When the State Doesn’t Care
Migrant domestic workers banding together, Lebanon’s struggle for infrastructure, getting an abortion in Buffalo, #WrittenByAWoman, and more
November 18, 2021
Fighting for the Basics
Since Home Secretary Theresa May declared her aim “to create, here in Britain, a really hostile environment for illegal immigrants” in 2012, British health care workers, educators, landlords, and bankers have turned into proxy immigration police, Annelise Orleck writes. Once again, migrant domestic workers are finding refuge in Waling Waling, an activist group named for the flower that blossoms in harsh conditions. (November 17, 2021)
“One friend sent me a photo of car batteries rigged to charge phones and laptops, and recounted multiple bouts of serious food poisoning due to lack of reliable electricity. Others describe shortages of medications at the pharmacy, from basic over the counter medications to those medicines to treat life threatening illnesses like cancer.” Joanne Randa Nucho examines the struggle for public infrastructure in Lebanon—and what it means for the rest of us. (November 17, 2021)
An Abortion in Buffalo
Twenty years after terminating a pregnancy, Christen Clifford shares how her understanding of reproductive justice has evolved—and why telling abortion stories still matters. “I was dizzy in the sun afterward, and sat down on the grass by the street. ‘Stand up, Christen!’ my boyfriend barked. It was the first time I’d seen him wear sunglasses.” (November 16, 2021)
Last Week on the Internet
“Is there, in fact, a distinctively ‘female gaze’—and if there is, is it beneficial,
or necessarily feminist, to deploy it?” Public Seminar’s Madeleine Janz unpacks the #WrittenByAWoman trend that has Gen Z women both parodying sexual tropes and romanticizing “the bare minimum of male care.” (November 17, 2021)
Propaganda, Boys, and Guns
As the jury in Wisconsin approaches a verdict in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial, Claire Potter observes that something’s missing from our national debate: “No one really wants to talk about how this dumb kid ended up in Kenosha in the first place, armed with a box of Band-Aids on his belt and an AR-15 in his hands.” (November 16, 2021)