Mia Wong

This is not a problem that you can just like snap your fingers and solve by like running stuff through a state legislature.

No.

Like you actually have to go after the institution.

You have to fight them on their ground.

Yes.

And also this is, you know, it's kind of what I ended the December piece with, but also it's something I've emphasized in the second one.

Anyone who wants any kind of liberatory future, regardless of whatever their personal beliefs are, anti-clericalism has to be part of it.

It's not the same being against every individual of a certain religion.

It is specifically against this kind of theocratic hierarchy and its power over people's lives.

You do not get to anything remotely liberatory without directly attacking and challenging that.

And for too long,

That struggle's largely been abandoned.

And not shockingly, fundamentalists of various varieties, and let's be honest, primarily Christian fundamentalists, have played a major role in American fascism and in stripping rights from entire groups.

And it's interesting because you mentioned the council bishop side of this.

That's true, but it gets even more centralized than that.

The, you know, progressive pope that's getting praised for, you know, condemning the Iran war.

And it's always condemning or statements or this or that.

You know, the Catholic Church is still kind of an absolute theocratic monarchy in some ways.

You know, he could just say, hey, American bishops don't do that.

Like, I'm overruling you.