Confrontations

LISTENING: to my cat purr on my arm
FEELING: loved, if only for a moment
SEEING: my cat's sleepy face

At the grocery store Monday night, my partner and I were talking to the owner and someone with him when we mentioned my boyfriend's new job as a carpenter at Columbia University. The owner's buddy, someone we had never met before, went on to disparage the student-led protests happening at Columbia. He called them "stupid" and "a waste of taxpayer money" given the police presence.

I stood silent and listened until he paused long enough for me to interject. "I love protests," I said defiantly. "I go out whenever I can, and I love what the students are doing." He then said, "I think they should all go to jail," to which I responded, "I think prisons should be abolished."

Welcome to Possibilities, a creative climate newsletter on the possibilities that lie where crisis meets community. I’m Yessenia Funes, and it's up to us, the community, to speak up when crisis hits the most vulnerable.

My conversation with this man continued for a few more minutes after that. He went on and on about how much he hates electric vehicles and doesn't believe in climate change. It was stressful, uncomfortable, and ultimately not very fruitful, but I felt proud that I didn't stay silent. The version of me a few years ago may have struggled to engage in the debate. Even the current version of me strained to fight back tears as I felt frustrated by his hate.

But I couldn't let my fear hold me back. If he felt so bold to tell my partner and me his opinions, why shouldn't we do the same?

Now, we don't all have to do this. I respect folks who prefer to protect their peace and silently nod and smile even though they're rolling their eyes inside. That wasn't my mood that night. My brief interaction with this stranger was also a sobering reminder of how divided our country remains. It's no coincidence that this one white man held multiple harmful beliefs. He hates protesters and loves the cops. He wants migrants to go back to their countries and our taxes to be lower. He misses the days of criminal and credit checks and prefers to rent his apartments to Spanish speakers "because they work hard" and "white people know the law." (Imagine saying this to visibly Brown people. Wild, right? I know.)

These issues — from housing to police and genocide to taxes — are all connected in one way or another. While New York City officials invest valuable resources into a police force that is arresting student protesters in mass, at least a thousand migrants have been forced to sleep in the streets due to a lack of housing. I just paid my taxes, and I'm disheartened that so little of those dollars go toward social and environmental infrastructure that can actually help people.

I have no issue paying my fair share if it goes toward the greater good, but these days, billions of U.S. dollars are going toward war, instead. Meanwhile, parents in the city can't even afford to send their kids to daycare. I'm not sure how these societal issues can be repaired, but I know the answer lies in the people who have dedicated their lives to challenging the status quo. I know that the public cannot actively engage in civic society if they can't afford their regular bills.

So this one is for the rabble-rousers. For the students who are brave enough to snarl in the face of armed state agents. This one is for the faculty who stand with their students demanding more from their employers. This one is for the allies who show up outside university gates to let students and their professors know that they are not alone.

This one is for the people of Gaza who wake up each morning hoping today is the last day bombs fall on their city. The people who deserve a chance to live. Who deserve freedom. Who dream of greener days and clear skies.

This is also for the old asshole at the grocery store who, in holding onto his privilege, has lost his humanity. He may not live long enough to feel climate change's burn, but he's already living through the revolution. And, boy, doesn't it sting to watch white supremacy breathe its last breaths? 🌀

Rest in Power

While we can't say for certain that climate change led to these specific weather events (we need attribution studies for that), we do know that the Earth's rising temperatures are already creating more disasters like these.

Record rain in the United Arab Emirates killed at least three people Friday.

A heat wave that hit West Africa between March and April this year has been linked to climate change. The extreme temperatures were responsible for at least 102 deaths though experts believe hundreds or thousands may have died across the region.

Currently Reading

My heart can't handle the reality that Little Miss Flint is a whole ass young woman.

Dharna Noor at The Guardian with exclusive climate coverage of how students are getting it popping beyond the protests. And a follow-up on the divestment movement targeting fossil fuels and Israel's war machine.

I love interactive story layouts. Vogue Business has a fun story out about the way Gen Z is engaging (or, really, not engaging) with consumerism. The stats are kinda' wild.

Sick of cops. Sick of Cop Cities.

From Paige Vega at Vox: "We are all, no matter where we are on Earth, unsettled, in solidarity in our unmooring."

If you didn't already know, I adore Wawa Gatheru — and you should, too.

One billionaire wants to build an underwater cable to move clean energy across oceans. Literally.

On the 10-year anniversary of the Flint water crisis: "We gotta be dead to get our money? They want us dead to receive anything from the crisis."

Poetry

shake off the ash
of a world on fire
jump into the river
where souls run wild
save yourself
and wash away the angst
swim with pink dolphins
before they are next

-ylf-

See you next week. xx

- Yessenia