#BlackOutTuesday

The concerns surrounding flooding vital hashtags with black squares for #BlackOutTuesday are quite valid, and no one believes posting a black square will do anything.

The intention is to publically pause lifestyle, art, and self-promotional posts in favor of starting an interpersonal dialogue. These are not normal times, and business-as-usual posting - especially for artists & content creators - is tone-deaf and distracting to the necessary revolution to which we're holding witness.

Look; "virtue signaling", "performative allyship"... it's rough stuff. No one likes a hypocrite or a poser, and it's hard to know who to trust. Capitalism is in the DNA of these social platforms. Likes, follower counts -- they're just metrics that measure a person's worth online and like your checking account or your credit score, those in positions of abstract digital power are just as prone to abuse that power in an effort to maintain a status quo that keeps them on top as those offline.

I'm sure your catty clapback at a well-meaning, small gesture started by two black female music industry leaders is getting you that tasty, tasty infighting clout you needed to assert your superiority online tho. Or maybe it's just... virtue signaling? Because everyone you're mocking and abusing for showing some form of solidarity amidst a global pandemic/economic crisis/social revolution is almost guaranteed to be politically to the Left of those you should actually be targeting.

This is why the best donations and forms of giving are random, direct, and anonymous. Decisions, conversations, and contributions made in private will always be the cleanest. Not only that, but it's also important to remember that you do not and will not know the true heart of another person purely via their social media output. Or, at the very least, not as well as say... a voting record of someone's time in public office.

If you're not looking at every Republican and centrist White Democrats with the same level contempt and rage as you are at some terrified townfolk on Instagram who doesn't know what to do with themselves or how to help among alllllll of this -- in a system they too have been failed by in some capacity -- eighty days plus into quarantine -- then you're just a bully and a social capitalist no matter how many memes you share.

I'm available to anyone who wishes to talk further or needs me or someone to listen. I had many productive conversations about my All Cops Are Bad post the other day, and if that post upset you in some way, maybe look at the news since then?

If you’re not disgusted, you’re evil sorry.

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Tyler Scruggs is a writer and musician living in Atlanta. When he’s not churning out internet content, he’s paying too much for coffee and buying movie tickets weeks in advance. Feel free to validate him on Twitter (@TylerScruggs), Instagram (@Scruggernaut), and YouTube.

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