I'm so tired of Leftist-identifying reactionary white men. I'm so tired of reactionary white men wearing Leftism like a costume.

I actually don't know if I even qualify as a Leftist anymore, because for the last 10-12 years these exact assholes have been overrunning the political space and the discourse I have existed in since the early 2000s, and telling me I am not one. That they are what real Leftists look and sound like, and that I and everyone who looks and sounds like I do are shitlibs.

We all know the type: aggressive, insecure bro types who mainly want to be able to smoke weed and have healthcare, And maybe they do actually intend for other people to eventually have those things too, if they are ever given power they want - but the really important thing is that we give them the power they want. These dudes are constantly talking down to everyone else and condescendingly telling us what's good for us, and how awesome it will be when we hand them all the power they want.

Maybe they say all the right things when conditions are perfect. But they sure do like to say slurs and lash out when provoked! And consent seems to be something they have no actual regard for. And they are constantly begging us to see white supremacists as poor woobies failed by the system and perpetual victims of the class war who are deserving of nothing but our eternal tolerance, compassion, and forbearance, instead of going out and reading W.E.B. Du Bois like an actual goddamn Leftist would. But then that would be "Identity Politics," which they think of as a bourgeoisie distraction.

A lot of the older White Bro Leftists like this are actually ex Ron Paulers who hitched themselves to Bernie Sanders's star when it became obvious after 2012 that Ron Paul's ship would never come in. And underneath the costume they try to put on, this is what they still are. Maybe they learned all the right talking points. But the racism, the misogyny, the entitlement? It's all still there. And it's obvious if you know what to look for and listen for. It explodes out of them the moment they get even the tiniest bit of pushback about anything, or experience any kind of frustration whatsoever.

I do not live in Maine (and for one very good reason, will never live in Maine) and so my opinion of Graham Platner was never going to translate to a vote for or against. But I never liked or trusted Graham Platner. The Totenkopf tattoo, and the fact that he had it for 20 years before going "haha oops" and covering it up with something else, should have been enough of a red flag. No one should be shocked at all by the allegations that have come out this week. We should all be nodding and going "okay yeah. There it is."

My litmus test, since around the early days of Black Lives Matter in the early 2010s, has been this: what does Black Twitter think of this person? But since I have mostly divested from microblogging platforms, it has turned into: what does Black Leftist Youtube think of this person? If Black Leftist Youtube does not think this person passes the smell test, then this person does not have my support. It's as simple as that.

I have had a few slip-ups following white Leftist youtubers over the past few years. But as far as actual candidates, the above litmus test has never done me wrong.