Yesterday I got so incensed by yet another school shooting that I decided in fact, to start small and do something to try and stop what I consider the worst crisis facing America (and a byproduct of rampant capitalism), which is gun violence, and especially the proliferation of AR-15 in everyday society.

I set up my recurring donation to Everytown’s Action Fund, which is not a non-profit - it is to advocate for political action so we have improved laws on the books to stop assault weapons from being sold.

My intention is to build a habit of doing things that are aligned with what I think improves society. I want to write more about that, but - aren’t we all after the same things? To feel safe. To have a chance at building an economic future for ourselves. To be healthy. To have shelter. And so on.

Wish Tumblr handled TikTok embeds better, but I love this Taylor Swift quote about how to move on.

I was catching up with @ashlurtrees earlier tonight about how prolific Hamilton was at his age. She’s 25. I’m turning 34. We both feel like we’re not exactly changing the world in a big way, but maybe would like to. I think it starts with putting your ideas and stories into the world. 

“Which personal stories, though? And what would it feel like to put yourself out there? Who could relate to a niche experience like this very specific story about growing up in Chinatown?” she wondered. 

I happened to come across this interview with author Viet Thanh Nguyen on Twitter right after our call about who would care. It almost felt like an answer to the questions we’d just surfaced, so I thought I’d quote it here:

“If you are coming from a background outside of [the majority] as some kind of disempowered, marginalized, minority population, you may feel the pressure to explain yourself and your culture, to translate yourself, your languages, your customs, and so on and so forth — this is something that must be absolutely resisted by any writer,” Nguyen said. “When I say write like a majority, I don’t mean like a white person, I mean write as if we ourselves are speaking to ourselves, and let everyone else catch up. That’s where you get interesting art, and even hopefully, great art, to come from.”

“If you want to seed a place with activity, put out food.”

William H. Whyte, “The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces”

Probably the best way to describe my most recent state. I’m still learning to live with them, both in myself and others.