To: Our Foremost Death-Dealing Nihilistic Monster I just met Priya, the Indian Brown girl superhero whose companion is a flying tiger named Sahas, which means courage in Hindi. Apparently I needed a good mid-week verklempt because it hit within the a minute of starting to read this WP article about the latest edition of the … Continue reading Calling all righteous, courageous mere mortals
Empowerment
Bitter and sweet, sweet and bitter
President* for only 73 more days (and counting) Trump, My word of the day today is “bittersweet”, which is defined as either “bitterness and sweetness combined,” which I think is rather too literal and pretty lame, or as “pleasure mixed with overtones of sadness,” which I like quite a bit better (https://www.yourdictionary.com/bittersweet). In this morning’s … Continue reading Bitter and sweet, sweet and bitter
May the meek get unmeek
President* Trump, The poem-a-day poem in my inbox this morning is by Rena Priest and it’s called The Index and it feels solidly apropos this morning (https://poets.org/poem/index-0?mc_cid=091f8058c4&mc_eid=03fcdf422b). Priest riffs on the idea that “the meek shall inherit the earth” was an agreed upon promise early in our human story. She goes on to see/imagine it … Continue reading May the meek get unmeek
Identity politics revisited
President* Trump, Thinking about the young queer person my friend described yesterday, my brother, my Black women friends, Laura, myself, the people sleeping in tents down the street from us in the context of this colossal mess we’ve made has me trying to piece together the puzzle of identity politics. This is also driven by … Continue reading Identity politics revisited
We have to see each other
President* Trump, I’m at the gallery today and because September is my show month I’m getting to sit here with my work on the walls and it’s pretty cool. Mostly people are walking by outside and not stopping, but my sense is there’s a bit more curiosity than usual and a bit more eye contact … Continue reading We have to see each other
Some of us need to cultivate the strength to yield
President* Trump, This morning we took the dogs to Magnuson Park for the first time in probably five months, basically since COVID-19 really hit and it was clear that navigating the narrow trails with others wasn’t safe. Today we hiked a trail that’s at the far Southwest corner of the park, one that’s far less … Continue reading Some of us need to cultivate the strength to yield
Way off the beaten path and into the wilds (vicariously)
President* Trump, I’m sure this isn’t going to surprise you at all, but I won’t be tuning into your nihilistic hate-fest this week. There will be plenty of updates about it and at times it’ll feel as though I went ahead and subjected myself to the negative frenzy, but even in the name of research … Continue reading Way off the beaten path and into the wilds (vicariously)
Let’s let go of gendered notions of strength ~ now!
President* Trump, So I know that I’m probably supposed to want to focus on the wonderful, powerful parade of women last night during night 3 of the Democratic convention, from the domestic violence survivors who testified before Congress in 1990 ahead of the passage of the Violence Against Women Act to Harris herself throwing shade … Continue reading Let’s let go of gendered notions of strength ~ now!
A big tent made of an awesome patchwork quilt
President* Trump, It wasn’t just the direct references and the montage of images honoring those who were among us who are no longer among us because of your nihilistic responses to COVID-19 and systemic racism that tethered last night’s Democratic convention content to sober, painful here and now realities. It was the whole, whole thing, … Continue reading A big tent made of an awesome patchwork quilt
Litter, hate, Styrofoam, and non-negotiables
President* Trump, One of the many activities that COVID has curtailed for me is picking up litter. It’s just felt too risky and fraught, so for the most part, I’ve re-learned how to tune it out and keep walking even though I know it diminishes me a tiny bit each time. Frankly, this is one … Continue reading Litter, hate, Styrofoam, and non-negotiables
Daily Trump Letters 