touch us ALL with liberty,
I do not know what it feels like to only live in the places I am from, or from from. I do not know what it feels like to be embraced and protected by the status quo and its defenders. I do not know what it feels like to always be given the benefit of the doubt.
I know what it feels like to always fit the description. I know what it feels like to flinch at the other end of the demand, papers please. I know what it feels like to know that the system is not designed to protect you.
I know what it feels like to know what this feels like.
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Housekeeping note: Last Sunday the platform I use to for the newsletter, Buttondown, had some technical difficulties that meant I couldn’t send anything out. That was the second time in a relatively short amount of time, but still a very low downtime incidence over the four or so years I’ve used it.
I switched to Buttondown after a privacy breach by my previous provider, and because I was not persuaded by their prevailing editorial philosophy. By contrast, Buttondown has a very thoughtful approach to customer support and a founder whose general vibe I have a lot of time for.
I share this because I do not believe that tools and platforms and software are merely neutral; I share this because I believe we have to be curious about, aware of, and responsive to the not just the intentions but the effects of the work and the platforms our names are attached to and associated with.
And I share this because this yesterday marked another year too many that I’ve spent missing Phil Hutchinson, who was kind and goodhearted and clever and brave, and wishing I could tell him how much he continues to inform how I feel about what we owe to each other as people. Happy birthday, Phil. I love you.
Attribution
if you touch me, touch ALL of my people who need attention and societal repair, give the tired and the poor the same attention, AMERICA, touch us ALL with liberty, touch us ALL with liberty. — from lady liberty by Tato Liviera