To hell in a handcart we go ๐ฅ
Hi friend,
I'm writing this on International Women's Day and originally had planned to make this a celebratory issue for female role models who have inspired me throughout my life. But this week on the news, this week in pop culture, this week in life in general, man, it has made me angry. I haven't felt this agitated and restless in a long time and I apologize in advance for being unstructured and all over the place in this newsletter.
First of all, I'm angry at the EU, at Turkey, at Greece, I'm angry with all the politicians carrying out their political power struggles on the backs of helpless refugees. The Greek police is firing tear gas and stun grenades at refugees as if they are trying to fend off ravenous animals. The Greek police stands by as fascist mobs hunt foreigners. Aid workers are being attacked and are forced to flee the refugee camps.
And the EU? The EU thanked the Greek authorities for not backing down, for "protecting the border". Again: The European Union is supporting, or at least endorsing this inhumane treatment of people, who have lost absolutely everything. It is the same institution which once agreed on the right of asylum being a fundamental human right. We are tits deep in a humanitarian crisis, created by the EU and the EU only.
You know who I'm also angry with? People. People who steal hand sanitizer and masks from children's cancer wards in German hospitals, people who buy 50kg of pasta in case they catch the Corona cold, but who cannot stand the thought of Germany taking in people who are fleeing an actual war zone. People are shit. Not you, of course, but people.
Also, the media: If news outlets around the world would put half the energy they are currently using to fuel the Corona panic into coverage of the refugee situation in Turkey and Greece, or on racist terror attacks in Germany โ they could possibly conjure enough solidarity and humanity in order to create some change.
Last but not least, I'm angry with Netflix for producing a reality TV show which sells toxic heteronormativity under the guise of a "social experiment". I tried watching Love is Blind last week, because it popped up everywhere in my bubble. I had to stop midway through episode three because I found it so repulsive and I kept yelling at the screen.
The basic idea of the show is that the (conventionally very attractive, heterosexual) contestants are blindly (literally, they don't see each other) dating each other until one of them (read: the man) proposes. Only when they are engaged do they get to see each other. What I found so sickening: It consolidates the backwards notions of strong men, soft women, of men having to propose, of a heterosexual monogamous marriage being the one and only source of happiness.
Annie Lord's analysis for The Independent pin points all the ways that this train wreck of a show has failed everyone striving for gender equality. Like:
"Though the roles that contestants have to slot into are suffocatingly binary, they do it with aplomb (gender is a performance they have spent their whole life perfecting, just like the rest of us). The men seek to be strong and the women seek to be caring and thin."
Phew. I feel a bit better with all this off my chest. Thank you for listening. And thanks to everyone who has spoken up, who has shared articles about the situation in Greece and joined demonstrations. You give me hope and make me feel less alone โค๏ธ Also, this is really all we can do, all we have to do. To not be quiet, to show solidarity, to hit the streets when we can.
And on the bright side for everyone working with me, according to my horoscope (fellow Capricorns out there?), my weeks of being on fire โ and not the good kind of fire โ are behind me as of Monday. Fingers crossed.
โญ๏ธ Not all of pop culture has made me angry, luckily. Here is what brought me distraction and pleasure:
This podcast interview with Greta Gerwig, in which she takes us in detail through the process of how she wrote the Little Women sceenplay. A must listen for all my fellow Jo March die-hards. ๐ง
Dolly, always Dolly. She spoke about the beauty of solo travel here and about what she knows best (friendships, dating and getting comfortable being alone) here. ๐ง
This all-women, femme power playlist, curated by my wonderful friend Verena. ๐ต
And do you know what's a fantastic show to watch when you're angry at the world? Jack Ryan. Good guys shooting bad guys, the world is black or white, good or evil. Stop after season one though, the second one is a bit meh. ๐บ
That's it for now, have a great week and send me your anger management tipps!
Anna
PS: You can find all of my podcast recommendations on this Spotify playlist.