Author’s notes: Content warnings for self-harm, political violence, sexual violence. I consistently refer to Manto’s hometown as “Bombay” rather than Mumbai. I do this for two reasons. The lesser reason is that “Bombay” is simply Portuguese for “Beautiful Bay,” whereas Mumbai is short for “Mumbadevi” and the change was made in 1995 at the instigation…
Tag: politics
To the Shopkeeper on the Corner in East Jerusalem
The author of this essay requested that their name be withheld.–ed From the first day I moved into the neighborhood until the day I left in a hurry, I went to your shop. Your brother was always the only one there, serving the neighborhood kids who would come with their mother’s money clutched tightly in…
Israel: Why it’s Hard to Write About
It’s taken me a lot of time to build up to writing this. And if I had to give a single reason, it’s because I was taught to think a certain way. That Israel is a shining democracy among (Arab, Muslim, nonwhite) dictatorships. That Israel makes every effort to minimize civilian casualties while “the other…
Shooting at Michigan State University
I’m still dealing with lingering effects of COVID right now. Mostly fatigue and pain, with more frequent headaches as a bonus. So shortly after dinner last Monday, I dozed off for a bit, and when I woke up I began scrolling through Facebook and was shocked to see a post telling me that a friend…
All I Want for Hannukah is to Keep a Little Oil in the Tank
Some parts of this piece have been percolating for a bit. There are a lot of things here that are just always gnawing at the back of my mind, waiting for the right story to come together for me to share. In fact, I even thought about writing it last week, but the truth is,…
World AIDS Day, Part 2: Stories
Missing the World AIDS Day Gatherings With the COVID pandemic in its third year, most people are starting to meet in person again. That means that people who want to honor and celebrate those we lost to AIDS can do so in person. Carefully and with many precautions, perhaps even more than usual to protect…
Art and Trauma (Caturday)
Well. It happened again. At such times that tragedy touches a community that one of our own belongs to–a community that is a source of both strength and vulnerability–we make the following choice. Sometimes people who are grieving need to laugh. And sometimes they need to write about their feelings. So here’s the comic. Enjoy…
PrEP Under Threat
A judge in Texas recently ruled that a company with a religious founder does not have to pay (through its choice of insurance plans) for its employees to use Truvada or Descovy as PrEP (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis against HIV). This is obviously part of a long list of recent legislative and judicial attacks on the rights…
Lockdown Culture in Public Schools
On the last day of this school year, we had a lockdown at my school. I teach at an elementary charter school in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Albuquerque has no shortage of gun violence, and I hardly even flinch anymore when I hear a sound that could be a gunshot, or a firework, at night. I…
Shakespeare Authorship Question
On the face of it, Who wrote the plays of “Shakespeare”? is not an interesting question. The answer is “Shakespeare.” People will make objections and say “what if?” or “isn’t it true that…?” But these are easily answered. I used to get asked this question quite a lot. Comes with the territory of working towards…