i used to be on the left

but i disagreed with them on many issues

they said i was the wrong kind of "PoC"

that my white friends secretly hated me

that i only said what i did for white approval

and i've seen them become rabid and awful to people like me

so i quit

my beliefs haven't changed much

but the left has changed, and it has become mired in identity politics, prickly, enraged, and violent

they tell me to ignore my eyes and ears and instead buy some circumlocution for why the things i see and hear are wrong

fuck off, done with you

and yes, the way you behave matters.

i've been cast out of most leftist circles that i joined

right wingers, even though i disagree with them on several issues, still have welcomed me with open arms

they love me, as i do them, but leftists care too much about purity of opinion