Little Joys and Why We Fight
I meant to post this a month ago. But life got in the way. And it seems that my original paragraph was not saved here. So I will do my best to recreate it.
A friend and I made it to the Miami Book Fair on the last day. It was touch and go because I was exhausted from November and in general, and the vibe seemed to be generally low-key.
Seeing lines of people waiting for children’s authors to sign their books, however, lightened my mood. So did seeing the amount of paperbacks and hardbacks available with children of color and queer protagonists. The fight is not over. Going out was a nice recharge, helped by the pleasant evening weather. I even picked up a graphic novel about sewing, identity, and friendship.
We need those little joys to keep us going. And I got a reminder why we can’t just give up when a social media post referenced history. Specifically, when fascists overstep their bounds and suffer consequences.
I was reading about how a gentile maid to a Jewish family baptized a baby that seemed to be on the brink of death. This was called the Mortara affair. When the Catholic Church got wind of it, implied to happen because the family after supporting the lady through one pregnancy fired her after a second and she “confessed”, probably out of spite, they kidnapped the baby using Papal law and conditioned him so much that he became a priest and wanted his surviving Jewish family to convert as well. People got angry about this, not just the Jewish community but also other secular countries. The Pope refused to give up the baby despite an international outcry and his global allies protesting. When the Italian unification army marched on Rome, where little Edgardo was training under the new name Pius, they were able to convince Edgardo’s father to join in the crusade. Edgardo was not into it and, being an adult, left Rome discreetly to join a monastery in Austria-Hungary.
A family lost a child. The Italian Papal States also fell, which is how we got a unified Italy. Whether or not the two events were related due to the outcry and countries like France supporting unification, it reminds me why we speak up: to help those who are vulnerable. The Catholic Church that has prosecuted other religions kidnapped a child, and they’re not the only ones to have done so in the name of the law.
We have a right to mourn. In fact, mourning helps us remember those lost through no fault of their own. And we have a right to be angry.
But we have to find ways to recharge, and keep going. Because others targeted by unfair laws need us.
Medium:
https://medium.com/permanent-nerd-network/two-picture-books-about-unusual-community-imagine-counting-all-the-stars-symphony-for-a-broken-e4c19195e5a9Why You Should Keep Trump Supporters Out of Your Critique Groups | by Priya Sridhar | Counter Arts | Nov, 2024 | Medium
Enforce consequences in the creative groups that you control.
Will ‘Quiet on Set’ Have Any Impact? | by Priya Sridhar | Counter Arts | Nov, 2024 | Medium
We watched, we raged. But will we change things?
The ‘Good Omens’ Compromise. One for the angels and demons, and… | by Priya Sridhar | Counter Arts | Dec, 2024 | Medium
One for the angels and demons, and real-life morality.
2024 Hat Tips. Finding joy in the face of some… | by Priya Sridhar | Dec, 2024 | Medium
Finding joy in the face of some terrible disasters.
Superjump:
Hatch Tales: Bird on a Mission
Not-so-angry birds
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