reader. writer.

So it happened. Hell froze over, at least according to my thermometer, probably because so many WWII veterans claimed hell would freeze over before our country gave power to na…

Anyway.

Meanwhile, I have been meaning to blog again, sharing thoughts and ideas of what to do now that everything is at risk, more at risk than it already was. As usual, though, I’m never going to be consistent in posting on here, plus I took a much-needed break over Thanksgiving, to focus on family and friends and enjoy fleeting moments of joy. Then I spent the month of December dealing with Covid for the first time. I’m grateful I was vaccinated because it was a rough month, and I’m still dealing with lingering effects. I will be wearing masks into crowded spaces from now on, even though I hardly ever go into crowded spaces (except, go figure, three days before onset).

It has become increasingly clear that every form of media or social media is fraught, complicit in the current wave of malice, greed, and cruelty unleashed upon us. Posting on this blog feels like a decent alternative to social media, but the landscape keeps shifting. Due to this state of constant change, we may not benefit from completely swearing off any specific media source—unless that media outlet is named after the only letter in the alphabet that resembles a swastika. 👀

Still, stepping away or taking a break and seeking out alternatives for now seems helpful. I haven’t subscribed to the Washington Post in a long time (though I still miss reading Alexandra Petri’s column). We subscribed for over a decade to the New York Times, and after the election, we paused the subscription because I was so mad at the Republican-empowering headlines and choices in op-eds. After peeking once more at their coverage this week, I ended the subscription completely. 

We are limiting our intake of news, not eliminating it (though based on the news thus far, we all have to pace ourselves to handle the emotional load). I make a deliberate effort to avoid articles that use images of the Republican President (or his cronies) as clickbait. If I am nervous to get a glimpse of what might be happening in the world, I scan the headlines on AP news, Reuters, and BBC Online. I often read NPR online, and I subscribe to the WFDD newsletters https://www.wfdd.org/enews, a good source of state news. I also subscribe to the What A Day newsletter https://crooked.com/newsletter-signup/, which provides a helpful overview that doesn’t require that I look at or hear these people who are so abhorrent. 

I’ve always preferred reading to listening or viewing, but I sometimes watch PBS Newshour online, though the last time I did, I just felt so sorry for all the reporters because you can tell they are well-informed people with consciences, and they are going to have to be on the frontline of so much horror and stupidity… seems like there should be some kind of combat pay. 

We also subscribed this year to the New Yorker print option because it’s nice to read something printed and not see distracting links or photos of horrible people. In fact, it’s nice to read something without any algorithm measuring what we choose to read or skip. (A good argument to subscribe to a reputable newspaper in print, if you can find one.) 

Seems like everyone has a substack or some kind of newsletter now, and some of them are valuable resources, though Substack’s financial model and moderation standards have been subject to criticism. With that caution in mind, Substack might be worth a peek, especially my two current favorites — Paul Krugman https://paulkrugman.substack.com and Heather Cox Richardson https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com.

What about social media, you may ask? Well, I have some thoughts (surprise, surprise). First, if going on social media makes you miserable, don’t. But if it is a source of joy or insight for you, you don’t necessarily have to quit entirely, but some strategy might be worth considering, especially if you go on Facebook or Instagram. In 2016, we learned that Facebook data helped to get the Republican President elected, something we thought was a glitch and not a plan, but now we discover the owner is all in for authoritarianism and domestic terror. So yeah, Facebook deserves to be banned and avoided. But it’s also where I keep in touch with people I’ve crossed paths with over the years, and I still find some insightful posts there. A strategy I’m pondering is that I could post any thoughts here on my blog (there are lots of options to set up a free and simple blog if you want to try this too). Then I could post links, screenshots, excerpts to any of my social media accounts. If I have something short and glib to say (so rare, just look at the length of this post!), there is Bluesky, and I thought I could post those short takes there and then post a screenshot or link onto Facebook (or instagram or threads or wherever else I go). I guess the idea is that I won’t provide original content for Meta—it will only be a way to spread content that appears somewhere else originally.

Of course, I post almost as rarely on social media as I do on this blog, but still, I wanted to feel more comfortable about how to post if I choose to. I noticed this past year that when I posted links to political information on Facebook, it felt as if they were lost or hidden, and I suspect the algorithm is suppressing them. (Indeed, I don’t really understand why and how I see some friends’ posts and not others, at least not in a timely way.) So I have understandable doubts about Facebook as a space for progressive organizing, but I know the landscape keeps changing, so never say never. But my one thought was that I might post photos of my dog for any political post, and then post the political information in the comments, maybe even describing how to search for the link rather than providing the link itself. We’ll see. I guess what I’m thinking is that we all should find workarounds in using media sources that are controlled by those who support authoritarianism rather than democracy. Another idea might be to make sure we have updated phone numbers and email addresses for our in-person friends, so we aren’t dependent on a site like Facebook to stay in touch and so that we can reach out to one another during the crises ahead.

Be safe, stay warm. Log off and make some art.