Mmm so well-written! Thank you Elizabeth. It’s most certainly a dystopia. What brings me comfort are the people like you that at least recognize it as such.
This moment feels like a major vindication of Aimé Césaire’s writing that made the argument that fascism is the logical effect of colonial practices, of colonialism turned inward. Since American citizens are far from the first or worst victims of this machine, I’m finding writing from colonized authors who know this terror to be some of the most helpful right now, regardless of genre. Most recently I’ve been assigned to read about Zapatista philosophies, and I’ve found it very easy to find “common ground” with who I’m reading! If you have the time, this lecture is incredible:
I too am a librarian and teacher and I like to keep abreast with what the kids are into. It’s hard to be sure that my perceptions are correct, but dystopia and horror both seem much more prevalent than when I was a kid (90s, early aughts). Interesting you seem to feel the same. I think the kids feel what’s up in the world and are using this art to prepare their emotions for the world’s real and mounting horrors. I’m constantly trying to think of how best to engage with these youngsters. Can I add something useful to the mix? What genres do we need right now? It’s good to prepare to cope; but what can also prepare us to fight on the side of life? How can we help each other insist on living and dying well?
I’ll be thinking about the questions you pose here.
Rant away, it makes sense and it's probabaly becoming our go-to tool. This here is from George Saunders on his Substack just after the US election and while I live far away from your version of populist hell to come, my country is ready to copy, so I embrace his rant and get a sense of schadenfreude with regret and coming hindsight:
"For those of you who voted for Trump, I’d just say, in the most loving way: Friends, you’re on the hook.
It's your movement now.
It's on us too, of course, on those of us who were and are against what he stands for – but you have a special role in whatever happens next. No excuses: he made it very clear what he intended, and you gave him a mandate to do it.
So, when and if the rounding up of undocumented immigrants begins, and it’s brutal, that’s on you. When and if he comes for those “enemies from within,” that’s on you. When and if people on the periphery (gay people, trans people) suffer, when the economy tanks, because tariffs are a terrible idea, when we jettison even our currently ineffective attempts to reverse climate change, when women’s reproductive healthcare continues to degrade…well, I’m sorry to say so, but you voted for all of that.
I just commented to my husband and daughter that we were living in a dystopian novel the other day after yet another bizarre news report reframing the genocide on Palestine. Or was it about the election. Or something else.
Genuine and well said. I'd like to recommend following Letters from an American
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com. She is an historian who does the most incredible amount of research to comment on the dystopia that the formerly great democracy - the U.S.A. - is becoming. Up here in Canada we are thinking back to the novel "Exxoneration" that predicted when your country would "assimilate" ours, and doing whatever we can to follow the only anti-depression advice I know: "Enjoy what you have." Minute by minute, or whatever. Hope it helps. Do something kind and caring and supportive for someone, and yourself.
This is brilliant! Please submit as an Op Ed piece. The question is where though, as our newspapers are "owned" by liars who have embraced the big lie. At any rate, I am not a fan of dystopia novels but you really did nail this perfectly. It's so true and consequently so very sad. Recently a friend recommended I read Chain Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah. I mention because it's been noted by some that readers believe they may be reading satire but it's actually a brilliantly worded protest about racism, the private prison system and more. The writing is excellent, but the violence, cruelty and utter inhumanity on every page were just too much (for me) so I lasted less than 100 pages. But, your teens might love it and surely could relate it to so much that is happening today.
All that said, how fortunate your students are to have you. ❣❣❣
Yes. Both/and. It is absurd and surreal and also the water we are swimming in right now. Or the air we’re breathing. The folks who are so consumed with whether or not they’re cracking the egg correctly as they ignore the rest of what is going on around frighten me terribly, and I am grateful for you, who always points things out in a way that resonates with me. Thank goodness for you.
You have a clarity about you Elizabeth. One walks the flaming pit of hell to achieve such a gift.
I’m all twisted up in this wretched nightmare. There seems no safe place to run. We must seek the comfiest place we can find. Forget about the militia mindset of a bunker and food storage. At this point I simply want popcorn and hot tea. This game show draws its own commercial breaks. Daily we are watching the previews.
We shouted as loud as we could, but those who chose not to educate themselves, upon The New Beginning, will receive their due comeuppance, sadly we will be blended into their wake-up call. Swirled within the consciousness’s of their reality. When the orange shit show encompasses every bit of everything, we will have no need to say, “We tried telling you.”
There is no fear in being right, if anything, it’s our salvation. Let Orange and Cyber-borg have their day. False prophets never truly win. It’s a fantasy they keep in their heads.
I’ve come to feel that gaslighting is one of the most evil things humans can do to other humans. It makes my skin want to curl up and crawl away. Any action or thought that snuffs out that flame, even for a moment, is very welcome.
Ok, Elizabeth. Holy shit. I vote for both, btw. I just watched a French film called Midwives-right up my alley, don't you think. And there were real births (those French!) and midwives working their asses off and a strike at the end of the film because working conditions were, in a word, fucked. In a microcosm, here is what is wrong with all of it. The greed, the disregard for pregnant women and their babies, too few midwives for too many patients. Boy, I miss that work and I don't miss all the bullshit. The film had real women agreeing to be filmed...
And yet. Those midwives are kind and ridiculous. Underpaid and over worked. And they stay because they want to catch babies. I don't know if any of this relates to what you wrote but had to share.
I used to think that is was just money that was important in the world, money could force things, do things, change things. Now I think it's vaginas and money. Those with power want money and vaginas. Sex is as important as money to those with power. Vaginas can make smart men stupid and I imagine that scares the hell out of them. Much easier for them to make sex transactional, or even better forced, then they still have their power. Fuckers!
And I would much rather share a bathroom with a transgender woman then with a republican. The transgender women I know are lovely, kind, gentle people who only want to be themselves.
I do not think we are living in a dystopian novel. I think we are living in Dystopia which is far more frightening.
Mmm so well-written! Thank you Elizabeth. It’s most certainly a dystopia. What brings me comfort are the people like you that at least recognize it as such.
This moment feels like a major vindication of Aimé Césaire’s writing that made the argument that fascism is the logical effect of colonial practices, of colonialism turned inward. Since American citizens are far from the first or worst victims of this machine, I’m finding writing from colonized authors who know this terror to be some of the most helpful right now, regardless of genre. Most recently I’ve been assigned to read about Zapatista philosophies, and I’ve found it very easy to find “common ground” with who I’m reading! If you have the time, this lecture is incredible:
https://youtu.be/TA2VljL36LE?feature=shared
I too am a librarian and teacher and I like to keep abreast with what the kids are into. It’s hard to be sure that my perceptions are correct, but dystopia and horror both seem much more prevalent than when I was a kid (90s, early aughts). Interesting you seem to feel the same. I think the kids feel what’s up in the world and are using this art to prepare their emotions for the world’s real and mounting horrors. I’m constantly trying to think of how best to engage with these youngsters. Can I add something useful to the mix? What genres do we need right now? It’s good to prepare to cope; but what can also prepare us to fight on the side of life? How can we help each other insist on living and dying well?
I’ll be thinking about the questions you pose here.
Thank you for sharing the link and your words -- I can't wait to check it out.
Rant away, it makes sense and it's probabaly becoming our go-to tool. This here is from George Saunders on his Substack just after the US election and while I live far away from your version of populist hell to come, my country is ready to copy, so I embrace his rant and get a sense of schadenfreude with regret and coming hindsight:
"For those of you who voted for Trump, I’d just say, in the most loving way: Friends, you’re on the hook.
It's your movement now.
It's on us too, of course, on those of us who were and are against what he stands for – but you have a special role in whatever happens next. No excuses: he made it very clear what he intended, and you gave him a mandate to do it.
So, when and if the rounding up of undocumented immigrants begins, and it’s brutal, that’s on you. When and if he comes for those “enemies from within,” that’s on you. When and if people on the periphery (gay people, trans people) suffer, when the economy tanks, because tariffs are a terrible idea, when we jettison even our currently ineffective attempts to reverse climate change, when women’s reproductive healthcare continues to degrade…well, I’m sorry to say so, but you voted for all of that.
You did. "
I love that George Saunders. Thank you for sharing that.
Love what Margie said about you having great clarity. Like Mary said, I’m afraid dystopia is already here.
Xoxo
Barbara
Common ground found by this wandering soul right here. Thank you. Shoot the man turds right up to Mars.
I just commented to my husband and daughter that we were living in a dystopian novel the other day after yet another bizarre news report reframing the genocide on Palestine. Or was it about the election. Or something else.
Genuine and well said. I'd like to recommend following Letters from an American
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com. She is an historian who does the most incredible amount of research to comment on the dystopia that the formerly great democracy - the U.S.A. - is becoming. Up here in Canada we are thinking back to the novel "Exxoneration" that predicted when your country would "assimilate" ours, and doing whatever we can to follow the only anti-depression advice I know: "Enjoy what you have." Minute by minute, or whatever. Hope it helps. Do something kind and caring and supportive for someone, and yourself.
Thanks, Sally! I’ve been a long-time reader and subscriber of Heather’s newsletter!
Elizabeth,
This is brilliant! Please submit as an Op Ed piece. The question is where though, as our newspapers are "owned" by liars who have embraced the big lie. At any rate, I am not a fan of dystopia novels but you really did nail this perfectly. It's so true and consequently so very sad. Recently a friend recommended I read Chain Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah. I mention because it's been noted by some that readers believe they may be reading satire but it's actually a brilliantly worded protest about racism, the private prison system and more. The writing is excellent, but the violence, cruelty and utter inhumanity on every page were just too much (for me) so I lasted less than 100 pages. But, your teens might love it and surely could relate it to so much that is happening today.
All that said, how fortunate your students are to have you. ❣❣❣
Not incoherent at all. We found it cathartic here in our little Florida dystopia. As you so often do, thank you for putting words to our experience.🩵
Amen amen amen.
Yes. Both/and. It is absurd and surreal and also the water we are swimming in right now. Or the air we’re breathing. The folks who are so consumed with whether or not they’re cracking the egg correctly as they ignore the rest of what is going on around frighten me terribly, and I am grateful for you, who always points things out in a way that resonates with me. Thank goodness for you.
Bravo again Elizabeth !
Nailed it
You have a clarity about you Elizabeth. One walks the flaming pit of hell to achieve such a gift.
I’m all twisted up in this wretched nightmare. There seems no safe place to run. We must seek the comfiest place we can find. Forget about the militia mindset of a bunker and food storage. At this point I simply want popcorn and hot tea. This game show draws its own commercial breaks. Daily we are watching the previews.
We shouted as loud as we could, but those who chose not to educate themselves, upon The New Beginning, will receive their due comeuppance, sadly we will be blended into their wake-up call. Swirled within the consciousness’s of their reality. When the orange shit show encompasses every bit of everything, we will have no need to say, “We tried telling you.”
There is no fear in being right, if anything, it’s our salvation. Let Orange and Cyber-borg have their day. False prophets never truly win. It’s a fantasy they keep in their heads.
I’ve come to feel that gaslighting is one of the most evil things humans can do to other humans. It makes my skin want to curl up and crawl away. Any action or thought that snuffs out that flame, even for a moment, is very welcome.
Ok, Elizabeth. Holy shit. I vote for both, btw. I just watched a French film called Midwives-right up my alley, don't you think. And there were real births (those French!) and midwives working their asses off and a strike at the end of the film because working conditions were, in a word, fucked. In a microcosm, here is what is wrong with all of it. The greed, the disregard for pregnant women and their babies, too few midwives for too many patients. Boy, I miss that work and I don't miss all the bullshit. The film had real women agreeing to be filmed...
And yet. Those midwives are kind and ridiculous. Underpaid and over worked. And they stay because they want to catch babies. I don't know if any of this relates to what you wrote but had to share.
XXXX Beth
I used to think that is was just money that was important in the world, money could force things, do things, change things. Now I think it's vaginas and money. Those with power want money and vaginas. Sex is as important as money to those with power. Vaginas can make smart men stupid and I imagine that scares the hell out of them. Much easier for them to make sex transactional, or even better forced, then they still have their power. Fuckers!
And I would much rather share a bathroom with a transgender woman then with a republican. The transgender women I know are lovely, kind, gentle people who only want to be themselves.