Undermining authoritarian capitalism in the Year of the Snake
Shedding old ways of being
Hi friends, sorry being away for so long. I’ve been in a period of what I’ll call “cocoon-ing” and while there are times when I get the energy to write an update, something happens that steals my attention away.
Winter feels especially like a deep period of hibernation in Sweden when the sunlight disappears by 3 pm and all you feel like is becoming a little bear nestled in their den (i.e. me on my couch for months). The sun is setting later these days and I’m peeking out because two important dates happened recently – Lunar New Year and my bff Joanna’s 33rd birthday.
I’ve been friends with Joanna for 20 years now and when she got her cancer diagnosis two years ago, I began having anxiety attacks knowing that at some point she’ll no longer be around. When she passed away in June, I was completely shattered. Since she never visited me in Sweden, I don’t have physical reminders of Joanna in my everyday life and it can be easy to slip into thinking she’s still here, waiting for me to visit her back home.
I’ve noticed recently the media I consume (unknowingly) increasingly tell stories of grappling with the overwhelming grief of losing loved ones. They’ve become the moments I’m able to think of Joanna being gone because the amount of state-sanctioned violence I see on the news everyday exceeds my ability to process feelings. In many places across the world it feels like our societies are imploding and the grief is immense. The world we live in is fucked up, and it’s easy to doom-spiral. This sounds so cheesy I know, but what prevents me from doom-spiraling is making myself be present and to reach out even when I all I want to do is close myself off.
Life in Sweden
There’s a such a loneliness epidemic in Sweden that the city of Luleå launched a campaign to encourage neighbors to say hej to each other. Two years of living here and I feel like people here are beginning to know me. It’s not true community, but I’m working on it. I’ve been throwing the, “hej, let’s be friends now!” to anyone who seems like 70% friend compatibility. This has led to 2 new potential friends in 2 weeks and I think the other person is relieved for someone to be so direct with them.
Laura, what’re you doing now?
🕵🏻♀️Consulting with reimagine collective! If you or someone you know is looking for communications, campaigns or research support, will you drop me a line?
📝Finished my Master’s thesis and passed with distinction. I’ll write more about this another time.
📚Learning how to write a romance book. I’ve read over 200 books in 2024 and I’m tired of reading about bland heroines with pale, milky skin.
🐌Slowing down. Since moving to Sweden, I noticed how I self-soothed by buying little treats to cope with the stress of living in the U.S. Now I’ve picked up hobbies, like learning how to sew and knit to yes, create my own clothes, but also to stop participating in extractive processes. When you cut-off corporations’ source of money, you cut off their power. One TikTok mantra I’ve seen is “Is this worth stimulating Donald Trump’s economy?”
Things I’m Loving
Donating e-sims via watermelonwarriors.io, which is Palestinian-run and volunteer-based
A cozy read about a witch who owns a cafe in London and a devastating series set in Ireland of teenage love
Britta Marakatt-Labba, a Sápmi artist who uses her art to protest climate change and colonialism. Historjá (2004-2007), one her acclaimed pieces, is 24 meters of embroidery telling the story of the Sápmi people. Fiber arts are rebellious, not domestic.
An oldie, but a goodie: South Koreans remixing Feliz Navidad to impeach their president. Kendrick gets it, we need to make the act of protest fun and provoking.