And remember, the Christian Right only took up abortion as a topic after they lost school segregation for good when the IRS went after Bob Jones’ U status, & needed a new issue to rally the troops.
1/x all our issues are intertwined.
🧵
The United States has always been a democracy for some and a brutal authoritarian regime for others, and the effort to expand it to democracy for all has led to a 70+ year backlash culminating in SCOTUS claiming that kings are totes cool and also judges are the ones to coronate them
To say nothing of who abortion bans harm hardest and first, always.
Oh, I don’t have it in me to list all the intertwining ways all our issues are intertwined this time, I just don’t.
But it is every thing every step of all the things all the way down. Gender justice and racial justice and disability justice and queer justice and economic justice and all the things all tangled up together, always.
Because that’s what kyriarchy is. That’s what it does.
“Kyriarchy” was coined by feminist theologian Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza in 1992 to describe her theory of interconnected, interacting, and self-extending systems of domination and submission—from “kyros”, master.
Which is the whole point. All of us. Are in it together. All of us are impacted by this stuff and trapped in this unjust system that does not benefit ANYONE because even those who may ostensibly be “winning” in a game of domination and hierarchy have lost what really matters most. You know that.
The thing where I win by crushing you, by dominating over you? That is not humanity retained.
What is now is not good for anyone.
Another world is possible.
There is another world that is possible that we can only get to when we begin to live into it now. I don’t know how else to say it.
Like— we can’t get there by continuing to act into the world of domination and hierarchy in any place where we have a choice not to.
We must cultivate relationships of care and respect that actually honor the humanity of those involved. We have become dehumanized, because that is how we are able to participate in kyriarchy.
There are real implications.
How do I take responsibility for harm I have caused?
Whose voice isn’t getting heard, and what might change if we really actually listened this time?
So many more real things. How do I have to change my life in relation to the people around me? I mean.
And also:
WE MUST BE BUILDING MORE RELATIONSHIPS ACROSS LINES OF DIFFERENCE.
ALL OF THEM.
WE NEED EACH OTHER.
ALL OF OUR STRUGGLES ARE INTERCONNECTED.
THERE IS ONLY COLLECTIVE LIBERATION.
On a practical level: the only way out politically now is a grassroots mobilization across coalitions. Everyone. All together*.
On a philosophical level: the only way out now is a connection across types of humanity. Everyone. All together.*
*white supremacists are not invited to this party
It's more depressing that someone protested this.
I greatly admire those who do the work of reaching out to people in hate groups and change their heart. But the job is not everyone's, and the time is not when those same hate groups are a key part of the existential threats we're fighting against.
