Olive Branch from the Radical Left

“Abolish the borders!”

“Abolish ICE!”

“Abolish police!”

“My body, my choice!”

“Free Palestine!"

“No justice, no peace!”

We hear the chants, see the posts and the protests, but do we understand the messages?

Some people will immediately shut down, no longer willing to hear what's being said.

It doesn't apply to me, in fact, I support these institutions; the police have never mistreated me because I follow the law.

Borders keep criminals out, right?

This is how it's always been.

Why are these snowflakes trying to change that?

What is everyone so upset about when my day to day is the same as it's always been?

Why does everyone have to make everything political?

And if you've felt that way before, I'm speaking explicitly to you.

Have you taken a real moment to consider why these words are so wrong to you? Why you feel such a visceral reaction when you hear them? Have you thought about why the government and the media want us to turn against each other? Why are we angry at queer people for existing differently? Why are we more upset at the unhoused than at the systems that force us into homelessness? Why do we consistently vote and cheer for politicians that are stealing our healthcare, our families, our labor, our safety, our future, our compassion?

They tell us that our gay neighbors, our Latino neighbors, our family members that have gotten abortions are evil. They tell us that everyone is trying to convert you and your children into a life of drugs, queerness, and crime. They tell us that every single person that's different than us is trying to cause us harm. I don't think that's true, and I don't think you believe that's true. I know that the majority of people in this country care about the people of this country and I believe that people are inherently good and compassionate.

So, how have we let ourselves continuously be so divided? We're human and we're bound to disagree on so many different things, but what common ground can we find?

1. I think that most people can agree that no one should be living on the street; not our veterans, not our teenagers, not our children; no one should be left to sleep on the street in our country.

   • Whether you just don't like the sight of the unhoused, are worried about the effect on property value, or because you're concerned for those suffering, I think most everyone can agree that we need to deal with our housing crisis.

     

     How Many Houses Are in the U.S.? Data by City | United Way NCA

   • The idea that we don't have enough homes for everyone isn't true, we've just been priced out. There is enough for everyone to be sheltered, but we are letting corporations tell us that, instead we need to charge insane amounts for people to deserve to be housed, and we're not going to help people, because of greed. Is that what we stand behind?

2. Another thing that I think that most people can agree on is that children deserve food. Whether their parents are drug users, can't afford food, or they have an overdue lunch balance, all children deserve food.

   • Personally, I believe all people deserve food, regardless of anything, but that can be a further jump to make at first. So, I think we can, at bare minimum, agree that no child should be starving.

   • When we take the propaganda and the lies out of the equation, most people would rather their taxes going to feeding children, than into the pockets of politicians and billionaires.

3. Most people want the police to solve crimes and to help victims of crimes.

   • Most people would agree that general practice doctors and specialists are both important, but a specialist can help with specific health issues.

     • Each crime is different and calls for specific resolution measures. So, the proposition is that replacing policing as an institution with specialists depending on each situation would help to prevent escalation and reduce recidivism.

     • Imagine if someone was raped and there was a trauma specialist and medics on scene to help the victim, rather than police hounding the victim on what they did to deserve it.

     • What if when domestic violence calls came in, a de-escalation team would come out, a therapist could help the victim to process the trauma and grief, and we could help to relocate the victim until they were able to get back on their feet?

     • What if we actually went after the right people? And had specialized help when we need it?

   • We don't need our police to have military grade equipment that they are wasting tax dollars on.

   • We deserve people without guns, people with guns for other situations, but using police with limited training for every situation has proven dangerous to the American public and most of us would be willing to consider alternatives.

4. People who pay for something deserve to have that fulfilled.

   • People who pay their health insurance premiums should, at the very least, be covered for their medical expenses.

   • People who pay taxes should be receiving the benefits of those taxes: better roads, improved schools in all districts, for their children to eat, and to be able survive in this country. I have been told my entire life that's what taxes are for so, why don't we have any of those things?

     • Another point I believe is worth bringing up that immigrants pay their taxes and are not eligible to receive SNAP or other government benefits and I think that's not only frustrating and unfair and completely ruins that argument for making cuts to these programs.

5. People who have not committed a crime should not be punished.

   • So many people have been detained by ICE for simply looking like they might be criminals (AKA have different color skin), are being sent to countries they've never been to, forced into conditions that mirror those of concentration camps during the Holocaust, and are disappearing from their families.

   • A lot of these people are American citizens, migrants, non-criminals, here legally, and even children. People are actually being kidnapped, taken from immigration courts, and are not given due process. Without due process, our systems fall apart, and this is not the American Dream that anyone has been sold their entire life.

     • Mention, after the fact, that the current prison system is legalized slavery and discriminately targets Black and Latino people and I should've mentioned that in my initial post.

6. The government does not have our best interests at heart. Whether you lean to the left of the aisle or right, I think most people agree that neither democrats or republicans are actually looking out for or listening to their constituents.

   • When was the last time you felt heard by your representative? Do you trust them with your life? Because they essentially have our lives in their hands.

   • They took away the healthcare of millions of people, food stamps, won't release the Epstein files like they explicitly said they would, and have let so many hard-working Americans go from their jobs.

   • Whose interests do they really have in mind? Why are republicans taking away funding for rural hospitals in their own states when that hurts so many of their voters? You'd think that they would at least look out for their demographic, right? So why do so many of their policies keep harming southerners and red states?

   • The tobacco and alcohol industry are notorious for killing their most loyal customers and I think that same thing applies to both the Republican and Democratic parties.

7. No child should be bombed, regardless of where they're born or where their parents live. I think a lot of people would decidedly say that children deserve a chance to live.

   • We shouldn't be bombing children; we should be lifting them up, educating them, feeding them, loving them. So, we need to take that attitude and work to save the children of Gaza, actually save them. Ceasefire immediately, send those babies aid; we can't keep killing babies and saying that we're pro-life, we'd need to be pro-life in every aspect. If you really want to protect all the babies, this is much more of a dire issue for babies than stopping abortions in America.

So, I believe that those are some of the first few things that most of us can agree on and I think that can be our starting point: Finding common ground. You don't have to agree with every part of what I've said, and I've watered down my opinions to be easier to swallow, but I think there's parts that we can agree on. Of fucking course, there are going to be nutter butters, racists, bigots, and genuinely un-likable people on any side of the political spectrum, and those people will only stand in the way, and we don't negotiate with losers.

But, to the people who are still listening: we aren't as different as the corporate elite want us to believe. We are people! Fighting with one another isn't going to get any of us anywhere; queer people, BIPOC, and immigrants will always exist, and so will people who dislike them solely for those reasons. We all have hardships, we have different experiences and beliefs, but we are all in this together and are wanting a better life for our children and grandchildren. And together we can at least try to work towards our shared goal.

I would love to hear more thoughts from those that do disagree with any of my points brought up. I understand that our reasoning may differ, but let me hear the counter arguments.

Let me also just get this out of the way: I am an ugly, fat, faggot, liberal, dyke, snowflake and I can't take jokes, whatever. You got me.

Now everyone else, workshop actual ideas with me on how to improve things.