Donald Trump Comforts Me
"Realizing that your new pair of lacy panties was made by exploited labor or that your tax dollars kill children in Palestine is not fun."
http://feministing.com/2017/01/24/we-will-fuck-up-lets-confront-that-and-do-better/
When I read this article, a sudden wave of self-loathing came over me. My hand came up towards my head, ready to slap me in the face over and over again. When I felt my arm rise up, I put it down, because self-injury is nonproductive.
If I buy something, I am hurting poor children in the Global South. If I pay my taxes, I kill children in Palestine. If I don't pay my taxes, I deprive children in the United States of an education. Literally everything I do is wrong, because it hurts someone else.
It sounds like original sin, only this is real. I am white, live in the USA, and am able to buy stuff for cheap. I am sickeningly privileged, so I have blood on my hands. It will never wash off, no matter what I do.
Then I remember President Trump. He is infinitely more privileged than I am and he has personally done far worse deeds than I have ever done. The Cosmos has not punished him.
This comforts me, because that means the Gods won't punish me, either. The self-loathing spiral is interrupted. The impulse to self-injure is gone.
http://feministing.com/2017/01/24/we-will-fuck-up-lets-confront-that-and-do-better/
When I read this article, a sudden wave of self-loathing came over me. My hand came up towards my head, ready to slap me in the face over and over again. When I felt my arm rise up, I put it down, because self-injury is nonproductive.
If I buy something, I am hurting poor children in the Global South. If I pay my taxes, I kill children in Palestine. If I don't pay my taxes, I deprive children in the United States of an education. Literally everything I do is wrong, because it hurts someone else.
It sounds like original sin, only this is real. I am white, live in the USA, and am able to buy stuff for cheap. I am sickeningly privileged, so I have blood on my hands. It will never wash off, no matter what I do.
Then I remember President Trump. He is infinitely more privileged than I am and he has personally done far worse deeds than I have ever done. The Cosmos has not punished him.
This comforts me, because that means the Gods won't punish me, either. The self-loathing spiral is interrupted. The impulse to self-injure is gone.