olá friends,
a federally guaranteed right for a woman1 to choose the healthcare she wants and have access to realizing her choice no longer exists in the united states.
this has been fifty years in the making and so much money and political activism were involved in allowing trump2 to appoint three justices to scotus and guaranteeing this outcome.
i keep seeing posts and commentary citing that 61% say abortion should be legal in all or most cases. what doesn't seem to be a part of the conversation is that 61% of the population isn't willing to put that supposed support into action or resistance. 61% of the population wasn't willing to force mitch mcconnell to accept obama's nomination in 2016 or recuse trump's nomination in 2020. 61% of the population didn't fight to have legislatures overturn trigger laws in eighteen states. 61% is reassuring to quote and much smaller in reality.
sigh. i know. i'm all piss & vinegar and doom & gloom. that should probably be my nickname. i truly believe that this is the “beginning" (scotus has always been shit but this is a new phase of the shittiness) of a very long, very hard slog3 for every single civil right. every. single. one.
(recommend listening to Ezra Klein's conversation with Jamal Greene from February 2022)
in that vein, let me share what has kept me a little less miserable. just a very smidge less but any minuscule amount counts at this point.
BOOK: cultish: the language of fanaticism by amanda montell. as christians and republicans (of the extreme variety) celebrate the current political and social scenario, it's somewhat helpful to read about the language that these groups use. sure, evangelicals and republicans aren't considered cults, but this book will help you question why not.
TV: home on apple tv. architects (for the most part) doing amazing things with homes. i watched it out of boredom and got hooked by the beauty and story of the homes. i feel good at the end of most episodes and that's saying a lot (except the white savior ones—bali, maine, mexico. just started season 2 so i'm not sure how many more of those kinds there are).
ART/COLLAGE: have you ever heard of ray johnson, a pioneer of…mail art? me either. my mom went to the exhibition this week and sent me a picture and i've been fascinated ever since. i'll be in nyc for two days and going to do my best to beat the beast that is jet lag and shimmy on down to the morgan library to see more.
as i love to remind us: capitalism sucks. life is hard. find your joy.
despite all the shit, i keep finding mine. i hope you keep finding yours.
abraços,
m
p.s. i'll be in la painting a mural and visiting with my favorite people from the 20th to the 25th of july and in new york on the 19th and the 26th. any and all (cheap) art/vegan recommendations are most appreciated
i know that restricting abortion applies to people other than those who identify as women, but the language of roe is/was gender-specific and the vast majority (over 98% maybe) of people who access abortions are cis women.
i'm no fan of trump but this didn't happen because of trump. it happened because of the money and votes and whack ass beliefs that made a trump possible.