I've got some rage, and it's coming out. If expletives, radical opinions, or raw emotion make you uncomfortable then I suggest you don't read this post because I am about to unapologetically let it let fly. Consider yourself warned.
First, I have just had it with this society. I've had it with fucking white people who think their shit don't stink, who think they are above everyone else simply because they are white. As if white = right. I'm sick of the social, and blatantly racist hierarchy we have to face every day. I'm so fucking trained by this colonial system (my own personal work in progress, trying to free myself from it) that it I'm afraid to say 'white people' because I don't want to make my white friends uncomfortable or have them think I am directly 'attacking' them or blaming them, I don't say it because I don't want to have my words used against me to keep from being able to obtain employment or housing or other needs, and then I feel guilty because my ancestry is more than just Indigenous and I am proud all of my heritage because it makes me who I am. But the fact is, my skin is brown, and in this society that somehow equates to having no value, no humanity. I've had to put up with some serious bullshit as an Aboriginal person, let me tell you! I can't even count the number of times I have been called squaw, or chug, or dirty. I have been followed in stores and multiple times have been searched on my way out (even if I've made a purchase). If I'm at airport security, you'd better believe that I'm going to be selected for the 'random search'. I have been accused of being a mooch on society, of being lazy, and of contributing nothing (all by total strangers). I've had people see me walking and cross the street to avoid me, and people request not to be seated next to my table at restaurants, and people loudly whisper horrible things about Aboriginal people as if they don't mean for anyone to hear it (but they do). I've had people pull their children closer to them or even hold them with their faces away while they glare at me as if I'm some kind of monster that is undoubtedly there to harm them. And most times I feel like I better not say anything in any of those situations because that will make things so much worse. I'd prefer not to be tased, or shot, or beaten, or blacklisted, or jailed, or any other shitty thing thank you very much. I mean seriously, what the hell is wrong with this society that this shit is still so normalized and accepted? Here is something totally screwed up... I even had a moment this summer where I decided not to take one of my daily tinctures before going to the post office because it happened to be one that lingers on the breath and I didn't want to be judged by the people at the post office for having a scent of alcohol on my breath, I felt like it would just reinforce a terrible stereotype. My beloved herbal medicine, I should not have had reason to feel I couldn't take it, and yet I felt overwhelmingly inclined to protect myself and the reputation of Aboriginal people.
And it's not just Aboriginal people who are subject to this; if you are different in any way, this colonial 'culture' does not support you. Hell, even if you are not that different this culture isn't going to be very good to you - take veterans and seniors for example. Regardless of how well they fit in to the acceptable framework, they still get treated poorly. Oh, and here's something: today while I was out walking (not that this is a one time experience, I have seen it a lot) there was a family walking down the street and they passed a homeless man who was sitting up against a building, and they looked upon him with such disdain, as if he were a terrible blemish on the world. Have you no fucking heart people!?! That is a living being right there! You don't know them, you don't know their story. You are so bothered by them being there, but for all the wrong reasons. It fucking bothers me to see them there, it is a reminder every day that our society doesn't support people equally. If you veer at all from the narrow view of acceptable gender or sexual identity, if your body is not cookie-cuter perfect, if you are foreign - or just coloured, if your world-view falls outside that of the dominant culture, if you have an illness, or a disability (egads, this is especially true if you have an illness or disability is not visibly obvious) then you will likely be subject to a shit-storm of abuse and be pressured to conform as much as possible. I just don't understand, what an idiotic way to see things, life flourishes with diversity - duh!
I abhor this capitalist cesspool that we are living in too. Capitalism is a most profane abuse on humanity and the living world; it needs to end. Look at what it has done to us! Shit is all fucked up, we need to change it - now. The land and other living beings on it need our love and care now more than ever. For the sake of the almighty dollar and unnecessary luxuries this world has been ravaged. Plant and animal species are going extinct on the regular and we just keep trucking along with our pillaging, never satisfied, and putting what remains at further risk. Consume, consume, consume; the government and rich folk really like us to consume, it fills their pockets and empties ours, creating an imbalance of power in their favor. We have companies that are controlling our way of life, that have far more influence than they should ever be allowed. Oh, the CEO of Nestle thinks water shouldn't be a human right? Well then, let's sell him millions of litres of our fresh water for less than the cost of a large cup of coffee so he can realize that dream of his and further entrench the people in the system. And then there is Monsanto, a fucking evil corporation run by tycoons of misery. Monocropping the fuck out of the land and rendering it unusable for growing food in an alarmingly short period of time, using toxic chemicals to keep from having do a little extra work in the area of pest control (but they say it's safe to eat - please!), killing pollinators, producing mutant crops that should not be put in our bodies, and exercising ridiculous control over the farming industry - both their own farmers and others who inadvertently get caught up in the fray. Our government and society tout the importance of getting an education beyond high-school but then they make a student loan system that is so faulty one might expect it to cause an earthquake. Drown students in debt and then crush them with interest and high repayment plans the moment they finish so that what should be a joyous start to a new career and life path becomes overshadowed by their debts, while their entry-level jobs barely pay them enough to get by. Sneaky back-door deals over oil and land and resources are happening all the time; the 'elite' making their lives more luxurious and comfortable and forsaking all else. If you don't have money, this system is near impossible to live in. I think about this a lot when I get pressured about having kids. Sure, I'll probably have children, but I feel wary about it. We cannot sustain with the way things are operating right now, it leaves a bleak outlook for the future. Will there be clean water for them to drink that isn't sold in toxic plastic bottles? Will they be able to walk outside and breath the air, or stand in the sun without fear? Will there be enough healthy soil left for them to be able to grow food and sustain their bodies? Will they be accepted for the wonderful, unique beings they are or will they be treated as pariahs? Will they be owned by a corporation maybe? It's scary shit to think about. Fuck capitalism.
We need fucking change now. We need to stop being shitty to each other and the planet. We need to stand up to those who would jeopardize the future to fill their coffers just a little bit more. Fuck shitty people, I'm sick of 'em.
Cherish
