For the ♥️ of Zohran🗽and NEW MUSIC 🎶
Finally woke up this week without dreading the hate-filled, fascist world.
Hey Friends,
I’m heads down for another six months or so finishing my book, which has drained my little fingers from wanting to type. But you know what has reignited me? Zohran Mamdani crushinggggggg disgraced Andrew Cuomo as the Democratic nominee in the NYC mayoral race.
Yes, I no longer live in NYC, and sadly, could not vote in these past elections, but that doesn’t mean I don’t care about the future of a city I love dearly. Mamdani’s win has given me hope that politicians in the US can openly criticize Israel (wow, go figure, what a pathetically low bar), but also that our community is not actually as divided as mainstream media would like us to believe. It turns out, most people in NYC care about, oh I don’t know, hUmAnITY.
He ran a campaign centered on the working class, bringing New Yorkers from every borough together on the promise that if our neighbors are living a better life, we all benefit. It seems so simple it’s actually silly — he wanted NY to be a city that everyone, not just millionaires and billionaires, could afford and thrive in.
Unsurprisingly, mainstream media fucking lost it after he won the Democratic seat. Even seemingly *progressive* dems have said atrocious and racist shit against Mamdani.
CAIR Action found 127 violent hate posts and 6,200 Islamophobic remarks in 24 hours after his win.
Not that I care what Marjorie Taylor Greene ever says, but Greene shared an image on X showing the Statue of Liberty in a burqa with the caption “This hits hard,” later linking Mamdani to a perceived security threat.
Trump, as always, said something dumb, but his tweet below really made me laugh, so whatever.
There were a lot of other terrible things said, but it doesn’t matter; let’s not give them airtime. Racists be racisting. Islamophobia, anti-Arab, and anti-Palestinian rhetoric (all three of which seem to be bucketed together) is the most acceptable form of racism today. Folks in our government are freaking out about the definition of anti-Semitism and if it should include critiquing Israel (which undermines real anti-Semitism but, whatever) but Islamophobia is never denounced in the same way.
AND YET, community resilience! The internet remains funny, and it turns out, most New Yorkers still supported and believed in Mamdani’s vision of unity, affordable housing, affordable groceries, and, oh right, taxing millionaires. Sorry racists! Not TODAY. Here is some greatness from our future Mayor of NYC:
It’s not surprising that Mamdani won. What is surprising and frankly pathetic is how the dems continue to justify their actions. His victory doesn’t signal some radical shift—it exposes how deeply out of touch the Democratic establishment has been for years. Decades, really. They’ve propped up a version of “progressivism” that caters more to corporate donors and AIPAC than the people they claim to represent. Instead of listening to constituents demand that their tax dollars be spent within our community, not on military “aid” to Israel, or that we need affordable housing, healthcare, and racial and social justice, they’ve aligned with real estate developers, police unions, and the Israeli right. Mamdani didn’t come out of nowhere. He is the result of a vacuum left by Democrats who never had the intention to fully support their base. They didn’t want us to know any better, but we do. So, bye 👋🏽
Okayyyyyyy and now for some other things on my mind this past week that have inspired me and brought me joy. Bunny White’s latest album, The Higher the Hair, the Closer to God! Now OUT on Band Camp or Spotify!
Here is a breakdown of every track from Bunny White’s latest album. Literally no one asked for this, not even Bunny herself (a friend of mine because I have interesting and creative friends). But this brings me joy and that’s all that really matters.
Wasted Years — I wrote about this song in my latest piece in Autostraddle. It was the first song on her latest album I listened to, and it remains a banger because it’s about her hypochondria, and it just so happens I, too, have spent hours spiraling about all the ways I could possibly, accidentally, die. So, I appreciate having a song to now sing along to as I freak out.
The Game — This just makes me want to shake my shoulders really fast, and I enjoy that.
Bowling Partner — An EXCELLENT song to belt to in the car or a subway or the shower. If you find yourself in a locked room with some good acoustics, this one is essential to test out.
Lions in the Theater — This is a dramatic one that happens to be about someone I know, and I live for gossip that has nothing to do with me.
Scared — Can anyone say D’Angelo? Probably, it’s easy to say. “Scared” is a sexy ass track. Feel yourself to these sweet melodies.
Con Artist — I listened to this song on repeat in the bathtub while going through a breakup. It has nothing to do with a breakup, I confirmed with Bunny, but it made me feel things I didn’t know I needed to feel. It’s a good one if you need to have a pity party.
Bunny — Another good song to belt to with some really beautiful lyrics that, if I may analyze, are about Bunny’s mother, and it makes me want to cry but, again, also belt.
Jolly Rogers — A crowd favorite amongst my friend group. Are you getting older and freaking out about how time is passing and we aren’t changing but like, so much has changed? The last minute of this song is so fucking good just listen ok??
The Higher the Hair, the Closer to God — THE TITULAR SONG. I cry to this song almost every time I listen to it. The lyrics about her mother’s hair pins? The peeling wallpaper in the bathroom? The father character going out fishing? It’s a whole story in a song. Ugh the Stephen King line gives me chills. Bye.
Wife Before The Accident — The last track. A perfect bow, a perfect send-off, a perfectly, incomplete-complete ending.
PS — It was my intention to choose my favorite songs, but it turned out to be most of the album.
OK THANKS FOR BEING HERE AND LETTING ME HYPERLINK MY FAVORITE THINGS. A special thanks to those who help me fund my writing career by paying for this newsletter and reminding me that writing can be goofy and full of typos ♥️