If I wore a Zoo shirt (I don’t have one, but stay with me) I would accept that people who saw me in it would recognise that, at the very least, I am supportive of the Zoo and the work it does.

If I wore my South African rugby shirt, I would accept that people who saw me in it would assume I am a SA rugby supporter.

When I put these things on my body, I am saying something about my identity. I play D&D. I affiliate myself with lgbtq rights. I am a conservationist. I am South African.

So, don’t tell me that someone wearing a MAGA hat doesn’t know what that means. It is very, very clear by now that that hat is affiliated with a very specific worldview – a worldview built on xenophobia, racism, conservative gender roles, and, yes, white supremacy. You cannot put that hat on, and then complain that people assume you are a racist.

You are making a conscious choice to identify yourself with that movement. Accept the consequences.

This is more important than ANYTHING at this stage. All our social injustice, all our economic issues, all of that will be irrelevant if we don’t address climate change. It’s important for things to be equitable, I agree. I want women to get paid as much as blokes and I want all kids to be able to go to a damn doctor when they get sick.

But none of that means anything if we don’t have food. None of that means anything if the planet wipes us out. And it will. And bamboo toothbrushes aren’t going to do shit unless we also handle oil corporations and the mechanisms of capitalism that put making money ahead of keeping our planet habitable for people.

This fight is won with regulations and laws. And for that to happen, we need the right people making those laws. Wherever you are, next time you have the chance to vote, vote smart. Vote for environmentalists. Your life and the lives of your children pretty much literally depend on it.