Still Waiting…
Is it possible we aren’t ever going back?
Almost everyone I know is vaccinated, the family cafe is still up and running, and the president has said we can go outside without masks. So…are we there yet? Are we back to “normal?” It sure doesn’t feel like it. And now I have to wonder, are we ever going back? Maybe not. And maybe that’s a good thing. Because “normal” was dysfunctional in so many ugly ways.
•Normal was denying the climate emergency facing the planet.
•Normal was ignoring the racial discrimination rampant in policing.
•Normal was shoveling megatons of dollars to a handful of billionaires while sucking the “little” guys (read: the rest of us) dry.
That’s a “normal” I can do without. Sadly, the new normal is not a whole lot better. At least we’re paying attention when police murder Black people. At least we’re noticing that Bezos has an obscene amount of the community pie — one that requires a support yacht for his monster yacht. At least the U.S. president recognizes the looming environmental disaster and is promoting plans to turn it aside. But we haven’t cured those blights. And like the hydra of Greek myth, as soon as we cut the head off of one problem, two more sprout in its place: like half the U.S. government pretending it didn’t lose the election, and Republican states wantonly refusing free money for their suffering citizens and economies, among other things.
But what can we do about it?
Keep writing, for one. Keep reading. Keep contributing, protesting, calling for action. Keep supporting our brothers and sisters writing at their desks, who are trying to make sense of this fragile, messed up world; keep highlighting, commenting on, and applauding (50x) their stories on Medium and around the web.
Here are a few links to get you started — all the stories we’ve published in Fourth Wave since our last newsletter April 8.
From nationally-recognized expert on single living Bella DePaulo:
Singles Are More Resilient, Couples More Fragile Than They Seem
How Our Love of Romantic Love Is Costing Us
How Much Control Do We Have Over Romantic Love?
Why Do Some Devalued Groups Get More Legal Protections than Others?
From award-winning journalist, author, and mom Vicki Larson
The Importance of Having Friends Who Are Different Than You
2 Ways Older Women Are Defying Ageist Beauty Standards
Older Moms Are Disrupting the Narratives of Women’s Invisibility
Bill and Melinda Gates Are Divorcing, But Their Marriage is Still a Success
Even Stacey Abrams Has to Answer, ‘Why Are You Still Single?’
On the Invisibility of Disabled Women
From Berkeley Backpacking Biz Lifer, System Builder, Coder, Community Organizer, Music and Evolutionary Biology Geek, and treasured new contributor Alan Tabor, a piece on who rules Science Fiction:
That’s Right, the Women Are Smarter
From psychiatrist, father, and marathon runner John Kruse:
A Slice of Glass, a Burning River, a Shovel of Snow: Motivation to Heal Our Planet
From communist, herbivore, husband, and artist Matthew John:
It’s Okay To Call Your Racist Relatives Racist
From founder and leader of organizations devoted to survivors of incest and sexual assault Donna Jenson:
So Much Telling — So Much Listening
From natural-born feminist, unfiltered writer and treasured new contributor Venus Rebel:
Can Women Today Have It All? If THAT Means All, I want Less
From wide-ranging writer of personal essays, short fiction, poetry, and experimental creative content Flose LaPierre:
I Rate 61/100 On The Flourishing Scale
From sport scholar and culture commenter with a focus on intersectional identity Yong Yee Chong:
Say My Name: Kim Ji-young
And from your erstwhile editor Patsy Fergusson (me). After three years on the platform, I decided it was time to introduce myself at About Me Stories:
About Me — Patsy Fergusson
I’m also very pleased to report I posted the 21st, 22nd, 23rd, and the 24th and final chapter of my novel Thirsty Work. You can find ALL the chapter links here:
Thirsty Work
And there was a lot to notice and respond to in the world, including:
Write to jeff@amazon.com
Paying $ to Pay Taxes is Just More Corporate BS
Thank You, Cariol Horne
“Are You a War Correspondent, or a Wife in My Bed?”
So that’s our report from the new not-so normal. We hope you are doing okay out there. Stay safe, be well, support the people around you, and make your voice heard. And if you’ve got something you’d like to share, by all means,
Submit to the Wave!
Yours,
Patsy Fergusson & Fourth Wave
