post 10: BIPOC / AS HUMAN SHIELD

[Originally published on Substack: Dec 12, 2024]

BIPOC / AS HUMAN SHIELD

1. BIPOC

The smiling figures on brochures and advertisements, the newest figureheads of American empire, the presidents who listen to Al Green sometimes.

They look like us but they are nothing like you or me. Our interests are completely different. If it at all incentivizes them to betray you, they will.

Something isn’t right. They attach themselves to us on the basis of our apparent affinities, but it’s like their words don’t match their actions a lot of the time?

Those shared affinities also happen to be the basis upon which they hurt us. We are ____ and they are ____, and they hurt us the way only a ____ could.

“BIPOC,” they say, “we’re BIPOC,” but sometimes you don’t feel like you know them for real. How can you be strangers and be ‘one’ with them? They relate to you only through assumptions. Things they think you enjoy, projections, pop culture references. You can’t remember them asking you questions about yourself to get to know you, not even once. Can your conversations even be called communication?

2. AS HUMAN SHIELD

And someone has captured them: The captor is Centrism — fuck, what a speedy brute. Centrism is using BIPOC as a human shield. It’s holding BIPOC in front of it to deflect criticism.

It’s backing away and yelling verbal impediments at us.

”If a revolution happens, BIPOC will get hit the hardest –“

“—if there is violent resistance, BIPOC will get hit the hardest—”

“—if there is radical resistance, BIPOC will get hit the hardest—”

Centrism is saying the best resistance is no resistance. “Think of the potential for there to be consequences for our actions,“ Political Centrism says. Where would it end?

“Dear BIPOC would bear the brunt of the violence,” Centrism repeats, holding a knife to BIPOC’s neck and pulling both of them backwards, slowly, towards a getaway car.