Friday Things

Everything you’ll be talking about this weekend

[Friday Things @fridaythings]

Good morning, Friday fam. ICYMI, we have a list of things non-Black POC, Indigenous people and white people can do *right now* to support our Black loved ones. #BlackLivesMatter https://t.co/9nIsbarLAI

[Chambers Media Solutions @ChambersMedia_]

🔥 Oil, chains, and freedom. 🔥

In her article for @fridaythings, writer Stacy Lee Kong takes us behind the chains, horns, and ritual of Spicemas, reflecting on how playing Jab opened up a deeper kind of liberation: one rooted in history, resistance, and joy.

[Kristen Lopez @kristenklopez]

Stacey Lee Kong's @fridaythings newsletter is always a must read but this week she hits the nail on the head about the return of thinspo and its ties to our current SNAP fears and how hunger is a tool of oppression.

https://t.co/NMVEoI7g02

[Friday Things @fridaythings]

and why we should resist the impulse to seek out our own freedom by compromising on others'. Read more 👇🏽https://t.co/i8kGfOmW6e

[Friday Things @fridaythings]

Over the past few weeks, an online discourse has emerged that positions Black liberation and Palestinian liberation as at odds, or perhaps in competition, with one another. Off the top, I think we should remember that by definition, liberation has to be collective.

[Friday Things @fridaythings]

So, in this week's newsletter, I'm thinking about who wins when marginalized groups compete with one another (spoiler: never the members of those groups!!!!), how political entities have leveraged that competition in the past

[Friday Things @fridaythings]

All of which is to say, yes, this week's newsletter is about the protesters who interrupted Kamala Harris' rally in Detroit this week, and big picture, what it means when political engagement becomes an act of fandom. https://t.co/BCpAedq98W

[Friday Things @fridaythings]

I don't know if you've heard but there's been a vibe shift in American politics. The people feel so hopeful! It's like Obama's first presidential campaign in 2008!⁠ ⁠

[Friday Things @fridaythings]

So, hear me out: perhaps we *don't* stan?⁠

[Friday Things @fridaythings]

Read more 👇🏽 https://t.co/cP45RlZfRU

[Friday Things @fridaythings]

So, I don't think the Kamala memes are as important as people think they are. Don't get me wrong—I've also been laughing at the increasingly absurd iterations of jokes about coconut trees and brat that have been taking over my social media feeds this week. I love a lil joke!

[Friday Things @fridaythings]

I also want to point out that political support is fragile—and it can definitely be fleeting.⁠

[Friday Things @fridaythings]

Read more 👇🏽 https://t.co/sui9IVhsKU

[Friday Things @fridaythings]

This week, author Omar El Akkad (@omarelakkad) was on @CommotionCBC, where he had a really thoughtful conversation with host Elamin Abdelmahmoud about his, and other authors', decision to cut ties with the Giller Prize over its title sponsor, Scotiabank.

[Friday Things @fridaythings]

So that's what I'm thinking about this week—along with what role governments, corporations and institutions play in maintaining the status quo, how that is often at odds with artists' interests, and what makes Palestine different from previous examples of this tension.⁠