It takes just a glance — at a headline, a TikTok clip, or an infographic — to sense it: our country is spiraling toward darkness. From anti-transgender legislation to the limiting of DEI, each morning brings fresh reminders that the rights and freedoms we once assumed are now in jeopardy. With each new headline, a tremor rocks this country, shaking many out of their apathetic slumber and  into a state of restlessness. Many are waking up to the injustices plaguing our country, more specifically the common enemy that rests at the top of our modern day caste system.  The spark of revolution seems to many as a when rather than an if. But as I watch what is happening on social media it becomes clear that what we truly are perpetuating is revolutionary aesthetics rather than revolutionary change. Within our generation we have chosen phones as the weapons of choice, using social media to engage with the collective anger that we are experiencing. From “#WinterBoots” on tiktok to pictures recirculating of burning buildings set to “This Side of Paradise” by Coyote Theory.

To many, the repeating slogans, memes and historical references to past radical thought and actions is a prelude to our own day of judgement. The call to “burn it all down” and posts comparing our own class systems to the Ancien Régime  is meant to be the trumpets sounding. What it actually reflects is a lack of knowledge about how actual revolutionary change happens. Many frameworks and theories people are using do not work in our time and place. Let’s start with the call to “burn it all down” — I use this term to encapsulate the trends, hashtags and general social media buzz centered around destruction and violence as liberatory means. It, by first glance, is meant to resemble many aspects of “revolutionary” acts — violence (I would argue protection against oppression as a better phrase then violence) in many radical theories is a means to an end and a necessity for true change. I don’t disagree with this line of thinking but I question whether those propagating this rhetoric understand or have even read the theory or history they are pulling from. The French Revolution is a great example of this – while the modern economic struggles and 18th century France can, in many ways, parallel our own, many fail to conceptualize what happened during and after the revolution. It can also be labeled as a “reign of terror” ; it was a period of extreme violence which led to widespread executions and instability for all. France, in part due to the instability, ended up under the control of Napoleon Bonaparte’s dictatorship undermining democratic ideals that were established during the revolution. And it’s worth noting that during this revolutionary time, France actively oppressed those miles away, profiting from the labor of enslaved people in Haiti who did not reach their own freedom until they took it. When looking at the full historical picture, the joy of “burning it all down” and reenacting the French Revolution seems less like a battle cry and more like a death rattle. This is not to undermine the impact of the French Revolution, it greatly inspired the Haitian revolution and others, but I stress that the simplistic understanding of it that is circling the internet puts us in jeopardy of repeating their mistake of violence and turmoil.  

It is not the people posting that will feel the brunt of these mistakes. Say hypothetically we “burn it all down.” Who is ensuring marginalized communities aren’t caught in the flames? History has shown it is people of color who face the brunt of revolutionary actions, even when they themselves aren’t at the helm. Take the first revolution this country had against the British. Black people fought for both sides but were unable to secure their freedom at the end of the war. Years later, when Black activists fought for the Civil Rights movement, they faced harsher state repression than their white counterparts. Presently, Black protests face the most violent retaliation when fighting for their rights and freedoms. How can we talk about burning everything down when we can’t even protect what’s already standing? Too many are enamored by the flame and in turn place these queries in the after rather than before. I find this inexcusable. These are the questions that must be answered before we even buy a lighter. And if these questions cannot be answered it is because we have a shallow understanding of radicalism and our foundation for change was never for all but for the few who don’t need it. 

What truly frustrates and troubles me is how comfortable we have become with the one dimensional illusion of radicalism. We use radicalism and historical revolutions to serve our appearances rather than our communities. I watch as this hollowed out version of radicalism becomes our calling card and what’s most frightening is watching the power structures around us grow stronger everyday because we fail to threaten them. If we don’t begin engaging with activism, with the foundational texts of what we are fighting for, the fires we start will burn uncontrollably and burn everything the people before us fought to build. It is not enough to look at the radical practices of the Black Panther Party through the lenses of all black clothing and pictures of people holding rifles. We must move past the aesthetics, as powerful as they are, into learning about Free Breakfast for Children Programs, education programs, and community health clinics. The Revolution is not just tweets and hashtags, but understanding history, organizing and moving to build something better rather than tearing everything down.