Jessica Williams

I remember reading the poem 'First They Came' by pastor Martin Niemöller. Viscerally. It was in my ninth grade social studies class; I was thirteen. It was 2000 - 9/11 hadn't happened yet. The US wasn't at war - not really. Sure there was some middle eastern action, remnants of the gulf war (cont)

every tiny backslide, has led us here. And yet, we are still mocked when we speak up. Called alarmist, called fear-mongerers. We point to every step along the way that has lead us to this point, and we point ahead to the inevitable conclusion it will lead to in the future. And we dismissed (cont)

I remember reading the poem 'First They Came' by pastor Martin Niemöller. Viscerally. It was in my ninth grade social studies class; I was thirteen. It was 2000 - 9/11 hadn't happened yet. The US wasn't at war - not really. Sure there was some middle eastern action, remnants of the gulf war (cont)

And I saw people cheer his actions. The government called her a terrorists. The state said she deserved to die. People said she should have obeyed. Followed the rules. Cheered her death. The same people that, months earlier, called for violence against those who didn't publicly mourn (cont)

I remember reading the poem 'First They Came' by pastor Martin Niemöller. Viscerally. It was in my ninth grade social studies class; I was thirteen. It was 2000 - 9/11 hadn't happened yet. The US wasn't at war - not really. Sure there was some middle eastern action, remnants of the gulf war (cont)

Who cares about papers - these are people. Our friends, our neighbors, members of the community. First they came for the undocumented Then they came for those with brown skin They came for the queers. They came for anyone that dared protest. They gleefully signed up to Do Violence. (cont)

I remember reading the poem 'First They Came' by pastor Martin Niemöller. Viscerally. It was in my ninth grade social studies class; I was thirteen. It was 2000 - 9/11 hadn't happened yet. The US wasn't at war - not really. Sure there was some middle eastern action, remnants of the gulf war (cont)

Not when she was brown and a woman and when he was the personification of every conservatives frothing, bitter rage. When propaganda had slowly dripped dripped dripped in the country and divided us to an extent not seen since the civil war. And he won. Again. But this time, they were ready. (cont)

I remember reading the poem 'First They Came' by pastor Martin Niemöller. Viscerally. It was in my ninth grade social studies class; I was thirteen. It was 2000 - 9/11 hadn't happened yet. The US wasn't at war - not really. Sure there was some middle eastern action, remnants of the gulf war (cont)

capture and murder our elected representatives. Somehow, it failed. And then the Dems didn't learn. They designated a candidate. He did some good, he did some bad, but the disconnect with the people was insurmountable and failure to hold a primary doomed us. And Trump was shot at. (cont)

I remember reading the poem 'First They Came' by pastor Martin Niemöller. Viscerally. It was in my ninth grade social studies class; I was thirteen. It was 2000 - 9/11 hadn't happened yet. The US wasn't at war - not really. Sure there was some middle eastern action, remnants of the gulf war (cont)

But mocking is still exposure. Mocking is still putting him in front of millions of people, in every bar in the country, in every household. And he won. He won becuase one party felt they knew who should represent the people- Because an FBI director poisoned the well a week before the vote. (cont)

I remember reading the poem 'First They Came' by pastor Martin Niemöller. Viscerally. It was in my ninth grade social studies class; I was thirteen. It was 2000 - 9/11 hadn't happened yet. The US wasn't at war - not really. Sure there was some middle eastern action, remnants of the gulf war (cont)

You could no longer wave goodbye to your family as their plane took off at the airport - at least, not from the gate. Never again. The economy collapsed in 2008 - with little hope for good work for my graduating class without a lot of luck. The subprime mortage crisis (cont)

I remember reading the poem 'First They Came' by pastor Martin Niemöller. Viscerally. It was in my ninth grade social studies class; I was thirteen. It was 2000 - 9/11 hadn't happened yet. The US wasn't at war - not really. Sure there was some middle eastern action, remnants of the gulf war (cont)

And on this corkboard, prominantly displayed, was the poem. 'First they came' A list of people who were taken. Who no one spoke out for. Many of whom died, desperate and cold and hungry in camps, utterly failed by their communities. I thought to myself 'surely this can never happen again' (cont)

I remember reading the poem 'First They Came' by pastor Martin Niemöller. Viscerally. It was in my ninth grade social studies class; I was thirteen. It was 2000 - 9/11 hadn't happened yet. The US wasn't at war - not really. Sure there was some middle eastern action, remnants of the gulf war (cont)

Y'allllllllllll I had a meeting with a local herbarium today to discuss accessioning some fungi there and to look at the small fungal collection that was donated by a former professor's widow and like... I thought it'd just be a personal collection. I didn't expect dozens of holotype splits.