An Ode to Tweeps

7 things, with links to twitter

Beach in Quoddy Head State Park (taken on iPhone SE)

1. So, Elon bought Twitter. Since then, he has fired top execs, asked employees to print their last 30-60 days of code for review, asked employees to stop printing and shred the printouts, said he would charge $20 a month for verification, immediately backed down to $8 when Stephen King said “fuck that,” fired most of the employees, lost all his advertisers, gotten hit with a lawsuit, declared parodies illegal, asked some of the just laid off employees to come back, tanked Tesla stock, and said Twitter might go bankrupt, been unreachable for comment, and suspended the rollout of the $8/mo verification program due to issues. It’s been two weeks. One side effect of Elon’s ineptitude is that  twitter has arguably been very, very, funny.

2. I’ve lived in Quebec and Maine since June and, although I’ve seen a lot of beautiful landscapes, I still haven’t seen a single moose. Alaska doesn’t seem to have that issue.

3. Last week I finally read We Do This Til We Free Us by Mariame Kaba. The book provides a brilliant discussion of abolition, the importance of imagination and determination in creating a better future, and how “everything worthwhile is done with other people.” I highly recommend it. 

4. The Supreme Court is considering dismantling the ICWA. This would be catastrophic. Two very easy things you can do to help protect it: Text “PCCPGW” to 50409 to send a letter to your reps, and sign and share the petition.

5. Good news: Toledo, Ohio just wiped out medical debt for its residents. Even better: a blue check impersonator wiped out Eli Lilly. (And, speaking of Kaba earlier, in 2020 Kaba led a twitter campaign that raised $151,000 to pay off medical debts)

6. Despite its reputation for chaos, twitter has served as a place where people come together. The end of twitter will be a major loss. I learned so much from people on twitter who were kind enough to explain complex topics and share their thoughts. I’m really grateful for the community I found there, and the memes. But internet infrastructure is impermanent, and we need to ensure our virtual connections and community survive twitter. Please get alternative contact information for your buddies on the birdapp before you can’t.

7. One of twitter’s strengths was the wild jumble of it — the ability to stumble upon something beautiful, then something terrible, then something weird and wonderful. Other people have said this better. I think we need that blended mix of the serious and the ridiculous to survive in difficult times. I’ve always loved newsletters that offered lists of random weird, beautiful, or fascinating things every week, and so this is maybe one very small thing I can offer in return.

Thanks for reading.

Kate