So the US recently forced the Dutch to remove a memorial to America's own Black soldiers that died liberating the Netherlands from the nazis? On brand.
Towards the end of WW2, the French were shocked when the US refused to let its own Black soldiers join the celebration of the liberation of Paris.
The 761st Tank Battalion was an all Black tank unit that served with distinction as part of Pattons 3rd army. They killed a lot of nazis, and liberated over 30 French towns, and much of the Netherlands.
If you saw their Black Panther logo? It was all over for you. Black Panther beats German Panzer.
These elite Black soldiers racked up victories.
But they weren't immortal, and they didn't have superior weapons to either the Germans or white American soldiers. They were just brave. Many Black soldiers died freeing Europe from the nazis.
Europeans were grateful.
Racist Americans? Not so much.
And before anyone says anything "Great replacement" adjacent...
NYC already had the most migrant heavy workforce of any major city on earth. 44% of NYC employees were born in other countries. Almost half.
Have you been to New York? Haven't you noticed that you can get great Shakshuka, Birria, Hummus, Tibs, Laksa, Biryani, Confit, Dim Sum, Pho, Shawarma, Jollof, Panang, All'Assessina, at like midnight, in any borough of the city?
And yes, it's still one of the safest major cities. Relax.
US friends:
I don't want to hear any of you ever say that African countries have corrupt elections again.
Ever!
You hear me? That's over for y'all now.
And this dude is still the GOP front runner! By a long shot! Like, it's not even close! A lot of y'all are like "This is fine!"
And I don't want to hear "Oh no! We're like a 3rd world country now!" That's that mess I often hear after the US has acted exactly like the US. We're not "like a 3rd world country." We're like ourselves.
👴🏻I can't believe Giuliani turned weird and went bad! So unpredictable! He was America's mayor!
🧔🏿♂️Did you know that Giuliani was mayor of New York?
👴🏻Of course I did! I'm a New Yorker! Born and raised! Lived there my whole life!
🧔🏿♂️Do you remember his mayoral campaign? Do you remember how he got elected?
👴🏻Hmm... strange... I... Can't seem to remember? But I'm sure it was great, and normal, and not horrific at all though! Why do you ask?
🧔🏿♂️ 😐
You'll also notice that there were hundreds of Spanish men at the celebration... but only he did that.
This is not Spanish culture, or "men" culture.
Unfortunately, what is part of "men culture," is justifying, or downplaying, or minimizing how inappropriate this is. Our collective downplaying creates the conditions where abusive people can do stuff like this. Our inability to recognize abuses of situational power create the conditions for harm.
I guess what I'm saying is...
1) History doesn't repeat. But it sure does rhyme.
2) A conviction doesn't mean what you think it means. You still have to oppose fascism directly. There is no way around that.
The same way that Trump will claim credit for Biden admin Infrastructure Bill improvements in about 10 years, is how people to this day still think that "Hitler made the trains run on time and fixed the roads." Hitler did not do that.
We are still on a not great path.
"Computer Science students should be required to take courses and lectures in ethics! That would fix everything!"
But who is teaching the courses and lectures?
If you know that these anti-woke people are anti-black racists, with dangerous white supremacist and eugenicist beliefs, who are trying to enable ethnic cleansing to create a whites only ethnostate, and you support them anyway? You are deplorable.
If in 2023, you still don't realize what these dudes believe, and that they are serious in trying to implement it, and you let these racists decide how Black history should be taught, and how Black people should be allowed to vote? You are misguided.
When you say "No, anti-woke doesn't mean anti- Black! It also means [things that aren't Black] too!" that's like saying "No, anti-Shabat Shalom isn't anti-semitism! They hate [group that isn't Jewish] too!"
Because woke means Black. Woke is a Black saying. Saying that you are anti-woke means that you are anti-Black.
And racists and Nazis hate Black people, Jewish people, women, LGBTQIA people, and many other marginalized groups. Racist men do not care about your reproductive rights.
When I tell you that your favorite VCs sit around in chat rooms with nazis, you think I'm joking. 🤷🏿♂️
Woke means Black. It's a Black saying.
Passing a law called "Stop woke" or saying "I'm anti-woke!" is equivalent to passing a law called "anti-Shabat Shalom" or "anti-Ni-Hao," but then trying to claim that you are not anti-semitic or sinophobic. It makes no sense.
Most of these VCs, writers, and politicians are irredeemably racist, and hate you on a visceral level.