I want this post to be less of a "We told you so," and more of a lesson in how creeping fascism creeps like mold in your fruit. If you don't take care of it right away, it spreads to everything in the kitchen. My target audience is more to those of you who are new to leftist movements or political action. Those of us who have been at it awhile already know this.

But it's worth pointing out that if all y'all had showed up like this for the Ferguson protests, and later BLM, we wouldn't be here. Or we could have started with Rodney King, even better.

If we treated an injury to one with as much outrage as we treat injuries to all, fascism would never ever stand a chance.

We need to pay close attention to who we think it's worth showing up for, and nip these bullies in the bud before they can even go to seed. Especially if it means showing up for we might have been conditioned to dismiss, like people of color, queers, immigrants, or disabled people.

I am very glad to see everyone out there today, and I hope this lesson sinks into all of us. It takes a village, even a nation full of people, showing up collectively to keep us all safe and happy.

Civics takes communal effort, and a little goes a long way... unless things get out of hand like they have. Then it takes everything we've got.

But look how much we can do if only we show up. Imagine now if we were out there in a normal USA asking for social supports, medical care, fair wages, reasonable housing costs, an end to the punitive criminal system, an end to colonization and for-profit war, or even a revamp of the entire capitalistic system towards a more equitable political and economic system for us all. Instead of merely defending what we've always had.

Imagine what we could build.

#NoKings #AbuseCulture #antifascism #antifa #decolonize