art garfunkel’s full name is wherefore art thou garfunkel
idk who needs to hear this but you deserve as many knives as you can carry
Have you seen The Daily Beast’s take on the Vogue cover? www*thedailybeast*com/harry-styles-vogue-cover-may-be-historic-but-it-isnt-radical
I think it’s a very tedious article is a very tedious discourse (actually more than one tedious discourse) . There are lots of points I could make, but my main thought is how the hell is ‘Vogue cover is not radical’ worthy of a headline any more than ‘Water is not dry’?
Vogue is not our friend. Vogue is not a tool for liberation. Vogue’s entire business model is based on capitalism, racism, and the existence of a gender binary where it’s impossible for a woman‘s appearance to be OK.
So I just check out of a lot of discussion, because I’m not interested in denying what Vogue is or what Vogue does - and it seems that the entire conversation involves imagining a Vogue that isn‘t about making the world worse, and I don‘t know why you’d bother.
But I think the other fundamental problem with this discourse is that they’re giving the pictures a universal meaning that they just can‘t and shouldn‘t be asked to maintain.
Some fans looked at these photos and loved them, but weren‘t prepared to stop there. Rather than just saying that they loved these photos - or that these photos were meaningful to them - they made much bigger claims. That somehow they were a example of Harry doing something important in the world - that the meaning that the photos held for a particular had to be universalised.
And so you get responses saying - actually no there are a lot of people who do this sort of thing - it’s not that radical. Which ends up reinforcing the idea that these pictures must have a unified meaning and fighting over what that meaning is. Rather than just saying: ‘hey it’s fine that you love these Harry photos, but it’s complete nonsense to suggest that it saves the world.
The final thing I’d say - is that the Daily Beast is no more radical than Vogue. This take is all about clicks - and has nothing to do with the politics of liberation. The fact that we’re subjected to endless rounds of ‘I want Harry Styles to express his identity in words/Harry Styles is queer baiting/Stop hating on closted people discourse) shows the huge distance between the discussions being had and meaningful politics.
Meaningful politics for liberation involves lots of people coming together to build a bettter world. It’s not about what any one person says and does. Presenting either policing or celebrating what an individual does as radical politics is nonsense. Yes there are all sorts of ways that the way the author of the of the Daily Beast article isn‘t nearly careful enough when thinking about Harry, but fare more importantly - why treat trying to fit a person into a limited range of options as a political project - let alone a radical one.
reblog so your followers won’t forget to drink water
WAYS TO SUPPORT/BE AN ALLY
Here is a compilation of places to donate (IF you can, simply reblogging and sharing this can help) and petition to sign. I found these websites and organizations on twitter.
DONATIONS
- THE MINNESOTA FREEDOM FUND: Donate to this to collect funds to pay jail bonds for the protesters who get arrested.
- BLACK LIVES MATTER: An organization fighting for the BLM movement. Donate if you can.
- BLACK VISIONS MN: an organization that is led by Black, Queer and Trans people. Donate if you can.
- NAACP Legal Defense Fund: Fights for the overall equality fight. Donate if you can.
PETITIONS
- Willie Simmons has spent 38 years in prison for a $9 robbery. He had two prior convictions similar to robbery that he served time for. He was prosecuted under the Alabama Habitual Offender law and was given a life sentence for his third strike - stealing 9 (NINE) dollars. Sign his petition.
- Breonna Taylor was killed by police who were conducting an UNANNOUNCED drug raid, where they gave no request to enter. They bashed her door and entered, shooting her EIGHT times. They were in the WRONG HOUSE.
- George Floyd was killed by a police officer who knelt on his neck and suffocated him to death, after George pleaded with the officer and told him he couldn’t breathe. The officer had pulled him from where he sat in his car on an alleged FORGERY. You can also text “FLOYD” to 55156
- ARREST THE OFFICERS WHO KILLED GEORGE FLOYD: The main police officer who murdered George is being kept in PROTECTIVE CUSTODY. You probably have heard he was arrested, but this is NOT TRUE. He was placed under PROTECTIVE custody because of the riots and “threats” on his life.
If you know of ANY other organizations or petitions, PLEASE ADD TO THIS LIST. The fight for justice doesn’t end here, it will never end. Especially when the president of the United States calls white supremacists good people and protesters of a mans death THUGS. USE YOUR VOICE. NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE. FUCK COPS. FUCK “BLUE LIVES”. ALL BLACK LIVES MATTER!
the minnesota freedom fund is asking folks to donate to other organizations instead. the specific ones they listed are black visions, linked above, and these two:
- northstar health collective, organized healthcare professionals working with anti-authoritarian groups
- reclaim the block, a collective that aims to redistribute funding away from police and towards more community-oriented projects in minneapolis
these are the links i send to my facebook friends who keep running their mouths about “the protests hurting the community”
- minnehaha food shelf & calvary church food shelf are both centered in the south minneapolis area where the riots started. the grocery stores in the area have been decimated, so food shelves and food insecurity charities need a lot of love right now.
- northside funders group is a philanthropic group in the twin cities that’s using all its funds right now for helping local businesses
- migizi is a native american media/history nonprofit whose office was destroyed in the riots
- we love lake street is devoting funds specifically towards rebuilding the lake street area in south minneapolis
some more groups that could use your help
- the healing justice foundation is a national nonprofit that’s specifically focusing on mental health resources for bipoc right now
- ctul is a nonprofit focused on low-wage workers and workers rights in minnesota
- mpd 150 is focused on policing and specifically trying to reroute the conversation from “we need to change police procedures” to “the police need structural reform”
- the spiral collective is providing funds for supplies, medic kits, and other things that protesters will need on the ground
- unicorn riot is a media collective that has had people on the ground filming every night in minneapolis
last but not least some more bail funds
