we're being slaughtered
@tariqpoems
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Poet, Community Organizer, Data Engineer • sometimes parody • fellow of some things • @TheOffingMag Board • Author: HOW THE WATER HOLDS ME @bullcitypress
Detroit, MI
Joined February 2011
often, writing feels like using your hands to cry.
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reminder: you're allowed to leave your house. don't go crazy y'all. all you have to do is not gather for a few weeks. it's not that hard: go for a drive, a walk; sit on a porch & drink coffee over Skype with your friends; devise a plan to end capitalism; read a book; sleep, etc.
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sidenote: not everyone can leave their homes, and not everyone has a house to leave. if you can, try to chart who in your area needs help. in my communities, we've coordinated volunteers to help elders & people with disabilities, among others. please do the same in yours.
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additional sidenote: . walking is just one suggestion. please don't be walking around if you're in extremely high density cities where you can't maintain CDC-recc'd distances from others. I'm just trying to say: distancing isn't house arrest. be safe & mindful of who's around you.
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very important thing: this tweet obviously doesn't apply to the entire world, and— at this time— three states are experiencing sustained community spread. this advice may become obsolete if it isn't already for you. please keep up to date with the @CDCgov.
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@AD_Renaissance + if all this was communicated sooner, more honestly AND everyone also listened (because I saw way too many folks out partying this past weekend), we'd likely be finishing our 2nd week of social distancing and be fine. now we're screwed because folks don't read and aren't patient.
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ps: (since this tweet is getting some traction). feel free to follow my profile if:. • you'd like more community organizing tips & insights. • you enjoy poetry. • you can tolerate really terrible but somewhat charming dad jokes. please stay safe y'all.
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@brosiah23 @shawtyarabia also: how they going to do Kirby like that? If anything, Kirby would be out here swallowing oppression and churning out justice. They better respect the Kirb.
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@chancetherapper @_DionneWarwick I feel like it's not to distinguish Chance from other rappers, but to distinguish the Rapper from other Chances — can't have people be looking for Chance the Rapper and accidentally book Chance the Plumber. or worse, Chance the Wrapper.
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messed around and went to the Bernie rally today. made a new best friend. meet my new homie. I call him "Barnie"
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@DanaSchwartzzz @AndyRichter Honestly? Dress up as a corndog dressed in all black eating a smaller corndog also dressed in funeral attire and I'll list you in my will.
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ya habayib! It's official!. as a Palestinian born on Turtle Island who has grown in so many places from Dearborn & Detroit to Gaza, this lil book is an exploration of what it means to be displaced and yet still be of a land, of masculinity, & of more. couldn't do it without y'all.
2019 Editors’ Selection Frost Place Chapbook Competition. "This collection is a beautiful ode to the wading that happens in distance, the dear grasp of the hold & the survival of letting go.” —Aja Monet. HOW THE WATER HOLDS ME.by @tariqLuthun ships 4/21
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I'm devastated to have to share that @kundimanforever has been betrayed by Sarah Gambito, Joseph Legaspi, Ricco Siasoco, and the Kundiman board. We call for their resignations. All this because of a simple statement of solidarity with Palestinians.
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@whateverkiara @parrishwh1 IT'S DEFINITELY UNCOMMON TO SAY OUT LOUD. WHILE BEING RECORDED. BY A MAJOR MEDIA OUTLET. TO BE DOCUMENTED FOREVER.
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y'all, I am 100% serious about the dad jokes. please forgive me but i made this almost 2 years ago and, given everything that's going on, I'm bringing it back. thank you for putting up with me
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as #AWP24 comes to a close, there many things to unpack, but tonight I'll post some of these excerpts about silence, harm, and truth-telling from @jerichobrown's brilliant keynote. weaves everything from Black liberation to resisting fascism to Gaza & right back to us @awpwriter
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I'm so very grateful to share that @BullCityPress has named me winner of the Editor's Choice for my manuscript "HOW THE WATER HOLDS ME.". I'M GETTING A BOOK PUBLISHED Y'ALL ♥️.
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just a reminder if you're stocking up on goods: . many people with disabilities & elders may not be able to readily leave where they're at. Whether they be home-bound or without housing, please be sure to check in on the vulnerable people(s) in & adjacent to your communities.
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@BetterYouBette1 I was really hoping she was just going to say that, in just six weeks, you too can hatch an elaborate jewelery store heist to get yourself an engagement ring to flip on the open market.
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If you've had work accepted somewhere but find that outlet to no longer be a responsible partner for your work, we at @theoffingmag offer REFUSAL. We must be forever mindful of the spaces we inhabit & how those spaces wield the power lent by our presence.
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Beyond honored to have been named a finalist for the Ruth Lilly/Dorothy Sargent Rosenburg fellowship by @poetrymagazine 🤲🏼. Lists are weird, but when it they happen I'm excited to share space in them with writers I deeply respect. Thank you all for rocking with me all this time
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what is something that ISN'T a poem but FEELS like a poem to you?.
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re: PoFo, and the state of holding cultural institutions accountable. an update from @omarsakrpoet, @IntifadaBatata, @MyNrhindi, @summabis, and @tariqpoems . thank you to those committed to this process; work none of us should ever have to do ✊🏼🤲🏼.
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instead of punishing others because you were once punished, why not channel your energy into advocating for the lives of others to be free from the harms you faced (or could one day face)?.
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@nne_ijeoma because they didn't isolate soon enough. I think some counties in California have begun to fully shutdown because people *didn't* heed social distancing warnings. I'm trying to make sure people know they're not on house arrest. Just be sure to be smart about what you choose to do.
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if you need me, I'll be at AWP this week starting sh*t in response to the genocide of my family, many of whom are trapped either at Rafah border or in what's left of the buildings they're sheltering away from IOF snipers in with countless other families. it's been 4 months.
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@cowrara 🥴🤫 let's try to take it a few weeks at a time. gotta keep people calm and engaged in the process. plus, the point isn't to reach the peak, but to not have an unmanageably high peak. let's take it one step at a time, try to stay home, and give care to the vulnerable among us.
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if you're a literary artist whose had work accepted somewhere, but find that you need a new outlet to host it, hit up @theoffingmag — we've got you. A defiant act of REFUSAL doesn't also have to mean silence. We're only just getting started.
i withdrew this from publication in POETRY in solidarity with the ongoing boycott for the foundation’s censorship of pro-palestine voices. today it’s up in @theoffingmag, with gratitude to @tariqpoems for reaching out to make it happen.
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@comradekaitlyn *male poet wins fellowship/award/accolade for said poem, then posts objectifying Facebook status about how thankful he is to be a feminist, years later gets tenure track position, makes passes at his much younger women students*.
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@jaredBzimmerman @BengalsNews2 @I_miss_kobe_ @nickwohrer92 @marcalbert1973 @TG3II @RamsNFL a former employer not dispensing millions of dollars of owed money.vs.a tweet. i don't think we're all on the same page about what a "wrong action" is. there seems to be a discrepancy here.
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I don't know anyone who ever stopped boycotting. The lifting of the general boycott was strategic grace to let folks conclude outstanding relationships & for PoFo to prove it could do better. If this is it, then we've all been failed on multiple fronts as a genocide rages on.
A boycott of the Poetry Foundation that began last November was recently lifted. This update is intended to foster better communication, connection, and understanding following the conversations and learning that came from this time. Read in full here:
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Demands from the People of Gaza as of yesterday — landscape on the ground continues to devolve. IOF is killing and arresting. Our people are running out of medical supplies, and fuel, food, and resources are cut to likely force us out via starvation if the bombs don't get us
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PSA: if you're the type of person to get jealous about who your partner talks to, then either you're insecure or you don't trust your partner. Being either one of those means you're not ready to be in that relationship, but don't mind me 🐸☕️ work on yourself. #ThursdayThoughts.
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happy Valentine's Day to everyone who's excited for chocolate to be discounted half-off tomorrow 😏 . catch me in your local drug store with a wheelbarrow. I'm not playing games 🤷🏽♂️ RT if you're with the hustle
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who you engage with and accept into your life on a consistent basis (friends, intimate partners, even family) is a reflection of who you are and what you're willing to accept in the world. here's to hoping we all curate our personal spaces firmly and unapologetically with love.
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MY BOOK HAS A COVER. IT'S REAL. So thankful to the artist Majdoleen Faraj for the image, and to @rosswhite and @BullCityPress for bringing this to life. also, so much thanks to Tommye Blount, @HalaNAlyan, @aja_monet, and @4noura for providing such beautiful blurbs ♥️🤲🏻 #ArabLit
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hi all, so these tweets have really taken off. i don't like to be self-promotional, but my friend said i should let you all know that my first book of poetry is currently available for preorder if you'd like something to read during these wild times.
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After I saw @chakrabsumita get accepted into @kundimanforever, I was thinking: "oh, let me go check to see if I've been rejected yet.". But, OH DEAR READER, I AM SO BLESSED TO SHARE that I'll be at Kundiman this year 🥺🥳. I'm so thankful, and excited to see friends old and new!
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@PoetryFound speaking for myself: this ain't it. many are still boycotting until PoFo & institutions like it do more. lifting the general boycott was strategic grace & affords you the opportunity to reach the people who will help you do better. I hope there's more to come. otherwise. .
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#AWP2024 started with a packed @Mizna_ArabArt x @AlHadafKC reading for Palestine, then @jerichobrown's keynote dissecting fascism from here to Gaza, then we hosted a vigil reading of the names of children martyred since October followed by a walkout protesting business as usual
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I've read all of it. I'll sum it up: it looks like they copy+pasted the @PoetryFound statement template they all use. All these orgs plagiarize from the same milquetoast PR playbook. Anyways, tons of allegations they haven't addressed. And, as always, free Palestine.
To our communities, stakeholders and friends: Please read this important message from Kundiman’s Board of Trustees.
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all you had to do was *not this* and you probably would have won. y'all really want to lose so badly — anything for that AIPAC money huh? . again, if the dems lose, it's not because of the voters, but because they've given so many no choice but to vote third-party. truly wild.
Read my full statement on the protests in Washington, D.C. yesterday.
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@Buz4u @DanaSchwartzzz @AndyRichter don't police Andy. If he wants to be the corpse, let him be the corpse. We support you in being the best corpsy corndog you can be, @AndyRichter . (but seriously though don't die).
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we don't engage with these institutions because we believe in them. we show up because we believe in us. though @awpwriter did things to warrant it, this wasn't a protest of AWP — this was an act of witnessing to protest becoming numb to state violence and institutional silence.
#AWP2024 started with a packed @Mizna_ArabArt x @AlHadafKC reading for Palestine, then @jerichobrown's keynote dissecting fascism from here to Gaza, then we hosted a vigil reading of the names of children martyred since October followed by a walkout protesting business as usual
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as an editor, I'd just like to say: keep sending us your micro literature. Many times, we *decline* something not because we don't like it, but because it may need revisions we don't have time to offer. Don't be discouraged. Keep sending. Plus, we read your work before your name.
why would you keep submitting to a journal that's rejected you multiple times? as someone who's been on the other side of this perplexing behavior. just stop, bruh. .
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me sliding into your DMs:. hey girl, you ever hear about the Census? because i SENSE US getting closer. to an accurate representation of our country, thereby improving the level of vital funding each of our communities receives.
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let me make this very clear: if you don't want to have to pick up a gun to protect yourself and your communities, then you better use . the pen, .the protest, .the phone, .that platform, .the march, .the boycott, .the sit-in, .the dinner table, .that that that,. your entire life.
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hi y'all, just wanted to announce that I'm officially stepping aside as editor of the Micro Department at @theoffingmag, and pivoting to serve as Development Coordinator moving forward. I'm excited share that I'll be passing this torch on to the supremely talented @k_mingchang 🙌🏼.
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we've officially entered "are these symptoms of the virus or do i just have a mild cold" season, and I am not prepared for all of the anxiety that comes with it.
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I've been named a Ruth Lilly & Dorothy Sargent Rosenburg fellow!. grateful to the @PoetryFound folks, and blessed to share this moment with @MigrantScribble, @PoemsAndCake, @mxrlevant, and @troyosaki. But, even more grateful to you all — I hope to do your investment in me justice.
We are thrilled to announce the 2022 Ruth Lilly & Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellows: Tarik Dobbs @mxrlevant, Diamond Forde, @PoemsandCake, Tariq Luthun @tariqpoems, @TroyOsaki, and Alan Pelaez Lopez @MigrantScribble! 🎉
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@whateverkiara @parrishwh1 that's the issue:. it's one thing if he had those feelings and had that story at a young age because he's a kid that didn't get it. But he's shown as a man he doesn't get it/does not know what discipline or restraint or respect are to so casually share this.
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hi all, this is my cat Luna wearing a keffiyeh -- or a "catffiyeh" if you will 😉🤷🏽♂️. She just wants you know that Israel has detained about 12,000 Palestinian children over the last 17 years, & is currently expelling African migrants 👀 . #FreePalestine #BlackLivesMatter
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y'all ever be on vacation with your family and find yourself needing a vacation from your vacation?.
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so, aside from being a community organizer, poet, and lover of puns, i think my greatest quality is that i have a cat. she's a complete jerk who can't be bothered by affection, but she's very cute & i think sharing her would brighten up all our days:. Luna loves social distancing
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When we say "defund the police," it's so that first responders and our other essential workers (that people pretend to care about) can actually get the resources/compensation they deserve. In a moment where nobody's life was threatened but his own, officers defaulted to violence.
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@ayaghanameh when i was in undergrad, a rabbi called out to me from across the quad saying "happy Hanukkah, brother!". I walked over to him. When I got close enough, I said "actually, sir, I'm not Jewish," and he quickly retracted his hand back from the handshake he was about to give me 😅.
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idk how anyone can fall in love with someone who can't pronunce their name.
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As she suspends her campaign, it needs to be said that Dems should have consolidated around Warren. Though I'm for Bernie, I believe she was the clear DNC unity choice, whereas Biden can't hold his own & his campaign strategy is to say "my friend Barack" until our ears bleed.
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@JamilahLemieux and the scary thing is: . imagine how many people would have cared less had they known that it wasn't some white "Emily" that was assaulted; a more "palatable" body to relate to as their sister, mother, daughter, or very own selves.
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if you are what you eat, than i not only identity as a POC (person of color), but also as a POC (piece of cheese). thank you for coming to my kraft talk.
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY DAUGHTER, LUNA, WHO IS NOW 5 YEARS OLD. adopted her from a rescue at 2 months old and never looked back 😺 she's a demon though
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hi all, Micro at @theoffingmag is still open for a few more days — send us your work! . We're caught up on most of our submissions (so we'll definitely get to you at a reasonable time), and we pay! Spread the word!.
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so. I won a @KresgeArtsDet fellowship!. it means a lot to follow in the footsteps of so many artists I admire, and some of whom I get to call friends. thank you to everyone who's been out here, and to the KAD staff, @CCS_Detroit, and @kresgefdn for sustaining this work ♥️
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normalize love stories about two people in a mutual, life-long plutonic friendship with clear respect for boundaries and a growing network of healthy relationships that all augment one another, and the movie ends with everyone just being really supportive of each other.send tweet.
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what's extra funny is that co-founders put themselves in honorary roles & have been saying they have no authority over the board, but somehow they're still posting (and one can only assume also writing) these boring statements behind the scenes. they're playing checkers not chess
To our communities, stakeholders and friends: Please read this important message from Kundiman’s Board of Trustees.
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y'all should have asked him if he wanted to edit the entire back half of the poem. or, maybe he should have inboxed you at some point and said, "hey, a lot has happened, yeah? I've learn so much since October — I think that piece needs to change.". v dumb. but what's new.
“This poem was written on October 13, 2023, in one sitting. The poem is pinned to a moment in time, a hinge moment.”. ––Jeffrey McDaniel.#AboutThisPoem.
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if you absolutely *must* you can find it on places like Amazon, but I highly encourage you to support indie publishers!. Plus, @BullCityPress is sending a lot of copies out early to help folks stave off boredom and panic in this time of social distancing ✊🏼.
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One time, I hit up my dad trying to be intentional and spend more time with the family, and he hit me with that, "go make your own family" ether. my dad has no chill, y'all #shareyourrejections
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so @awpwriter was quick to rebuke, but hasn't been a single bit responsive to the countless community members asking for clarity. this comes after weeks of concerned community members engaging you and your board to work with you through this moment — engagements you've dismissed.
🧵On February 6th, we, the Radius of Arab American Writers, emailed panel moderators – our colleagues and fellow writers – at the upcoming Association of Writers and Writing Programs Conference via publicly available email addresses.
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@PaulySigh @tim_co_op I'm a big fan of going on long drives and listening to music or catching up over the phone with friends ✊🏼.
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I'm thrilled to have work featured in none other than @poetrymagazine! . so grateful to finally share this poem which has been so dear to me since finishing it last year🥳this one is for all those who've cared for me, will care for me, or have let me care for them🤲🏼.
POETRY's November 2022 issue is now live! This issue features a folio devoted to the poet Will Alexander as well as work from 2022 Fellows Tariq Luthun @tariqpoems and @troyosaki. Cover art by Tré Seals.
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Remember when I joked about doing a #AWPvirtualbookfair & live-tweeting readings from random venues? Well, I was only joking about the live-tweet part. 20 hours of frantic organizing later, we bring you. A Very Far #AWP20 Off-Site Reading & Tiny Book Fair in Detroit on Friday!
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As #Nakba70 arrived, I couldn't sleep. Late the other night, I reached out to @lithub with urgency. After quickly looping in @IntifadaBatata and the crew, I'm blessed to share this literary response to the violence levied against our people in #Palestine.
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if you or your org haven't made it abundantly clear where you stand on genocide, you're pro-genocide. the most basic thing one can — and must do — is name the imperialism, the slavery, the harm that propagates settler-colonial states like the US and Israel.
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@andizeisler @SuzanneVenker @alice__driver @dcexaminer this is a terrible take on why marriage has taken a nose-dive. Venker states feminism is the cause after — just a graph prior — literally highlighting that baby boomers brought us divorce. Perhaps feminism is the guard against people investing their lives into a 50% success rate.
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@jdgtranen I'm just over here like. if you're going to go this deep into fan-fictionalizing someone, why be lazy? . Let's commit to possibility: imagine a world where a Holocaust never happens. Imagine a Holy Land that exists — as it once did — for so many different people.
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last night, my dad brought up the first poetry recording vid I did on IG a few weeks back. I wasn't sure why — he doesn't care about poetry. This man proceeds to cite that the video has hundreds of views before then going on to say "all these views and you can't find a wife?".
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3rab cheese pie + a lil za'atar sprinkled on it & 3 mini la7meh pies. good morning
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it needs to be said again: please call your reps and push them to advocate for a freeze on payments for utilities, rent, and mortgage. with whole industries shutting down & layoffs accruing, we need to ensure that people aren't also at risk of further losses like eviction.
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these days, it feels like every day is Nakba Day. those who've been paying attention know that the Nakba never ended. but, we must never forget: each and every day is a day primed for liberation. from every river, to every sea; each and every one of us. In Palestine and beyond.
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@nandoodles @ADL yeah, but we could have told you to never cite them at least as far back as the 80s — what took y'all this long?.
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I was born in Detroit, but my roots are Gaza. Parents emmigrated from there, and 90% of the fam is still there. Used to visit every few years, but I haven't been back in 16 years—this helps. Check out this beautiful work by @visualizingpal #PalestineToday.
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I want to make this clear: we all have deep love and respect for Sarah, Joseph, and the people who want to contribute to this community. This isn't an attack, it's a knowledge-sharing, a labor of love. We hope to work together. We're here to help. But, they have to want that too.
I'm devastated to have to share that @kundimanforever has been betrayed by Sarah Gambito, Joseph Legaspi, Ricco Siasoco, and the Kundiman board. We call for their resignations. All this because of a simple statement of solidarity with Palestinians.
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@drosepali this is why i can't understand people who believe "you can't help who you love.". Like, yes, you can. You literally choose who to let yourself love or not love based on what values you will or won't tolerate from a given person. clearly some love and value violence over humanity.
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still processing a lot, so more to come. but, if the key takeaway someone pulls from our statement is that the boycott is lifted, then they must interrogate why that's the case; how their politics may only be optical, an illusion rooted in what *looks* okay instead of what is.
re: PoFo, and the state of holding cultural institutions accountable. an update from @omarsakrpoet, @IntifadaBatata, @MyNrhindi, @summabis, and @tariqpoems . thank you to those committed to this process; work none of us should ever have to do ✊🏼🤲🏼.
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y'all, ever think about how family recipes are poems and experiences? our ancestors were feeding us in more ways than one . #ThursdayThoughts.
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haven't been back in 16 years, but we're coming. we'll be home soon iA. To paraphrase @Remroum: this is not a threat, a wish, a hope, or a dream—. it's a promise.
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@angeler_angela @PeteBeech @_SJPeace_ a lot of people are conflating "can't go out," with "can't do anything". there are actually some counties that are entering full lockdowns because people *didn't* distance themselves this past weekend. I'm just saying you can do plenty that doesn't involve close human interaction.
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zionists be like "i know a place," .then take you to Palestine.
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