We Are Not In Unprecedented Times

As told by Orange Is The New Black and The L Word (ffs)

Orange is the New Black 6x04 (2018, Netflix)

The L Word 3x04 (2006, Showtime/Paramount+)

I started re-watching OINTB balances fucked up situations with humor. Then I started re-watching The L Word because I attended a Dana-themed party, and it put me in the mood for messy lesbian drama and Shane.

Imagine my surprise when I stumbled across these two episodes, in two different decades, both talking about issues we're facing now. Talking about ICE's abuse of human rights and the government's desire to censor PBS and art, and well, everything else.

None of this is new. People have been fighting growing fascism in America for decades, well before the year 2000, in fact, and they are still fighting today. With every little thing we do to support activists and their organizations, we are also fighting.

Funnily enough, these shows give me hope. Because there is always someone fighting. It may be years before we get a turn in the tide, but we will get a turn in the tide.

Hell, the very existence of both those shows, one that originally played on prestige television and the other that was made possible with the advent of Netflix, is proof that tides turn.