ctrl + alt + revolt

I can physically feel my blood boil when I hear someone say they’re not “into politics.” I’ve been told it all. I’ve been called overdramatic. I’ve been told it’s not a big deal, that I shouldn’t take things so seriously, that it’s not my place to care about certain issues. I’ve been told not to stress about things that “aren’t my problem.” And more than once, I’ve been told I’m going to end up alone because I “make everything political,” start debates, and cut people out of my life based on their politics. When I hear people say that “not everything is political,” I genuinely feel so confused. 

Because, how is it not? Politics is everything. Do people think politics is some hobby or interest that some people choose to partake in? Politics is the rules and structure of our lives— all of our lives. Politics determines who is allowed to live freely and who is not. It decides which neighborhoods receive clean water and which schools receive funding. They shape access to healthcare, to safety, to dignity. Politics decides who gets to feel safe walking home at night, or whether someone’s identity will be debated in court. Politics decides who leads our nations and communities. It shapes everything. These aren’t abstract issues; they’re woven into our daily lives. What we eat, how much we earn, who we love, what rights we have, and even who gets to survive. So when someone says they’re not into politics, all I hear is: “none of it affects me enough to care.” And that’s not only a privilege, but just fucking vile. We’ve become so individualistic that we don’t recognize something as a problem until it affects us personally. Unfortunately for all of those who feel this way, we are part of a society. A society means interdependence—our actions constantly affect others. We should care about what happens to people around us. We should care about what happens to people, period. 

There will always be individuals in power who will exploit that power to control, exclude, and oppress others. And if most of us are distracted, disengaged, or tuned out, we’re handing them the keys. We need to understand that caring is a form of resistance, staying informed is a form of resistance, and being angry is a form of resistance. That is where our power is.

Who Benefits from Silence? 

Let’s not pretend we don’t know. Let’s not convince ourselves that when celebrities or influencers choose neutrality, it is not simply because they don’t want to lose followers, brand deals, or ad revenue. Their image is their income, and they’ll protect it at all costs, even if it means saying nothing while people are being unjustly and inhumanely deported, bombed, or brutalized. They will enjoy (and boast about) their luxurious lifestyle while human rights are being stripped away in real time. And when called out, they’ll hide behind a carefully curated, generic, PR-approved statement that they didn’t even write. Vague, hollow, and meaningless. As it often happens in this life,  people emphatically choose  money over humanity. 

Neutrality as Performance 

Neutrality has become a curated look—a brand strategy. People are more afraid of being seen as “too political” than they are of being complicit in injustice. They fear controversy more than they fear the loss of democracy. Why? Because controversy threatens their carefully polished image —and, of course, their earnings. So they avoid taking a stand and default to safe, sanitized statements, or nothing at all.

This is what brand-safe activism looks like: black squares, empty “thoughts and prayers,” and donation links with zero context. It’s designed to pacify, not provoke. It is not activism, it’s reputation management.

Silence Is Not Neutral

And it always protects power. To quote Desmond Tutu, “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” We have to stop tolerating ignorance.  Saying “I’m not informed enough to speak on this” while holding a phone that gives you access to virtually everything ever written is not humility; it’s lazy. Typing “I’m educating myself” or “I’m making donations” is not accountability; it’s PR. Don’t tell me you’re learning, show me you’ve learned.Don’t tell me you’re donating, tell me where you stand. Because if you refuse to speak while people are suffering, you’re not neutral, you’re enabling it.

Political Will Become Personal 

What you ignore today might destroy you tomorrow. Those who think politics don’t concern them are often in for a rude awakening. You think none of it is your problem until you or someone you love needs an abortion and it is banned or restricted in your state, until your health insurance coverage drops and you realize the costs are unbearable, until you lose your job and discover unemployment benefits are nearly impossible to access, until people who quite literally sustain your community are suddenly deported. Until your community faces a natural disaster and government inaction or underfunding makes recovery hell, until you get sexually assaulted and realize how broken and retraumatizing the system is, until you or someone you love becomes a victim of gun violence, and suddenly the lack of regulation becomes personal. Unfortunately, this moment of realization often comes too late. It was always political, you just didn’t want to see it before.