Wrath & Reverb—Volume Up / Systems Down:
Vampires by 10 years
You may not see it yet.
Not on your street. Not in your circle.
But it’s coming.
And when it comes, it won’t start with boot prints on your lawn.
It’ll start with someone you don’t really like.
Someone “lazy,” “weird,” or just on the wrong side of things.
A government worker you think is sucking off the system.
Gone.
A family down the road with a funny last name.
Deported—because a paperwork change made them a threat.
A liberal professor fired for saying something “divisive.”
Applauded—because she was “poisoning the kids.”
And you’ll say: “Serves them right.”
Because it’s easy to say that when it’s not you.
But then the cuts hit closer.
The postal worker who never missed a day?
Gone. Budget trimmed.
Your neighbor’s son who signed up to work at the VA?
Gone. “Redundancy.”
And still, you’ll hear:
“They were part of the problem. Not real jobs anyway.”
You’ll keep saying that until it hits someone you know.
Someone you’ve sat next to.
Prayed with.
Ate with.
Someone who didn’t do anything wrong,
but ended up in the wrong database,
on the wrong list,
flagged by a system no one elected
and no one can explain.
By then, they’ll have you trained to cheer for it.
To see every job cut as “draining the swamp.”
To see every silence as justice.
To see every deportation, every lockout, every flagged account
as a win.
But here’s the sick truth:
The system won’t hit you last.
It’ll hit you after you’ve defended it long enough to make sure no one will stand up for you.
They’re not afraid of your vote.
They’re not afraid of your gun.
They’re afraid you’ll finally realize—
You still deserve better.
And they built this whole machine to make sure you never ask for it again.