This sign recently appeared in one of my neighbor’s yards: I don’t know these neighbors. And, seeing as they’re Trump supporters, I have no interest in getting to know them. Normally, I wouldn’t notice a campaign sign at all. I don’t generally take political advice from cardboard signs. It’s not clever or humorous or insightful….
On June 30, 2020, the Governor of Mississippi signed into law a piece of legislation that will, finally, remove the Confederate battle flag from Mississippi’s state flag. This is a big deal, and an unequivocally good thing. It comes during a time of intense debate about all kinds of symbols, from statues and monuments to…
This is a question I ask myself all the time. What can I do? I’m not asking it in the resigned way, as a way of saying there’s nothing I can do. I’m asking it in the sincere way. I actually want to know what I can do. The world is all kinds of messed…
Current events have led to a call to support Black-Owned Businesses. This has always been a good idea, so it’s nice that people are catching up. But I’ve got a small problem. News outlets, bloggers, and people on social media keep posting lists of Black-Owned Restaurants. That’s fine, but where are the black-owned law firms…
A lot of white people who support Black Lives Matter have been using a slogan lately. They use it on signs, in posts, in memes, and in tweets. It is, “I understand that I will never understand, but I stand with you.” I get it. I know what it’s trying to say, that as someone…
Racism is a difficult topic to talk about. There are all the obvious reasons. It’s a sensitive subject that can be triggering for many people. Plus, it is hard for many people to be honest, even with themselves, about it. It can expose a disconnect between the person you are and the person you want…
Obviously, the immediate concern regarding the coronavirus is preventing deaths right now. As I wrote in another piece though, it concerns me that the general approach to the coronavirus has been essentially week-to-week. Warnings about the virus came as early as last November, so there are few excuses for why we were so unprepared. Better…
I’ve been really down since all of this started, like many people. This pandemic is bad. But part of my anxiety comes from not knowing how bad the pandemic is- that makes it difficult to plan for the future, and allows my imagination to go to some dark places regarding all of this. That anxiety…
We have been hearing the words epidemic and pandemic a lot recently. I am not a doctor or a biologist or an infectious disease expert. I’m not anything that can really be called a scientist. So, I only vaguely knew what these words mean. I knew they had to do with a disease and its…
Last year, I had an amazingly bad birthday. I contracted Lyme disease just before my birthday and started the antibiotic regimen on my birthday. Plus, I got the flu. So I spent my last birthday in bed with Lyme disease and the flu. It was at least as miserable as it sounds. This year was…
