Listen: Bulerías by ROSALÍA
First: Rosalía on singing through life’s every turn because that’s what she was born to do — an apt theme for her latest album that roves between Latin music traditions, from champeta to bachata, citing its sources all the while. Turn on, press on.
On Roe (briefly!)
Anyone else feeling uhhhhhh powerless re: Roe? Sure, we’ll all mobilize around the midterms, in spite of our go-vote fatigue. Yes, we’re protesting — not for a decision change, but for catharsis. The abortion funds are accepting, of course, and that feels like the most tangible thing.
Having moved through the years 2016-2022, this moment is hitting bluntly, mainly because it feels like there’s relatively little to be done from an establishment perspective (again, outside the voting, which we will all do responsibly, if with a degree of dejection). But what does that leave? Everything besides the establishment. I think we’re about to see a lot of guerilla change. Just wait until we all start hosting kids from Florida in our city apartments while they get medical care. Watch the startups normalize mail-order abortion pills. Observe the the Supreme Court’s crumbling in the cultural consciousness. There will be stuff to do; we just have to make it up. Sit tight.
Making it up already
As expected, the brands are already being performative. Amazon announced on Monday that they’ll be granting employees $4k annually to travel for necessary medical procedures that they can’t access where they live, positioning abortion travel as the new signaling perk at corporations around the country. Almost none of the press explains whether the term “employees” refers to their white-collar office workers or the warehouse laborers who keep struggling to unionize. According to the New York Post, at least, it is both, but would it hurt to clarify? Meanwhile, it’s also worth noting that Amazon has been making small donations to anti-abortion political committees since 2016 (totaling close to $1M — small beans, but you know what else is small? The grains of salt that pour into wounds).
But you didn’t expect better from Amazon, did you? For a piece of more fortifying news, look to an org called Gen-Z for Change, which is deploying people to flood anti-abortion tip lines to the point where they’re no longer useful. Soon bots will do that work, but in the meantime, what a satisfying volunteer position (just like walking people to abortion clinics, another available action).
Self-soothing doesn’t hurt $
While we await more things to do, I endorse sitting with friends and processing and kicking around ideas over wine or whatever else feels right — my default so far, being less than mobile after my aforementioned medical racket. And if you’re stuck at home for whatever reason, Bright Cellars is a good way to get the bottles you want without much effort. They match you with personalized wine choices based on a quick little quiz, and deliver them to you. And if you haven’t tried them before, they’re sending you 50% off your first box. Take the quiz and get your wine here.
From my uterus to yours,*
Margot
*If you don’t have one, pretend. Might be a productive exercise.
And thanks Spenser for that disconcerting Amazon link
$ = sponsored