Pull Up the Roots
I have a good time when I go out of my mind..
People love living lives filled with mediocrity and then fake comfort themselves with utter garbage.
David Dennis Jr. wrote a pretty good article on why the "line up for a sandwich, but can't line up to vote" narrative is asinine.
He covers the voter suppression aspect of it all as well.
I'm not going to quote the entire article, because it's worth clicking through and reading for yourself.
Stop Shaming Black People For Wanting Some Damn Popeyes Sandwiches
It only took a few days for the pics of Black folks lined up for chicken sandwiches to become a vehicle for anti-Black sentiments to come bubbling to the surface; from white and Black people alike. The images led to questions about why Black folks don’t line up like that to vote or at unemployment offices or job interviews or black businesses or whatever cliched mythical place we should be lining up at to liberate ourselves. Even Janelle Monae hopped in on the trend, wondering about voting booths in Popeyes (thankfully she apologized for her ill-conceived tweet).
What was supposed to be a feel-good story about delicious chicken sandwiches and Black people enjoying themselves has become yet another means to shame us for simply trying to have some damn fun. The fact is that the whole premise that Black people are shamed about is — like most things Black folks are shamed about — couched in falsehoods and dishonest stereotypes. The fact is, Black people are constantly lining up to vote because the way voter suppression is set up in the country, the only way for Black people to vote is to stand in lines that are longer than everyone else.
Georgia alone was full of voter suppression efforts and long lines in a gubernatorial race that was tainted by unjust obstacles to black folks voting. Look at this article. Or this one, that explains that black folks are six times as likely to have hour-plus waits to vote. And another one. Shaming black folks about long lines and Popeyes ignores another important fact: it’s actually easier for a black person in America to buy a $3.99 chicken sandwich than it is to vote.
The average Popeyes is easier to access than voting booths in so many Black communities. ..
