This phenomenon of label obsession can happen within political groups on either side of the spectrum. This fanatical devotion to broad labels is a product of identity politics, which in it of itself isn't necessarily a bad thing. Forming politically cultural alliances can be a useful tool in empowering historically vulnerable groups of people. Strength in numbers is an age-old tactic; thus, people who look, act, or believe alike tend to stick together under one banner.

There seems to be a fundamental misunderstanding when it comes to this phrase. I’m here, as a straight white man, to address the situation. I honestly think I am uniquely qualified to address this situation. So here it goes…

This is a textbook example of dog whistling. America has done this for centuries with the “war on crime” and the “war on crime:part 2” and the “war on drugs”. It’s the natural evolution of outright racism.

I am an American, and I am disappointed.

I am writing to you today about the environment. I hail from sunny Florida, a state that is one of the most at-risk areas when it comes to negative environmental factors. I beg you to calibrate your policy with the protection of the environment in all its forms at the forefront of your mind. I ask you what humanity truly has if the earth is turned into unlivable rubble?