No Kings protesters march along Farmers Lane in Santa Rosa, Saturday June 14, 2025. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
I haven’t written about politics for a while, not because people send me hate mail and unsubscribe from my newsletter list every time I do, not because I lose money in my business from losing those customers and readers, but because I, one of the most verbose writers most of you have probably met, do not know what to say.
I am speechless. Only I’m not making a speech. I am wordless, I suppose is more accurate.
A part of me- many parts of me actually- have no words to describe the horror I feel every day when I religiously read Heather Cox Richardson’s Letters From An American. (Can I just say THANK GOD/GODDESS for her? Can we give her a Noble Prize please? If you’re not reading her daily update about politics and how it relates to American History, you’re probably inadvertently ostriching right when all Americans who care about democracy, civil liberties, social justice, the economy, health care, world peace, the Constitution, climate crisis, ending genocides, protecting immigrant rights, maintaining due process, environmentalism, and equal rights for all need to be mobilizing.)
Every day, I wake up and think about posting something about politics- because I believe silence is violence- and those of us with public platforms- who care- must use our voices to give voice to the voiceless. We must leverage the power and privilege we have to make it very clear that THIS IS NOT OKAY. NONE OF THIS IS OKAY. I wake up every day and I think about my BIPOC sister, and I want to say LISTEN TO HER and STOP LISTENING TO BIGOTED WHITE PEOPLE WHO WANT TO DISEMPOWER HER.
But after every Heather Cox Richardson update, I feel inadequate to say anything more meaningful than “Read and listen to Heather Cox Richardson.”
So today, I reached out to my BIPOC sister Keli Rankin and asked if she wanted to write something I could share with y’all. Here’s what she said.
Ohhhh America’s political fuckery!!! That’s a huge can of worms I’ve been sitting on silently unaware if my opinion matters at all. It has been heartbreaking seeing the praise for Charlatan Kirk spewing hate and division. And like you said there are simply no words after a year of watching the majority of a country applauding actions that cause suffering to undeserving humans simply because of Trump and the 2025 great American dick measuring contest. However I do have a message I think someone may want to hear, so grab a cup of tea, give me an hour or so to put my words down right ,and I’ll assist in bringing your ratings down. Just remember- you asked. Otherwise I would remain silent.”
And then my badass sister wrote this:
It’s no secret that America is currently in a state of pure fuckery. Right vs. Left, majority vs. minority, Us vs. Them, PseudoChristian vs. everyone else, yada yada yada. So what do we do now? Are we really asking that again? There is a clear historical plan of action in situations like this, and deviation is not in our DNA. So here’s what we do based on learned behavior that most of us are used to. This is not what I’m recommending; this is what I’m witnessing.
For the non-marginalized….
Step 1: Regardless of what side of the ideology you align with, we are all granted the right to say WTF. This can be done anywhere and everywhere you see fit.
Step 2: Find someone to blame, but NOT yourself. Some easy options to choose from: literally anyone who isn’t you or a family member. Okay, maybe a family member. Just NOT you. And no need to base this on facts. They aren’t necessary at this stage.
Step 3: Tell anyone you can what “They”, the current governing body or political figure pissing you off, should be doing or should have done to avoid what’s currently going on. Again, no facts necessary for this step or expertise in anything related to government, politics, human behavior, history, etc. All you need is an opinion, a working voice box, or a Facebook account.
Step 4, Part A: Do nothing! Do not research any facts. Do not get involved in local voting. Do not join any activist groups. Stop watching the news unless it’s in the form of a reel or an Instagram story. And for the love of equality, go for lots of hikes, bike rides, and new age spa-like situations- alone or with another friend who’s unhappy in America but knows extensive “self care” (aka pampering) will help to clear your head and center yourself (unless you are an immigrant, Trans, or a young black man- you all should just visualize self care while staying behind locked doors).
Step 4, Part B: Make a sign and go to one or two protests. The catchier the sign, the better. After all, historically speaking, protesting isn’t very effective, but the signs provide much-needed entertainment in times of crisis and potential societal genocide.
Step 5: Post or repost every stupid political meme, post, story, and photo with non-factual wording across the top so people know your stance on things, just make sure you include that if they disagree with you, then fuck them. Now is not the time to engage in healthy debate or finding common ground. Also while you wait for the next WTF situation to begin and start this process over, do NOT volunteer anywhere. Freely give out love and kindness, but if you do, make sure it’s because of what you get out of it and not what you put into it.
There we go. Problem solved.
For the marginalized: Do nothing. Do not get involved. Blame the non-marginalized. Remind them that you have been fighting all your life and that you are choosing to bow out of this one. Also remind them of your struggle but take zero personal responsibility for your current situation or actions that contribute to the struggle, Do not uplift or encourage each other. Stay divided based on past-down generational in-house hatred. Act like you don’t care because hard is your birthright instead of abundance and continue to take silent pleasure in watching white people cry for a change (don’t deny it, we all do it.)
I am shaming no one, including myself. Hell, as a biracial woman, I do both plans and choose option B in step four. I am however posing a question better suited for who we are not, who we want people to think we are.
Stop playing the game. Stop feeling angry, frustrated, or defeated and asking “What do we do now?” Honestly, I think its too late as far as politics are concerned. We all fucked around and found out privilege and blinders allowed evil a place at the table. Others found out acceptance and in-house division silences their power.
So back to “What do we do?”
We start by checking our expectations. When was the last time you were at a protest and at the end someone came out of the building and said “Great job. We changed the thing you have been yelling at us to change.”
Exactly half past never has that happened.
So that tells us there has to be something more effective. Violence, that’s an option. But again, when was the last time someone was shot and the outcome was “Okay, we will listen to you now”. The shooting of Charlatan Kirk did not do anything to change opinions, immigration laws, ignorance or evil. Violence is as equally non-effective as protesting. While it lets people know how you feel, it creates little change as a whole.
Okay, I’ll get to my point now. We stop asking “What can we do?” and start asking “How much do I really care?” Change will come when people choose to be honest and practice love. Fuck politics. Corruption will continue- let it. We are more than our politics. We are the human family. Imagine if we acted like it. Don’t hold a sign in the sun for hours saying “Equality For Everyone” but all your friends share the same status economically and culturally as you. If we are equal why are you afraid to befriend a homeless person and invite them over for dinner? Stop saying “We need to take care of each other” and then drive right by the same person holding a “Help me” sign, day in and day out, keeping your window up as though he won’t notice you ignoring him or reminding him you don’t have time to be bothered.
Go ahead and think voting in the right politician is the answer. Or that once Trump is out of office, we will be fine. NO WE WON’T. America has never been great. Some are privileged enough to not notice that America, for a shit ton of people, has been silently accepting of hate. It’s encouraged classism, racism, and sexism. It’s been selfish, “it’s been a not my problem,” “stay on your side of the tracks,” volunteer once a year to look good, and donate to charity as a tax write off. Or it’s abuse welfare because someone owes me something, look the other way, sucks to be you, competitive and back stabbing at the expense of others.
So again, ask yourself “Do I really care? Or do I think I should care because what’s happening is awful, but since it’s not happening to me, I don’t care enough to act in a way everyday that creates the change my picket sign talks about.
It’s okay if the answer is “I don’t actually care enough to really change the culture of America.” Because that’s what I think the problem is. No one wants to admit that what’s going on in America is exposure of the truth. Truth that the fuckery being displayed in the government is actually the same fuckery that exists in all things American- and always has. And no one can do anything about it, because at the end of the day, no one really cares enough to break the cycle.
For example: Abortion laws. So you are mad as fuck that they made abortions illegal. Well, I know what will show them- vote in someone who stands for abortion and hope they can sway everyone else. Or mentor young girls in your community not...