Social Justice

First they came for The Communists, n y’d studied a bit about communism at university n y’d also studied Law n learned that at its inception all property is theft, so you spoke out. 

  So you guess

  you are

  a communist.

Then they came for The Trade Unionists, n some of yer mates werk for one of th trade unions n y can’t remember which n some of yer othr mates have tried to set up a trade union for Live Artists a bunch of times tho it’s been kinda tough becos all th Live Artists are so exploited n underpaid n compe’i’ive n cliquy n y don’t have th energy or consistency or th tIIIIIme for regular meetings, y don’t have time, so you spoke out. 

  So you guess

  you are

  a trade unionist.

Then they came for The Jews, n y’ve been doing some research into yr ancestry n y’re probably a bit Jewish becos everyone over there is probably a bit Jewish, n y like th Jews, they have so many rad traditions n rituals n songs, n y all have great networks n y really look out for each other n y kind of think y want a Jewish husband, so you spoke out. 

  So you guess 

  you are

  a Jew.

Then they came for The Christians, n it was so sad becos Christians can be really nice people, y went to a Catholic school n they were super nice to you n yer sister (even though y were a Muslim) n y learned a lot about Jesus, n he was a good guy, n th mystical types even say he was a gnostic initiate - but those poor priests in Ireland n around th place that wanna fuck little boys, n all those idiot priests in Africa who won’t let people use condoms, n all those terrifying fundamentalists in America who voted for Trump, n all th historical injustices committed by th Christian missionaries against Native people’s all over th world, n th way that they killed all th witches n took over all th old pagan holidays, n what th fuck is their problem with gay people anyway, n th Vatican is so obviously th seat of th global child sex trafficking n predominantly Belgian satanic ritual abuse rings - y know th ones that Tony Blair has been involved with? Fuck have y even seen th Throne to Lucifer in th Vatican? If y haven’t then totes google it, that shit is undeniable. And you have no issue with people who revere th Lord of Light, y just reckon y need to be clear about which side y’re on n stick to it. In general though, Christians mean well, so you spoke out. 

  So you guess

  you are

  a Christian. 

Then they came for The Muslims, n if y can’t tell, y are a Muslim. Yer fathr is a Muslim by birth, n therefore y are a Muslim. Yer mothr is also a Muslim by birth, but that doesn’t count. Eithr way, y don’t get to decide. y mean, y can decide if y want to that y are not a Muslim n y can go about yer life not doing Muslim things n even being critical of Muslim things n even chat sincerely about atheism n quantum mechanics n th value of scepticism, n yet all of that is meaningless in th eyes of Islam. It’s like a sick person deciding that they are well. That shit takes time, if, n only if, it’s ever gonna get out of yr system. So in th meantime, y are a Muslim, y inherited this rusty bag of tools n y are determined to do yer best with them, becos Muslims are a people oppressed by each of th seven directions - y can look to th Condor, to th Falcon, to th Crane, n to th Eagle, y can look to th weeping mothr beneath yer feet or th stark fathr above yer head, yer can look within at yer own unruly spirit that refuses over n over again to submit to th will of yer one unified god, y can look over n over again n y will find resistance to The Will of Allah, n be oppressed by that resistance, n live in that oppression. Or y can be marginalised, n soar with th ecstasy of longing for yer Beloved, y can whirl n Call n chant n incant n intone n evoke n carve n paint n tile n etch n write n debate n inscribe. y wish Muslims had their own version of Gospel music, so that y could sing freely, with love, with longing, from your soul to your god, so you spoke out. 

  So you guess 

  you are

  a Muslim. 

Then they came for The Feminists, n it was so fucking obvious to you that th problems of th world, th human betrayal of all other sentient beings, th male suicide rate n th loss of connection to all spirit n magic are becos-a th’imbalance of th two traditional gender sets, so of course y spoke out n anyone who didn’t speak out is a fool or a coward n y don’t care if yer name calling shames y. Good. Let yerself cower in shame until y are too scared to leave th house n y are forced get th fuck out of positions of power so that y n th othr feminists can take over before it’s too late. y’ll provide Therapy for yerselves n y can recover yer sense of Humanity, n in th meantime y can shut th fuck up n listen, becos y are speaking out, y are calling out, y are y are y are y. 

  So you guess

  you are

  a feminist. 

Then they came for The Queers, n even though y rarely identify as queer n have felt just as much hatred n supremacy emitting from queer culture as y have from any culture, sometimes y do identify as queer becos’t makes it easier to get work, especially in this day n age where Scorpio is switching polarities n most of yer souls have been reincarnated into totally different genders than th ones that y have been incarnated in for millennia, n y find that queer culture is th only place where y can have conversations about love n sex n bodies n outfits without those becoming conversations about money, status, control, jobs, n boring shit that y don’t care about becos th world is ending, n if th other options are fascist homo culture or backwards, I’m sorry, I mean archetypal heteronormative culture then yeah sure, y’re queer, y’re as queer as can be, so you spoke out. 

  So you guess

  you are

   queer. 

n then they came for The Women.

n then they came for The Bisexuals. 

Then they came for The Lesbians, n y’ve been denying it since y were a teenager, but deep down y know, n also pretty much on th surface y know, on th tips of yer fingers n in th grip of yer hands, n at th nerve endings of yer nipples n clitoris n th extra sensitive skin on th inside of yer thighs n arms, n th hair that covers yer whole body n sways in th wind when y are most free, so you spoke out. 

  So you guess

  you are

  a lesbian. 

They they came for Those Assigned Female At Birth Who Have Always Known Themselves as Male, n y made excuses to yerself about masculinity being a construct n that just becos y feel these masculine energies doesn’t mean that y are a man, n y wondered if yer friends who were assigned male at birth receive th same excuses when y felt yerself as feminine, n in general y don’t mind what people want to do with their genitals so long as they are kind, so you spoke out. 

  So you guess

  you are 

  assigned female at birth and have always known yourself as male. 

n then they came for The Fathers, n you love yours, even though he was just so cruel sometimes, so you spoke out. 

  So you guess

  you are

  a father. 

n then they came for The Mothers. 

n then they came for The Children. 

n then they came for The Survivors Of Domestic Violence. 

Then they came for The Rape Victims, rathr than The Rapists - cos y left th rapists to carry on as y were becos y didn’t have funding or resource or faith in humanity or decency or scruples or morality or courage or a vengeful god hanging over y grave casting a shadow so chilling that it plunged yer progeny into a searing winter of curses, so y didn’t go after those causing harm n instead y went after those who have endured n survived th harm committed against yer bodies, y call y names, y discredit yer stories, y blame y, y shame y, y silence y, y deny y, so you spoke out. 

  So you guess

  you are

  a rape victim. 

Then they came for The Artists, th performers, th poets, th painters, th sculptors, th musicians, th bright yellow roman candles who show y th difference of th world, who are a cloud of stories n memories n ideas through which th rainbow of yer selves passes light n offers some view of th phenomena of life expanding among all th lessons y have th honour to witness. y starved The Artists, y exploited yerselves, n y made yerselves into slaves, n made yerself compete against yerselves, n don’t y know that competition is a poor way to nurture creativity, it embeds destruction where there needs be nurturance, so you spoke out. 

  So you guess

  you are

  an artist. 

Then they came for The Drug Addicts, The Intoxicators, The Medicine Women n Tambourine Men, n y know y have danced with those in ecstasies n dynamic dimensions of cascading consciousness whose only purpose is love, n with them y have known more than this cosmos, whether or not y want to call it god, n y will not be ashamed any longer of th access that y have to th realms within without beyond before betwixt between and burning beloved, so you spoke out. 

  So you guess

  you are

  intoxicated. 

n then they came for The People With Epilepsy. 

n then they came for Those With Royal Blood. 

Then they came for The Sex Workers, The Tantrikas, The Devotees Of Inanna, Astarte, of The Goddess of Babalon, n y cried yer prayer of invocation: 

Look at me, y who think upon me; 

n y hearers, hear me! 

y who are waiting for me, take me to yerselves. 

n do not pursue me from yer vision. 

n do not make yer sound hate me, nor yer hearing. 

Do not be ignorant of me at any place or any time. 

Be on guard! 

Do not be ignorant of me.

For I am th first n th last. 

I am th honored n th scorned, 

I am th harlot n th holy one.

I am th wife n th virgin. 

I am th mothr n th daughter.

I am th members of my mothr.

I am th barren one n th one with many children. 

I am she whose marriage is multiple, n I have taken no husbn. 

I am th midwife n she who does not give birth. 

I am th comforting of my labor pains.

I am th incomprehensible silence n th much-remembered thought.

I am th voice of many sounds n th utterance of many forms. 

I am th utterance of my name.

Why, y who hate me, do y love me

n hate those who love me? 

y who deny me, confess me, 

n y who confess me, deny me. 

y who speak th truth about me, tell lies about me, 

n y who have told lies about me, speak th truth about me. 

y who know me, become ignorant of me; n may those who have been ignorant of me come to know me. 

For I am knowledge n ignorance.

I am shame n boldness. 

I am unashamed, I am ashamed. 

I am strength n I am fear. 

I am war n peace. 

Give heed to me. 

I am th disgraced n th exalted one 

Give heed to my poverty n my wealth. 

Do not be haughty to me when I am discarded upon th earth,

n y will find me among those that are to come.

n do not look upon me on th garbage-heap n go n leave me discarded.

n y will find me in th kingdoms.

n do not look upon me when I am discarded among those who are disgraced n in th least places 

n then laugh at me. 

n do not cast me down among those who are slain in severity 

But as for me, I am merciful n I am cruel

Be on guard! 

Do not hate my obedience,

n do not love my self-control in my weakness. 

Do not forsake me, 

n do not be afraid of my power.

n y felt so turned on n y knew that joy is th only pathway to th divine n y know yer portal orgasm is opening n y know what y know in yer body n no one can deny what y feel, n so you spoke out. 

  So you guess

  you are

  a sex worker. 

Then they came for The Beautiful Ones, th ones that people open doors for, th ones who get a seat on th train, th ones who experience th world as a polite offer of support for a season or perhaps a lifetime, th ones y follow home, n y know y are beautiful, that wild or cultivated y radiate th kind of beauty that yer ancestors would have attributed to their votive offerings before yer birth, n so you spoke out. 

  So you guess

  you are

  beautiful. 

Then they came for The Educated, n so you spoke out. 

becos y r educated. 

n then they came for The Able. 

n then they came for The Psychics. 

n then they came for The Astrologers. 

Then they came for The Farmers, n how could they?

n then they came for The Believers. 

n then they came for The Preachers. 

n then they came for yer souls, n th thunderbolt took y while y were beholding. 

n then they came for Me—n ther was no body left to speak for me. 

n I told myself I didn’t mind, becos I can stand up for myself, n becos I am good at talking. 

Leave it with to me, I said. I’ll have a word. 

Bismillah ar-rahman ar-rahim.