June 30, 2022

books, merch, and migrants

[Alt text: A 19th century stone house with a big grassy lawn in front and trees on the sides]

Above is a photo of the Peirce-Klingle mansion, which is a very short walk from where I live. The Peirces and Klingles owned much of the land that became Rock Creek Park. This chunk of land was once DC's first commercial nursery — powered by slave labor. I had never seen this place until today.

Ladyparts

A few days ago, a friend recommended Deborah Copaken’s memoir, Ladyparts, (publisher's site) so I got it from my local library. 

The first chapter is a bloody, graphic, and utterly horrifying account of the hours leading up to the author's emergency surgery to remove her cervix. I think it was her cervix. I had to skim it, holding my hand over the PHOTO she included, because the story almost made me throw up. I get queasy about stuff like this. Add in words like “uterine” or “clots,” and I’m getting woozy just typing this.

Until my friends started having babies, when I forced myself to get over it, the very mention of the word “placenta” would induce (heh) a wave of nausea. I can talk about actual shit — human, dog, doesn’t matter — in great detail, all day long. God (or Freud) only knows why it's so funny to me. But anything related to the female reproductive system? Hold my hair, I’m gonna hurl.

My mother was the same way about blood and ladyparts. She once fainted while doctors were trying to correct my bladder problems. Passed out cold, fell out of her chair, and collapsed onto the floor. The doctor and nurses abandoned me to wave smelling salts at her face until she woke up, embarrassed and pale. 

Anyway, last night I picked the book up again, took a deep breath, and started the next chapter. Thankfully it wasn't about blood. I stayed up way too late because I was completely absorbed in the story of her marriage to a man with zero empathy (he is neurodivergent/has Asperger's), and how long it took her to finally leave him. Before I went to sleep I even took an online empathy/EQ quiz to make sure I was not the kind of person who could unknowingly be so cruel to another person.

Migrants and Merch

Then there are the people who are knowingly, intentionally cruel to people who are already suffering. The "Christian" governor of Texas has decided to round up people crossing the border, put them on buses, and ship them to Washington, DC (Washington City Paper). These are people fleeing violence and poverty in Central America (not Mexico), including women with babies. To quote Adam Serwer, the cruelty is the point. (Atlantic)

A local group called Migrant Help DMV** is one of many scrambling to help. Montgomery County (in Maryland, just outside DC) let them have an empty homeless shelter, and I spent the better part of two days out there sorting clothing donations. The idea is a respite center. A place for people to be treated with some kindness, so they can get some sleep, eat some food, get vaccinated, take a shower, get some fresh clothes, and figure out where they're going next. Best case scenario: They have family or friends in the U.S. who can take them in. Worst case: They leave with a printout of all the homeless shelters in, say, Richmond or Cleveland.

Some volunteers and I turned three rooms into "stores" where people can "shop" for men's, women's, and children's clothes (I kind of regret hanging up the donated men's t-shirt that said "HAPPY CAMPER") and duffel bags for the next legs of their journeys. Next-level merch tables for a good cause. The first bus of people arrived last week, and of course there has already been a small Covid outbreak, but I'm told volunteers will be able to return again soon. If local people want more info, here is the link to Migrant Help DMV, and here is Goods For Good, the people doing the donations part.

Links

• Goodbye to Sheryl Sandberg, feminism’s finance bro. (Atlantic)

• My sister-in-law thinks I should buy this house. (Zillow)

• The ultimate Massachusetts news report. (Boing Boing)

• Money =/= taste. This is unforgivable. (Washingtonian)

• A pilot thinks it will help my fear of flying if I imagine the air as Jello. I'd rather have whatever shot they gave Mr. T on The A-Team. Wake me up when it's over. (Lifehacker)

• Alex Balk (from The Awl) on the bittersweetness of encountering a beloved childhood toy. (LitHub)

• A Reddit thread of things that instantly make your life better. (Digg)

• It doesn’t need to be steamed, sprayed or douched (TueNight) but I still loved this video of puppets singing a raunchy, offensive, and hilarious song. (TikTok)

Poll

As seen in today's Today in Tabs (Substack), this very old tweet:

It made me laugh. My friend says it's not funny. We will probably argue about this for a few weeks. Who's right? You can reply directly to this email and as always, anything I share will be anonymous.

** In this context, DMV means DC, Maryland, and Virginia. Not Department of Motor Vehicles. It is shorthand for the larger metropolitan area, and was probably coined by local Black residents. WPGC, the radio station that plays hip-hop, R&B, and "throwbacks," calls itself "the DNA of the DMV." Whoever came up with that is a genius.