Friday Things

Good morning, Friday fam. ICYMI, we have a list of things non-Black POC, Indigenous people and white people can do *right now* to support our Black loved ones. #BlackLivesMatter fridaythings.com/recent-posts/h…

🔥 Oil, chains, and freedom. 🔥 In her article for @fridaythings, writer Stacy Lee Kong takes us behind the chains, horns, and ritual of Spicemas, reflecting on how playing Jab opened up a deeper kind of liberation: one rooted in history, resistance, and joy.

Stacey Lee Kong's @fridaythings newsletter is always a must read but this week she hits the nail on the head about the return of thinspo and its ties to our current SNAP fears and how hunger is a tool of oppression. fridaythings.com/recent-posts/o…

and why we should resist the impulse to seek out our own freedom by compromising on others'. Read more 👇🏽fridaythings.com/recent-posts/b…

So, in this week's newsletter, I'm thinking about who wins when marginalized groups compete with one another (spoiler: never the members of those groups!!!!), how political entities have leveraged that competition in the past

Over the past few weeks, an online discourse has emerged that positions Black liberation and Palestinian liberation as at odds, or perhaps in competition, with one another. Off the top, I think we should remember that by definition, liberation has to be collective.

All of which is to say, yes, this week's newsletter is about the protesters who interrupted Kamala Harris' rally in Detroit this week, and big picture, what it means when political engagement becomes an act of fandom. fridaythings.com/recent-posts/k…

So, hear me out: perhaps we *don't* stan?⁠

I don't know if you've heard but there's been a vibe shift in American politics. The people feel so hopeful! It's like Obama's first presidential campaign in 2008!⁠ ⁠

Read more 👇🏽 fridaythings.com/recent-posts/k…

I also want to point out that political support is fragile—and it can definitely be fleeting.⁠

So, I don't think the Kamala memes are as important as people think they are. Don't get me wrong—I've also been laughing at the increasingly absurd iterations of jokes about coconut trees and brat that have been taking over my social media feeds this week. I love a lil joke!

Read more 👇🏽 fridaythings.com/recent-posts/g…

So that's what I'm thinking about this week—along with what role governments, corporations and institutions play in maintaining the status quo, how that is often at odds with artists' interests, and what makes Palestine different from previous examples of this tension.⁠

This week, author Omar El Akkad (@omarelakkad) was on @CommotionCBC, where he had a really thoughtful conversation with host Elamin Abdelmahmoud about his, and other authors', decision to cut ties with the Giller Prize over its title sponsor, Scotiabank.