Link: Square Dancing and White Supremacy

This is really depressing. Especially given the political news lately. :-( The article dates from 2017. I had noticed that International Folk Dancing is really white. Square dancing is too, and maybe it's not just coincidental.

Do Si Don't: America’s wholesome square dancing tradition is a tool of white supremacy by Robyn Pennacchia.

To understand how square dancing became a state-mandated means of celebrating Americana, it’s necessary to go back to Henry Ford, the founder of Ford Motor Vehicles. Ford hated jazz; he hated the Charleston. He also really hated Jewish people, and believed that Jewish people invented jazz as part of a nefarious plot to corrupt the masses and take over the world—a theory that might come as a surprise to the black people who actually did invent it.

Stories! Complex relationships

Some stories from mrissa's 2023 Q1 list of short stories.

A Princess With a Nose Three Ells Long by Malda Marlys. Delightful! Content note for a neglectful/abusive mother off-screen. The adult daughter is doing just fine.

Perhaps in Understanding by Anamaria Curtis. Also delightful! The writing is full of sensory details and it's about navigating a world of complex relationships and discerning inner truths.

Our Grandmother's Words by M.H. Ayinde. Content note for death and colonialism. Linked because it is a beautifully told story that does not make light of the deaths and losses caused by colonialism. It celebrates resistance.

This last one is not at all the sort of thing I usually link to. Or finish reading! But somehow it pulled me all the way through, and it has certainly stayed with me. Content notes for body horror and death. And complex mother and sister relationships.

With stories that shriek so loudly of violence, I always wonder if there's a quieter way to make the underlying point, or if the violence is the whole point. I sense there's more substance here, but I'm not sure what the message is or if I agree with it. Also when I stepped back from the story it seemed like there was definitely a message about race and racism, and again I'm not sure what it is or if I agree with it. Discreet Services Offered for Women Ridden by Hags by Stephanie Malia Morris.