#5SmartReads - April 19, 2023

Hitha on the dual battles in Bristol, Nicole Lynn's record making deal, and why everyone and everything is in India

April 19, 2023

I know I’ve been on my soapbox about paying attention to local and state politics here. This article makes my case for me, and also frustrates me to no end.

Bristol is a unique city. Located on the Tennessee-Virginia border, the municipality has tremendous responsibility (air and water quality, public services), but their decisions can be overruled at the state level. In a town that’s at the mercy of two state governments, the “who trumps who” power struggle is a confusing one (and to date, it has operated as two municipalities acting as one city).

Bristol should’ve made headlines for the massive environmental crisis. A nearby landfill has been emitting fumes that not only smell foul, but put the residents’ health at risk for the past few decades.

Bristol made national headlines recently by passing an anti-abortion zoning ordinance (which has its own legal challenges, given abortion in Virginia is legal up to the end of the second trimester). Many of the city’s leaders applauded themselves for “preserving the sanctity of life” - all while ignoring the very real issues of the landfill and the quality of life of their residents, and how it’s getting worse.

This article shows just how interconnected issues are, despite our leader and media’s attempts to keep them compartmentalized and siloed. It also demonstrates the insane hypocrisy of the supposed “pro-life” champions (I see no level of advocacy and lobbying for improving the quality of life for those already born).

This is worth your time (and it will take some time to read and process this piece). But please read, and share. Because for every city like Bristol that makes headlines, there are so many similar towns and cities facing the same intersectional problems, and their leaders focused on culture wars instead.

To me, Love Is Blind is a rare dating show that truly represents straight America (and I would like to see more queer representation in this show or in its own version, please).

Different cultures are not relegated as an afterthought or passing comment, but instead centered and celebrated as a part of the entire dating experiment. And you’re probably sick of my other soapbox - how art can change hearts and minds more effectively than nonfiction works or reporting - but I still proudly shout from this soapbox.

And what I love about this season’s Love Is Blind was watching Tiffany and Brett fall in love, and how Black love was celebrated so beautifully.

““For me as a Black woman seeing a Black woman getting loved on in a full pure worshipful way by anybody makes my day,” said Tia Williams, the best-selling romance author of “Seven Days in June” and “Love is Blind” fan.

“My feelings are still hurt over the way Megan Thee Stallion was treated. My feelings are still hurt over how Meghan Markle was treated. In this climate where the vitriol against Black woman never seems to cease, it’s lovely to see a Black man fall head over heels in love with us on TV,” said Williams.”

I confess that I was so confused (and delighted) to see acting icon Madhuri Dixit and Tim Cook enjoying vada pav on Instagram.

This article put the seemingly random post in context for me - and unpacked why you’re seeing India centered in cultural and business headlines.

Apple just opened its first retail store in the country, and committed to expanding manufacturing there. Dior just hosted a runway show at the historic Gateway of India to showcase their longtime collaboration with Chanakya Atelier, which coincided with the gala weekend opening of the Nita Ambani Cultural Center.

When I was in fifth grade, I ended a social studies report about India with the words “one day, the golden eagle of the East will rise again.” And that seems to be happening right now with multinational companies moving manufacturing into India, Indian businesses striking massive deals with global companies (see Boeing-Air India, with a deal to supply a minimum of 220 aircraft), and India becoming a stronger strategic ally of Western democratic countries as tensions escalate with China.

While I have a sense of pride in seeing India’s art and business be recognized on a global scale, I also process this news with concern about the government’s suppression of press freedom and the rise of Hindu nationalism (this is an incredibly emotional and heated topic, so I will not be engaging in any conversation about this topic to protect my peace).

Living with mixed feelings seems to be the norm in this modern era - and certainly in my own identity as an Indian-American.

The Philadelphia Eagles know Jalen Hurts worth - and signed him to a five-year, $255 million contract. That’s my team and my quarterback making NFL history.

Nicole Lynn also made history in negotiating this deal - as an agent, surely, but also being one of the few Black women agents in sports.

And to think this deal started with Nicole sliding into Jalen’s DMs (really!) when he was preparing to enter the NFL Draft.

I’m very big on being mentored by folks I admire via their work and interviews (and just downloaded Nicole’s audiobook), but I keep coming back from Jalen’s words about her:

“That turns me up,” Hurts said of being an underdog in a Sports Illustrated feature from August. “It lights a fire in me. It does something to me, because I know I’ll prove you wrong. But I saw that same fire in Nicole. She said, ‘I’m a woman. People are going to overlook me. People are going to doubt me. They’re not going to give me the due respect. But I’m overcoming it, just like you do.’ And that’s where we really hit it off. We had the same vision.”

“Every day I wake up with the hope of going back to school. They [the Taliban] keep saying they will open schools. But it's been almost two years now. I don't believe them. It breaks my heart.”

It’s been a year and a half since the United States withdrew its forces from Afghanistan. And life has forever changed for the girls and women in the country.

They can’t attend school. Women can no longer work for NGOs (the sole exception is the health sector). Neither can travel beyond 72 kilometers solo. They have to be covered head-to-toe in public, including wearing a face veil.

And despite the waning global reporting, they keep speaking up and fighting for the right to attend school and live their lives.

I’ll leave it to those with deeper foreign policy and military experience to opine on our withdrawal from the country, but I will continue to share the oppression of girls and women, here and worldwide, until society is truly equal and free.

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