5SR - January 10, 2024

Hitha on caucuses, third places, and our obsession with Gypsy Rose Blanchard

Author

Hitha Palepu
January 10, 2024

Today’s curator is the founder of #5SmartReads, Hitha Palepu. She’s a consummate multihyphenate - CEO of Rhoshan Pharmaceuticals, author of WE’RE SPEAKING: The Life Lessons of Kamala Harris and How to Pack: Travel Smart for Any Trip, and professional speaker. Hitha is an unabashed fan of Taco Bell, Philadelphia sports teams & F1, romance novels, and is a mediocre crafter. She lives in NYC with her husband and two sons.

With the Iowa caucus less than a week away, I need my every-four-year refresher on exactly what the caucus process is, and what’s different about the 2024 Iowa caucus.

Here’s the gist of a caucus: voters gather in their local caucus location (as determined by their state party) in the evening of caucus day. At this particular caucus, the voters gathered will vote for their party’s nominee and elect delegates to attend county conventions (which is the first step in selecting the state’s delegates to the RNC).

There are some speeches from voters on behalf of the candidates they’re supporting, with voting by secret ballot after speeches are concluded. Iowa allocates delegates proportional to their statewide votes (a rarity in the GOP primary, where many of the elections are “winner-take-all” or “winner-take-most” delegate contests (with minimum vote percentage thresholds for candidates to receive any delegates).

Be honest: did you Google “Gypsy Rose Blanchard” this week?

Did you know who Gypsy Rose Blanchard was before she was released?

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After serving a 10 year sentence for orchestrating the murder of her mother (who  claimed her daughter was suffering from diseases such as leukemia and muscular dystrophy, with Gypsy Rose undergoing years of unnecessary tests, surgeries, and other interventions).

She’s also the Internet’s latest obsession, with appearances on the major talk shows, a skyrocketing social media following, and a forthcoming reality show on Lifetime.

I confess that I’m not a Gypsy Rose stan (I wish her well and the momma bear in me hopes she finds her peace and spends more time offline), but I am troubled about the wave of content about her, especially those that champion her with little acknowledgement or recognition of the crime she committed (and yes, served time for).

“But the stanning of Gypsy Rose Blanchard also raises a larger issue: we, as a culture, take an wildly inconsistent approach to criminality. Most of the time, we reject it; sometimes, we try to make sense of the nonsensical by building our own narratives, making heroes out of those who would otherwise be considered villains. Both of these approaches miss the point.”

I think every generation has their own anti-hero-hero that forces a blurring of the lines of criminality in favor of pop culture appeal. What’s changed is how online each of us are, either as consumers or creators, in a way that simply didn’t exist during OJ Simpson’s car chase and trial (this was the earliest case of the anti-hero-hero that I could recall being aware of). But I wonder how our scrolling and consumption habits are impacting our worldview subconsciously, and this article unpacks that quandary thoughtfully and carefully while also shining a light on those who are dubbed the Internet’s latest babygirl - and if this attention serves them or criminals and victims in general.

Liz Plank’s brilliant essay told me everything I needed to know about the Golden Globes. This quote, in particular, summed up the beginning of the show and life in general:

“The Golden Globes are but a mirror to our sexist society. We watched an unexperienced man, woefully under-delivering on his job, having the audacity to humiliate a group of over-qualified women, who exceptionally over-delivered on their job. It’s the epitome of patriarchal irony. It’s not just that women have to work twice as hard, to get half the credit. It’s that even when we miraculously reach a pinnacle of success set by men, after somersaulting our way through the intricate scaffolding of male institutions designed to keep us out, we still get dragged. Even, or perhaps especially when we beat men at their own game, we’re still just a girl.”

Liz’s words perfectly encapsulates everything I feel about this moment and girlhood & feminism and the state of the patriarchal world in general. Give it a read.

I am on the hunt for a new third place in my life. I have a few neighborhood spots I rotate through depending on the time of day and the weather (a local cafe, Central Park, a handful of restaurants), but the demise of The Wing meant I lost my go-to spot to just be.

I never once considered that my third place could be the bodega around the corner.

“Not only do I stop by my bodega when I’m in a good mood — I just love to get a Diet Coke or a bouquet of eucalyptus as a little treat — but I also drag myself inside when I’m not doing so hot. Like a true friend, or maybe someone closer to a bartender, the cashier has seen me at my worst; she’s there when I’m dressed up at night on my way to an event, as well as the next morning when I schlep in tired, disheveled, and in desperate need of an everything bagel.

Fellow regulars pet my dog and gab about the weather. If I don’t feel like talking, there’s always the comforting constant of the sugar-covered coffee station in the back corner, where I slip to stir up a brew. I never stay long, but a quick five-minute visit is always enough to hit the spot.”

What a genius reframe.

sidebar: if my fellow Upper West Siders want to gather and figure out a non-bodega third place we can cultivate/create, I’m down.

I limit mentions or coverage of the 45th President here on 5SR because he tends to suck up the oxygen in traditional press coverage, but with the Iowa caucus less than a week away and his status as the presumptive nominee by a huge margin, this case could very well make or break his candidacy - and the future of our democracy.

Trump was impeached by the House and acquitted by the Senate for “incitement of insurrection.” His lawyers claim that prosecuting him for the same charges in federal court would violate the Fifth Amendment, specifically the double jeopardy clause (“no person shall…be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb”).

Trump was indicted on four charges in federal court - conspiring to defraud the United States, conspiring to disenfranchise voters, and conspiring and attempting to obstruct an official proceeding.” While the three judges hearing the appeal have expressed skepticism toward the double jeopardy argument, Trump could ask the full appeals court to hear the case to move it to the Supreme Court, thus stalling the trial that’s currently set for March 4.

If he’s elected the 47th President of the United States and pardons himself, not only will this case never see the light of day, but it would give license for future presidents to commit crimes while serving in the office (crimes that could put our national security at grave risk).

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