Jan 27, 2020“American Dirt” Chapters 6–10Liveblogging “American Dirt” Chapters 6–10 Find my commentary on chapters 1–5 here. Chapter 6, 13.3% Lydia spends some time wondering why Javier sent her a handwritten note inside a copy of “Love in the Time of Cholera.” But instead of wondering like a normal person would, aka, wtf and how did I miss…American Dirt7 min read
Jan 24, 2020Liveblogging “American Dirt” Because My Roommate Has Work in the Morning and I Refuse to Be Alone…Liveblogging “American Dirt” Chapters 1–5 Because My Roommate Has Work in the Morning and I Refuse to Be Alone with This Chapter 1, Page 1: We enter as a bullet flies through an open bathroom window. It makes “a mild noise” as it goes past, hitting the wall. What kind of noise? A whoosh…American Dirt13 min read
Jan 22, 2020Not Your Propagandist, Not Your PriestDear reader of my work: There’s a video somewhere of Courtney Love. I’ve tried to find it several times without success. The gist is that she’s live on stage, panting to get her breath back between songs. In the spotlight, she glows like a triumphant ghost. …Art4 min read
Nov 7, 2019What Does White-Guy Handwringing Over Sawant Say About Seattle?Do-nothing socialists, Latinas, and a more Black Panther approach to local activism. UPDATE 1/11/20: … I know, I know, this update should have been made two months ago. Although I think the main points of this piece still stand, Kshama Sawant did, in the end, overcome an 11-point deficit to…Politics7 min read
Dec 31, 2017A Social Justice Heretic Looks Back on 20175 confessions and 1 resolution — As we all know, except for one of my coworkers who bafflingly called this “probably the best year of my life,” 2017 was a trash fire. My fellow-travelers on the left, you’re good people. You have done some amazing work this year. …Racism7 min read
Dec 1, 2017More Than a Feeling: When Anti-Racist Analysis Centers White Feelings AGAINMy uncle watched from the front steps for two minutes, then put his rag away and took a puff of a cigarette “it’s just so fucking boring” he said “White people are his sun, his moon, and his north star. …Racism7 min read
Nov 27, 2017Etsy Nightmares: If You Love Yourself, Don’t Shop at “Vintage ReWork”This is easily the pettiest use I’ve ever made of Medium; I promise I’ll get back to counterintuitive hot takes on antifa and local election analysis and possibly ranking all the Hellraiser movies soon. …Fashion3 min read
Oct 14, 2017My Heart & Mind Agree: Vote Teresa MosquedaDue to the personal nature of the Position 8 City Council race for me, this is a weird post. There are personal anecdotes, lists of citations, and even poems. I hope it works for you; but even if not, thanks for reading. Okay, Seattle. On November 8th, you’re going to…Politics5 min read
Aug 22, 2017Those Who Punch NazisDon’t worry, this isn’t dodecahedral hand-wringing about many sides blah blah. But far-left white people may not love what I‘m about to say. Because as a student of history, an observer of current events, and as a Latina, I cannot trust your righteous violence. …Racism6 min read
Jul 24, 2017Vote Jessyn Farrell, Mayoral MegazordWho knows why The Stranger declined to run my op ed? Maybe I don’t have Tim Eyman’s towering intellect. Maybe they’re just not that into me. Nevertheless, I spent so much time researching that I figured the public should benefit. There are three hundred thousand people running for mayor of…Politics6 min read
