I will not comply

We are all knee deep in the bullshit that is being peddled right now, and it feels like someone went and bought up all the shovels so that there is nothing we can do but eat shit and drown.

And it sucks. Each new day is a day of, well, I don’t even know. The horse is back in the hospital, but now the horse kinda knows how the hospital works. Or, at least, the horse knows that it’s in a building. The horse is clearly doing some sort of fascist takeover, but it’s also an incompetent, uncharismatic, uncanny, and digital fascist takeover because the horse is still a horse. Mostly it’s relying on a power-hungry Nazi car-maker to run its fascist takeover and the horse is just covering everything with shit.

My god, how did we get here.

Obviously, we can’t let this continue unchecked, and the horse needs to be reigned in, and something needs to be done about the Nazi car-maker. (Btw, I just discovered that Hitler’s particular swastika is called the swatiska x because it has an x at the center, unlike the original swastika which has a cross at the center. Think about that.).

And I think we’re doing good. We’re calling. We’re being loud. We’re protesting.

But everything that’s happening is also designed to keep us off balance, and on the phone, and exhausted. It’s vicious. And it’s designed to make us feel powerless.

Oh, these stupid, little, arrogant amateurs.

I’ve been oppressed MY ENTIRE LIFE. I’ve never been paid the same wage as a man in the same position. I’ve been passed over for promotions. I’ve already been discriminated against. I’ve had my ass slapped at work. I’ve been propositioned for a blow job while walking down the street. I’ve been the victim of violence. And emotional abuse. And verbal abuse. I already live in the patriarchy. And people who are Black and people who are brown and people who are queer and people who are trans and people who are disabled and people who are in any way different all have more and varied experiences of dealing patriarchal and white supremacist cultural shit.

I already know who I am. Ain’t no fucking Nazi car dude or fascist horse gonna change that.

And I know a few other things, too. It’s LGBTQ+. It’s a good acronym. I don’t give a shit what a federal website says because honestly, I never go to them anyway. It’s LGBTQ+. I’ll keep saying it. And no one can stop me from saying it. I will not comply.

Abortion is healthcare. It’s a fundamental right. Women will always find a way, and there will always be women to help them. And honestly, quite a few men are helping, too. But no law created by a human can supersede universal rights. Women have the right, by virtue of existing, to healthcare that serves them. I will not comply with anything that says otherwise.

DEIA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Access) is important. We do not have equality for everyone. I don’t care if they scrub DEIA initiatives. I’m going to do everything in my power to support people who have historically been oppressed and underrepresented. This is a two-way street, and no one should forget that. Choose women. Choose non-white people. Don’t just shop at places owned by disenfranchised people. HIRE THEM. In fact, if you work in a right to work state, you could probably fire someone less competent in order to hire a group of people that has more merit. Over half of the US population is women. Represent accordingly. I don’t need a law to do that. I will not comply with white supremacy in any form.

Governments are not businesses. Governments are meant to govern, not to make money. Not all government is bad, and democracy does work. Many organizations follow democratic principles. This is a coup, and a lot of people are fighting it. Don’t lose hope. Keep calling. Keep standing up. Do not comply with the termination of our democracy.

My voice matters. And so does yours. I’ve persisted and existed and succeeded IN SPITE of feeling (and being) powerless. Fuck power. I have something better than power. I have resilience. I have determination. I have grit. I have fight.

I don’t have to obey. Laws are made in good faith to protect people. But whatever is happening now, this is not legal. These are not laws. This is not governing. I can choose not to follow it. Much like I can choose whether or not to wear a seatbelt. Laws that harm instead of protecting shouldn’t be followed. Don’t report your friends who work in government. Do not comply with the regime. You might find some good ideas here.

Laws will come and go. But your universe-given, god-granted right to exist, to be treated with dignity and respect, to have freedom and happiness, this can never be taken away by any puny little law. Never, ever forget that.

Yes, I understand the implications of terminology getting scrubbed and visibility and recognition being compromised, but my point is that those places are not the only places where recognition occur. We will restore LGBTQ+, we will restore DEIA, but they absolutely cannot erase trans-ness or queerness or any other innate characteristic of a human being. They can’t take away the value of Black people or brown people or women or disabled people or trans people or queer people. We are valuable. We are inherently, innately valuable, and talented, and capable, and no law or bigotry will ever be able to change the fact that WE ARE THE FUCKING MERITOCRACY. I have merit. I will continue to have merit.

And I will not comply with anyone who tells me otherwise.