Monday's Opening Thought: February 7, 2022

Image Description: The image is the Joe Rogan Experience podcast logo. In the center of a black circle is a picture of the face of Joe Rogan, bathed in a red-orange tone. Rogan is smiling maniacally behind a microphone. He has a third eye in the center of his forehead, with energy lines emanating from it.

This week's opening thought: the Joe Rogans of the world exist and will continue to exist because they are a part of the fabric of white supremacy. White people and too many people of color with power, privilege, and positionality will always give the Joe Rogans of the world more grace and chances to continue harming others over and over again than anyone deserves. The Joe Rogans of the world will always show you exactly who they are loudly and openly, then "apologize if they did something that harmed you." They do this because they know that the tenets of whiteness and a subset of people of color with power, privilege, and positionality will never hold them accountable or responsible for their dangerous views, actions, and rhetoric. Joe Rogan isn't just a Spotify thing.

Joe Rogan is rinse-and-repeat white supremacy.

And like most of the tenets of white supremacy, most white folx and many people of color with power, privilege, and positionality don't want to deal with holding people accountable, even if it's right at their front door knocking. He's your co-worker, neighbor, supervisor, the senior leadership team at your job, and family member.

Joe Rogan is white U.S. America.

And there are a lot of us who don't need a "controversial" podcaster (read: racist, far-right cis hetero white man) or a music streaming service to hear from Joe Rogan every day or to stand up against white supremacy.

You don't need Air Pods to mentally and emotionally see the world around you, be present in that world in an intentional way, and be about something other than upholding whiteness and lies.