Don't let the bastards grind you down.

So this is a little reminder to myself. To be resilient. To speak up when they want us to be silent. And to hold onto hope for a brighter future.

There is a long history of that good work in speculative fiction and I hope to be part of that someday.

But at the end of the day, I did read The Handmaid's Tale in high school and it did have a big impact on me. It still does. And I think it's a good thing books like this have helped privileged people understand the horrors of oppression.

And it is unfortunate that Octavia Butler isn't always taught alongside Atwood in school. Her books can also teach us a lot about the moment we're in.

Actually, the thing that has held me back most (more than literally marking myself while people are being disappeared for speech) has been the criticism of Atwood fans for lifting up a story about predominently white women experiencing horrors that BIPOC women have experienced for hundreds of years.

And yet, that has felt less and less radical the more the world absolutely falls apart around me. Or at least the more I recognize how broken it already is. That, more than any word, is the true profanity.

Don't let the bastards grind you down.

So this is a little reminder to myself. To be resilient. To speak up when they want us to be silent. And to hold onto hope for a brighter future.

There is a long history of that good work in speculative fiction and I hope to be part of that someday.

But at the end of the day, I did read The Handmaid's Tale in high school and it did have a big impact on me. It still does. And I think it's a good thing books like this have helped privileged people understand the horrors of oppression.

And it is unfortunate that Octavia Butler isn't always taught alongside Atwood in school. Her books can also teach us a lot about the moment we're in.

Actually, the thing that has held me back most (more than literally marking myself while people are being disappeared for speech) has been the criticism of Atwood fans for lifting up a story about predominently white women experiencing horrors that BIPOC women have experienced for hundreds of years.

And yet, that has felt less and less radical the more the world absolutely falls apart around me. Or at least the more I recognize how broken it already is. That, more than any word, is the true profanity.