This is a bonus edition of the Verve Letter, wrapping up and untangling what has been happening since the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Friday – events that can ultimately affect us outside of the US as well.
Yesterday morning, I woke up to the devastating news of the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. It was the first time ever that I was deeply, personally shook by the death of a public figure. My stomach sank to my knees, my heart starting pounding and after reading about Trump’s announcement to fill her seat on the court immediately, my happy weekend vibes gave way to a bottomless sense of despair.
I felt worse than I did the morning after the 2016 US elections – back then we could still tell ourselves “maybe it won’t be that bad”. Today we know: It is much, much worse than we – or the creators of House of Cards – could have dreamed.
Now, I don’t live in the USA, nor am I an expert on the Supreme Court or US legislation. But I do know enough about US politics and Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s work to understand that what’s been happening following her death is bad. Real bad. And that it affects us outside of the USA as well. As journalist Ann Helen Petersen explains in her newsletter:
“For those of you outside of the United States, it’s hard to overstate the significance of Ginsburg, better known as RBG, in the popular progressive imagination. She has become a celebrity in old age, a signifier of the resiliency and endurance of progressive ideals, a feminist of the old school who has become a hero to next generation: The Notorious RBG who takes zero shit and demands that moral arc of the universe continue its bend towards justice.”
RBG was one of the most powerful people in the most powerful country in the world – so whatever happens next, whoever fills her seat, will have an impact on the entire world. Let’s untangle the scary mess that is happening right now:
Donald Trump announced on Friday, that he was set to nominate the next justice within days. The nominee then needs to receive a vote on the floor of the US Senate. Theoretically, the story would end here – or rather, be paused until the next president is sworn into office. Because back in February 2016, when another Supreme Court seat had opened, the Republican Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell ruled not to consider Barack Obama’s nominee. His argumentation was that it was too close to a presidential election and that “American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice”. We are now facing the same, if not a more extreme, setting: The election process has already started – yet, McConnell insists the circumstances are different, and that Trump’s nominee deserves a vote.
Understandably, Democrats (and everyone with a basic understanding of law) are outraged by this hypocrisy. Barack Obama called McConnell out on Saturday:
How realistic is it that Trump and McConnell get away with this? “The willingness of Republicans to violate every norm in the process should not be underestimated.”, warns Tom McCarthy, US correspondent for the Guardian. However, Trumps appointee has to be confirmed by a straight majority in the Senate, which could be difficult to achieve if Trump picks a conservative with extreme views (which he is likely to do).
Furthermore, the two toughest females in the Democratic Party, Elizabeth Warren and Alexandra Ocasio Cortez, have already sprung into action; announcing to fight this (Warren) and providing people with an action plan (AOC).
It’s scary to consider what might happen if Trump and McConnell get their way, but it’s important to know what kind of hell we could be facing:
First of all, RBG was a true trail blazer for women’s rights. For example, thanks to her, women in the US are able to open a bank account without a male co-signer, take out a mortgage on their own and have the right to be pregnant AND work. Abortion rights, protections from discrimination, voting rights, the rights of immigrants – everything she fought for is at stake now. Abortion laws would very likely be the first laws to change under a conservative majority in the Supreme Court – thereby taking away women’s bodily autonomy.
Secondly, there’s the matter of the election, and the Supreme Court’s role in deciding what happens with recounts, allegations of fraud, or other forms of election integrity. It’s very much in Trump’s best interests that he has the justices on the Supreme Court in his corner, as it is very likely that this election will end up before the Supreme Court in one form or another. Do you dare to imagine what the world will look like if an unopposed Trump is (stays) in charge? I don’t.
Ultimately, we’re talking about a president who is dismantling democratic institutions one by one. And even if he doesn’t get re-elected: If he manages to tilt the Supreme Court towards an extremely conservative ideology within the next few weeks – he will shape the legislation for the next 30 or 40 years.
As AOC stressed in her 40-minute Insta Live Video: “Voting for Joe Biden is not about whether you agree with him. It’s a vote to let our democracy live another day.”
If all that sounds very dramatic and doomsday-ish, it’s because: it is. Nothing is sacred in US politics anymore – and it will be women and immigrants who will pay the price first. If you haven’t watched The Handmaid’s Tale yet, now is NOT the time to start.
Frankly, I’m inclined to just turn off all communication devices, ignore the news and hybernate until the USA has imploded (just hoping my friends and family get out of there alive beforehand).
If you’re interested to learn more about RBG’s inspiring life and work, I’d recommend this NYT obituary by Linda Greenhouse as a jumping off point, as well as this documentary (in German, but you can also find it on Amazon I believe).
I cannot provide much pop culture pleasure today, but one thing I have been comforting myself with is Chrissy Teigen’s decadent banana bread. SO, SO GOOD. You can half the sugar content of the recipe (which you probably will anyway, because we all have been food shamed since we walked out of the womb) and it will still be super sweet. I added roasted walnuts for extra crunch – and because they were here.
I also really enjoyed Caroline O'Donoghue’s “Seven pledges to my single friends” in the Irish Examiner this weekend. It includes:
“If we are talking about how hard it is for you to meet anyone new, I will not suddenly turn to my partner and say ‘do you know anyone nice…?’ Of course he doesn’t know anyone nice. Men make five friends at school and keep hold of them for the rest of their lives. All of those men are married. The only single man my boyfriend knows is his barber, and he thinks coronavirus is the government’s way of trying to chip us.”
And because no Verve Letter is complete without a Jameela Jamil recommendation: Please do yourself a favour and listen to her talk with Rachel Cargle. They go deep into the flaws of white women feminism and I particularly enjoyed their candid discussion about the shame that is imposed on women who do not want to have children.
That’s all for now. I love it when you forward the Verve Letter to you friends and family – and when you send me pictures of the banana bread you made in order to cope with these manic times. ❤️
Until next time,
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