The No Kings protest was exceptional. 20,000 people in Oakland, with level of organization that bodes well for our capacity to support fair midterm elections.
Break time for Privilege, and I’ll be back here in May.
In the interim, if you’ve ever said to yourself, “Hey, I wonder what Lisa thinks about (insert topic, large or small, philosophical, analytical, entertaining or entirely frivolous)?” please tell me below. Outfit posts, imaginary shopping, how-to (assuming it’s an area I have any experience or opinion of value,) general musings – all requests welcome and I’ll do the best I can to reply in future posts. Have an excellent April. Thank you for everything.
7 Responses
Enjoy your break!
Here in Portland we had 30,000 turn out downtown, with numerous other rallies in both the city and the suburbs. But I was disappointed in the speeches that attacked other Democrats – seems to me that unity rather than division is the way to win. You’d think that the left would have figured that out by now.
Have a good break, Lisa. xo
Enjoy your break, Lisa! Hope your April is lovely and full of flowers. I’m sure I’ve had a few complicated topics swirling around my brain and will try to write them up soon. :)
Hope you can get in a Springtime visit with your Superstar Children next month!
I propose this topic only because you mentioned it in the runup to The Wedding when you showed us possibilities for outfits. One such possibility included a prominent logo which caused doubt by some of us. At that point you remarked that a family member was mildly aghast when you showed up wearing a logo’d article of clothing, but that you had come to peace over prominent logos.
Without casting asparagus [my toddler blurted that once, it stuck] on particular family members, and because I’m bothered by prominent logos, I’d like you to consider sharing the steps you took toward achieving peace with logos.
I probably do need logo-aversion rehab. I’m in the market for a new daily bag and can’t get over the fact that they all advertise themselves now, so the search is dragging on. Though less rude by far than obvious metal lettering or a mass of tapestry logos, neither of which I would even consider, the greatest irritant to me when shopping is the little gold-ink brand stamped pointlessly into the leather which will probably wear off within a few months (e.g., Strathberry, Polene, some Furla — the ones I otherwise like, of course). It’s so cheap on the part of the manufacturer, and intentionally wasteful in that you’re meant to buy a new insanely expensive bag as soon as the gold ink wears partially off and it looks tatty. Otherwise they are very nice, discreet bags I could afford and would enjoy carrying, so the dumb brand stamp is offensive on a soul level. AITA? I realize it may be my problem and humbly accept all asparagus cast my way.
^ And there should be an emoji at the end there, to indicate that it’s meant playfully instead of contentiously!
For a fun topic, I’d love to hear your thoughts on Flo’s and my discussion from the Big Over Big post about inherited fashion rules. What rules did you hear growing up (from parents, grandparents, or anyone)? What are the wildest/funniest ones? My Granny was an endless font of these, and I assimilated some as truth and others as comedy. Now I just miss my sweet Granny and can always imagine her commenting on my outfit. :)
On a more serious note, for everyone, I recommend the fantastic book “No Logo” by Naomi Klein — not only for the painstaking research and discussion of exploitative branding and its effect on young people, but also for the brief yet unforgettable introduction to corporate influence in schools and universities. It was written in 1999, but the topic is more relevant than ever today in the new age of every single institution of higher learning, including my alma mater, suddenly having “partnered” with at least one Big Tech AI firm who has donated millions and integrated AI into every single curriculum overnight — while serious academics continue to sound constant alarms about the devastating impact their “move fast and break things” philosophy will have on everything from the health of those living near data centers (which are always built in poorer areas, which in turn become both unlivable and unaffordable…), to the personal safety of minorities and dissidents, to the environment and the night sky. Alumni no longer have influence when the “other” donors’ pockets are that deep; and tuition costs still paradoxically continue to skyrocket, well out of reach of nearly all. This is all so upsetting to me. The corporations bringing our country down are just feeding themselves at this point. I doubt that’s worthy of a post… It’s all just been weighing very heavily on my mind as the sun sets on the American dream of opportunity for everyone, and it seems to follow a path from our discussion of changing views not long ago.
I wonder if the expectation of “performative happiness,” as I would call it, has ever been discussed on the blog, and if it’s a High WASP thing, a Southern thing, or just a capital Thing for everyone. Being expected to bubble with general “gratitude,” etc., even when dying emotionally, or when the world is dying around you, and being verbally or nonverbally chastised if unable or unwilling to do so. I don’t find that kind of environment here, Lisa, and for that I am truly, deeply grateful. Life has been sad and hard to bear so often lately — not only for me, but for so many. Performing happiness in excess just seems obscene and distasteful to me at some point — quite as obscene as performing wealth would be. It also seems to be expected only of women. I always still do try, out of fear or habit, and then feel awful due to the discordance between inner and outer worlds.