Just One Thing: The Fish Rots From The Head
My loves, I have just one thing I’d like you to read in the Sacramento Bee this morning: Anti-immigrant ads at Bay Area BART stations are just parroting Trump in D.C., an op-ed I wrote on the disturbing shifts in language towards immigrants, even in the Bay Area.
Dear reader, other than this Missive wherein I have the pleasure of writing to you every morning, I very rarely write under my own byline. But as you know from this very email, there’s so much to fret about as we continue to slip into this awful alternate timeline, as Amy Siskind’s Weekly List continues to capture. And when I read about the USCIS removing “nation of immigrants” from its mission, I was so angry and sad and, frankly, scared.
So I did what I always do when I’m angry and sad and scared, I wrote. I brain-dumped everything into Ulysses (awesome writing software that I do every first draft in) for myself. Then I returned to it the next day, and tinkered with it. And when the idea was still bugging me, I edited again, which started to resemble an op-ed. Soon, I asked my colleagues Stefana and Scott for help, who were provided feedback and much-needed edits, helping me sort out what I was trying to express and hone WTF I wanted to get across. And eventually, I found a home for it.
Which is a long and meandering and not so eloquent way of saying that there are so many ways to “resist,” and sometimes that involves putting pen to paper and saying something. Because if you’re seeing injustice, and you’re bursting with commentary and questions, write it down. Tell your story. Get feedback. Pitch it to local newspapers. (Hell, ask me how!)
As always, thank you for waking up every morning and spending some time with me. And for listening. I very much appreciate it.
Hugs and so much love,
Amy