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  • Havdalah #22: Care for Ewul, Tomaquag, & What Are We Going to Do

Havdalah #22: Care for Ewul, Tomaquag, & What Are We Going to Do

1 Tammuz, 5784 / July 6, 2024

Author

White Rose RI
July 06, 2024

Shavua tov, my neighbors.

We are officially in summer proper. Many of us are traveling, freed from our obligations if only for a little while. We’re going to the sea for fresh brine, to the forests for long, meandering hikes, to our friends’ bonfires for smoke and chewed fat. We’re visiting places we’ve never been and returning to homes we still miss, meeting new friends and reuniting with old ones. The fireworks are annoying as hell and the humidity is smothering, and I don’t know about you but my allergies are fucking killing me. I never used to like this season, but as an adult, I’m coming around to the appeal; there’s a freedom and adventure here before things change, and leisure has never been attached to fewer strings.

I know all of us are thinking about the scarier things, the harbingers of a future with less freedom, maybe even none. I wish I had wise things to say about that. I don’t. All I can tell you is that I’m terrified too, terrified and without the faintest about what’s to be done. In our Sidebar, our dear friend Nate has a far more clear-eyed assessment of things on the ground, and like with most things, I would encourage you all to listen to his advice. We’ve also foraged our usual bits of news, good and bad, and set out the spread in their accustomed places.

Perhaps the only advice I am comfortable giving now: savor this summer. I don’t say this to imply that this will save us or that it will hearten us later or that there aren’t horrors now, but because happiness is itself precious.

Bella ciao.

Success: Governor Has Signed Health Care Provider Shield Act!

Thank you to all of you who advocated for this bill! The Womxn Project shared this update:

“We are so pleased to announce the Health Care Provider Shield Act has passed in both the Rhode Island House of Representatives and the State Senate.

This bill will protect providers in delivering reproductive and gender affirming care to those who require it. Governor Dan McKee will be signing this bill into action, along with other LGBTQIA+ related legislation, as Pride Month comes to a close.”

And indeed, the bill has now been signed into law!

Lorén Spears of the Tomaquag Museum on PBS RI & RGB Radio

  • Lorén Spears was featured in an episode of RI PBS Weekly's "Green Seeker" series. This series examines the local, national and global impact of some of the world’s most pressing environmental issues. Take a moment to listen to Spears share her thoughts on Mashapaug Pond and the movement to clean the pond from pollutants!

    Rhode Island PBS Weekly 6/9/2024

  • Tune into RGB Radio which features Lorén Spears as a guest! Listen to Spears as she shares her  life story, the transition from being an Educator to the Executive Director of the Tomaquag Museum and her goal of empowering the Indigenous community by giving a voice to the Indigenous peoples of Southern New England.

    Winning Women 6/13/2024

Help a Mom and her Kids Get to Safety

This GoFundMe is for a Black, immigrant mother of two little girls, the youngest of whom is 3 years old. Her partner has been abusive towards her. She has repeatedly attempted to end the relationship, but he will not leave her alone and continues to return to her home. She does not want to involve the police and prison system against him.

Please help her raise the funds for a security deposit on a new apartment so that she and her kids can safely relocate.

Emergency Medical Care for Ewul

Cata, a longtime Providence community organizer, is still fundraising for her sister-in-law Ewul’s medical costs after Ewul experienced birthing complications that led to the loss of her baby and serious ongoing health complications for herself. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Nate (he / him)

Hoo boy.

Things not looking great, huh gang? 

I didn’t watch the debate (not a flex, I was just sleepy), but I gather that it went about as bad as we could expect, and then it went worse. In the days since, I’ve seen a lot of fear and I’ve seen a lot of panic and I’ve seen a lot of panic that is tinged with a healthy amount of fear. I have seen people spin out fantasy scenarios where this might be fixed through some electoral minutiae and I have seen people start demanding that everyone fall into line like they are the self appointed grand commodore of all of the left. 

I have seen more lashing out at anyone and everyone on the same side of the ideological spectrum than I have seen anything approaching a cogent plan for what we are going to do in January 2025 and the months leading up to it. I’m scared too, but the clock is ticking. 

I’ll get this out of the way first. This is the worst kind of advice: unsolicited. 

You would be well within your rights to think who is this asshole, to give me advice? and the answer is I’m no one important, and I’m certainly not your dad. You don’t have to do anything I say. I’m bringing this advice to the potluck in case anybody wants it, but if no one does I will simply take it home and eat it myself. It’s all food I need to be eating anyway.

By the time the Nazis took power in Germany, the communists couldn’t even field a meeting. We all remember what happened next.

Maybe you don’t think of yourself as a communist, maybe you think of yourself as a very specific type of communist, who hates all the other types. Whatever your position is, I am sure it is the absolutely correct one that everyone else should follow. You can tell that to the fascist who’s kicking your head in.

I do think there is value in ideological specificity. But I think there is a higher value in fucking winning. If we are being honest, there is a wider field of people who share your values and goals than you (or I) are currently working with. (HOWEVER, misogynists, homophobes, and transphobes make great informants and collaborators. Keep them as far away from you and yours as possible.) 

We need power that is not dependent on electoral victories and cannot be stripped by the courts, and that is the power of people who refuse to abandon each other. Labor power, tenant power, communities of self defense that are not beholden to the whims of the state, no matter who gets the keys to the White House in January. We need to be able to field a goddam meeting.

We need each other.

And it’s time to start fucking acting like it.

News Round-Up: Local

Deep Dives & Op-Eds

Civilians Trapped in Al Fashir as Rapid Support Troops Advance (Eman El-Sherbiny for Bellingcat, June 12, 2024)

Trump’s Second Term (Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, June 20, 2024)

The Crackdown on Campus Protests is Just Beginning (Adam Federman for Type Investigations, June 20, 2024)

Providence must divest city funds from the Israelis (Zach Kligler for The Providence Journal, June 23, 2024)

Mistrial Mulligan (Molly Conger in The Devil’s Advocate, June 30, 2024)

Fourth Circuit Rules on Unite the Right Damages (Molly Conger in The Devil’s Advocate, July 1, 2024)

Infowars Did Far More Than Just Spread Crisis Actor Theories (Dan Friesen in The Stackies, July 4, 2024)

Pod Recs: It Could Happen Here

ACLU RI Legislative Wrap-Up

  • When: July 16, 6:00pm-7:30pm

  • Where: William Hall Library Auditorium, 1825 Broad Street, Cranston, RI 02905

  • We made it through another Rhode Island Legislative Session! And the results are in — for good and for bad.

  • Join the ACLU to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly about how the 2024 Legislative Session went for civil liberties in Rhode Island. They'll be joined by two legislators.

  • While registration is not required, the ACLU would appreciate RSVPs to ensure that they have enough refreshments.

  • RI Legislative Wrap-Up Information

  • Wrap-Up RSVP

Continuing Actions for Palestine

Jewish Voice for Peace Weekly Flyering

  • When: Every Wednesday, 5:00pm-6:00pm

  • Where: Providence Train Station, 100 Gaspee Street, Providence, RI 02903

  • JVP RI invites all to join them in their efforts to spread the word about their work and simple actions people can take to demand an end to the genocide in Palestine. They meet on the Statehouse side of the train station.

Weekly Kaddish

  • When: Every Sunday, 1:00pm-1:30pm

  • Where: Michael Van Leesten Pedestrian Bridge, Providence, RI 02903

  • Jewish Voice for Peace RI and allies will be hosting a weekly gathering on Sundays to recite the Mourners Kaddish and communally grieve the Palestinians murdered by the Israeli military. You need not be Jewish to attend; all are welcome to participate.

Power Half-Hours for Gaza

Ceasefire Today Toolkit

  • This toolkit has a variety of links, including call scripts, groups accepting donations, phone banks, petitions, and more

  • Ceasefire Today Toolkit

News Coverage

  • As always, especially when getting news from social media, be aware of who is sharing information and why they’re doing it.

  • Al Jazeera Coverage of the War on Gaza has continued to be a reliable source.

  • Mondoweiss has also provided excellent context and deep dive pieces.