Ancillary Sword and BLM

I'm not sure how many times I've re-read Ann Leckie's Imperial Radch trilogy now. I think it's safe to say that it's climbing the list of my most re-read books/series, in part because every time I read it, it has new resonance.

I suspect the last time I read it was a few summers ago, but, of course, much has changed since then. And so inevitably, I find myself drawing parallels between Breq and her fight against the tyrant Anaander Mianaai and our current political situation. I won't dive deep into this, because, as I've said too many times already, this is what happens with most of the books I read now (and I doubt I'm alone). But this passage in Ancillary Sword jumped out at me - I appreciated the clarity.

"These people are citizens." I replied, my voice as calm and even as I could make it, without reaching the dead tonelessness of an ancillary. "When they behave properly, you will say there is no problem. When they complain loudly, you will say they cause their own problems with their impropriety. And when they are driven to extremes, you say you will not reward such actions. What will it take for you to listen?"

It's been said before, and it will be said again, but as the debate about Black Lives Matter and kneeling during the national anthem drags endlessly on, I suspect it cannot be said enough.