these are my neighbors, these are my friends— by flightlessblrbs
neighbor, i wish i could find the magic words to move people to action, but i don’t.
all i have is my story.
most days, i keep it to myself and focus on how to help people (who are far less in the crosshairs than i) shake loose their fear and come together, so that people like me might simply live.
what has always terrified me about this moment was not my fascist neighbors; they have always been here. what terrifies me are my neighbors who are both in denial of where this is headed and in denial of their agency— which, if they’d simply use it, would save people’s lives. right now, a very small amount of a******s are taking over the country. just imagine what would happen if even an equal and oppostie force got off their screens, out of their freeze response, and into their communities with a plan to help their neighbors? you would save lives.
the magical thinking that midterms will save us and that people can simply go on with their routines while their neighbors are disappeared into concentration camps is deadly. it may not kill you, but it has already gotten many of your neighbors disappeared and killed and, unless people begin to take responsibility for waking their neighbors up from their slumber, through bold nonviolent action, it will most certainly result in more of your neighbors being killed… and i, your weirdo friend, will be among them. project 2025 has written what they mean to do to educators like me.
my husband’s art that you email me telling me how much you love? i love it, too. he’s coming into his own as activist artist, with more grit and vulnerability and lived struggle than i have ever seen in a shepard fairey. but that art won’t be here either, because he will also be taken. he will also be disappeared.
this isn’t fearmongering. this is speaking the truth in a time of profound denial.
the reason i speak of neighborliness with such passion is because my life is literally in your hands. we no longer live in the era of anne frank: you are being desensitized to mass casulty events and genocidal actions on a daily basis.
i wish to god there were a single story i could tell to awaken people to their agency and inspire them to use every single ounce of their privilege to shut this down. the reason i come on here everyday and write to you, the reason i have spent all my time researching and developing and quality-assurance testing an action plan to end this is because: i can see what this is, i know no politicla savior is going to swoop us in.
this is down to us. this is down to you. and my life is in your hands.
won’t you be my neighbor?
