<commit_before>> I’m avoiding the elephant in the room—_Tuesday_ (and beyond)—because I haven’t got it in me. But I’ll say this: _Freedom, justice, and democracy require constant vigilance._ There is not here, but here could become quite like there.

[I wrote those words back in November, the week of the American election.](https://lucascherkewski.com/hit-and-miss/165-blowing-hot-air/)
<commit_msg>draft for this week<commit_after>A sunny walk, some Motown ([from Ikechúkwú Onyewuenyi’s “chez baldwin” playlist](https://hyperallergic.com/606491/listening-to-the-joy-in-james-baldwins-record-collection/)), and some quiet kitchen puttering—I’m settling nicely back into winter routines.

Of course, in many ways, this week was anything but routine.

> I’m avoiding the elephant in the room—_Tuesday_ (and beyond)—because I haven’t got it in me. But I’ll say this: _Freedom, justice, and democracy require constant vigilance._ There is not here, but here could become quite like there.

[I wrote those words back in November, the week of the American election.](https://lucascherkewski.com/hit-and-miss/165-blowing-hot-air/)

This week saw yet another, ever bolder, manifestation of weeks, months, or years (centuries? it all depends how you count it) of white supremacy, taking a particularly overt anti-democratic flavour. Attacking a legislature is high up there in the list of anti-democratic actions. Police officers standing by while it happened, because the perpetrators were white, is an excellent example of how policing and white supremacy can be so tightly intertwined.

And of course this isn’t a solely American problem. We hear and feel a lot about the States because it’s the hegemon, but similar rhetoric rings out in Canada (shouted sometimes by the same people). I’m heartened to see more attention to that, directed at incidents both overt (like political parties adopting the same rhetoric as American white supremacists) and covert (like racist policies perpetuated by most every sitting government).

Most of my reading on this this week has been in the Twitter whirlwind, hence the lack of links. If you’ve come across any particularly good discussions or critiques, I’d be curious for a link. I’ll be reading _The Parable of the Sower_ this week, fiction that rings all too true for these days.

Onward we go, with determination for a better world, my friends—all the best for the week ahead.

Lucas
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