Must-Reads and Some Thoughts On Navigating Anxiety

Must-Reads

Your weekly, curated list of must-reads is here. From potential bird flu mutations to post-hurricane mutual aid and the threat of ocean current collapse, here are some of the most important articles I’ve read this week. 

• Bird Flu is Now in a Pig (Not Good) by Theresa Gaffney. “Why is this a big deal? As STAT’s Helen Branswell explains, pigs are sometimes called a ‘mixing vessel’ for flu viruses because they can be infected with both bird flu and human flu viruses. If a pig is infected with both at the same time, the viruses can swap genes, potentially creating a hybrid virus that is better able to spread to and among people than regular bird flu viruses. This is called ‘reassortment.’”
  
  From the same link (just scroll down):
  
  “As more and more states pass bans on gender-affirming hormones for youth, researchers became interested in how easy it is for police to access records of who’s taking drugs like testosterone. A study published yesterday in JAMA found that testosterone prescription data was accessible to law enforcement without safeguards like a warrant or subpoena in nearly half of U.S. states."
  
• I Couldn’t Cry Over My Children Like Everyone Else’: The Tragedy of Palestinian Journalist Wael al-Dahdouh by Nesrine Malik. “Whenever emotion encroached upon his narrative, Dahdouh cleared his throat or coughed, most often when he spoke of the children he had lost. Without prompting, he resurrected them, talking about them as if they were still alive. Hamza was the beloved eldest. Mahmoud was a boy of such energy, such vivaciousness. He went to the American school, a prestigious English-language school, Dahdouh said, with some pride. Mahmoud was a budding journalist who loved to tell stories. Sham was the darling youngest daughter, mischievous and doted on. One by one, he summoned them, smiling, then tailed off as it seemed to occur to him anew that they were dead. Sometimes he would just shake his head, as if to snap himself into a reality that he still couldn’t believe was upon him.”
  
• ”Report: US Sitting on Nearly 500 Reports of US Weapons Killing Civilians in Gaza by Sharon Zhang. “Secretary of State Antony Blinken lied to Congress about the findings, saying that the government did not assess that Israel has been blocking humanitarian aid just as Israel embarked on its Rafah invasion that would mark the beginning of an even harsher Israeli aid blockade. Now, months later, aid entry into Gaza has hit record lows, as disease and famine plague the population.”
  
• A Woman Died After Being Told It Would Be a “Crime” to Intervene in Her Miscarriage at a Texas Hospital by Cassandra Jaramillo and Kavitha Surana. “Many [experts] noted a striking similarity to the case of Savita Halappavanar, a 31-year-old woman who died of septic shock in 2012 after providers in Ireland refused to empty her uterus while she was miscarrying at 17 weeks. When she begged for care, a midwife told her, ‘This is a Catholic country.’ The resulting investigation and public outcry galvanized the country to change its strict ban on abortion.”
  
• A Pregnant Teenager Died After Trying to Get Care in Three Visits to Texas Emergency Rooms by Lizzie Presser and Kavitha Surana. “Nevaeh Crain was crying in pain, too weak to walk, blood staining her thighs. Feverish and vomiting the day of her baby shower, the 18-year-old had gone to two different emergency rooms within 12 hours, returning home each time worse than before.”
  
• 44 Scientists Just Warned Us About a Catastrophic Ocean Current Collapse by Sammi Caramela. “While the collapse of the AMOC was once considered ‘low probability,’ the likelihood of it happening is increasing. In fact, it’s becoming so concerning to oceanographers that 44 of them, from various countries, wrote and published a call to action, warning that the risk of the AMOC reaching a disastrous tipping point is ‘greatly underestimated’ and will have ‘devastating and irreversible impacts.’”
  
• What We Need After Hurricane Helene Are Chainsaws by Nikki Marín Baena. “People needed help — let’s go help them. One guy said, ‘I’ve never helped people in this way before. This feels good. How can I do more of it?’ This is one of the very best moments a community organizer can have: watching someone have the realization that doing something for someone else in a time of need can also be in their own interest.”
  
• Workers Say They Were Tricked and Threatened as Part of Elon Musk’s Get-Out-the-Vote Effort by Jake Lahut. “In Michigan, canvassers and paid door knockers for the former president, contracted by a firm associated with America PAC, have been subjected to poor working conditions: A number of them have been driven around in the back of a seatless U-Haul van, according to video obtained by WIRED, and threatened that their lodging at a local motel wouldn’t be paid for if they didn’t meet canvassing quotas. One door knocker alleges that they didn’t even know they were signing up for anything having to do with Musk or Trump.”
  
• ‘Simply Grotesque’: Now AI Platforms Are Offering Up George Floyd Simulations by Brian Contreras. “‘I can’t breathe,’ the artificially intelligent chatbot says when you first engage it–mimicking the words Floyd plead more than twenty times in the moments leading up to his death at the hands of (now former) police officer Derek Chauvin.”
  
• Video shows Phoenix police burning man during arrest: ‘Like acid on my skin’ by Sam Levin. “Kenyon had been burned – severely burned – on the hot city pavement. Medical records indicate he suffered third-degree burns, and hospital photos show deep burn scars and skin peeled off across his body. Kenyon has not been charged with a crime and a police spokesperson confirmed he was not the suspect that officers were seeking as part of a theft investigation.”

Let's Talk About Fascism

I was recently a guest on Ejeris Dixon's new podcast The Fascism Barometer. Ejeris is a dear friend, in addition to being a gifted organizer, movement educator, and grassroots strategist. For years, Ejeris has been working to educate impacted communities about the rising threat of fascism.

In the podcast's first episode, Ejeris spoke with our friend Ash-lee Woodard Henderson about fascist power grabs. You can subscribe to The Fascism Barometer wherever you get your podcasts.

Supporting Stevie Wilson’s Work

My comrade Stevie Wilson is asking for financial support for 9971, an abolitionist study group for imprisoned people in Pennsylvania. 9971 is the largest study group in the Dreaming Freedom, Practicing Abolition Network of Abolition Study Groups. Members of 9971 explore Black feminist thought, Black radical thought, queer and trans liberation, Indigenous struggles, disability justice, anti-capitalist readings and the history of social justice movements. Stevie is a beloved organizer who has been an important thought partner and collaborator to many of us on the outside. I look forward to the day when I can give him a hug, and build alongside him in-person. For now, let’s support the crucial political education work that Stevie is co-organizing behind prison walls. This group’s fundraising goal is attainable and within reach, so let’s make it happen.

Words Worth Thinking About

Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò recently shared a quote on social media from Huey Newton’s essay, “Black Capitalism Reanalyzed.” 

One of the primary characteristics of a revolutionary cultist is that he despises everyone who has not reached his level of consciousness, or the level of consciousness that he thinks he has reached, instead of acting to bring the people to that level. In that way the revolutionary cultist becomes divided from the people, he defects from the community. Instead of serving the people as a vanguard, he becomes a hero. Heroes engage in very courageous actions sometimes, and they often make great sac­rifices, including the supreme sacrifice, but they are still isolated from the people. Their courageous actions and sacrifices do not lead the people to a higher level of consciousness, nor do they produce fundamental changes in the exploitation and oppression of the people.

I think these words warrant reflection.

Remember to Breathe

Next week is going to be messy, and this weekend won’t be much better. Tensions and anxiety levels are high. Many of us wish we could fast forward through this homestretch of uncertainty, which could sprawl well beyond Election Day. There’s not much I can say that will ease your minds right now. I don’t know what’s going to happen next week, and I don’t trust anyone who claims to know. We all have hopes and worries about what’s ahead, and we all have work to do. My advice is to stay constructive and be as kind to yourself and others as possible. Impassioned people are not going to change their minds about anything at this stage. There is no point in arguing. If you want people to vote, there are GOTV efforts to engage with. If you want people to engage in mutual aid, protest, or community defense, invite people to join you in that work. 

I find doomscrolling profoundly unhelpful right now. If you want to educate yourself about what we’re up against, I recommend spending time with a good book on the subject, like Talia Lavin’s Wild Faith: How the Christian Right Is Taking Over America or Silky Shah’s Unbuild Walls: Why Immigrant Justice Needs Abolition. This is also an excellent time to revisit Dean Spade’s Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next).

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, remember to breathe. 

Sometimes, when I feel like I’m spiraling, I close my eyes and notice my breath. I observe its speed and depth. Am I breathing fast, as though I’m running, even though I’m sitting still? Am I holding my breath as though I’ve been plunged underwater? Then, I notice the tension in my jaw, neck, and shoulders, and I release what I can. I take slower, longer, deeper breaths. I allow myself to feel supported by the furniture beneath my body and the ground beneath my feet. Then, I open my eyes and assess my needs. Do I need to drink water? Grab something to eat? Take a shower? Move my body or message a friend? Usually, I gulp some water and get back to work, but sometimes, I drop everything and walk to the lake. 

If you need resources on meditation, breath work, or self care, I recommend checking out this document from the NYC Transformative Justice Hub. On Thursday, I will be sharing an episode of Movement Memos that will include more tools for navigating trauma, conflict and overwhelm.

For now, try to be gentle with yourselves and with others. Remember that some of the folks who are pissing you off right now are people you’ll need to build with later. I know what it’s like to burn bridges during tense moments, like this one, and to regret it, shortly thereafter, when the work of collective survival is at hand. Most of the conflicts unfolding around you right now are not worth engaging with; they are the product of fear, frustration, feelings of powerlessness, and fundamental disagreements that will not be resolved this week. Do what you can, where you can, and spend your time meaningfully. Move with love and purpose. Cherish what you know is worth fighting for. If you believe someone’s work is important, now is a good time to tell them so and to thank them for what they are doing. Amid so much stress, conflict, and acrimony, gratitude and expressions of solidarity can mean a great deal. 

Take care of yourself and your community. Whatever comes next, we won’t face it alone.

Much love,

Kelly