Recommendations for the overwhelmed

Vol. 87

In This Issue: ESSAY/RECOMMENDATIONS | NOW READ THIS | FINAL FRAME

First: Petition to make June into Queer Vacation Month. Yes, Pride, of course…but also, please just let us rest. I am tired. 

(This is a very short way of explaining why I haven’t written anything here in a hot minute!)

Second: Simply too much is happening all the time. Honestly, how is it possible that so much fuckery is being packed into the days and months? It boggles.

Why did so many people who absolutely know better continue to support the mediocre white man in Maine even after the Nazi tattoos came to light? Now look! Meanwhile, the Dem professional pundit class and so-called “centrists” are in active meltdown over Democratic Socialists proving popular and electable across the country (which is very good news, actually). Turns out, lots of people really appreciate leaders with a vision and drive for building a better world and not just a litany of excuses for why, no, we couldn’t possibly do anything about the problems facing most Americans. 

Also, don’t look now, but the Trump regime and its judges are imprisoning people for 30 years to life for the crime of *checks notes* being anti-fascist and maybe making some anarchist zines. 

And they’ve deported eleven more people to a maximum security prison in Eswatini, continuing the (frankly evil) trend of disappearing immigrants captured by ICE to distant countries where they have no ties and committed no crimes.

Possibly Mitch McConnell is dead or dying but no one at his office will say for sure what’s going on. 

Birthright Citizenship, a foundational value and right since the 14th Amendment’s passage in the wake of the Civil War, was only narrowly saved by a 5-4 majority ruling thanks to the Roberts Court being one of the absolute worst in the 250-year history of this country. Of course, they did go ahead and rule that states are allowed to ban trans girls from playing sports with their peers.

I could go on, but I assume you know as well as I do how overwhelming it can be to live under late-stage capitalism and the rise of a fascist regime. 

So, in the interest of acknowledging and having grace for my current state of overwhelm (and yours, if you’re here with me), I’m going to talk about the good things that have been keeping me hopeful, or at least somewhat grounded, over the past month. I hope you find them helpful/interesting, too:

BOOKS! 

• I read and loved Molly Crabapple’s excellent history of the Jewish Labor Bund, “Here Where We Live Is Our Country,” and can’t recommend it enough. The Bund was socialist, fiercely internationalist, and anti-Zionist. It was a group of flawed, messy, idealistic, brave human beings who were committed to building a better world for their fellow Jews and everyone else, especially those who faced oppression and persecution. There is a lot we can learn from those who came before and the Bund offers one of the most compelling stories of human solidarity and direct action I’ve read in a long time/ever.
• I’m a great fan of writer Hugh Ryan’s queer histories, but was delighted/surprised by his turn toward memoir with “My Bad: A Personal History of the Queer Nineties and Beyond.” I’m definitely in the target demographic for it, given that Hugh is just a handful of years older than me. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the particulars and peculiarities of the micro-generation to which we belong (sometimes called Xennials, it’s the slice of people born between about 1978/79 and 1984ish, i.e. very elder Millenials or very young Gen X but, thanks to massive changes in culture and technology that happened during our formative years, not truly one or the other). Add to that being queer and gender non-conforming and becoming young adults in the ‘90s and…yeah…there’s plenty to unpack! Hugh does so with insight, humor, and honesty. 

MUSIC!

• I am a lifelong Madonna fan. I was literally raised on her music. The video for “Like A Prayer” was an early bisexual awakening. She is an icon for a reason; brilliant, ambitious, sometimes problematic as hell, always relevant. I haven’t always loved her more recent releases, so it was (to me) a welcome and refreshing return to form when she dropped “Confessions II” earlier this month. It’s a dance record! And it’s GOOD. This is Madonna in her natural habitat. Like Bjork, it seems she’s determined to rave into old age and, honestly? Goals. A good dance floor is sacred space.
• My friend and sometimes bandmate Charlie Koz just released a new album, “Reverie” and it is so, so lovely. If you like sweet, sometimes dreamy indie folk, you’ll like it. I especially recommend “Dawson, be my guide” and “Reverie,” both featuring another friend, Efrat, on vocals. You can find the album on all streaming platforms.

PODCASTS!

• This one is fully self-promotional. I was absolutely gobsmacked late last month to be invited–pretty much out of the blue–to be the guest on an episode of one of my favorite podcasts, The Bechdel Cast. Specifically, I was asked to join the hosts for a discussion about an absolute classic of queer cinema, “Desert Hearts,” (1986) and it was just a ridiculously fun time. Watch the movie, then give it a listen (available on any podcast app, Apple Music, or at I Heart Radio).
• Saeed Jones and Zach Stafford over at the Vibe Check podcast continue to hold it down for me on the culture and politics-as-culture front. Their commentary on our present moment and challenges, interviews with incredible guests, and clear-eyed integrity (and fierce humor) have been a true balm.

What’s been getting you through it all? 

Now Read This.

“America Needs to Grow the Fuck Up” [Karen Attiah]

…outright racism, terror and white supremacy for too many people is a titillating performance, which people will observe, witness and comment on but not disrupt. And as we share images of these white supremacists on our social media— I wonder if is doing so without disrupting them is on the same spectrum of those who went to lynchings and made photocards as souveneirs of the spectacle—- but did nothing to stop the terroristic display.

“It’s Anti-Semetic to Deny the Jewish Identify of Anti-Zionist Jews” [Noah Berlatsky]

Zionists—Jewish and non-Jewish—do Jewish people as a whole no favors when they insist on evacuating Jewish diversity. And when Zionists question the authenticity and identity of anti-Zionists, non-Zionists, and even liberal Zionists, they are themselves spreading the antisemitism they decry.

“The real electability is the friends we make along the way” [Garrett Bucks]

To believe in an unchangeable electorate is to divorce politics both from organizing and from joy. Rather than directing our energy towards building the political reality of our dreams, we pre-accept existing conditions as a given. In doing so, we voluntarily give up both our collective power and imagination.

“In the heart of the Miccosukee, the Native American tribe that shut down Alligator Alcatraz” [El Pais]

The community found refuge from white persecution deep in the Everglades swamps centuries ago. Together with environmental groups, they succeeded in forcing the closure of the immigration detention center built on their ancestral lands.

Final Frame(s).

June was hectic, yes, but, to be honest, a lot of what I was doing was pretty great. My band, Damsel Trash, finally played our long-delayed album release show in Madison. We got to do it alongside our besties in Hey Ghost, who were also celebrating the release of their new (debut!) album, which absolutely slaps. I also got to DJ alongside some greats at a disco-themed Hot Summer Gays/Hot Flash dance party, reunite with LINE bandmate/dear friend Maddie Batzli for an acoustic gig as part of Sun Prairie’s Pride celebration, announce games at our league’s annual roller derby tournament, and generally spend time enjoying friends and time in nature. I’m extremely grateful for all of it (and tired, did I mention tired?!).

‘Til next time.

Take care of yourself and of each other. Free Palestine. Abolish ICE.

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