“propaganda manufactures consent”
— George Atherton (@notrehta) July 5, 2021
stories can never be more than relative truths
unless we see this, the ruling stories control what we think, say, and do
some people get it and make sure their stories rule
… https://t.co/4ejNJ0OfL2 pic.twitter.com/b0Q0oVd2Nd
you either think you know the truth
or see that it’s beyond the mind
relative truth is what is thought to be
and depends on what else is thought*
Here’s yet another phrase for our new vocabulary in the climate era: heat dome.
The heat dome building over British Columbia this weekend is expected to shatter records and spread east across the Prairies. Dangerous heat has already obliterated records across the western U.S. and from eastern Europe into Siberia.
What used to be the joyful beginning of summer has become a time of dread for those of us attuned to climate breakdown.*
Hudson County, New Jersey, was epically corrupt. Several Jersey City mayors have gone to jail. One day, in 1963, a reporter hung up the phone and announced, “Tony Pro is having another press conference.” Mysteriously, everybody laughed. “Let’s send the kid,” someone said.
At the Teamsters headquarters in Union City, Tony (Pro) Provenzano sat behind an immense desk, flanked by central-casting bodyguards. Other reporters lounged and smoked. Only I had a notebook ready. Tony Pro told a series of obscene jokes about Attorney General Robert Kennedy, who was crusading against the Mob. And that was that. Tony Pro stood at the door shaking hands with us. Crinkle. In my palm was the first fifty-dollar bill I had ever seen. I said thanks, but I really couldn’t. I set the bill down when he wouldn’t take it back.
Staring eyes greeted my return to the paper, and the editor-in-chief called me into his office and shut the door. He said, “I don’t know what you did or what you said, and I don’t want to know. Never do it or say it again.”
what is thought to be
depends on
what is thought to be
or is assumed
it is relative truth
absolute truth is simply what is
and depends on nothing else*
Almost every day, I learn something new about the history I thought I knew. When I learn parts of history that were erased, I’m struck by how well the machine that is white supremacy works to keep marginalized people oppressed.Because white supremacy is deeply woven into the fabric of society regardless of what part of the globe you live, due diligence must be taken.Anti-racism work must be approached with eyes wide open, with deep commitment, and a knowing that this is life-long work.There are no time-outs and days off.