To everyone so eager to cancel someone for a tattoo they got at age 22, a drunk text, a selfie they took in the middle of a mental health crisis:
Show us your laptop.
Show us your iCloud.
Open your entire digital life to your worst enemy. No context. No filter. No explanation.
You won’t.
You won’t because you know what I know. Any one of us, frozen at our worst moment, photographed in our lowest hour, looks like a monster. Looks like a stranger. Looks like someone who deserves to be cast out.
That is not who we are.
My mom and baby sister were killed in a car accident when I was just a kid. Cancer took my brother Beau, my best friend and my rock. I battled alcoholism. I battled addiction. I chose the coward’s way out more times than I can count.
For years I believed the defining chapters of my life were written by tragedy, loss, and shame.
I no longer believe that.
Pain can shape us. Loss can humble us. Failures can leave scars that never fully fade. But none of them have the authority to define us.
And it sure as hell ain’t the critic that counts.
That authority belongs to us alone-the person in the arena.
Every setback presents a choice. Play the victim, or cut the bullshit and take ownership for who we become next.
Life does not determine our character. It reveals it.
Again and again we are asked the same question. When shit happens, what next?
We are not defined by what happened to us. We are not defined by the worst photo, the worst text, the worst tattoo, the worst night. We are defined by the person we choose to become. And by the courage to choose that person, every single day.
So before you reach for the gavel - show us your laptop.
You won’t.
The whole world saw mine. And I am still here. Still becoming. Still choosing. Still standing.
That is the only definition that matters.
Thank you, @katieporterca. I appreciate your support. This election is about bringing people together to lower costs, defend our values, and stand up for working families. I'm grateful to have you as a partner in this fight.
Trump threatened to have me hanged over a 90-second video I made. I'm a sitting United States Senator and spent decades serving this country, and it didn't matter. Keeping your head down will not keep you safe. Staying quiet will not keep you safe.
Thank you, Governor @GavinNewsom.
You’ve helped lead California through some of our toughest challenges, and I’m honored to have your endorsement. I look forward to continuing to fight for working families and ensuring the California Dream is accessible for all.
Onward!
.@XavierBecerra has the experience and grit California needs.
He will stand up to Donald Trump, defend our families, and keep our state moving forward.
It’s time to get to work and help him win this November.
In recovery we learn the whole point is service.
Showing up for somebody besides yourself.
That’s leadership too.
Setting the tone.
Right now the tone is vengeance and yeah, I get the anger.
But anger isn’t leadership. It’s tyranny.
We can and should reach for each other. Demand better.
I don't know why any of you haters are surprised I'm the one actually engaging here.
You're the ones who've obsessively pored over the 10,000 photos, the 30,000 text messages, and the 128,000 emails from my hacked iCloud and stolen devices.
If I am anything, I am prolific.
You know what you won't find? Any of the most heinous, hateful things you keep posting about me.
What you'll find from me here is the same thing you found there.
Total transparency. Finally on my terms. Not yours.
These are serious accusations. They are also false.
Throughout this campaign, I’ve been open about a very dark period of my life, when I struggled with undiagnosed PTSD. I'm not proud of the man I once was, but I'm proud of the man I am today, and of the movement we've built.