#5SmartReads - May 9, 2022

Hitha on privilege, severe droughts in the Plains, and a new approach (and solution) to burnout

May 09, 2022

How you feel about abortion has a lot to do with how much privilege you have, as Rebecca Traister eloquently delves into in this essay.

I encourage you to read every word of this piece, but I’ll leave you with the section I keep coming back to:

“Bans do not stop abortions from happening. Rather, they are meant to punish people for asserting control over their bodies, lives, and families, and the people who get punished more cruelly and regularly in this country have always been people who are not white and not wealthy. The drive to make this point is also a reminder that white, privileged women’s experiences are not at the center of this ongoing injustice.”

Access to reproductive health care, both in proximity and time to seek it. Access to general healthcare. Safety. Clean air and water. You can replace abortion with any of these and the phrase would ring true.

Equality under the law is not the same as equity, and bans on abortion will only widen the equity divide between those who take these things for granted and those who need it the most.

As I wrote in the weekend newsletter, I’m newly obsessed with Formula 1 (highly recommend Drive To Survive on Netflix). And with the Miami Grand Prix happening right now, I’m turning to my wise friend Lily (whose F1 newsletter is excellent) for a primer on what to expect in Miami’s first ever F1 race.

Even though the race ended yesterday, the article is a helpful read if you’re just getting into the sport and in the early seasons of Need For Speed.

Over 6 million Americans identify as both Black and Latiné.

But their answers on identity, discrimination, and what they’ve experienced differ widely from person to person, with colorism and when they face discrimination or unfair treatment being key factors here as well.

Binary answers/experiences/choices is as American as apple pie (hello, two party system, how sports leagues are divided, and how we approach contentious issues). But people who are both Black and Latiné have wildly different experiences and upbringings and opinions that live between the binary, not on either side.

Let’s break the boxes we try to push different people into, and take the time to understand who they are based on their stories and lives.

“My creative well is completely empty, and I need to refill it. To do that, I listen to music, watch shows, take walks, read books I’ve loved, and try to discover new ones. Somewhere between watching a show or listening to a new album, I find that writing spirit again. It took me years to learn that. I used to really punish myself and accuse myself of being a lazy or a terrible writer. It took a lot of time and self-love to realize, nope, you’re just burnt out.”

The brilliant Sabaa Tahir coming through with the best definition of burnout - and how to combat it - that I’ve ever come across.

I also loved getting to know her better in this smart interview with Juliana Ukiomogbe (whose articles for Elle are all must-reads).

All of us have experienced the effects of climate change, regardless of where we live.

For us in NYC, it’s the longer winters and summers, the increasingly aggressive pollen season year over year, and April showers extending well into May and being chillier than expected.

But for those in the Plains, it’s becoming increasingly life-or-death - especially our incredible farmers, who suffer personally and professionally from severe droughts.

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