Power is more important than the truth and no one know that better than survivors of sexual assault.
All these things are connected
All these things are connected. The vision for the world that emerges when these individual events are put together is one of isolationism, stalled progress, rabid racism and sexism, a fallen democracy and country, destroyed from within. There is an acute danger of normalcy amidst fascism, of shrugging while there are people intentionally starved and bombed in faraway lands and locked up without due process on our own soil.
The children are always ours
In 1980, James Baldwin wrote in The Nation: “The children are always ours, every single one of them, all over the globe; and I am beginning to suspect that whoever is incapable of recognizing this may be incapable of morality.” Are the more than 50,000 children killed or injured in Gaza not also ours?
Cede nothing
When dissent is not enough
If you want to know what a society values, look at what they spend their money on. As we write this week’s update, the US Senate passed a monstrosity of a budget that strips healthcare and food assistance from the most vulnerable people in our society, cuts science funding and kills our ability to solve our most pressing challenges, gives rich people a huge tax break, and funds gestapo and literal concentration camps on US soil and abroad.
The heat is on
As our US government institutions increasingly fail to keep us safe, many individuals and civil society groups are organizing and stepping up to protect each other. That’s heartening and much needed at a time when the slide into authoritarianism is more rapid in the US than most experts anticipated. Life may seem “normal” in your corner of the world, with the daily grind of work and life, brunch, kiddo playdates, concerts, etc. That normalcy is deceiving and dangerous, as dissidents from other authoritarian regimes warn us.
The nature of resistance
Violence is escalating in the US and across the world, from targeted assassinations of Minnesota legislators and their family members to violence against peaceful protesters (including violence perpetrated by law enforcement groups), to escalation of war in the Middle East, Sudan, and Ukraine. It is tempting to look away, but we need to remember that turning away is a privilege and many do not have that option.
How to be brave
Two things can be true
Perseverance has its limits
We are not in Kansas anymore
Science is labor
“Every moment is an organizing opportunity, every person a potential activist, every minute a chance to change the world” - Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the National Farmworkers Union.
Oppression is the mask of fear
For Whom, By What Means, Toward What Ends?
“We recognize that science is inherently political. Science is defined as a set of human practices relating to knowledge that arises from, is shaped by, and helps reproduce the social systems in which it is embedded. Thus, science is not an objective good or neutral tool; it interpenetrates with all other social phenomena such as class, race, sex, gender, geography, and culture. Science throughout history is practiced unequally, benefits few, excludes many, and is inextricable from its human consequences. To defend “science,” we must first ask: Science for whom? By what means? Toward what ends?”
Good trouble
The urgency of the moment cannot be overstated. Thousands of people have been laid off from the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The impacts of losing entire programs and core functionality of remaining programs will be felt for years to come and the most vulnerable members of our society will pay the price.