The divisions that undermine the reality of Union.

A picture of Michigan: blaze orange hat borrowed from a deer hunting family member, and elated in the snow at last.

If ever you see real fur ear muffs, get them. I am vegetarian unless the meat is respectfully hunted. I will also wear second-hand fur and leather when I find it, with gratitude and in recognition of the superior weather protection and durability. On the same subject: real wool coat and a cashmere scarf keeping me warm and happy. All thrifted and vintage.

My 11year old built and styled this snowman of particular elegance. Classic carrot nose, with pea gravel detailing. On a side note, the mask requirements of the Covid pandemic necessitates a general goodbye to lipstick habits, but I do sometimes do my eyebrows for mild fleek.

I appreciate the aptness of the phrasing: “white grievance politics,” as a succinct description of those who scoff at and complain about movements for social justice. Those of us who speak up and organize around such issues as environmental action and police accountability are often accused of and dismissed as adhering to “identity politics,” when in actuality we are advocating for policies that are beneficial to the health and sanity of everyone in our shared nation who would otherwise be shunted aside in the wake of insatiable corporate greed.

Profits over people has a long history, with Black and brown and poor communities on the front lines of those who are
deemed expendable.

The Capitol mob, and those who stood behind them, have been duped into believing that only they should be counted as real Americans. They assume that those of us who they cast aside as Others are only waiting for the chance to gain enough power to oppress and terrorize them in return. This is a deep error. When justice-oriented activism is criticized as the identity politics of “always making everything all about race,” it should be realized that we would like nothing better than for race to no longer be such a decisive factor in how people are treated. Yes, our communities have been historically exterminated, enslaved, poisoned, vilified, and left with crumbling schools and neighborhoods. This does not mean that we do not seek, at base, the correction of systemic inequalities that threaten everyone.