I first read the phrase “context collapse” from civic tech analyst Zeynep Tufekci and sociologist Tressie McMillan Cottom. For more than six years, Zufekci and Cottom have each written about how social media popularity collapses the boundaries between digital audiences. By becoming extremely popular (“going viral”), information shaped for one audience can rapidly become information […]
The way power works
“Ouch.” That’s what I wrote in the margin of Arundhati Roy’s The End of Imagination today when I read Roy’s critique of the political system in India, the electorate’s party choices, and the pervasive oppression of “counter-terrorism.” In the post-9/11 world, power works in very consistent ways whether in India or the US: power represses, and repression […]
The entirely wrong approach
Today, along with about 80 other people, I was verbally assaulted. This is something of a routine experience on New York City subway trains: non-consensual berating dressed up as preaching, guilt-riddled fundraising pitches, and appeals for charity. They’re incredibly loud, they’re manipulative, and they all begin with the lyingest lie that’s ever been lied: “I’m […]
Labor and rest
Sometimes it can be helpful to read one of my cultural traditions from another perspective. I’ve read most about the Sabbath recently from Jewish writers and evangelical Protestant theologians. But today my devotional brought me this query from Quakers in the southwest region of the United States: Have you taken a day of rest and restoration […]
Radical acceptance
Radical acceptance just means that you acknowledge reality for what it is. If you accept the reality of the situation, you can stop dwelling on situations you have no control over (and even those you do) and move on with your life. During a panel this week about the impact of religion on LGBTQIA people—religion […]
Why it can be so hard to change our minds
Left: A new concept with legs. Right: A brain with bug eyes and gaping mouth waving a sword in each hand. Speech bubble: “Have no fear. I will kill it with swords!” If you’ve ever scribbled a rough denial in the margin of a book that challenged your core beliefs, you’ve experienced some of the […]
