it’s crazy how when you’re 11 you think wow nationalism is the root of all evil and war is despicable and religion is the opiate of the masses and misogyny is everywhere and climate change is our most dire threat. and you start to grow up and you think well surely it will become more nuanced to me, surely there must be a reason adults arent breaking down wailing in the streets due to the cruelty of this world. and then you become an adult and you think wow nationalism is the root of all evil and war is despicable and religion is the opiate of the masses and misogyny is everywhere and climate change is our most dire threat
When I was a kid, I always refused to do the pledge of allegiance because I didn’t think the country deserved it after seeing the way my classmates and even teachers bullied the Indian kid who was always the top of the class. “Hit Rohit” was all the rage, and even as a kid it was obvious that the system was fucked up to allow it. He moved to a different school in 4th grade.
When I was a kid, I always complained about how I didn’t have rights and how I wasn’t allowed to ever make my own decisions. I had “therapists” who forced me to do things that hurt me and told my parents they couldn’t pick me up yet because I was crying and if I got to leave without calming down it would just make me Worse. They used their titles as “Experts” as leverage to abuse me, and my parents went along with it because surely an Expert would know better than a kid. I wasn’t allowed to say “I don’t want to see her anymore.”
When I was a kid, there was a Jewish girl who was allergic to everything. And I mean everything. Wheat, dairy, fish, shellfish, nuts, corn, certain food colorings, and more. One day, around Hanukkah, she brought homemade latkes for everyone to try. She loved them because they were part of her culture, but also because they were one of the only things she could eat without any worries. I remember how many kids made fun of the “weird name”, or called them gross even when they loved the awful fries the cafeteria served. She moved away that year.
The people who are saying kids don’t know what they’re talking about when they speak up against all this horrid shit are the same people who have a vested interest in making sure that kids can be controlled and taught to maintain the status quo above all else.




























