When this article was posted, I was tempted to read it, throw my hands up in frustration and move on. But I feel like this is so important because it never stops. My one friend and I were chatting – she had read this article too. She was eleven. My other friend had previously told me she was eight. Another, she had been walking home from school at ten. I felt so protected and safe to have made it to twelve. Twelve.
Girls deserve to be young, joyful, and not have their tender last years of childhood marred with shouted obscenities from moving cars. We deserve to sit on the bus without an older bigger guy blocking us in and telling us that we would be a great girlfriend. We deserve not to be cornered by the convenience store as our ice cream melts – and hey cutie, didn’t anyone ever tell you how pretty you are?
It’s not a compliment for a child to be harassed by an older adult man. It’s gross, and it’s obscene. This predation is too often passed off as a joke – “what I’m not allowed to tell her she looks nice?”
Let kids be kids. Stop saying sexually suggestive things to them. It shouldn’t be this difficult.
Article: This is the imbalance of power between Israel and Palestine in real terms (TRT World)
A few weeks ago, Human Rights Watch called the treatment of Palestinian people by Israeli authorities apartheid. This week, as violence continued as the residents of the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood were forcibly removed. The media coverage of this situation is lacking nuance, and often presents the violence as balanced attacks between two evenly matched foes. This is not the case.
Through my readings this week, I have come to understand that in this discussion, criticism of the Israeli government’s actions does not mean that the argument is antisemitic. Unfortunately, many antisemitic groups have used this as an opportunity to spew hatred towards Jewish people. This is unacceptable and hateful behaviour, and it is never acceptable. However, the discomfort around claims of antisemitism do not mean that we can ignore the unfair treatment that the Palestinian people are experiencing. This is not fair, and it is cruel to turn a blind eye as these citizens suffer so significantly.
Comic: The Emergency We’ve Accepted (The Nib)
As every town in North America continues to debate how best to legislate the unhoused populations in their community (sometimes sounding as though the homeless are a scourge of invasive fungus instead of human people with hearts, lives, and emotions), it can be easy to forget how vulnerable living on the streets can be. Covid is scary enough for those of us with running water and a roof over our heads, I really can’t imagine going through this past year in a tent.
Article: In ousting Liz Cheney, Republicans have decided Trump is their future (The Globe and Mail)
In my opinion, this removal of any of those who speak out against Trump shows that the lure of Trump’s ability to rally voters is too much for the republic party to ignore. They saw how he behaved when he was president, and they saw the hell that he wrought on the country, yet they silence any of his detractors. Speaks volumes about their leadership and their ethics.
Podcast: The MOVE Bombing (1985) w/ Gene Demby (This Day in Esoteric Political History)
I didn’t know about the 1985 bombing before this week. It is an incredibly dark chapter of history which is still going on today. This isn’t ancient history, this is harm that is still ongoing.
The day Philadelphia bombed its own people (Vox)
Philadelphia health commissioner resigns after cremating MOVE bombing remains (NBC News)
Article: These people were vaccine hesitant. Here’s why they changed their minds (CBC News)
It is too easy to get frustrated with the vaccine hesitant. And please don’t misunderstand, the anti-vaccine, anti-science facebook pages that play on the fears of parents and the general public are abhorrent and should be heavily moderated if not removed entirely. But the regular people who are living their lives, who have lived with uncertainty for over a year, only to have fear creep in the face of the one thing that has the possibility of opening our doors again? That’s really hard to see. With open hearts, kindness, and good, reliable science, these are anecdotes that show that we can change minds for the better.
Photo Essay: Vaccine History Repeats Itself — Sometimes (NPR)
Following the above, I think it is easy to think that vaccine hesitancy is a brand new idea. Fears around science and how it interacts with our bodies is nothing new, and this collection of images shows that.
Article: The IRS Tried to Take on the Ultrawealthy. It Didn’t Go Well. (ProPublica)
In what is becoming what feels like a weekly feature, today in ‘rich people should pay an appropriate amount of taxes’: ProPublica’s investigation shows how severely kneecapped the IRS was in trying to get the ultrawealthy to pay their fair share. It went poorly.
Bonus, if you can call it that: US millionaire CEOs saw 29% pay raise while workers’ pay fell, report finds.
I am one of those who has gained weight, and I’ve spent a lot of time agonizing over it.
This article is kind of low impact feminism, but dang if it didn’t get me in the heartstrings in a way that other, more thought provoking articles didn’t. My body got me through a global pandemic safely. An extra few pounds doesn’t make me or or my body less worthy of love.
Video: A Crime Against Childhood (CGP Grey)
Save Snow Days!
Local Treat: Butterfly Latte at Bear and Joey cafe
The prettiest drink you ever did see tastes like a grown up milkshake and is topped with gold flakes!
Absolutely lovely!
