11.6.2020

The 33 Project

It’s early. 6am ish as I start this post. It’s an odd week with the election happening. It feels different than four years ago, yet in a few key ways the same. The distress persists. The sadness and disheartened feelings over living in a place that is populated by so many people that believe the opposite of what I believe. The anger at a system that will continue to disenfranchise. The pure rage at so many people being elected to positions where they’ll do nothing for the people (their job) and everything for themselves instead. But, it’s not the same blow as four years ago. For one, there’s a good chance Trump will actually lose both the popular vote and the electoral college this time around. What is a “good chance”? 50-50? What a mess.

Here are some worthwhile distractions:

1/ I loved this personal essay by Latria Graham. Graham writes about being Black outdoors and the myriad of complications simply enjoying nature can cause when you’re not a white man. It’s a beautiful read and complicated and intense and well worth your time. If you want more of Graham, she was on the longform podcast a few weeks back and it’s a great interview.

2/ I found this read about gender fascinating. Chase Strangio is a lawyer, probably best known for arguing against workplace discrimination in front of the Supreme Court. Strangio makes some crucial arguments for reshaping our understanding of gender and labeling. American culture is obsessed with labeling. To the harm of many. I hope, during my lifetime, the law of the land recognizes that transgender women are women and transgender men are men. I have hope for this. Read this piece and join me in the fight.

3/ Lastly, I want to recommend both watching The Queen’s Gambit (which I learned was going to be Health Ledger’s directorial debut before he passed) and following @BisHilarious.

That’s all for this week. Hang in there and be sure to subscribe and share this post so I can feel validated in writing these!