Conjunction Junction

by Mona Shaw

“But” may be the cruelest conjunction in the English language.

My entire history of activism is comprised of one singular activity.  That activity is trying to convince privileged people that the lives of the oppressed are as precious and as valuable as their own.  The privileged are not easily convinced.

“I’m not racist, but…”

“I’m all for equality for women, but…”

“I support same-sex marriage, but…”

“The needy should get Food Stamps, but…”

“I’m against torture, but…”

“I believe in immigrant rights, but…”

“I support unions and workers rights, but…”

“Women shouldn't be sexually harassed, but…”

“Capitalism is unsustainable and flawed, but…”

“I’d love to have Single Payer or Medicare for All, but…”

These palliations are not only stored in the toolboxes of the right wing. I have heard everyone of these phrases emerge from the mouths of those who call themselves “progressive Democrats.” Every. Single. One.

I heard liberal Senator Tom Harkin say he supported the Ryan White Bill for those who “didn’t get AIDS on purpose.” I heard liberals defend Obama when he repatriated Central American children to their deaths. They did the same when Obama cut Food Stamps several times during his administration. Democrats defended their presidential candidates who opposed legalizing same-sex marriage through the 2008 presidential election. Obama changed his mind only six months before the 2012 election and only after public support reached 71%. Not to mention that both political parties still carry water for sexual harassers. I’ve lost count of how many “progressive” I’ve heard criticize how poor people spend their money.

Many attempt to camouflage the intentional dilatory toward justice with absurd and meaningless old chestnuts. I call these the “Death Pass.”

"Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.”

“You don’t build Rome in a day.”

“I believe in incremental change.”

“My plan is better than their plan.”

“We can’t be everything to everyone.”

“You don’t speak for all oppressed people.”

“Some oppressed people are okay with this.”

“Don’t be a purist or extremist.”

“I believe in compromise.”

I call these the “Death Pass,” because they all agree to let some people suffer and die. They all permit some degree of injustice.  They dehumanize the lives they do not value as collateral damage in deference to a force that is the author and generator of human oppression.

I see this in the lack of outrage in healthcare plans that promote a public option or are labeled with the misnomer “choice.”  There is not a negligible difference between and Single Payer unless you believe the difference between living or dying is no big deal. Every plan but Single Payer requires payment in order to have access to healthcare. People who can’t afford to pay still will suffer and die. Still, when I ask those who push compromise how many they’re willing to let die, they become very angry with me, rather than outraged that lives are being lost. It is that lack of outrage I find most heartbreaking and demoralizing.

Let me restate for clarity. Any plan that allows even one person to suffer and die because they can’t afford medical care is a blatant crime against humanity. Justice demands no less.

It should be noted that anything less than Single Payer is egregiously sexist and denies reproductive rights to poor and low-income women. Thanks to the Hyde Amendment, poor women have never had access to abortion if they couldn’t find a way to pay for it. Of course, that would presume that the lives of poor women are as valuable as the lives of their economically advantaged sisters.

Make no mistake. This is not about who you vote for. It’s about what you stand for. There is no excuse for not standing for justice, if justice is where you want to stand.  There is no excuse for ameliorating crimes against humanity.  One person dying in this country because they can’t afford the medical care they need is a moral crime.  Any attempt to minimize or equivocate this fact is collusion with evil. As Martin Luther King, jr. said, “Justice delayed is justice denied.”

History has proven again and again that human rights were never advanced by hedging the requirements for justice. It has been advanced through great sacrifice by those who wouldn’t leave out any of the oppressed in that quest. Martin Luther King, jr. didn’t just advocate civil rights for some people of color. Alice Paul didn’t get arrested asking for suffrage for some women, and Harvey Milk wasn’t assassinated because he wanted some gay people to be treated like human beings. Eugene V. Debs didn’t spend six months in prison because he only wanted workers rights for Railroad employees.

This is about whose side you are on and if you have the moral courage to make a loud, public, and undiluted demand for justice. There are no “buts” about it.