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
White Privilege
Angry about our anger double standard
Donald, Again, I’m retracing old ground, but given how little we have learned, I think it’s warranted. This morning I read an interview with Congresswoman Jayapal by Rebecca Traister for The Cut about Jayapal’s experiences on Wednesday during the Capitol siege. Jayapal recounts how there’d been talk days ahead of time that a large protest … Continue reading Angry about our anger double standard
We likely haven’t seen the half of it yet
Donald, I know this risks seeming trite and as though I’m re-tracing already well established lines, but I’m guessing that like me, when you were a young child you were taught to respect and even revere policemen (they were virtually all men then) and firemen (ditto re the gender deal). You were probably encouraged to … Continue reading We likely haven’t seen the half of it yet
Yesterday morning, before
Donald, I imagine things were quiet there in DC first thing this morning, that the stink of the tear gas has cleared, that the spent shells were swept away overnight, and that all the Confederate and MAGA paraphernalia littering the Capitol was relegated to the dustbin (though I’m sure a few sympathizers pocketed some bits … Continue reading Yesterday morning, before
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
Maybe the bones aren’t so good after all
To: The Wrecking Ball This morning our good friend sent me of Maggie Smith’s wonderful, hard, sobering poem “Good Bones” in response to yesterday’s letter. Here’s a link to the poem on her blog: http://waxwingmag.org/items/Issue9/28_Smith-Good-Bones.php. I’m 99% sure I’ve told you about this poem before, but it was a long time ago so I’ll remind … Continue reading Maybe the bones aren’t so good after all
Here we all are. Still.
To: Psychopath President The last couple of weeks I’ve been seeing fewer and fewer antiracism signs in people’s yards and windows. On the block just south of us that I take most mornings when I head out for my walks it was especially noticeable how many fewer such signs there were. I found myself bracing … Continue reading Here we all are. Still.
Anti-historical America
To: The Anti-historian Supreme Since the calendar has finally turned to December, does that mean you only have 14 more days to cash in on your peeps, what with the final Electoral College votes set to be cast on the 14th? Or are you going to somehow keep the charade going up to 1/20/21? Or … Continue reading Anti-historical America
So many types of fancy houses and so little diversity
To: The Big League Champion of White Privilege Since I’m finding that however it is that I decide to greet you ends up driving what I write about, I’m going to jump in to the stuff that’s been on my mind – and heart – the last few days and will circle back later to … Continue reading So many types of fancy houses and so little diversity
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
Daily Trump Letters 