The Witches Are Coming

The Witches Are Coming

Adult nonfiction
"Just like Trump, America loves to lie about itself, and
Americans love to eat those lies up--anything that obliterates our
sins, that tells us everything will be okay, that makes us the
infallible, gallant protagonist in the story of Earth. We must root
out the assumptions we swallow as fact and the facts we deny. We must
not just examine but actively counter the disastrous, death grip of
mediocre white men on our past century's art, media, and politics. We
must start telling true stories about who we are, who is free and who
is not, what we are doing to the planet."
Recall last year we met Lindy West through her Shrill, a memoir
of her evolution from shy child to badass social media presence. I
don't know about you, but I closed that book hoping I'd hear more from
her soon. That wish was answered beautifully. The Witches Are Coming
beautifully lives up to its predecessor.
West doesn't mean witches in any of the traditional senses of
the word. They're not the peaked hat wearing, broom riding characters
children dress up as at Halloween, not the legendary voodoo
practitioners of the deep South, not the modern day practitioners of
legit spirituality. But they do have a lot in common with the alleged
witches who were legally and brutally murdered in the 17th century.
In both cases the labeling was done to women with inconvenient voices
by white males in power who wanted to get rid of them.
Recently, in a movement leading to and beyond #Me Too, women
were insisting that no means no, consent (which does not include being
too scared to object or too unconscious to try to) is a necessary
preamble to sex, and rule violaters will be prosecuted.
"...In 2017, Harvey Weinstein, the Hollywood mogul behind half
of your favorite shit, everything from Pulp Fiction to Project Runway,
was exposed as a serial sexual preditor. Dozens of women accused
Weinstein of rape and sexual abuse, a pattern of coercive behavior
that had lasted three decades despite being an open secret in
Hollywoif and the press. Through some combination of time, rage,
incremental political victories, and femenist sweat, we did not let
him do it anymore."
Then this slippery slope thing came into play. It's sorta like
how the NRA convinces its rank and file that if we keep military grade
weapons out of the hands of school shooters (who have usually given
notice on social media) the police will be taking the passed down from
grandpa hunting rifles of the sportspeople who lock guns and ammo in
seperate locales, have the talk with the kids, and wouldn't pull the
trigger until verifying they're looking at the species they have a
permit for. Calling serial preditors to account suddenly endangers
any human with a working penis. What if it's consensual and she has
second thoughts? You might destroy the future of some innocent high
school or college athlete. Does harmless flirting go the way of the
dinosaur? And how are men and women supposed to work together, never
mind date and be fruitful and multiply?
The alpha males of society, up to and including the president,
are preying on the fears of the pack. They are telling guys that if
they give in to what they see as political correctness they're all
going down, that there's a witch hunt going on.
"But the 'witch hunt' deflection isn't only for rape! It has
the power to transform pretty much any accusation against a man into
an unfair--nay, unconstitutional--and unfounded smear campaign.
Accused of racism? Witch hunt! Accused of undermining the integrity
of democracy? Witch hunt! Accused of willfully letting children die
in concentration camps on the Southern border of the United States? A
pure, unadulterated, hysterical,bitchy witch hunt!!!"
Luckily West sees no need to appease the aggressors or to prove
that she isn't what she's been called. Rather than being cowed by the
W word, she owns it.
"So fine, if you insist. This is a witch hunt. We're witches,
and we're hunting you."
Chapter by chapter, West skillfully dissects the evils of our
time from lack of abortion access through the demonization of women's
righteous anger to the denial of every ism in play and the lies that
sustain them. If you read just one book during the shitstorm let it
be this one. Read it and be angry, angry enough to join the coven and
start helping to change the world.
This bad ass witch (sheltering with my bad ass familiar) is
sincerely hoping that wherever she is riding out the coronavirus
crisis, West is working on a third book.
On a purrrsonal note, Can you believe that it's been just two weeks
since normal life ended? It feels to me like months. The new routine
for getting Tobago's meds was like getting hooch during prohibition
minus the gangsters. Coming back home I felt like an extra (cast of
billions) in a Stephen King movie where even the author doesn't know
if the monster will win.
I did have one beautiful bright spot in my day. I found Joey's old
brush and tried it on Tobago. She put her paws on my leg and moved
around, purring gleefully, letting me brush her all over. It just made
my day to make my little friend so happy!
I also thought of a way to be useful. I have a lot of yarn in my shed
I'll never get around to using. Something about the demands of grad
school. I decided to put the word out to local knitters that if I
have anything they can use they can have it for a pandemic special
price of free. I'll even arrange a properly social distanced pick
up. I bet some of them fear running out of yarn the way I fear
running out of books. (Jules)
Ah, the spa treatment!!! It feels so good!!! My hoomans are the
best. I am one lucky cat! (Tobago)
Tobago and Jules Hathaway



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