Good morning everyone and welcome back to the Breakroom! As a special post this week I decided to do a recap of some of the big stories this week that resonated with me, either because I found them interesting, personal, or simply that I feel they need to continue to be discussed into the future. I was hoping to do more of my business-related posts this week but unfortunately we are having some personal struggles here at the Breakroom as we are taking care of one of dogs who is seriously sick. I may go into more details in the future but as it is still recent and difficult as we figure out our daily routines with his care, I hope my reader(s) will understand.
Friday the 13th
I have always loved the concept of Friday the 13th, the idea that it is inherently unlucky, although did provide some pretty good storylines to the television series Charmed. I wanted to find a cool fact to share today about Friday the 13 and I am going to go with what is the term for having a fear of Friday the 13th? It is known as Paraskavedekatriaphobia for those who have an intense fear of this day. I have never known anyone who believed in it to that extent, for me it is sort of like reading the horoscope in the newspaper. A superstition you sort of want to believe so you try to find the patterns to make it real, even though part of you doesn’t. Does anyone here have this phobia or have known someone who did? Any stories on what they do during Friday the 13th? By no means do I want to take pleasure in someone’s fear or discomfort, but I do find it fascinating in learning how they cope and manage. Is it as simple as simply not leaving the house, or is it truly crippling for them and actually not easy to manage?
Bad Bunny Concert (aka the Super Bowl)
My Facebook feed on the first part of this week was full devoted to the halftime show at the Super Bowl on Sunday and his performance has gone down as one of the most inspirational and viewed. While I did not tune in on Sunday (not a fan of American football) I have made sure to watch clips of the show and can say I need to add Bad Bunny onto my music rotation. That being said, not everyone was a fan but I’m afraid all of the critiques I have been able to find seem to be tied to racists and bigots. Speaking of which, there was also an “alternative show” headlined by Kid Rock which despite being created for the pro-White, anti-People of Color community, it feels like the majority of people still tuned into Bad Bunny just so they could complain about it. Personally I think it was one of the most inspiring performances I have ever seen. While I am not part of the Latinx community, nor can I speak very much Spanish, I believe people are missing the point of what this was. Diversity is not to “wash away whiteness” as some say but it allows all us to share our stories and recognize that we are not all the same, which is sort of the point. So my emotional response is very much from being allowed to share in the experience and story that he as a performer was trying to share with us. And I’m afraid if you really had a problem with it, I’m going to reiterate that the only complaints I have found are tied to bigotry, meaning you are the problem. And to be more specific, I am going to specifically call out Representative Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) who called for an investigation that declared this halftime show was an example of gay porn. I cannot even make that up and while he will likely never see this, I hope he knows I am specifically telling him that this was not an example of gay porn. It is simply an example that you are a bigoted individual who has no place working in politics if that is your reaction to this show. And for the record, I have not had many moments in my life that could be described as prompting me to feel “patriotic” but I can assure you that this performance is definitely one of those.
Amazon/Starbucks
Large corporate companies are in rare form these days, but I shouldn’t be surprised. Amazon recently announced it would be letting go of around 16,000 employees in an effort to save money (afford investing heavily into AI) but to also reduce bureaucracy at the company. Sounds legit, right? Then we have Starbucks who has gone to great lengths to suppress unionization of branches because they cannot afford it, and yet their CEO just had the cap lifted on how frequently they can use the private jet. That’s right, the CEO of Starbucks (Brian Niccol) uses the private jet to commute from California to Seattle. Strange that they can literally afford almost daily use of a private jet, but not to give their employees things like proper pay or staffing.
Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America Act)
For those paying attention, the House Republicans have been pushing their so-called SAVE America Act in an effort to support voting security and prevent fraud. While this might sound like a good idea, the precise details of what they are proposing show that this could be considered voter suppression. One of the requirements is to provide a passport (which only around half the population owns) or else you must provide a birth certificate. So here are the problems we have here and why House Democrats are so opposed. The first is that many citizens do not have a passport with one such reason being the cost (around $130) not to mention the time and process that goes into securing one. Unless they are willing to reduce the cost to nothing and then provide initiatives on how to walk each person through getting one, this seems like you are trying to lock people out of voting. Then there is the birth certificate, which I will skip right over the fact that there are plenty of people who do not have a copy of their certificate. The key piece is that the name on your certificate must match your photo identification, which for many married individuals this does not. This is specifically punishing those who chose to take their spouse’s name when they married as many do not go through the process of having their birth certificate updated. Unfortunately, this truly does sound like voter suppression because it does nothing to help citizens meet these requirements, just punishes those who do not meet them. You cannot change these rules without making it easier for eligible citizens to achieve the criteria you are putting upon them.
Pam Bondi Testimony
Unfortunately the magic of the Super Bowl ended pretty quickly and was replaced by US Attorney General Pam Bondi being interviewed over her handling of the Epstein files. I watched a number of clips and read some articles an the consensus seems to be she wasn’t able to answer any simple yes and no questions, perjured herself when she was able to provide an “answer”, and apparently came with a “burn book” with insults catered to be thrown at those interviewing her. It was an embarrassment and incredibly difficult to watch and is a great example of what happens when someone is unqualified for a job is allowed to take it.
James Van Der Beek/Catherine O’Hara
Over the last couple of weeks we have lost two actors that left a great impression on many of us as we were growing up. In addition they were strong advocates for the LGBTQ+ community and overall being decent humans. To all those needing a sense of nostalgia in their name, it might be necessary to find episodes of Dawson’s Creek or, as I have, Schitt’s Creek. Both having large careers, I would love to know what comfort films and shows that these two were in that people love. Besides these listed, O’Hara will always be remembered for me from the Home Alone films, and Van Der Beek’s signature role for me is actually going to be Don’t Trust the B in Apartment 23. Shortly lived, pretty wild and random of a show, but I think he really got to show a bit of range in this show which was definitely ahead of its time.
So what can I say to really sum up this week? We have seen a great deal of greed and amoral beliefs of those in place of power and authority. And when we are feeling powerless and just sick from the brokenness of the system, I think we should look to Bad Bunny and his music to bring a bit of happiness to our world even as it is crumbling around us. And it is important to remember that even we feel completely alone, there is always someone in our corner that we can turn to.
I hope you all have a great weekend, and I’ll see you around the Breakroom.
