Deborah Ray
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thread 1/11
Y'know, back when I was in my teens it was the Hippies who were being demonized. Because they opposed the Vietnam War. Because they saw no future for themselves in the America that was being touted as the Dream all should aspire to. So they decided to rebel against The Establishment.
02:24 PM - May 20, 2023
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Deborah Ray
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thread 2/11
The "old white men" who ran everything. And so they decided to live for the day. To "tune in, turn on, and drop out." They grew their hair long, at a time when it was considered unmanly, even disgusting. They lived together in groups, grew their own food, became environmentally conscious, and yes,
02:24 PM - May 20, 2023
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Deborah Ray
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thread 3/11
smoked pot and did recreational drugs. Because America didn't work for them. And because those who TRIED to make it work for them kept getting assassinated. Medgar Evers, JFK, MLK, Jr., Bobby Kennedy, Malcolm X. All within a 5-yr period. The massacre at Kent State in Ohio.
02:25 PM - May 20, 2023
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Deborah Ray
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thread 4/11
All to try to maintain the status quo for old white men.
Then came the AIDS epidemic. And these same people so afraid of "the other" started demonizing the community that seemed to be suffering the most - the gay community.
02:26 PM - May 20, 2023
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Deborah Ray
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thread 5/11
Ignoring the huge number of families that were being affected, not even trying to help them find the cause and prevent it, let alone help these families cope with what at the time was perceived as - and was - a death sentence.
02:26 PM - May 20, 2023
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Deborah Ray
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thread 6/11
Even years later, when the cause was found to be cross-species infections which originated in monkeys they continued to demonized the gay community, as they continued to suffer and die. And the world lost so much with their passing. Beauty, intelligence, dance, artistry, as well as our own humanity.
02:27 PM - May 20, 2023
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Deborah Ray
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thread 7/11
We know now that this disease originated in the US - in a lab where macaque monkeys were transfused with blood from naturally infected sooty mangabeys. From there it jumped to apes, and then to humans.
02:27 PM - May 20, 2023
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Deborah Ray
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thread 8/11
But you never hear about this in the news media, the way you heard about the scare mongering at the time. All because old white men were afraid of their world becoming larger. They liked it just large enough for themselves - and didn't want it growing beyond them.
02:28 PM - May 20, 2023
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Deborah Ray
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thread 9/11
And now it's the trans community. These same old white men don't want to deal with people who are more than the sum of their parts. They don't want to have to be aware - to become 'woke'. To have to show compassion for anyone outside their orbit. To have to take anyone ELSE into account.
02:28 PM - May 20, 2023
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Deborah Ray
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thread 10/11
They just want a simple, uncomplicated life where they don't need to wear blinders to keep the world at bay. But life ISN'T simple, or uncomplicated, or easy. It's designed to BE complex. So that we NEED to rely on each other in order to get through it with our souls, our humanity, still intact.
02:28 PM - May 20, 2023
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Deborah Ray
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thread 11/11
So, keep pushing back at those who resent feeling they need to wear blinders. Who want to be able to take them off at the expense of others they'd rather not see. Vote for the kind of politicians who will help make America work for EVERYONE. Vote for love - not for fear.
02:29 PM - May 20, 2023
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