LRN72 - Joy - in the Midst of Fascism
Protest is necessary - but not without rest and rejuvenation
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Hello and Happy Black History Month!
This is my fifth attempt at a newsletter this month. The first was about Christians and how they don’t seem to have empathy. The second was about white supremacist patriarchy and how the Epstein files prove (once again) that white affluent dudes can get away with anything they want, without consequences. The third was about the Super Bowl and the joy of the Latin Diaspora. Bad Bunny showed us all that joy can overcome hatred. It isn’t the ONLY thing that is needed to fight fascism, but it is a necessary element. Without joy, we have nothing, and it makes it impossible to fight the good fight. The fourth was about the women of the Olympics and how true joy can be found in the freedom to do what you love. Hat tip to Alysa Liu for showing the world that sports can be joyous if you don’t let the world beat you down.
But for all of those attempts, and after the shit show of a State of the Union Address that happened this week, at this point I just want to send some good vibes. The things that have happened over the past year+ have been disgusting and eye opening. If you weren’t awake leading into the 2023 election cycle, I would hope that you are now. I hope that you are seeing clearly what Black Americans have known their whole lives. This place isn’t for the majority of us. It was meant to be a playground for affluent, white people, and the rest of us are just support.
Also - Mercury is retrograde in Pisces until the 20th of March and we are heading into a busy eclipse season, so I am in need of some comfort writing.
So - on that note - I’d like to share a few images that struck me over the past couple of months and explain more than words where we are and where we could be. In the meantime, FUCK ICE and FUCK DONALD TRUMP.
If this newsletter is valuable to you, in any way, please consider commenting. I would like to have a dialogue on these issues so that we can talk through the now and strategize for the future. Just rehashing the obvious stuff isn’t enough. We also have to make a plan to improve. That can be difficult in the midst of such wreckage, but since the majority of us have been living under oppression for the whole of our lives, it would be good to finally rise up as one and say ENOUGH. This white supremacist, patriarchal bullshit has GOT to end.
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Thank you for reading/viewing! This year, I’m going to work on moving the newsletter over to Hippiegrrl Media. I’m not quite sure when the move will occur, but it means you will be hearing from me less over here. I hope that you will come follow me over there, on my original platform, so we can continue this research journey together. Thanks, always, for sticking around and if you made it this far, you deserve some good news from the stacks!
The Best Things We Read in 2025 from The Stacks Podcast
American Library Association announces 2026 Youth Media Award winners from ALA.org
Congress Maintains Most Federal Funding for Libraries, Museums, and Archives. from EveryLibrary.org