Sometimes I wonder if I should’ve taken the traditional route, went to college and made a safe, financially stable career choice. Or if I should’ve stuck it out in the non-profit youth service sector with its health benefits and paid vacations. Is the independent hustle worth it when I’m worried about being pre-diabetic but can’t see a doctor cause I’m uninsured? Is being my own boss something to be praised when I’m a car crash away from being on the street? This is the fear and anxiety that capitalism reinforces, that we are merely worth what we can produce; that the basics of food, housing, health care, education, and human fuckin dignity are things one must “work” for. It’s all a fallacy, yet folks buy into it, while billionaires sit on their grandparents’ money and play monopoly with real people’s lives. Maybe this is why we fight, because the only thing we have control of is our dignity, and whether win or lose, life or death, the honor of being a part of this movement more than makes up for the shame of not meeting society’s expectations.
Kiwi Illafonte 