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I was an Evangelical Christian Republican Cop. Now I& #39;m none of those things. What changed? (a looong thread)
I imagine I would be one of the most untrusted allies to BLM and left-leaning movements. I& #39;m also one of the most hated targets of the right-wing: an apostate who knows precisely how they think and their true motivations.
The simplest and most basic explanation for the right is that they truly do believe they stand on the correct side of history and that they are THE good people.
They think that the unfairness and injustice in the world is the default state of affairs and that embracing that status is the key to improving things for everyone (but them first).
They see the left as naive and weak, and as taken advantage of by the right& #39;s self-created boogeymen (Soros, Clinton, AOC, Sanders).
They see us as wanting to hug trees and sing kumbaya while the real villains pillage the treasury of American ingenuity, self-determination, free-market progress, and culture!
A decade+ ago, I used to believe this!I believed that right-wing America had the sole responsibility to be strong and protect the corrupt and intellectually inferior left.The evil "communists" brainwashed them, and we had to "do the right thing" and save everyone from themselves.
I truly believed I was right, and still believed I was seeking "the truth" of things. It was that commitment to seeking "the truth" that gave me the strength to overcome my aversion to things that were weird and new.
I prided myself on my "worldliness" and legitimately tried to connect with classes and cultures in society I was "uncomfortable" with.
And it slowly became clear to me that the white, institutional lens through which I viewed the world had been lying to me the whole time.
And it slowly became clear to me that the white, institutional lens through which I viewed the world had been lying to me the whole time.
The black community and hippies and socialists and queers and the disabled community and the mentally ill are not naive victims of some nebulous "devil-contrived" plot. They are injured and fierce proponents for the right to exist in their own worlds in peace!
Isn& #39;t this what the US Constitution - which I was obliged to rever - is supposed to be about? Wasn& #39;t the original intent of the 2nd Amendment to allow everyone the force and deterrence to protect their lifestyle and loved ones from people organizing violence against them?
The 2nd amendment is not just straight, white, church-going folks, but EVERYONE?
Of course, this opened a long-sealed door in my own soul. Why have I surrounded myself with these "different" communities my whole life? I thought it was because I wanted to "save" them. In reality, it was because I wanted to be part of them and I didn& #39;t know how.
Since then, I& #39;ve only come to see more and more of the injustice - both systemic and personal - that these minority communities face. The justification for this oppression is always contrived; manufactured in the most incredulous ways.
And as the justifications and actions against the humanity of people trying to live their best lives increase in absurdity, the right wing& #39;s humanity atrophies and decomposes until their violence clings only to the thinnest sliver of reason.
The real root of their disproportionate aggression is twofold. Simple, bitter, jealousy is the first. They& #39;ve lived their lives, sacrificing, compromising on their morals and dreams because of the pressure of their own culture.
Why do YOU get to live YOUR life in freedom, not answering to the same forces?
"This is the way the world works!" They& #39;ll say. "We didn& #39;t make it this way, don& #39;t blame us! Life is hard for us too!"
"This is the way the world works!" They& #39;ll say. "We didn& #39;t make it this way, don& #39;t blame us! Life is hard for us too!"
But in living (and voting) like this, they become the perpetrators, the enforcers, the oppressors. Their real religion is not spiritual, or beneficial to society. Their actual religion is a blended cult of oligarchal capitalism and 200 years of American exceptionalist propaganda
Today I& #39;m a queer, polyamorous socialist. Life is harder here. A LOT harder. And I am only BEGINNING to understand how much harder it is for more vilified minorities.
People of color, trans folks, anyone who& #39;s given up the position they& #39;ve labored for in life in order to stand up against this system and refuse to play their games.
I& #39;m proof that people can change - yes - but my tolerance for this garbage disposal of lies, propaganda, manipulation and bullshit is gone.
The last four years should have made it clear to anyone with a shred of introspection that the time has passed to choose which role you want for yourself in this world.
The conservative right has FORCED us to divide, given us no other option than to fight them as mercilessly as they engage with everyone else. They hide behind a system that has been built to benefit them over hundreds of years.
A system created specifically to afford them the advantage in ALL circumstances, and protection from accountability when they flout their privilege to the point of trampling their OWN most cherished regulations.
And despite their oft-repeated mantra of "That& #39;s just the way it is." It DOESN& #39;T have to be. We do not HAVE to settle for living in an authoritarian environment (no matter the political flavour).
We do not HAVE to cower in deference for table scraps as the elites threaten us by power-washing the poor and disabled out from under highway overpasses. We have EVERY right to demand a government and society that focuses on human progress, cooperation, humanity and decency.
