Canceling Demonization

‘The masks are a violation of our freedom!’

‘All Cops Are Bastards!’

‘Guillotine all the Billionaires!’

Although it seems like we think so, we’re not solving any problems when we say these things. No clarification is made of a problem with a suggestion for a solution. Is that too much to ask from a human in a privileged country with access to almost any information they’d like?

Instead, we’re adopting a phrase provided to us by a group that has a timeless structure that makes us feel significant and comfortable.. like we’re part of a movement that will make for a better world. Warriors of freedom, justice and equality!

Unfortunately, we’re dismissed quickly as crazies because we’re more interested in sitting pretty with our group than challenging ourselves to listen and communicate our ideas with an open mind- open to being wrong or just not knowing.

In a place where you can talk all the shit you want about your government with a loaded gun in your pocket, a house and a car; you’re worried about a mask taking away your freedom? You can make 20 billion dollars by mistake in the US but a mask is gonna be the first step to challenging your rights? A mask has been picked as the demon and the petty solution is to cancel it.

There’s a race issue. A lot of it stems from slavery, immigration, etc. One of the easiest ways to quantify this issue is in the treatment of POC by authority figures who are supposed to be there to enforce the law. It can take a race that was previously enslaved or foreign a lot longer to get out of poverty and it’s way easier to make quick money in the black market than it is anywhere else that’s available, although it is a crime. The cops go to where there is ‘crime’ and this, unfortunately, ends up being in the impoverished neighborhoods. If we changed what a crime is by treating addiction as what it is and flooded impoverished neighborhoods with education and jobs, cops would have less to do. Instead, we insult the cops. Truth be told, there ARE racist, nazi, power-hungry individuals in the the force, no doubt - a job like this is practically begging for these individuals. But insulting all of them doesn’t solve anything. Let’s make it so they have less to do by getting ride of laws that treat addiction and struggle like a crime. The cops have been picked as the demon and the petty solution is to cancel them.

The wealth gap has become outrageous and absolutely unacceptable. Once upon a time, the proletariat guillotined the bourgeoisie to solve this problem, was this effective for them? Admittedly, a wonderful comparison analogous to the wealth gap in the US other than a few key differences like everyone getting to vote here, information is at everyone’s fingertips, etc. Also, guillotining billionaires wouldn’t change anything at all. This is not a bloodline situation like it was. Redistribution of wealth has more to do with taxes, programs, education, etc. I know, it’s just a symbol, right? Just like the mask. It doesn’t make sense or solve anything. The billionaires have been picked as the demon and the petty solution is to cancel them.

I think we choose these extreme sides because it feels like the only thing that’ll get enough attention to actually make a difference. But we’re wrong in thinking this. It gets the kind of attention that makes us look like fools. And i’m not trying to insult anyone. If anything, I think we’re capable of forming opinions and expressing them so I’m disappointed that we’ve take this short-cut for so long that it’s lead to us losing sight of progress.