we do it everyday anyway.

a note on survival & the ballot box | +the failure of green growth, The Bikeriders, bad casual sex & more!

oh! september.

Dear ones, 

“Everyone’s sick and everyone needs a ride.” This phrase keeps playing in my head on a loop since last week when P and I had to get to the hospital multiple times with only one car between us—the days I was at work he needed to find rides, and the days I was off-campus I was also helping drive another friend to a doctor’s appointment. Another friend is recovering from an assault, and another another friend is planning a funeral, and another friend is suffering from mold poisoning, and another from cancer, and we’re still waiting to hear how much our landlord is going to raise the rent to see if we have an affordable place to live next month. All this to the backdrop of the presidential election. Two b/millionaires shouting back and forth about how much they support Israel, about how many immigrants they plan to deport, about how much they both love hurting the Earth and low-income people’s access to clean air and water.

To whom does the president of an always-already genocidal, ecocidal, racist state matter? Our lives, our survival, are in our own hands, and our loved ones if we’re lucky. No president arranged for P and I to get rides to the hospital. No president is holding the shoulders of my crying, hurting friend. No president gives a shit, and even if they do in their heart of hearts give a shit about people’s well being, the institution they’re trying to run will never let them actually give a shit. Nothing is broken; our pain and suffering is exactly what the system is designed to create. 

Lest I get handwriting in my inbox, let me be clear, with the help of Maragaret Killjoy: “I’m not here to tell you whether or not to vote. That’s not what I care about. I care about what else you do with your time. I care about how you spend your time actually working to make the world a better place.” 

In my abolition class this week a student said something important in a discussion about hope, and I’ll paraphrase: “It doesn’t matter if we’re optimistic or pessimistic, because people who need to survive against these systems—immigrants, people with family in prison— do it everyday anyway.” We do it everyday anyway. Honestly that gives me more hope than anything. 

***

Below! Three short reviews of three good films (Problemista, The Bikeriders, & The Big Bend), lots of good links to read (prison newspapers! bad casual sex! some nerdy academic texts! Peter’s excellent article about the failures of green growth!), a perfect late summer/early fall album, and more. 

If you’re into this newsletter and would like to support my work, I hope you’ll consider subscribing for just $30. This discount price is only around for one more week, so now’s the time! <3 

I love you. 

love & solidarity,

raechel 

Reading.