I came out 16 years ago this month.

Thinking about this in light of #SCOTUS arguments about LGBTQ rights in the workplace--not because I am hopeful, but because I want everyone to think about what it means to have a governing body discussing your life without you in the room.
Our family with disabilities has taught us:

"Nothing about us without is for us."

As women, queers, Black, trans, poor, disabled, sex working, undocumented folks, the "rights of individuals" mythology of the US political system applies to corporations before it applies to us.
#PrisonAbolition is also about abolishing legal structures that even pose LGBTQ and workers rights as up for debate.

Our ability to live full, healthy, happy lives on our own terms is not a question, it is a right. #SCOTUS
Being queer is not harmful. Being trans is not harmful. Taking away the rights of trans and queer people to work, eat, be housed, have access to healthcare, is the deepest harm. It is not a question of "rights," but of power, domination, and intentional violence. #SCOTUS
P.S. When I say we are "not in the room" I'm not implying I want more LGBTQ justices/judges. I'm implying the court system is rooted in enslavement and colonialism, and real representation isn't more queer people in power, it means new structures that are genuinely democratic.

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Benji #StopCopCity #FreePalestine Hart

Benji #StopCopCity #FreePalestine Hart Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @radfagg

Dec 2, 2020
The abolitionists of the 1800s lost a big audience when they said the institution of chattel slavery couldn't be redeemed. Slave owners--many rich and powerful--felt alienated by the statement. It was polarizing. In fact, it led to war. #DefundPolice politico.com/news/2020/12/0…
It would have been more diplomatic to call for reform: To stop beating slaves, to not separate parents from children, but allow the institution's core--one pop. of people owning another--to continue unfettered. Perhaps they might have won more over to their cause. #DefundPolice
Black people are no longer (literal) property in this country because the abolitionist movement called for slavery's abolition. It took a war for that demand to become reality. But the institution ended because of the clarity of movement, and its radical vision. #DefundPolice
Read 5 tweets
Sep 22, 2020
THREAD: I’m voting early for #BidenHarris2020.

Here’s why, against many of my core values, I’m doing so, why you should too if you’re able, AND why voting in this election is not revolutionary, and deeply insufficient:
I believe we need to use every tool we have at this moment. I believe a contested election gives us more fodder than one where Trump wins easily. I believe a racist establishment president is NOT BETTER but MORE NAVIGABLE than a fascist for of our most marginalized communities.
That being said, the idea that fascism can be voted away is dangerous, not only because fascism doesn’t care about the laws of democracy, but also because fascist movements that are mobilized at this moment will continue to be, regardless of how the election plays out.
Read 15 tweets
Sep 3, 2020
It's good that more ppl are aware of the overlap between law enforcement, vigilante militias, and white nationalist organizing, but I'm also disturbed by the discourse that one has "infiltrated" the other. They are the same. #DefundPolice #AbolishPolice theguardian.com/commentisfree/…
The overlap between law enforcement and white nationalism isn't a recent event. One is inseparable from the other. If police departments evolved from slave patrols, then policing begins with the goal of white nationalism. #DefundPolice #AbolishPolice worxintheory.wordpress.com/2014/12/07/ori…
A cursory review of US history reveals this: Sundown towns, the birth of the KKK, race riots in which police watched white ppl to destroy neighborhoods of color. Policing and white nationalism have been bonded from their inception. #DefundPolice #AbolishPolice
Read 6 tweets
Aug 26, 2020
The saddest thing about @ChiPubSchools voting yet again to keep police in CPS ins't just that they're on the wrong side of history, it's that getting on the right side is inevitable.

#PoliceFreeSchools will be reality. You're just waisting time/$ until we get there. #CopsOutCPS
Hearing officials today use terms like "school to prison pipeline" and "restorative justice" while arguing FOR police in schools was insulting, and not even a good cover. We know exactly where you stand, and more importantly, we know where we stand. #CopsOutCPS #PoliceFreeSchools
The only members of the board who uplifted the actual voices/demands of youth were also the only ones who came with the actual data/stats that support #PoliceFreeSchools. @ChiPubSchools NO MORE STUDIES. The research has already been done and the findings are clear. #CopsOutCPS
Read 5 tweets
Aug 21, 2020
Grateful to @them for running this story on HRC's deletion of a tweet praising #LoriLightfoot after Black and brown Chicagoans pointed to its hypocrisy.

I also want to challenge some of the analysis here, which comes directly from the her administration: them.us/story/hrc-dele…
From the article:

"In addition to the police beatings of protesters, Lightfoot also drew criticism for nightly shutdowns of transit service through downtown...The nightly road and transit closures, unrelated to protesting, were enacted after looting downtown on August 10."
The looting that occurred downtown and in other parts of the city WAS PART OF THE PROTESTS of policing. #LoriLightfoot's claim that the de facto separating of the predominately Black south side from the predominately white north side had nothing to do with protesting is a lie.
Read 7 tweets
Aug 18, 2020
#Lightfoot has a similar profile to her predecessor #RahmEmanuel in that her national image and her status in the Democratic party matter much more to her than the opinion of local Chicagoans--especially Black, brown, immigrant, poor and working ones. #StopLightfoot #DefundCPD
The platforms these national orgs give #LoriLightfoot don't just shroud the violence she commits locally--they empower it. So long as she is allowed to masquerade as a champion or "racial justice" and "intersectionality" nationally, she is empowered to be the antithesis locally.
Read 4 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

:(