President* Trump, I’ve already cried twice this morning and it’s still early. It’s going to be one of those days, I think. The first thing that brought on tears was the 24-second Twitter clip of violinists in New York playing Amazing Grace to honor Elijah McClain, the young Black man who was killed in Aurora, … Continue reading “Black Lives > White Feelings” and better late than never rainbows
Visibility
Evil incarnate through and through
President* Trump, evil (adjective): profoundly immoral and wicked incarnate (adjective): embodied in flesh; in human form evil incarnate (example): If you encounter someone who pulls off butterflies' wings for fun, you might describe that person as “evil incarnate.” I didn’t come up with the example above – it’s what Vocabulary.com has to say about the … Continue reading Evil incarnate through and through
Let’s stop helping maintain the status quo
President* Trump, I don’t think it’s that I’m especially sensitized to it, though I can’t completely rule out the possibility, but I think I’ve been hearing even more of the following lately: “Hey guys, let’s go ahead and get started.” “Thanks guys, this is great.” “What do you guys think?” “Hi guys, how’s it going?” … Continue reading Let’s stop helping maintain the status quo
Words matter, a lot
President* Trump, Last night as I was trying to fall asleep, I realized that I closed out yesterday’s letter to you in a highly problematic way, one that betrays my implicit racial biases that, unfortunately, run parallel to the WP editors I called out earlier in the week. Here is the offending text: “This tree … Continue reading Words matter, a lot
Why now?
President* Trump, I’m 95% certain I’ve told you about this tree before – it’s the ancient chestnut tree a few houses North of the original 21st Buddha and I’ve walked past it at least once a week for about 10-ish years now. Because it’s sited at the end of the block its massive canopy shades … Continue reading Why now?
Defunding the police is a good start
President* Trump, I wish Laura or I had thought of the “President*” salutation eons ago – it is so much more appropriate than the “Dear” one, which always made me wince when I typed it. Better late than never, though – eh? So today we added another sign to our front windows today, jiggering things … Continue reading Defunding the police is a good start
Strong medicine
Dear President Trump, The graphic accompanying the WP’s lead story this morning announcing that the official US number of covid-19 deaths passed 100,000 yesterday isn’t the gut punch that the NYT’s Sunday cover was, but it’s still quite moving. The idea that each person’s death is marked by a point of light on the map … Continue reading Strong medicine
A possible remedy for the problem of large, round numbers
Dear President Trump, Right this minute at 7:18am the Worldometer says that 99,883 people in the US have died from covid-19. I’m going to try to not check the website compulsively throughout the day as we close in on 100,000, but I’m not making any promises. Why do you think it is that big round … Continue reading A possible remedy for the problem of large, round numbers
Signs of inclusivity and generosity
Dear President Trump, We decided to mix things up this morning and instead of Laura coming out to the market on her own, the dogs and I piled in with her and I’m sitting in the car with them while she does the shopping (she’s older but my heart condition puts me at higher risk … Continue reading Signs of inclusivity and generosity
Meeting and greeting a Buddha half-face
Dear President Trump, It’s hard to believe there are still some quirks of mine that I’ve not previously shared with you, but I don’t think I’ve told you before that I frequently see stuff other people don’t see – literal stuff, not just connections between issues or ideas. I see faces in bits of debris … Continue reading Meeting and greeting a Buddha half-face
