I’m increasingly wondering why people in the US aren’t taking to the streets in their thousands.
I’d also like to share a poem by Martin Niemöller, who was a pastor in Germany during the Nazi regime and even supported the Nazis at the beginning:
First they came for the Communists And I did not speak out Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists And I did not speak out Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists And I did not speak out Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews And I did not speak out Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me And there was no one left To speak out for me (Martin Niemöller)
If 2020 taught us anything at all, it was that despite whatever horrors, challenges, and/or desperate situations, we are still expected to show up for work on time. Don’t want to lose insurance, and most people are like a paycheck or two away from being unhoused, or at least seriously close that it would be near impossible to catch back up. They’ve made it impossible to do anything except show up for work on time.
As more people are laid off, “I gotta go to work” becomes less compelling.
We know. But the point is no one is coming to save you, and things aren’t going to get better on their own.