The news tends to leave me teary and choked a lot lately, but this time it was in the good way. The images of World Pride Day being celebrated, splashed in vibrant rainbows across most front pages on Sunday morning, were so jubilant—a hard-earned moment of visibility as an antidote to the suppression and discrimination that catalyzed in the Stonewall riots 50-years ago.
I’m sorry for being a bit MIA lately. After our week in New York, we had a brief few days at home before packing up again for an annual camping trip—this time at Donner Lake Memorial State Park. If you follow me on Instagram, I’ve been sharing on there. We continued on to Lake Tahoe afterward and, while Aron goes back to work tomorrow for the day, will stay put up until the 4th of July holiday. Thanks for continuing to check back!
I hope summer is treating you all well so far. I’ve been bookmarking some things to share, so I thought I’d ease back in with some links of note (even if on a Monday)…
To start, the majority of what I’ve been reading lately concerns the migrant children being held at the border:
This line from Sullivan’s Op-Ed in the NYT is how it feels to me, every day: “I [find] myself unable to separate the crisis from my own life, the way we tend to with most horrifying news. Otherwise pleasant parenting tasks became painful reminders. Every time my son cried, I thought of the babies whose mothers weren’t there to comfort them.”
I, too, would call it a mass atrocity. So I’m curious how others feel about this more aggressively positioned Op-Ed by Cronin-Furman: “The answer is that we call these abuses mass atrocities and use the tool kit this label offers us to fight them. So far, mobilization against what’s happening on the border has mostly followed standard political activism scripts: raising public awareness, organizing protests, phoning our congressional representatives. These efforts are critical, but they aren’t enough. Children are suffering and dying. The fastest way to stop it is to make sure everyone who is responsible faces consequences.”
And then there was the photograph of a last embrace. This article asks, Do we need those images? “My perspective, as an immigration reporter, is that if you haven’t been moved by now by the many reports of abuses, injustices, in-custody deaths, and bodies that have turned up in the borderlands, then you cannot be moved. The argument that people need to see actual dead brown and black bodies to understand injustice against people of color betrays a gruesome prejudice—and, as Kendall suggests, our country’s history shows that these sorts of images are unlikely to mobilize action.” This was a sobering reaction-piece I found via Erin of Reading My Tea Leaves.
Moving in a different direction, Kottke‘s media diet lists are also a pleasure to read—and remind me of some things I’d like to see.
Related: “What should I watch on Netflix tonight?”
And something, perhaps, to catch on Showtime.
My friend Liz—who writes the blog Say Yes—has started a project called The Huddle, mentorship retreats for women entrepreneurs and it sounds amazing.
Size-inclusive clothing brands.
A pretty summer tunic with a belt.
Puppy Dog eyes are a real thing. (But we knew that, didn’t we?)
I haven’t read all of this yet, but I’m looking forward to. “14 People on How They *Actually* Made New Friends as an Adult”
Dictator-envy is no laughing matter.
On yet another credible report of sexual assault by the President. Will the fullness of impact ever be felt?
And, from NPR, five takeaways from night one and from night two of the Democratic debates if, like me, you missed them.
What have been your links of note recently?
[Photo from this year’s Pride Parade in New York: Brittainy Newman/The New York Times]
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