Citizen Police, America’s Colonies, Fascism Retakes Italy
KTF Weekly Newsletter
Hello everyone,
We’re going to jump right into it this week. Here are our highlights to help us seek to leave colonized faith for the Kingdom of God.
Sy’s recommendations:
Earlier this week, Italy elected Giorgia Meloni, the country’s first fascist prime minister since Benito Mussolini. As this Atlantic article explains in helpful detail, Italy banned Mussolini’s party from politics following WWII. But Meloni grew up an activist in the MSI, the party that Mussolini’s old subordinates founded following the war. After the MSI dissolved, she started her own party, which took the old MSI emblem as its own. She decries enemies familiar to anyone watching the spread of far-right politics throughout the West, including BIPOC immigrants and LGBTQ people threatening the white, Christian way of life, as well as feminists who advocate abortion and thereby restrict the number of white children born. And yes, she has travelled to America, making stops to attend both CPAC and the National Prayer Breakfast. The article helps us see clearly the fruit of Christian political idolatry as an increasingly international group of the fearful, far-right faithful spread destructive ideologies throughout the world.
I make an effort here to include the little journalism that there is which exposes the relatively unknown injustices of the child welfare system, a misnomer if there ever was one. This week, Mother Jones published this investigative article on how clogged court calendars and underfunding combine to create enormous delays in the emergency hearings Massachusetts judges are supposed to hold when CPS removes children from families. The result is that the system tears apart poor and BIPOC families for extended periods of time, often for no reason. The article tells the story of one Black father who lost custody of his son for about two months, though there was no accusation of neglect against him at all. Child protective services is a system of oppression which people with any amount of wealth rarely encounter, but which haunts the lives of the most vulnerable people. Learning about it and advocating for change is a crucial way to love our marginalized neighbors.
Suzie's recommendations:
When three men chased and shot Ahmaud Arbery while he was out on a run, part of their defense was that they were attempting a citizen’s arrest. This appealed to an outdated set of Georgia laws with a racist past (mainly, capturing enslaved people who tried to escape) which the legislature repealed after Arbery’s murder became mainstream news. However, the GOP is currently bent on passing more laws of this kind that rely on private citizens to enforce them, whether through detainment or litigation. This NPR interview by Ayesha Rascoe features Rutgers professor David Noll on this movement that he calls the rise of “vigilante federalism.” It is a brief, but eye-opening reflection on how Republicans want to deputize private citizens in the United States to act as morality police.
Voices of Lament is a beautiful, new anthology that brings together 29 diverse Women of Color to reflect on the themes and embodied wisdom of Psalm 37. The volume’s editor is Natasha Sistrunk Robinson and it includes contributors like former Shake the Dust guest Sandra Maria Van Opstal, Kathy Khang, and Kat Armas. Not only is the book available now for purchase, but the book launch is currently underway with upcoming events in Southern California and Atlanta. These events require prior registration, but they are free and open to the public.
Jonathan’s recommendations:
Leaving colonized faith requires sincere interrogation of the status quo, speaking truth, and choosing to live differently. Karen Gonzalez, in this piece highlights ways that the ideology of colonization persists to this day, both in how America exports its sermons and church culture and in how the world grieved for Queen Elizabeth. But Gonzalez doesn’t just point out problems and leave them there. She suggests practical steps for leaving those old ways behind, which I deeply appreciate. Check it out and subscribe to her Substack!
Seeing the extent of the devastation in Puerto Rico from Hurricane Maria five years ago and now from Hurricane Fiona, many are asking, “How did we get here?” In the past, I highlighted How to Hide an Empire, a book which illuminates the vast reach of the US military and economy over lands whose people have no say in how America makes decisions. This piece from the Washington Post gives even more clarity to the long-term plight of America’s modern colonies, which we call territories. The article analyzes the territories’ population loss and compares them to similarly shrinking post-industrial towns on the mainland of the United States. We who have power must incorporate the stories of those who have been disempowered into our lives so that we can leverage our power on their behalf. This article helps us do that.
Thanks for reading, and see you next week!
The KTF team