This Week's Opening Thought: February 3, 2025

Image description: a montage of Dorothy from "The Golden Girls" looking on with disappointment and derision. The montage is captioned, "People of pallor: 'I didn't vote for him.' The look on my face, knowing how many people of pallor voted for this mess, making the statement 'I didn't vote for him' invalid."

This week's opening thought: Since y'all's president started his second term, I've received many direct messages and comments on my post from people of pallor who want me to know they didn't vote for this horrible man, his cronies, and the complete dismantling of the already raggedy systems of democracy in the United States. My response to this?

Girl, bye.

60% of cis males of pallor and 53% of cis women of pallor voted for y'all's president and his "agenda." I've shared those numbers multiple times in the past few weeks. I'm going to continue making sure these numbers are front and center. Why?

Because if you're a person of pallor, even if you didn't vote for this, you know someone who did.

Real talk? The odds of y'all [people of pallor] having a fellow person of pallor in your social circles who voted for all of this turmoil are supremely high. You've got an uncle, cousin, or in-law of pallor who voted for this. You have a close friend or neighbor of pallor who you always kick it with who voted for this. Some of y'all have spouses of pallor who you know voted for this.

And I don't see y'all checkin' none of them.

But y'all be quick to hop on a Black woman's social media feed and try to check them, or make sure to say "not it" when a Black person holds y'all collectively accountable for this mess. Speaks volumes.

Just admit, y'all don't like holding each other accountable or taking responsibility for the ongoing harm your people have done for centuries. Our current situation? This isn't new. It might seem "new," but it's a rinse and repeat of white supremacy.

You've done it to melanated countries and communities for centuries. Hell, y'all have done this to each other for centuries. It's what y'all do the moment your people's perceived "superiority"/power over everyone and everything has holes poked in its paper-thin veneer.

Your saying, "I didn't vote for him," does not outweigh the fact that more than half of your people who exercised their right to vote submitted their ballots for...ALL of this. Your people are overwhelmingly represented in this life-altering harm.

You don't get a cookie or a gold star for assuring us that you didn't vote for this.

But you do get a side-eye.

Girl, bye.

Go check yourself and your people.

[Image description: a montage of Dorothy from "The Golden Girls" looking on with disappointment and derision. The montage is captioned, "People of pallor: 'I didn't vote for him.' The look on my face, knowing how many people of pallor voted for this mess, making the statement 'I didn't vote for him' invalid."]