NonfictionNerds

Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot | Mikki Kendall

Another week has flown by, how did we get almost finished with this book #SheSaid

These essays remain strong for me, and that first one is sticking with me hard. How about you, any sticking really hard in your psyche this week?

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @tenar @vlwelser @KVanRead @SamAnne @Julsmarshall @arlenefinnigan @Chab256 @Scochrane26 @CoffeeK8. @MallenNC @Caroline2 @DebinHawaii @Nute @Currey @Augustdana @Suet624 @Singout @mhillis @BarbaraTheBibliophage @megnews @Jgotham @AnneCecilie @Kdgordon88 @kspenmoll @staci.reads 3y

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Smrloomis @KathyWheeler @ImperfectCJ @bibliobliss @JenlovesJT47 @Karisa @fredthemoose @ravenlee @Christine @mandarchy @rjsthumbelina @rockpools @Tera66 @Megabooks 3y

Riveted_Reader_Melissa I definitely have Trump loving, COVID denying family members who I know are part of a larger societal problem, and sadly, I feel more like I‘m trying to reprogram a cult member than confronting someone‘s bigoted attitude most of the time…but with all the talk of keeping the peace in the family and leaving politics outside…I‘ve found that harder and harder to do, and that first essay in this section really resonated with me this week. Maybe I‘m ⤵️ 3y

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️looking at the whole think backwards. Instead of feeling like I‘m failing at being the “good” daughter/sibling/cousin while biting my tongue and basically just avoiding some of them, I‘m failing at confronting them instead. Flip the script basically on my perceptions and what I own to people (edited) 3y

Singout Yes, me too. I think it‘s really important for women who self identify as feminists to be committed to not hiding behind whiteness and the privilege it brings when it makes them more secure and comfortable. I don‘t have the same issues in Canada as people living under Trump did in the States but there are lots of forms of oppression that need to be challenged here too. 3y

Singout I could also really identify with the housing essay because I live in a rapidly gentrifying diverse low income neighborhood, and I‘m at risk of losing my own housing, so it‘s an issue I‘ve been doing a lot of thinking and reading about. I really liked what she said about the importance of security and everyday needs of long-term residents being more important then introducing new jobs/“culture” at their expense. 3y

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Singout Yes… we have that problem here too. It‘s always about bringing in new whatever to revitalize (and usually giving them tax credits to move here) while the current residents suffer with little gov‘t help. It probably didn‘t resonant as much from Canada as it did here, but the issues are the same…about portraying some areas as not thriving because companies have moved out (rush belt), but framing the discussion of inner cities differently⤵️ 3y

Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️ I couldn‘t help but think that applied to reservations too, that have never gotten the infrastructure & support they needed. And now after reading Seven Feathers, I know that problem exists in Canada too.

Seven Fallen Feathers: Racism, Death, and Hard Truths in a Northern City

Singout Absolutely. So much injustice done towards First Nations: a huge number don‘t even have potable drinking water, and definitely get blamed for wanting to stay on their own land if they can‘t “contribute to the economy.” 3y

megnews I I‘ve always been very interested in education and housing issues so those essays resonated with me the most. I struggled with some of the reading this week. I learned the word advocate in about third grade when my principal called me one and I didn‘t know what it meant. I‘ve always been the one with the big mouth who stood up to racist family members and “ruined” everyone‘s holidays. I guess when I see people post about dreading ⬇️ 3y

megnews ⬆️holidays being racist great aunt karen is going to be there I thought it was because they were fellow holiday ruiners. Perhaps not? The author gives us an assignment to push back on that even at the cost of others‘ comfort. We have to. How can this ever change if not? I used to be loud about it. And my girls are now. I try to teach them what I‘ve learned over the years to be armed with indisputable facts (less feeling) and as little ⬇️ 3y

megnews ⬆️abrasive as possible so people will hear your message and not the passion they interpret as anger or worse yet crazy. I‘ve flagged a lot this week and keep going back to read sections. 3y

tenar Two of the essays in this section are, I think, my favorites so far. Education and Housing. The Education essay really moved me; we‘re failing kids of color and disabled kids terribly by investing badly-needed school dollars into police presence. And the Housing essay had me researching more on public housing, and reminded me of the work of Catherine Flowers in sewage and sanitation problems right here in the US. Been meaning to read her book

Waste: One Woman�s Fight Against America�s Dirty Secret

megnews I have Seven Fallen Feathers in next months‘ tbr. Looking forward to it. 3y

tenar Reading y‘all‘s comments and thinking about what we‘ve read, I feel terribly overwhelmed by just how much we‘re Not investing in our futures. Housing, education, infrastructure, health. All lacking terribly. The safety net is like a couple of cords you hit on your way down, not really functional. I‘m definitely going to have to process these feelings and try to make some fuel for change from them. 3y

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @tenar I heard something similar when they were discussing the 2 current infrastructure bills, roads & bridges and human infrastructure…the comment was that the second bill is seen as so liberal & controversial here, but in any other modernized/westernized country it wouldn‘t be considered radical at all, but basic and easy to pass. 3y

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @megnews I read it earlier this year with #NonfictionNerds. And she‘s right, the struggle for potable water is real, and decent schools, etc. So sad. But I can‘t say we are much better. Flint is still struggling with potable water and it‘s not the only city. 3y

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @megnews no, I dread family get togethers because it‘s just me in a sea of Republicans…and they are family that I grew up with and mostly love, but they will definitely gang up on you with their weird mis-information facts. I‘ve had FB fights over the confederate flag with my aunt, and the advice to me is usually to just ignore their posts, but when I unfriended them because I don‘t want to see it and be silent, I‘m the crazy one. ⤵️ (edited) 3y

Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️ it really is a no-win situation. 3y

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @tenar That stuff eats at me. We refuse to educate or provide basics like health care, but yet somehow think we are an exceptional country and will continue to be so while basically unfunding any new generations of leaders, scientists, etc. if we can not provide for the children of this country, how can they grow up to be better, smarter, better prepared, etc. (edited) 3y

MallenNC @tenar The education and housing essays stuck with me too. I like how she frames these as feminist issues. Affordable housing is becoming so scarce in my city now, and the school to prison pipeline is real. We didn‘t have school cops when I was in school, so I hadn‘t realized that what kids used to just get “in trouble for” can now send them to court. 3y

MallenNC @Riveted_Reader_Melissa I‘m so sorry for your family situation. It is hard when they don‘t want to listen. I have a very small family now, and I‘m lucky that my circle of friends is pretty much on the same page with me. But extended family and high school friends are another story but these aren‘t people I interact with much. 3y

MallenNC I saw this story about “Dads on Duty” after reading the education chapter. It seems like a possible better option if it could be expanded. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dads-louisiana-high-school-student-violence/ 3y

megnews @Riveted_Reader_Melissa I had to unfriend some family members for the same issue. Also ones who post Christian stuff in between trump supporting posts. I just can‘t. I‘m sorry you‘re so outnumbered in your family. 3y

megnews @MallenNC I just saw this on tiktok. 😂 but I did think it was an amazing solution!! 3y

Tera66 @Riveted_Reader_Melissa I also am the black sheep in a sea of Republicans in my family, I have pretty much avoided FB because of it. I don't want to "fight" with my family but the misinformation and gaslighting gets under my skin. I'm definitely guilty of not speaking up to avoid the fight. 3y

Tera66 And I'm with everyone, the essays on Education and Housing definitely resonated with me. I'm in Denver and housing prices are ridiculously high, and forgot trying to buy anything. Homelessness has exploded. And the Education piece broke my heart, I've experienced and witnessed the bullying and biase in classrooms, no student or child deserves this. 3y

ravenlee I‘m traveling at the moment and didn‘t get to this week‘s section. I‘ll see all y‘all next week! 3y

KathyWheeler While I understand her point about pushing back, it‘s been my experience that there‘s no way to change these people‘s minds. They don‘t listen to anything you say no matter how grounded your argument is in facts. Facts aren‘t important to these family members. Pushing back just feels futile. I quit talking to my brother after he said my husband belonged in an insane asylum for his views that support housing and health security for everyone. (edited) 3y

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @KathyWheeler I feel this so much. Even where something like COVID is concerned, neither I nor my BSN RN mother can convince my brother to be vaccinated or to vaccinate his daughters…because he heard/saw/read “reasons”. And if we can‘t even break through the misinformation on something that could directly & detrimentally effect him…any hope I had of cutting through the misinformation & spin on larger social issues is pretty much nonexistent. ⤵️ 3y

Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️ it‘s painful. I still try to talk with him about that, but get no-where. And living in the red area we live in, most of his friends all believe the same thing, reinforce it to each other, and I‘m the crazy/living in fear one. It truly can make you feel like you are crazy or in this case feel like you must be a hypochondriac at times. Pure insanity, living surrounded by those not living in reality. And the funny thing is, a few years ago.. (edited) 3y

Riveted_Reader_Melissa …I would have thought, well we don‘t agree on everything, but science is safe…Nope, not any more. Surreal times, that has only made the gap worse. (edited) 3y

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Tera66 I use to have to put my family in the FB “time out corner” every election cycle. Basically check a box not to see their stuff for awhile (say 6 months), then it was usually safe to converse again. Now the election season/cycle never ends…I had to unfriend most of them. (edited) 3y

KathyWheeler @Riveted_Reader_Melissa yeah, I would have thought science was safe too, but no. My brother is also one of these people who aggressively believes what he believes and calls you stupid and other names if you believe differently. It‘s sad. 3y

megnews @KathyWheeler @Riveted_Reader_Melissa my dad is a Fox News on 24/7, worship everything trump says. The founding father worship is real. This is why I taught my kids real history at home because knowing it helps with today‘s arguments. Here‘s how I handled the vaccine debate. “How do you think the founding fathers would handle it?” Generally when I throw a question back in his court he either doesn‘t answer or spews something I can tell he heard ⬇️ 3y

megnews ⬆️ fox or online. I can‘t recall which that time. Then I told him during the Revolutionary war smallpox outbreak Washington insisted on vaccination of all soldiers and did it first himself as an example. Adams led by example in this area as well. At that point I get dumbfounded looks and no further response. 3y

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @megnews Right, and when you explain Trump and his whole family are vaccinated, and every employee at FOX news must be it‘s crickets and then usually a, ‘well, Im not doing it because xYZ crazy agreement‘. My one uncle said he won‘t get it because they keep pushing it on people, what do they have to gain pushing it on people so hard, someone‘s making money off this. Uh, they push because they don‘t want people to die 🙄 and you are paying ⤵️ (edited) 3y

Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️ nothing….the gov‘t bought for all its citizens to protect them. 3y

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