Lattes in the Eye of the Storm

There’s a moment I can’t forget. A white man, sharply dressed, stood in line in front of me. His voice was rising, his energy escalating — not over injustice, not over civil rights, not even over politics. No, it was about the temperature of his latte. It was lukewarm, and apparently, that was enough to trigger a full-on meltdown.

All around him, the world was convulsing — a storm of authoritarian drift, voter suppression, anti-Black violence, rollbacks of rights for women and LGBTQ+ people, immigrant communities living in fear, and the rise of billionaires funding disinformation machines. It was all there, swirling like a hurricane around us.

But this man was in the eye of the storm — perfectly still, perfectly dry. And somehow, he believed he was the one under attack.

The contrast was maddening.

The Eye of the Oppression Storm

That latte wasn’t just a beverage. It became a symbol of how detached privilege can be from reality. While others navigate policies that criminalize their existence, this man’s world was so stable, so untouched, that the temperature of a $6 drink was enough to make him feel aggrieved.

This is what it means to live in the eye of the storm.

In a real hurricane, the eye is eerily calm — no wind, no rain, just stillness. But all around it? Chaos. That’s how oppression works when it’s targeted and selective. Those at the center often feel justified in their complaints, even while they’re surrounded by destruction they helped build — or at the very least, refuse to acknowledge.

Privilege as Insulation

For certain people — often wealthy, white, cisgender, heterosexual men — America functions like a well-oiled concierge service. Their grievances are handled swiftly. Their narratives are always centered. Their discomfort, no matter how small, is validated.

Meanwhile, outside the eye:

• Black families bury loved ones killed by police or poverty.
• Trans youth watch their rights vanish in state after state.
• Migrant workers are detained, deported, or demonized.
• Women see their autonomy legislated away.
• Poor communities are priced out, policed, and politically disenfranchised.

But the man with the latte? He’s fine. He’s always fine. And that’s the problem.

Why It Matters

That moment wasn’t just annoying — it was revealing. It showed how the illusion of personal grievance among the privileged can drown out the legitimate cries for justice from those who are actually suffering. It showed how performative outrage is often reserved for trivial inconveniences while real systemic violence goes unacknowledged — or worse, is normalized.

And perhaps most dangerously, it showed how those in the eye of the storm can be convinced they are the victims, even as their comfort is built on the backs of others.

Final Reflection: Who Gets to Complain?

It’s not that people can’t be frustrated about little things. We all get annoyed. But the scale of the complaint, the volume of the outrage, and the total blindness to broader context — that’s what marks the difference between privilege and perspective.

The storm is getting louder. The winds are picking up. And those in the eye, sipping their corrected lattes, still don’t realize they’re sitting at the center of a system built to protect them from the very consequences others are dying to escape.

So, the next time someone complains about the temperature of their coffee — I’ll remember the storm outside.

Because some of us have never known the stillness of the eye.

America’s Infinity Stones of Oppression — The Perfect Storm We’re Living Through

It’s hard not to feel like we’re living in a coordinated moment — a storm where centuries of oppression are not just lingering, but aligning. If you’re feeling the weight of something deep and terrifying rising in America, you’re not imagining things. What we are witnessing is the convergence of powerful, oppressive forces — each with its own legacy — combining to form a superstructure of control.

If Marvel has its Infinity Stones, each holding dominion over an aspect of the universe, then America has its own — the Infinity Stones of Oppression — working together to rewrite reality, and crush any possibility of justice, equity, or truth.

Here they are:

1. The Confederate Legacy – The Stone of Historical Denial

The Confederacy never died. It simply rebranded. After losing the Civil War, white Southern elites found new ways to preserve their racial and economic dominance: through Jim Crow laws, voter suppression, police violence, and coded language like “states’ rights.” Its spirit now lives in red state policies, Confederate monuments, and modern Republican talking points. It is the Stone of Historical Denial, constantly rewriting the past to justify present injustice.

2. The Heritage Foundation – The Stone of Institutionalized Resistance

Founded as a response to the Civil Rights Movement, the Heritage Foundation has been one of the most influential far-right think tanks in U.S. history. It provides the intellectual cover for policies that dismantle public services, deny climate change, roll back civil rights, and preserve wealth inequality. It doesn’t wear a hood, but it does write the playbook. This is the Stone of Institutionalized Resistance, empowering white nationalism through policy and law.

3. Trump and His Lineage – The Stone of Political Legitimacy for Hate

Trump wasn’t just a man — he was a channel. Through him, white nationalism found a seat at the table. With alleged ties to his father’s KKK activity, his refusal to condemn white supremacists, and his obsession with authoritarian power, Trump became the legitimizing face of a movement decades in the making. He activated the ugliest parts of America, not by accident — but by design. He holds the Stone of Political Legitimacy, empowering hatred through the megaphone of the presidency.

4. Billionaire Apartheid Echoes – The Stone of Global White Supremacy

Elon Musk, among other elite billionaires, grew up in apartheid South Africa — a system built on violent racial domination. While Musk downplays this, we can’t ignore how his ascent mirrors a broader trend: the global elite, many of whom profited from colonialism, slavery, and segregation, now control technology, media, and even space. These billionaires aren’t just rich — they own the narrative, the infrastructure, and increasingly, the government. This is the Stone of Economic and Technological Domination, built on a global legacy of white supremacy.

5. American Imperialism – The Stone of Global Control

All of this is undergirded by America’s longest-held stone: imperialism. From Native genocide to Vietnam, from coups in Africa and Latin America to endless wars in the Middle East — the U.S. has perfected the art of domination beyond its borders. This military, economic, and cultural control ensures that no movement for freedom is ever safe, anywhere. It is the Stone of Empire, enforcing oppression with the full weight of global power.

6. Disinformation – The Stone of Cognitive Control

In every corner of the storm, disinformation acts as the glue that holds the lie together. Whether it’s rewriting slavery as “beneficial,” denying systemic racism, or flooding social media with conspiracy theories — disinformation keeps the public confused, divided, and distracted. It ensures that truth can never gain traction. It is the Stone of Reality Distortion, where the oppressed are blamed and the powerful are seen as victims.

Together, They Form the Perfect Storm

Each of these forces is dangerous on its own. But together, they create a reality where justice feels unreachable, where truth feels foreign, and where resistance feels like shouting into the wind. This is no longer just about Democrats vs. Republicans. This is about a fully aligned ecosystem of oppression, rooted in slavery, colonialism, capitalism, and white supremacy — now with the technology, legal backing, and political momentum to make its vision permanent.

So What Now?

If you feel disoriented, anxious, or numb — that’s by design. This system thrives on your exhaustion. But if there’s one thing history teaches us, it’s that no empire, no lie, no system of oppression lasts forever.

The first step is naming it. The next step is organizing. And the long, hard step is resisting — through art, policy, mutual aid, education, and community. We may not yet have the power to dismantle these stones all at once. But we can stop pretending they don’t exist. And in that truth — in that shared awareness — is where real power begins to grow.