September 2023
First they came for the drag queens
And I didn’t speak up
Because I didn’t understand their ‘lifestyle.’
Then they came for the transgender kids
And I didn’t speak up
Because I didn’t understand their medical needs.
Then they came for the books
And the librarians and teachers who taught them
And I didn’t speak up
Because I wasn’t really into reading anyway
Then they came for the universities
And the public school boards
And tried to make them exclude anyone
Who wasn’t straight, wasn’t White,
Or wasn’t their ‘brand’ of Christian.
But I didn’t speak up
Because I never liked school anyway.
Then they came for the journalists
They bought up all the newspapers
And closed them
And replaced them
With their own channels and websites
With their own ‘commentary’
And I didn’t speak up
Because I never paid much attention to news anyway
Then they came for the churches
And any pastor who dared to preach
‘Love your neighbor’
And fired them
And replaced them
With preachers
Who would say whatever was needed
To keep a comfortable paycheck
And I didn’t speak up
Because these new celebrity preachers
Had higher production values
They came for the Immigrants
And I didn’t speak up
Because they told us welcoming them
Would take something away from us
Instead of adding more to who we are
They came for the Muslims
And I didn’t speak up
Because I believed them
When they said these were the enemy
They came for the Jews
And I didn’t speak up
Because I believed them
When they said the Holocaust wasn’t real
They came for the Black people
They called them criminals, dangerous
Even the ones in preschool
Hauling them away in police cars
Beating them on the side of the road
Leaving them to die in the alleys
And I believed them
Because police are always here to help, right?
They came for the Native Americans
And I didn’t speak up
Because they told me they had
Plenty of money from the casinos and
Nobody else to blame for their problems anymore.
They came for the women
Denied us our futures
Denied us protection from our abusers
Denied us accountability for our rapists
Denied us the ability to keep our children safe
While we worked to pursue our own talents and dreams
And so we slowly began to disappear again
Silenced like everyone else
Just like they always wanted.
