The Ruling Class Serves Only Itself
Every decision day for the past few weeks, abortion funders have sat in quiet anxiety waiting for this. Today, now that it’s here, I am overwhelmed. The emotion that met me this morning was shattering, which was unsurprising considering the act of violence at hand.
A widely circulated quote from prison abolitionist Mariame Kaba goes, “Let this radicalize you rather than lead you to despair.”
In this sentiment, I know I am not saying anything new. This is what socialists have been saying forever, and it is unwavering in its truth. This decision, made against all popular opinion, should fuel us to fight for a socialist future.
What did democrats do here? Two days ago on the precipice, we only got more lip service from the vice president. Liberals are still celebrating the fact that Harris is a woman, which is nothing at this point but insipid, empty identity politics considering this administration has been afraid to even use the word ‘abortion.’ The first female vice president means nothing to the working class. A “top cop” will never represent anything beyond class traitorship.
I’m sick of seeing democrats at every level tweet about how “someone” should do something. How “the people” should speak up. We have been speaking, we have been voting, and we have been supporting one another through crisis after crisis. Whatever happens now is too little, too late.
We will not accept our humanity as piecemeal, handed back to us in fragments by leaders who have used our bodies as a bargaining chip, as nothing but political leverage. We know abortion is a human right. We know abortion is reproductive justice. We know abortion is a cornerstone of all justice. We know how absolutely devastating, destructive, and retrograde this decision is. Above all, we know that working class people are most affected by this ruling.
I am by no means trying to badger or lecture exhausted people in reproductive spaces today. Today is a day of mourning. Today is torrential and tragic, but I am begging everyone not to fall into a place of despair, of nihilism, of numbness. Revolutionary optimism is cardinal — now and always.
We must protect one another. We must fight for the liberation of our class. We must fight for women’s and LGBTQ+ liberation. And liberation is only possible through socialism.
We have nothing to lose but our chains.
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By the way, if you love that Mariame Kaba quote, you can buy it on a shirt and the proceeds from your purchase will benefit the West Alabama Women’s Center — an abortion clinic and full-spectrum reproductive health center in Alabama.
