Life

My Brother, My Best Friend

There really is pain that extends beyond your own body.  I promise. My baby brother was literally my best friend.  He knew things about me that nobody else knew.  Not even secret things, just the things you know about someone when you’ve lived your entire life in arms’ reach.  We grew up in 1500 square …

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Life

Yes, Matt, You Too.

Look, white people are racist.  All of us.  We can’t help it.  It’s really not even our fault anymore.  I certainly didn’t ask for five hundred years of colonialist schadenfreude to give me a head start and a shitty attitude toward anyone brown, but even though my parents were dedicated to teaching a belief in equality …

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Society

This Is America, 2018

No names mentioned here.  The state of our union is such that the people who stand up for what’s right have to protect themselves from identification by those who would harass and even harm them for speaking.  This is America, 2018. “I’ve been here five days, and nobody’s even said the name Trump,” he said, …

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Life

Blame, Responsibility and Absolution

For all the furrowed brows and gnashing of teeth we experience in our youth, trying to make ourselves independent, unique people with a genuine, well-considered moral code and a consistent structure of beliefs and actions, the truth is that we mostly learn the important things from the people around us when we’re young. I often …

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