Rich First

"Rich First" - When Your Oppressors Wear Your Identity Like A Costume This song is about the lie we've been sold: that representation equals liberation. It doesn't. A gay billionaire is a billionaire first. A queer executive is an executive first. A Black VP is a VP first. And when push comes to shove—when you try to unionize, when you file complaints, when you demand actual material change—they will choose their class over your shared identity every single time. Let Me Tell You About My Bosses: Tim Cook - Apple CEO, openly gay, net worth $2.1 billion Marches in Pride parades Puts rainbow logos on products Opposed unionization of Apple retail workers Was CEO while I went four months without pay despite approved disability benefits Deirdre O'Brien - Apple SVP of Retail + People, identifies as queer Leads Apple's "inclusion and diversity" initiatives Oversees HR and employee relations Part of the system that dismissed my human rights complaints Speaks at LGBTQ+ corporate events while queer workers like me do survival sex work to pay rent Lisa Jackson - Apple VP of Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives, Black woman Leads Apple's "Racial Equity and Justice Initiative" Promotes Apple's environmental commitments Part of executive leadership while systemic failures devastated workers like me and Mark Calivas These are my actual bosses. I'm naming them because they use their marginalized identities as armor while enforcing the exact systems that harm people who share those identities. What This Song Is Really About: Class position determines interests, not identity. Tim Cook and I are both gay men. But we don't have aligned interests. He profits from my exploitation. His wealth depends on keeping wages low, unions out, and workers compliant. His sexuality doesn't change that—it just makes better PR when Apple sponsors Pride. Rainbow capitalism isn't allyship—it's extraction. They mine our trauma, market our stories, then sell us back watered-down "liberation" as consumer products. They put pronouns in email signatures while denying disability claims. They celebrate Pride Month while union-busting. They hire diverse executives who enforce the same exploitative policies—just with better optics. Representation without redistribution is performance art. I don't need more queer CEOs. I need to not do survival sex work because my employer didn't pay me for four months. I don't need Black VPs giving speeches about equity. I need the actual material conditions of Black workers to improve—higher wages, guaranteed healthcare, protection from arbitrary firing. Your oppressor sharing your identity doesn't make them less your oppressor. Deirdre O'Brien's queerness didn't stop HR from dismissing my complaints. Lisa Jackson's race didn't make Apple's treatment of me less violent. Tim Cook's sexuality didn't make him say "maybe don't destroy this gay worker's life." Because they're rich first. And rich people—regardless of identity—have more in common with each other than with poor people who share their marginalization. The Theory Behind The Rage: This song comes from: Marx: Class position determines material interests Combahee River Collective: "If Black women were free, it would mean that everyone else would have to be free since our freedom would necessitate the destruction of all the systems of oppression" Kimberlé Crenshaw: Intersectionality means examining how power operates, not just counting diverse faces in high places Audre Lorde: "The master's tools will never dismantle the master's house" Rainbow capitalism is the master's tools wearing a Pride pin. This Song Names What We're Not Supposed To Say: That class matters more than identity when it comes to who has power over your life. That diverse oppression is still oppression. That a queer boss who fires you is not your ally just because you're both queer. That "representation" has become a profitable industry that extracts value from marginalized communities while keeping power structures intact. That your liberation and their careers are incompatible—real liberation means redistribution of wealth and power, which means they lose their positions. ARTIST'S NOTE: I'm not saying identity doesn't matter. I'm saying class position determines whose side you're on when the conflict comes. A gay CEO and a gay janitor don't have the same relationship to power just because they're both gay. One decides if the other gets paid. That's not solidarity—that's hierarchy with better branding. This song is me refusing to pretend otherwise. They're rich before they're anything. And that matters more than the flag they wave.