no longer doing 'movement' work. if it's not family or at least someone w/ a proven track record of not only getting shit done, but acting w/ integrity toward their commitments & NEVER exploiting / manipulating / abusing their collaborators (or allowing others to do so), then foh

way too many ppl are out here using Black death, 'trans lives', violence against SWers, criminalisation of addicts, homeless trauma porn, & whatever other marginalisations they can dig their fucking skeezy claws into IN THE ABSTRACT to climb their way onto a platform & a career.

& the real nasty part is many are the same mfs that's been on the scene for years, eating off the conference circuit / lecture gigs / spinning press coverage into brand alliances & so forth. raggedy bitches promising people hope with no plan & no strategy other than getting coin.

WHERE WAS YOUR BODY at all the pack the courts, jail support, off-camera shit? WHERE WERE YOU when people in your 'community' got assaulted by police, partners, neighbors? WHERE WAS YOUR VOICE when your employers were in on the shit and speaking up meant losing your check???

so many ppl w/ zero connection to 'movement' work will really see a page w/ a bunch of followers, or a person who's always posting well articulated radical talking points, popping up in 'healing' circles and parties, reposting fundraisers, etc. & think it's all sweet. IT'S NOT.

if we are honest, this is actual warfare. genocide + oppression are words thrown around a lot, but if we mean them, we must be very serious abt their material basis & move accordingly. stop speaking in generalisations. WHO ARE YOU FIGHTING FOR? not a demographic. WHO. WHERE. HOW.

it's too easy to be overwhelmed by the seeming impossibility of the situation if the fight stays general. no one person or group is going to end violence against ALL SWers, or ALL Black people. there's a reason pageant queens talking about world peace is such an enduring joke.

engage critically w/ the pageantry around you. see whose rhetoric & material response is specific, meets emergent needs, & is in direct communication w/ & guided by those actually affected. conversely, who pops up @ every 'crisis' w/ the same message, same tactics, same promises?

whose means / end game *creates possibilities*? & i don't mean as a branding point. who actually builds relationships that make new worlds possible? & who relies on voting, marching, & publicity opps time & again, using public trust & a pedigree to accumulate capital?

'my existence is resistance' is not a free pass to be a fucking opportunist or careerist. sorry not sorry. a lot of you mfs are in the way, and your day of reckoning will come with all the rest.

that said, & it rly should go w/o saying, bitch be a good friend. support ppl in your life who face or are at greater risk of facing violence. show up in everyday ways that don't reinforce or remind them of their pain. maybe that's money, maybe it's not.

on that note, we really need to stop fetishising abjection as a precondition for receiving care. there is a difference between prioritising the needs of 'those most marginalised' and conflating an identity or social category with marginalisation and suffering.

part of why we're so blind to 'movement' scammers & willing to follow their misdirection is this reduction of Blackness, transness, queerness, criminalised work / life choices, & so on to mere suffering. acknowledging the totality of someone's position requires nuance, diligence.

there are trans war criminals. there are many, many drug addicts with absurd net worths and no criminal history. there are inarguably virulently Antiblack sex workers who file taxes, and who engage comfortably with law enforcement and politicians.

none of these things mitigate the violence, death, and systemic bias experienced by other members of these groups. these things simply are as they are. it's irresponsible and another kind of bigotry to other someone as a member of a class with no basis but misplaced sympathy.

so when we talk abt things like privilege, access, marginalisation, let's be ACCURATE abt who exactly is / has what. what is someone's family bg? who has a college degree? a lease / good credit? savings & assets? a stable job? a criminal record? history of assault? be specific.

& how do all of these things become deterministic in which roles ppl are allowed in social movements? even beyond the npic, how many of your leaders / heroes have degrees, a fair amount of private wealth, and minimal lived experience of the harms they claim to stand against?

how many 'leaders' ARE the ppl whom these organising efforts claim to stand for or with? how many are actually longterm FSSWers? how many harm reduction figureheads have personally lived chronic substance use cycles that changed their lives?

spoiler alert: your queer sojourn of self discovery on eros because, let's be honest, it was a fun creative outlet, DOES NOT COUNT. nor does the time you smoked crack at that party for kicks, or the years you 'thought about' transitioning before aligning enby.

so much of this boils down to trust and unconscious bias. someone being 'articulate', conventionally attractive, popular, all open floodgates of confidence. we know this, but no one wants to say that's why we don't make room for the truths of all the ugly junkie tra**y whores.

AND EVEN WHEN someone who has lived that life gets through, there are no guarantees. experience is important insomuch as it structures understanding & competent care. but experience ≠ identity, and identity ≠ understanding or competence.

look for facts. financial structures. organisational composition. what is a speaker or organiser's relevant experience? what are their affiliations? support and funding networks? specific goals & commitments? who do they fw, and who DOESN'T fw them?

you WILL be surprised, & often disappointed. it's not to be salty abt anyone's hustle, but let us count the ways in which white reformist run + funded orgs have handpicked tokens from struggle, given them a pittance & a party line, and sent them forth to preach to the masses.

a problem (among many) w/ this tendency is that in building revolution, lots of our templates & imperatives jump to insurrection w/o much discussion of sustained intergenerational political education, obstacles & strategies in fiscal management & building wealth ( just $), etc.

community responsibility also means building structures for parsing finer points of political thought & revolutionary history. FOR ALL AGES. white saviors can only swoop in with a check & a promise in the absence of superior structures of care, sustenance, and affirmation.

imma stop & go cook dinner for the house, but please. remember the work isn't only the examples & subjectivities we all already know. radical care + revolutionary love are so much more than slogans & demonstrations. there are many types of movement, & huge potential in stillness.