Vivian Chenxue Lu
themorningsnows.bsky.social
Vivian Chenxue Lu
@themorningsnows.bsky.social
investigating the cultural politics of profit somewhere between Nigeria & China & Asian America. Anthropologist at Rice University (USA), newly texan
Reposted by Vivian Chenxue Lu
Is this the world you want to live in? No. So to do? Ideas:

1. Get involved locally - find an asylum center, immigrant support on your campus
2. Get involved in local elections
3. Organize! Print red cars, start rapid response or escort system
4. Get clarity from workplace re:Ice policy & learn it.
March 29, 2025 at 4:08 PM
It is worth reading the 4 pages of Columbia's enthusiastic over-compliance to federal threats to get a sense of what's coming down the pipeline for other universities: Expanded commitments to disciplining + policing speech, protest, and intellectual life

president.columbia.edu/sites/defaul...
March 21, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Reposted by Vivian Chenxue Lu
Really impressive article by Slate comparing Cyber trucks to Casspirs used for oppression in the South African apartheid.

“Whether through Casspirs or the Cybertruck, apartheid’s militarized, cultural, and psychological legacy roams our streets.”

#teslatakedown

slate.com/news-and-pol...
Elon Musk Wanted the Cybertruck to Look Like “the Future.” But It Reminds Us of One Particular Past.
Elon Musk was growing up in Pretoria when the Casspir patrolled the townships.
slate.com
March 15, 2025 at 4:47 PM
Reposted by Vivian Chenxue Lu
The cybertruck resembles the Apartheid militarized vehicle Casspir used to terrorize the Black townships of South Africa. That tells us a lot.

slate.com/news-and-pol...
We’re Scholars Who Study Africa. The Cybertruck Looks Kind of Familiar.
Elon Musk was growing up in Pretoria when the Casspir patrolled the townships.
slate.com
March 16, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Reposted by Vivian Chenxue Lu
Musk’s Cybertruck isn’t "the future"—it’s a dystopian relic straight from apartheid-era South Africa. Inspired by armored police vehicles that terrorized Black communities, it’s a fitting symbol for a billionaire fascist who idolizes oppression.
1/2
March 18, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Reposted by Vivian Chenxue Lu
Elon Musk's cybertruck is inspired in Apartheid South Africa's armoured military vehicles that were used for intimidation and repression in the black townships. slate.com/news-and-pol...
We’re Scholars Who Study Africa. The Cybertruck Looks Kind of Familiar.
Elon Musk was growing up in Pretoria when the Casspir patrolled the townships.
slate.com
March 16, 2025 at 8:11 AM
Reposted by Vivian Chenxue Lu
What do you see when you see the cybertruck? For my friends @themorningsnows.bsky.social & @nanaoseiopare.bsky.social it's the Casspir, the armored personnel carrier of apartheid South Africa. slate.com/news-and-pol...
We’re Scholars Who Study Africa. The Cybertruck Looks Kind of Familiar.
Elon Musk was growing up in Pretoria when the Casspir patrolled the townships.
slate.com
March 16, 2025 at 12:57 AM
Reposted by Vivian Chenxue Lu
Excellent piece by two dear friends @nanaoseiopare.bsky.social & @themorningsnows.bsky.social about the cyber truck & its uncanny similarities to the Casspir, the tank by which the Apartheid regime brutalized Black south Africans during Elon's childhood. 1/
slate.com/news-and-pol...
Elon Musk Wanted the Cybertruck to Look Like “the Future.” But It Reminds Us of One Particular Past.
Elon Musk was growing up in Pretoria when the Casspir patrolled the townships.
slate.com
March 15, 2025 at 4:38 PM