The Swamp logo

Stand, and Be True

The Subtleties that Make the Complacent Culpable to Murder

By Paige GraffunderPublished 5 years ago 9 min read
Like
Micheile Henderson via Unsplash

TRIGGER WARNING: Mentions of gun violence, concentration camps, mental illness, sexual assault, torture, inhumane conditions.

Before I begin, I would like to take a moment, to acknowledge the victims of the four incidents that were deemed "mass shootings" this month. Racially motivated gun violence perpetrated by white supremacists is terrorism. There is no room for debate on that point.

8/3/19 - El Paso, TX

Killed: Jordan Anchondo (24), Andre Anchondo (23), Arturo Benavides (60), Javier Amir Rodriguez (15), Leo Cimpeda Campos (41), Maribel Hernandez (56), David Johnson (63), Angie Sliva-Englisbee (86), Mario Flores (77), Raul Flores (77), Elsa Libera Marquez (57), Luis Alfonzo Juarez (90), Margie Reckard (63), Sara Esther Regalado Moriel (66), Adolfo Cerros Hernandez (68), Jorge Calvilo Garcia (61), Elsa Mendoza de la Mora (Unknown), Gloria Irma Marquez (Unknown), Maria Eugenia Legarreta Rothe (58), Juan de Dios Velazquez Chairez (77), Ivan Hiliberto Manzanu (46) Teresa Sanchez (82) Alexander Gerhard Hoffman (66)

Injured: Baby Boy Anchondo (2 Months), Jessica Coca Garcia (Unknown), Memo Garcia (Unkown), Mario De Alba (45), Olivia Mariscal (Unknown), Erika de Alba Mariscal (10), Chris Grant (Unknown)

8/4/19 - Dayton, OH

Killed: Beatrice Warren Curtis (36), Derrick R. Fudge (57), Lois Olglesby (27), Jordan Cofer (22), Thomas McNichols (25), Monica Brickhouse (39), Nicholas Cumer (25), Logan Turner (30), Saeed Saleh (38)

Injured: I was unable to get a list of the 27 Injured

8/4/19 - Chicago, IL (three shootings in four hours)

Killed: Demetrius Flowers (33)

Injured: I was unable to get a list of the 24 people injured.

8/5/19 - Brooklyn, NY

Injured: I was unable to get a list of the 4 people injured, thankfully no one was killed.

The Infestation of White Supremacists

White supremacy and far right ideology have been on the rise, this fact is indefatigable. We didn't have open, widely attended rallies of white youth, wielding Nazi flags and shouting, "blood and soil" 10 years ago. I'm not saying that there weren't Nazis, of course there were, but they were forced into underground spaces, and radicalized in small groups. What is happening now, is not that. It is not the American History X type of underground groupings. This is massively attended demonstrations. This is people self identifying with Nazi and white supremacist ideology, and intentionally, openly, even proudly displaying their beliefs. This is 24 percent of Americans. A study in 2018 stated that depending on which view you were focusing on, sometimes the numbers were much higher. On top of this the current administration refuses to condemn these people, as violent and unacceptable. On more than one occasion the administration has stated there are "bad folks on both sides" and have refused to denounce white supremacy as a whole. It's not hard to see why, the entire presidential campaign and the last three years of his term have been spent radicalizing a base into a racist fervor. This is a president who has outright encouraged violence against immigrants, queer communities, women, and law makers who meet one or more of these criteria. We have reached a point where Nazis are no longer afraid to out themselves as Nazis and that is critical in this fight, because now organizations like Major League Soccer have drawn a line in the sand against demonstrations of Antifascism, calling them political, but denying that the Pride flag is political, or that MAGA hats are political. This example is of course a little more agitating to me because it is happening in my city. MLS demanded in no uncertain terms that the Seattle Sounders FC and Portland Timbers FC cease and desist waving The Iron Front Flag at games, stating it was for a political party. Sure it was, but it hasn't been since 1933. Since MLS took this stand, at the game last weekend, Sounders supporters were faced with a mob of chanting Proud Boys gathered outside of the stadium district, and trying to gain access to Sounders Supporter Bars. They were barred access, and to my knowledge no one was injured, but even Drew Carey (a part owner of the team) who was at a bar they were attempting to gain access to, stated, "You don't want to deal with anti-fascists? Simple! Just don't be a fucking fascist!" After which he bought a round of drinks for everyone in the bar.

This cannot be allowed to continue. I would also like to add that Emerald City Supporters, and The Timbers Army are not taking this lying down.

The Hatred of Mental Illness

On Monday August 5th, Death Eater in Chief stated that he believes that people with mental illnesses should be "involuntarily confined." He said that this would help prevent mass shootings, ignoring the fact that most of them are perpetrated by his base, radicalized by his words. There is so much research supporting statements that people who suffer from mental illnesses are much more likely to be the victims of violence, and not the perpetrator. That being said, what he said is even more dangerous and sinister than just placing blame for these incidents of violence on innocent people. I have said things like this before, and been told that I am blowing things out of proportion, and over reacting, but I said the day after the election in 2015 that there would be concentration camps on US soil, and here we are.

Stick with me kids, because the implication here is so much worse than you think. With the rationalization that mental illness equates violence, anyone who has ever sought care is vulnerable. That means, if you have a fear of flying, and asked your primary care doctor for something to help and they gave you a Xanax, you're now mentally ill. Anxiety, depression, Bipolar, Borderline Personality Disorder, Eating Disorders, all of it, will now be a reason to lock you up without due process. If you are on disability for a mental illness, they already know everything about you. If you sought care for mental health while you using Medicaid, you're now classified as dangerous. Guess what my fellow autistic people, they will be able to lock us up for no good reason. Even if you are otherwise neurotypical, if you're a woman who has experienced postpartum depression, you could be involuntarily confined. We see what that confinement looks like with the concentration camps we are currently housing thousands of people in. Does a case of seasonal affective disorder, sound like it will be improved with drinking toilet water, and not being provided a toothbrush or soap, all while sleeping on the ground, in a cage, with 25 other people of varying levels of lucidity, all while being drugged involuntarily while living constantly under threat of rape, and torture? Would you like that life for your autistic children? Your disabled children? Your angsty teenager? This is where this is heading. This dangerous rhetoric creates an atmosphere where people will justify this treatment because they believe that neurodivergent people are dangerous. Exactly the same way they are justifying the treatment of the people seeking asylum because they are "criminals," despite that not being rooted in anything even remotely close to the truth.

Criminalization of Resistance

Last year Texas legislators enacted a law that made all contractors working on government projects, certify that they are not currently, and will not ever, boycott, or otherwise take any action that is intended to inflict economic harm on Israel. But it went further than that. It essentially muzzled anyone speaking out against Israel's actions toward Palestine. Texas wasn't alone either, there are 26 other US States that have enacted similar laws. Rep. Ilhan Omar introduced a resolution to uphold the right to boycott to the House of Representatives, and The House took only a week to throw it out. The first amendment grants us the freedom to do and say as we please, as long as it isn't incitement to violence. And the Capitalism that so many cling to, grants us a "free market" meaning we can choose to support or boycott anyone we pleasem and yet here we have this legislation enacted.

In addition to that madness, there have been a slew of laws essentially making protests illegal. Laws where a gathering of three or more people would be illegal without a permit, among so many other things. 16 such law have been enacted since 2016, and there are 13 more pending. Pretty soon, if things keep going the way they are going, this article will be considered an act of treason. To make matters even worse President Voldemort is also now taking steps to get "Antifa" labeled as a terrorist group. This means, showing up to a protest to protect people from literal Nazis could now land you in a federal prison with no due process or recourse. Also because Antifa isn't actually a group, it is a protest movement, that means there is no way to prove or disprove membership, you could say the wrong thing, too loudly, in the wrong company, and end up in a cage with no chance to defend yourself, due to some clauses in The Patriot Act, the government is under no obligation to ever tell anyone where you went or why you were taken. More than that, crimes labeled as terrorism are also considered hate crimes. Do you know what the The Head Death Eater did yesterday? He announced he was going to push the Department of Justice, to carry out capital punishment on the perpetrators of hate crimes, again, with no due process.

Where Do We Go From Here?

Listen friends, this is the important bit. Being quietly in opposition is no longer enough. If you aren't vocally anti-racist, anti-fascist, anti-sexist, anti-all of this 1930 Germany bullshit, then you need to be loud. You need to show up, and push them out. We all have different levels of ability in the actions we take, but we all need to do something.

So here is a list of resources:

What Do I Do About Trump?—A site dedicated to how you can directly resist against all things Voldemort.

This Teen Vogue Article—A really great piece on resisting ICE.

This ACLU Article—A list of things you can do to fight for immigrant families

Contact your Senator—A list of your senator's mailing addresses, and the Congressional switch board

Contact your Representative—A list of your representative's mailing addresses and telephone numbers

Run for Office—A basic guide on how to run for local office

Additionally, keep your eye on your local community, if you hear about a protest from a fascist organization, find out about the counter protest, and attend. If you can't attend, ask how you can help coordinate.

In the immortal words of Stephen King, "Stand, and be true."

activism
Like

About the Creator

Paige Graffunder

Paige is a published author and a cannabis industry professional in Seattle. She is also a contributor to several local publications around the city, focused on interpersonal interactions, poetry, and social commentary.

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.