Kay Whitlock
@kwhitlock.bsky.social
Writer. Activist. Co-author "Queer (In)Justice: The Criminalization of LGBT People in the United States"; "Considering Hate: Violence, Goodness, and Justice in American Culture"; and "Carceral Con: The Deceptive Terrain of Criminal Justice Reform."
Pinned
Kay Whitlock
@kwhitlock.bsky.social
· Feb 11
This Is How You Win the Culture Wars | Kay Whitlock | INQUEST
Faced with violence and authoritarianism, survival demands prioritizing relationship building over reactivity and solidarity over silence.
inquest.org
My latest for @inquest.bsky.social ...and yes, we can ultimately win, if we are willing to work in transformative ways. It will require the best we have in ourselves, but along the way, we may become quietly courageous in ways that will surprise and energize us. inquest.org/this-is-how-...
Clearly, not everyone named in the Epstein files has had sex with children. Of those who did/do not have sex with children, many, regardless of their political views/allegiances, kept silent about what they knew/perceived, perhaps enthralled by being considered "important" in Epstein's circles. 1/
February 3, 2026 at 11:51 PM
Clearly, not everyone named in the Epstein files has had sex with children. Of those who did/do not have sex with children, many, regardless of their political views/allegiances, kept silent about what they knew/perceived, perhaps enthralled by being considered "important" in Epstein's circles. 1/
Reposted by Kay Whitlock
again, the problem is not "masks enable bad behavior." the problem is, police aren't "public servants" and aren't accountable to the public and, therefore, don't have to do anything communities demand. it's up to us to drain police of their political power (and their $ and their personnel).
Rep. Mark Harris: "Some of these things are nonstarters. Having judicial warrants? To me, hat's a nonstarter. Being able to make off their mask, putting them at risk? That's a nonstarter. I would say anything that's going to hamstring the work of ICE, that's just not going to go anywhere."
February 3, 2026 at 2:56 PM
again, the problem is not "masks enable bad behavior." the problem is, police aren't "public servants" and aren't accountable to the public and, therefore, don't have to do anything communities demand. it's up to us to drain police of their political power (and their $ and their personnel).
Reposted by Kay Whitlock
i had imposter syndrome trying to talk about fascism alongside Alberto Toscano, but i'm glad i did coz it was an incredibly generative conversation that helped distill & crystallize my own thoughts about fascism worldwide today & it's differentiations from the past.
www.tni.org/en/article/l...
www.tni.org/en/article/l...
Lifeboats, steampunk and colonialism – fascism today | Transnational Institute
In this fascinating opening interview for State of Power 2026, scholar activists Toscano and Walia explore the historic roots and current capitalist dynamics that have led to the rise of fascism world...
www.tni.org
February 3, 2026 at 9:43 PM
i had imposter syndrome trying to talk about fascism alongside Alberto Toscano, but i'm glad i did coz it was an incredibly generative conversation that helped distill & crystallize my own thoughts about fascism worldwide today & it's differentiations from the past.
www.tni.org/en/article/l...
www.tni.org/en/article/l...
Reposted by Kay Whitlock
I don't think people should say this without proof -- they are literally not "now in ICE." Most of them are in the Portland PD, if you want to make a point of it.
Yes, right-wing dudes are in the police everywhere and all at once. This line is just a way to maintain police exceptionalism.
Yes, right-wing dudes are in the police everywhere and all at once. This line is just a way to maintain police exceptionalism.
The indictment of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers revealed that they had a cache of weapons, entered the Capitol in military formation, and were prepared to harm lawmakers. They were all pardoned and no doubt many of them are now in ICE
Bondi accuses Don Lemon of "performing an attack-style infiltration of a church"
February 3, 2026 at 3:29 PM
I don't think people should say this without proof -- they are literally not "now in ICE." Most of them are in the Portland PD, if you want to make a point of it.
Yes, right-wing dudes are in the police everywhere and all at once. This line is just a way to maintain police exceptionalism.
Yes, right-wing dudes are in the police everywhere and all at once. This line is just a way to maintain police exceptionalism.
Reposted by Kay Whitlock
This is one of the most important cases that galvanized Black people in the late 40s through the 1950s. Almost every major Black leader had a comment about it. It is also one of the most successful defense committees that was organized in the 20th century. Almost no one knows about it today.
On this day in 1948, an all-white jury sentenced a Black woman and two of her teenage sons to death for killing an armed white man in self-defense.
Feb. 3, 1948 | Black Woman and Her Children Sentenced to Die for Defending Themselves
Learn more about our history of racial injustice.
calendar.eji.org
February 3, 2026 at 2:07 PM
This is one of the most important cases that galvanized Black people in the late 40s through the 1950s. Almost every major Black leader had a comment about it. It is also one of the most successful defense committees that was organized in the 20th century. Almost no one knows about it today.
Reposted by Kay Whitlock
The full article (which I tried sending them again): boltsmag.org/massachusett...
Massachusetts Could Be the Next State to Give Abuse Survivors a Pathway Out of Prison - Bolts
The Massachusetts Survivors Act emulates recent resentencing reforms across the country that allow for reduced sentences for people with convictions related to their abuse.
boltsmag.org
February 3, 2026 at 3:45 PM
The full article (which I tried sending them again): boltsmag.org/massachusett...
Reposted by Kay Whitlock
This is really what I want people to appreciate. I get that it feels good to be like "well that person's a pedophile too!" But in many cases they weren't. They were just people who didn't think it was a big deal. That's terrible in its own particular way.
I'm worried that the broader public isn't really understanding the Epstein Files. The problem isn't that everyone in the files is a secret pedophile, it's that all the people are corresponding with him because they *don't care that he's a pedophile*. It's a story of elite impunity.
You can look at the Epstein files and conclude that only bad people have billions of dollars, but I think it’s also possible that having billions of dollars cauterizes your humanity
February 3, 2026 at 7:38 PM
This is really what I want people to appreciate. I get that it feels good to be like "well that person's a pedophile too!" But in many cases they weren't. They were just people who didn't think it was a big deal. That's terrible in its own particular way.
Reposted by Kay Whitlock
It is great that someone leaked these videos. BUT you have to KNOW NOTHING about how prisons work to be surprised that guards regularly violently punish incarcerated people who complain, file claims, talk to the press, etc. And by "work" I mean that violence is essential to how prisons function.
The videos appear to bolster lawsuits claiming guards used force against California prisoners after they filed sexual harassment claims.
Leaked videos show California prison guards pepper-sprayed incarcerated women who alleged sexual misconduct
The videos appear to bolster lawsuits claiming guards used force against California prisoners after they filed sexual harassment claims.
bit.ly
February 2, 2026 at 5:39 PM
It is great that someone leaked these videos. BUT you have to KNOW NOTHING about how prisons work to be surprised that guards regularly violently punish incarcerated people who complain, file claims, talk to the press, etc. And by "work" I mean that violence is essential to how prisons function.
Reposted by Kay Whitlock
About activism, June Jordan said, “You do something, rather than nothing… You do whatever you can. You reach beyond yourself in your imagination, and in your wish for understanding, and for change. You admit the limitations of individual perspectives. You trust somebody else. You do not turn away.”
February 2, 2026 at 12:25 AM
About activism, June Jordan said, “You do something, rather than nothing… You do whatever you can. You reach beyond yourself in your imagination, and in your wish for understanding, and for change. You admit the limitations of individual perspectives. You trust somebody else. You do not turn away.”
Do not over-rely on the Democratic Party to "save us" from the fascist violence and predations of MAGA and the current administration. Scot Nakagawa's new Anti-Authoritarian Playbook post explains why. antiauthoritarianplaybook.substack.com/p/the-roosev...
The Roosevelt Administration Is A Warning
Nonpartisanship Is Critical To Winning
antiauthoritarianplaybook.substack.com
February 2, 2026 at 10:29 PM
Do not over-rely on the Democratic Party to "save us" from the fascist violence and predations of MAGA and the current administration. Scot Nakagawa's new Anti-Authoritarian Playbook post explains why. antiauthoritarianplaybook.substack.com/p/the-roosev...
Ben Folds, formerly the Artistic Advisor to the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center, on how the current government is using an authoritarian playbook to control the arts and take a wrecking ball to freedom of expression. (He resigned in Feb. 2025 in protest.)
Folds on the Kennedy Center 3 weeks ago: I was sick to my stomach when I quit because I knew they were going to run it into the ground. No one that they were appointing had any experience in arts administration, but that was never the point. The point was to take that, run over it, and move on.
February 2, 2026 at 5:37 PM
Ben Folds, formerly the Artistic Advisor to the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center, on how the current government is using an authoritarian playbook to control the arts and take a wrecking ball to freedom of expression. (He resigned in Feb. 2025 in protest.)
Reposted by Kay Whitlock
AI is literally a consent manufacturing machine.
February 2, 2026 at 4:13 PM
AI is literally a consent manufacturing machine.
Read the entire thread.
The British Museum posted Al slop and quietly deleted it. Here's what it was and why it matters.
#archaeology🏺#musuem #culture #heritage #history
#archaeology🏺#musuem #culture #heritage #history
February 2, 2026 at 2:56 PM
Read the entire thread.
Reposted by Kay Whitlock
Today I saw ICE gas little white kids in the streets of Portland with chemical weapons. Imagine what they're doing to brown and black kids in the detention camps
February 1, 2026 at 2:08 AM
Today I saw ICE gas little white kids in the streets of Portland with chemical weapons. Imagine what they're doing to brown and black kids in the detention camps
Reposted by Kay Whitlock
If you see this, don't participate. It's a rigged study by Lisa Littman and unethical researcher J. Michael Bailey meant to undermine access to care. Spread the word.
January 30, 2026 at 5:28 PM
If you see this, don't participate. It's a rigged study by Lisa Littman and unethical researcher J. Michael Bailey meant to undermine access to care. Spread the word.
Evangelical leaders and many others who attempt to claim the moral high ground are tooling up the new 47-member right-wing coalition to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, framing same-sex parents as devoted to their sexual fantasies and desires over caring for their children's well-being. 1/
This Epstein drop is HUGE and utterly disgusting. I don’t see how this man is allowed to remain in office. Where are the evangelical leaders, the soccer moms, the folks stocking up on eggs, the farmers, the small business owners.
Decide. Who are you?
Decide. Who are you?
January 30, 2026 at 10:59 PM
Evangelical leaders and many others who attempt to claim the moral high ground are tooling up the new 47-member right-wing coalition to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, framing same-sex parents as devoted to their sexual fantasies and desires over caring for their children's well-being. 1/
Reposted by Kay Whitlock
I get tired of saying it, but I’ll say it again: the nature of oppression in America is that they workshop it first on Black, Latino, Asian & Native people.
But it is always, in the end, coming for everyone.
But it is always, in the end, coming for everyone.
The arrests of journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort are a test for every MSM member with a platform. If you are not voicing your outrage at this blatant violation of the First Amendment, you are utterly discredited as a journalist.
January 30, 2026 at 4:46 PM
I get tired of saying it, but I’ll say it again: the nature of oppression in America is that they workshop it first on Black, Latino, Asian & Native people.
But it is always, in the end, coming for everyone.
But it is always, in the end, coming for everyone.
Actually, this is an ad for Rocket Mortgage. See comments for link to class action lawsuit against Rocket alleging unscrupulous practices. Sigh. Very sad. So no, I'm not cheering on this Lady Gaga song, even though I think highly of the late Mr. Rogers.
Lady Gaga’s new recording of “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” centers on kindness, community, and the idea of showing up for each other where we live.
🎵 It presents neighborliness as a source of hope, belonging, and connection in a divided time.
🎵 It presents neighborliness as a source of hope, belonging, and connection in a divided time.
Lady Gaga - “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” (SuperBowl ad)
YouTube video by The King Gaga
youtu.be
January 29, 2026 at 9:03 PM
Actually, this is an ad for Rocket Mortgage. See comments for link to class action lawsuit against Rocket alleging unscrupulous practices. Sigh. Very sad. So no, I'm not cheering on this Lady Gaga song, even though I think highly of the late Mr. Rogers.
Reposted by Kay Whitlock
This is another reason why you shouldn’t hitch your wagon to the police murder cover up guy years before an election.
BREAKING: A federal judge ordered former Mayor Emanuel to testify about allegations that a “code of silence” among CPD officers led to a botched 2018 raid of a Back of the Yards apartment that violated the civil rights of a family with 4 children — ages 4, 8, 11 and 13. @wttw.bsky.social
Rahm Ordered to Testify About CPD’s ‘Code of Silence’ During Trial Over Botched Raid
A trial, set to start Monday, will decide whether CPD officers traumatized two women and four children in August when a CPD SWAT team broke down the door of their apartment, pointed assault rifles dir...
news.wttw.com
January 29, 2026 at 7:33 PM
This is another reason why you shouldn’t hitch your wagon to the police murder cover up guy years before an election.
Reposted by Kay Whitlock
Most media & social media consumed in the U.S. are Right Wing. Sinclair alone covers 40% of households.
RW media keep repeating pretty lies about T/GOP & ugly lies about Dem/minorities til the lies wear a groove into ppl's brains.
upine.medium.com/the-vast-rea...
RW media keep repeating pretty lies about T/GOP & ugly lies about Dem/minorities til the lies wear a groove into ppl's brains.
upine.medium.com/the-vast-rea...
The Vast Reach of Right Wing Disinformation
In one of my previous essays, I explained how very much in denial most Americans are about the extent to which our nation is immersed in…
upine.medium.com
January 23, 2026 at 3:09 PM
Most media & social media consumed in the U.S. are Right Wing. Sinclair alone covers 40% of households.
RW media keep repeating pretty lies about T/GOP & ugly lies about Dem/minorities til the lies wear a groove into ppl's brains.
upine.medium.com/the-vast-rea...
RW media keep repeating pretty lies about T/GOP & ugly lies about Dem/minorities til the lies wear a groove into ppl's brains.
upine.medium.com/the-vast-rea...
Remembering the Smother's Brothers rendition of "Streets of Laredo" (recording link in comments). Their lyrics: "I see by your outfit that you are a cowboy/I see by your outfit that you're a cowboy, too/We see by our outfits that we are both cowboys/If you buy an outfit, you can be a cowboy, too,"
January 29, 2026 at 7:49 PM
Remembering the Smother's Brothers rendition of "Streets of Laredo" (recording link in comments). Their lyrics: "I see by your outfit that you are a cowboy/I see by your outfit that you're a cowboy, too/We see by our outfits that we are both cowboys/If you buy an outfit, you can be a cowboy, too,"
Must reading (as so much is) from the @bostonreview.bsky.social. @debchasman.bsky.social's interview with Robin D.G. Kelley on placing the ruthless brutality of ICE within the broader history of police violence. www.bostonreview.net/articles/ren...
Renee Good's Murder and Other Acts of Terror
An interview with Robin D. G. Kelley on how to think about ICE—and the broader history of police violence.
www.bostonreview.net
January 29, 2026 at 7:22 PM
Must reading (as so much is) from the @bostonreview.bsky.social. @debchasman.bsky.social's interview with Robin D.G. Kelley on placing the ruthless brutality of ICE within the broader history of police violence. www.bostonreview.net/articles/ren...
Reposted by Kay Whitlock
The 2025 shootings of Minnesota legislators were treated far too lightly. Media and the public moved on too fast without grasping the seriousness of assassination. These are life and death issues, not just differences of opinion the USA is working out. The reactionary right is ready to kill.
January 28, 2026 at 5:44 PM
The 2025 shootings of Minnesota legislators were treated far too lightly. Media and the public moved on too fast without grasping the seriousness of assassination. These are life and death issues, not just differences of opinion the USA is working out. The reactionary right is ready to kill.
Reposted by Kay Whitlock
I think the power of a song like Bruce Springsteen's "The Streets of Minneapolis" is not just that it cuts right through the moral smoke screen the feds are putting down, and not just that it is very direct, but that it claims the wider scope and vindication of history and the future to come.
January 29, 2026 at 5:49 AM
I think the power of a song like Bruce Springsteen's "The Streets of Minneapolis" is not just that it cuts right through the moral smoke screen the feds are putting down, and not just that it is very direct, but that it claims the wider scope and vindication of history and the future to come.