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No more nice-nice.

On that Ellen DeGeneres defense of her friendship with George W. Bush...

Yes, of course, it’s important to work across lines of difference and disagreement. But we must also hold one another accountable for our participation in oppression and harm.

Bush may be a "friendly guy," but he's also a war criminal who spent his presidency stripping away civil liberties and LGBTQIA+ rights. Yes, we should treat one another with dignity, but we can’t nice-nice away racism and oppression. We need more skill and discernment than “can’t we all just get along."

Ellen and Bush together does not make me "have faith in America again." It's just more of the same: white, privileged solidarity that bypasses the hard to look at truths of our culture and country.

Kindness derived from denial is harmful. 

For there to be forgiveness, there needs to be accountability.
For there to be redemption, there needs to be justice. 
For there to be transformation, there needs to be truth. 

Imagine if white folks were as committed to justice as they are to niceness. Then, perhaps, we can have the friendships and relationships necessary to build the America that we all deserve. 

Kerri
OUR COURT
What kind of country is this, if being queer or trans can get you fired? This week, The Supreme Court heard three cases in which the Trump administration is urging them to rule that it’s legal to fire workers for being LGBTQIA+ - a ruling that will impact far more people than legalizing marriage. P.S., the Court's long been a tool for oppression, so we're not feeling optimistic. One way to fight back is to be a good ally and push your workplace to set strong policies that protect queer and trans employees from discrimination, regardless of how SCOTUS decides.
NON-VIOLENT ACTION
Arrest us! If we continue with business as usual, the collapse of civilization s we know it is on the horizon. Many, especially the most marginalized and vulnerable, are already living with devastating consequences of climate change. Droughts alone have affected more than a billion people over the last decade. When the system refuses to respond to our cries, we can no longer work within the system. That's why civil disobedience is the most effective way to combat social injustice. Some of the greatest transformations in American history came out of non-violent resistance, like the civil rights and women's suffrage movements. It works on two levels: it puts pressure on the current system through disruption, and it exposes the truth and raises public awareness. These are essential and necessary tactics that seek to force the issue so that it can no longer be ignored AND build collective power that can stand up to systemic control. Check out a non-violent direct action near you through @RuckusSociety and @extinctionrebellion. 
October 7th officially launched the International Rebellion, where people around the globe are peacefully occupying centers of power and shut them down until governments act on the Climate and Ecological Emergency. Find a rebellion near you. Photo via @thesweetfeminist.
IMPEACH NOW
Trump has long been unfit to serve. Ukrainegate is the latest evidence, but putting kids in cages should have been enough for Congress to take action. And while women of color in the House were the first ones raise the alarm, the impeachment inquiry has already morphed into a white savior narrative. As the House investigation continues to unfold, the people are taking action. This Sunday, October 13, we're taking to the streets across the country to demand Trump's removal. Join us.
ON FORGIVENESS
Botham Jean's brother's offer of forgiveness went viral. His mother's call for justice should too. We are so quick to jump to feel-good and hurryto resolve that we often ignore the more difficult and complex truths of justice and accountability. We want clean, but this shit is messy. Here's a faith perspective on forgiveness and justice. And Trevor Noah weighs in on white tears.
NICENESS
The remix of Ellen's pathetic defense of GWB is devastating. Teo Drake said it best: We don’t need more nice. We need more uncomfortable conversations, more disruptions in the go along to get along social fabric of whiteness, and absolutely more complete disruption/destruction of the systems that allow a white wealthy woman to find common ground (white supremacy & capitalism) with someone who had no qualms harming people supposedly “like” her. 
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