LETTERS TO THE FUTURE ME

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Let these be the photos that mark tonight.

This evening, Rep. Al Green of Texas was forcibly removed from the joint session of Congress by the sergeant-at-arms for standing up and yelling “You have no mandate to cut Medicaid.” during the president’s address.

“He is a person who has consistently used incivility against civility,” Green said. 

“I’m willing to suffer whatever punishment is available to me,” he continued. “I didn’t say to anyone, ‘Don’t punish me.’ I’ve said I’ll accept the punishment, but it’s worth it to let people know that there are some of us who are going to stand up against this president’s desire to cut Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security.”

IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO BE SELECTIVELY PROGRESSIVE 

You can hate Ann Coulter. But if you suggest that she deserves to be raped, you are a misogynist.

You can hate Woody Allen. But if you say he’s part of a Jewish conspiracy or joke about putting him in an oven, you are an antisemite.

You can hate Michael Vick. But you call for him to be lynched or call him the N-word, you are an anti-black racist. 

You can hate Caitlyn Jenner. But if you misgender her, or make comments about her genitalia, you are a transphobe. 

And you can hate the military. But if you deliberately try to trigger veterans with PTSD, you are an ableist piece of shit. 

You do no get to pick and choose which people to treat fairly when it comes to acknowledging and combatting prejudice. 

Remember these kids that they pray on are STARVING and can’t afford college or higher education. Not to mention their schools are underfunded. Do you think these kids can go to college? Get a decent job when they complete high school? Graduate high school? They were about to enter a world with no hopes for a career forced to live their entire life in poverty knowing full well even that the conditions they grew up end was the BEST case scenario because at least they had a roof and sometimes food.

And then they come back with PTSD and pain from dozens of injuries and the government just throws them away.

Veterans are just as much a victim of our fucked up government as anyone, and we WILL NOT publish them for being that.

We ESPECIALLY won’t be spreading abelistic bullshit.

Let me give you a comparison. Just because a trans person is racist doesn’t mean you can start misgendering them. All that indicates is it’s a huge red flag to all the other trans people that you never really respected trans people in the first place.

Similarly even if we were gonna consider our military shitty people, what will your disabled friends think if they see you running around, “YAY! LET’S TRIGGER DISABLED PEOPLE!”?

Right. An 18 year old who may not even have completed middle school, who might have barely left the town they were born in, is supposed to “just dodge the draft.”

Because of course at 18 you’re supposed to have already developed the idea that all war is unjust and wrong, because the Google that doesn’t exist yet is free…

As someone unable to vote in the country I live in, I’d like to take a moment to encourage everyone who is eligible to vote to check their voter registration.

Deadlines are coming up fast in many states, and many states have been purging their voter rolls to try and suppress the vote. Don’t let them take it from you.

You can use this link below to check your voting status, and remind your friends/family/followers to do the same; it only takes a couple minutes.

Every single one of those registrations was a single person deciding to register. When you think you're just "lil ol me" and your voice doesn't matter that much: Remember this. Your actions have impact, your voice and your vote matter.

Get Registered and VOTE

Find out when/where/how at:

Get Registered or check your registration:

VOTE.GOV

The last time I used a rotary phone was kinda funny. I had to call customer service for something; a rotary phone was the phone available.

Back in the day, the automated phone system would say “if you’re calling from a rotary phone, please wait on the line.” This company had removed that option. I had to go find a pay phone.

The past few weeks I have seen an explosion in doomerism and defeatism about Trump. Some people seem to have just decided to call the election for him for reasons that don't even make much sense

(He was almost shot and that always helps! Look at Reagan and Teddy Roosevelt! Reagan was already president and incredibly popular, and the shooting happened 2 months into his first term; Roosevelt was shot when he was campaigning in 1912....in an election he lost)

Trump has never been popular, he has never won the popular vote, and he has never had popular support. For the past 3 years, especially post Roe V. Wade, Democrats have increasingly overperformed especially in special elections. There were so many polls predicting 2022 would be a Red Wave, that turned out to be false due to faulty and biased polling. I'm not saying a Dem loss is impossible, but it is a lot less of a sure thing than the doomsayers are making it out to be

How does Trump win? Apathy. Despair. Low Turn Out. While many of the "Trump is guaranteed to win" posters I'm sure are real people who are justifiably scared, I think we underestimate just how many are people at home and abroad, who want a lower turnout, who want Trump to win.

I used to hear a joke growing up that "If voting did anything, they would make it illegal" Well considering how hard Republicans are trying to discourage voting and making it hard to do, it must do something.

Don't despair. Don't panic. Don't retreat. ACT

So what can you do?

Are you registered to vote? 🗳

You can register to vote here! ☑️

Do you know what/ who will be on your ballot? 📄

Do you know your state voting requirements? 📥

Do you know your polling location? 📍

Can you vote early? 🖊

Can you vote by mail? 📬

Do you need disability services for voting? ♿️

Do you need to know your voter’s rights? 🧑🏽‍⚖️

Do you need a ride to register/ vote?

Spread this far and wide. Tell your friends and your family. Make clear to them what is at stake if Trump wins.

Additionally, here are two volunteer organizations that I help out with

Vote Forward - write letters to encourage turnout

Working Family's Party - an organization working to help progressives win in primaries and general elections. I particularly like working in their text bank program. Want to help in a phone bank but don't like talking on the phone? this is perfect as you send texts to encourage support and voting

Activate America (lots of actions to take, including postcards, phonebooks, canvassing): https://www.activateamerica.vote/

Pizza to the Polls: all about donations but their efforts are fantastic! https://polls.pizza

This organization specializes in rides to the polls. https://rideshare2vote.com/ride2vote-program/

I can vouch for them and their work.

Working Families Party is one of numerous organizations doing work.

There are local voter engagement organizations in literally every state. I work every day with over 1k. Here you can find voter outreach volunteering near you.

Local orgs are doing great work and they don’t have the kind of support WFP does. You can make a really big impact in your community and continue to do so after the election.

Texting is great, so are postcards but Nothing beats knocking on doors. Volunteer to go canvassing in your area. It’s not as scary as you think it is. The lists are curated and it’s usually fun. You also end up with some epic memories to add to your lore.

Autistic kids and adhders who can't relate to their gifted peers and are constantly alienated by them. Kids who struggled in school due to dealing with a chronic or mental illness or physical/learning/developmental disability. Those of us who have had to drop out of highschool or college. Kids who worked so hard and wanted to be seen as smart, but never were. Who watched as their peers seem to fly by them in school, while they were left behind. Who were bullied and put down by those in the gifted and honors classes. Whose confidence was absolutely destroyed by education.

It’s only a disability in so far as we don’t teach kids the way dyslexic people learn. When dyslexic people receive appropriate instruction, their leaning potential is the same as everyone else.

This is just one of many ways the education system fails kids who are not typical.

To all the people who struggled in school, who felt less than because of their academic abilities, I want you to know that I see you.

Your value as a person is not equal to your GPA, your education level or your ability to perform well on a test. All of these measure your ability to contribute to capitalism.