I've Discovered That Criminal Minds Is My Content Security Blanket, And Yes, I Need To Discuss This With My Therapist, OK?

TGIF, my lovelies. As we stare down this final day of the week, steely resolve in our eyes and the fire of a thousand suns in our hearts, let us take a moment to reflect on the fact that a “group of penguins in the water is called a raft but on land they’re called a waddle”. Thank you, City of Albuquerque, for the most random fact to ever live on a municipal website.

TO THE LONGREADS

Christopher Miller, A Renowned Holocaust Historian Testified That Charlottesville Rally Organizers’ Messages Were A “Call To Arms” (BuzzFeed News) - BuzzFeed News has done a very good job of covering the civil case against the organizers of the 2017 Unite The Right rally in Charlottesville, and their coverage of Deborah Lipstadt’s testimony at the trial is no exception. Long time readers of the Missive will remember how much I’ve read of Lipstadt’s work (if you haven’t read her study of the coverage of the Holocaust in the US Beyond Belief: The American Press And The Coming Of The Holocaust, 1933- 1945, you should) and if she says that these organizers had the desire and capacity to turn violent, we should listen.

Lauren Wolfe, I’m A Jaded Journalist. Why Was I Nearly Fooled By NXIVM? (Elle) - Just started this, but I’m already impressed at how self-aware and reflective this piece is at examining the very human tendency to be almost-wooed into a high control group. 

Sara Benincasa, If You're Having a Tough Time: Saratonin 67 (Patreon) - If you are dealing with a friend with addiction, or you yourself need help, Sara Benincasa’s writing can help you feel less alone. 

Hailey Fuchs, Sinema's raking in cash from MLMs. They want to kill her party’s labor bill. (POLITICO) - Upon reading that Democrat Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona is taking mad cash from the parent company of Amway and other multi-level marketing companies (just don’t call them pyramid schemes!), excuse me while I slam my head against a walk for an extended period of time. BLARGH.

Juliana Kaplan, The labor shortage is reshaping the economy and how people talk about work. Here's a glossary of all the new phrases that sum up workers' frustration with their deal, from 'lying flat' to 'antiwork.' (Business Insider) - Per usual, the BI headline does a better job of describing the article than I could, but I must admit I spent some time on the “antiwork” subreddit after reading it! What a strange time we are in.

Waddle your way into the weekend, won’t you awesome humans? Drink some water, take five minutes for some deep breathing and whatever you do, be kind to yourself. You’ve got this.

Xoxo Amy