Dispatch from Washington, D.C.– we must make bigotry unprofitable
by Paul-Newell Reaves,
owner, co-editor, co-founder, Defenestrationism.net
Greetings from the Capital of a flawed and troubled nation.
No one in the current administration gives one orange hair about people in the street– those marching peacefully, those staying still, those looting opportunistically, even those incapable of movement at all.
My sister called my today. She lives on 5th st., NW. That’s eleven blocks from the Whitehouse– on 16th. Last night, Monday June 1st– the same day the city was to open from the quarantine– military grade helicopters flew past her building at rooftop level. In her words, a phalanx of armed guards marched down her two-lane street. That street is not very wide.
There is no resisting against Black Hawk helicopter. With the shows of force this administration is willing to display, no amount of people in the streets will demonstrate anything other than their need for greater force.
The issues we have faced this year, however, reach far beyond the current administration– far beyond Nation States, and far beyond recorded history. And, for the issues of Racism, Bigotry, Rape-Culture, Hate-Culture and Sexism, there will be no vaccine. So what will we do? What can we do?
We need to vote with our dollars.
Capitalism is also larger than Nation States. We must apply this system to address our deepest flaws. The stock-market need not rebound to do so, nor the economy surge– no one need die, no one need become infected to do so. Indeed, a bust-economy will only make my following strategy more effective.
We need to make bigotry immensely unprofitable.
If profit is all that the empowered care to consider, then we must let them know how bigotry will not be stood for in the only ways they understand.
We know how to do this. Research whom you buy from– choose which stores, which corporations. The information is there– pay attention to the watchdogs, the independent media groups, the American Civil Liberties Union. As importantly, be vocal about this effort– endlessly vocal– tell your friends, your co-workers, and tell those you will not patronize why they have lost your business. We know how to do this. We need only follow through, commit, and be thorough in our pursuit of this aim.
Best,
Yours,
In Sincerity, Solidarity and Peace
— Paul-Newell Reaves,
owner, co-editor, Defenestrationism.net
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