The List, Part 2

LONG post today, folks. But this needs to be read, heard, and shared.

Back in late July, I posted about Martin Niemöller’s famous poem, the one that begins “First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out,” etc. I mentioned in that blog that “there is ALWAYS a new ‘other’ to add to such a list,” and that "the list is long already and growing daily. . . . And most of us will end up on that list one way or another.”

I’d like to revisit that list today, vis-a-vis the continually growing fascist authoritarianism that is taking over this country.

According to reporting earlier this summer by noted journalist and historian Heather Cox Richardson, the US is currently holding 56,000 people in detention centers, the highest number in US history (a number that has surely increased by now). In addition to that, the US Department of Defense has awarded a $1.26 BILLION contract to build the largest detention facility in the U.S. at Fort Bliss, an army base in El Paso, Texas. The facility will be designed to hold 5,000 people in tents, and is expected to open in September of 2027.”

Note the timeline. This is quite a long term plan, friends. And with the Supreme Court’s recent decision to allow racial profiling by ICE and CBP, we’re looking at some real trouble over the next few years. To be sure, the contract awarded above is just the tip of the iceberg, as the “One Big Beautiful Bill” allocates approximately $170 billion for immigration enforcement and border security efforts.

Read that number again. Read it out loud to yourself several times for effect.

I have to say here and now that, even as a "straight white cis male," I’m a little worried. Because a $170 BILLION “round ‘em up” machine is going to be hungry for customers. And that’s where “the list” comes in. Witnessing the trajectory of our crumbling democracy in real time, I have to assume that eventually I will be on this list.

Sure, I might be slightly hysterical or delusional that they would ever come for me — especially as a white male. But the fact that the Trump administration is now actively suggesting they are going to round up homeless people and those struggling with mental health and/or addiction — as well as the fact that they are in the process of establishing a national database of people with disabilities (even including people with PSORIASIS!!??!!) — it’s pretty clear where this is heading, isn’t it? At least for anyone who paid the slightest attention in world history class.

So, am I crazy to think that I might eventually be rounded up and sent to goddess knows where? Let’s take a look at some of my defining characteristics that this administration could seemingly eventually point towards once they run out of brown and black people:

1. I’m a Cradle Episcopalian: Remember when the Episcopal bishop of the National Cathedral compassionately asked Trump to simply realize that people are scared, and asked him to pay heed to Jesus’ pronouncements about the poor and the oppressed? Yeah, we’re not on the list yet, but Trump is currently working through his vengeance tour, and I guarantee you eventually his sights will be on what he will likely label “Fake Christians.” In the wake of the murder of Charlie Kirk, and seeing the evangelical response, I don’t imagine this subset of budding Christian Nationalists will have any problem going along with the demonization of “those people” who “aren’t true Christians.” 

2. I’m single, have never married, and don’t have kids: Remember when JD Vance spoke about childless cat ladies who were miserable with their own lives? Remember when Elon Musk and many others made SUCH a big deal about pregnancy numbers in this country? Let’s face it: these people are OBSESSED with babies. At least until they are born. And those of us who for whatever reason never reproduced could easily become a target. For, what use are we to society if we aren’t obeying their divine mandates to have offspring?

3. I’m an unapologetic cat person: This could have been roped into the previous entry above, but think about it. If they are that focused on particular pets that single childless people have, does the possibility not at least slightly exist that this would be another “sign” of something worth attacking? Would they suggest that men who prefer cats to dogs are effeminate, or somehow less manly? (Reminder to check out that post linked above in which it was suggested that SOCCER PLAYERS are somehow queer! Is this “cat dad” scenario really that far a stretch?)  

4. I have a lot of credit card debt: Let’s face it, the economy is once again going south — AS IS LITERALLY HISTORICALLY ALWAYS THE CASE UNDER REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP AND I CAN’T UNDERSTAND WHY REPUBLICAN VOTERS CAN’T BE BOTHERED TO SIMPLY PICK UP A HISTORY BOOK. It has been suggested that the Project 2025 folks, as well as the oligarch tech bros, fully INTEND to collapse the economy. Which leaves even more Americans with even less in their pockets or bank accounts. They’re already making homelessness illegal in spots all over the country — a condition that has been exacerbated by THEIR policies — and have actually started rounding up homeless people in the nation’s capital. (Anybody know where the hell they sent these folks? Like in that video we all saw of uniformed soldiers DETAINING A HOMELESS GUY IN A FRIKKIN WHEELCHAIR WITH A PLASTIC FRIKKIN BAG OVER HIS HEAD??)

5. “Not entirely straight”: In a show of solidarity with my LGBTQ+ friends, last year on “National Coming Out Day,” I publicly came out as “not entirely straight.” I basically said something along the lines of the fact that I’m not G, obviously not L or T, and don’t even necessarily think of myself as B or Q, but that I didn’t identify as 100% straight. This subset of the population will likely be one of the first targeted once all the immigrants are rounded up.

6. Eczema: Again, I saw talk earlier this year of a NATIONAL REGISTRY for people with certain health issues, amongst them, bizarrely, PSORIASIS. If psoriasis is seriously considered as a reason for rounding folks up because we want to “Make America Healthy Again,” then it’s just a hop skip and a jump to including folks with eczema as well, with which I struggle daily.

7. Democrat: As a result of the unimaginable political spin after the Charlie Kirk murder, democrats and leftists are now being referring to as “the enemy within” who could “be easily handled by the military.” The bizarre, totally unhinged rants across this administration against anyone not fully bowing down before the MAGA crown have shifted into overdrive in less than a week. This would likely be one of the last subsets of folks to make the list, but don’t dare put it past them, with the likes of Stephen Miller and Tom Homan running the show to “clean up America.” 

8. I’ve been very critical of Trump for nearly 10 years: With Trump’s revenge tour springing into full swing, it’s only a matter of time before AI is employed to automatically and immediately spit out a comprehensive list of ANYONE who has EVER been critical on social media of Trump, the Republican Party, MAGA, or anyone else in their orbit. The insane part about this is that it wouldn’t even matter if folks like me had completely ceased and desisted from such negative political posts when he was reelected last November. If you have EVER said anything negative about Trump, you can probably count on being rounded up eventually.

This means that my number could potentially be thrown into that lottery multiple times — akin to “The Hunger Games,” in which your age dictates your number of entries for selection. And to be swept up and sent away would happen if just ONE out of these 8 characteristics become the newest addition to that list. If ONE of these attributes becomes the newest “other.”

In the midst of being unemployed and casting a wide net to search for a job, it’s really getting quite hard to know which way to go and where to honestly look, given that a fascist dictatorship is currently taking over the country and seemingly trying hard to foment a new civil war. Honestly, if I didn’t have my cat, I’d probably skip town and leave the country for my own security and safety.

What about you? Do you think YOU will eventually be an “other” on that burgeoning list? Or, what other attributes do you think might be added to the list?

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