Don't You Worry: On The Internet, No One Knows You're A Vindictive Idiot
Sweethearts, happy Monday! As the temperature drops, and an unhealthy haze settles over San Francisco, I write to you today wrapped in a blanket, and very soon with my face wrapped in a mask. The air in the Bay Area is currently deemed “unhealthy,” and could get all the way up to “very unhealthy” by the end of today. The Camp fire, already the most destructive wildfire in state history, has destroyed 7,000 buildings, including an entire town in less than a day, and caused at least 23 confirmed deaths. The smoke from said fire has settled over the city. You know what would be great? If you want to help, I encourage you to donate to Chico's North Valley Community Foundation's Camp Fire Evacuation Relief Fund, as local organizations tend to know the best places to direct funds to in order to help as many affected as possible.
Meanwhile, our very own VIOTUS (vindictive idiot of the United States) tweeted dumb things about the fires that angered many, all while he hid from the big bad rain instead of attending to the graves of US soldiers on the 100th anniversary of the Armistice of World War I. His decision to bail on honoring fallen US marines was ridiculed and condemned by many, but no one trolled quite like the French army. Also, on Armistice Day, Trump arrived late and didn’t participate in the world leader shoulder-to-shoulder walk as bells tolled marking “the exact moment of the armistice 100 years ago” because of course he didn’t.
Also, while I’m angry at dangerous political tweets, friend of the Missive Haley reminded me to point out that the National Rifle Association told “self-important anti-gun doctors to stay in their lane” in reaction to a new position paper from the American College of Physicians' (ACP) on public health measures that could reduce casualties from firearms. To which, seemingly every doctor on Twitter (justifiably) flipped every table everywhere to say, as perfectly summed up by forensic pathologist Dr. Judy Melinek, “Do you have any idea how many bullets I pull out of corpses weekly? This isn’t just my lane. It’s my fucking highway.”
Woof, there’s a lot to rage at on the internet and it’s not even 7 am PT yet! So I was going to share this for Friday’s Reading List, but what the hell, we all need a distraction. Enjoy MEL Magazine’s The Pre-Internet Phenomenon of Boys Hiding Their Porn in the Woods by Chris O’Connell (technically SFW, but really do you want to get caught with that headline up on your screen? I didn’t think so.)
As always and forever, be kind to each other.
xoxo Amy