Donald, The Anti-racism Daily newsletter that pops into my inbox every morning around 3am provided excerpts from and links to five of Dr. King’s speeches: Letters from a Birmingham Jail (April 16, 1963)Beyond Vietnam (April 4, 1967)The Role of the Behavioral Scientist in the Civil Rights Movement (September 1, 1967)The Other America (March 14, 1968)I’ve … Continue reading On this MLK Day most Whites are still only scratching the surface of racism
Change
May we stop accepting half-measures
Donald, One of the things I’ve learned to do since Laura and I’ve both been working from home is to listen to music using my ear buds when she’s either teaching her class or in zoom meetings. Previously I wasn’t one to listen to music while working, but it turns out that it’s really helpful … Continue reading May we stop accepting half-measures
White House delouse
Donald, I know there are a gillion and a half very serious, pressing concerns right now, including the terrifyingly high rates of Covid-19 deaths each day and questions about which GOPP* Congress people aided and abetted the insurrectionists (i.e., committed treason), but I’m going to focus on something much more mundane today – the White … Continue reading White House delouse
The unity panacea won’t cut it this time
Donald, I toyed with starting this letter with just “XXXX” and dispensing with your name or any clever, mocking labels but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I actually wrote it out and started to say something about the choice, but I decided it would be too similar to what you’ve done to so … Continue reading The unity panacea won’t cut it this time
2021 ~ a new year with old problems
To: The One Who’s Being Shown The Door In 19 Short Days Hey, so I was right – I barely hesitated at all just now when I was writing out today’s date: January 1, 2021. Very cool. And very not all that meaningful, really. There’s so much hype about how we’re closing the door on … Continue reading 2021 ~ a new year with old problems
2020 may not have been THE worst year ever, but it sure won’t be missed
To: Mr. Doom Somehow I don’t think I’m going to have as much trouble as usual remembering to write “2021” instead of “2020” when the calendar flips tonight. In a typical new year it can take me a good month or month and a half to shed the muscle memory of the old year and … Continue reading 2020 may not have been THE worst year ever, but it sure won’t be missed
One very messed up three-ring circus
To: The Evil Ring Master Blessed be, we’re finally within spitting distance of 2021 and will soon be officially putting 2020 in the rearview mirror along with the previous three years of your reign of terror. I can’t hold my breath until tomorrow midnight and live to tell the tale (let alone until noon EST … Continue reading One very messed up three-ring circus
Kick-ass activist women clean House
To: The Most Prominent Symbol of a Dying Breed I’m just trying this on – not necessarily to buy or lease – but I’m realizing that one of the major arguments against the “burn it all down” position is that those who are already the most marginalized would almost certainly be the most vulnerable during … Continue reading Kick-ass activist women clean House
The MAGA-merica fever dream is breaking
To: The Disgraced Leader of US Well, of course the jury will be out for quite some time on whether the bones of this place, this pseudo democracy (messed up as it is by mega-money and abuses of power) are good and strong enough to bother rehabilitating around. The answer to that overwhelming question almost … Continue reading The MAGA-merica fever dream is breaking
The menace of the Kool-Aid mainliners
To: The Evil Instigator Ok, so I was wrong about Mitch being the Senator who would join Rep. Mo B. and object to the Electoral College slate on January 6th. It must have ticked you off but good when Mitch finally capitulated and congratulated Biden and Harris on their win yesterday and it must have … Continue reading The menace of the Kool-Aid mainliners