, or kills someone, then expects to be forgiven after a half-hearted apology. And when the forgiveness doesn't come because forgiveness hasn't been earned or deserved? That's when people of pallor and systems of pallor begin spinning the situation, making up excuses for why the pallor colonizer terrorism and violence someone has been on the receiving end of "isn't that bad" and pushing that we all agree with that narrative. And if you don't get on board with the narrative? Gaslighting and violence are in your future. Don't believe me?

Go and ask anyone who isn't a part of the white supremacist culture model due to their melanin or beliefs, and they'll tell you a story about how this has played out for them or someone they love. Hell, some of us could write you a whole book of our experiences.

Let's keep it 100: there is no difference between a 5-year-old girl, an 8-year-old girl, and a 15-year-old girl when we're discussing acts of sex trafficking and pedophilia. NONE. NADA. No difference. No excuse. It is all abuse of vulnerable underage people, people we are supposed to protect from predatory acts of any kind. Period. No discussion.

Anyone who thinks otherwise and tries to spin these clear facts that I keep hoping we can all agree on to protect themselves, their own best interests, the interests of wealthy people who could give two craps about them who happen to have been long-time friends with horrible human beings they deify and admire, or the person they voted for to be President of the United States is just as dangerous as those initiating these acts.

And I don't apologize for saying that because there's nothing to apologize for.

Supporting harmful and toxic behavior and trying to "rationalize" it or explain it away is vile, disgusting, and a clear and present danger to others.

And it's one of the engines that keeps white supremacy running.

And so many of y'all are literally more than willing to continue being the gasoline that keeps the old jalopy moving.

On Seeking Forgiveness and Being Undeserving Of It

It's funny how people didn't care that their vote would increase the cost of or outright eliminate healthcare options, terrorize communities with masked bootleg police and the U.S. military, devastate the job market, increase the cost of living, and dismantle and eliminate food assistance programs and other social services for millions of people because they somehow thought that Black folx, Brown folx, Indigenous folx, trans folx, and immigrants would be the only people harmed...until they found themselves also being hurt because, you know, all of the things mentioned above impact everyone and not just a couple of communities voters felt were expendable and disposable.

It's also funny how these same voters begged and pleaded like Keith Sweat for their president to save them for months on end, only to realize late last month that they would not be saved because their president had essentially used them to increase his wealth and power.

Hilarious.

Now, suddenly, it's y'all begging forgiveness on TikTok and Instagram for "mistakenly" voting for y'all's president (some of y'all in the last three presidential elections) and putting us in this autocracy.

Now it’s, "I made a mistake" and "We have to stick together."

Y'all can miss me with all of that.

I can care about you as a person, even if you don't care about me and mine, because I don't want to see anyone hurting and struggling. I'm a humanist and an empathic being. Even if you hate me, I want you to be okay. But let's keep it 100: you did not make a mistake. You knew what you were doing. All of you did. So nah, we are not "sticking together." I do not forgive, and I definitely will not forget.

Y'all need to learn that empathy only goes so far.

I do not have it in me to forgive you for willingly hoping others would suffer so you could thrive under a hateful regime. And I know I'm not the only one feeling this way.

Y'all expect people you harm to forgive you because you live in a country where white supremacy has trained y'all to abuse others and expect forgiveness. It ain't happenin' this time, and a bunch of y'all are starting to see this, and you're unraveling. A part of me feels sorry for you, for your despair. But it's a small part, because y'all have made it very clear that this was supposed to be your "survival of the fittest" moment and you're realizing that a whole bunch of y'all ain't the fittest. And knowing that probably sucks. But...well...

I hope that you survive what you've inflicted on all of us, because that's what I want for everyone. And most of y'all will survive because of the work and community programs created and led by the people you were hoping would be harmed by all of this. But that's all that you'll get from me, and all you should get from them. That's more than enough. And if you have a problem with hearing that?

Better go and embrace some of that greatness you voted for to keep you fed and wealthy while "liberals" decide whether to help y'all at all.

Nationwide Food Assistance Resources

Taking a moment this morning to share a variety of nationwide food assistance resource hubs. Please share this information with your networks and communities. Share them with your co-workers and HR. Be willing to be the person who can look up, print out, and download resource information for people in your orbit.

Be in community. We all we got.

Find free or reduced-cost resources like food, housing, financial assistance, healthcare, and more: www.findhelp.org

Find a local food bank in your area: www.feedingamerica.org/need-help-find-food and https://foodfinder.us/

Find a community fridge in your area: www.freedge.org and www.changex.org/ca/communityfridge/locations

Find a Little Free Pantry in your area: https://www.littlefreepantry.org/

Find a mutual aid network providing food assistance in your area: www.mutualaidhub.org

On Polka Dot Dresses and Doing Anything But Actually Doing Something

Let's see...safety pins, vagina hats, blue bracelets, pink suits, and now?

Polka dot dresses.

Because why stand up, go outside, and physically be about that life like the female New Yorker in the polka dot dress who tussled with ICE agents Tuesday when an ICE sweep triggered protests on Manhattan’s Canal Street, when you can just cosplay as her and post pictures on social media of yourself with captions like "IYKYK"?

Oh, cishet women of pallor. The performative "clothing and accessories as a form of resistance" thing just never, ever ends with y'all, does it?

Geezus Kristo.

Accessorizing is NOT an act of resistance. Wearing a piece of clothing is NOT an act of resistance. But you know what? It is a great signal for the rest of us to clock your performative nonsense while knowing not to trust you or expect you to be ten toes down for a real, tangible, physical act of resistance in these streets.

And real talk? Some of y'all ain't got the skin tone to pull off polka dots.

You can sip that tea however you see fit.