This is gold. texasmonthly.com/the-culture/wi… OH MY GOD ARE THERE COPIES AVAILABLE!?

"It’s not just that women are more likely to become prominent influencers in the QAnon digital network; it is actively useful for QAnon for them to do so."

nytimes.com/2020/09/10/opi… Also: "The theory’s adherents look less like our traditional conception of fascists and more like ordinary concerned mothers"—the thing is, history shows that plenty of fascists seem like ordinary concerned mothers. That's in part why we forget about them after the fact.

My book is 1 week old! I could write an extra chapter based on the tips and ideas I've gotten this week. Thanks for reading, thanks for buying, thanks for emailing. And if you have no idea what I'm talking about, welcome: I wrote about hate in America. seywarddarby.com/sisters-in-hat… One question I've gotten a lot: Why bother writing about these people at all? The answer, to me, is that they're more familiar than you think, and therefore more frightening. We don't get very far treating hate like an anomaly when the soil it stems from is the norm.

"'I guess we were saving gas,' he would quip in a deposition in another case about why he filed two lawsuits at once."

Turns out, these people are exactly who they showed themselves to be.

https://twitter.com/michellelegro/status/1281806908177948672

OMG: "He destroyed bee hives placed just outside of the mansion’s northern wall by the neighboring Jewish Central Reform Congregation and left a note saying he did it....'The children were crying in school,' Rabbi Susan Talve said. “It was part of our curriculum.'"

If you like Hamilton, watch 1776. I grew up watching it every #July4th and still love it. Plus, if you see it, you'll be able to catch the fun reference @Lin_Manuel included in Hamilton and earn your Bonafide Musical Nerd card. One thing that's awesome about this musical, and Hamilton is similar, is that *so* many characters get amazing numbers. People you don't expect suddenly have show-stoppers, deep in the second act.

WRITERS! @atavist is commissioning! We want your pitches. We've done a lot to boost gender diversity in the last 2 years, but we need to do better wrt other metrics. Female, Black, LQBTQIA+, however you identify—send me your best narrative longform ideas: seyward@atavist.com If you want to know what we're looking for, the short answer is cinematic, propulsive, gripping yarns. For a longer answer, here are our submission guidelines.

Later, when volunteering her daughter as the main plaintiff in the @NAACP's case against the school board, Gertrude said, “You use Joyce because there’s no way they take her away from me—there’s no reason for it.”

cc @nhannahjones @NPRCodeSwitch @MorganJerkins

https://twitter.com/atavist/status/1278095290948608000

"Gertrude [right] was beautiful. She wore store-bought dresses and rings on almost every finger. She’d left school in the eighth grade to help raise her 11 siblings, but she was naturally astute." She worked in finance at an Air Force base & became a minister. 🖌️@thelittleanimal

This is my friend Ethan. He lost sight in one eye when a police officer shot a tear gas canister directly into his face while he and his incredible mother were cleaning up after an early protest in Minneapolis after George Floyd was killed. What follows are his mom's words. /1 "My son and I went to a community clean up in the afternoon over on Lake street. We wanted to stand up for justice in a way that also helped the beloved community we once lived in." /2

omfg

https://twitter.com/YesYoureRacist/status/1273325864499978240

There's so much to unpack here. Particularly the word "comforting." It reminds me of a story about my grandmother. (THREAD) /1

THREAD: In my first magazine job, I made (if I recall correctly) ~$280/week. This was in 2008-2009. I was able to live in D.C. making that amount because my then-roommate, who had a good job, was willing to pay a greater share of rent and because my parents could help out. /1 I had benefits, at least. And I made overtime—remember overtime?! Anyway.... /2

Thread: In partnership with @TheLensNOLA, @atavist ran a story about a murder in New Orleans, a trial that lasted less than a day, and the lives they entangled for the next three decades. /1 magazine.atavist.com/your-honor-can… The writer, Nick Chrastil, has an ongoing series about the judge in that case, the latest installment of which dropped today. It's extremely good. /2 thelensnola.org/2020/06/05/the…

i may be late to this party, but the Whitefish-Kalispell area is a little hub of white-nationalist activity. and not just because of Richard Spencer (or even mostly bc of him).... /1

https://twitter.com/drvox/status/1269746069740507136

This woman planted her racist flag there several years ago and invited other people to join her. /2 splcenter.org/fighting-hate/…

A thing I think about a lot, which came up constantly in my book research, is how the U.S. approach to policing, whether by actual cops or vigilantes, was informed by the narrative that white women were at risk vis-a-vis racial minorities. /1 That fact endures, certainly, in incidents like the one instigated by Amy Cooper. But it also seems to be in the very DNA of police forces, their idea of themselves, who they're protecting. Sometimes it's overt, sometimes not. But it's always there. /2

Got a message from a friend in MN last night; said she and her teenage son were out cleaning up after protests, which they'd attended, when the police showed up. A cop pushed her, and her son grabbed his arm. Cop shot tear gas directly into her son's face, destroying one eye. /1 She's a nurse, but she can't see him in the hospital because of COVID restrictions. /2

THREAD: 8 years ago, I lived in Kosovo for a short while. (And yes, AMA.) Early in my time there, I went to see the national ballet perform a piece about two people from warring cultures who fall in love and struggle to be together. The inspiration was clear. I left in tears. /1 It turned out that the ballet had an incredible backstory, which I wrote about, very briefly, for @HuffPost. /2 huffpost.com/entry/looking-…

Talking with my SIL about how we'd describe Normal People in a single phrase. Winners thus far:

- Big clavicle energy
- Moody millennial romance with lots of chunky socks
- Lorraine Waldron is a goddamn treasure - A little pre-workout SNACK