Blog
How we’re here now: Poems of California
Poems in ‘Rift Zone’ and ‘Last West’. We know in our bones what being is. Because we are. ‘To be’ is to exist in a place, to grow, to break off, to feel how this ties us to past and future.
We know who’s responsible for orange sky
We need to hold them accountable. It’s Exx-smog and Shell-smoke. The big orange cats must be held accountable, and there’s more than one. Each of us has a role to play.
Designing a town people can get around? Repeat this exercise.
Anna Zivarts reminds us how we can take an hour to try harder. Sometimes we lack empathy for each other’s transportation needs and preferences. We have no idea because we haven’t stopped to try.
Two things ‘cancel culture’ refers to
On ‘speaking first’ and the meaning of ‘engagement’. You can decline to “engage” online. Think quietly somewhere else. That’s not “cancel culture.” Rewarding someone for being wrong serves no one’s interests.
High school debate judges have their own opinions
They want an inclusive, non-hostile environment. Oppression can be systemic. We know our own experiences. These are obvious facts. How can we pretend not to know them when we make any judgment whatsoever?
A hostile critic isn’t impartial
They complain about our greatest strengths. In real life, when our enemies point out our ‘faults,’ we don’t always need to take it to heart. They don’t have our best interests in mind.
Quit Twitter?
It’s been a Fire Swamp, and it’ll get worse. Here’s where you can go. If it isn’t Trump who’s given free rein to make Twitter swampier than it already is, it’ll be someone like Trump. Maybe a hundred Trump figures.
We may not have Twitter tomorrow
Letting go is a complex process, and there’s no one right way to do it. Sometimes good things can’t be saved. We can be sad and frustrated. But, even not wanting to let go, we can give ourselves permission to actually let go.
We mortals must combat hate speech
Starboard buys Parler, and it looks like strange fire. This is all kinds of strange fire, except for the queer kind that we like. It is instead made of strange fires that deserve to be scrutinized and judged.