AVOCADO THEORY, a thread.
a few years ago, a vegan friend of mine told me a story.
she'd written a post about veganism on facebook, and one of her best friends posted a comment about how vegans were short-sighted & selfish because their avocado consumption was killing the planet.

the upshot: after multiple fiery back-and-forths, they canceled their friendship. my vegan pal had been the maid of honor at her friend's wedding. because of the fiery facebook exchange: bam. done. friendship over forever. a full canceling. to my knowledge, they never rekindled.

that story feels like a microcosm of things happening right now: an impasse between people who are aligned towards compassion and progress, but cannot agree on the details. this is happening in many spheres: feminists, climate advocates, queer activists, the left in general.

idealism can be, and has historically has been, a helpful tool. but real "purity" doesn't exist. there will always be fine bones of contention upon which people won't agree. but the fact that it's become de rigeur to cast out the "imperfect" is getting the left into a real mess.

while some people on the left argue to the death about whether or not it's okay to eat an avocado right now, the far right laugh gleefully and take the chance to move their agenda forward. "go on!" they cry. "PLEASE argue about avocados while we march to fascist power!! YAY!!"

sure: @KamalaHarris is imperfect. @JoeBiden is imperfect. of course. they cannot tick every box. but NOBODY could tick every box at the moment. the real question is: can the left overlook the smaller issues to serve a larger issue? can the left stop arguing about the avocados?

the future of democracy and the planet is at stake. the climate crisis is real. progress must be swift if we are to survive as a bunch of people on this earth. are you willing to lay down your sword, compromise, allow for imperfection, and fight a more important global fight?

i myself am guilty of avocado-ing in 2016. i was a loud @BernieSanders supporter and was incredibly disappointed when the nomination went to clinton. i did the minimum, assumed that she'd get elected and grudgingly said "eh sure, i'll vote for her, but it'd be more perfect if..."

we all know what happened in 2016 because of that sort of frustration and complacency. now, i will not be making the same mistake. i plan on doing my level and pro-active best to make sure biden/harris get into office. i hope everybody else learns from history and does the same.