In a Twitter thread yesterday that has since gone viral, actor George Takei, 85, warned that the U.S. has reached a point where things are “beginning to spiral.”
The posts come just after a draft of the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down Roe v. Wade, which guarantees Americans constitutional protections to abortion rights, was leaked earlier this week.
Takei published a six-post series of tweets to his 3.3 million followers, explaining that the situation in the States has been steadily worsening, but we have come to a “point” where “the Republic” itself is at stake.
“Listen up, friends,” he wrote, “I’ve lived a long time in this country. I’ve experienced a lot. And I know, and have a deep sense, when things are beginning to spiral.”
“We are at that point,” he continued, “We’ve been approaching it for some time, but the warning signs were in smaller, discrete pieces.”
Takei, who is Japanese American, was forced to live in an American concentration camp during World War II at 5 years old. He was one of 120,000 Americans who were incarcerated when the U.S. went to war with Imperial Japan after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
In 2019, Takei released a graphic novel memoir titled “They Called Us Enemy,” recounting his childhood in the camps.
He has been outspoken about several political issues, crediting his dark childhood with heavily influencing his identity.
In follow-up tweets, Takei called the problems “systemic,” saying gerrymandering is used to sway votes to “keep extremists in statehouses and Congress.” He cited several other issues as well, including the Senate’s filibuster rule, voting laws in red states and the targeting of LGBTQ-plus kids and families.
“And now,” he said, “even a woman’s right to choose is on the chopping block.”
He urged readers to not “remain complacent” when it comes to domestic issues, even in light of global inflation, an ongoing pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.
“But that does not mean we take our eyes off the ball,” encouraged Takei. “The GOP is exploiting and exacerbating all this for political gain.”
In his fifth tweet reply, Takei emphasized the importance of voting come November, stating that if we “do not HOLD THE LINE NOW,” the “spiral of chaos” will continue.
Takei ended by warning that “our democracy” and “the Republic” would be replaced by “a dark” situation of “autocracy, demagoguery, and repression.”
“The stakes are too high, the cost too great. We must mobilize, and we must defeat this scourge. NOW.” finished Takei.
Other notable Tweets in response to the recent SCOTUS leak include one from Vice President Kamala Harris, who released a statement saying that “the rights of all Americans [were] at risk.” Former President Barack Obama also published a joint statement with wife Michelle Obama, stating “the consequences of this decision would be a blow not just to women, but to all of us who believe that in a free society, there are limits to how much the government can encroach on our personal lives.”
