Martin Barakov

Contrary to popular belief, not everyone hated their lives under socialism during the Cold War. Anytime that anyone decides to look up information surrounding socialist projects throughout history, they are bombarded with inaccurate information about said projects, as well as the countless individual testimonies that portray life in countries like the German Democratic Republic (GDR) or the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) as astronomically horrible.

This evening I had an unwarranted attack at the grocery store that left me shaking. I was loading my groceries into my trunk when I heard someone behind me say, “Biden-Harris, huh?” Presumably this was a comment on my bumper sticker. I turned, and the man pointed to his MAGA hat and jeered, “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” I just smiled and replied, “Yeah, yeah, yeah!” At that, his face became livid and enraged, he took a step toward me and raised his hand while screaming, “GO FUCK YOURSELF!” I was stunned.

The fast food chain claims to support the Black Lives Matter movement while quietly maintaining company policies that actively harm Black and Latinx workers. Graphic by Maggie Chirdo. When police killed Breonna Taylor in March and George Floyd in May, protests against police brutality and anti-Black racism erupted across the country. Activists once again took to social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok to distribute calls to action.