I’m mumbling, fumbling, stumbling to find an answer. Who will lead America out of this upheaval? It seems to fall on those who actually know the score.

Those who know what’s happening here and now; on the streets, in hospital rooms, in prison cells. Those at home, juggling with growing anxiety. Those working, worrying about what the next month brings. Those raising families, active shooter drills in the back of their minds, fearful of the oncoming planetary emergency. Those fearful of walking down the street, because it’s far too common to be murdered by police.

Who knows the score? Certainly not comfortable old white people. The ones who discount climate change, gun control, prison reform, or universal health care as unattainable for America because America is “exceptional.” The comfortable old white people are the biggest obstacle. They are the ones we are waiting for, to leave. They have parked their fat asses on the excesses of a ruthless capitalist system and they tell the rest of the population tough luck, no hopeful tomorrows for you.

We need more than their smug, pompous assessments as they tisk-tisk a lack of civility and property damage, because they don’t know the score. We need more than their lectures on bootstraps and hard work, because they don’t know the score. We need more than their droning on about how all politicians lie and both sides are to blame, because they don’t know the score.

No, we need much more. Those who will lead us out are much more.

They are anti-racism, anti-police brutality, anti-death penalty, anti-gun violence, anti-militarism, anti-materialism anti-pollution, anti-white supremacy, anti-voter suppression, anti-discrimination, anti-segregation, anti-capitalism, anti-Donald Trump and his fascist enablers all.