“Tick Tock, Kamala”: When Subliminal Threats Masquerade as Political Commentary—And White Women Think It’s Harmless
When a verified user named Mila Joy posted a tweet with the words, “Tick Tock, Kamala,” following a reminder that former Vice Presidents only receive Secret Service protection for six months after leaving office, she may have thought she was being clever. Political. Maybe even sassy.
But let’s be clear: this was a threat. A subliminal, racially-coded, violence-tinged warning. And it wasn’t just reckless—it was dangerously typical of how some White women weaponize language, cloaking harm beneath the veil of free speech or political opinion.
“Kamala only has SS protection until July 20, 2025. Tick Tock, Kamala.”
To anyone with even a modicum of cultural competence or historical awareness, this statement isn’t ambiguous. It’s sinister. It’s rooted in a long lineage of dog-whistle threats disguised as “concern” or “commentary”—particularly toward Black women in power.
White Women and the Illusion of Innocence
There’s a historical pattern here that cannot be ignored. White women have long benefitted from a narrative of presumed innocence—a belief that their words couldn’t possibly carry the same violent connotation as their male counterparts. That they’re just being “passionate” or “concerned.” But that’s exactly the problem.
What Mila Joy did wasn’t just tweet. She participated in the normalization of violence against Black women in leadership, and did so through passive-aggressive phrasing that’s intended to both imply danger and deny responsibility. It’s the same playbook White women have used for generations—from weaponizing fragility in the Jim Crow South to casting suspicion on Black women leaders today.
Kamala Harris, the first Black and South Asian woman Vice President, has faced a level of scrutiny, disdain, and coded hostility that far surpasses critique. It’s racialized, gendered, and often couched in language that’s “technically” legal but spiritually violent.
Let’s not sugarcoat this. The “Tick Tock” framing isn’t just about a Secret Service timeline. It’s an ominous countdown, a rhetorical gun cocked in the form of a tweet. It’s the kind of phrase that, if written by a man of color, would have triggered an investigation. But Mila Joy gets a retweet button and plausible deniability.
What Makes This So Dangerous?
Language Sets a Precedent: When White women use this kind of coded language without consequence, it emboldens others. It tells their followers that veiled threats are acceptable, even applaudable, forms of “political speech.”
Black Women Are Already Overexposed to Threats: According to FBI and DHS reports, Black women in public office—especially those advocating for equity—are more likely to receive threats of physical harm. Social media accelerates the pace and reach of these threats, and platforms do little to intervene.
Subliminal Violence Is Still Violence: The lack of a direct call to harm does not absolve responsibility. If anything, the indirectness makes it harder to regulate—and therefore more dangerous.
It Creates a Culture of Fear: Imagine being told, even subtly, that your protection will run out on a specific date. That someone is watching. That a clock is ticking. These are fear tactics rooted in supremacy, designed to haunt rather than help.
The Deeper Issue: White Women, Power, and Perceived Entitlement
What we’re seeing isn’t just one bad tweet. We’re witnessing the fallout of a cultural delusion where certain White women believe they can never be the threat—that their words are harmless, that accountability is optional.
But racism spoken sweetly is still racism.
Threats typed with a smiley profile picture are still threats.
And silence from social media platforms and broader society? That’s complicity.
Kamala Harris doesn’t need us to infantilize her. She’s a seasoned prosecutor and elected official. But we do need to name what’s happening: a dangerous mixture of entitlement, bigotry, and performative civility.
So What Do We Do?
Report the tweet. Whether or not Twitter (or “X”) acts, the digital record matters.
Call it what it is: a threat, not a hot take.
Confront the weaponization of White womanhood, especially when it masquerades as patriotism or concern.
Protect and affirm Black women in leadership, not just when it’s convenient, but when it’s uncomfortable.
Because if you can say “Tick Tock” to the Vice President of the United States and sleep well at night, then you’ve misunderstood both freedom of speech and the cost of it.
And if we let that clock keep ticking without speaking out, we are part of the problem.