A Week of Complying in Advance

We're a week past the assassination of he who shall not be named, and tragically those is power seek to lionize a loser. I won't inundate you with all the news on the specifics of the shooting itself because I'm sure you've heard a lot about that already, but there have been a lot of interesting writing on the world the shooter inhabited that led him to this shooting. I think more and more calling him a "leftist" or "right-wing" is insufficient to describe the actual ideology of this shooter. I did not know what a "groyper" was before any of this and the more I learn the more psychic damage I take. So I'll drop some info on that, as well as some fun little examples of media complying in advance to fascism in the way of censorship of any even small critique of the right's new favorite matyr.

News to Know

Bullets Found After the Charlie Kirk Shooting Carried Messages. Here’s What They Mean (Wired) - This is what I mean when I say that trying to paint his ideology as what we traditionally consider as right or left may be the wrong lens to look at it. This article goes over the various video game and meme references that were inscribed onto the shooters bullets.
Trey Reed’s Family Calls for Independent Autopsy After He Was Found Hanging in Tree; Police Say Video Exists (Mississippi Free Press): News of this hanging comes after last week's wave of campus safety threats that sent several HBCUs on lockdown in the wake of Kirk's killing. Definitely keep your eyes on the words of the family, as we start to see descrepancies between the information shared from the police to the family versus the media. Either way, this is a reminder to look to those most marginalized in your communities because the right will go after these vulnerable populations first.
Does Jimmy Kimmel’s removal over Charlie Kirk violate freedom of speech? (Al Jazeera): Here's a full run-down on Jimmy Kimmel getting taken off the air, what he said, and if it's actually a violation of free speech. Definitely important to keep tabs on because censorship is... not good.

Lavender Vibes

Destinos - I have been wanting to become properly fluent at Spanish! I've learned it on and off since 4th grade, but now I've been trying to be intentional about my learning, so I started watching Destinos! Destinos is a 52 episode telenovela that was made in the 1990s to help you learn Spanish. It starts of with the characters speaking slowly and there's more guidance from the narration, and then as the show goes on the characters will bring themselves to a more natural speaking pace. What's really cool about this program is it was developed at the University of Illinois! I'm only a few episodes in so I'll have to report back on the quality of the later episodes, but thus far is weaves an interesting story of a long held family mystery with learning beginner Spanish. - Jada
What Is Necropolitics? The Political Calculation of Life and Death (Teen Vogue): A tiktoker I like recommended this reading in the wake of the Charlie Kirk assassination and I feel like it's verbalizing a lot of thoughts I've been having on his death in comparison of those who aren't wealthy white men. This article was written in 2021 but its themes echo through today as we think on the current assault on Palestinian lives in Gaza and the killing and subjugation of Black and Brown people within our own country. Read this and think on whose deaths our society values and how that informs policy and the world around us. - Jada
SNL's Media-opoly: Okay this is not where I originally saw this video, but every once in a while this video goes around and it is very important to remember in this moment of media consolidation. This is a Schoolhouse rock style clip from a 1998 episode of SNL that in song addresses how large media companies control the news to protect their own assets. The segment was pulled from reruns because it hit a little too close to home for the bigwigs (you can read a fully story on this here). Note when watching this that media companies have consolidated even further, and then think about where you get your news from and how that may affect its coverage. And even if you don't, give this a watch cuz it's a pretty catchy lil song. - Jada