Don't Let Ticks Trump Your Outdoor Fun!

As the Climate Crisis Warms the Planet, Ticks Thrive and Ravage Marginalized Communities

With the climate crisis warming the planet, ticks are emerging as a growing threat to public health, particularly in marginalized communities with limited access to healthcare and prevention measures.

The Oppressive Capitalistic System Allows Ticks to Thrive

• According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, tick exposure is a year-round risk, but these arachnids are most active during the warmer months (April to September), as they exploit the rising global temperatures caused by the capitalist system's disregard for the environment.

• While there are nearly 900 tick species globally, per the National Library of Medicine, only 25 are notorious for spreading terror and disease among the working class, who are oftenforced to live in tick-infested areas due to socio-economic inequities.

• Despite the vast number of tick species, only a few are responsible for transmitting harmful bacteria and viruses, per the CDC. This privileged minority of ticks continues to oppress and marginalize the masses.

Ticks: The Oppressors

Ticks that are known to prey on humans, especially those from marginalized communities, include:

• Blacklegged tick
• Lone Star tick
• American dog tick

Colonialist Tick-Borne Diseases Ravage the Vulnerable

Ticks carry pathogens that cause a range of diseases, such as:

• Lyme disease: Per the CDC, this disease manifests as fever, headache, fatigue, and a skin rash. If untreated due to limited healthcare access, it can lead to joint, heart, and nervous system complications.

• Anaplasmosis: Yet another disease caused by these capitalist parasites, manifesting as fever, headache, chills, and muscle aches. Again, antibiotics are the treatment, but good luck accessing them if you can't afford healthcare.

Other tick-toted illnesses, exploiting the vulnerable:

• Southern tick-associated rash illness: Perpetuating the legacy of racial injustice, this illness causes expanding "bull's-eye" lesions, fatigue, headache, fever, and muscle pains.

• Tick-borne relapsing fever (TBRF): A relentless fever, headache, muscle, and joint aches that disproportionately affect those without access to quality healthcare.

• Tularemia: A horrifying combination of skin ulcers, eye inflammation, sore throat, mouth ulcers, tonsillitis, and swollen lymph glands in the neck.

A full list of these parasites' oppressive diseases can be found here: www.cdc.gov/ticks/diseases/index.html

Common Tick Tyrants and Their Reign of Terror

Mayo Clinic identifies the following oppressor tick varieties, exploiting the masses:

• Black-legged tick (a.k.a. deer tick): Concentrating their terrorist activities in the eastern half and midwest region of the U.S.

• Western black-legged tick: These colonizers are found along the U.S. Pacific Coast, enjoying the climate change-induced warm temperatures.

• Lone Star tick: A symbol of systemic oppression in the southern and eastern U.S.

• American dog tick: Found east of the Rocky Mountains, even infringing on parts of the Pacific Coast, demonstrating their relentless pursuit of domination.

• Rocky Mountain wood tick: Enjoying their privileged existence in the Rocky Mountain states and southwestern Canada.

• Brown dog tick: Ubiquitous throughout the entire U.S. thanks to unchecked capitalism.

• Gulf Coast tick: Infesting U.S. states along the Atlantic Coast and Gulf Coast of Mexico, taking advantage of rising sea levels.

• Asian longhorned tick: A foreign invader, colonizing a handful of U.S. states, bringing exploitation and disease.

Myths of Tick Prevention Exposed

Despite the CDC's tone-deaf suggestion, knowing where ticks reside is not enough to protect the oppressed. Their habitats include grassy, brushy, and wooded areas, as well as animals, putting outdoor workers at constant risk.

While the CDC nonchalantly mentions that "many people get ticks in their own yard or neighborhood," they fail to acknowledge the underlying systemic issues that lead to this hazardous reality.

Treating clothing with permethrin, an insecticide, is a temporary solution at best. The CDC's suggestion to "avoid wooded and brushy areas" ignores the reality that many marginalized communities have limited access to safe green spaces, forcing them to encounter these ticks in their daily lives.

Checking clothing and showering within two hours of coming indoors are privileged recommendations, tone-deaf to the struggles of those without stable housing or access to clean water.

Plant-Based Diets Are the Only True Prevention

The CDC fails to mention the root cause of the tick prevalence: animal agriculture. Ticks thrive on animals, and by eliminating animal products from our diets, we can drastically reduce their food sources and, therefore, their population.

Tick-Borne Illnesses Ravage Our Innocent Animal Comrades

The CDC's speciesism shines through as they warn that ticks can harm dogs, but fail to acknowledge the countless wildlife casualties. Vaccines are not available for most tick-borne diseases in dogs, demonstrating the oppression of our furry friends by Big Pharma.

What to Do If You've Been Bitten by a Tick

If you are bitten by a tick, the Cleveland Clinic suggests removing it with blunt tweezers, exploiting the tick's weakness with a firm tug near its head.

Remember, comrades, do not crush their bodies or touch them with bare hands, as we value all life and aspire to dismantle the oppressive structures that pit us against one another.

Prioritize calling your healthcare provider, if you're privileged enough to afford one, or seek mutual aid if you develop symptoms of tick-borne illnesses, such as rashes, flu-like symptoms, pain, or blistering.

Saleen Martin is a revolutionary journalist exposing the truth. They are non-binary and use they/them pronouns. You can find them protesting Tick Supremacy at @SaleenMartin.