This Week's Opening Thought: September 8, 2025

This week's opening thought: Y'all's president spent his weekend openly declaring war on multicultural cities in the United States that he has a personal issue with under the guise of "combatting crime." He's done it in D.C. and now he's declaring war on other cities to the point that he happily posted an AI image of himself referencing the film "Apocalypse Now" about his impending unfounded miltary occupation of Chicago, and a "fun" lil' sentence stating that "Chicago is about to find out why it's called the Department of War" with a couple of helicopter emojis for good measure.

You know, "presidential behavior."

And let us not forget that y'all's president is moving to take unfounded military action in Chicago based on false narratives that his voters have been eatin' up with a spoon about it being, and I quote, "the most dangerous place in the world." Actual data and statistics state otherwise but, you know, the president told y'all to eat it up so eat up!

Meanwhile, members of that same enthusiastic flock of voters filled up multiple town halls across the United States over the past four days, begging for relief as their president destroys their livelihoods with trade wars built upon false narratives that many of them happily gobbled up without even thinking about how anything he said to them worked. And many of those folx?

They live in regions of the United States with the most poverty and highest crime rates.

And now their farms and businesses will likely not make it to next summer, as all of their usual trade partners from other countries have moved on because their president-elect made any negotiations evaporate.

The most ridiculous part of it all is these loyalists, even as they are destroyed at the hands of their beloved dictator, still think everything going on and everything their president is pushing for is OK, because their president is gonna "own the libs" and "make this country great again" while he's also owning them on multiple levels. They still think that they are going to come out of this unscathed, even as their bodies are dragged through thorns and brambles. They somehow think that their loyalty will yield dividends and they'll somehow be spared of the wrath of ignorant policies and executive orders because they voted for him. Most of their cities will likely be occupied with a military presence at some point as their president normalizes oppressing the citizenry "for their own good." Their healthcare options will cease to exist, and their elected officials will ghost them and ignore them. And yet, after all of that, they will continue to cling on to their choices and ultimately cease to exist themselves. But it'll be "their America again," right?

Man, being a white supremacist bigot comes with quite the heavy price tag.

Too bad we've all gotta pay the price when a lot of us ain't even purchase anything and a whole chunk of folx aren't even willing to split the bill or get a separate check.

This Week's Opening Thought: September 2, 2025

This week’s opening thought: If you’ve lived a life of unearned privilege and white privilege where you have gone out of your way to endanger others, especially vulnerable and mistreated folx, and have ultimately harmed and impacted so many people and communities over your years on this planet that millions of people are anxiously waiting for you to pass away so they can celebrate your demise like it’s Mardi Gras or Carnival?

Well, I’m no expert on what benchmarks or actions someone should undertake to have their legacy viewed as one that people would consider as living a good life, but I know enough to say that if people are giddy about you possibly being sick and dying because you have spent a significant portion of your life using your privilege to be a clear, present, and hate-filled danger to their lives and the lives of those they care about, then you probably haven’t lived a good life.

But again, I’m no expert.

I just know a few things.

[Image description: A black man can be seen smiling at the camera with their right hand near the right side of their face. The man’s right pointer finger is tapping on his right temple, symbolizing that he’s somewhat bragging about his intelligence.]

On Rep. Nicole Collier, Texas, Democrats, and Black Women on Sabbatical

Rep. Nicole Collier, a Black woman and representative in the Texas legislature, was locked in a Texas state House Chamber overnight with her colleagues Gene Wu and Vince Perez because she and her colleagues rightfully refused to sign what was essentially a permission slip to be shadowed and surveilled by Texas law enforcement until Texas Republicans got their opportunity to vote on approving gerrymandering tactics that will render any non-Republican votes in the state damn near invalid in every election from now on.

If she signed the illegal "permission slip," Rep. Nicole would’ve had officers posted outside her Capitol office and following her everywhere. And when I say everywhere, I mean everywhere. Democrats in Texas have shared that these police "escorts" tailed them on their Monday evening drives back to their homes after spending much of the day posted in their offices and watching their every move. One Texas Dem said their "escort" went with them for a staff lunch and even down the hallway with them for restroom breaks.

Rep. Nicole Collier was one of only three Texas Democrat who refused to sign. And her colleagues who didn't sign? Also from communities of color. Not a Representative of pallor to be found.

And so Rep. Nicole sat in a House Chamber with two of her melanated colleagues, overnight, standing up for her constituents who live in a majority-Black district that will be silenced with this hateful gerrymandering. Meanwhile, her other Democratic House colleagues, who were happily soaking in the cheers when they landed back in Texas after leaving the state in protest, signed the "permission slips" and left her and her colleagues who are actually about something to sit there, overnight, in a locked room. None of them thought she, Gene, and Vince were worth standing in solidarity with in the face of hate and oppression. Nope. They signed their "permission slips" and moved on with their day. I'm sure Rep. Nicole had things in her life she wanted to get back to and loved ones she wanted to be with last night, but she understood what her presence means for her constituents. So she was 10 toes down while her colleagues bounced.

Later, you can guarantee her colleagues will act like they respect Rep. Nicole's "bravery" before going right back to inactivity and virtue signalling. And in a week it'll be like none of this ever happened. Texas Dems, Dems in general, will learn nothing and apply nothing to how they operate in the future or how they show up for Black women and Black communities.

Rinse and repeat.

And y'all wonder why Black women are on an indefinite sabbatical from saving y'all.

The Old, Two-Headed, Pale Elephant in the Room

So, let’s talk about the old, two-headed, pale elephant in the room.

The push for voting for the incumbent over the previous President is underway. And the “pick the incumbent because he’s not the worst pick” crowd is deafening. Equally loud is the “they both are equally horrible” crowd. The vote-shaming is likely right around the corner. So, let’s talk about it.

Real talk? They’re not similarly horrible choices, but neither one offers a choice that brings me joy.

And frankly? I’m tired of choosing between a sh— sandwich and a sh— and arsenic sandwich.

The incumbent isn’t the safe bet, because he still supports genocide and has a plethora of non-murderous weaknesses that don’t necessarily support a lot of communities, but we’re all supposed to get OK with voting for him because the other guy is an aspiring dictator?

It sucks.

I’m exhausted by round two of this white toxic masculinity political nonsense, especially because people of pallor have overwhelmingly voted for the wannabe dictator the past two election cycles and will likely do so again. So, once again, it’ll be up to Black people, communities of color, and LGBTQIA+ communities to pick the lesser of two evils and “save” a democracy that doesn’t care if we survive or exist.

I’m begrudgingly voting for the incumbent but I’m tired and unhappy with all of it. My choice, our options, this country, all of it.

I know I’m not the only one.

And because I know I'm not the only one, I'm not going to tell anyone how they should vote or shame anyone for not voting. I implore the people of pallor out there not to vote for the aspiring dictator, but I know that's a waste of energy so my side-eye for y'all stays eternal. Either way, do what you believe you must and own your decision.

May the odds be forever in some of our favor.

And may the unserved and mistreated not have to save the world for the umpteenth time.

Monday's Opening Thought: November 9, 2020

This week’s opening thought: Biden and Harris just made history. That should be celebrated. But don’t let your celebrating overshadow one thing:

You know this ain’t over, right?

We’re barely just getting started.

It’s time for this country, these United States, to put in that work. LONG OVERDUE WORK. You don’t get to stand at the bottom of a staircase, step onto the first step, then declare victory like you climbed Everest. And you don’t get to decide to not walk yo’ ass up the rest of dem stairs because you think you’ve done your part and other people can handle the rest. You do realize fascism and white supremacy aren’t suddenly defeated, right? They are alive and thriving. We’re long overdue for holding an administration accountable for leading this country toward being more equitable, inclusive, and anti-racist. This is the time. This is the administration.

So save the champagne bottle poppin’ and the pizza party for when we’ve actually done some real work as a nation and we start seeing real inroads toward progress.

Time to get to work.

Time to start gettin’ yo’ ass up dem stairs.