Friday, March 15, 2019

Weekend Reading: Heartbroken Edition

I decided my rollerblade today was non-negotiable. I'd had a difficult week at work, and was feeling a bit frayed. And then a terrorist attacked a city in the country that feels like my second home.  I had to start my day today by telling my 11 year old about the attack, because I suspected someone at school would ask her about it and want to know if her New Zealand family are from Christchurch (they are not - our family and close friends are primarily in Wellington and Auckland). And as shattered as I was by this attack, I know that I am feeling a fraction of what Muslim people are feeling today.

So I needed to ground myself and get out of my head and remind myself why this world is worth fighting to improve. Luckily for me, the weather has turned warmer here and it was a beautiful day and my rollerblade helped a lot.

Some things I want to share about the terrorist attack and related topics:

More people were murdered in the terrorist attack in Christchurch yesterday than in all of New Zealand in an entire average year.

Right-wing terrorism has gone global. We need to address this problem as a global terrorism problem, not a local hate problem. We heard in the early hours after the attack that the suspected gunman was not on any terrorism watchlists. But he also was apparently active on social media posting hate-filled things and frequenting the places that other mass shooters inspired by hate have frequented. So why wasn't he on a watchlist? We need to start taking this threat more seriously.

I think this post about the Republican party's problem with white identity politics is good. I don't know what the solution is, either.

Here's an article I'm hoping to find time to read this weekend: Adam Serwer on white nationalism's American roots.

In somewhat related topics: Elizabeth F. Cohen on the unintended consequences of our past immigration policies is really worth your time.

I did not read David Frum's immigration article. I share Noah Smith's opinion on that:





In somewhat more hopeful topics: The photos from the Climate Stikes around the world are inspiring.

I found this article about the app-rentable scooters and helmets really good. The real solution may be taking space back from cars to make riding bikes and scooters safe... but in the meantime, we need to find ways to make things safer.

This article about Inuit parenting was fascinating.

In recommended listening:

I happened to have listened to Sean Illing's interview with Deeyah Khan, who made recent documentaries on Jihadism and White Nationalism, this week. It is a really good interview and definitely worth your time.

I also really enjoyed the interview on The Weeds podcast with Pete Buttigieg. I still think he is a long, longshot for President, but he has some interesting ideas and argues for them well. I might donate some money to him to get him on the debate stage!

I've shared this poem before, but in case you need it today: Good Bones, by Maggie Smith, gives me a lot of comfort on days like today.

And here's a yawning bunny to start off your weekend:




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