a blog without a purpose

It’s hard to ignore the news from today. In advance of the certification of the electoral college votes, a largely symbolic process made to show that Congress and the Senate approve of the next President, closet fascist Donald Trump tweeted encouraging his followers to protest en-masse against the confirmation of Joe Biden’s presidency. We all know where it went from there— they stormed the capitol building, whereupon government staff were evacuated and little resistance from police lead the empowered reactionaries to damage public offices, theft, etc. I will not be discussing specific events from today, although I think it adds to an interesting conversation about free speech, and where movements like these originate.

This post will be discussing our premise of free speech, and the “marketplace of ideas.” Furthermore, I will discuss the centrist conceit that through debate, level heads will prevail. The events of the last few years, and today especially, paint an interesting picture about where these baseline assumptions of our democracy have taken us. To put it briefly, what was once a pseudo-intellectual alt-right movement on the outer margins of politics has evolved into a movement that not only controls the US government, but has empowered its followers to a point at which they feel they can overturn the results of multiple elections, court decisions, etc.

Open fascist organization has been no secret during the Trump presidency. The most blatant of that, besides today, was Charlottesville’s “Unite The Right” rally in 2017, which was a forum for encouraging violent white supremacist ideas, with such chants as “Jews will not replace us” and “Blood and Soil,” a Nazi chant expressing their desire for a white ethnostate. Both rallies ended in murder, from police or from white supremacists. In response to Charlottesville, we heard the infamous ”very fine people on both sides” line from the President. Today is no different. Despite seemingly no resistance when storming the Capitol building, “both sides” were again to blame today. Those in power simply cannot build the courage to condemn violence, white supremacy, and the like. Claiming “both sides” is not a condemnation.

With this coming from the right, one might expect the centre-right Democrats to have an opposing reaction. While they might openly condemn fascists and white supremacists, their actions haven’t extended beyond their classic strategy: “They go low, we go high.” The idea is that truth always wins. That through following institutional processes, respecting debate, and waiting for their turn in power, eventually level heads will prevail and things will be okay. Joe Biden is the embodiment of this ideology— an uncontroversial candidate who is reminiscent of professional establishment politics. Take the high road, and things will go back to normal. These are the premises of democracy, after all: throw a bunch of ideas into a functioning system, and only the good ideas will remain after debate and institutional processes run their course.

When working with a group that champions co-operativeness, and dissents most strongly with sassy tweets or eye-rolling for photo ops, the optimal strategy to make things go your way is to do to them what you wouldn’t want them to do to you. In short, “you go high, we go low,” outlined in Innuendo Studio’s series, the Alt-Right Playbook. This has been seen in practice daily through this last election: while Republicans claim that the election was stolen, Democrats trust that the Courts and proper institutional means will produce a just result. Joe Biden will be confirmed as the President, and that’s that. The system has produced a favourable outcome. Today’s events have proved this idea wrong.

Fascist ideas do not simply go away through institutional function. Fascists do not give up through debate and level-headedness. They do not listen to you when you debate them: fascist ideals rely on giving “us,” the in-group, power, no matter what. “It permits and makes justifications for violence against dissenters. It relies on nostalgia for a mythologized past to sell a narrative of cultural rebirth.” Hopefully you get it. When Trump loses the election, it’s a global conspiracy that is attempting to destroy “us.” When fascists become violent, it’s instead antifascists that are violently infiltrating rallies in attempt to make fascists look bad. When the Senate moves to confirm a centrist president, it is an act of war. These are not ideas that can be talked down, rather, they need to be stamped out. There is no rational discussion to be had. It is a worldview entirely reliant on world-splitting delusion.

You might be able to see how democratic values conflict here. A system that relies on logic and reason cannot meaningfully engage with fascism. And with Joe Biden’s presidency imminent, we cannot expect this to just disappear with the shift in power. This will not be the last time we see attacks on democracy, and blatant disregard for the status quo from delusional fascists. As for what my expectations are, I personally believe that this movement is going to either continue to escalate and end in a crash (as most fascist movements do), or get stamped out . The corporate establishment, if it has any sense of longevity, should prefer the relative stability of years’ past to the raging accelerationism and open acceptance of violence from the Trump camp.

The tolerant nature of the centrists and liberals alike have done nothing but bite them in the back. It should go without saying that a fascist is aware of these democratic ideals. A fascist knows how to turn liberals’ naiveté into a pawn for their own power grabs. The overarching message here is this: level-headed debate will not settle the crises of late-stage capitalism. We do not need to coddle fascists in the name of free speech. We need to question why we employ our values in ways that allow fascists to gain power in the first place.




I think that’s all I have in me for tonight. I’ll post this tonight, but I might add onto it tomorrow before I share with friends.

I hope this post exposed you to some new ideas! These are frustrations that I’ve had building for a fair few months, seeing movements like the Proud Boys gain so much momentum with open collaboration with the police. And today, seeing police taking selfies with fascists, seeing them open the gates for fascists to freely break into the Capitol building with no resistance, things came to a point for me. I had to provide some commentary that wasn’t reposting infographics or whatever on social media. Thanks for reading 🙂

Today, June 2, is “Blackout Day.” If you’re reading this, you already know—either you or someone you know has contributed to the mass-posting of black-square photos on social media as an unofficial movement in support of Black Lives Matter (?). I understand that the purpose of today’s unendorsed trend was intended to create awareness among those have been silent, as well as amplifying black voices and valuable educational resources. The outcome has been totally opposite.

If you’ve been on Instagram today, good luck finding anything other than black squares. The effects have been clear: for those looking to find news on protests in the United States, almost all posts have been buried in their feeds beneath a metric ton of identical photos. The #BlackLivesMatter tag is being completely overrun with these posts as well, depriving protestors of essential information regarding their own safety and that of their loved ones. All while people congratulate each other on their ‘strong stance against racism,’ despite many having been totally silent through the murders of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, Regis Korchinsky-Paquet, Breonna Taylor, David McAtee, and countless other black people in recent weeks.

I imagine that people signed on in the morning, saw everyone else posting, and quickly shared one of their own to voice to their friends: “I am an ally!” But in reality, we know that not everyone is an ally. Or at least not a good one. I am no exception; I have lots of learning (and unlearning) to do about how to best use my privilege as a white person to support black and indigenous people in my communities. Now is a prime opportunity, however, for those that have this privilege to reflect: why did anyone think this would work?

The basis of the #BlackoutTuesday trend is that non-black people would go an entire day without posting their routine pictures: no selfies, no food, no song lyrics. Instead, they would sit back to listen and learn from black voices. It sounds decent on paper: beneath many white people’s hot takes, including “I’m not black, but I see you,” the voices of black activists and friends can often get left behind in largely white circles.  This is a serious issue that must be taken seriously: non-black people, some near and some far from protests, do not fully understand the reasoning behind the ongoing protests. I am no exception to this. The idea is that in order for everyone to build the groundwork for an anti-racist society, we must listen closely to those being oppressed. This is absolutely true.

The first issue that arises is that the #BlackLivesMatter movement needs momentum against police, and it needs it now. There needs to be an overwhelming wave of anti-racist sentiments from all over the world, at all times, to defund and de-militarize police departments globally. Why? There’s a reason why their budget is so high in the first place: to stamp out movements like this and keep those in power safe. The reality is that police departments won’t be begging the government for more tear gas canisters or more rubber bullets anytime soon; they already have all they need to wear out the patience of performative activists. The viable strategy as of now is to read, learn, unlearn, and protest every single day until the situation improves or escalates further. #BlackoutTuesday is a significant piece here: it specifically calls for non-black people to stop posting on social media. This begs the question, why do non-black people need to stop posting in order to listen? Why couldn’t it have been, for instance, #BlackVoiceTuesday, where you share a speech, book, or thread from a black activist that you learned from? There are many ways that non-black people can still increase momentum while promoting more important voices.

The reason why we didn’t see something like #BlackVoiceTuesday, and instead we got #BlackoutTuesday, and I hate to say it, is that many non-black people simply don’t care enough about the ongoing protests. It seems obvious to say this, but posting a black square on social media won’t help anyone but your ego. It won’t change legislation, and it won’t make the police any less brutal in their approach. After all, few things that you can do in less than 20 seconds really have any practical use.

The #BlackoutTuesday trend is an excellent example of the armchair activism that people of privilege have been using for years. This isn’t the first time an online ‘blackout’ has occurred—in fact, I knew it sounded very familiar when I heard about it yesterday. A similar movement began during the trial of George Zimmerman regarding the murder of Trayvon Martin, where people would make their profile pictures black, or post pictures of Martin until the verdict was reached. This was a movement that I participated in during the early days of Instagram, and in the moment, 13-year-old me thought that it was a helpful way of maintaining momentum through the slow trial process, occurring over 17 months after he was murdered.

But a few weeks after Zimmerman was acquitted, people deleted their black pictures, changed back their profile pictures, and moved on. This is a huge privilege. Through all of this, there were protests. There were countless black people fighting for their right to live and receive justice for their loved ones. And yet, the public spotlight faded from Trayvon Martin and the fight for justice. It happened again for Michael Brown. It happened again for Eric Garner. And it is happening again for George Floyd, Regis Korchinsky-Paquet, David McAtee, and all those who haven’t found justice.*

This is the reality we live in. Murderers and their defences roam our streets, ready to enact violence against irreplaceable members of our communities. For non-black people, this may feel like a prime opportunity to show their friends that they care, but this needs to be done in a more progressive manner. We must recognize now that nobody is beyond racism. It is vital that we begin to unlearn our anti-black sentiments now so we can become better allies within our communities and force real, tangible change. Not by voting, not by asking. By forcing the hand of those in power. Let’s have this conversation now and fight this fight now so there are no more George Floyds, no more Breonna Taylors, no more Regis Korchinsky-Paquets, no more David McAtees, no more Eric Garners, no more Michael Browns, no more Trayvon Martins. No More.

And we must stop pretending. It is not shameful to admit that you were raised with anti-black sentiments: we live in systemically racist countries that have always had strong anti-black values. And posting black squares only reinforces the disregard for the wishes of black leaders. Participating in this one-episode series does not send the message that you know what you’re talking about; it sends the message that you need to be taught. This is not activism: it’s performance. And a bad one.

*I recognize that Trayvon Martin wasn’t the first instance of racist unjust killing: I am aware that this is a long-running, systemic issue with policing and white supremacy in western culture. This extends well beyond Amadou Diallo, Rodney King, and those unjustly killed by police for the media to witness. I started with Trayvon Martin, however, because I believe the fallout was unique, and similar to the events today: we can hear from anyone regarding their experiences, and not solely our largely white-run media outlets.

P.S. Thank you for reading! While on the note of amplifying black voices, I thought to provide a few resources at the bottom here if you’re interested in reading some more:

• Check out this huge list of petitions, activists, books, and more ways to support BLM.
• Sign petitions and make calls for justice for George Floyd
• Sign the petition for Justice for Regis Korchinski-Paquet, who was murdered by Toronto police last Wednesday:
• Tamika D. Mallory (@tamikadmallory) is a New York-based activist who has played a large role in organizing the Women’s March, as well as advocating for many movements, including gun control, BLM, and feminism. She recently gained mass attention due to this viral speech, and she posts regularly with near-daily livestreams.
• Here is a list of America-wide bail funds for protestors – many (like the Minneapolis Freedom Fund) have had large influxes of donations, but there are many more that have received little attention:
• If you can’t donate or have already, watch these videos to raise ad revenue for BLM.
• A viral video on Twitter and TikTok shows a black police officer (@FreqDaGod: IG, Twitter) turning in his badge after his boss refused to allow him to kneel at protests. He’s 21, and quit his dream job for the movement. He’s not asking for any money despite having a child on the way, but please show him some love here!

***EDIT: The addendum list of resources was edited to remove Shaun King after being informed of his alleged misuse of fundings and conflicts with black women.

content warning: police violence, white supremacy

Over the last week,  there has been a massive domino-effect in response to rampant racist violence including the murder of George Floyd and Regis Korchinsky-Paquet, as well as the manipulative use of privilege by Amy Cooper during her false report in Central Park. It is no secret that through these events, the ensuing police violence, and defence of those responsible, white supremacy and anti-black sentiments in western culture have been laid bare for us all to address.

I find it essential to start this post with a disclaimer of sorts: I have lived my life with a great deal of privilege. Like many white allies, I am learning how to use that privilege to help combat white supremacy and educate those around me. My personal social media feeds have been full of educational material, and that has helped a lot in developing my allyship.

In addressing my own allyship, I have learned a lot from organizations on social media like Reclaim The Block (@reclaimtheblock), a Minneapolis-based coalition pushing for the city’s divestment from police services; and The Mirror (@the.mirror), which shares clips of various activists and writes threads about police violence and white supremacy.

Who I haven’t learned anything from, however, is Nike.

In line with capitalist tradition, it was only a matter of time before a massive corporation tried to profit from recent protests. Nike recently unveiled its “Just Don’t Do It” campaign, which has gained a whopping 6 million views on Twitter, substantially more than many recordings of activist speeches (and a considerable degree of shares on Instagram, too!). To many, this may seem obvious: why would we expect activists to gain more attention than Nike, a multi-billion dollar company? This, after all, is not their first time making public their “support” for #BlackLivesMatter.

Their last anti-racist ad campaign came in 2018, with Colin Kaepernick as the face of their “Dream Crazy” campaign, which celebrated 30 years of the “Just Do It” slogan, while also prominently featuring black athletes and endorsing Kaepernick’s peaceful activism. It was in complete public spotlight for days, if not weeks, partly thanks to the absurd controversy which ensued, including the #BurnYourNikes boycott(?) which ensured one thing beyond wasted consumer money: lots and lots of people were talking about Nike. In fact, the company’s value went up by $6 billion in less than a month since starting the campaign. With this information, the motives are crystal clear. So clear, in fact, that I don’t feel the need to tell you (but I will just in case). They’re trying to sell you shoes.

And it’s no different this time. This simple ad features a black background with white text, displaying a few uncontroversial blanket statements, including “don’t make excuses” and “let’s be part of the change.” And despite this lack of any precise meaning, many people I know (and hundreds of thousands more on social media) come out of the shadows only to share Nike’s clip instead of the voices of activists and protestors. Well, what’s the difference?

While a corporation like Nike can reach further audiences than most activists, the ideas put forward by Nike are hollow and say little more than the average after-school cartoon. This is no mistake. These “woke” ads put on by businesses are designed to be vague enough for the vast majority of the public to approve. In short, they are not designed to encourage political change: they are designed to get people talking about the brand, ultimately helping their sales.

Nike is hardly the first to use this method of marketing. The earliest example in my memory was the “Melting World” campaign by Ben & Jerry’s. This was a 2015 campaign in which they attempted to raise awareness on climate change by using their ice cream as a metaphor for the earth(?) which melts as they raised the temperature. We’re likely all thinking the same thing: Ben & Jerry’s doesn’t care about climate change. The very nature of their product relies on an industry that is among the worst offenders in agriculture when it comes to emissions. At the time, I didn’t understand why they would put themselves in the spotlight when they were so clearly major contributors, and the answer is way more stupid than you might think.

I regret to inform you that this was to promote their new flavour, “Save Our Swirled.” I think I’m going to throw up.

I want to be clear that although this clearly upsets me, there are obviously many issues more demanding of our attention. I chose to cover this piece in particular because through the fights for racial justice and climate justice, we cannot let our causes be dictated by those simply looking to profit off of suffering. This will turn our social movements into simply another marketing piece for capitalists to chew up and sell back to us.

It is also worth noting that nearly every global issue is a systemic one. With this watered-down, mindless form of performative activism, it is a way for corporations to pull the curtains over our eyes and take the target off of their own heads. In encouraging this form of marketing, we can convince ourselves that we are participating in a progressive conversation despite it being devoid of any specific call to action. In Ben & Jerry’s case, their performative activism might lead a consumer to believe that the company is committed to pursuing sustainable solutions, when they could instead be a target for supporting mass pollution and animal abuse.

To be clear, neither white supremacy nor environmental destruction are the fault of capitalist corporations; rather, they are built upon those principles. It is simply the way  that western culture has defined its relationship with the land and minority groups that produce these results, which I will likely address further in future posts. This doesn’t take away from the message that businesses cannot hold personal or political beliefs. A common belief that applies here is that if a business were to be represented in human form, it would be a sociopath (some people legitimately think this is a good thing). Everything they do is for their own personal benefit, including the performative activism that we see time and time again. This is the reality we live in under capitalism: the executives that profit off of the snacks that we eat and the clothes that we wear see mass suffering as another opportunity to line their pockets. And it shows up on our feeds whether we like it or not.

As we call for justice, let’s not lose our path. Let’s not let “convict killers” be replaced with “don’t make excuses.” Let’s not let ourselves be looted by our own movements.

EDIT, June 2/2020: I can’t make this up. Like clockwork, out comes Ben & Jerry’s, releasing a statement to Twitter today voicing their support of BlackLivesMatter. This put Ben & Jerry’s in the invaluable trending topic across the US & Canada. In response to this, I thought I would add one final thought: while I appreciate the specific demands made in their statement, which (sort of) validate the others calling for action, the message of this post stands as valid. What would they have to gain from the #BlackLivesMatter movement beyond customers? In a time when advertising is hard to come by, in that many people are staying at home and have limited exposure to cable TV and radio, what other forums are there on which they can advertise beyond social media? And, on that note, what better form of advertising than to cover the exact thing that everyone else is talking about?