#5SmartReads - January 26, 2023

Hitha on gun violence, Gisele Fetterman, and the sustainable future of former mines

January 26, 2023

That we’ve become so desensitized to mass shootings in this country is a tragedy. How we got there is even more tragic, and further evidence that we are a nation being governed by the tyranny of the minority at all levels (local, state, federal, judicial, and in the public square).

“Other countries look at this problem and say, ‘People walking around in the community with handguns is just way too dangerous, so we’re going to broadly limit legal access to that and make exceptions on the margins for people who might have a good reason to have a gun,’” Swanson said. “Here we do just the opposite: We say that, because of the way that the Supreme Court interpreted the Second Amendment, everybody has the right to a gun for personal protection, and then we tried to make exceptions for really dangerous people, but we can’t figure out who they are.”

The gun violence problem in this country is uniquely American and solely of our own making. Not taking action is no longer an option.

Moms Demand is a well-known advocacy organization fighting to stop gun violence, but I also want to highlight 97Percent, an organization that unites both gun owners and non-gun owners for the same mission. I find their roadmap to be absolutely possible to achieve in a bipartisan manner, and I would add that adequately funding the ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms) to enforce the laws we already have on the books to be an even more immediate action to advocate for.

It’s no secret that I’m the president of the Gisele Barreto Fetterman fan club. The former SLOP (Second Lady of Pennsylvania) is so much more than Senator Fetterman’s spouse. She embodies my favorite Kamala-ism: do something about it, and don’t do it half-assed.

The Free Store is but one example, but one I find among her most impressive:

“The Free Store is an idea that there is enough in the world for everyone, and that mutual aid can help solve problems. We were the first Free Store in the country and just turned 10 years old. It’s entirely volunteer. We operate out of three decommissioned shipping containers that had been at sea. We are solar-powered. Free Store is completely efficient. We serve 100 families an hour, providing them with everything from formula to diapers to food to shoes to toys to dishes. You name it.

We are completely sustainable. We don’t require any money. The expenses are so minimal. The goods we are giving out were going to be headed to the landfill — surplus goods from department stores or grocery stores, or your kid is growing out of an outfit. So people come and shop for what they need, for free. I work at the Free Store three days a week for an entire shift. And my second nonprofit was 412 Food Rescue, which got over 100 million pounds of food into the hands of people who need it. And I also have a women’s incubator space in Pittsburgh. We house 13 full-time women entrepreneurs from all over our community. And with the Free Store, we helped open 14 more locations.”

Who’s up for a girls’ trip to Braddock to volunteer with Gisele?

I hate to admit that I never thought much of what happens to shuttered mines. I assumed they remained abandoned until a billionaire eventually purchased the land to build a doomsday estate of some sort.

The reality is much less depressing. It’s the exact opposite, in these cases.

Former mines have turned into tourist-heavy lake districts, vineyards, and wetlands and lavender farms to restore natural habitats.

Some have become major renewable energy sites as floating solar farms and solar power plants.

We often cling to the older ways because there’s a certainty and a comfort that come with them - energy sources included - because it’s nearly impossible to imagine a different future. This is a brighter, better future for us all - especially the communities where these former mines are located.

I’m tired of the scammer CEOs that monopolize the news these days. I’m here for the ones who are making an impact by building strong, healthy businesses rooted in strong values.

That they are also showing outsized returns in a rough economy is no accident. William Huston’s Bay Street Capital Holdings is proof of that.

“Huston chalks up his company’s health [maintaining its $85M valuation, no layoffs] to one specific pivot. His firm has been doubling down on an untapped and underserved segment of the US economy: Black-owned travel holdings. “Black travelers in America spend $109bn (£90bn) on leisure travel annually, and only $1bn (£831m) goes to Black-owned hotels,” he said of the disparity besetting the US travel industry. Black-owned hotels make up 0.8% of the 58,000 hotels in the US. Less than 1% of the money that all African Americans spend on leisure travel ends up with Black-owned properties.”

Huston’s story is even more impressive than what he’s built with his investment fund. Take the time to read this inspiring interview.

“Most university-going Afghan women who were born in the last two decades and grew up with more liberties are not accustomed to a restricted way of life. Unable to complete their degrees, they are confined to their homes in the midst of a looming economic collapse and an exacerbated humanitarian crisis. 

As of 2022, 24.4 million Afghans need humanitarian assistance and half of them are women and girls, according to the United Nations. International aid has largely been halted since the takeover, with many international nongovernmental organizations suspending their operations. Additionally, most of the country’s foreign assets remain frozen. Afghanistan’s economy contracted by 20.7% in 2021, leading to increased poverty and food insecurity, according to the World Bank. The UN estimates that 95% of Afghanistan’s population faces food insecurity.”

I think a lot about how immensely lucky I was to be born to my parents and the privilege that came with that sheer luck.

It’s something many of us take for granted, but we shouldn’t when millions of girls and women in Afghanistan are basically trapped in their homes, unable to pursue their dreams or even participate in civil society.

Please don’t look away. And if you can, please support the incredible organization Code To Inspire, Afghanistan’s first coding school for girls that continues to offer education and work opportunities.

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