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"title": "Mike Barnes Thinks He Should Be Able to Say the N-Word",
"headTitle": "Mike Barnes Thinks He Should Be Able to Say the N-Word | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Content Warning\u003c/strong>: This article contains multiple uncensored uses, including a recording, of derogatory phrases which some may find highly offensive.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last month, we arrived at San Francisco’s Hippie Hill in Golden Gate Park on 4/20, excited to document the return of the stoner celebration. Among the crowd were primarily young, Black and Brown people enjoying themselves—far more than you typically see in one space in modern-day San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We—Julian, the reporter, and Amaya, the photojournalist—were looking forward to collaborating on a photo essay that centered Black and Brown entrepreneurs and artists. We wanted to help foster a sense of pride, and capture how folks who look like us have shaped California’s cannabis industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, as Black journalists, we experienced an angry harangue from a white man named Mike Barnes involving aggressive use of the n-word. In a follow-up conversation, he used it many more times, and doubled down on his right to say it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Barnes is a fixture in press coverage of Bay Area cannabis events, and appears to openly court media attention. We’ve decided to give it to him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13913394\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13913394\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Image-from-iOS-8-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"A middle-aged white man in a marijuana-themed suit and hat, covered in leaves, points his finger at a young Black reporter during an interview.\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Image-from-iOS-8-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Image-from-iOS-8-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Image-from-iOS-8-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Image-from-iOS-8-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Image-from-iOS-8-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Image-from-iOS-8-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Image-from-iOS-8-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">KQED reporter Julian Sorapuru (right) interviews Mike Barnes at Hippie Hill at 4/20. Shortly after the interview began, Barnes aggressively used a racial slur. \u003ccite>(Amaya Edwards)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Yes, With a Hard ‘R’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>At Hippie Hill on April 20, we see someone who we think would make an interesting addition to our story. He carries himself with the energy of a total character, dressed in a gaudy, black suit and bucket hat adorned all over with green marijuana leaves. It was hard to miss this large, middle-aged white man, so we identify ourselves as journalists and stop him for an interview. He agrees, and introduces himself as “Big Mike.” Neither of us expect what happened next.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After Amaya snaps some photos of him and we kick off the interview, Big Mike begins boasting about how many times he’s been in the media: \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/stoners-celebrate-420-weed-pot-cannabis-824550/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Rolling Stone\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, KTVU, the \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/San-Francisco-s-420-celebration-lights-up-17110328.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/a>\u003c/em>—he’s something of a minor celebrity in the Bay Area cannabis scene. He says he’s a weed grower just there to have a good time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pretty standard answer so far. Then he suddenly launches into a story about an interaction he had with Mike Tyson while the former boxer and cannabis entrepreneur spoke on stage earlier in the day. He gets visibly angry as he describes how, in his version of events, Tyson swatted away the handfuls of weed Big Mike decided to throw at him while he spoke.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I said, ‘Fuck you, nigger,’ and turned around and walked away,” Big Mike says aggressively. “You don’t want my weed? You want the whole bag?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Hear Mike Barnes’ interview in full below:\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003caudio controls=\"controls\">\u003csource src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/MikeBarnes.mp3\">\u003c/source>\u003c/audio>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At this point, I’m stunned into silence. My eyes go wide and I size him up. He’s a big dude: about 6 feet tall and over 200 pounds. Now I’m thinking about our safety. Centuries of generational trauma tell me that when a white man uses the n-word with that much vitriol, it’s either time to fight or get the hell out. Hearing that word could have meant life or death for our ancestors. It still can. But my journalism training tells me to let the source finish his statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And he does: “Let’s just say I’m not a Mike Tyson fan anymore,” Big Mike says. I half-expect to hear an apology or a joke, but he keeps doubling, tripling and quadrupling down on disparaging Tyson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Finally I get out. “Have a good day, man,” I say, maintaining an air of professionalism and respect towards an interviewee who showed neither to us. I walk away and end the recording as he continues with his rant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Did a white man dressed in a weed suit he ordered from Amazon really just say the n-word with a hard “R” without any provocation at a 4/20 festival? The absurdity of the incident made me feel like I was in an episode of \u003ci>Atlanta\u003c/i>. This is an event that’s supposed to be all about good vibes and relaxation, not hatred and bitterness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Amaya laughs the way you do when you’re trying to hold back tears. “He can’t be serious,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It turns out, he absolutely \u003cem>was\u003c/em> serious.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13913383\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13913383\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-12-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-12-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-12-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-12-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-12-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-12-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-12-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-12.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mike Barnes poses for a portrait at the 420 Hippie Hill event on Apr. 20, 2022 in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Amaya Edwards)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Who Is Mike Barnes?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Big Mike’s real name is Mike Barnes. He is a 52 year-old resident of the Berkeley area. He’s a former Army airborne combat engineer, he says, who previously ran a dispensary called the Hayward Patients Resource Center, which is now defunct. Today, he is self-employed, earning a living by doing “handyman things” and growing marijuana for “a small group of private individuals for medical reasons.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Barnes has a habit of popping up at cannabis-related events. Photos of him in his eye-catching suit at previous iterations of the 4/20 festival have appeared in the \u003ci>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/sf-may-start-permitting-cannabis-sales-consumption-at-events/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">San Francisco Examiner\u003c/a>\u003c/i>, \u003ci>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfweekly.com/news/cannabis/4-20-in-golden-gate-park-is-officially-cancelled/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">SF Weekly\u003c/a>\u003c/i> and \u003ca href=\"https://ksltv.com/412196/brands-roll-stoner-holiday-pot-legalization-grows/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">KSL TV\u003c/a>. Barnes was photographed for a \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/politics/joegarofoli/article/Smokeless-medicinal-pot-has-its-advocates-2661126.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">San Francisco Chronicle article\u003c/a> as far back as 2005 (in a shirt that read: “The DEA took my medical marijuana away!… and all I got was this lousy t-shirt!”).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13913116']Barnes was photographed and quoted in \u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleyside.org/2018/01/01/crowds-gather-6-celebrate-first-sales-recreational-cannabis-berkeley?doing_wp_cron=1652725845.1196229457855224609375\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Berkeleyside\u003c/a> and \u003ci>\u003ca href=\"https://www.dailycal.org/2018/01/01/first-sales-of-recreational-marijuana-in-berkeley-usher-in-whole-new-era/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Daily Cal\u003c/a>\u003c/i> at the ribbon-cutting for Berkeley’s first legal recreational marijuana sale at the Berkeley Patients Group dispensary. His photo also appeared in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/article114091003.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003ci>Sacramento Bee\u003c/i> opinion article\u003c/a> on Proposition 64, which legalized the use of recreational cannabis in California. In the photo, Barnes is pictured smoking inside of his “420 Limo.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We decided it was important to hold Barnes accountable for his words, so we called him on May 6 to inform him of our intention to publish the interview, and to see what he had to say for himself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Well, make the spelling N-I-G-G-A if you do it,” he says. “It’s like, people say nigga all the time, and it’s acceptable if you’re a Black man, but if you’re a white man, and you say nigga, then it’s completely racist, which is just, you know, completely hypocritical.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He began rattling off other racial slurs against Latino, Asian and Black people, arguing that they only refer to the “lowlives” of each ethnic group and, in his eyes, are therefore OK to use. In the same breath, he asked us not to publish his quote, even though he gave it to us knowing full well that this was an on-record interview.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I meant it in a disrespectful way towards [Tyson] specifically, nobody else,” Barnes says. “So if anybody else takes offense at it, well, fuck them. I wasn’t talking to you.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13913382\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13913382\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-04-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Close-up on a bag of marijuana, a large joint, held by a man in a marijuana-themed outfit \" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-04-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-04-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-04-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-04-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-04-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-04-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-04.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mike Barnes holds a bag of marijuana at the 420 Hippie Hill event on Apr. 20, 2022 in San Francisco, Calif. \u003ccite>(Amaya Edwards)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘Deeply Disturbed,’ Says Friend and Dispensary Owner\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Barnes is a white man gaining clout, attention, and potentially income from a drug that has been used to criminalize Black people for decades. (Barnes told us that he’s been raided by law enforcement four times, but never charged with a crime.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We’ve seen white people profit the most from the corporatization of cannabis in recent years while people of color continuously get left behind. The Associated Press reports that the cannabis industry was worth \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-business-race-and-ethnicity-8e047483fc6e83e2e5f6dc971cb4aa73\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">$33 billion in sales in 2021\u003c/a>. Of all cannabis business owners in the United States, 81% are white, while just a little over 4% are Black, according to a \u003ca href=\"https://mjbizdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Women-and-Minorities-Report.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">2017 survey from Marijuana Business Daily\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13849783']Not to mention that hundreds of thousands of Black and brown people are still sitting in jail for marijuana offenses. According to \u003ca href=\"https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/field_document/marijuanareport_03232021.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a 2020 report by the American Civil Liberties Union\u003c/a>, the national Black population is still nearly four times more likely than the white population to be arrested for marijuana possession, even after weed became legal in several states. These arrests have detrimental impacts, running along intersections of class and income, for communities of color.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Etienne Fontan, co-owner and vice president of Berkeley Patients Group, whom Barnes called “a friend of mine” who he has known for “a long time,” wrote in a statement to KQED, “I, along with the team at Berkeley Patients Group, do not tolerate racism or hate speech and this is the first we are learning of any accusations relating to Mr. Barnes’ use of such language.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I am deeply disturbed to learn that Mr. Barnes, who apparently attended public events held by BPG several years ago, expressed such views,” Fontan continued. “Such rhetoric and actions in no way reflect my or my company’s values.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Watch Mike Barnes’ and Mike Tyson’s stage interaction below, filmed by Rich America Production Co. & Jamal Trulove:\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://youtu.be/Md4o4CUltHA\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Mike Tyson and Harmful Stereotypes\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Barnes using the n-word to describe Mike Tyson is especially unsettling, considering that Tyson has often been portrayed in popular media as a Black Brute, a caricature of Black men that portrays them as dangerous, animalistic, sexually aggressive and unintelligent. This framing was especially prominent in the ’80s and ’90s, when Tyson was at the height of his boxing powers. (Representatives for Mike Tyson did not respond to requests for comment.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since the event in San Francisco, the media has covered Tyson for his “angry” interactions with fans, the first of which occurred April 21 aboard Tyson’s flight departing from San Francisco. A fellow passenger \u003ca href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/04/21/mike-tyson-punches-passenger-airplane-tmz/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">repeatedly harassed Tyson\u003c/a>, according to reports, which led the former boxer to punch the man multiple times. (Authorities declined to file charges against Tyson for the incident.) On May 3, a fan in Las Vegas \u003ca href=\"https://www.al.com/sports/2022/05/mike-tyson-has-another-angry-interaction-with-fan-when-woman-appears-to-try-to-pick-his-nose.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">attempted to stick their finger up Tyson’s nose\u003c/a>, which prompted an annoyed reaction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Barnes’ behavior—throwing things at Tyson while he is on stage attempting to give a speech—is in this same category of fans going too far. Many people, it seems, feel entitled to violate Tyson’s personal space.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tyson is not perfect. He has done some reprehensible things. But to portray him as a brute is a reductionist and racist point of view of a complicated man. Regardless of one’s image or status, no one deserves to be called a racist slur.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13913381\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 480px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-13913381\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-10-1020x1530.jpg\" alt=\"A middle-aged white man holds a bag of marijuana and a large joint, dressed in a marijuana-themed suit and bucket hat covered in leaves.\" width=\"480\" height=\"720\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-10-1020x1530.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-10-800x1200.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-10-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-10-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-10-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-10.jpg 1365w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mike Barnes poses for a portrait in a gaudy marijuana-themed costume at the 420 Hippie Hill event on Apr. 20, 2022 in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Amaya Edwards)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>The So-Called ‘Progressive’ Bay Area\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Barnes’ comments should not only make us interrogate one dimensional views of Mike Tyson, but it should also make us think critically about how we view race relations in the Bay Area. Often, the Bay is hailed as a racially enlightened, progressive haven where everyone is respectful of each other’s identities, culture and humanity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But as a Black person in this country, living in a “progressive” place does not mean a reprieve from the smothering presence of racism; it just means your suffocation happens in the shadows. Our experience encountering anti-Black hate speech is not an isolated one. We just happen to have it on tape.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This incident is about more than just one word said by one man on one day. It’s a case study; a harsh, slap-to-the-face reminder that anti-Black racism is alive and very well, even in San Francisco. Barnes weaponized the power he holds as a white man in this country to disarm and dehumanize both Tyson and ourselves—a microcosm of the racial power dynamic inherent in the United States.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='news_11905492']\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Taking the Power Back\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Black people must get through each day with a cloud over our heads, knowing that as our proximity to whiteness increases, so does the likelihood that we may be the victim of racism. Power coupled with ignorance is a terrible combination. It’s why everyone should strive to better understand the ways in which the n-word has been and continues to be weaponized.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That word from the mouth of a white person is a reminder of the ideology used against our ancestors to justify the inhumane atrocities of chattel slavery. It was the word shouted in hate by white mobs as they lynched Black people without due process of law. It was the word ordinary Black folks heard through ringing ears as they were brutalized by police simply for demanding their right to vote. It was the word \u003ca href=\"https://www.businessinsider.com/buffalo-shooting-suspect-had-n-word-written-on-gun-2022-5\">painted onto the barrel of the Buffalo shooter’s gun\u003c/a>. A white person saying the n-word is a reminder of the things that have been denied to us; the ways we have been treated as subhuman; how we have been forced to make a way out of no way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, in that grand tradition of those who came before us, we are attempting to create something proactive out of a negative experience. Hopefully we are not presumptive by saying that we speak in the interests of not only ourselves, but for many other Black people who don’t have the opportunity to do so.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Barnes’ actions should serve as a cautionary tale to anyone who feels emboldened to use that word in such a hateful way. For all of our sakes, hold your tongue—or be ready to face the consequences if you don’t.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Mike Barnes, a fixture at cannabis events, angrily used the word multiple times to two Black journalists.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Content Warning\u003c/strong>: This article contains multiple uncensored uses, including a recording, of derogatory phrases which some may find highly offensive.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last month, we arrived at San Francisco’s Hippie Hill in Golden Gate Park on 4/20, excited to document the return of the stoner celebration. Among the crowd were primarily young, Black and Brown people enjoying themselves—far more than you typically see in one space in modern-day San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We—Julian, the reporter, and Amaya, the photojournalist—were looking forward to collaborating on a photo essay that centered Black and Brown entrepreneurs and artists. We wanted to help foster a sense of pride, and capture how folks who look like us have shaped California’s cannabis industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, as Black journalists, we experienced an angry harangue from a white man named Mike Barnes involving aggressive use of the n-word. In a follow-up conversation, he used it many more times, and doubled down on his right to say it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Barnes is a fixture in press coverage of Bay Area cannabis events, and appears to openly court media attention. We’ve decided to give it to him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13913394\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13913394\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Image-from-iOS-8-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"A middle-aged white man in a marijuana-themed suit and hat, covered in leaves, points his finger at a young Black reporter during an interview.\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Image-from-iOS-8-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Image-from-iOS-8-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Image-from-iOS-8-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Image-from-iOS-8-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Image-from-iOS-8-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Image-from-iOS-8-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Image-from-iOS-8-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">KQED reporter Julian Sorapuru (right) interviews Mike Barnes at Hippie Hill at 4/20. Shortly after the interview began, Barnes aggressively used a racial slur. \u003ccite>(Amaya Edwards)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Yes, With a Hard ‘R’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>At Hippie Hill on April 20, we see someone who we think would make an interesting addition to our story. He carries himself with the energy of a total character, dressed in a gaudy, black suit and bucket hat adorned all over with green marijuana leaves. It was hard to miss this large, middle-aged white man, so we identify ourselves as journalists and stop him for an interview. He agrees, and introduces himself as “Big Mike.” Neither of us expect what happened next.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After Amaya snaps some photos of him and we kick off the interview, Big Mike begins boasting about how many times he’s been in the media: \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/stoners-celebrate-420-weed-pot-cannabis-824550/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Rolling Stone\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, KTVU, the \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/San-Francisco-s-420-celebration-lights-up-17110328.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/a>\u003c/em>—he’s something of a minor celebrity in the Bay Area cannabis scene. He says he’s a weed grower just there to have a good time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pretty standard answer so far. Then he suddenly launches into a story about an interaction he had with Mike Tyson while the former boxer and cannabis entrepreneur spoke on stage earlier in the day. He gets visibly angry as he describes how, in his version of events, Tyson swatted away the handfuls of weed Big Mike decided to throw at him while he spoke.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I said, ‘Fuck you, nigger,’ and turned around and walked away,” Big Mike says aggressively. “You don’t want my weed? You want the whole bag?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Hear Mike Barnes’ interview in full below:\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003caudio controls=\"controls\">\u003csource src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/MikeBarnes.mp3\">\u003c/source>\u003c/audio>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At this point, I’m stunned into silence. My eyes go wide and I size him up. He’s a big dude: about 6 feet tall and over 200 pounds. Now I’m thinking about our safety. Centuries of generational trauma tell me that when a white man uses the n-word with that much vitriol, it’s either time to fight or get the hell out. Hearing that word could have meant life or death for our ancestors. It still can. But my journalism training tells me to let the source finish his statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And he does: “Let’s just say I’m not a Mike Tyson fan anymore,” Big Mike says. I half-expect to hear an apology or a joke, but he keeps doubling, tripling and quadrupling down on disparaging Tyson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Finally I get out. “Have a good day, man,” I say, maintaining an air of professionalism and respect towards an interviewee who showed neither to us. I walk away and end the recording as he continues with his rant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Did a white man dressed in a weed suit he ordered from Amazon really just say the n-word with a hard “R” without any provocation at a 4/20 festival? The absurdity of the incident made me feel like I was in an episode of \u003ci>Atlanta\u003c/i>. This is an event that’s supposed to be all about good vibes and relaxation, not hatred and bitterness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Amaya laughs the way you do when you’re trying to hold back tears. “He can’t be serious,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It turns out, he absolutely \u003cem>was\u003c/em> serious.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13913383\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13913383\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-12-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-12-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-12-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-12-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-12-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-12-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-12-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-12.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mike Barnes poses for a portrait at the 420 Hippie Hill event on Apr. 20, 2022 in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Amaya Edwards)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Who Is Mike Barnes?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Big Mike’s real name is Mike Barnes. He is a 52 year-old resident of the Berkeley area. He’s a former Army airborne combat engineer, he says, who previously ran a dispensary called the Hayward Patients Resource Center, which is now defunct. Today, he is self-employed, earning a living by doing “handyman things” and growing marijuana for “a small group of private individuals for medical reasons.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Barnes has a habit of popping up at cannabis-related events. Photos of him in his eye-catching suit at previous iterations of the 4/20 festival have appeared in the \u003ci>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/sf-may-start-permitting-cannabis-sales-consumption-at-events/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">San Francisco Examiner\u003c/a>\u003c/i>, \u003ci>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfweekly.com/news/cannabis/4-20-in-golden-gate-park-is-officially-cancelled/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">SF Weekly\u003c/a>\u003c/i> and \u003ca href=\"https://ksltv.com/412196/brands-roll-stoner-holiday-pot-legalization-grows/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">KSL TV\u003c/a>. Barnes was photographed for a \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/politics/joegarofoli/article/Smokeless-medicinal-pot-has-its-advocates-2661126.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">San Francisco Chronicle article\u003c/a> as far back as 2005 (in a shirt that read: “The DEA took my medical marijuana away!… and all I got was this lousy t-shirt!”).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Barnes was photographed and quoted in \u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleyside.org/2018/01/01/crowds-gather-6-celebrate-first-sales-recreational-cannabis-berkeley?doing_wp_cron=1652725845.1196229457855224609375\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Berkeleyside\u003c/a> and \u003ci>\u003ca href=\"https://www.dailycal.org/2018/01/01/first-sales-of-recreational-marijuana-in-berkeley-usher-in-whole-new-era/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Daily Cal\u003c/a>\u003c/i> at the ribbon-cutting for Berkeley’s first legal recreational marijuana sale at the Berkeley Patients Group dispensary. His photo also appeared in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/article114091003.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003ci>Sacramento Bee\u003c/i> opinion article\u003c/a> on Proposition 64, which legalized the use of recreational cannabis in California. In the photo, Barnes is pictured smoking inside of his “420 Limo.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We decided it was important to hold Barnes accountable for his words, so we called him on May 6 to inform him of our intention to publish the interview, and to see what he had to say for himself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Well, make the spelling N-I-G-G-A if you do it,” he says. “It’s like, people say nigga all the time, and it’s acceptable if you’re a Black man, but if you’re a white man, and you say nigga, then it’s completely racist, which is just, you know, completely hypocritical.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He began rattling off other racial slurs against Latino, Asian and Black people, arguing that they only refer to the “lowlives” of each ethnic group and, in his eyes, are therefore OK to use. In the same breath, he asked us not to publish his quote, even though he gave it to us knowing full well that this was an on-record interview.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I meant it in a disrespectful way towards [Tyson] specifically, nobody else,” Barnes says. “So if anybody else takes offense at it, well, fuck them. I wasn’t talking to you.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13913382\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13913382\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-04-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Close-up on a bag of marijuana, a large joint, held by a man in a marijuana-themed outfit \" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-04-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-04-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-04-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-04-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-04-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-04-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-04.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mike Barnes holds a bag of marijuana at the 420 Hippie Hill event on Apr. 20, 2022 in San Francisco, Calif. \u003ccite>(Amaya Edwards)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘Deeply Disturbed,’ Says Friend and Dispensary Owner\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Barnes is a white man gaining clout, attention, and potentially income from a drug that has been used to criminalize Black people for decades. (Barnes told us that he’s been raided by law enforcement four times, but never charged with a crime.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We’ve seen white people profit the most from the corporatization of cannabis in recent years while people of color continuously get left behind. The Associated Press reports that the cannabis industry was worth \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-business-race-and-ethnicity-8e047483fc6e83e2e5f6dc971cb4aa73\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">$33 billion in sales in 2021\u003c/a>. Of all cannabis business owners in the United States, 81% are white, while just a little over 4% are Black, according to a \u003ca href=\"https://mjbizdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Women-and-Minorities-Report.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">2017 survey from Marijuana Business Daily\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Not to mention that hundreds of thousands of Black and brown people are still sitting in jail for marijuana offenses. According to \u003ca href=\"https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/field_document/marijuanareport_03232021.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a 2020 report by the American Civil Liberties Union\u003c/a>, the national Black population is still nearly four times more likely than the white population to be arrested for marijuana possession, even after weed became legal in several states. These arrests have detrimental impacts, running along intersections of class and income, for communities of color.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Etienne Fontan, co-owner and vice president of Berkeley Patients Group, whom Barnes called “a friend of mine” who he has known for “a long time,” wrote in a statement to KQED, “I, along with the team at Berkeley Patients Group, do not tolerate racism or hate speech and this is the first we are learning of any accusations relating to Mr. Barnes’ use of such language.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I am deeply disturbed to learn that Mr. Barnes, who apparently attended public events held by BPG several years ago, expressed such views,” Fontan continued. “Such rhetoric and actions in no way reflect my or my company’s values.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Watch Mike Barnes’ and Mike Tyson’s stage interaction below, filmed by Rich America Production Co. & Jamal Trulove:\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/Md4o4CUltHA'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/Md4o4CUltHA'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003ch2>Mike Tyson and Harmful Stereotypes\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Barnes using the n-word to describe Mike Tyson is especially unsettling, considering that Tyson has often been portrayed in popular media as a Black Brute, a caricature of Black men that portrays them as dangerous, animalistic, sexually aggressive and unintelligent. This framing was especially prominent in the ’80s and ’90s, when Tyson was at the height of his boxing powers. (Representatives for Mike Tyson did not respond to requests for comment.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since the event in San Francisco, the media has covered Tyson for his “angry” interactions with fans, the first of which occurred April 21 aboard Tyson’s flight departing from San Francisco. A fellow passenger \u003ca href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/04/21/mike-tyson-punches-passenger-airplane-tmz/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">repeatedly harassed Tyson\u003c/a>, according to reports, which led the former boxer to punch the man multiple times. (Authorities declined to file charges against Tyson for the incident.) On May 3, a fan in Las Vegas \u003ca href=\"https://www.al.com/sports/2022/05/mike-tyson-has-another-angry-interaction-with-fan-when-woman-appears-to-try-to-pick-his-nose.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">attempted to stick their finger up Tyson’s nose\u003c/a>, which prompted an annoyed reaction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Barnes’ behavior—throwing things at Tyson while he is on stage attempting to give a speech—is in this same category of fans going too far. Many people, it seems, feel entitled to violate Tyson’s personal space.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tyson is not perfect. He has done some reprehensible things. But to portray him as a brute is a reductionist and racist point of view of a complicated man. Regardless of one’s image or status, no one deserves to be called a racist slur.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13913381\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 480px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-13913381\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-10-1020x1530.jpg\" alt=\"A middle-aged white man holds a bag of marijuana and a large joint, dressed in a marijuana-themed suit and bucket hat covered in leaves.\" width=\"480\" height=\"720\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-10-1020x1530.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-10-800x1200.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-10-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-10-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-10-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-10.jpg 1365w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mike Barnes poses for a portrait in a gaudy marijuana-themed costume at the 420 Hippie Hill event on Apr. 20, 2022 in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Amaya Edwards)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>The So-Called ‘Progressive’ Bay Area\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Barnes’ comments should not only make us interrogate one dimensional views of Mike Tyson, but it should also make us think critically about how we view race relations in the Bay Area. Often, the Bay is hailed as a racially enlightened, progressive haven where everyone is respectful of each other’s identities, culture and humanity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But as a Black person in this country, living in a “progressive” place does not mean a reprieve from the smothering presence of racism; it just means your suffocation happens in the shadows. Our experience encountering anti-Black hate speech is not an isolated one. We just happen to have it on tape.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This incident is about more than just one word said by one man on one day. It’s a case study; a harsh, slap-to-the-face reminder that anti-Black racism is alive and very well, even in San Francisco. Barnes weaponized the power he holds as a white man in this country to disarm and dehumanize both Tyson and ourselves—a microcosm of the racial power dynamic inherent in the United States.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Taking the Power Back\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Black people must get through each day with a cloud over our heads, knowing that as our proximity to whiteness increases, so does the likelihood that we may be the victim of racism. Power coupled with ignorance is a terrible combination. It’s why everyone should strive to better understand the ways in which the n-word has been and continues to be weaponized.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That word from the mouth of a white person is a reminder of the ideology used against our ancestors to justify the inhumane atrocities of chattel slavery. It was the word shouted in hate by white mobs as they lynched Black people without due process of law. It was the word ordinary Black folks heard through ringing ears as they were brutalized by police simply for demanding their right to vote. It was the word \u003ca href=\"https://www.businessinsider.com/buffalo-shooting-suspect-had-n-word-written-on-gun-2022-5\">painted onto the barrel of the Buffalo shooter’s gun\u003c/a>. A white person saying the n-word is a reminder of the things that have been denied to us; the ways we have been treated as subhuman; how we have been forced to make a way out of no way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, in that grand tradition of those who came before us, we are attempting to create something proactive out of a negative experience. Hopefully we are not presumptive by saying that we speak in the interests of not only ourselves, but for many other Black people who don’t have the opportunity to do so.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Barnes’ actions should serve as a cautionary tale to anyone who feels emboldened to use that word in such a hateful way. For all of our sakes, hold your tongue—or be ready to face the consequences if you don’t.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Kendrick's Most Important Song That No One's Talking About",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">W\u003c/span>ith Kendrick Lamar about to drop his fifth studio album, \u003ci>Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers\u003c/i>, it’s the perfect time to argue about his most significant song.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the half decade since Kendrick dropped \u003cem>Damn\u003c/em>, fans have been left to revisit old tracks repeatedly during his hiatus. Which is fitting, because one of Kendrick Lamar’s greatest gifts is going back and revisiting—or rather, revising—his earlier music.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-13833985\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/OGPenn.Cap_-160x184.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"160\" height=\"184\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/OGPenn.Cap_-160x184.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/OGPenn.Cap_.jpg 180w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 160px) 100vw, 160px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>K-dot is a master of retelling the same story again and again, but on a larger level each time. If you listen closely, the arc of his musical output shows that refining and retelling your story, over and over, is an important aspect of growth, both as an artist and a human.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The king MC from Compton has done it with his “The Heart” series, often using that title as a jumpoff to spaz and let loose on the issues he’s dealing with at the time of recording. He dropped the fifth entry in this series this past Sunday just days before his full album release, as he’s done in the past. (In the video, he uses deepfake technology to morph into the likeness of Kobe, Nipsey and more.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://youtu.be/uAPUkgeiFVY\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He’s also revisited, or remixed, “She Needs Me,” “P&P,” and “Vanity Slaves,” among others. Which in art, especially in hip-hop, isn’t new, revolutionary, deep, or profound. Old art gets remixed everyday, B.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the act of revising and revisiting, expanding and expounding on a piece of art—it’s seen more often in other mediums. Poets famously revisit concepts, as do comedians. Thelonious Monk reportedly wrote the jazz standard “\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2000/11/20/1114262/npr-100-i-round-midnight-i\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Round Midnight\u003c/a>” as a teen, and played thousands of renditions of it his whole life. Issa Rae created her idea of an awkward Black girl first as \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/nIVa9lxkbus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a YouTube series\u003c/a>, and from that came \u003ca href=\"https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Misadventures-of-Awkward-Black-Girl/Issa-Rae/9781476749099\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a bestselling memoir\u003c/a>, the hit show \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/pop/40693/how-issa-raes-insecure-is-leading-a-quiet-revolution-in-television\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Insecure\u003c/a>\u003c/em> and more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kendrick, too, has managed to work and rework one specific concept, and we’ve watched it grow from a couple of lines, to a song, to a concept album and signature aspect of his artwork.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So let’s be clear: I’m here to tell you why the track “Average Joe,” from Kendrick Lamar’s 2010 \u003cem>Overly Dedicated\u003c/em> \u003cem>EP\u003c/em>, is his most important song.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13913174\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13913174\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Kendrick.2-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"A young Black man holds an analog camera in the photo pit of a large arena event.\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Kendrick.2-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Kendrick.2-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Kendrick.2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Kendrick.2-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Kendrick.2.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kendrick Lamar attends the 2018 BET Experience Concert at L.A. Live on June 22, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. \u003ccite>(Ser Baffo/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">N\u003c/span>o, it’s not his highest charting song (“Humble”), nor his most famous (“Alright”). It’s not the one that gets the party turnt (“Michael Jordan”). I’m not taking away from his collaborations with Bono or Beyoncé, and definitely not the voice of Tupac Shakur (“Mortal Man”) or the song that President Obama said was the best song of 2015 (“How Much a Dollar Cost”).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kenny’s catalog boasts songs with Travis and Drake that have been played so many times it’d be torture to hear them again. The Black Hippy tracks are dope, and despite his impending departure from their shared record label, Top Dawg Entertainment, I hope we get more collaborations from him and Ab-Soul, Jay Rock and Schoolboy Q. (Hell, even if we just get \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/Z-48u_uWMHY?t=130\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">that song from the opening of the “Alright” video\u003c/a>, I’d be happy.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kendrick’s career is decorated with honors and accolades, from executive-producing the \u003cem>Black Panther\u003c/em> soundtrack to performing at this year’s Dr. Dre-led Super Bowl halftime performance. I mean, the guy won a freaking Pulitzer for \u003cem>DAMN\u003c/em>—a Pulitzer for \u003cem>spitting rhymes\u003c/em>—did we even know that was possible?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13865026']And even in failure, like losing a Grammy to \u003ca href=\"https://www.gawker.com/macklemore-is-a-ho-bag-1509862810\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">some white guy from Seattle\u003c/a>, Kendrick won our hearts—and proved why the act of reworking your craft is important.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the novel-like album \u003cem>Good Kid, M.A.A.D City\u003c/em>, Kendrick is a bystander exploring the dichotomy of good and evil in his community, using clever lyrics recited over drums that punch like Kimbo Slice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He describes his transformation as an outside observer on the track “m.A.A.D City”:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Seen a light-skinned nigga with his brains blown out\u003cbr>\nAt the same burger stand where (redacted) hangs out\u003cbr>\nNow, this is not a tape recorder saying that he did it\u003cbr>\nBut ever since that day, I was lookin’ at him different\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And then, later in the song, he gets pulled into this world of sinister behavior:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>My pops said I needed a job, I thought I believed him\u003cbr>\nSecurity guard for a month and ended up leavin’\u003cbr>\nIn fact, I got fired, ’cause I was inspired by all of my friends\u003cbr>\nTo stage a robbery the third Saturday I clocked in\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kendrick, a neutral narrator who gets influenced by his associates, has been this guy for some time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjKlzdnoBGg\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his self-titled song “Kendrick Lamar,” a 2012 track where he drops the moniker K-Dot to go by his given name, he says:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>I’m just a good kid from Compton that want to rap\u003cbr>\nWeighing my options, pick up a Bible or a strap?\u003cbr>\nI never killed a man, never sold any crack\u003cbr>\nAll I ever did was try to keep my city on the map\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s these four bars, above, that underscore a philosophy further explored in 2012’s \u003cem>Good Kid m.A.A.D City\u003c/em>, and brought to visual life in \u003ca href=\"https://i.discogs.com/IisP10nUmJmiyxaAtenOChe3Ng5Q56YzMneN6GopVQQ/rs:fit/g:sm/q:90/h:600/w:600/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9SLTMzNjkw/NDItMTU4NjA5MTUx/OC03NzYyLmpwZWc.jpeg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the cover art for his \u003cem>Section 80\u003c/em> mixtape\u003c/a>. But before the idea shows up in album form, it’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jHV0HxQQGw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Average Joe\u003c/a>” where Mr. Duckworth explains the same concept in the earliest, most vivid colors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kendrick opens the song by saying “The hardest thing for me to do / Is to get you to know me within 16 bars.” He then does just that, illustrating his position of being gang-adjacent, a good kid who’s just trying to rap but is still getting caught up in the life:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_10886808']\u003cem>Everyone I knew was either Crip or Piru\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Cousins in elementary, relatives in high school\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>With that being said, each one of their rivals\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Was aiming something at my head, I needed survival\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Got jumped, got jacked, shot at, shot back\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>And I don’t even push a line, I’m just tryna push these rhymes\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>In the midst of staying neutral and discreet\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>My momma said you’re judged by the company you keep\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a nutshell, this is Kendrick’s story; the premise of his entire career.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is why they fuck with me,” goes the chorus, twice, before Kendrick says, “I’m no gangster, no killer, I’m just your average Joe (know that) / But one thing you should consider, I’m the realest you know.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Boom. That’s it. He’s an authentic person who’s telling his story, and growing as he does. He hones this theme through poetically energetic slick storytelling, a mix of Iceberg Slim, Gil Scott-Heron, DMX and Rass Kass, but yeah: Kendrick’s formula really is that simple.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11057865\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11057865\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2015/11/Kendrick.Meline.jpg\" alt=\"Kendrick Lamar performs at Outside Lands, Aug. 8, 2015. (Photo: Gabe Meline/KQED)\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/11/Kendrick.Meline.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/11/Kendrick.Meline-400x267.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/11/Kendrick.Meline-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/11/Kendrick.Meline-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/11/Kendrick.Meline-960x640.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kendrick Lamar. \u003ccite>(Gabe Meline/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">I\u003c/span>‘ve followed Kendrick’s work since before 2011, when he \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cIQe2iaQRk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">performed at the New Parish in Oakland\u003c/a>—still the only time I’ve seen him perform. The first song I ever heard from him was “Heaven or Hell,” a track about the drastic dichotomies in life. Again, the same theme of good and evil, and him standing as an honest observer in the midst of it all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now on the verge of releasing \u003cem>Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers,\u003c/em> the Gemini MC is bracing us for more stories about the polarizing aspects of life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Looking at his catalog, there’s a lesson on the importance of revising, reworking and retelling our stories of growth. No, I’m not saying you too can be Kendrick Lamar—there’s only one big-eared Pulitzer Prize winning lyricist from Hub City. But we can all work and rework ourselves, and our stories. Word to Average Joe.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">W\u003c/span>ith Kendrick Lamar about to drop his fifth studio album, \u003ci>Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers\u003c/i>, it’s the perfect time to argue about his most significant song.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the half decade since Kendrick dropped \u003cem>Damn\u003c/em>, fans have been left to revisit old tracks repeatedly during his hiatus. Which is fitting, because one of Kendrick Lamar’s greatest gifts is going back and revisiting—or rather, revising—his earlier music.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-13833985\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/OGPenn.Cap_-160x184.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"160\" height=\"184\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/OGPenn.Cap_-160x184.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/OGPenn.Cap_.jpg 180w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 160px) 100vw, 160px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>K-dot is a master of retelling the same story again and again, but on a larger level each time. If you listen closely, the arc of his musical output shows that refining and retelling your story, over and over, is an important aspect of growth, both as an artist and a human.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The king MC from Compton has done it with his “The Heart” series, often using that title as a jumpoff to spaz and let loose on the issues he’s dealing with at the time of recording. He dropped the fifth entry in this series this past Sunday just days before his full album release, as he’s done in the past. (In the video, he uses deepfake technology to morph into the likeness of Kobe, Nipsey and more.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/uAPUkgeiFVY'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/uAPUkgeiFVY'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>He’s also revisited, or remixed, “She Needs Me,” “P&P,” and “Vanity Slaves,” among others. Which in art, especially in hip-hop, isn’t new, revolutionary, deep, or profound. Old art gets remixed everyday, B.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the act of revising and revisiting, expanding and expounding on a piece of art—it’s seen more often in other mediums. Poets famously revisit concepts, as do comedians. Thelonious Monk reportedly wrote the jazz standard “\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2000/11/20/1114262/npr-100-i-round-midnight-i\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Round Midnight\u003c/a>” as a teen, and played thousands of renditions of it his whole life. Issa Rae created her idea of an awkward Black girl first as \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/nIVa9lxkbus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a YouTube series\u003c/a>, and from that came \u003ca href=\"https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Misadventures-of-Awkward-Black-Girl/Issa-Rae/9781476749099\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a bestselling memoir\u003c/a>, the hit show \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/pop/40693/how-issa-raes-insecure-is-leading-a-quiet-revolution-in-television\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Insecure\u003c/a>\u003c/em> and more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kendrick, too, has managed to work and rework one specific concept, and we’ve watched it grow from a couple of lines, to a song, to a concept album and signature aspect of his artwork.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So let’s be clear: I’m here to tell you why the track “Average Joe,” from Kendrick Lamar’s 2010 \u003cem>Overly Dedicated\u003c/em> \u003cem>EP\u003c/em>, is his most important song.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13913174\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13913174\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Kendrick.2-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"A young Black man holds an analog camera in the photo pit of a large arena event.\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Kendrick.2-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Kendrick.2-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Kendrick.2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Kendrick.2-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Kendrick.2.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kendrick Lamar attends the 2018 BET Experience Concert at L.A. Live on June 22, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. \u003ccite>(Ser Baffo/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">N\u003c/span>o, it’s not his highest charting song (“Humble”), nor his most famous (“Alright”). It’s not the one that gets the party turnt (“Michael Jordan”). I’m not taking away from his collaborations with Bono or Beyoncé, and definitely not the voice of Tupac Shakur (“Mortal Man”) or the song that President Obama said was the best song of 2015 (“How Much a Dollar Cost”).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kenny’s catalog boasts songs with Travis and Drake that have been played so many times it’d be torture to hear them again. The Black Hippy tracks are dope, and despite his impending departure from their shared record label, Top Dawg Entertainment, I hope we get more collaborations from him and Ab-Soul, Jay Rock and Schoolboy Q. (Hell, even if we just get \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/Z-48u_uWMHY?t=130\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">that song from the opening of the “Alright” video\u003c/a>, I’d be happy.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kendrick’s career is decorated with honors and accolades, from executive-producing the \u003cem>Black Panther\u003c/em> soundtrack to performing at this year’s Dr. Dre-led Super Bowl halftime performance. I mean, the guy won a freaking Pulitzer for \u003cem>DAMN\u003c/em>—a Pulitzer for \u003cem>spitting rhymes\u003c/em>—did we even know that was possible?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>And even in failure, like losing a Grammy to \u003ca href=\"https://www.gawker.com/macklemore-is-a-ho-bag-1509862810\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">some white guy from Seattle\u003c/a>, Kendrick won our hearts—and proved why the act of reworking your craft is important.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the novel-like album \u003cem>Good Kid, M.A.A.D City\u003c/em>, Kendrick is a bystander exploring the dichotomy of good and evil in his community, using clever lyrics recited over drums that punch like Kimbo Slice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He describes his transformation as an outside observer on the track “m.A.A.D City”:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Seen a light-skinned nigga with his brains blown out\u003cbr>\nAt the same burger stand where (redacted) hangs out\u003cbr>\nNow, this is not a tape recorder saying that he did it\u003cbr>\nBut ever since that day, I was lookin’ at him different\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And then, later in the song, he gets pulled into this world of sinister behavior:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>My pops said I needed a job, I thought I believed him\u003cbr>\nSecurity guard for a month and ended up leavin’\u003cbr>\nIn fact, I got fired, ’cause I was inspired by all of my friends\u003cbr>\nTo stage a robbery the third Saturday I clocked in\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kendrick, a neutral narrator who gets influenced by his associates, has been this guy for some time.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/EjKlzdnoBGg'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/EjKlzdnoBGg'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>In his self-titled song “Kendrick Lamar,” a 2012 track where he drops the moniker K-Dot to go by his given name, he says:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>I’m just a good kid from Compton that want to rap\u003cbr>\nWeighing my options, pick up a Bible or a strap?\u003cbr>\nI never killed a man, never sold any crack\u003cbr>\nAll I ever did was try to keep my city on the map\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s these four bars, above, that underscore a philosophy further explored in 2012’s \u003cem>Good Kid m.A.A.D City\u003c/em>, and brought to visual life in \u003ca href=\"https://i.discogs.com/IisP10nUmJmiyxaAtenOChe3Ng5Q56YzMneN6GopVQQ/rs:fit/g:sm/q:90/h:600/w:600/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9SLTMzNjkw/NDItMTU4NjA5MTUx/OC03NzYyLmpwZWc.jpeg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the cover art for his \u003cem>Section 80\u003c/em> mixtape\u003c/a>. But before the idea shows up in album form, it’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jHV0HxQQGw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Average Joe\u003c/a>” where Mr. Duckworth explains the same concept in the earliest, most vivid colors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kendrick opens the song by saying “The hardest thing for me to do / Is to get you to know me within 16 bars.” He then does just that, illustrating his position of being gang-adjacent, a good kid who’s just trying to rap but is still getting caught up in the life:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cem>Everyone I knew was either Crip or Piru\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Cousins in elementary, relatives in high school\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>With that being said, each one of their rivals\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Was aiming something at my head, I needed survival\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Got jumped, got jacked, shot at, shot back\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>And I don’t even push a line, I’m just tryna push these rhymes\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>In the midst of staying neutral and discreet\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>My momma said you’re judged by the company you keep\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a nutshell, this is Kendrick’s story; the premise of his entire career.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is why they fuck with me,” goes the chorus, twice, before Kendrick says, “I’m no gangster, no killer, I’m just your average Joe (know that) / But one thing you should consider, I’m the realest you know.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Boom. That’s it. He’s an authentic person who’s telling his story, and growing as he does. He hones this theme through poetically energetic slick storytelling, a mix of Iceberg Slim, Gil Scott-Heron, DMX and Rass Kass, but yeah: Kendrick’s formula really is that simple.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11057865\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11057865\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2015/11/Kendrick.Meline.jpg\" alt=\"Kendrick Lamar performs at Outside Lands, Aug. 8, 2015. (Photo: Gabe Meline/KQED)\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/11/Kendrick.Meline.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/11/Kendrick.Meline-400x267.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/11/Kendrick.Meline-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/11/Kendrick.Meline-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/11/Kendrick.Meline-960x640.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kendrick Lamar. \u003ccite>(Gabe Meline/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">I\u003c/span>‘ve followed Kendrick’s work since before 2011, when he \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cIQe2iaQRk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">performed at the New Parish in Oakland\u003c/a>—still the only time I’ve seen him perform. The first song I ever heard from him was “Heaven or Hell,” a track about the drastic dichotomies in life. Again, the same theme of good and evil, and him standing as an honest observer in the midst of it all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now on the verge of releasing \u003cem>Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers,\u003c/em> the Gemini MC is bracing us for more stories about the polarizing aspects of life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Looking at his catalog, there’s a lesson on the importance of revising, reworking and retelling our stories of growth. No, I’m not saying you too can be Kendrick Lamar—there’s only one big-eared Pulitzer Prize winning lyricist from Hub City. But we can all work and rework ourselves, and our stories. Word to Average Joe.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "‘Escapism Is a Cop-Out’: Two Years Into a Pandemic, Why Isn’t COVID on TV?",
"headTitle": "‘Escapism Is a Cop-Out’: Two Years Into a Pandemic, Why Isn’t COVID on TV? | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>Before being slapped at the Oscars, Chris Rock joked about the unmasked celebrity crowd “just breathing raw dog tonight.” The lead-up to the ceremony was marked by \u003ca href=\"https://www.vulture.com/2022/02/academy-announces-2022-oscars-covid-19-vaccination-policy.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">dodgy COVID policies\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So perhaps it should come as no surprise that there was nary a pandemic mention in the nominated works. Two years in, and the film industry is still ignoring the coronavirus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>TV is no better. Early on, a few shows made half-hearted attempts to incorporate the once-in-a-generation pandemic into their storylines: \u003cem>The Resident, 9-1-1\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Brooklyn Nine-Nine\u003c/em> all paid COVID lip service before all the masks disappeared. \u003cem>It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia\u003c/em> gave it two episodes, while \u003cem>And Just Like That…\u003c/em>’s infamous first episode alluded to the pandemic in the past tense.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13912585\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/cynthia-nixon-sarah-jessica-parker-kristin-davis_0.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13912585\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/cynthia-nixon-sarah-jessica-parker-kristin-davis_0-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"a crowded party scene with people cheering and raising their arms\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/cynthia-nixon-sarah-jessica-parker-kristin-davis_0-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/cynthia-nixon-sarah-jessica-parker-kristin-davis_0-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/cynthia-nixon-sarah-jessica-parker-kristin-davis_0-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/cynthia-nixon-sarah-jessica-parker-kristin-davis_0-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/cynthia-nixon-sarah-jessica-parker-kristin-davis_0-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/cynthia-nixon-sarah-jessica-parker-kristin-davis_0.jpg 1584w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A scene from ‘And Just Like That…’ with no masks in sight. \u003ccite>(Craig Blankenhorn / HBO Max)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>One could blame the long production schedule of film and television. Although lockdowns still produced new music (two Taylor Swift albums, a \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OT20KfhnQow\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">social distancing anthem\u003c/a> from E-40 and a pro-vaxx redux of Juvenile’s “Back that Azz Up”), visual media requires more active participants and long-term planning. Sure, there are exceptions, but one doesn’t expect a long production like \u003cem>Bob’s Burgers\u003c/em> to be as up-to-date as an episode of \u003cem>South Park\u003c/em> (made in seven days).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13908472']Still, that excuse only goes so far—all pop culture becomes dated. Hell, an episode’s soundtrack becomes a playlist the next day. I’d argue that ignoring a major contemporary event is hypocritical when trying to stay current. COVID-19’s been around for two years. I think that puts it in the category of HIV/AIDS or 9/11, in that it’s not ending soon and worth discussing for a long time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a San Francisco native, I don’t bring up AIDS lightly. I remember when it either wasn’t mentioned at all or was used like cancer to show a character’s tragic end (\u003cem>Philadelphia, Boys on the Side\u003c/em>). Yet, four decades later, we’ve seen narratives justifying AIDS as punishment for an “immoral” character (Tyler Perry’s 2013 \u003cem>Temptation\u003c/em>). Entertainment we consciously seek out lingers in the consciousness and normalizes the behaviors of its characters. It’s why we say “representation matters.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s why the absence of COVID-related content is unsettling, given the strides marginalized creators have made in entertainment. For us, \u003ca href=\"https://blackcoalitionagainstcovid.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/2022-Report-State-of-Black-America-and-COVID-19-A-Two-Year-Assessment-3292022.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">COVID infection rates are as high\u003c/a> as access to COVID resources is low. We need our voices heard and our struggle portrayed. Instead, those marginalized creators are ignoring that very struggle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13912586\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/ins-ep510-06082021-rl-0112-r.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13912586\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/ins-ep510-06082021-rl-0112-r-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"a group of people cheer at a birthday party\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/ins-ep510-06082021-rl-0112-r-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/ins-ep510-06082021-rl-0112-r-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/ins-ep510-06082021-rl-0112-r-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/ins-ep510-06082021-rl-0112-r-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/ins-ep510-06082021-rl-0112-r-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/ins-ep510-06082021-rl-0112-r.jpg 1584w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A birthday party scene from Season 5 of ‘Insecure.’ \u003ccite>(Raymond Liu/HBO)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Pamela Adlon insisted the production of her show \u003cem>better things\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.indiewire.com/2019/04/better-things-pamela-adlon-tv-show-interview-season-3-1202059849/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">be as eco-friendly\u003c/a> as it is safe for women (including banning co-creator Louis CK), but the show hasn’t mentioned COVID in its still-running final season. Issa Rae revels in the acclaim she garnered for \u003cem>Insecure\u003c/em>, but its 2021 final season—shot partly here in the Bay—refused to address either the pandemic or the George Floyd protests. Even \u003cem>Euphoria\u003c/em>, lauded for its portrayal of contemporary teens, shot two feature-length specials and an entire season during lockdown without a single virus mention on camera. (Meanwhile, one cast member’s notable absence may be \u003ca href=\"https://www.thedailybeast.com/why-euphoria-star-algee-smith-is-missing-this-season\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">COVID-related\u003c/a>.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>How well can these works truly represent the characters they portray if they ignore what their audiences have now struggled with for two years? Like \u003cem>Euphoria\u003c/em>, the CBS sitcom \u003cem>Mom\u003c/em> was lauded for mixing entertainment with its honest portrayals of addiction. And like \u003cem>Euphoria\u003c/em>, \u003cem>Mom\u003c/em>’s final, lockdown-shot season ignored the pandemic, despite substance abuse emerging as a dangerous COVID-era \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/stress-coping/alcohol-use.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">coping mechanism\u003c/a>. [aside postid='arts_13909218']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Claiming “escapism” is a cop-out of toxic positivity. It assumes someone lacks the mental wherewithal to address serious topics. What’s more, most works ignoring the pandemic contradict what we already know of their characters. Most vampires on \u003cem>What We Do in the Shadows\u003c/em> are multi-century-old Europeans, meaning they’ve been through multiple plagues. Hell, a common trope in vampire fiction—from Bram Stoker and Richard Matheson to San Francisco’s own Anne Rice and Christopher Moore—is for the vamps to hide in plain sight by letting the public believe their victims died of some illness. That makes it perfect for \u003cem>Shadows’\u003c/em> morbid humor, but somehow this plague has passed them by.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13912587\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/rev-1-KIMI-FF-049r_High_Res_JPEG-1260x609-1.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13912587\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/rev-1-KIMI-FF-049r_High_Res_JPEG-1260x609-1-800x387.jpg\" alt=\"a woman with blue hair wears a face mask as she passes by protestors\" width=\"800\" height=\"387\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/rev-1-KIMI-FF-049r_High_Res_JPEG-1260x609-1-800x387.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/rev-1-KIMI-FF-049r_High_Res_JPEG-1260x609-1-1020x493.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/rev-1-KIMI-FF-049r_High_Res_JPEG-1260x609-1-160x77.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/rev-1-KIMI-FF-049r_High_Res_JPEG-1260x609-1-768x371.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/rev-1-KIMI-FF-049r_High_Res_JPEG-1260x609-1.jpg 1260w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Zoe Kravitz in a still from ‘KIMI,’ during a scene where her character wears a mask while encountering protesters in Seattle.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>I haven’t seen Steven Soderbergh’s \u003cem>KIMI\u003c/em>, which I’m told is one of the few recent films to truly acknowledge the pandemic. But I’ve seen both great seasons of HBO’s \u003cem>Betty\u003c/em>, the latter of which features its teen leads living in a post-George Floyd world of COVID and Karens.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I wish those weren’t outliers in mainstream pop culture. I haven’t been to the movies in two years, but I hope films and series lean more heavily into COVID-related material. After all, if I wanted to watch shows where everyone ignores the virus, I’d just watch the news.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Entertainment can influence behavior or help us process struggle. What does it mean that so few films and TV shows have acknowledged COVID-19?",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Before being slapped at the Oscars, Chris Rock joked about the unmasked celebrity crowd “just breathing raw dog tonight.” The lead-up to the ceremony was marked by \u003ca href=\"https://www.vulture.com/2022/02/academy-announces-2022-oscars-covid-19-vaccination-policy.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">dodgy COVID policies\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So perhaps it should come as no surprise that there was nary a pandemic mention in the nominated works. Two years in, and the film industry is still ignoring the coronavirus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>TV is no better. Early on, a few shows made half-hearted attempts to incorporate the once-in-a-generation pandemic into their storylines: \u003cem>The Resident, 9-1-1\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Brooklyn Nine-Nine\u003c/em> all paid COVID lip service before all the masks disappeared. \u003cem>It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia\u003c/em> gave it two episodes, while \u003cem>And Just Like That…\u003c/em>’s infamous first episode alluded to the pandemic in the past tense.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13912585\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/cynthia-nixon-sarah-jessica-parker-kristin-davis_0.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13912585\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/cynthia-nixon-sarah-jessica-parker-kristin-davis_0-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"a crowded party scene with people cheering and raising their arms\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/cynthia-nixon-sarah-jessica-parker-kristin-davis_0-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/cynthia-nixon-sarah-jessica-parker-kristin-davis_0-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/cynthia-nixon-sarah-jessica-parker-kristin-davis_0-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/cynthia-nixon-sarah-jessica-parker-kristin-davis_0-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/cynthia-nixon-sarah-jessica-parker-kristin-davis_0-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/cynthia-nixon-sarah-jessica-parker-kristin-davis_0.jpg 1584w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A scene from ‘And Just Like That…’ with no masks in sight. \u003ccite>(Craig Blankenhorn / HBO Max)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>One could blame the long production schedule of film and television. Although lockdowns still produced new music (two Taylor Swift albums, a \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OT20KfhnQow\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">social distancing anthem\u003c/a> from E-40 and a pro-vaxx redux of Juvenile’s “Back that Azz Up”), visual media requires more active participants and long-term planning. Sure, there are exceptions, but one doesn’t expect a long production like \u003cem>Bob’s Burgers\u003c/em> to be as up-to-date as an episode of \u003cem>South Park\u003c/em> (made in seven days).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Still, that excuse only goes so far—all pop culture becomes dated. Hell, an episode’s soundtrack becomes a playlist the next day. I’d argue that ignoring a major contemporary event is hypocritical when trying to stay current. COVID-19’s been around for two years. I think that puts it in the category of HIV/AIDS or 9/11, in that it’s not ending soon and worth discussing for a long time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a San Francisco native, I don’t bring up AIDS lightly. I remember when it either wasn’t mentioned at all or was used like cancer to show a character’s tragic end (\u003cem>Philadelphia, Boys on the Side\u003c/em>). Yet, four decades later, we’ve seen narratives justifying AIDS as punishment for an “immoral” character (Tyler Perry’s 2013 \u003cem>Temptation\u003c/em>). Entertainment we consciously seek out lingers in the consciousness and normalizes the behaviors of its characters. It’s why we say “representation matters.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s why the absence of COVID-related content is unsettling, given the strides marginalized creators have made in entertainment. For us, \u003ca href=\"https://blackcoalitionagainstcovid.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/2022-Report-State-of-Black-America-and-COVID-19-A-Two-Year-Assessment-3292022.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">COVID infection rates are as high\u003c/a> as access to COVID resources is low. We need our voices heard and our struggle portrayed. Instead, those marginalized creators are ignoring that very struggle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13912586\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/ins-ep510-06082021-rl-0112-r.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13912586\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/ins-ep510-06082021-rl-0112-r-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"a group of people cheer at a birthday party\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/ins-ep510-06082021-rl-0112-r-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/ins-ep510-06082021-rl-0112-r-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/ins-ep510-06082021-rl-0112-r-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/ins-ep510-06082021-rl-0112-r-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/ins-ep510-06082021-rl-0112-r-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/ins-ep510-06082021-rl-0112-r.jpg 1584w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A birthday party scene from Season 5 of ‘Insecure.’ \u003ccite>(Raymond Liu/HBO)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Pamela Adlon insisted the production of her show \u003cem>better things\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.indiewire.com/2019/04/better-things-pamela-adlon-tv-show-interview-season-3-1202059849/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">be as eco-friendly\u003c/a> as it is safe for women (including banning co-creator Louis CK), but the show hasn’t mentioned COVID in its still-running final season. Issa Rae revels in the acclaim she garnered for \u003cem>Insecure\u003c/em>, but its 2021 final season—shot partly here in the Bay—refused to address either the pandemic or the George Floyd protests. Even \u003cem>Euphoria\u003c/em>, lauded for its portrayal of contemporary teens, shot two feature-length specials and an entire season during lockdown without a single virus mention on camera. (Meanwhile, one cast member’s notable absence may be \u003ca href=\"https://www.thedailybeast.com/why-euphoria-star-algee-smith-is-missing-this-season\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">COVID-related\u003c/a>.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>How well can these works truly represent the characters they portray if they ignore what their audiences have now struggled with for two years? Like \u003cem>Euphoria\u003c/em>, the CBS sitcom \u003cem>Mom\u003c/em> was lauded for mixing entertainment with its honest portrayals of addiction. And like \u003cem>Euphoria\u003c/em>, \u003cem>Mom\u003c/em>’s final, lockdown-shot season ignored the pandemic, despite substance abuse emerging as a dangerous COVID-era \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/stress-coping/alcohol-use.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">coping mechanism\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Claiming “escapism” is a cop-out of toxic positivity. It assumes someone lacks the mental wherewithal to address serious topics. What’s more, most works ignoring the pandemic contradict what we already know of their characters. Most vampires on \u003cem>What We Do in the Shadows\u003c/em> are multi-century-old Europeans, meaning they’ve been through multiple plagues. Hell, a common trope in vampire fiction—from Bram Stoker and Richard Matheson to San Francisco’s own Anne Rice and Christopher Moore—is for the vamps to hide in plain sight by letting the public believe their victims died of some illness. That makes it perfect for \u003cem>Shadows’\u003c/em> morbid humor, but somehow this plague has passed them by.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13912587\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/rev-1-KIMI-FF-049r_High_Res_JPEG-1260x609-1.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13912587\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/rev-1-KIMI-FF-049r_High_Res_JPEG-1260x609-1-800x387.jpg\" alt=\"a woman with blue hair wears a face mask as she passes by protestors\" width=\"800\" height=\"387\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/rev-1-KIMI-FF-049r_High_Res_JPEG-1260x609-1-800x387.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/rev-1-KIMI-FF-049r_High_Res_JPEG-1260x609-1-1020x493.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/rev-1-KIMI-FF-049r_High_Res_JPEG-1260x609-1-160x77.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/rev-1-KIMI-FF-049r_High_Res_JPEG-1260x609-1-768x371.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/rev-1-KIMI-FF-049r_High_Res_JPEG-1260x609-1.jpg 1260w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Zoe Kravitz in a still from ‘KIMI,’ during a scene where her character wears a mask while encountering protesters in Seattle.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>I haven’t seen Steven Soderbergh’s \u003cem>KIMI\u003c/em>, which I’m told is one of the few recent films to truly acknowledge the pandemic. But I’ve seen both great seasons of HBO’s \u003cem>Betty\u003c/em>, the latter of which features its teen leads living in a post-George Floyd world of COVID and Karens.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I wish those weren’t outliers in mainstream pop culture. I haven’t been to the movies in two years, but I hope films and series lean more heavily into COVID-related material. After all, if I wanted to watch shows where everyone ignores the virus, I’d just watch the news.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Why Students Like Me Want to ‘Diversify Our Narrative’",
"headTitle": "Why Students Like Me Want to ‘Diversify Our Narrative’ | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Editor’s note:\u003c/strong> It’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/youthtakeover\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">KQED Youth Takeover week\u003c/a>. From April 25-29, we’re featuring stories by high school students from around the Bay Area.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Growing up as a brown girl in America, I was often tested by the power of invisibility. The world around me didn’t seem to include me in anything. The long-legged models that popped up on my Instagram feed didn’t have the same chocolate, brown skin. My favorite Disney Channel shows made Indian American actors speak with a thick accent. The whole world seemed to have us figured out, yet their perception was completely wrong. The real me was completely invisible in mainstream media.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My love for reading sprouted from a young age. And as I advanced in my reading skills and grade levels, I began to see a trend that many of my white counterparts were oblivious to: our school’s curriculum lacked diversity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-13912417\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/Maya.Bhatt_.Bio_.Headshot.BW_-160x183.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"160\" height=\"183\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/Maya.Bhatt_.Bio_.Headshot.BW_-160x183.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/Maya.Bhatt_.Bio_.Headshot.BW_.jpg 180w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 160px) 100vw, 160px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The invisibility I had experienced my whole life was even present in the classroom in my majority-white East Bay suburb. The first time a teacher ever made my class read a book by a person of color was last year in the 9th grade. \u003cem>Just Mercy\u003c/em> by Bryan Stevenson took me through issues of race in our justice system, and especially opened my eyes to young kids being tried as adults in court. These issues had been invisible to me for so long, and if it wasn’t for that teacher I’d still be in the dark. I’ve made an effort to expand my horizons by reading Alice Walker’s \u003cem>The Color Purple\u003c/em> on my own, and I want to see more books like these—for example, Zadie Smith’s \u003cem>White Teeth\u003c/em> and Maya Angelou’s \u003cem>I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings\u003c/em>—included in my school curriculum.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now that I’m 15 years old, I’m done feeling silenced and invisible. How come every page I turned to in my history textbook was a white-washed story, covering up the tracks of “heros” like Christopher Columbus? There is so much more to learn about the many diverse communities that have shaped the history of the Bay Area and the United States as a whole, and I feel as though I have missed out on this throughout my school career.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I wasn’t the only one who was faced with invisibility. Stanford University students Jasmine Nguyen, who is Vietnamese American, and Katelin Zhou, who is Chinese American, were also at a point where they realized that their whole high school career was filled with white-washed media, books and teachings. So, they decided to do something about it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13912426\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 750px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13912426\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/shalvi-in-sacramento.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"750\" height=\"433\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/shalvi-in-sacramento.jpg 750w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/shalvi-in-sacramento-160x92.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shalvi Kamble, Jasmine Nguyen and Mia Raimondi (left to right) marched in Sacramento in favor of AB 101, the 2021 law that created an ethnic studies requirement for California high school students. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Diversify Our Narrative)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In June of 2020, when the whole world was in lockdown due to COVID-19, they used their voices and started a new organization: \u003ca href=\"https://www.diversifyournarrative.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Diversify Our Narrative\u003c/a> (DON). At first, their main goal was to push for diverse texts in English classrooms, but it later blossomed into something much more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, in 2022, DON has over 900 chapters nationwide, and has also broadened their vision to push for diverse curricula in subjects such as history, STEM and the arts. Their work has reached millions of people from across the world as their Instagram has amassed over 217,000 followers in just two years. More than 6,000 young changemakers have joined them in their fight for antiracist education. Together, these student activists have put together action-based toolkits, organized marches and created petitions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“DON has helped me realize the importance of collective resistance in making change,” Nguyen said. “Especially focusing on local change.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13912421\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 744px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13912421\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/shalvi-kamble.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"744\" height=\"687\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/shalvi-kamble.jpg 744w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/shalvi-kamble-160x148.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 744px) 100vw, 744px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Leland High School senior Shalvi Kamble leads the San Jose Unified School District chapter of Diversify Our Narrative. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Shalvi Kamble)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Shalvi Kamble, an Indian American senior at Leland High School, discovered DON through Instagram and was immediately intrigued: “When [DON] made the point that we’ve never had books written by people of color in our classrooms, I realized I had never seen myself represented,” Kamble said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>DON provided Kamble a “wake-up call” as she realized that she was always looking for books written by someone like her. Now, she leads the San Jose Unified School District chapter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Through her chapter Kamble is campaigning for her school district to require each English class to assign one book by a BIPOC author a year. In addition to this mandate, Kamble has also been working with teachers individually to help shift to more diverse book choices in their classrooms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With the main goal of diverse curricula, Kamble also wants to make sure her branch addresses different issues like climate change, LGBTQ+ rights, Black Lives Matter and anti-Asian hate throughout the year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The thing about issues is, don’t just want to talk about, for example, LGBTQ+ in Pride month. You want to educate and talk about it everyday because these are real issues that affect real people everyday of every year,” Kamble said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sofia Bruno is the district lead, along with Trisha Nguyen, of the San Francisco Unified School District chapter of DON. “I have always been interested in these types of issues,” said Bruno, who is Latina and Vietnamese.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bruno attends Lowell High School, which has been at the center of a debate surrounding equity in recent years because Black and Latinx students are underrepresented on its campus. Bruno’s main goal through her chapter is to raise awareness and advocate for diverse texts in classrooms, like Sandra Cisneros’ \u003cem>The House on Mango Street\u003c/em> and Amy Tan’s \u003cem>The Joy Luck Club\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13912425\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13912425\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/sofia-bruno-800x876.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"876\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/sofia-bruno-800x876.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/sofia-bruno-1020x1117.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/sofia-bruno-160x175.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/sofia-bruno-768x841.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/sofia-bruno-1403x1536.jpg 1403w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/sofia-bruno-1870x2048.jpg 1870w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/sofia-bruno-1920x2103.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sofia Bruno, a sophomore at Lowell High School, co-leads the San Francisco Unified School District chapter of Diversify Our Narrative. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Sofia Bruno)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Our nation’s history should be a composite of all cultures and perspectives. Not just white-based,” Bruno said. “As many minority groups have been [and] are still being oppressed, it’s important to acknowledge them, so we can learn from our mistakes and forge a better future.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bruno believes that the country must bridge its past and present so that Generation Z can be ready to lead the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Diversify Our Narrative has accomplished a lot in its two years. Two young women who had big dreams of advancing a change now have more than 6,000 passionate student activists joining them from all around the country. Many like Kamble and Bruno have used their voices to protest in Sacramento in support of AB 101, which created an \u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2021/california-becomes-first-state-to-require-ethnic-studies-in-high-school/662219\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">ethnic studies requirement for California high school students\u003c/a>. Governor Gavin Newson signed the bill into law in October 2021, and it will go into effect for the graduating class of 2030.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With all of the success and progress they have made over the course of two years, there is still a lot of change that needs to happen regarding diversity and inclusion in the classroom. With May fast approaching, the organizers are working on information and toolkits for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In April, we’ll mainly be preparing for AAPI month and transitioning our chapters to new leadership as seniors graduate,” said Nguyen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The impact that DON has had on Generation Z has been nothing short of amazing. As for me, a young brown girl, I would have never thought that my voice was powerful enough to spark a change. But projects and organizations like DON have shown me the power that lies within youth, and how much change youth can actually accomplish. This passion of using my voice to ignite a change led me to starting my own platform, \u003ca href=\"https://www.colorforcauses.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Color For Causes\u003c/a>, a place I use to share my visual and written works to inspire other youth and educate them on real-world issues. Just like DON, I hope to make an impact, big and small, on the world and generations to come.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-800x78.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Maya Bhatt is a 15-year-old writer and activist who attends Monte Vista High School in Danville. She loves to create visual and written works that help inspire a change in her community through her organization, Color For Causes. If she isn’t crafting an article or drawing, she can be found engrossed in a good book while snuggling her dog. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Editor’s note:\u003c/strong> It’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/youthtakeover\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">KQED Youth Takeover week\u003c/a>. From April 25-29, we’re featuring stories by high school students from around the Bay Area.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Growing up as a brown girl in America, I was often tested by the power of invisibility. The world around me didn’t seem to include me in anything. The long-legged models that popped up on my Instagram feed didn’t have the same chocolate, brown skin. My favorite Disney Channel shows made Indian American actors speak with a thick accent. The whole world seemed to have us figured out, yet their perception was completely wrong. The real me was completely invisible in mainstream media.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My love for reading sprouted from a young age. And as I advanced in my reading skills and grade levels, I began to see a trend that many of my white counterparts were oblivious to: our school’s curriculum lacked diversity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-13912417\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/Maya.Bhatt_.Bio_.Headshot.BW_-160x183.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"160\" height=\"183\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/Maya.Bhatt_.Bio_.Headshot.BW_-160x183.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/Maya.Bhatt_.Bio_.Headshot.BW_.jpg 180w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 160px) 100vw, 160px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The invisibility I had experienced my whole life was even present in the classroom in my majority-white East Bay suburb. The first time a teacher ever made my class read a book by a person of color was last year in the 9th grade. \u003cem>Just Mercy\u003c/em> by Bryan Stevenson took me through issues of race in our justice system, and especially opened my eyes to young kids being tried as adults in court. These issues had been invisible to me for so long, and if it wasn’t for that teacher I’d still be in the dark. I’ve made an effort to expand my horizons by reading Alice Walker’s \u003cem>The Color Purple\u003c/em> on my own, and I want to see more books like these—for example, Zadie Smith’s \u003cem>White Teeth\u003c/em> and Maya Angelou’s \u003cem>I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings\u003c/em>—included in my school curriculum.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now that I’m 15 years old, I’m done feeling silenced and invisible. How come every page I turned to in my history textbook was a white-washed story, covering up the tracks of “heros” like Christopher Columbus? There is so much more to learn about the many diverse communities that have shaped the history of the Bay Area and the United States as a whole, and I feel as though I have missed out on this throughout my school career.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I wasn’t the only one who was faced with invisibility. Stanford University students Jasmine Nguyen, who is Vietnamese American, and Katelin Zhou, who is Chinese American, were also at a point where they realized that their whole high school career was filled with white-washed media, books and teachings. So, they decided to do something about it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13912426\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 750px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13912426\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/shalvi-in-sacramento.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"750\" height=\"433\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/shalvi-in-sacramento.jpg 750w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/shalvi-in-sacramento-160x92.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shalvi Kamble, Jasmine Nguyen and Mia Raimondi (left to right) marched in Sacramento in favor of AB 101, the 2021 law that created an ethnic studies requirement for California high school students. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Diversify Our Narrative)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In June of 2020, when the whole world was in lockdown due to COVID-19, they used their voices and started a new organization: \u003ca href=\"https://www.diversifyournarrative.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Diversify Our Narrative\u003c/a> (DON). At first, their main goal was to push for diverse texts in English classrooms, but it later blossomed into something much more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, in 2022, DON has over 900 chapters nationwide, and has also broadened their vision to push for diverse curricula in subjects such as history, STEM and the arts. Their work has reached millions of people from across the world as their Instagram has amassed over 217,000 followers in just two years. More than 6,000 young changemakers have joined them in their fight for antiracist education. Together, these student activists have put together action-based toolkits, organized marches and created petitions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“DON has helped me realize the importance of collective resistance in making change,” Nguyen said. “Especially focusing on local change.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13912421\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 744px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13912421\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/shalvi-kamble.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"744\" height=\"687\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/shalvi-kamble.jpg 744w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/shalvi-kamble-160x148.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 744px) 100vw, 744px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Leland High School senior Shalvi Kamble leads the San Jose Unified School District chapter of Diversify Our Narrative. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Shalvi Kamble)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Shalvi Kamble, an Indian American senior at Leland High School, discovered DON through Instagram and was immediately intrigued: “When [DON] made the point that we’ve never had books written by people of color in our classrooms, I realized I had never seen myself represented,” Kamble said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>DON provided Kamble a “wake-up call” as she realized that she was always looking for books written by someone like her. Now, she leads the San Jose Unified School District chapter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Through her chapter Kamble is campaigning for her school district to require each English class to assign one book by a BIPOC author a year. In addition to this mandate, Kamble has also been working with teachers individually to help shift to more diverse book choices in their classrooms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With the main goal of diverse curricula, Kamble also wants to make sure her branch addresses different issues like climate change, LGBTQ+ rights, Black Lives Matter and anti-Asian hate throughout the year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The thing about issues is, don’t just want to talk about, for example, LGBTQ+ in Pride month. You want to educate and talk about it everyday because these are real issues that affect real people everyday of every year,” Kamble said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sofia Bruno is the district lead, along with Trisha Nguyen, of the San Francisco Unified School District chapter of DON. “I have always been interested in these types of issues,” said Bruno, who is Latina and Vietnamese.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bruno attends Lowell High School, which has been at the center of a debate surrounding equity in recent years because Black and Latinx students are underrepresented on its campus. Bruno’s main goal through her chapter is to raise awareness and advocate for diverse texts in classrooms, like Sandra Cisneros’ \u003cem>The House on Mango Street\u003c/em> and Amy Tan’s \u003cem>The Joy Luck Club\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13912425\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13912425\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/sofia-bruno-800x876.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"876\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/sofia-bruno-800x876.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/sofia-bruno-1020x1117.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/sofia-bruno-160x175.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/sofia-bruno-768x841.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/sofia-bruno-1403x1536.jpg 1403w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/sofia-bruno-1870x2048.jpg 1870w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/sofia-bruno-1920x2103.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sofia Bruno, a sophomore at Lowell High School, co-leads the San Francisco Unified School District chapter of Diversify Our Narrative. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Sofia Bruno)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Our nation’s history should be a composite of all cultures and perspectives. Not just white-based,” Bruno said. “As many minority groups have been [and] are still being oppressed, it’s important to acknowledge them, so we can learn from our mistakes and forge a better future.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bruno believes that the country must bridge its past and present so that Generation Z can be ready to lead the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Diversify Our Narrative has accomplished a lot in its two years. Two young women who had big dreams of advancing a change now have more than 6,000 passionate student activists joining them from all around the country. Many like Kamble and Bruno have used their voices to protest in Sacramento in support of AB 101, which created an \u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2021/california-becomes-first-state-to-require-ethnic-studies-in-high-school/662219\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">ethnic studies requirement for California high school students\u003c/a>. Governor Gavin Newson signed the bill into law in October 2021, and it will go into effect for the graduating class of 2030.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With all of the success and progress they have made over the course of two years, there is still a lot of change that needs to happen regarding diversity and inclusion in the classroom. With May fast approaching, the organizers are working on information and toolkits for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In April, we’ll mainly be preparing for AAPI month and transitioning our chapters to new leadership as seniors graduate,” said Nguyen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The impact that DON has had on Generation Z has been nothing short of amazing. As for me, a young brown girl, I would have never thought that my voice was powerful enough to spark a change. But projects and organizations like DON have shown me the power that lies within youth, and how much change youth can actually accomplish. This passion of using my voice to ignite a change led me to starting my own platform, \u003ca href=\"https://www.colorforcauses.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Color For Causes\u003c/a>, a place I use to share my visual and written works to inspire other youth and educate them on real-world issues. Just like DON, I hope to make an impact, big and small, on the world and generations to come.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-800x78.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Maya Bhatt is a 15-year-old writer and activist who attends Monte Vista High School in Danville. She loves to create visual and written works that help inspire a change in her community through her organization, Color For Causes. If she isn’t crafting an article or drawing, she can be found engrossed in a good book while snuggling her dog. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Marketing Win? Stern Grove Lineup Announced via Public Transportation",
"headTitle": "Marketing Win? Stern Grove Lineup Announced via Public Transportation | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Update, May 3: \u003c/strong>Stern Grove Festival has officially announced its lineup. It’s the same slate of artists that appeared to have been accidentally revealed through a Muni ad in April.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Original post: \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 2022 Stern Grove Festival lineup was announced Friday in a small masterwork of accidental marketing genius: placing an ad on a Muni bus and letting the public do the rest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The lineup features Tower of Power and Too Short (June 12), Toro y Moi and Hello Yello (June 19), Liz Phair and Madi Diaz (June 26), Cold War Kids and Geographer (July 3), Old Crow Medicine Show and Molly Tuttle (July 10), Cat Power and Spellling (July 17), LeAnn Rimes and Amythyst Kiah (July 24), San Francisco Symphony (July 31), Taj Mahal and Monophonics (Aug. 7) and the Big Picnic with Phil Lesh & Friends and Midnight North (Aug. 14), according to the Muni ad.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13912348\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 740px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13912348\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/Screen-Shot-2022-04-22-at-8.11.09-PM.png\" alt=\"A screenshot of the Reddit posting from Friday, April 22, showing an advertisement for Stern Grove's 2022 lineup with Too Short, Cat Power, Liz Phair, Phil Lesh and others.\" width=\"740\" height=\"828\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/Screen-Shot-2022-04-22-at-8.11.09-PM.png 740w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/Screen-Shot-2022-04-22-at-8.11.09-PM-160x179.png 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A screenshot of the Reddit posting from Friday, April 22, showing an advertisement for Stern Grove’s 2022 lineup with Too Short, Cat Power, Liz Phair, Phil Lesh and others. \u003ccite>(via Reddit / u/normalizevictory)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The ad in question, \u003ca href=\"https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/music/muni-ad-leaks-stern-grove-festival-2022-lineup-with-liz-phair-and-cat-power\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">first reported\u003c/a> by the \u003cem>San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/em>, notes that all performances for the festival’s 85th season will still be free. Advance reservations for entry, added in in recent years, will again be required.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>KQED reached out to festival representatives to confirm the lineup in the Muni bus ad. The response neither confirmed nor denied the lineup, and \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/sterngrovefest/status/1518007943928500224\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">directed us to this tweet\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Photos of the ad surfaced \u003ca href=\"https://www.reddit.com/r/sanfrancisco/comments/u9kf1a/muni_leaking_the_stern_grove_lineup/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">on Reddit\u003c/a> and other social media on Friday, giving organizers at the Stern Grove Festival either a) extreme frustration at the leaked lineup, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sterngrove.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">not planned for release until May 3\u003c/a>, or b) a scramble to try and put a positive spin on the situation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/andyfedy/status/1517612025706258435\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Let us help with that positive spin: In an age when festival lineup announcements are tightly controlled and embargoed, this type of covert leaked announcement basically reflects a competent understanding of marketing and communications in the social media age. Namely, how word-of-mouth online carries far more human impact than any branded content, and how clueing the public in on a “secret” is \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/CatZhang1/status/1514440150822137862\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">worth far more social clout\u003c/a> than a formal press release spread across all media outlets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For example: remarked one Reddit user, echoing others, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.reddit.com/r/sanfrancisco/comments/u9kf1a/muni_leaking_the_stern_grove_lineup/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dude, better lineup than Outside Lands\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What’s more, giving the honors of quietly announcing the lineup to Muni shows a laudable support of city services at a time when public transportation has suffered, and been further devalued, in San Francisco. Ridership on Muni and BART \u003ca href=\"https://www.bart.gov/news/articles/2020/news20200317\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">fell drastically\u003c/a> during the COVID pandemic, and ridesharing services like Uber and Lyft continue their attempts to take over the city streets by supplanting traditional public transit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In other words: Didn’t take the bus on Friday? You missed out on the inside scoop.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12904247\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"39\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-160x16.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-240x23.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-375x37.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.sterngrove.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Stern Grove Festival’s official website, which promises that a lineup announcement is coming on May 3, is here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Originally leaked via bus ad, the lineup features Liz Phair, Toro y Moi, Cat Power, Tower of Power and Too Short and more.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Update, May 3: \u003c/strong>Stern Grove Festival has officially announced its lineup. It’s the same slate of artists that appeared to have been accidentally revealed through a Muni ad in April.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Original post: \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 2022 Stern Grove Festival lineup was announced Friday in a small masterwork of accidental marketing genius: placing an ad on a Muni bus and letting the public do the rest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The lineup features Tower of Power and Too Short (June 12), Toro y Moi and Hello Yello (June 19), Liz Phair and Madi Diaz (June 26), Cold War Kids and Geographer (July 3), Old Crow Medicine Show and Molly Tuttle (July 10), Cat Power and Spellling (July 17), LeAnn Rimes and Amythyst Kiah (July 24), San Francisco Symphony (July 31), Taj Mahal and Monophonics (Aug. 7) and the Big Picnic with Phil Lesh & Friends and Midnight North (Aug. 14), according to the Muni ad.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13912348\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 740px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13912348\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/Screen-Shot-2022-04-22-at-8.11.09-PM.png\" alt=\"A screenshot of the Reddit posting from Friday, April 22, showing an advertisement for Stern Grove's 2022 lineup with Too Short, Cat Power, Liz Phair, Phil Lesh and others.\" width=\"740\" height=\"828\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/Screen-Shot-2022-04-22-at-8.11.09-PM.png 740w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/Screen-Shot-2022-04-22-at-8.11.09-PM-160x179.png 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A screenshot of the Reddit posting from Friday, April 22, showing an advertisement for Stern Grove’s 2022 lineup with Too Short, Cat Power, Liz Phair, Phil Lesh and others. \u003ccite>(via Reddit / u/normalizevictory)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The ad in question, \u003ca href=\"https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/music/muni-ad-leaks-stern-grove-festival-2022-lineup-with-liz-phair-and-cat-power\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">first reported\u003c/a> by the \u003cem>San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/em>, notes that all performances for the festival’s 85th season will still be free. Advance reservations for entry, added in in recent years, will again be required.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>KQED reached out to festival representatives to confirm the lineup in the Muni bus ad. The response neither confirmed nor denied the lineup, and \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/sterngrovefest/status/1518007943928500224\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">directed us to this tweet\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Photos of the ad surfaced \u003ca href=\"https://www.reddit.com/r/sanfrancisco/comments/u9kf1a/muni_leaking_the_stern_grove_lineup/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">on Reddit\u003c/a> and other social media on Friday, giving organizers at the Stern Grove Festival either a) extreme frustration at the leaked lineup, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sterngrove.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">not planned for release until May 3\u003c/a>, or b) a scramble to try and put a positive spin on the situation.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>Let us help with that positive spin: In an age when festival lineup announcements are tightly controlled and embargoed, this type of covert leaked announcement basically reflects a competent understanding of marketing and communications in the social media age. Namely, how word-of-mouth online carries far more human impact than any branded content, and how clueing the public in on a “secret” is \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/CatZhang1/status/1514440150822137862\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">worth far more social clout\u003c/a> than a formal press release spread across all media outlets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For example: remarked one Reddit user, echoing others, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.reddit.com/r/sanfrancisco/comments/u9kf1a/muni_leaking_the_stern_grove_lineup/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dude, better lineup than Outside Lands\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What’s more, giving the honors of quietly announcing the lineup to Muni shows a laudable support of city services at a time when public transportation has suffered, and been further devalued, in San Francisco. Ridership on Muni and BART \u003ca href=\"https://www.bart.gov/news/articles/2020/news20200317\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">fell drastically\u003c/a> during the COVID pandemic, and ridesharing services like Uber and Lyft continue their attempts to take over the city streets by supplanting traditional public transit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In other words: Didn’t take the bus on Friday? You missed out on the inside scoop.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12904247\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"39\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-160x16.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-240x23.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-375x37.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.sterngrove.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Stern Grove Festival’s official website, which promises that a lineup announcement is coming on May 3, is here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Is The $385 Blue Note Festival in Napa Worth It? Yeah, Probably—But Reluctantly.",
"headTitle": "Is The $385 Blue Note Festival in Napa Worth It? Yeah, Probably—But Reluctantly. | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>The first-ever \u003ca href=\"https://bluenotejazzfestival.com/napa/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Blue Note Jazz Festival in Napa\u003c/a> was announced Thursday, and two things happened: my eyes widened at the incredible lineup, and then my brain fell out at the ticket price.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The two-day festival on July 30 and 31 hosts so many all-stars that to list just half is like a first draft for a Jazz and Hip-Hop Hall of Fame. It’s got resident artist Robert Glasper, Maxwell, Erykah Badu, Yasiin Bey & Talib Kweli as Black Star, Thundercat, Anderson .Paak, Flying Lotus, the Wu-Tang Clan’s GZA, Christian Scott, Pharaohe Monch, Ledisi, Terrace Martin, BJ the Chicago Kid and plenty more, including \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxLpHCDhsTQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">DJ Jazzy Jeff\u003c/a>, all playing solo or in different configurations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Did I mention Dave Chappelle is hosting?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s the thing: Tickets for this festival are $385 each. In line with nationwide trends in festival ticket pricing, that’s \u003cem>three hundred and eighty-five dollars\u003c/em> for one two-day, general-admission ticket, and that’s before “convenience” fees, which have \u003ca href=\"https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/6/12/18662992/ticket-fees-ticketmaster-stubhub-ftc-regulation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">soared astronomically\u003c/a> in recent years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13831858']For reference, the last time I bought tickets from Ticketmaster, to see Paul McCartney, my charges included a 23% service fee, a 5% facility charge, and a 3% order processing fee. Our $189.50 tickets suddenly became $250 tickets. (Because my daughter saves ticket stubs, I also willfully opted to pay an extra $10 to send them in the mail at a time when first-class postage costs 58¢).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If equal percentages get charged on top of this Napa festival’s face value of $385, you’re looking at possibly paying $504.35 per ticket to the Blue Note Jazz Festival at Charles Krug Winery, to sip Cabernet Sauvignon while watching Black Star do “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuJaStSL0xM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Redefinition\u003c/a>” among the vineyards, in the upscale, chi-chi confines of Napa Valley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Is this really what we are doing, people?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the answer’s yes—if you’ve been in this festival-pricing dilemma before, either with Outside Lands (\u003ca href=\"https://sfoutsidelands.com/tickets\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">more expensive\u003c/a> than the Blue Note festival) or Coachella (\u003ca href=\"https://www.coachella.com/passes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">much more expensive\u003c/a> than the Blue Note festival)—then you’re probably used to “festival math.” You’ve already added up the acts you want to see, calculated roughly how much it would cost to catch each playing separately, in a club, theater or arena, added up all \u003cem>those\u003c/em> costs, and realized: hey, even at $385, that’s a lot of bang for my buck to see so many of my favorites in one weekend.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Add the cruel reality that \u003ca href=\"https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2018/09/27/spotify-declining-royalty-payouts/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">artists’ album royalties have evaporated\u003c/a> in order to \u003ca href=\"https://www.nme.com/news/music/artists-criticise-spotify-ceo-daniel-eks-investment-in-ai-defence-tech-3107864\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">make Spotify CEO Daniel Ek a multibillionaire who invests in defense technology\u003c/a>, or the \u003ca href=\"https://theconversation.com/denying-black-musicians-their-royalties-has-a-history-emerging-out-of-slavery-144397\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">historic exploitation of Black musicians in America\u003c/a> which substantial festival guarantees can help repair, or the possibility that you’ve just gotten a huge tax return (just kidding, you probably didn’t—thanks, Paul Ryan!), or just that you haven’t taken your loved one out on a nice weekend getaway for the past two years, you start to say to yourself, “You know what? Why not? Let’s do it up.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13903425\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13903425\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/D7A5194.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/D7A5194.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/D7A5194-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/D7A5194-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Erykah Badu performs at Lights On Festival at Concord Pavilion on Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Not everyone is in that position, though, and certainly not your average rap fan, and certainly not the surge of younger people getting into jazz \u003ca href=\"https://lnwy.co/read/new-golden-age-jazz/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">thanks to some of the very acts on this bill\u003c/a>. Unless they were born into privilege or have a trust fund, they definitely wouldn’t throw down for VIP tickets ($850), or VIP parking (an additional $150). Having lived in Sonoma County my whole life, and for decades \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/11625922/bottlerock-finds-it-footing-on-louboutin-heels-in-wine-country\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">covered the region’s wine country-branded lifestyle experiences thinly veiled as music festivals\u003c/a>, I can tell you that weekend hotel and Airbnb rates are excessively high for these weekends, and concessions at festivals up here ain’t exactly $6 ballgame hot dogs, either.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(It’s worthy to note that there \u003cem>is\u003c/em> a free shuttle to this festival, but from an as-yet-determined parking area with an as-yet-determined parking fee, while \u003ca href=\"https://www.valleymusictravel.com/events/coachella/shuttles/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Coachella shuttles are $75–$84\u003c/a>. And technically, public transportation to the festival exists, sort of, in the form of the Napa Valley Wine Train, which changed ownership several years ago after \u003ca href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/sep/13/napa-wine-train-laughing-while-black\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">kicking 10 Black women off the train mid-excursion\u003c/a> for “laughing while Black.”)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_11625922']If I sound like a hater, let me remind you: I hereby place my hand on a stack of Blue Note LPs and vow under oath that this festival has an incredible, historic lineup. But I’ll also remind you that the \u003ca href=\"https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/blue-note-entertainment-group-sony-hall-new-era-8224741/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Blue Note Entertainment Group\u003c/a> is not associated at all with the famed jazz label \u003ca href=\"https://www.bluenote.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Blue Note Records\u003c/a>, and books rock, smooth jazz, funk, fusion and folk acts at its seven Blue Note venues and other clubs and theaters around the world, aided in part by \u003ca href=\"https://www.forbes.com/sites/rebeccalerner/2017/06/15/all-that-jazz-inside-over-35-years-at-the-blue-note-jazz-club/?sh=6ab8b31e2c30\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">sponsorships with corporate giants Intel, Seagram\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/blue-note-entertainment-group-sony-hall-new-era-8224741/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sony\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And look, I accept there’s no going back to the days of events like the \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlem_Cultural_Festival\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Harlem Cultural Festival\u003c/a>, made famous by the Oscar-wining documentary \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13899714/summer-of-soul-celebrates-a-1969-black-cultural-festival-eclipsed-by-woodstock\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Summer of Soul\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, where daily admission was completely free. (Unless you’re talking about an anomaly like the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival, which is \u003ca href=\"https://bohemian.com/banjo-banker-1/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">paid for by a finance-sector billionaire’s estate\u003c/a>). The problems inherent with today’s festival prices are not unique to the Blue Note Jazz Festival. And I firmly believe that music is a source of joy like no other, and musicians who create that joy should be paid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But with festival ticket prices already out of reach for so many, especially in the communities from which jazz and hip-hop grew, and with bot-enabled instant ticket scalping an epidemic not only \u003ca href=\"https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2019/11/discord-scalpers-harry-styles-ticket-resale-verified-fan/602647/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">rampant\u003c/a> but \u003ca href=\"https://www.aei.org/carpe-diem/ticket-scalping-a-market-that-only-exists-because-musicians-under-supply-and-under-price-tickets-to-their-concerts/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">encouraged\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.thestar.com/news/investigations/2018/09/19/we-went-undercover-as-ticket-scalpers-and-ticketmaster-offered-to-help-us-do-business.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">systemically enabled\u003c/a> in 2022, I have to wonder: should joy really be for sale to the highest bidder?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12904247\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"39\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-160x16.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-240x23.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-375x37.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The \u003ca href=\"https://bluenotejazzfestival.com/napa/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Blue Note Jazz Festival\u003c/a> runs July 30 and 31 at Charles Krug Winery in Napa. Tickets go on sale April 26; \u003ca href=\"https://bluenotejazzfestival.com/napa-tickets/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">details here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The first-ever \u003ca href=\"https://bluenotejazzfestival.com/napa/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Blue Note Jazz Festival in Napa\u003c/a> was announced Thursday, and two things happened: my eyes widened at the incredible lineup, and then my brain fell out at the ticket price.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The two-day festival on July 30 and 31 hosts so many all-stars that to list just half is like a first draft for a Jazz and Hip-Hop Hall of Fame. It’s got resident artist Robert Glasper, Maxwell, Erykah Badu, Yasiin Bey & Talib Kweli as Black Star, Thundercat, Anderson .Paak, Flying Lotus, the Wu-Tang Clan’s GZA, Christian Scott, Pharaohe Monch, Ledisi, Terrace Martin, BJ the Chicago Kid and plenty more, including \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxLpHCDhsTQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">DJ Jazzy Jeff\u003c/a>, all playing solo or in different configurations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Did I mention Dave Chappelle is hosting?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s the thing: Tickets for this festival are $385 each. In line with nationwide trends in festival ticket pricing, that’s \u003cem>three hundred and eighty-five dollars\u003c/em> for one two-day, general-admission ticket, and that’s before “convenience” fees, which have \u003ca href=\"https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/6/12/18662992/ticket-fees-ticketmaster-stubhub-ftc-regulation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">soared astronomically\u003c/a> in recent years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>For reference, the last time I bought tickets from Ticketmaster, to see Paul McCartney, my charges included a 23% service fee, a 5% facility charge, and a 3% order processing fee. Our $189.50 tickets suddenly became $250 tickets. (Because my daughter saves ticket stubs, I also willfully opted to pay an extra $10 to send them in the mail at a time when first-class postage costs 58¢).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If equal percentages get charged on top of this Napa festival’s face value of $385, you’re looking at possibly paying $504.35 per ticket to the Blue Note Jazz Festival at Charles Krug Winery, to sip Cabernet Sauvignon while watching Black Star do “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuJaStSL0xM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Redefinition\u003c/a>” among the vineyards, in the upscale, chi-chi confines of Napa Valley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Is this really what we are doing, people?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the answer’s yes—if you’ve been in this festival-pricing dilemma before, either with Outside Lands (\u003ca href=\"https://sfoutsidelands.com/tickets\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">more expensive\u003c/a> than the Blue Note festival) or Coachella (\u003ca href=\"https://www.coachella.com/passes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">much more expensive\u003c/a> than the Blue Note festival)—then you’re probably used to “festival math.” You’ve already added up the acts you want to see, calculated roughly how much it would cost to catch each playing separately, in a club, theater or arena, added up all \u003cem>those\u003c/em> costs, and realized: hey, even at $385, that’s a lot of bang for my buck to see so many of my favorites in one weekend.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Add the cruel reality that \u003ca href=\"https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2018/09/27/spotify-declining-royalty-payouts/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">artists’ album royalties have evaporated\u003c/a> in order to \u003ca href=\"https://www.nme.com/news/music/artists-criticise-spotify-ceo-daniel-eks-investment-in-ai-defence-tech-3107864\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">make Spotify CEO Daniel Ek a multibillionaire who invests in defense technology\u003c/a>, or the \u003ca href=\"https://theconversation.com/denying-black-musicians-their-royalties-has-a-history-emerging-out-of-slavery-144397\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">historic exploitation of Black musicians in America\u003c/a> which substantial festival guarantees can help repair, or the possibility that you’ve just gotten a huge tax return (just kidding, you probably didn’t—thanks, Paul Ryan!), or just that you haven’t taken your loved one out on a nice weekend getaway for the past two years, you start to say to yourself, “You know what? Why not? Let’s do it up.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13903425\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13903425\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/D7A5194.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/D7A5194.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/D7A5194-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/D7A5194-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Erykah Badu performs at Lights On Festival at Concord Pavilion on Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Not everyone is in that position, though, and certainly not your average rap fan, and certainly not the surge of younger people getting into jazz \u003ca href=\"https://lnwy.co/read/new-golden-age-jazz/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">thanks to some of the very acts on this bill\u003c/a>. Unless they were born into privilege or have a trust fund, they definitely wouldn’t throw down for VIP tickets ($850), or VIP parking (an additional $150). Having lived in Sonoma County my whole life, and for decades \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/11625922/bottlerock-finds-it-footing-on-louboutin-heels-in-wine-country\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">covered the region’s wine country-branded lifestyle experiences thinly veiled as music festivals\u003c/a>, I can tell you that weekend hotel and Airbnb rates are excessively high for these weekends, and concessions at festivals up here ain’t exactly $6 ballgame hot dogs, either.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(It’s worthy to note that there \u003cem>is\u003c/em> a free shuttle to this festival, but from an as-yet-determined parking area with an as-yet-determined parking fee, while \u003ca href=\"https://www.valleymusictravel.com/events/coachella/shuttles/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Coachella shuttles are $75–$84\u003c/a>. And technically, public transportation to the festival exists, sort of, in the form of the Napa Valley Wine Train, which changed ownership several years ago after \u003ca href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/sep/13/napa-wine-train-laughing-while-black\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">kicking 10 Black women off the train mid-excursion\u003c/a> for “laughing while Black.”)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>If I sound like a hater, let me remind you: I hereby place my hand on a stack of Blue Note LPs and vow under oath that this festival has an incredible, historic lineup. But I’ll also remind you that the \u003ca href=\"https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/blue-note-entertainment-group-sony-hall-new-era-8224741/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Blue Note Entertainment Group\u003c/a> is not associated at all with the famed jazz label \u003ca href=\"https://www.bluenote.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Blue Note Records\u003c/a>, and books rock, smooth jazz, funk, fusion and folk acts at its seven Blue Note venues and other clubs and theaters around the world, aided in part by \u003ca href=\"https://www.forbes.com/sites/rebeccalerner/2017/06/15/all-that-jazz-inside-over-35-years-at-the-blue-note-jazz-club/?sh=6ab8b31e2c30\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">sponsorships with corporate giants Intel, Seagram\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/blue-note-entertainment-group-sony-hall-new-era-8224741/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sony\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And look, I accept there’s no going back to the days of events like the \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlem_Cultural_Festival\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Harlem Cultural Festival\u003c/a>, made famous by the Oscar-wining documentary \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13899714/summer-of-soul-celebrates-a-1969-black-cultural-festival-eclipsed-by-woodstock\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Summer of Soul\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, where daily admission was completely free. (Unless you’re talking about an anomaly like the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival, which is \u003ca href=\"https://bohemian.com/banjo-banker-1/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">paid for by a finance-sector billionaire’s estate\u003c/a>). The problems inherent with today’s festival prices are not unique to the Blue Note Jazz Festival. And I firmly believe that music is a source of joy like no other, and musicians who create that joy should be paid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But with festival ticket prices already out of reach for so many, especially in the communities from which jazz and hip-hop grew, and with bot-enabled instant ticket scalping an epidemic not only \u003ca href=\"https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2019/11/discord-scalpers-harry-styles-ticket-resale-verified-fan/602647/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">rampant\u003c/a> but \u003ca href=\"https://www.aei.org/carpe-diem/ticket-scalping-a-market-that-only-exists-because-musicians-under-supply-and-under-price-tickets-to-their-concerts/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">encouraged\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.thestar.com/news/investigations/2018/09/19/we-went-undercover-as-ticket-scalpers-and-ticketmaster-offered-to-help-us-do-business.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">systemically enabled\u003c/a> in 2022, I have to wonder: should joy really be for sale to the highest bidder?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12904247\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"39\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-160x16.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-240x23.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-375x37.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The \u003ca href=\"https://bluenotejazzfestival.com/napa/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Blue Note Jazz Festival\u003c/a> runs July 30 and 31 at Charles Krug Winery in Napa. Tickets go on sale April 26; \u003ca href=\"https://bluenotejazzfestival.com/napa-tickets/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">details here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"headTitle": "Community Love: The Fuel For Fighting the Machine | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">E\u003c/span>arlier this week, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/mx.san_chez/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Maurice André San-Chez\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/craft_ed._x/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Moses Omolade\u003c/a>, an educator and school administrator who in February held a hunger strike \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11904278/teachers-and-families-rally-ahead-of-upcoming-vote-on-oakland-school-closures\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">to protest Oakland Unified School District’s proposed school closures\u003c/a> in predominantly Black and brown neighborhoods, returned to the location of their protest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-13833985\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/OGPenn.Cap_-160x184.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"160\" height=\"184\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/OGPenn.Cap_-160x184.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/OGPenn.Cap_.jpg 180w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 160px) 100vw, 160px\">They cleaned the site at Westlake Middle School, held a restorative justice circle and planted two avocado trees. They chose the non-messy fruit that yields healthy fat after the duo asked themselves, “What’s a fruit that we both enjoy that can be really beneficial to the community?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Omolade and San-Chez’s hunger strike lasted \u003ca style=\"color: #41a62a\" href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CaOMXP9Fcoe/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">20 days\u003c/a>, and left San-Chez hospitalized for a short period and Omolade requiring medical treatment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We initially went out on a hunger strike, and there was a deep, deep, \u003cem>deep\u003c/em> commitment to death,” Omolade tells me during a phone call. “That shit was, like, really wild, to look at one another in the face—and to look at ourselves individually—and be like: ‘I’m willing to die.'”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that perspective shifted over time, and for that he’s grateful.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He credits his changed perspective to community. The students and elders who visited them during the strike spoke words that resonated. “People were coming by,” Omolade says, “being like, ‘Hold up, what ya’ll are doing here is actually important for the longevity of this fight. So, if you can find it within yourselves, take a step back from a commitment to death—because these folks will allow you to die.'”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13910134\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13910134\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_3159-800x600.jpeg\" alt=\"André San-Chez, Moses Omolade and community members pose for a photo after planting avocado trees in front of West Lake Middle school in Oakland.\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_3159-800x600.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_3159-1020x765.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_3159-160x120.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_3159-768x576.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_3159-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_3159-2048x1536.jpeg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_3159-1920x1440.jpeg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">André San-Chez, Moses Omolade and community members pose for a photo after planting avocado trees in front of West Lake Middle school in Oakland. \u003ccite>(Via Moses Omolade.)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Along with San-Chez, Omolade is now recharging and strategizing. The fight is much larger, he says, than the closure of a few schools. It’s about systems of racism, structural oppression, and the privatization of schools and public land.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They’re currently gathering signatures to recall the school board seats of District 1 and District 7, held respectively by Benjamin “Sam” Davis and Clifford Thompson. And on \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CaTM30GJJqY/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Saturday, March 5\u003c/a>, they’ll participate in a protest and march against the proposed East Oakland school closures—gathering at 1390 66th Ave. (the site of Coliseum Prep Academy) at 10am, marching at 11am, and arriving at International Community School with music and performances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So much for rest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As of now, the school board \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2022/02/09/oakland-school-board-votes-to-close-seven-schools-over-the-next-two-years/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">plans to close fewer schools\u003c/a> than initially suggested, but still closing seven schools. Despite that, I’m intrigued by San-chez and Omolade’s efforts. In effect, they were laying down in front of the machine and willing to die for their cause.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It resonated with me. Finding the fuel to keep fighting is something I had been struggling with for a while.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13910127\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13910127\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7498-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"Artist, educator and friend Venus Morris stands by Lake Merritt at sunset while wearing a jacket with the logo of the Black Panther Party, made by MADOW FUTUR. \" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7498-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7498-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7498-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7498-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7498-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7498-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7498-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Artist, educator and friend Venus Morris stands by Lake Merritt at sunset while wearing a jacket with the logo of the Black Panther Party, made by MADOW FUTUR. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">A\u003c/span>s February flew by, the Oakland school closures, war abroad, COVID’s sustained impact and a few interpersonal issues had been weighing on me.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Somehow, I still took a bunch of photos, from the first day of Black History Month to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13909853/black-joy-parade-2022-oakland-photos\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Black Joy Parade\u003c/a> on its final Sunday. Fly shots. Birthday smiles and nature blossoming. Memories etched in the digital archives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there’s one image from February that sticks with me. I have no photo of it, but it paints a picture of my recent mind state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At about 2pm on Feb. 5, I sat at the light on West Grand Avenue and Northgate Avenue in Oakland. A middle-aged African American man sporting a bomber jacket with “Security” printed across the back and the word “fuck” written above it in Sharpie started to cross the street.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The man halted after a few steps into the crosswalk and turned to square up with a white Tesla that, in its attempt to make a right turn, came too close for comfort.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I watched as the driver, an older white woman, threw her arms up and urged the man to move across the street. The man stood his ground with words I couldn’t hear, but with a posture I definitely recognized: he was daring the driver to do something. The car swerved far enough around him so as to not hit him, but close enough for the man to pull off a textbook right-legged roundhouse kick to the driver-side door as the car sped past.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The mental snapshot has been inside my dome ever since.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>He almost get run over by a machine 20 times his size, so he kicks it in protest. Only to see the machine turn and keep rollin’, while he’s left with an injured foot.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Add race and class to that simple synopsis, and it’s a metaphorical breakdown of what I see damn near everyday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13910128\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13910128\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7455-800x373.jpg\" alt=\"A mural by the Bay Area Mural Program located on 22nd Street, between Broadway and Valley Street in Oakland. \" width=\"800\" height=\"373\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7455-800x373.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7455-1020x476.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7455-160x75.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7455-768x358.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7455-1536x716.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7455-2048x955.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7455-1920x895.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A mural by the Bay Area Mural Program located on 22nd Street, between Broadway and Valley Street, in Oakland. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The intersection where the punt, pass and kick-a-Tesla competition went down is just around the corner from one of the larger unsheltered encampments in Oakland. For a solid few blocks, tents are strewn down Dr. Martin Luther King Way; a lot of African American folks over there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>How many? Well, we don’t know. But we do know that in 2019 about three out four of the 4,000 unsheltered people in Oakland were Black, according to the \u003ca href=\"https://cao-94612.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/2019-Oakland-Point-In-Time-Count-2-page-infographic.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Point in Time Count data from that year\u003c/a>. The first survey of unhoused individuals \u003ca href=\"https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/02/23/how-bad-is-it-for-first-time-in-3-years-bay-area-counts-homeless-residents/\">since the pandemic started\u003c/a> just got underway last month, so we’ll see the current numbers soon enough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even without the data, the image is enough to make you want to punch one of the new luxury high-rises casting shadows over people living on the street.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Beyond the issue of finding basic housing for folks, there’s the problem of increased homicides in a number of major cities across the nation, including Oakland. Last week it was announced that \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2022/02/23/1082564685/guns-leading-cause-of-premature-deaths\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">firearms\u003c/a> are now the leading cause of premature death in America, and that \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2022/02/23/1082564685/guns-leading-cause-of-premature-deaths\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">younger Black males are the group most affected by homicide\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13910129\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13910129\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7510-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"A mural of the late Shock G (aka Humpty Hump) located at Frank Ogawa Plaza, painted by Kufue. \" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7510-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7510-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7510-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7510-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7510-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7510-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7510-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A mural of the late Shock G (a.k.a. Humpty Hump) located at Frank Ogawa Plaza, painted by Kufue. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Add to that a few interpersonal issues of loneliness and detachment that often come during the winter months, plus news of international war and the potential for a third year of a pandemic, and you can see why being an arts writer and covering the latest rapper with a hot mixtape isn’t always inspiring work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I quit my job like three times since Jan. 1. I’m tired of kicking the machine to keep it from running us over. It always swerves and drives away. \u003cem>The work ain’t working.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So I quit. Well, mentally. I’m not officially part of \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2021/06/24/1007914455/as-the-pandemic-recedes-millions-of-workers-are-saying-i-quit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the great resignation\u003c/a>, but similar circumstances. Call it burnout, fatigue, soul-searching or whatever you want, but man, I struggled just sending emails. Gravity got really heavy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13910131\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13910131\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/49A488F7-44C2-4DA1-A491-A9AD2EB4768F-800x537.jpg\" alt=\"Filmmaker, poet and friend Nijla Mu'min poses for a photo in front of a mural that reads Oakland Dreams, by Trust Your Struggle. \" width=\"800\" height=\"537\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/49A488F7-44C2-4DA1-A491-A9AD2EB4768F-800x537.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/49A488F7-44C2-4DA1-A491-A9AD2EB4768F-1020x685.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/49A488F7-44C2-4DA1-A491-A9AD2EB4768F-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/49A488F7-44C2-4DA1-A491-A9AD2EB4768F-768x516.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/49A488F7-44C2-4DA1-A491-A9AD2EB4768F.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Filmmaker, poet and friend Nijla Mu’min poses for a photo in front of a mural that reads Oakland Dreams, by Trust Your Struggle. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">T\u003c/span>rying to kickstart my ambition the day of the great electric car-kick-and-connection, I was on assignment: taking over KQED Arts’ Instagram stories to give a glimpse into “a day in the life” of what it’s like for me running around town. I figured some inspiration might find me.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I posted images of murals and matched them with music from local artists. A shared a quick meeting with a movie maker named \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CZuxRowBvBh/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nijla Mu’min\u003c/a>, who shared her message about her forthcoming film named after Mosswood. A few shots taken by Lake Merritt at sunset.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And then it was time for the evening’s main event: a retirement celebration for the former head of East Oakland Youth Development Center, Ms. Regina Jackson. I stood in the back of the room, underdressed and hiding behind my camera, as the decadent Rotunda building in Oakland’s Frank Ogawa Plaza swelled with elected officials and community members praising Ms. Regina’s 27 years of fighting against the machine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13910137\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13910137\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/JacksonRetirement_15266-800x532.jpeg\" alt=\"Ms. Regina Jackson receives a standing ovation during her retirement party. \" width=\"800\" height=\"532\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/JacksonRetirement_15266-800x532.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/JacksonRetirement_15266-1020x678.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/JacksonRetirement_15266-160x106.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/JacksonRetirement_15266-768x511.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/JacksonRetirement_15266.jpeg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ms. Regina Jackson receives a standing ovation during her retirement party. \u003ccite>(Via EOYDC)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>I’ve seen Ms. Regina’s work in Deep East Oakland and in the Far East. In 2014, I served as chaperone on a trip where she took a group of young African American men to China. I didn’t get a chance to give her a hug and some appreciation at her retirement celebration, but if I had, I couldn’t have thanked her enough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I posted a beautiful dance performance by educator and artist \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/queen_iminah/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Queen Imïnah\u003c/a>, and I headed home. There were a bunch of photos left untaken that day, more than just the assault of the battery-charged car.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While en route to Ms. Regina’s celebration, for example, I passed something else that lingered on my mind all month: Westlake Middle School, where Omolade and San-chez held their hunger strike. I saw their tents, and didn’t stop. But I followed their story all month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When I finally I talked to Omolade earlier this week, the first thing I did was apologize for not covering their story earlier. At the end of our talk, I told him about the interaction at the intersection—the man kicking the Tesla. Omolade knew about tenacity. I asked him: how do you \u003cem>keep\u003c/em> fighting the system? I figured that someone who was willing to die for what they believe in might have some guidance for a struggling writer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His answer?\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13910135\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13910135\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/Screen-Shot-2022-03-04-at-10.01.31-AM-800x1004.png\" alt=\"Maurice André San-Chez and Moses Omolade receive medical attention from community members during their hunger strike. \" width=\"800\" height=\"1004\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/Screen-Shot-2022-03-04-at-10.01.31-AM-800x1004.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/Screen-Shot-2022-03-04-at-10.01.31-AM-160x201.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/Screen-Shot-2022-03-04-at-10.01.31-AM-768x964.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/Screen-Shot-2022-03-04-at-10.01.31-AM.png 986w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Maurice André San-Chez and Moses Omolade receive medical attention from community members during their hunger strike. \u003ccite>(Via Moses Omolade )\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Love,” said Omolade. “Love was centered, big time. The community really centered love—and it is currently centered. It’s continuously the fire that we use.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You know what might be wiser than trying to kick against a machine? Investing in organizing, strategizing and community—specifically community love. Note to self.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">E\u003c/span>arlier this week, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/mx.san_chez/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Maurice André San-Chez\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/craft_ed._x/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Moses Omolade\u003c/a>, an educator and school administrator who in February held a hunger strike \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11904278/teachers-and-families-rally-ahead-of-upcoming-vote-on-oakland-school-closures\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">to protest Oakland Unified School District’s proposed school closures\u003c/a> in predominantly Black and brown neighborhoods, returned to the location of their protest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-13833985\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/OGPenn.Cap_-160x184.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"160\" height=\"184\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/OGPenn.Cap_-160x184.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/OGPenn.Cap_.jpg 180w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 160px) 100vw, 160px\">They cleaned the site at Westlake Middle School, held a restorative justice circle and planted two avocado trees. They chose the non-messy fruit that yields healthy fat after the duo asked themselves, “What’s a fruit that we both enjoy that can be really beneficial to the community?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Omolade and San-Chez’s hunger strike lasted \u003ca style=\"color: #41a62a\" href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CaOMXP9Fcoe/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">20 days\u003c/a>, and left San-Chez hospitalized for a short period and Omolade requiring medical treatment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We initially went out on a hunger strike, and there was a deep, deep, \u003cem>deep\u003c/em> commitment to death,” Omolade tells me during a phone call. “That shit was, like, really wild, to look at one another in the face—and to look at ourselves individually—and be like: ‘I’m willing to die.'”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that perspective shifted over time, and for that he’s grateful.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He credits his changed perspective to community. The students and elders who visited them during the strike spoke words that resonated. “People were coming by,” Omolade says, “being like, ‘Hold up, what ya’ll are doing here is actually important for the longevity of this fight. So, if you can find it within yourselves, take a step back from a commitment to death—because these folks will allow you to die.'”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13910134\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13910134\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_3159-800x600.jpeg\" alt=\"André San-Chez, Moses Omolade and community members pose for a photo after planting avocado trees in front of West Lake Middle school in Oakland.\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_3159-800x600.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_3159-1020x765.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_3159-160x120.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_3159-768x576.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_3159-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_3159-2048x1536.jpeg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_3159-1920x1440.jpeg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">André San-Chez, Moses Omolade and community members pose for a photo after planting avocado trees in front of West Lake Middle school in Oakland. \u003ccite>(Via Moses Omolade.)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Along with San-Chez, Omolade is now recharging and strategizing. The fight is much larger, he says, than the closure of a few schools. It’s about systems of racism, structural oppression, and the privatization of schools and public land.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They’re currently gathering signatures to recall the school board seats of District 1 and District 7, held respectively by Benjamin “Sam” Davis and Clifford Thompson. And on \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CaTM30GJJqY/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Saturday, March 5\u003c/a>, they’ll participate in a protest and march against the proposed East Oakland school closures—gathering at 1390 66th Ave. (the site of Coliseum Prep Academy) at 10am, marching at 11am, and arriving at International Community School with music and performances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So much for rest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As of now, the school board \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2022/02/09/oakland-school-board-votes-to-close-seven-schools-over-the-next-two-years/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">plans to close fewer schools\u003c/a> than initially suggested, but still closing seven schools. Despite that, I’m intrigued by San-chez and Omolade’s efforts. In effect, they were laying down in front of the machine and willing to die for their cause.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It resonated with me. Finding the fuel to keep fighting is something I had been struggling with for a while.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13910127\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13910127\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7498-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"Artist, educator and friend Venus Morris stands by Lake Merritt at sunset while wearing a jacket with the logo of the Black Panther Party, made by MADOW FUTUR. \" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7498-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7498-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7498-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7498-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7498-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7498-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7498-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Artist, educator and friend Venus Morris stands by Lake Merritt at sunset while wearing a jacket with the logo of the Black Panther Party, made by MADOW FUTUR. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">A\u003c/span>s February flew by, the Oakland school closures, war abroad, COVID’s sustained impact and a few interpersonal issues had been weighing on me.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Somehow, I still took a bunch of photos, from the first day of Black History Month to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13909853/black-joy-parade-2022-oakland-photos\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Black Joy Parade\u003c/a> on its final Sunday. Fly shots. Birthday smiles and nature blossoming. Memories etched in the digital archives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there’s one image from February that sticks with me. I have no photo of it, but it paints a picture of my recent mind state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At about 2pm on Feb. 5, I sat at the light on West Grand Avenue and Northgate Avenue in Oakland. A middle-aged African American man sporting a bomber jacket with “Security” printed across the back and the word “fuck” written above it in Sharpie started to cross the street.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The man halted after a few steps into the crosswalk and turned to square up with a white Tesla that, in its attempt to make a right turn, came too close for comfort.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I watched as the driver, an older white woman, threw her arms up and urged the man to move across the street. The man stood his ground with words I couldn’t hear, but with a posture I definitely recognized: he was daring the driver to do something. The car swerved far enough around him so as to not hit him, but close enough for the man to pull off a textbook right-legged roundhouse kick to the driver-side door as the car sped past.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The mental snapshot has been inside my dome ever since.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>He almost get run over by a machine 20 times his size, so he kicks it in protest. Only to see the machine turn and keep rollin’, while he’s left with an injured foot.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Add race and class to that simple synopsis, and it’s a metaphorical breakdown of what I see damn near everyday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13910128\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13910128\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7455-800x373.jpg\" alt=\"A mural by the Bay Area Mural Program located on 22nd Street, between Broadway and Valley Street in Oakland. \" width=\"800\" height=\"373\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7455-800x373.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7455-1020x476.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7455-160x75.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7455-768x358.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7455-1536x716.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7455-2048x955.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7455-1920x895.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A mural by the Bay Area Mural Program located on 22nd Street, between Broadway and Valley Street, in Oakland. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The intersection where the punt, pass and kick-a-Tesla competition went down is just around the corner from one of the larger unsheltered encampments in Oakland. For a solid few blocks, tents are strewn down Dr. Martin Luther King Way; a lot of African American folks over there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>How many? Well, we don’t know. But we do know that in 2019 about three out four of the 4,000 unsheltered people in Oakland were Black, according to the \u003ca href=\"https://cao-94612.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/2019-Oakland-Point-In-Time-Count-2-page-infographic.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Point in Time Count data from that year\u003c/a>. The first survey of unhoused individuals \u003ca href=\"https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/02/23/how-bad-is-it-for-first-time-in-3-years-bay-area-counts-homeless-residents/\">since the pandemic started\u003c/a> just got underway last month, so we’ll see the current numbers soon enough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even without the data, the image is enough to make you want to punch one of the new luxury high-rises casting shadows over people living on the street.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Beyond the issue of finding basic housing for folks, there’s the problem of increased homicides in a number of major cities across the nation, including Oakland. Last week it was announced that \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2022/02/23/1082564685/guns-leading-cause-of-premature-deaths\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">firearms\u003c/a> are now the leading cause of premature death in America, and that \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2022/02/23/1082564685/guns-leading-cause-of-premature-deaths\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">younger Black males are the group most affected by homicide\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13910129\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13910129\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7510-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"A mural of the late Shock G (aka Humpty Hump) located at Frank Ogawa Plaza, painted by Kufue. \" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7510-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7510-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7510-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7510-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7510-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7510-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7510-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A mural of the late Shock G (a.k.a. Humpty Hump) located at Frank Ogawa Plaza, painted by Kufue. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Add to that a few interpersonal issues of loneliness and detachment that often come during the winter months, plus news of international war and the potential for a third year of a pandemic, and you can see why being an arts writer and covering the latest rapper with a hot mixtape isn’t always inspiring work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I quit my job like three times since Jan. 1. I’m tired of kicking the machine to keep it from running us over. It always swerves and drives away. \u003cem>The work ain’t working.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So I quit. Well, mentally. I’m not officially part of \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2021/06/24/1007914455/as-the-pandemic-recedes-millions-of-workers-are-saying-i-quit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the great resignation\u003c/a>, but similar circumstances. Call it burnout, fatigue, soul-searching or whatever you want, but man, I struggled just sending emails. Gravity got really heavy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13910131\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13910131\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/49A488F7-44C2-4DA1-A491-A9AD2EB4768F-800x537.jpg\" alt=\"Filmmaker, poet and friend Nijla Mu'min poses for a photo in front of a mural that reads Oakland Dreams, by Trust Your Struggle. \" width=\"800\" height=\"537\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/49A488F7-44C2-4DA1-A491-A9AD2EB4768F-800x537.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/49A488F7-44C2-4DA1-A491-A9AD2EB4768F-1020x685.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/49A488F7-44C2-4DA1-A491-A9AD2EB4768F-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/49A488F7-44C2-4DA1-A491-A9AD2EB4768F-768x516.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/49A488F7-44C2-4DA1-A491-A9AD2EB4768F.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Filmmaker, poet and friend Nijla Mu’min poses for a photo in front of a mural that reads Oakland Dreams, by Trust Your Struggle. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">T\u003c/span>rying to kickstart my ambition the day of the great electric car-kick-and-connection, I was on assignment: taking over KQED Arts’ Instagram stories to give a glimpse into “a day in the life” of what it’s like for me running around town. I figured some inspiration might find me.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I posted images of murals and matched them with music from local artists. A shared a quick meeting with a movie maker named \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CZuxRowBvBh/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nijla Mu’min\u003c/a>, who shared her message about her forthcoming film named after Mosswood. A few shots taken by Lake Merritt at sunset.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And then it was time for the evening’s main event: a retirement celebration for the former head of East Oakland Youth Development Center, Ms. Regina Jackson. I stood in the back of the room, underdressed and hiding behind my camera, as the decadent Rotunda building in Oakland’s Frank Ogawa Plaza swelled with elected officials and community members praising Ms. Regina’s 27 years of fighting against the machine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13910137\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13910137\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/JacksonRetirement_15266-800x532.jpeg\" alt=\"Ms. Regina Jackson receives a standing ovation during her retirement party. \" width=\"800\" height=\"532\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/JacksonRetirement_15266-800x532.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/JacksonRetirement_15266-1020x678.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/JacksonRetirement_15266-160x106.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/JacksonRetirement_15266-768x511.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/JacksonRetirement_15266.jpeg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ms. Regina Jackson receives a standing ovation during her retirement party. \u003ccite>(Via EOYDC)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>I’ve seen Ms. Regina’s work in Deep East Oakland and in the Far East. In 2014, I served as chaperone on a trip where she took a group of young African American men to China. I didn’t get a chance to give her a hug and some appreciation at her retirement celebration, but if I had, I couldn’t have thanked her enough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I posted a beautiful dance performance by educator and artist \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/queen_iminah/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Queen Imïnah\u003c/a>, and I headed home. There were a bunch of photos left untaken that day, more than just the assault of the battery-charged car.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While en route to Ms. Regina’s celebration, for example, I passed something else that lingered on my mind all month: Westlake Middle School, where Omolade and San-chez held their hunger strike. I saw their tents, and didn’t stop. But I followed their story all month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When I finally I talked to Omolade earlier this week, the first thing I did was apologize for not covering their story earlier. At the end of our talk, I told him about the interaction at the intersection—the man kicking the Tesla. Omolade knew about tenacity. I asked him: how do you \u003cem>keep\u003c/em> fighting the system? I figured that someone who was willing to die for what they believe in might have some guidance for a struggling writer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His answer?\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13910135\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13910135\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/Screen-Shot-2022-03-04-at-10.01.31-AM-800x1004.png\" alt=\"Maurice André San-Chez and Moses Omolade receive medical attention from community members during their hunger strike. \" width=\"800\" height=\"1004\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/Screen-Shot-2022-03-04-at-10.01.31-AM-800x1004.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/Screen-Shot-2022-03-04-at-10.01.31-AM-160x201.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/Screen-Shot-2022-03-04-at-10.01.31-AM-768x964.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/Screen-Shot-2022-03-04-at-10.01.31-AM.png 986w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Maurice André San-Chez and Moses Omolade receive medical attention from community members during their hunger strike. \u003ccite>(Via Moses Omolade )\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Love,” said Omolade. “Love was centered, big time. The community really centered love—and it is currently centered. It’s continuously the fire that we use.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You know what might be wiser than trying to kick against a machine? Investing in organizing, strategizing and community—specifically community love. Note to self.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "For Many Former Soviet Immigrants, Russia’s War on Ukraine is Horrific",
"headTitle": "For Many Former Soviet Immigrants, Russia’s War on Ukraine is Horrific | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>[dropcap]L[/dropcap]ike many immigrants from the former Soviet Union, I’ve been glued to my screen in horror since last week, unable to look away from the real-time updates of Russian forces attacking Ukraine. Videos of women, children and elderly people \u003ca href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/26/fear-darkness-and-newborn-babies-inside-ukraine-underground-shelters\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">hiding in bomb shelters\u003c/a> and of \u003ca href=\"https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60567162\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">explosions\u003c/a> going off outside of people’s windows have sent our community into distress.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Russia’s aggression towards Ukraine feels particularly vile because it’s so contrary to the kinship many people from both nations feel. I was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, and as a child I immigrated with my family to the Bay Area in the late ’90s, joining a multi-ethnic wave of post-Soviet immigrants and refugees. In Russian-speaking pockets across the United States, Russians, Ukrainians, Armenians, Georgians, Belarusians, Kazakhs and many other ethnic groups broke bread, raised children and helped each other acclimate to our new country. I grew up with a Ukrainian stepfather from Odesa, and thanks to him, I have U.S. citizenship and an American-born younger sister who is half Russian and half Ukrainian.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That experience is not uncommon. When I went to the anti-war protests outside of San Francisco City Hall last Thursday and Sunday, I heard speeches in Ukrainian, Russian and English. Russian-speaking Ukrainians were prominent among the turnout, but I saw protest signs that indicated that Russian, Latvian, Azerbaijani and Taiwanese people were also there in solidarity. As Russia and NATO continued to face off in a geopolitical chess game of superpowers, everyday people showed up to hold each other in mutual grief and support as many awaited updates from family members hiding from bombs in Ukraine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re terrified,” said Bay Area author \u003ca href=\"https://www.masharumer.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Masha Rumer\u003c/a> when I met up with her at the protest on Feb. 24. Born in Russia to a Jewish family with roots in Ukraine, Rumer came to the U.S. as a refugee in the early ’90s. “I know some family members right now in Kyiv cannot leave because the air space is closed, and they cannot get enough fuel to get out of the country and they’re afraid for their safety and the safety of their child,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rumer’s book \u003cem>Parenting With An Accent\u003c/em> builds bridges among immigrants of different cultures, and that’s what she hoped to see at the rally. “Many of us left the former Soviet Union because we don’t agree with the policies, and yet we’re still finding it reverberates all over the world all over again,” she said. “It’s a very complicated relationship. Many of us speak the Russian language, which was forced upon people from across the former Soviet Republics. But at the same time, it’s the language we grew up with, and now we’re finding ourselves in a difficult time where we’re ashamed of what the government is doing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13909940\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13909940\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4304-800x754.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"754\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4304-800x754.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4304-1020x962.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4304-160x151.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4304-768x724.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4304-1536x1448.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4304.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A protester holds a sign that says “Putin occupant” in San Francisco on Feb. 24. \u003ccite>(Nastia Voynovskaya)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Anastasiya Mutungi, manager of San Francisco Russian-language bookstore \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13872976/san-franciscos-49-year-old-russian-bookstore-opens-a-progressive-new-chapter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Globus\u003c/a>, expressed similar feelings when I spoke with her on the phone late last week. She immigrated to the U.S. from Belarus in 2009 and said she feels “accountable and responsible” that the government of her home country is supporting the aggression. She changed Globus’ small, Richmond district window display to feature books by Ukrainian authors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We all feel emotional here because there’s very little we can do about anything,” she said. “Yesterday we had a couple people who immigrated from Ukraine recently and they cried over the conversation. We can offer comfort and emotional support.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13909948\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13909948\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4344-800x885.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"885\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4344-800x885.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4344-1020x1128.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4344-160x177.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4344-768x849.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4344-1389x1536.jpg 1389w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4344-1852x2048.jpg 1852w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4344.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The window display of the Russian-language shop Globus Books in San Francisco features Ukrainian authors. \u003ccite>(Anastasiya Mutungi)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As much as the anti-war effort is bringing immigrants from the former Soviet Union together, it’s also prompting us to reflect on and respect our differences. Odesa-born Berkeleyside journalist Ally Markovich recently told \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11906380/reacting-to-the-news-in-ukraine\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">KQED’s \u003cem>The Bay\u003c/em>\u003c/a> that when she was growing up in Ohio, she’d tell people she was Russian to save herself the trouble of explaining her Russian-speaking Ukrainian identity. But current events have reminded her of the importance of taking pride in her culture. [aside postid='news_11906380']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think for me it’s particularly painful because I feel in touch with how much effort has gone into developing a national identity in Ukraine, how much work and love was put into defining what Ukrainian people [are], only to have that concept be threatened by Vladimir Putin and Russia,” she said, referring to recent efforts to promote the Ukrainian language, which the Russian Empire and, later, the Soviet Union \u003ca href=\"https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/putin-is-the-only-winner-of-ukraines-language-wars/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">treated as secondary to Russian\u003c/a> throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think of being Ukrainian as being closely intertwined with an identity of resistance,” Markovich said. “For a long time, a Ukrainian identity has been a deliberate choice. It’s something that people have said to distinguish themselves from the ruling class.” [aside postid='arts_13909675']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jess Makhlin, a.k.a. Mishka, a San Francisco-born DJ whose parents are immigrants from Russia and Ukraine, is thinking of these themes of identity as she programs her \u003ca href=\"https://www.nts.live/shows/mishka\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NTS Radio show\u003c/a> focused on Russian and Eastern European music. On Monday, she re-aired an episode with \u003ca href=\"https://www.nts.live/shows/mishka/episodes/mishka-27th-may-2019\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ukrainian singer Ivan Dorn\u003c/a> and published a list of places to donate \u003ca href=\"https://docs.google.com/document/d/15eTsCgyH8T3OJSka3UFnw5-XgMu40E74d6Sqg4IxRHw/mobilebasic\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">humanitarian aid\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think in the time being I’m going to focus my programming on highlighting Ukrainian artists and seeing how things unfold,” she said, adding that she has several friends who escaped from Kyiv to Poland over the weekend.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Most people I know in Russia in the artist community don’t want this war and want peace,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13909941\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13909941\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4305-1-800x780.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"780\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4305-1-800x780.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4305-1-1020x994.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4305-1-160x156.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4305-1-768x748.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4305-1-1536x1497.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4305-1.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Protesters hold a sign that reads “Russians against war” in San Francisco on Feb. 24. \u003ccite>(Nastia Voynovskaya)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>[dropcap]O[/dropcap]ver \u003ca href=\"https://www.euronews.com/2022/03/01/more-than-6-000-arrests-in-russia-during-protests-over-ukraine-war-says-human-rights-group\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">6,400 people in Russia\u003c/a>—where the \u003ca href=\"https://www.reuters.com/breakingviews/navalnys-supporters-call-civil-disobedience-against-ukraine-war-2022-02-28/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">main opposition leader is currently imprisoned\u003c/a>, and where people can’t legally protest without permission from authorities—have been arrested for taking to the streets to say “nyet voyne,” or “no to war” since Feb. 24. A friend in Moscow texted me that she ran away while police dragged protesters into an AvtoZak, or prison transport bus. “That’s how it usually is, and that’s the reason more people don’t come out in the streets,” she wrote in Russian.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ordinary Russians are risking their freedom to oppose senseless bloodshed, and are now bearing the brunt of economic sanctions that have already done significant damage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Putin justified the invasion by claiming that Russian speakers in Ukraine are oppressed, but Russian-speaking Ukrainians are \u003ca href=\"https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/putin-is-the-only-winner-of-ukraines-language-wars/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">challenging that narrative\u003c/a>. “My family has never asked to be rescued by Russia,” wrote Russian American San Francisco journalist Sasha Vasilyuk, who has family in Eastern Ukraine, in an \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/26/opinion/ukraine-russia-invasion-family.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">opinion piece for \u003ci>The New York Times\u003c/i>\u003c/a>. “For eight years this conflict has done nothing for my family except tear it apart. This is just the latest ugly chapter.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote citation='Masha Rumer, author' size='large']‘Many of us left the former Soviet Union because we don’t agree with the policies, and yet we’re still finding it reverberates all over the world all over again.’[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Putin also justified the war as an effort to “denazify” Ukraine. While Ukraine’s \u003ca href=\"//www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/1/who-are-the-azov-regiment\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Azov Regiment\u003c/a>, a neo-Nazi militia that has been accepted into Ukraine’s armed forces, should be denounced like any other white supremacist movement, Putin’s reasoning for an invasion is laughable when \u003ca href=\"//hir.harvard.edu/white-nationalism-in-the-united-states-and-russia-transnational-ties-domestic-impact/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">his brand of far-right, Christian authoritarianism\u003c/a> has been heralded by David Duke and Richard Spencer as a beacon of white power. (Not to mention, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is a Jewish descendent of Holocaust survivors.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>White people around the world, including former Soviet people, have a responsibility to counteract the horrors of racism and antisemitism. Ukraine certainly has problems with both. African students have reported \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/01/world/europe/ukraine-refugee-discrimination.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">abuses by Ukrainian authorities\u003c/a> at border crossings. (Here’s a list of ways to \u003ca href=\"https://linktr.ee/ksvarnon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">help African and Asian people leaving Ukraine\u003c/a>.) But Russia is also a \u003ca href=\"https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53055857\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">deeply racist and antisemitic country\u003c/a> that needs to clean up its own house instead of invading someone else’s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This war isn’t about anyone’s liberation or any other noble cause. It’s about global superpowers vying for greater influence, and it’s everyday working people who will ultimately pay the price.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "First the pandemic kept us apart—now my immigrant community is separated from friends and family by war.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__dropcapShortcode__dropcap\">L\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>ike many immigrants from the former Soviet Union, I’ve been glued to my screen in horror since last week, unable to look away from the real-time updates of Russian forces attacking Ukraine. Videos of women, children and elderly people \u003ca href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/26/fear-darkness-and-newborn-babies-inside-ukraine-underground-shelters\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">hiding in bomb shelters\u003c/a> and of \u003ca href=\"https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60567162\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">explosions\u003c/a> going off outside of people’s windows have sent our community into distress.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Russia’s aggression towards Ukraine feels particularly vile because it’s so contrary to the kinship many people from both nations feel. I was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, and as a child I immigrated with my family to the Bay Area in the late ’90s, joining a multi-ethnic wave of post-Soviet immigrants and refugees. In Russian-speaking pockets across the United States, Russians, Ukrainians, Armenians, Georgians, Belarusians, Kazakhs and many other ethnic groups broke bread, raised children and helped each other acclimate to our new country. I grew up with a Ukrainian stepfather from Odesa, and thanks to him, I have U.S. citizenship and an American-born younger sister who is half Russian and half Ukrainian.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That experience is not uncommon. When I went to the anti-war protests outside of San Francisco City Hall last Thursday and Sunday, I heard speeches in Ukrainian, Russian and English. Russian-speaking Ukrainians were prominent among the turnout, but I saw protest signs that indicated that Russian, Latvian, Azerbaijani and Taiwanese people were also there in solidarity. As Russia and NATO continued to face off in a geopolitical chess game of superpowers, everyday people showed up to hold each other in mutual grief and support as many awaited updates from family members hiding from bombs in Ukraine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re terrified,” said Bay Area author \u003ca href=\"https://www.masharumer.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Masha Rumer\u003c/a> when I met up with her at the protest on Feb. 24. Born in Russia to a Jewish family with roots in Ukraine, Rumer came to the U.S. as a refugee in the early ’90s. “I know some family members right now in Kyiv cannot leave because the air space is closed, and they cannot get enough fuel to get out of the country and they’re afraid for their safety and the safety of their child,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rumer’s book \u003cem>Parenting With An Accent\u003c/em> builds bridges among immigrants of different cultures, and that’s what she hoped to see at the rally. “Many of us left the former Soviet Union because we don’t agree with the policies, and yet we’re still finding it reverberates all over the world all over again,” she said. “It’s a very complicated relationship. Many of us speak the Russian language, which was forced upon people from across the former Soviet Republics. But at the same time, it’s the language we grew up with, and now we’re finding ourselves in a difficult time where we’re ashamed of what the government is doing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13909940\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13909940\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4304-800x754.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"754\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4304-800x754.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4304-1020x962.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4304-160x151.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4304-768x724.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4304-1536x1448.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4304.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A protester holds a sign that says “Putin occupant” in San Francisco on Feb. 24. \u003ccite>(Nastia Voynovskaya)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Anastasiya Mutungi, manager of San Francisco Russian-language bookstore \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13872976/san-franciscos-49-year-old-russian-bookstore-opens-a-progressive-new-chapter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Globus\u003c/a>, expressed similar feelings when I spoke with her on the phone late last week. She immigrated to the U.S. from Belarus in 2009 and said she feels “accountable and responsible” that the government of her home country is supporting the aggression. She changed Globus’ small, Richmond district window display to feature books by Ukrainian authors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We all feel emotional here because there’s very little we can do about anything,” she said. “Yesterday we had a couple people who immigrated from Ukraine recently and they cried over the conversation. We can offer comfort and emotional support.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13909948\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13909948\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4344-800x885.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"885\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4344-800x885.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4344-1020x1128.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4344-160x177.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4344-768x849.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4344-1389x1536.jpg 1389w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4344-1852x2048.jpg 1852w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4344.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The window display of the Russian-language shop Globus Books in San Francisco features Ukrainian authors. \u003ccite>(Anastasiya Mutungi)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As much as the anti-war effort is bringing immigrants from the former Soviet Union together, it’s also prompting us to reflect on and respect our differences. Odesa-born Berkeleyside journalist Ally Markovich recently told \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11906380/reacting-to-the-news-in-ukraine\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">KQED’s \u003cem>The Bay\u003c/em>\u003c/a> that when she was growing up in Ohio, she’d tell people she was Russian to save herself the trouble of explaining her Russian-speaking Ukrainian identity. But current events have reminded her of the importance of taking pride in her culture. \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think for me it’s particularly painful because I feel in touch with how much effort has gone into developing a national identity in Ukraine, how much work and love was put into defining what Ukrainian people [are], only to have that concept be threatened by Vladimir Putin and Russia,” she said, referring to recent efforts to promote the Ukrainian language, which the Russian Empire and, later, the Soviet Union \u003ca href=\"https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/putin-is-the-only-winner-of-ukraines-language-wars/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">treated as secondary to Russian\u003c/a> throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think of being Ukrainian as being closely intertwined with an identity of resistance,” Markovich said. “For a long time, a Ukrainian identity has been a deliberate choice. It’s something that people have said to distinguish themselves from the ruling class.” \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jess Makhlin, a.k.a. Mishka, a San Francisco-born DJ whose parents are immigrants from Russia and Ukraine, is thinking of these themes of identity as she programs her \u003ca href=\"https://www.nts.live/shows/mishka\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NTS Radio show\u003c/a> focused on Russian and Eastern European music. On Monday, she re-aired an episode with \u003ca href=\"https://www.nts.live/shows/mishka/episodes/mishka-27th-may-2019\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ukrainian singer Ivan Dorn\u003c/a> and published a list of places to donate \u003ca href=\"https://docs.google.com/document/d/15eTsCgyH8T3OJSka3UFnw5-XgMu40E74d6Sqg4IxRHw/mobilebasic\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">humanitarian aid\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think in the time being I’m going to focus my programming on highlighting Ukrainian artists and seeing how things unfold,” she said, adding that she has several friends who escaped from Kyiv to Poland over the weekend.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Most people I know in Russia in the artist community don’t want this war and want peace,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13909941\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13909941\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4305-1-800x780.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"780\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4305-1-800x780.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4305-1-1020x994.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4305-1-160x156.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4305-1-768x748.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4305-1-1536x1497.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4305-1.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Protesters hold a sign that reads “Russians against war” in San Francisco on Feb. 24. \u003ccite>(Nastia Voynovskaya)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__dropcapShortcode__dropcap\">O\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>ver \u003ca href=\"https://www.euronews.com/2022/03/01/more-than-6-000-arrests-in-russia-during-protests-over-ukraine-war-says-human-rights-group\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">6,400 people in Russia\u003c/a>—where the \u003ca href=\"https://www.reuters.com/breakingviews/navalnys-supporters-call-civil-disobedience-against-ukraine-war-2022-02-28/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">main opposition leader is currently imprisoned\u003c/a>, and where people can’t legally protest without permission from authorities—have been arrested for taking to the streets to say “nyet voyne,” or “no to war” since Feb. 24. A friend in Moscow texted me that she ran away while police dragged protesters into an AvtoZak, or prison transport bus. “That’s how it usually is, and that’s the reason more people don’t come out in the streets,” she wrote in Russian.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ordinary Russians are risking their freedom to oppose senseless bloodshed, and are now bearing the brunt of economic sanctions that have already done significant damage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Putin justified the invasion by claiming that Russian speakers in Ukraine are oppressed, but Russian-speaking Ukrainians are \u003ca href=\"https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/putin-is-the-only-winner-of-ukraines-language-wars/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">challenging that narrative\u003c/a>. “My family has never asked to be rescued by Russia,” wrote Russian American San Francisco journalist Sasha Vasilyuk, who has family in Eastern Ukraine, in an \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/26/opinion/ukraine-russia-invasion-family.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">opinion piece for \u003ci>The New York Times\u003c/i>\u003c/a>. “For eight years this conflict has done nothing for my family except tear it apart. This is just the latest ugly chapter.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Putin also justified the war as an effort to “denazify” Ukraine. While Ukraine’s \u003ca href=\"//www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/1/who-are-the-azov-regiment\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Azov Regiment\u003c/a>, a neo-Nazi militia that has been accepted into Ukraine’s armed forces, should be denounced like any other white supremacist movement, Putin’s reasoning for an invasion is laughable when \u003ca href=\"//hir.harvard.edu/white-nationalism-in-the-united-states-and-russia-transnational-ties-domestic-impact/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">his brand of far-right, Christian authoritarianism\u003c/a> has been heralded by David Duke and Richard Spencer as a beacon of white power. (Not to mention, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is a Jewish descendent of Holocaust survivors.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>White people around the world, including former Soviet people, have a responsibility to counteract the horrors of racism and antisemitism. Ukraine certainly has problems with both. African students have reported \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/01/world/europe/ukraine-refugee-discrimination.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">abuses by Ukrainian authorities\u003c/a> at border crossings. (Here’s a list of ways to \u003ca href=\"https://linktr.ee/ksvarnon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">help African and Asian people leaving Ukraine\u003c/a>.) But Russia is also a \u003ca href=\"https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53055857\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">deeply racist and antisemitic country\u003c/a> that needs to clean up its own house instead of invading someone else’s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This war isn’t about anyone’s liberation or any other noble cause. It’s about global superpowers vying for greater influence, and it’s everyday working people who will ultimately pay the price.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>There is a point midway through Episode 2 of the new Hulu series \u003cem>Pam & Tommy\u003c/em> where Tommy Lee (played by Sebastian Stan) begins arguing with his own penis. The camera pans down to his crotch so the viewer can see close-up, an animatronic, flexing schlong with a talking tip. “We’ve gotta keep this pussy train rolling,” the peen (voiced by Jason Mantzoukas) demands. “Do you hear me?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13908915']This ridiculous display was the natural end point (pun intended) of months and months of TV shows trying to out-dick each other. As anyone with a regular streaming habit is no doubt aware, full-frontal male nudity is suddenly being embraced by the non-network channels like never before. HBO has, of course, been working to advance penile screen time since its earliest days. But in recent years, the channel has noticeably upgraded its wang locomotive from steam engine to bullet train. And it has inspired other channels to follow suit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the head of the HBO pack is \u003cem>Euphoria\u003c/em>. The show has garnered praise for finally bringing equal opportunity nudity to the TV screen. But, boy oh boy, does it have a tendency to overdo it. You name a type of penis, it’s been on \u003cem>Euphoria\u003c/em>. Old penis, erect penis, locker room penis, toilet penis, drug-dealer-house penis, about-to-get-shot penis, prosthetic penis, real penis. All of the penis, basically.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/enbycoraline/status/1485869994067955713\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While HBO offers full-frontal male nudity in damn near everything (“Thanks for Steve Zahn’s fake balls in \u003cem>The White Lotus\u003c/em>,” said nobody), nowhere has \u003cem>Euphoria\u003c/em>’s influence been more obvious than in \u003cem>And Just Like That…\u003c/em>, the \u003cem>Sex and the City \u003c/em>reboot. This was a show that almost certainly would have benefited from more nudity in its original iteration, but remained a dong-free zone for the entirety of its six-season run in the 2000s. And yet its 2022 version managed to squeeze two ding-a-lings into a single episode. Neither acted as anything other than a dangling distraction in an otherwise sexless landscape.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All of which begs the question: How many on-screen penises are too many on-screen penises?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Twitter users have certainly reached a consensus with \u003cem>Euphoria\u003c/em>. Sunday after Sunday, it’s clear that a broad swath of the audience thinks the show’s penile limit has been met and exceeded. (Not surprising when there were, infamously, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.menshealth.com/entertainment/a27965066/euphoria-hbo-30-penises-nudity-sex-drugs/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">30 dicks\u003c/a>” featured in the second episode of the first season.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/lebang_moloi/status/1493117707650281475\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/Aj_tbp/status/1490515833612906496\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/ruesdirtynose/status/1488001274297597957\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/joekeerious/status/1485433317021396995\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When TV centers and gratuitously lingers on male members, it can feel as jarring for the viewer as receiving unsolicited dick pics. And \u003cem>Euphoria\u003c/em> knows how “terrifying” and “horrifying” dick pics can be. “There are two different types of dick pic,” Rue explained in season one. “Solicited and unsolicited. Solicited makes up about one percent of all dick pics sent and received.” At this point, a lot of women are simply sick to death of looking at penises they didn’t expressly ask to see. Actual studies have been done on this topic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year, \u003cem>The Journal of Sex Research\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00224499.2020.1779171\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">published a study\u003c/a> that concluded:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>In a U.S. sample of 2,045 women of all sexual identities and 298 gay/bisexual men, we found that among those who had ever received a ‘dick pic,’ nearly all (91%) had also received an unsolicited [one]. Women of all sexual identities predominantly experienced negative responses to these unsolicited nude images, with only a minority selecting any positive or neutral/ambivalent reactions.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>The other risk of overdoing on-screen peen is the ammunition it gives to so-called men’s rights activists (and a whole mess of other humans) who use the objectification of men to further justify the objectification of women.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13909409\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13909409\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/Screen-Shot-2022-02-14-at-12.37.33-PM-800x722.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"722\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/Screen-Shot-2022-02-14-at-12.37.33-PM-800x722.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/Screen-Shot-2022-02-14-at-12.37.33-PM-1020x921.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/Screen-Shot-2022-02-14-at-12.37.33-PM-160x144.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/Screen-Shot-2022-02-14-at-12.37.33-PM-768x693.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/Screen-Shot-2022-02-14-at-12.37.33-PM.png 1090w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A ‘meninist’ meme about objectification.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Then there are the campaigners who see this wave of TV penises and think, “Hey! How can we pressure women on our screens to get \u003cem>even more\u003c/em> naked?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/KatieLny/status/1490033474698453000\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There is of course a place for naked male bodies on television. It’s absurd that they’ve been such a rarity until fairly recently. It’s also still true that female actors are naked far more than their male counterparts. (We only need look at the nudity stats in \u003cem>Game of Thrones\u003c/em>. There were only two full-frontal male scenes in its entire eight seasons. For women, the show reached that number in Episode 7 alone.) But there are thoughtful ways of showing audiences everyday nudity that doesn’t turn the whole thing into a gratuitous sideshow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Season 3 of \u003cem>Succession\u003c/em>, for example, there is \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_fV5w5d7IU\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a scene\u003c/a> in which Roman tries to send a dick pic to Gerri but accidentally sends it to his father Logan instead. The mortification Roman feels is enhanced by the fact that the viewer sees the intimate photograph too. We, along with Logan, are seeing something we shouldn’t. And its impact is heightened because it’s something we’ve never seen in \u003cem>Succession\u003c/em> before. Had the series been a parade of unnecessary penises up to that point, it wouldn’t have been the scream-at-the-TV moment it was.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13891785']Even a show like \u003cem>Sex/Life\u003c/em>, which doesn’t shy away from regular nudity, has figured out how to use it to advance the plot effectively. In the third episode, for example, Cooper follows his wife’s ex-boyfriend into the showers at the gym, only to be stunned by how generously endowed Brad is. The giant (prosthetic) penis featured in the episode wasn’t there for no reason: it was there as part of a storyline about insecurity in relationships. It was there as a traditional symbol of male virility. And it was there to highlight the physical pressures put on men over something they have no control over. Without seeing what Brad was working with, the viewer couldn’t fully comprehend Cooper’s inner turmoil.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The frustrating thing with \u003cem>Euphoria\u003c/em> is that it \u003cem>almost\u003c/em> gets it right all the time. In Season 2’s third episode, we see a flashback to Cal’s high school days. In it, we find out he was in love with his best friend and wrestling teammate, Derek. The moments of nudity they share in the locker room—even exchanging the same bar of soap in the shower—speak to a familiarity and an intimacy that would be hard to convey otherwise. It explains how they reach the point of feeling comfortable enough to dance together and make out in a gay bar despite being submerged in a world of toxic masculinity. Had the nudity been left at that, it would have been a powerful presence in their love story. Instead, we were also subjected to other, irrelevant penises in the shower, and lingering shots of floating underwater penis while Cal and Derek are skinny dipping. These moments undercut the power of their nude locker room bonding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All of which is to say that full-frontal male nudity certainly has a valuable place on TV. Not just for the sake of realism in intimate scenes, but also in the service of specific, emotional plot points. But—like a flasher on a train—just because you \u003cem>can\u003c/em> show penis, doesn’t necessarily mean you \u003cem>should\u003c/em> show penis. In the rush to embrace equal opportunity nudity, some TV series have diminished their own value because of an inability to recognize that basic principle.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>This ridiculous display was the natural end point (pun intended) of months and months of TV shows trying to out-dick each other. As anyone with a regular streaming habit is no doubt aware, full-frontal male nudity is suddenly being embraced by the non-network channels like never before. HBO has, of course, been working to advance penile screen time since its earliest days. But in recent years, the channel has noticeably upgraded its wang locomotive from steam engine to bullet train. And it has inspired other channels to follow suit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the head of the HBO pack is \u003cem>Euphoria\u003c/em>. The show has garnered praise for finally bringing equal opportunity nudity to the TV screen. But, boy oh boy, does it have a tendency to overdo it. You name a type of penis, it’s been on \u003cem>Euphoria\u003c/em>. Old penis, erect penis, locker room penis, toilet penis, drug-dealer-house penis, about-to-get-shot penis, prosthetic penis, real penis. All of the penis, basically.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>When TV centers and gratuitously lingers on male members, it can feel as jarring for the viewer as receiving unsolicited dick pics. And \u003cem>Euphoria\u003c/em> knows how “terrifying” and “horrifying” dick pics can be. “There are two different types of dick pic,” Rue explained in season one. “Solicited and unsolicited. Solicited makes up about one percent of all dick pics sent and received.” At this point, a lot of women are simply sick to death of looking at penises they didn’t expressly ask to see. Actual studies have been done on this topic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year, \u003cem>The Journal of Sex Research\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00224499.2020.1779171\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">published a study\u003c/a> that concluded:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>In a U.S. sample of 2,045 women of all sexual identities and 298 gay/bisexual men, we found that among those who had ever received a ‘dick pic,’ nearly all (91%) had also received an unsolicited [one]. Women of all sexual identities predominantly experienced negative responses to these unsolicited nude images, with only a minority selecting any positive or neutral/ambivalent reactions.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>The other risk of overdoing on-screen peen is the ammunition it gives to so-called men’s rights activists (and a whole mess of other humans) who use the objectification of men to further justify the objectification of women.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13909409\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13909409\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/Screen-Shot-2022-02-14-at-12.37.33-PM-800x722.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"722\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/Screen-Shot-2022-02-14-at-12.37.33-PM-800x722.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/Screen-Shot-2022-02-14-at-12.37.33-PM-1020x921.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/Screen-Shot-2022-02-14-at-12.37.33-PM-160x144.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/Screen-Shot-2022-02-14-at-12.37.33-PM-768x693.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/Screen-Shot-2022-02-14-at-12.37.33-PM.png 1090w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A ‘meninist’ meme about objectification.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Then there are the campaigners who see this wave of TV penises and think, “Hey! How can we pressure women on our screens to get \u003cem>even more\u003c/em> naked?”\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>There is of course a place for naked male bodies on television. It’s absurd that they’ve been such a rarity until fairly recently. It’s also still true that female actors are naked far more than their male counterparts. (We only need look at the nudity stats in \u003cem>Game of Thrones\u003c/em>. There were only two full-frontal male scenes in its entire eight seasons. For women, the show reached that number in Episode 7 alone.) But there are thoughtful ways of showing audiences everyday nudity that doesn’t turn the whole thing into a gratuitous sideshow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Season 3 of \u003cem>Succession\u003c/em>, for example, there is \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_fV5w5d7IU\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a scene\u003c/a> in which Roman tries to send a dick pic to Gerri but accidentally sends it to his father Logan instead. The mortification Roman feels is enhanced by the fact that the viewer sees the intimate photograph too. We, along with Logan, are seeing something we shouldn’t. And its impact is heightened because it’s something we’ve never seen in \u003cem>Succession\u003c/em> before. Had the series been a parade of unnecessary penises up to that point, it wouldn’t have been the scream-at-the-TV moment it was.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Even a show like \u003cem>Sex/Life\u003c/em>, which doesn’t shy away from regular nudity, has figured out how to use it to advance the plot effectively. In the third episode, for example, Cooper follows his wife’s ex-boyfriend into the showers at the gym, only to be stunned by how generously endowed Brad is. The giant (prosthetic) penis featured in the episode wasn’t there for no reason: it was there as part of a storyline about insecurity in relationships. It was there as a traditional symbol of male virility. And it was there to highlight the physical pressures put on men over something they have no control over. Without seeing what Brad was working with, the viewer couldn’t fully comprehend Cooper’s inner turmoil.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The frustrating thing with \u003cem>Euphoria\u003c/em> is that it \u003cem>almost\u003c/em> gets it right all the time. In Season 2’s third episode, we see a flashback to Cal’s high school days. In it, we find out he was in love with his best friend and wrestling teammate, Derek. The moments of nudity they share in the locker room—even exchanging the same bar of soap in the shower—speak to a familiarity and an intimacy that would be hard to convey otherwise. It explains how they reach the point of feeling comfortable enough to dance together and make out in a gay bar despite being submerged in a world of toxic masculinity. Had the nudity been left at that, it would have been a powerful presence in their love story. Instead, we were also subjected to other, irrelevant penises in the shower, and lingering shots of floating underwater penis while Cal and Derek are skinny dipping. These moments undercut the power of their nude locker room bonding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All of which is to say that full-frontal male nudity certainly has a valuable place on TV. Not just for the sake of realism in intimate scenes, but also in the service of specific, emotional plot points. But—like a flasher on a train—just because you \u003cem>can\u003c/em> show penis, doesn’t necessarily mean you \u003cem>should\u003c/em> show penis. In the rush to embrace equal opportunity nudity, some TV series have diminished their own value because of an inability to recognize that basic principle.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Kanye West Controlling Julia Fox's Style is Alarming, Not Romantic",
"headTitle": "Kanye West Controlling Julia Fox’s Style is Alarming, Not Romantic | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>Paris Fashion Week happened last week. The only reason I know this is because every time (the artist formerly known as) Kanye West and his new girlfriend Julia Fox showed up anywhere, Twitter had a meltdown. It wasn’t hard to see why. The whole thing was like the new \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13908472/and-just-like-that-sex-and-the-city-che-miranda-carrie-charlotte-nyc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>Sex and the City\u003c/em> reboot\u003c/a>: You know you should turn away. You know what you’re looking at is going to make you cringe. But the need to keep staring at it is uncontrollable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new couple spent several days parading around in almost-but-not-quite-matching outfits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There was this double denim situation:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/saint/status/1485299099377315842\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This Folsom Street Fair-adjacent effort:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/LiabilityLouie/status/1486163857668255748\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And whatever the hell this was:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/therapland/status/1485777404903792641\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Truly, the longer the couple’s Paris sojourn went on, the more out of her depth Fox looked. Which isn’t terribly surprising if you examine the circumstances. Ye (that’s the name West is using now) and Fox met just one month ago, on New Year’s Eve. And—according to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.interviewmagazine.com/culture/date-night\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">two paragraph-story Fox wrote for \u003cem>Interview\u003c/em>\u003c/a> magazine last month—he presented her with “an entire hotel suite full of clothes,” after knowing her for literally one day. Fox wrote: “I was so surprised. Like, who does things like this on a second date? Or any date!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The answer to that question is: a new partner who’s waving a big ol’ red flag in your face.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/AaronRFernandes/status/1487565601321197568\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you look up how to spot if you’re in an unhealthy relationship, clothing is a recurring theme. \u003ca href=\"https://psychcentral.com/lib/signs-controlling-partner-relationship\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>Psych Central\u003c/em>\u003c/a> suggests that controlling partners “could start slowly ‘changing your wardrobe’ by buying specific outfits as gifts to you.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.everydayhealth.com/emotional-health/controlling-men/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>Everyday Health\u003c/em>\u003c/a> says: “Controlling men like to be in charge. They like to tell women what to do, wear and be, and even how and when to speak. Most controlling men don’t really believe they are controlling. In their minds, they’re merely helping their wives or girlfriends to ‘improve,’ and they honestly believe that men are entitled to have things just the way they prefer them to be … Does this sound like anyone you know?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='pop_28206']Yes. It sounds like Kanye West, who has been re-dressing women according to his specifications, very openly, for years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Amber Rose spoke repeatedly about \u003ca href=\"https://www.elle.com/fashion/a9049/fashion-spotlight-amber-rose-360509/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kanye’s attempts to control her wardrobe\u003c/a> while the two were a couple. She told \u003cem>Elle\u003c/em> in 2009: “He’ll pick out something and I’ll be like, ‘Oh, God, I don’t like that at all.’ And then I’ll pick out something and he’ll be like ‘Babe, just… no.’ I’m more electric pink and bright yellow. And Kanye’s more like nude and bone … I’m not, like, his Barbie.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his next serious relationship, Kanye found a significantly more malleable partner. In a 2012 episode of \u003cem>Keeping Up With the Kardashians\u003c/em>—filmed just a few months into their relationship—Kanye is seen telling Kardashian to “clean out everything” from her closet. Her pleas to keep a few accessories are repeatedly shot down, despite her being a long-time boutique owner who first became famous while working as a personal stylist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8E9lNF9bhYU\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No secret was made of the fact that Kanye exerted extreme control over Kardashian’s style for the entirety of their relationship. In one 2018 episode of her reality show, Kardashian mentioned that Kanye had flown out to Paris to see her for 24 hours. Not because he missed her, but because he had seen paparazzi photos of her wearing clothes he didn’t like, and he wanted to check on her wardrobe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='pop_49104']A year later, Kanye questioned Kardashian’s choice to wear a stunning Thierry Mugler corseted dress to the Met Gala. “A corset is a form of underwear. It’s hot. It’s like, it’s hot for who though?” he said to Kardashian the night before the event. “You are my wife and it affects me when pictures are too sexy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Julia Fox isn’t Kanye’s wife. She’s only been his girlfriend for a month. But if Fashion Week is anything to go by, he seems to already be controlling every inch of her appearance, down to her makeup.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/LukeLarainGray/status/1485690511633625089\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s no doubt that all of this is outside Fox’s wheelhouse—you can see it in her awkward Fashion Week body language. And it’s probably because Kanye’s clothing choices for her are such an enormous departure from anything she’s ever worn in public previously.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To demonstrate the contrast, here’s what she looked like at November’s CFDA Awards, just six weeks before Kanye showed up with that suite full of clothes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13908832\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13908832\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/GettyImages-1352567200-800x1200.jpg\" alt=\"A fresh-faced, but polished woman stands on the red carpet wearing a tight, mint green long sleeved top and calf length pale pink skirt with fur trim. She carries a beaded handbag in the shape of the Empire State Building.\" width=\"800\" height=\"1200\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/GettyImages-1352567200-800x1200.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/GettyImages-1352567200-1020x1530.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/GettyImages-1352567200-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/GettyImages-1352567200-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/GettyImages-1352567200-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/GettyImages-1352567200-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/GettyImages-1352567200-1920x2880.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/GettyImages-1352567200-scaled.jpg 1707w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Julia Fox at the CFDA Fashion Awards, New York, November 2021. \u003ccite>(Jamie McCarthy/WireImage)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Despite an obvious pattern, Kanye’s compulsion to control yet another girlfriend’s appearance has been greeted without much alarm in the press. The tabloid media has, by and large, instead decided to pit Kardashian and Fox against each other. (This despite reports that \u003ca href=\"https://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/a38735734/kim-kardashian-kanye-west-julia-fox-dating-pursuit-reaction/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kardashian is just trying to move on with her life\u003c/a>.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Fox borrowed yet another look from her boyfriend Kanye West’s ex Kim Kardashian as she stepped out during Paris Fashion Week last week,” the \u003ca href=\"https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-10466443/Kanye-Wests-new-flame-Julia-Fox-denies-copying-Kim-Kardashians-edgy-chest-mold.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>Daily Mail\u003c/em> declared\u003c/a> yesterday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Kanye West’s Girlfriend Julia Fox Rips Off Kim Kardashian With Oozing Chest Mold, Model Caught In Another Copycat Fashion Fumble,” \u003ca href=\"https://radaronline.com/p/kanye-west-girlfriend-julia-fox-chest-mold-copying-kim-kardashian-fashion-style/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">screamed\u003cem> Radar Online\u003c/em>\u003c/a> this week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The copycat refrain has been so common, \u003ca href=\"https://www.complex.com/style/julia-fox-responds-to-claim-she-channels-kim-kardashian-outfit-choice\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Fox felt the need to take to Instagram this week to deny she was stealing looks from Kardashian\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13908784']That Fox has been blamed for “copying” Kardashian is a reflection of just how much our culture loves a catfight. It also points to a widespread unwillingness to examine Kanye’s disturbing need to take control of the appearances of the women he’s with.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What has been said far too little in the course of Fox and Kanye’s short relationship is that when one person insists on controlling another person’s clothing and makeup choices, it’s a way of squashing their bodily autonomy. It’s a way to restrict their sense of personal freedom. It’s a way to make them insecure about their own judgement which, in turn, is designed to make them more dependent on the controlling partner. And when the act of altering someone’s image is presented as a romantic gesture, it’s not a sign of love, it’s a form of grooming.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fox isn’t trying to keep up with Kim Kardashian; she appears to be trying desperately to keep up with the demands of Kanye West. That she thinks him dressing her is “\u003ca href=\"https://www.interviewmagazine.com/culture/date-night\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">every girl’s dream\u003c/a>” is perhaps the part that’s most disturbing.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Paris Fashion Week happened last week. The only reason I know this is because every time (the artist formerly known as) Kanye West and his new girlfriend Julia Fox showed up anywhere, Twitter had a meltdown. It wasn’t hard to see why. The whole thing was like the new \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13908472/and-just-like-that-sex-and-the-city-che-miranda-carrie-charlotte-nyc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>Sex and the City\u003c/em> reboot\u003c/a>: You know you should turn away. You know what you’re looking at is going to make you cringe. But the need to keep staring at it is uncontrollable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new couple spent several days parading around in almost-but-not-quite-matching outfits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There was this double denim situation:\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>Truly, the longer the couple’s Paris sojourn went on, the more out of her depth Fox looked. Which isn’t terribly surprising if you examine the circumstances. Ye (that’s the name West is using now) and Fox met just one month ago, on New Year’s Eve. And—according to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.interviewmagazine.com/culture/date-night\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">two paragraph-story Fox wrote for \u003cem>Interview\u003c/em>\u003c/a> magazine last month—he presented her with “an entire hotel suite full of clothes,” after knowing her for literally one day. Fox wrote: “I was so surprised. Like, who does things like this on a second date? Or any date!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The answer to that question is: a new partner who’s waving a big ol’ red flag in your face.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>If you look up how to spot if you’re in an unhealthy relationship, clothing is a recurring theme. \u003ca href=\"https://psychcentral.com/lib/signs-controlling-partner-relationship\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>Psych Central\u003c/em>\u003c/a> suggests that controlling partners “could start slowly ‘changing your wardrobe’ by buying specific outfits as gifts to you.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.everydayhealth.com/emotional-health/controlling-men/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>Everyday Health\u003c/em>\u003c/a> says: “Controlling men like to be in charge. They like to tell women what to do, wear and be, and even how and when to speak. Most controlling men don’t really believe they are controlling. In their minds, they’re merely helping their wives or girlfriends to ‘improve,’ and they honestly believe that men are entitled to have things just the way they prefer them to be … Does this sound like anyone you know?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Yes. It sounds like Kanye West, who has been re-dressing women according to his specifications, very openly, for years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Amber Rose spoke repeatedly about \u003ca href=\"https://www.elle.com/fashion/a9049/fashion-spotlight-amber-rose-360509/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kanye’s attempts to control her wardrobe\u003c/a> while the two were a couple. She told \u003cem>Elle\u003c/em> in 2009: “He’ll pick out something and I’ll be like, ‘Oh, God, I don’t like that at all.’ And then I’ll pick out something and he’ll be like ‘Babe, just… no.’ I’m more electric pink and bright yellow. And Kanye’s more like nude and bone … I’m not, like, his Barbie.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his next serious relationship, Kanye found a significantly more malleable partner. In a 2012 episode of \u003cem>Keeping Up With the Kardashians\u003c/em>—filmed just a few months into their relationship—Kanye is seen telling Kardashian to “clean out everything” from her closet. Her pleas to keep a few accessories are repeatedly shot down, despite her being a long-time boutique owner who first became famous while working as a personal stylist.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/8E9lNF9bhYU'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/8E9lNF9bhYU'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>No secret was made of the fact that Kanye exerted extreme control over Kardashian’s style for the entirety of their relationship. In one 2018 episode of her reality show, Kardashian mentioned that Kanye had flown out to Paris to see her for 24 hours. Not because he missed her, but because he had seen paparazzi photos of her wearing clothes he didn’t like, and he wanted to check on her wardrobe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>A year later, Kanye questioned Kardashian’s choice to wear a stunning Thierry Mugler corseted dress to the Met Gala. “A corset is a form of underwear. It’s hot. It’s like, it’s hot for who though?” he said to Kardashian the night before the event. “You are my wife and it affects me when pictures are too sexy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Julia Fox isn’t Kanye’s wife. She’s only been his girlfriend for a month. But if Fashion Week is anything to go by, he seems to already be controlling every inch of her appearance, down to her makeup.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>There’s no doubt that all of this is outside Fox’s wheelhouse—you can see it in her awkward Fashion Week body language. And it’s probably because Kanye’s clothing choices for her are such an enormous departure from anything she’s ever worn in public previously.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To demonstrate the contrast, here’s what she looked like at November’s CFDA Awards, just six weeks before Kanye showed up with that suite full of clothes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13908832\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13908832\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/GettyImages-1352567200-800x1200.jpg\" alt=\"A fresh-faced, but polished woman stands on the red carpet wearing a tight, mint green long sleeved top and calf length pale pink skirt with fur trim. She carries a beaded handbag in the shape of the Empire State Building.\" width=\"800\" height=\"1200\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/GettyImages-1352567200-800x1200.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/GettyImages-1352567200-1020x1530.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/GettyImages-1352567200-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/GettyImages-1352567200-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/GettyImages-1352567200-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/GettyImages-1352567200-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/GettyImages-1352567200-1920x2880.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/GettyImages-1352567200-scaled.jpg 1707w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Julia Fox at the CFDA Fashion Awards, New York, November 2021. \u003ccite>(Jamie McCarthy/WireImage)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Despite an obvious pattern, Kanye’s compulsion to control yet another girlfriend’s appearance has been greeted without much alarm in the press. The tabloid media has, by and large, instead decided to pit Kardashian and Fox against each other. (This despite reports that \u003ca href=\"https://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/a38735734/kim-kardashian-kanye-west-julia-fox-dating-pursuit-reaction/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kardashian is just trying to move on with her life\u003c/a>.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Fox borrowed yet another look from her boyfriend Kanye West’s ex Kim Kardashian as she stepped out during Paris Fashion Week last week,” the \u003ca href=\"https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-10466443/Kanye-Wests-new-flame-Julia-Fox-denies-copying-Kim-Kardashians-edgy-chest-mold.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>Daily Mail\u003c/em> declared\u003c/a> yesterday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Kanye West’s Girlfriend Julia Fox Rips Off Kim Kardashian With Oozing Chest Mold, Model Caught In Another Copycat Fashion Fumble,” \u003ca href=\"https://radaronline.com/p/kanye-west-girlfriend-julia-fox-chest-mold-copying-kim-kardashian-fashion-style/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">screamed\u003cem> Radar Online\u003c/em>\u003c/a> this week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The copycat refrain has been so common, \u003ca href=\"https://www.complex.com/style/julia-fox-responds-to-claim-she-channels-kim-kardashian-outfit-choice\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Fox felt the need to take to Instagram this week to deny she was stealing looks from Kardashian\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>That Fox has been blamed for “copying” Kardashian is a reflection of just how much our culture loves a catfight. It also points to a widespread unwillingness to examine Kanye’s disturbing need to take control of the appearances of the women he’s with.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What has been said far too little in the course of Fox and Kanye’s short relationship is that when one person insists on controlling another person’s clothing and makeup choices, it’s a way of squashing their bodily autonomy. It’s a way to restrict their sense of personal freedom. It’s a way to make them insecure about their own judgement which, in turn, is designed to make them more dependent on the controlling partner. And when the act of altering someone’s image is presented as a romantic gesture, it’s not a sign of love, it’s a form of grooming.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fox isn’t trying to keep up with Kim Kardashian; she appears to be trying desperately to keep up with the demands of Kanye West. That she thinks him dressing her is “\u003ca href=\"https://www.interviewmagazine.com/culture/date-night\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">every girl’s dream\u003c/a>” is perhaps the part that’s most disturbing.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "food-doesnt-slap",
"title": "Food Doesn't Slap",
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"headTitle": "Food Doesn’t Slap | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">I\u003c/span>t’s 2022. Let’s get this out of the way. Stop saying food slaps.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-13833985\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/OGPenn.Cap_-160x184.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"160\" height=\"184\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/OGPenn.Cap_-160x184.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/OGPenn.Cap_.jpg 180w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 160px) 100vw, 160px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We’ve got enough problems as it is. We don’t need game-goofy folks out there misappropriating slang, leading our youth astray and contributing to the further decay of our society. People using a term deeply rooted in the culture of Bay Area hip-hop in a way that has nothing to do with the Bay Area, nor hip-hop.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I invite you to do a simple social media search of the term “\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/search?q=food%20slaps&src=typed_query&f=live\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">food slaps\u003c/a>.” What you’ll find is that fools are \u003cem>still\u003c/em> saying it, and people are \u003cem>still\u003c/em> trying to correct them, bless their hearts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Slap” is about the sound of music when it hits your ears, not the flavor of food when it touches your tastebuds. Period.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here we are, collectively surging into year three of the COVID-19 pandemic, with new variants sending people to hospitals across the country in droves. We really don’t have time to address how our jargon is (mis)used.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We should be worried that the United States’ current surge in COVID-19 cases is so bad that just outside of the nation’s capital, they’re \u003ca href=\"https://www.fox5dc.com/news/montgomery-county-school-officials-call-on-national-guard-amid-bus-driver-shortage\">calling in the National Guard\u003c/a> to drive school buses. We should be alarmed that this past Tuesday, the Hayward school district went\u003ca href=\"https://abc7news.com/hayward-unified-schools-virtual-unfied-learning-distance/11455635/\"> back to distanced learning for a week\u003c/a>, the \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2022/01/06/oakland-teachers-plan-sickout-protest-as-omicron-cases-surge/\">Oakland teachers staged a sick-out\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/ashleynmcb/status/1479604608368476161?s=20\">OUSD students are petitioning\u003c/a> for more COVID-safe resources and threatening to have their own sick-out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s just a couple of the healthcare-related issues. Don’t get me started on \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/consumer-prices-inflation-c1bfd93ed1719cf0135420f4fd0270f9?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=AP\">stark increases on the price of goods\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2021/12/21/1065722993/communities-are-dealing-with-an-increase-in-homicides-whats-behind-the-rise\">the uptick in crime across the nation\u003c/a> and how police companies are leveraging this data \u003ca href=\"https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/cities-vowed-2020-cut-police-funding-budgets-expanded-2021-rcna9864\">to bolster their budgets\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The last thing we need right now is someone getting on Marshawn Lynch’s internet, talking about they “had a sandwich and it was slapping.” Man, what?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/omgadrian/status/1187570425879904256?lang=en\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">T\u003c/span>here’s so many \u003ci>other\u003c/i> words to describe food. It can be “delicious,” “scrumptious,” “good”– even “dumbass good.” It can be “hittin’” or “bangin’,” “Smackin’ or “Shhhhmackin’.” One of my favorites is when you ask someone if the food is good and they emphatically reply, “It’s candy, bruh!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It can even be “man, this sh*t right here,” or “that’s that sh*t right there.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But food can’t slap. Don’t say it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before going further into my tirade, I will concede this: I understand the confusion. I’m not exactly sure of the roots of saying “food slaps,” but I know that in the film \u003cem>Friday After Next\u003c/em> (2002), the third installment in the \u003cem>Friday\u003c/em> film trilogy, comedian Don “D.C.” Curry’s character, Uncle Elroy, opens a barbecue restaurant with the tagline, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skKTrYFDYg0\">tastes so good, make you wanna slap your mamma\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After this claim, his brother in the film, Willie Jones (played by the late John Witherspoon), proceeds to slap the ancestors’ blessings out of their mother. Ah, Hollywood magic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There isn’t a piece of food on this earth good enough to make me even think about slapping my momma. “Slap” doesn’t even come to mind when we’re talking about food.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Slap” is reserved for describing the audio experience of encountering someone with a stupid sound system, sliding down the block in a Box Chevy or a Delta 88 \u003cem>slappin’\u003c/em> Keak Da Sneak’s “T-Shirts Blue Jeans & Nikes,” and the bass line is kicking like a mule in heat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Slap” is a descriptor that was popularized during the hyphy movement, circa 2004. It was used to illustrate the type of impact on a person’s face when they encounter D-Lo’s “No Hoe” for the first time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The late great producer Traxamillion used the term “Slapp,” with two Ps, just to emphasize the strength with which the song was slappin’.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13908143\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13908143\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/Traxamillion.SlappAddict-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"A CD with the producer Traxamillion on the cover.\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/Traxamillion.SlappAddict-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/Traxamillion.SlappAddict-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/Traxamillion.SlappAddict-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/Traxamillion.SlappAddict-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/Traxamillion.SlappAddict-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/Traxamillion.SlappAddict.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">San Jose producer Traxamillion’s 2006 album ‘The Slapp Addict’ slapped so hard, it required two “P”s in the title. \u003ccite>(Gabe Meline/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But before we were goin’ dumb, the term was already floating around the music-sphere, most often in reference to “slapping the bass,” a percussive way of playing the bass guitar with one’s thumb. (Larry Graham and Bootsy Collins are the godfathers of slapping, but you’ve probably heard it on \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slbco4zHmt8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Seinfeld\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, or joked about in the movie \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUuplQuk9Ck\">\u003cem>I Love You, Man\u003c/em>\u003c/a>.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And yes, at the same time, \u003ca href=\"https://www.etymonline.com/word/slap\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the etymology of the word “slap”\u003c/a> reportedly dates to the 15th century, rooted in the literal act of gracing one’s cheek (facial or buttock) with a fierce open-palm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So yes, “slap” has multiple meanings, just like so many other words in the English language. But it doesn’t apply to food. That’s the glory of slang, ever-evolving, and keeping the Queen’s English youthful.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/hellasoosh/status/1100901490535759872\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">F\u003c/span>or instance, if I say “pull up,” that can mean that I’m asking you to hit a set of 10 on the chin-up bar in the doorway, it can mean come over for a friendly gathering, or it can mean bring yo mark-ass over here I’m finna put these hands on you.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When someone says “put these hands on you,” it means they plan on fighting, squaring up, throwing hands or catching a fade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is where it gets tricky.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Fade,” or rather “fading up,” can also be a request that everyone pitch in a couple dollars on something, usually reefer. Not to mention a “fade route” is a path for a wide receiver to run in football. Being “faded” is being intoxicated. “Fading” something is coloring it in a spectrum that goes from dark to light. And, of course, “a fade” is also a haircut.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And oh man, if your barber or hairstylist is nice at their job, they’ve “got bars.” But having “bars” can also mean that you know how to drive a car extremely well. Or that you’re an exceptional blunt roller. Mind you, saying that a person “got bars” can also mean they are a very skilled rapper.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(You picking up what I’m putting down?)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If a person is a skilled rapper, it’s more common for folks to say that they’re “spittin’ gas”/ “gassin a track.” But be careful, because “gas” can also mean high quality reefer (it always comes back to reefer).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Additionally, “gassin’” can also mean lying, or “blowing up someone’s head.” Lastly, “having gas” can mean fuel in your car’s gas tank, or indigestion in your tummy’s tank.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Context is everything, eh?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-13908144\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/FoodDoesntSlap.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"423\" height=\"423\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/FoodDoesntSlap.jpg 423w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/FoodDoesntSlap-160x160.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 423px) 100vw, 423px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">I\u003c/span> could keep going for days about Northern Californian colloquialisms, and how tricky they are. But the mutation of words isn’t specific to this region—lest I remind you of the great “\u003ca href=\"https://hiphopdx.com/news/id.56660/title.ight-well-bite-examining-hip-hop-twitters-latest-obsession-with-the-glizzy#signup\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">glizzy\u003c/a>” scandal of summer 2020 that had a solid portion of the Atlantic seaboard up in arms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(The term “Glizzy” reportedly originated in the greater Washington D.C. area, and is a euphemism for hot dog, but it comes from how folks would describe a glock, or the extended clip that protrudes from a handgun. And I’m pretty sure there’s some connection to male anatomy in there too.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Point being: words often have multiple meanings. It’s a fact of life. Even if every other aspect of Bay Area lingo from “bootsie” to “bipper” can be used in multiple ways, “slap” is where we as a community draw the line. I can’t even think of any other words that we collectively believe should have just one meani…..\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oh, wait: “Bop.” That’s another one. Because, to some, “bop” is a tasteful catchy song. But, uh, where I’m from, it means that you’re a hoe. And I mean “hoe” as in “a promiscuous person,” not “a garden tool.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ah, language. A collection of symbols that people have agreed upon, and oftentimes disagree upon. I bet as soon as the first humans started talking, an argument ensued soon after.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-13908148\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/Twitter.Food_.Slaps_-800x361.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"361\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/Twitter.Food_.Slaps_-800x361.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/Twitter.Food_.Slaps_-1020x461.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/Twitter.Food_.Slaps_-160x72.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/Twitter.Food_.Slaps_-768x347.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/Twitter.Food_.Slaps_-1536x694.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/Twitter.Food_.Slaps_.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Look, when it boils down to it, I’m all for free speech: Say what you want, just know the consequences of your actions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I do stand \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/omgadrian/status/1187570425879904256?lang=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">with E-40\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/p_lo/status/1311551426817007621?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">P-Lo\u003c/a> and many others in this fight against misuse of our innovative idioms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And at the same time, I know words change. Language evolves, just like the world we’re attempting to make sense of through the words we use.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While I envision a world where we can come together on one accord, and conquer the problems of our time—the spread of COVID, the fractured education system, economic disparity, the impending collapse of civilization—I imagine that it’ll be hard to do if we’re arguing about the proper use of lexicon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In conclusion, the Raiders and 49ers are in the playoffs, Klay Thompson is back on the basketball court, housing is a human right, no one should be hungry in the wealthiest country in the world, mass incarceration is inhumane, and we don’t say “food slaps.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But we do say “Frisco.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">I\u003c/span>t’s 2022. Let’s get this out of the way. Stop saying food slaps.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-13833985\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/OGPenn.Cap_-160x184.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"160\" height=\"184\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/OGPenn.Cap_-160x184.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/OGPenn.Cap_.jpg 180w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 160px) 100vw, 160px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We’ve got enough problems as it is. We don’t need game-goofy folks out there misappropriating slang, leading our youth astray and contributing to the further decay of our society. People using a term deeply rooted in the culture of Bay Area hip-hop in a way that has nothing to do with the Bay Area, nor hip-hop.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I invite you to do a simple social media search of the term “\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/search?q=food%20slaps&src=typed_query&f=live\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">food slaps\u003c/a>.” What you’ll find is that fools are \u003cem>still\u003c/em> saying it, and people are \u003cem>still\u003c/em> trying to correct them, bless their hearts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Slap” is about the sound of music when it hits your ears, not the flavor of food when it touches your tastebuds. Period.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here we are, collectively surging into year three of the COVID-19 pandemic, with new variants sending people to hospitals across the country in droves. We really don’t have time to address how our jargon is (mis)used.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We should be worried that the United States’ current surge in COVID-19 cases is so bad that just outside of the nation’s capital, they’re \u003ca href=\"https://www.fox5dc.com/news/montgomery-county-school-officials-call-on-national-guard-amid-bus-driver-shortage\">calling in the National Guard\u003c/a> to drive school buses. We should be alarmed that this past Tuesday, the Hayward school district went\u003ca href=\"https://abc7news.com/hayward-unified-schools-virtual-unfied-learning-distance/11455635/\"> back to distanced learning for a week\u003c/a>, the \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2022/01/06/oakland-teachers-plan-sickout-protest-as-omicron-cases-surge/\">Oakland teachers staged a sick-out\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/ashleynmcb/status/1479604608368476161?s=20\">OUSD students are petitioning\u003c/a> for more COVID-safe resources and threatening to have their own sick-out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s just a couple of the healthcare-related issues. Don’t get me started on \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/consumer-prices-inflation-c1bfd93ed1719cf0135420f4fd0270f9?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=AP\">stark increases on the price of goods\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2021/12/21/1065722993/communities-are-dealing-with-an-increase-in-homicides-whats-behind-the-rise\">the uptick in crime across the nation\u003c/a> and how police companies are leveraging this data \u003ca href=\"https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/cities-vowed-2020-cut-police-funding-budgets-expanded-2021-rcna9864\">to bolster their budgets\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The last thing we need right now is someone getting on Marshawn Lynch’s internet, talking about they “had a sandwich and it was slapping.” Man, what?\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">T\u003c/span>here’s so many \u003ci>other\u003c/i> words to describe food. It can be “delicious,” “scrumptious,” “good”– even “dumbass good.” It can be “hittin’” or “bangin’,” “Smackin’ or “Shhhhmackin’.” One of my favorites is when you ask someone if the food is good and they emphatically reply, “It’s candy, bruh!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It can even be “man, this sh*t right here,” or “that’s that sh*t right there.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But food can’t slap. Don’t say it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before going further into my tirade, I will concede this: I understand the confusion. I’m not exactly sure of the roots of saying “food slaps,” but I know that in the film \u003cem>Friday After Next\u003c/em> (2002), the third installment in the \u003cem>Friday\u003c/em> film trilogy, comedian Don “D.C.” Curry’s character, Uncle Elroy, opens a barbecue restaurant with the tagline, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skKTrYFDYg0\">tastes so good, make you wanna slap your mamma\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After this claim, his brother in the film, Willie Jones (played by the late John Witherspoon), proceeds to slap the ancestors’ blessings out of their mother. Ah, Hollywood magic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There isn’t a piece of food on this earth good enough to make me even think about slapping my momma. “Slap” doesn’t even come to mind when we’re talking about food.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Slap” is reserved for describing the audio experience of encountering someone with a stupid sound system, sliding down the block in a Box Chevy or a Delta 88 \u003cem>slappin’\u003c/em> Keak Da Sneak’s “T-Shirts Blue Jeans & Nikes,” and the bass line is kicking like a mule in heat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Slap” is a descriptor that was popularized during the hyphy movement, circa 2004. It was used to illustrate the type of impact on a person’s face when they encounter D-Lo’s “No Hoe” for the first time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The late great producer Traxamillion used the term “Slapp,” with two Ps, just to emphasize the strength with which the song was slappin’.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13908143\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13908143\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/Traxamillion.SlappAddict-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"A CD with the producer Traxamillion on the cover.\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/Traxamillion.SlappAddict-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/Traxamillion.SlappAddict-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/Traxamillion.SlappAddict-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/Traxamillion.SlappAddict-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/Traxamillion.SlappAddict-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/Traxamillion.SlappAddict.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">San Jose producer Traxamillion’s 2006 album ‘The Slapp Addict’ slapped so hard, it required two “P”s in the title. \u003ccite>(Gabe Meline/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But before we were goin’ dumb, the term was already floating around the music-sphere, most often in reference to “slapping the bass,” a percussive way of playing the bass guitar with one’s thumb. (Larry Graham and Bootsy Collins are the godfathers of slapping, but you’ve probably heard it on \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slbco4zHmt8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Seinfeld\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, or joked about in the movie \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUuplQuk9Ck\">\u003cem>I Love You, Man\u003c/em>\u003c/a>.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And yes, at the same time, \u003ca href=\"https://www.etymonline.com/word/slap\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the etymology of the word “slap”\u003c/a> reportedly dates to the 15th century, rooted in the literal act of gracing one’s cheek (facial or buttock) with a fierce open-palm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So yes, “slap” has multiple meanings, just like so many other words in the English language. But it doesn’t apply to food. That’s the glory of slang, ever-evolving, and keeping the Queen’s English youthful.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">F\u003c/span>or instance, if I say “pull up,” that can mean that I’m asking you to hit a set of 10 on the chin-up bar in the doorway, it can mean come over for a friendly gathering, or it can mean bring yo mark-ass over here I’m finna put these hands on you.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When someone says “put these hands on you,” it means they plan on fighting, squaring up, throwing hands or catching a fade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is where it gets tricky.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Fade,” or rather “fading up,” can also be a request that everyone pitch in a couple dollars on something, usually reefer. Not to mention a “fade route” is a path for a wide receiver to run in football. Being “faded” is being intoxicated. “Fading” something is coloring it in a spectrum that goes from dark to light. And, of course, “a fade” is also a haircut.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And oh man, if your barber or hairstylist is nice at their job, they’ve “got bars.” But having “bars” can also mean that you know how to drive a car extremely well. Or that you’re an exceptional blunt roller. Mind you, saying that a person “got bars” can also mean they are a very skilled rapper.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(You picking up what I’m putting down?)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If a person is a skilled rapper, it’s more common for folks to say that they’re “spittin’ gas”/ “gassin a track.” But be careful, because “gas” can also mean high quality reefer (it always comes back to reefer).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Additionally, “gassin’” can also mean lying, or “blowing up someone’s head.” Lastly, “having gas” can mean fuel in your car’s gas tank, or indigestion in your tummy’s tank.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Context is everything, eh?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-13908144\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/FoodDoesntSlap.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"423\" height=\"423\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/FoodDoesntSlap.jpg 423w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/FoodDoesntSlap-160x160.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 423px) 100vw, 423px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">I\u003c/span> could keep going for days about Northern Californian colloquialisms, and how tricky they are. But the mutation of words isn’t specific to this region—lest I remind you of the great “\u003ca href=\"https://hiphopdx.com/news/id.56660/title.ight-well-bite-examining-hip-hop-twitters-latest-obsession-with-the-glizzy#signup\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">glizzy\u003c/a>” scandal of summer 2020 that had a solid portion of the Atlantic seaboard up in arms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(The term “Glizzy” reportedly originated in the greater Washington D.C. area, and is a euphemism for hot dog, but it comes from how folks would describe a glock, or the extended clip that protrudes from a handgun. And I’m pretty sure there’s some connection to male anatomy in there too.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Point being: words often have multiple meanings. It’s a fact of life. Even if every other aspect of Bay Area lingo from “bootsie” to “bipper” can be used in multiple ways, “slap” is where we as a community draw the line. I can’t even think of any other words that we collectively believe should have just one meani…..\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oh, wait: “Bop.” That’s another one. Because, to some, “bop” is a tasteful catchy song. But, uh, where I’m from, it means that you’re a hoe. And I mean “hoe” as in “a promiscuous person,” not “a garden tool.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ah, language. A collection of symbols that people have agreed upon, and oftentimes disagree upon. I bet as soon as the first humans started talking, an argument ensued soon after.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-13908148\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/Twitter.Food_.Slaps_-800x361.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"361\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/Twitter.Food_.Slaps_-800x361.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/Twitter.Food_.Slaps_-1020x461.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/Twitter.Food_.Slaps_-160x72.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/Twitter.Food_.Slaps_-768x347.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/Twitter.Food_.Slaps_-1536x694.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/Twitter.Food_.Slaps_.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Look, when it boils down to it, I’m all for free speech: Say what you want, just know the consequences of your actions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I do stand \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/omgadrian/status/1187570425879904256?lang=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">with E-40\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/p_lo/status/1311551426817007621?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">P-Lo\u003c/a> and many others in this fight against misuse of our innovative idioms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And at the same time, I know words change. Language evolves, just like the world we’re attempting to make sense of through the words we use.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While I envision a world where we can come together on one accord, and conquer the problems of our time—the spread of COVID, the fractured education system, economic disparity, the impending collapse of civilization—I imagine that it’ll be hard to do if we’re arguing about the proper use of lexicon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In conclusion, the Raiders and 49ers are in the playoffs, Klay Thompson is back on the basketball court, housing is a human right, no one should be hungry in the wealthiest country in the world, mass incarceration is inhumane, and we don’t say “food slaps.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But we do say “Frisco.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Elizabeth Holmes, Convicted of Fraud, is More Fascinating Than Ever",
"headTitle": "Elizabeth Holmes, Convicted of Fraud, is More Fascinating Than Ever | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>Perhaps it’s only right for a story about a convicted criminal to start with a confession.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The following is a partial list of the media I have consumed on the topic of Elizabeth Holmes (no relation), recently convicted of four fraud-related charges for lying to investors in her company, Theranos.\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>The John Carreyrou book \u003ca href=\"https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37976541-bad-blood\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>The John Carreyrou podcast \u003ca href=\"https://www.threeuncannyfour.com/show/bad-blood/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>Bad Blood: The Final Chapter\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>The ABC podcast \u003ca href=\"https://abcnews.go.com/Business/nightline-documentary-podcast-dropout-story-elizabeth-holmes-theranos/story?id=60365362\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>The Dropout\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>The Alex Gibney documentary \u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8488126/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>I have listened to the Carreyrou book on audio — twice. I have watched the Gibney documentary, I believe, three times. If Theranos Fever is a disease, I am the patient who kept going back and putting my mouth directly on the water fountain, no matter how many times they tell me to stop, making myself sick all over again.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>The draw of the scam\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13148571']Part of this, I admit, is rooted in a more general weakness for stories about brazen grabs for other people’s money, particularly people who have a lot of it. People who have enough money that they buy \u003cem>Magic Beans: The Painting\u003c/em>, \u003cem>Magic Beans: The Stock\u003c/em>, \u003cem>Magic Beans: The Experience\u003c/em>. There were two documentaries in 2019 about the ill-fated Fyre Festival, and I watched both. I would have watched three. (Who am I kidding? I would have watched ten. That iconic and possibly apocryphal \u003ca href=\"https://www.vice.com/en/article/mb8va8/the-full-story-of-the-legendary-fyre-festival-cheese-sandwich\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">cheese sandwich\u003c/a>!) I love \u003cem>Sour Grapes\u003c/em>, about rich types who paid small fortunes for counterfeit wine, and \u003cem>Made You Look: A True Story About Fake Art\u003c/em>, about a massive bamboozle involving paintings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As it related to investors, Theranos has always been, for me, a bit like \u003cem>Magic Beans: The Startup\u003c/em>: something rich people invested in because other rich people were doing it and said they should do it too. And when the magic evaporated, well, all those rich people were \u003cem>furious\u003c/em>. If you take this comparison to its logical conclusion, here’s the question: Was Elizabeth Holmes the seller, or was she, in fact, the beans? Did she make the shiny object, or was she herself the shiny object?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you have thus far avoided Theranos Fever, some basics: Holmes was a young Stanford dropout who wanted to be the Steve Jobs of biotech. (When she was still in college, she had this idea that you could put a patch on your arm that would detect your medical problem \u003cem>and \u003c/em>administer your medications through your skin. When I try to envision this, it’s always on George Jetson.) She carried her Jobs-iness through her adoption of a black-turtleneck uniform, her hiring of people who came from Apple, and her apparent conviction that a slick-looking interface was the lever you pulled to make money come out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Later, she began to follow her dream of making a machine that could run hundreds of medical tests on a couple of drops of blood from pricking your finger. She raised a fortune from investors, got on the \u003ca href=\"https://fortune.com/2014/06/12/theranos-blood-holmes/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">cover of \u003cem>Fortune\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, hobnobbed with political and financial mucky-mucks of many stripes, was hailed as the rare woman to break through the very male world of Silicon Valley startup founders, and then \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2022/01/03/1063973490/elizabeth-holmes-trial-verdict-guilty-theranos\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">saw it all go to pieces\u003c/a> when it turned out that the machines didn’t work the way she hoped and she, according to the charges on which she was just convicted, didn’t tell her investors the truth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtDaP18OGfw\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Elizabeth Holmes belongs to a robust cohort of startup founders who have seen their reputations tank. (WeWork’s ousted Adam Neumann \u003ca href=\"https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/09/ousted-wework-ceo-adam-neumann-47-billion-valuation-went-to-his-head.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">saying a $47 billion valuation\u003c/a> might just have warped his perspective is \u003cem>amazing\u003c/em>.) But there’s something about the brazenness with which she operated that makes her mesmerizing to me. You can keep your high-level financial maneuvers and your sophisticated document manipulations: according to Carreyrou’s reporting and some of the \u003ca href=\"https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/10/theranos-devices-ran-demo-apps-that-blocked-error-messages-during-investor-pitches/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">trial testimony\u003c/a>, Theranos got around demands for demonstrations of its machines with painfully obvious dodges—moves about as complicated as making beeping noises with your mouth to make a toddler think you’re a robot.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Self-made, indeed\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>I keep asking myself: How did \u003cem>any \u003c/em>of this work? On \u003cem>anybody\u003c/em>? How did she have two former Secretaries of State on her board (Henry Kissinger and George Schultz), both over 90 years old, and wiggle around the doubts about her motives that one would think decades of experience in diplomacy would instill? How did a company like Walgreens, which undoubtedly wouldn’t change the length of the tail on the “W” logo without being certain that they understood every last possible consequence, \u003ca href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/10/13/theranos-walgreens-holmes/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">spend $140 million\u003c/a> on a doomed deal with Theranos?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Maybe it was her capacity for invention after all—not invention of the machine, but invention of herself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='science_1978159']Consider this: Elizabeth Holmes was touted at one point as the \u003ca href=\"https://www.forbes.com/profile/elizabeth-holmes/?sh=3ceea43147a7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">youngest-ever woman self-made billionaire\u003c/a>, but \u003cem>Forbes\u003c/em> revised her net worth from billions to zero in a single year. And it wasn’t because she gave all that money away or spent it on candy and magazines. It just no longer existed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s almost charming, the \u003cem>verve \u003c/em>of this particular kind of operator, right? Imagine I walked up to you with my hand held behind my back, and I told you I had a unicorn horn of potentially unlimited value. Imagine I offered you a one percent interest in my unicorn horn, which you have not seen yet, for $10,000. And imagine you believed me. You paid me the money.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the one hand, I only have $10,000. But on the other, I own a unicorn horn that has been valued by the market at one million dollars. \u003cem>I am a self-made millionaire.\u003c/em> You may have never even seen the unicorn horn, but I have the proof of its worth. Your belief in me has defined me! \u003cem>How impressive\u003c/em>, someone might say when walking past me, \u003cem>that yesterday she was broke, and today, she is a self-made millionaire! \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In this example, I do not actually have a unicorn horn, of course. And I don’t have a million dollars. But I have a \u003cem>story\u003c/em>. And Elizabeth Holmes did not have operational technology that could do hundreds of tests on a finger prick’s worth of blood, and she did not have billions of dollars. But she had a story.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13907778\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13907778\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/ap968958996355-24d4e67337d532b606ad114fb8e04bd720aa7480-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"Elizabeth Holmes, in her trademark black turtleneck, blonde hair pulled back into a messy ponytail, leans forward to listen to someone.\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/ap968958996355-24d4e67337d532b606ad114fb8e04bd720aa7480-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/ap968958996355-24d4e67337d532b606ad114fb8e04bd720aa7480-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/ap968958996355-24d4e67337d532b606ad114fb8e04bd720aa7480-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/ap968958996355-24d4e67337d532b606ad114fb8e04bd720aa7480-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/ap968958996355-24d4e67337d532b606ad114fb8e04bd720aa7480-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/ap968958996355-24d4e67337d532b606ad114fb8e04bd720aa7480-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/ap968958996355-24d4e67337d532b606ad114fb8e04bd720aa7480-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Elizabeth Holmes speaks at the Fortune Global Forum in San Francisco in 2015. \u003ccite>(Jeff Chiu/AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch3>Underestimate her at your peril\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>We come, inevitably, to this: Most of the purveyors of magic beans who have become cultural (and sometimes criminal) legends have been men. Plenty of people before me have spent considerable time since Holmes came to power analyzing the complicated gender dynamics around her rise and fall. We know sexism is rampant in tech, in Silicon Valley, in press coverage, in everything. No one gets the chance to opt out of all relevant context. She’s sometimes argued that the treatment of her has been sexist compared to the treatment of other similarly sketchy startup founders, and it probably has been at times. Why wouldn’t it be? How couldn’t it be?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='news_11900856']But the gender dynamics in the Theranos story pull in multiple directions. Skepticism—lack of faith in one’s work and ability—can be the result of bias. But maybe in this case, the many powerful men pulled into her orbit as investors or board members or public allies—or, in some cases, credulous journalists—were \u003cem>less \u003c/em>skeptical of her than they might have been if she weren’t a young woman. Maybe they just didn’t have their antennae up. When you see the way men like George Schultz acted around her, it doesn’t seem patronizing as much as just \u003cem>paternal\u003c/em>. Introducing her in 2015, \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CB5_68CIt_k&ab_channel=StanfordInstituteforEconomicPolicyResearch%28SIEPR%29\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Schultz said\u003c/a> his first thought when he met her was that she seemed like a friend of his granddaughter’s. He claimed that he quickly realized he’d underestimated her, and he began to rave about her accomplishments. But did he \u003cem>really\u003c/em> understand the ways he’d underestimated her?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What if the most important sexist misapprehension of Elizabeth Holmes was that some of her backers believed young women to be less driven, less capable, and therefore less dangerous to take at their word than young men? What if they underestimated not just her abilities, but also her ruthlessness? What if she keenly understood sexism and used it to her advantage? And what if, given the way Silicon Valley works, the way tech works, the way big money works, a woman less willing to exploit sexism would not have stood a chance?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Vanessa Friedman \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/17/style/elizabeth-holmes-trial-makeover.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">wrote in the \u003cem>New York Times\u003c/em>\u003c/a> recently about Holmes’ image makeover before and at her trial. She described it as a transformation “from black-clad genius to besuited milquetoast.” Whatever the purpose of that change was, it’s hard to deny that the Elizabeth Holmes of her trial was a very different one from the Elizabeth you will see in any footage that was taken during the highest highs of her publicity swings. As the aforementioned Theranos enthusiast I am, I almost didn’t recognize her the first time I saw her during her trial. Different hair, different makeup, different clothes, different bearing, the abandonment of \u003cem>every \u003c/em>element of her Theranos-era style. (Except, of course, her deep voice, which I have considered mostly a distraction—if she artificially started speaking in a lower voice at some point because people didn’t take her seriously, that’s a modest and understandable manipulation.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13907781\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13907781\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/GettyImages-1237525059-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/GettyImages-1237525059-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/GettyImages-1237525059-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/GettyImages-1237525059-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/GettyImages-1237525059-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/GettyImages-1237525059-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/GettyImages-1237525059-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/GettyImages-1237525059-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Elizabeth Holmes (2nd L) walks with her partner Billy Evans (L), her mother Noel Holmes and a lawyer as they leave the Robert F. Peckham Federal Building on January 3, 2022 in San Jose. \u003ccite>(David Odisho/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>This question also got a lot more prickly when Holmes testified about sexual and emotional abuse she said she suffered at the hands of Sunny Balwani, her significantly older former boyfriend and her number-two at Theranos. Raising the issue of intimate partner abuse in the context of this trial, to suggest Balwani was really the driver of the bad acts at Theranos, was \u003cem>really\u003c/em> complicated to navigate, only partly because so much of what had been reported about Elizabeth Holmes had focused on how forceful she was, how in charge.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>More to come\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Pop culture is not through with Elizabeth Holmes. Apple has a movie coming (perhaps not the connection to Apple that Holmes dreamed of) in which Jennifer Lawrence will play her. Adam McKay (\u003cem>The Big Short\u003c/em>) is directing, so it’s probably not going to be a particularly \u003cem>flattering \u003c/em>portrait. \u003ca href=\"https://www.theverge.com/2021/12/15/22838297/hulu-amanda-seyfried-elizabeth-holmes-theranos\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Hulu has a limited series\u003c/a> coming much sooner, in March, in which Holmes is played by Amanda Seyfried. There were two podcasts, at least one big book, a big documentary … it only makes sense that there will be two high-profile fictional Elizabeths as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I know myself. I will watch both.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/U_pasana/status/1479157325797552128\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">visit NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Elizabeth+Holmes%2C+convicted+of+fraud%2C+is+our+latest+seller+of+false+hope+&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "It's possible that Holmes recognized—and then relied on—sexist notions in tech to keep the sham going for as long as she did.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Perhaps it’s only right for a story about a convicted criminal to start with a confession.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The following is a partial list of the media I have consumed on the topic of Elizabeth Holmes (no relation), recently convicted of four fraud-related charges for lying to investors in her company, Theranos.\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>The John Carreyrou book \u003ca href=\"https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37976541-bad-blood\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>The John Carreyrou podcast \u003ca href=\"https://www.threeuncannyfour.com/show/bad-blood/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>Bad Blood: The Final Chapter\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>The ABC podcast \u003ca href=\"https://abcnews.go.com/Business/nightline-documentary-podcast-dropout-story-elizabeth-holmes-theranos/story?id=60365362\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>The Dropout\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>The Alex Gibney documentary \u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8488126/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>I have listened to the Carreyrou book on audio — twice. I have watched the Gibney documentary, I believe, three times. If Theranos Fever is a disease, I am the patient who kept going back and putting my mouth directly on the water fountain, no matter how many times they tell me to stop, making myself sick all over again.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>The draw of the scam\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Part of this, I admit, is rooted in a more general weakness for stories about brazen grabs for other people’s money, particularly people who have a lot of it. People who have enough money that they buy \u003cem>Magic Beans: The Painting\u003c/em>, \u003cem>Magic Beans: The Stock\u003c/em>, \u003cem>Magic Beans: The Experience\u003c/em>. There were two documentaries in 2019 about the ill-fated Fyre Festival, and I watched both. I would have watched three. (Who am I kidding? I would have watched ten. That iconic and possibly apocryphal \u003ca href=\"https://www.vice.com/en/article/mb8va8/the-full-story-of-the-legendary-fyre-festival-cheese-sandwich\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">cheese sandwich\u003c/a>!) I love \u003cem>Sour Grapes\u003c/em>, about rich types who paid small fortunes for counterfeit wine, and \u003cem>Made You Look: A True Story About Fake Art\u003c/em>, about a massive bamboozle involving paintings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As it related to investors, Theranos has always been, for me, a bit like \u003cem>Magic Beans: The Startup\u003c/em>: something rich people invested in because other rich people were doing it and said they should do it too. And when the magic evaporated, well, all those rich people were \u003cem>furious\u003c/em>. If you take this comparison to its logical conclusion, here’s the question: Was Elizabeth Holmes the seller, or was she, in fact, the beans? Did she make the shiny object, or was she herself the shiny object?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you have thus far avoided Theranos Fever, some basics: Holmes was a young Stanford dropout who wanted to be the Steve Jobs of biotech. (When she was still in college, she had this idea that you could put a patch on your arm that would detect your medical problem \u003cem>and \u003c/em>administer your medications through your skin. When I try to envision this, it’s always on George Jetson.) She carried her Jobs-iness through her adoption of a black-turtleneck uniform, her hiring of people who came from Apple, and her apparent conviction that a slick-looking interface was the lever you pulled to make money come out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Later, she began to follow her dream of making a machine that could run hundreds of medical tests on a couple of drops of blood from pricking your finger. She raised a fortune from investors, got on the \u003ca href=\"https://fortune.com/2014/06/12/theranos-blood-holmes/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">cover of \u003cem>Fortune\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, hobnobbed with political and financial mucky-mucks of many stripes, was hailed as the rare woman to break through the very male world of Silicon Valley startup founders, and then \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2022/01/03/1063973490/elizabeth-holmes-trial-verdict-guilty-theranos\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">saw it all go to pieces\u003c/a> when it turned out that the machines didn’t work the way she hoped and she, according to the charges on which she was just convicted, didn’t tell her investors the truth.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/wtDaP18OGfw'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/wtDaP18OGfw'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Elizabeth Holmes belongs to a robust cohort of startup founders who have seen their reputations tank. (WeWork’s ousted Adam Neumann \u003ca href=\"https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/09/ousted-wework-ceo-adam-neumann-47-billion-valuation-went-to-his-head.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">saying a $47 billion valuation\u003c/a> might just have warped his perspective is \u003cem>amazing\u003c/em>.) But there’s something about the brazenness with which she operated that makes her mesmerizing to me. You can keep your high-level financial maneuvers and your sophisticated document manipulations: according to Carreyrou’s reporting and some of the \u003ca href=\"https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/10/theranos-devices-ran-demo-apps-that-blocked-error-messages-during-investor-pitches/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">trial testimony\u003c/a>, Theranos got around demands for demonstrations of its machines with painfully obvious dodges—moves about as complicated as making beeping noises with your mouth to make a toddler think you’re a robot.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Self-made, indeed\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>I keep asking myself: How did \u003cem>any \u003c/em>of this work? On \u003cem>anybody\u003c/em>? How did she have two former Secretaries of State on her board (Henry Kissinger and George Schultz), both over 90 years old, and wiggle around the doubts about her motives that one would think decades of experience in diplomacy would instill? How did a company like Walgreens, which undoubtedly wouldn’t change the length of the tail on the “W” logo without being certain that they understood every last possible consequence, \u003ca href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/10/13/theranos-walgreens-holmes/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">spend $140 million\u003c/a> on a doomed deal with Theranos?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Maybe it was her capacity for invention after all—not invention of the machine, but invention of herself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Consider this: Elizabeth Holmes was touted at one point as the \u003ca href=\"https://www.forbes.com/profile/elizabeth-holmes/?sh=3ceea43147a7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">youngest-ever woman self-made billionaire\u003c/a>, but \u003cem>Forbes\u003c/em> revised her net worth from billions to zero in a single year. And it wasn’t because she gave all that money away or spent it on candy and magazines. It just no longer existed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s almost charming, the \u003cem>verve \u003c/em>of this particular kind of operator, right? Imagine I walked up to you with my hand held behind my back, and I told you I had a unicorn horn of potentially unlimited value. Imagine I offered you a one percent interest in my unicorn horn, which you have not seen yet, for $10,000. And imagine you believed me. You paid me the money.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the one hand, I only have $10,000. But on the other, I own a unicorn horn that has been valued by the market at one million dollars. \u003cem>I am a self-made millionaire.\u003c/em> You may have never even seen the unicorn horn, but I have the proof of its worth. Your belief in me has defined me! \u003cem>How impressive\u003c/em>, someone might say when walking past me, \u003cem>that yesterday she was broke, and today, she is a self-made millionaire! \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In this example, I do not actually have a unicorn horn, of course. And I don’t have a million dollars. But I have a \u003cem>story\u003c/em>. And Elizabeth Holmes did not have operational technology that could do hundreds of tests on a finger prick’s worth of blood, and she did not have billions of dollars. But she had a story.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13907778\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13907778\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/ap968958996355-24d4e67337d532b606ad114fb8e04bd720aa7480-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"Elizabeth Holmes, in her trademark black turtleneck, blonde hair pulled back into a messy ponytail, leans forward to listen to someone.\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/ap968958996355-24d4e67337d532b606ad114fb8e04bd720aa7480-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/ap968958996355-24d4e67337d532b606ad114fb8e04bd720aa7480-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/ap968958996355-24d4e67337d532b606ad114fb8e04bd720aa7480-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/ap968958996355-24d4e67337d532b606ad114fb8e04bd720aa7480-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/ap968958996355-24d4e67337d532b606ad114fb8e04bd720aa7480-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/ap968958996355-24d4e67337d532b606ad114fb8e04bd720aa7480-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/ap968958996355-24d4e67337d532b606ad114fb8e04bd720aa7480-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Elizabeth Holmes speaks at the Fortune Global Forum in San Francisco in 2015. \u003ccite>(Jeff Chiu/AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch3>Underestimate her at your peril\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>We come, inevitably, to this: Most of the purveyors of magic beans who have become cultural (and sometimes criminal) legends have been men. Plenty of people before me have spent considerable time since Holmes came to power analyzing the complicated gender dynamics around her rise and fall. We know sexism is rampant in tech, in Silicon Valley, in press coverage, in everything. No one gets the chance to opt out of all relevant context. She’s sometimes argued that the treatment of her has been sexist compared to the treatment of other similarly sketchy startup founders, and it probably has been at times. Why wouldn’t it be? How couldn’t it be?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>But the gender dynamics in the Theranos story pull in multiple directions. Skepticism—lack of faith in one’s work and ability—can be the result of bias. But maybe in this case, the many powerful men pulled into her orbit as investors or board members or public allies—or, in some cases, credulous journalists—were \u003cem>less \u003c/em>skeptical of her than they might have been if she weren’t a young woman. Maybe they just didn’t have their antennae up. When you see the way men like George Schultz acted around her, it doesn’t seem patronizing as much as just \u003cem>paternal\u003c/em>. Introducing her in 2015, \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CB5_68CIt_k&ab_channel=StanfordInstituteforEconomicPolicyResearch%28SIEPR%29\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Schultz said\u003c/a> his first thought when he met her was that she seemed like a friend of his granddaughter’s. He claimed that he quickly realized he’d underestimated her, and he began to rave about her accomplishments. But did he \u003cem>really\u003c/em> understand the ways he’d underestimated her?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What if the most important sexist misapprehension of Elizabeth Holmes was that some of her backers believed young women to be less driven, less capable, and therefore less dangerous to take at their word than young men? What if they underestimated not just her abilities, but also her ruthlessness? What if she keenly understood sexism and used it to her advantage? And what if, given the way Silicon Valley works, the way tech works, the way big money works, a woman less willing to exploit sexism would not have stood a chance?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Vanessa Friedman \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/17/style/elizabeth-holmes-trial-makeover.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">wrote in the \u003cem>New York Times\u003c/em>\u003c/a> recently about Holmes’ image makeover before and at her trial. She described it as a transformation “from black-clad genius to besuited milquetoast.” Whatever the purpose of that change was, it’s hard to deny that the Elizabeth Holmes of her trial was a very different one from the Elizabeth you will see in any footage that was taken during the highest highs of her publicity swings. As the aforementioned Theranos enthusiast I am, I almost didn’t recognize her the first time I saw her during her trial. Different hair, different makeup, different clothes, different bearing, the abandonment of \u003cem>every \u003c/em>element of her Theranos-era style. (Except, of course, her deep voice, which I have considered mostly a distraction—if she artificially started speaking in a lower voice at some point because people didn’t take her seriously, that’s a modest and understandable manipulation.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13907781\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13907781\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/GettyImages-1237525059-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/GettyImages-1237525059-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/GettyImages-1237525059-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/GettyImages-1237525059-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/GettyImages-1237525059-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/GettyImages-1237525059-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/GettyImages-1237525059-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/GettyImages-1237525059-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Elizabeth Holmes (2nd L) walks with her partner Billy Evans (L), her mother Noel Holmes and a lawyer as they leave the Robert F. Peckham Federal Building on January 3, 2022 in San Jose. \u003ccite>(David Odisho/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>This question also got a lot more prickly when Holmes testified about sexual and emotional abuse she said she suffered at the hands of Sunny Balwani, her significantly older former boyfriend and her number-two at Theranos. Raising the issue of intimate partner abuse in the context of this trial, to suggest Balwani was really the driver of the bad acts at Theranos, was \u003cem>really\u003c/em> complicated to navigate, only partly because so much of what had been reported about Elizabeth Holmes had focused on how forceful she was, how in charge.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>More to come\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Pop culture is not through with Elizabeth Holmes. Apple has a movie coming (perhaps not the connection to Apple that Holmes dreamed of) in which Jennifer Lawrence will play her. Adam McKay (\u003cem>The Big Short\u003c/em>) is directing, so it’s probably not going to be a particularly \u003cem>flattering \u003c/em>portrait. \u003ca href=\"https://www.theverge.com/2021/12/15/22838297/hulu-amanda-seyfried-elizabeth-holmes-theranos\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Hulu has a limited series\u003c/a> coming much sooner, in March, in which Holmes is played by Amanda Seyfried. There were two podcasts, at least one big book, a big documentary … it only makes sense that there will be two high-profile fictional Elizabeths as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I know myself. I will watch both.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"info": "\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />",
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"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
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"id": "fresh-air",
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"hidden-brain": {
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"info": "Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.",
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"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
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"hyphenacion": {
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"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
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"jerrybrown": {
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"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
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"order": 18
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},
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"title": "Latino USA",
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"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
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},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
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"source": "American Public Media"
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"masters-of-scale": {
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"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
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"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
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},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
"tagline": "A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids",
"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/mindshift/",
"meta": {
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"order": 12
},
"link": "/podcasts/mindshift",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
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},
"morning-edition": {
"id": "morning-edition",
"title": "Morning Edition",
"info": "\u003cem>Morning Edition\u003c/em> takes listeners around the country and the world with multi-faceted stories and commentaries every weekday. Hosts Steve Inskeep, David Greene and Rachel Martin bring you the latest breaking news and features to prepare you for the day.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3am-9am",
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"onourwatch": {
"id": "onourwatch",
"title": "On Our Watch",
"tagline": "Deeply-reported investigative journalism",
"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/On-Our-Watch-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
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"order": 11
},
"link": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5ucHIub3JnLzUxMDM2MC9wb2RjYXN0LnhtbD9zYz1nb29nbGVwb2RjYXN0cw",
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},
"on-the-media": {
"id": "on-the-media",
"title": "On The Media",
"info": "Our weekly podcast explores how the media 'sausage' is made, casts an incisive eye on fluctuations in the marketplace of ideas, and examines threats to the freedom of information and expression in America and abroad. For one hour a week, the show tries to lift the veil from the process of \"making media,\" especially news media, because it's through that lens that we see the world and the world sees us",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm-3pm, MON 12am-1am",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/onTheMedia.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/otm",
"meta": {
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},
"link": "/radio/program/on-the-media",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/on-the-media/id73330715?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/On-the-Media-p69/",
"rss": "http://feeds.wnyc.org/onthemedia"
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},
"pbs-newshour": {
"id": "pbs-newshour",
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"info": "Analysis, background reports and updates from the PBS NewsHour putting today's news in context.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3pm-4pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/PBS-News-Hour-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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},
"link": "/radio/program/pbs-newshour",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/pbs-newshour-full-show/id394432287?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/PBS-NewsHour---Full-Show-p425698/",
"rss": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/feeds/rss/podcasts/show"
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},
"perspectives": {
"id": "perspectives",
"title": "Perspectives",
"tagline": "KQED's series of daily listener commentaries since 1991",
"info": "KQED's series of daily listener commentaries since 1991.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Perspectives_Tile_Final.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/perspectives/",
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"order": 14
},
"link": "/perspectives",
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"planet-money": {
"id": "planet-money",
"title": "Planet Money",
"info": "The economy explained. Imagine you could call up a friend and say, Meet me at the bar and tell me what's going on with the economy. Now imagine that's actually a fun evening.",
"airtime": "SUN 3pm-4pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/planetmoney.jpg",
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"meta": {
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},
"link": "/radio/program/planet-money",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/planet-money/id290783428?mt=2",
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},
"politicalbreakdown": {
"id": "politicalbreakdown",
"title": "Political Breakdown",
"tagline": "Politics from a personal perspective",
"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
"airtime": "THU 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Political-Breakdown-2024-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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