Author Note: Previously published on May 29th- cataloguing here as well.

I attended a protest for George Floyd in late May, in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and the numerous other protests and demonstrations across the world.. Speakers kept saying “We cannot let white supremacy and racism take over our state.”

There is a very real truth about Oregon that we all need to understand and grapple with. Oregon, as a state, was envisioned to be a utopia for white supremacists. Let that sink in. Some of you may know this. For some of you, this may be…

Author Note: This is three different pieces I wrote over four years. Here I have collected all of them, as they all support one another in the idea that this movement of hate is picking up speed. It is imperative we stay alert and understand this. -JordanGWrites

12/5/2016

We are living in a world where a celebrity businessman has been elected to the highest office in the free world. That comes with many changes from the last eight years. The populous has watched Donald J. Trump say horrible things with no repercussions, from brushing off sexual allegations and using speech…

By Jordan Gerdes

It’s the fourth week in November. We all know what that means. In a year that has been rocked with a pandemic, a new civil rights movement, and open fascism, it’s important that we continue to dispel the myths that have plagued our history as an inherently exceptional and perfect nation. Let’s talk about the event we call “the first thanksgiving”.

In 1620, a group of separatists left England in search of a new place to live, calling themselves Puritans. They had previously tried to settle in Denmark, but left, fearing loss of their cultural identity. …

The American story is one that has existed for centuries, of persecuted people fleeing a tyrant empire, only to settle in a new land. Built off the backs of their labor and work ethic, these settlers raised a series of connected colonies, then cities, and finally states. They fought against the tyrant empire for their independence and then set out to conquer and discover the rest of their new land, forming it into the country we know and love today. …

Why We Say Indigenous Peoples Day.

By Jordan Gerdes

It’s indigenous peoples day. Here’s a few not so fun facts about Columbus and why celebrating him is absolute bullshit.

Columbus didn’t discover the America’s. Leif Erikkson, Chinese sailors, and African sailors have been shown to have set foot here centuries prior to 1492.

2. The land already was inhabited and cultivated by countless tribes of indigenous peoples. Claiming doctrine of discovery, Columbus used this to claim a divine right over an inhabited land in the name of a foreign monarchy.

3. Armed with doctrine of discovery, Columbus believed himself an…

Make America great again. It’s a phrase that has become the defining goal for the current president. It’s used as a common tongue response to the atrocities we see on the nightly news, newspapers, and in our streets every single day. Make America Great Again has even transitioned to Keep America Great Again in the lead up to the 2020 presidential election. However, the underlying problem with both phrases is the historical context of the phrase. It begs the question, “when was America great in the first place?”

Sure, America has a laundry list of events that have cemented our…