Mid-November already?? 😵💫 Events, essays, holidays & more
Well…I don’t know about you, but this month isn’t going as planned for me. Or rather, I had plans and my body had different ones 🤒 You know how that is.
So anyway, some updates:
jk Acro/Handstands ARE available this upcoming week
I’m unexpectedly in Chicago, so if you’re around, class is on for this week.
We’ve already raised >$60k for Reps 4 Rights! Will you join in?
If you’re in the Chicago area, come cheer on the brave lifters raising money for ICIRR during this bench-only competition on November 22nd. Catch me at a table during and after to learn more about how you can talk politics with the people in your life, and hang out with others who agree that ICE can get f*cked and who care about building strong communities — physically and politically.
We’ve totally blown past all fundraising goals and are now over $62,000 😱😱😱, AND there’s still time for you to take part! Check out all the details here.
Prepping for Political Engagement this Holiday Season
If you can’t make it to Reps 4 Rights, don’t worry — I’ll be posting and sending out some resources to support you as you engage politically with friends, family, and colleagues this holiday season. It’s often the hardest to stand by ourselves and our values in environments where the “mood” is already set, and where our backgrounds or basis for information is totally different. But that doesn’t mean this has to be another year of you abandoning your principles at the holiday party. So stay tuned for more on that ✅
New essay: Standing in the Way of Control
Over on the other platform, I’ve got a new (shorter this time 😅) essay up about what it means to simply stand in opposition, versus putting your body on the line. It’s thinking through how folks in Chicago have been responding to ICE, but applicable for anyone who is sitting with how they’re choosing to engage politically right now. Give it a read (or a listen), subscribe there, and let me know what you think.
Your Weekly Link Roundup
And as always, here’s some things you may have missed this week.
News developments and important info
Greg Bovino has seemingly left Chicago this week, and the CBP presence is ramping up in Charlotte instead. All while Tennessee’s partnerships with the feds increase.
In case you were wondering what the deportation flights are like, the NYT is finally on the case (months later)
Chicago broadcasters are calling out their unlawful targeting by feds, and meanwhile religious leaders and protestors haven’t let up on the Broadview ICE facility, and neither have Illinois State Police. In case you don’t have a Bluesky account for that link, you need to see this photo from Reuters:
From the department of, yes it can always get worse, 404 Media obtained procurement documents suggesting that ICE is exploring using bounty hunters to dragnet more immigrants.
And in case you’re still on team “but local law enforcement is good, actually,” DHS kept local law enforcement records of accused gang activity — which is domestic spying, a thing we ostensibly do not legally allow.
You should, unfortunately, still be keeping an eye on CSAM and Chat Control legislation in Europe. And also maybe this Swiss policy proposal.
Some Good Stuff™
I think a lot about how the idols of your youth age, and either they live up to your expectations or live to disappoint you. And I’m happy to say that mine are exactly who I thought they were, and that 13 year old me had good judgment in a lot of regards. Get you some role models who throw hands at Nazis.
As an editorial aside (this whole newsletter is an editorial aside? 🤔 whatever), I will never forget being in the audience with DKM at Club Laga just a month after 9/11 and having them memorialize those who lost their lives in the towers and on Flight 93 that crashed just east of Pittsburgh. Very recently someone uploaded their >20 year old 8mm of the whole set, and the most appropriate song choice for that moment. This video footage is particularly surreal because I was standing just 3-4 bodies to the right of the cameraperson. Anyway, shout out to my dad who went with me to that show (and many others), and RIP my youth and also Club Laga.
An extremely contingent kind of “good” that is good for the moment/better than some alternatives: hundreds of the people detained during Midway Blitz are being released on bond.
Ah, landlines…
Ok whew, that was more words than I planned on 😅 Anyway! Stay in touch with any feedback or questions, but otherwise, til next week 🫡
In solidarity,
Sirus
