Karen Attiah
@karenattiah.bsky.social
Fighter. Neo-Swoletariat.
Ex-Washington Post.
Substack: https://substack.com/@karenattiah?r=2bz6j&utm_medium=ios
Rogue Radical Professor: @resistanceschool.bsky.social
Ex-Washington Post.
Substack: https://substack.com/@karenattiah?r=2bz6j&utm_medium=ios
Rogue Radical Professor: @resistanceschool.bsky.social
Pinned
This Wed, Dec. 3rd 6 pm EST at @busboysandpoets.bsky.social :
Join me, @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social, @mehdirhasan.bsky.social of @zeteo.com, & @versharma.bsky.social formerly of @teenvogue.com -- as we discuss building power outside of institutions.
RSVP: www.busboysandpoets.com/events/th-ev...
Join me, @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social, @mehdirhasan.bsky.social of @zeteo.com, & @versharma.bsky.social formerly of @teenvogue.com -- as we discuss building power outside of institutions.
RSVP: www.busboysandpoets.com/events/th-ev...
Artemis is inspecting my fancy new boxing gloves
December 19, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Artemis is inspecting my fancy new boxing gloves
Reposted by Karen Attiah
@karenattiah.bsky.social, even our dying and desolate malls offer up something better than this.
Lutnick claims he's already sold over $1.3 billion of Trump Gold Cards
December 19, 2025 at 7:24 PM
@karenattiah.bsky.social, even our dying and desolate malls offer up something better than this.
Reposted by Karen Attiah
Activists physically blocked ICE’s San Francisco office by chaining themselves to the building. The protest reflects growing public resistance to deportation practices, even far from the border.
sfstandard.com/2025/12/16/s...
sfstandard.com/2025/12/16/s...
San Francisco ICE protesters chain themselves to federal office
The federal office was shut for the day after a crowd of hundreds blocked the downtown building.
sfstandard.com
December 18, 2025 at 6:32 PM
Activists physically blocked ICE’s San Francisco office by chaining themselves to the building. The protest reflects growing public resistance to deportation practices, even far from the border.
sfstandard.com/2025/12/16/s...
sfstandard.com/2025/12/16/s...
Reposted by Karen Attiah
Damn, this took my breath away.
Perfect description, you *are* right.
I own a small biz, in a high-end touristy beach town. Business fell off a cliff in early August. I just returned from a trade show w/minimal new merch for '26. The vibes at the show were bad, super bad.
Perfect description, you *are* right.
I own a small biz, in a high-end touristy beach town. Business fell off a cliff in early August. I just returned from a trade show w/minimal new merch for '26. The vibes at the show were bad, super bad.
The U.S. is giving dying mall vibes.
I can't explain it, but you know I'm right.
I can't explain it, but you know I'm right.
December 19, 2025 at 2:41 AM
Damn, this took my breath away.
Perfect description, you *are* right.
I own a small biz, in a high-end touristy beach town. Business fell off a cliff in early August. I just returned from a trade show w/minimal new merch for '26. The vibes at the show were bad, super bad.
Perfect description, you *are* right.
I own a small biz, in a high-end touristy beach town. Business fell off a cliff in early August. I just returned from a trade show w/minimal new merch for '26. The vibes at the show were bad, super bad.
I’ve never heard of Orange Julius !
December 19, 2025 at 1:03 PM
I’ve never heard of Orange Julius !
Reposted by Karen Attiah
Too bad really because the malls could be fabulous indoor activity centres since the weather is awful everywhere. Indoor golf, pickle ball, running tracks, volleyball, trampoline parks, wall climbing… They could be bad weather destinations for sure.
December 18, 2025 at 12:01 AM
Too bad really because the malls could be fabulous indoor activity centres since the weather is awful everywhere. Indoor golf, pickle ball, running tracks, volleyball, trampoline parks, wall climbing… They could be bad weather destinations for sure.
Reposted by Karen Attiah
Damn. This knocked me sideways. The more I think about it, the more reasons flood my brain about how right this is.
We carry on with little regard towards having lost the vast majority of what we had in our heyday.
It’s basically just elderly people taking indoor walks and $5 massage chairs.
We carry on with little regard towards having lost the vast majority of what we had in our heyday.
It’s basically just elderly people taking indoor walks and $5 massage chairs.
The U.S. is giving dying mall vibes.
I can't explain it, but you know I'm right.
I can't explain it, but you know I'm right.
December 18, 2025 at 10:46 PM
Damn. This knocked me sideways. The more I think about it, the more reasons flood my brain about how right this is.
We carry on with little regard towards having lost the vast majority of what we had in our heyday.
It’s basically just elderly people taking indoor walks and $5 massage chairs.
We carry on with little regard towards having lost the vast majority of what we had in our heyday.
It’s basically just elderly people taking indoor walks and $5 massage chairs.
Reposted by Karen Attiah
This catches something really important. The risk
is less that this crew changes the regime and more that while trying to do so they cash out the whole thing. Which is one more powerful reason why resistance is patriotic.
is less that this crew changes the regime and more that while trying to do so they cash out the whole thing. Which is one more powerful reason why resistance is patriotic.
The U.S. is giving dying mall vibes.
I can't explain it, but you know I'm right.
I can't explain it, but you know I'm right.
December 19, 2025 at 2:03 AM
This catches something really important. The risk
is less that this crew changes the regime and more that while trying to do so they cash out the whole thing. Which is one more powerful reason why resistance is patriotic.
is less that this crew changes the regime and more that while trying to do so they cash out the whole thing. Which is one more powerful reason why resistance is patriotic.
Reposted by Karen Attiah
me when i moved back from london in february
The U.S. is giving dying mall vibes.
I can't explain it, but you know I'm right.
I can't explain it, but you know I'm right.
December 18, 2025 at 9:27 PM
me when i moved back from london in february
Reposted by Karen Attiah
again thinking of when The Free Press ran an article alleging that George Floyd was not killed by the cops, and @radleybalko.bsky.social proved beyond any question that the article was bullshit, and instead of retracting it Weiss asked him to come on her podcast
CNN has a show with a similar line. That the problem with this country is we just aren’t talking to each other.
It’s the kind of diagnosis that a toddler would land on.
It’s the kind of diagnosis that a toddler would land on.
December 18, 2025 at 3:28 PM
again thinking of when The Free Press ran an article alleging that George Floyd was not killed by the cops, and @radleybalko.bsky.social proved beyond any question that the article was bullshit, and instead of retracting it Weiss asked him to come on her podcast
Reposted by Karen Attiah
Ironically, the people who fixed up the malls here in Minnesota were the immigrants. The dying malls ended up being filled with minority-owned businesses that allowed them to live.
Or they did, before ICE came to town. Some would rather burn down the mall than let immigrants rebuild I guess.
Or they did, before ICE came to town. Some would rather burn down the mall than let immigrants rebuild I guess.
December 17, 2025 at 9:13 PM
Ironically, the people who fixed up the malls here in Minnesota were the immigrants. The dying malls ended up being filled with minority-owned businesses that allowed them to live.
Or they did, before ICE came to town. Some would rather burn down the mall than let immigrants rebuild I guess.
Or they did, before ICE came to town. Some would rather burn down the mall than let immigrants rebuild I guess.
Reposted by Karen Attiah
Over the past 15+ years so many analogies about the state of our country have been made...this one nails it.
I mentioned it to my wife last night. You can draw analogies to various federal agencies that have either been gutted by DOGE or eliminated entirely...those are the shuttered mall stores.
I mentioned it to my wife last night. You can draw analogies to various federal agencies that have either been gutted by DOGE or eliminated entirely...those are the shuttered mall stores.
The U.S. is giving dying mall vibes.
I can't explain it, but you know I'm right.
I can't explain it, but you know I'm right.
December 18, 2025 at 4:54 PM
Over the past 15+ years so many analogies about the state of our country have been made...this one nails it.
I mentioned it to my wife last night. You can draw analogies to various federal agencies that have either been gutted by DOGE or eliminated entirely...those are the shuttered mall stores.
I mentioned it to my wife last night. You can draw analogies to various federal agencies that have either been gutted by DOGE or eliminated entirely...those are the shuttered mall stores.
Reposted by Karen Attiah
Constant deprivation is treated as a fact of life. The legal system is widely treated as a joke. The “I know a guy” economy flourishes. People ask me how they can win the favor of elected officials or gov’t employees, working around a system said to be sacrosanct but understood to be crumbling.
December 18, 2025 at 12:11 AM
Constant deprivation is treated as a fact of life. The legal system is widely treated as a joke. The “I know a guy” economy flourishes. People ask me how they can win the favor of elected officials or gov’t employees, working around a system said to be sacrosanct but understood to be crumbling.
Reposted by Karen Attiah
I grew up in Eastern Europe during the last gasps of communism and the U.S. is starting to feel the same
December 17, 2025 at 10:03 PM
I grew up in Eastern Europe during the last gasps of communism and the U.S. is starting to feel the same
Reposted by Karen Attiah
as someone who used to work in a dying mall, I can't disagree
The U.S. is giving dying mall vibes.
I can't explain it, but you know I'm right.
I can't explain it, but you know I'm right.
December 17, 2025 at 11:42 PM
as someone who used to work in a dying mall, I can't disagree
Reposted by Karen Attiah
I grew up a mile from a mall that died when I was in my teens and this is so fucking accurate. We’re already at the “everyone is afraid to go there because of the crowd” phase.
The U.S. is giving dying mall vibes.
I can't explain it, but you know I'm right.
I can't explain it, but you know I'm right.
December 18, 2025 at 12:22 AM
I grew up a mile from a mall that died when I was in my teens and this is so fucking accurate. We’re already at the “everyone is afraid to go there because of the crowd” phase.
Reposted by Karen Attiah
Our chief export is now used Sega Genesis games.
The U.S. is giving dying mall vibes.
I can't explain it, but you know I'm right.
I can't explain it, but you know I'm right.
December 18, 2025 at 1:11 AM
Our chief export is now used Sega Genesis games.
Reposted by Karen Attiah
the shitty churches and desperate recruiting centers kind of give it away
The U.S. is giving dying mall vibes.
I can't explain it, but you know I'm right.
I can't explain it, but you know I'm right.
December 18, 2025 at 1:13 AM
the shitty churches and desperate recruiting centers kind of give it away
Reposted by Karen Attiah
They’ve walled off the wing where Sears was, only thing still left where Penny’s was is a random shoe store next to a karate place.
They’re not even bothering with the “Another Great Store, Coming Soon” anymore.
They’re not even bothering with the “Another Great Store, Coming Soon” anymore.
The U.S. is giving dying mall vibes.
I can't explain it, but you know I'm right.
I can't explain it, but you know I'm right.
December 18, 2025 at 2:16 AM
They’ve walled off the wing where Sears was, only thing still left where Penny’s was is a random shoe store next to a karate place.
They’re not even bothering with the “Another Great Store, Coming Soon” anymore.
They’re not even bothering with the “Another Great Store, Coming Soon” anymore.
Reposted by Karen Attiah
Dilapidated, half empty because the rent is too high, only still occupied and frequented by creepy divorced dads that still shop at Spencer’s Gifts and whose kids won’t talk to them, yeah, sounds about right.
The U.S. is giving dying mall vibes.
I can't explain it, but you know I'm right.
I can't explain it, but you know I'm right.
December 17, 2025 at 10:37 PM
Dilapidated, half empty because the rent is too high, only still occupied and frequented by creepy divorced dads that still shop at Spencer’s Gifts and whose kids won’t talk to them, yeah, sounds about right.
Reposted by Karen Attiah
The strip mall thing is different. Strip malls were where mom and pop stores and immigrant/ethnic restaurants thrived. Those arent decaying theyre being bulldozed and replaced with national chains. What used to be a taqueria is now Chipotle. bsky.app/profile/kare...
America is giving decaying strip mall energy.
But I will still go to the Sbarro's in the food court and hit up the Dippin' Dots stand, though.
And get some Cotton Candy Baskin-Robbins Ice Cream while the fun lasts.
But I will still go to the Sbarro's in the food court and hit up the Dippin' Dots stand, though.
And get some Cotton Candy Baskin-Robbins Ice Cream while the fun lasts.
December 17, 2025 at 10:18 PM
The strip mall thing is different. Strip malls were where mom and pop stores and immigrant/ethnic restaurants thrived. Those arent decaying theyre being bulldozed and replaced with national chains. What used to be a taqueria is now Chipotle. bsky.app/profile/kare...
Reposted by Karen Attiah
A vacant parking lot surrounding a huge building that used to be a temple of consumption where you'd hang out all day only now there's nothing there aside from a Cheesecake Factory and a Macy's whose only purpose is picking up/returning stuff you bought online.
The U.S. is giving dying mall vibes.
I can't explain it, but you know I'm right.
I can't explain it, but you know I'm right.
December 17, 2025 at 10:15 PM
A vacant parking lot surrounding a huge building that used to be a temple of consumption where you'd hang out all day only now there's nothing there aside from a Cheesecake Factory and a Macy's whose only purpose is picking up/returning stuff you bought online.
Reposted by Karen Attiah
Reposted by Karen Attiah
Pier 1 Imports Ass Country
The U.S. is giving dying mall vibes.
I can't explain it, but you know I'm right.
I can't explain it, but you know I'm right.
December 17, 2025 at 10:08 PM
Pier 1 Imports Ass Country
!
This is doing a disservice to abandoned strip malls. At least they generally have small enough storefronts that they can be reused. When a giant Shopping Mall goes, there's not really a way to save it because the space are so massive.
That's what I'm afraid will happen to the US.
That's what I'm afraid will happen to the US.
December 17, 2025 at 10:09 PM
!