Thread by @krudell

There was once a study that gathered a hundred or so people in an auditorium and asked each one to write on a piece of paper how much money they would need to earn in a year to feel financially secure.

Then they passed the piece of paper to the person on their right. 1/

The group had been selected to represent a wide socioeconomic range. So someone who currently earned a million dollars a year could be sitting next to someone making $30k. What was striking, though, was that everyone generally wrote down the same number. 2/

Roughly 50% more than they were currently making. 3/

So maybe we’re wired to feel like we always need more money to feel safe. To have everything “covered.” And maybe that‘s why @MariahCarey (est. net worth $500 million) and @tiesto (earned $33 million in 2018) gave a concert in Saudi Arabia the other day 4/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2019/02/01…

But this wasn’t just a concert. It’s part of a massive rebrand of a country that knows its decades, if not its days, are numbered. In a peak oil world, Prince MBS wants to use the money and power he still has to pivot – to make KSA a tech or entertainment hub. 5/

So 2019 is the “Year of Entertainment.” The Prince has budgeted $64 billion to pay artists money they can’t/won’t refuse to validate his project. 6/

theintercept.com/2019/02/01/moh…

The idea is to make people forget that 2018 was the “Year of Luring @JKhashoggi to an Embassy in Turkey and Murdering Him.”

And the “Year of Imprisoning and Torturing Women’s Rights Advocates,” including @LoujainHathloul. 7/

Loujain and the others are still in prison. And, despite denials from the Saudi government, still being tortured.

Her family is speaking out, against a country they love that has betrayed them. This is from Loujain’s sister, @alia_ww 8/ nytimes.com/2019/01/26/opi…

And her brother, @WalidAlhathloul 9/cnn.com/2019/01/31/opi…

Their words, and the pleas of @amnesty and @hrw, weren’t enough to dissuade Mariah and Tiesto (and Sean Paul) from cashing checks signed with blood. And those checks were, apparently, large enough to dissuade them from speaking out on behalf of women’s rights. 10/

Everyone has a price. 11/

But amid reports that @Sethrogen, @chrisrock, @Trevornoah and others are negotiating to perform in Saudi Arabia this year, I hope that price will include the release of Loujain and the other brave women. #FreeLoujain 12/

Politics failed @JKhashoggi and @LoujainHathloul. In a Trump/Brexit world, MBS had no fear of U.S. or British reprisals. Now the newly Democratic Congress is trying to apply pressure to KSA – to fill in the gaps... 13/

Like having no ambassador to Saudi Arabia or to the UN; no Secretary of State or Defense; and a President and First Son-in-Law whose failing real estate portfolios are directly propped up by Saudi money.

Those gaps. 14/

But art can fill in the gaps, too. Writers, musicians, entertainers – we tell the stories. That’s power. Let’s use it to tell Khashoggi’s. And Loujain’s. And all the others, around the world, who can’t tell their own (like these people:) 15/ iranhumanrights.org/2019/01/iran-i…

So if you’re invited to perform in Saudi Arabia, #ThinkTwice. Know what you’re being used for. It’s like playing Sun City in South Africa during apartheid... and a lot of musicians took a stand about that. 16/

[EDIT: Re: @KarenAttiah's piece yesterday...contrary to the Saudi press release, Seth Rogen and Trevor Noah weren’t invited to perform/said that they would never do it. Good on Seth and Trevor (and unsurprising.) May others follow their example.] washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…

But for everyone else, if you still decide to do it – if making 50% more than last year is too irresistible – then at least make it count.

#FreeLoujain

/end