Ousting Cori Bush, Olympic Transphobia, Holistic Mental Health

Plus, some thoughts on Baldwin's 100th Birthday

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Our highlights this week include:

-        Conservatives Use Olympics misinformation to push an anti-trans agenda

-        Praying for International Politics instead of centering America

-        What we can learn from the history of mental health treatment

-        Cori Bush loses a primary race after AIPAC spends millions

-        Jonathan keeps us grounded with some reflections on James Baldwin’s 100th birthday

Jonathan’s Recommendations

Conservatives Use Olympics Misinformation to Push Anti-Trans Agenda

Last week, I wrote about conservative Christians condemning the Olympics’ opening ceremony based on the false accusation that it mocked Christianity. This week, conservatives the world over, particularly the anti-trans variety, are up in arms over another fake story. Elon Musk, J. K. Rowling, and others have accused a female Algerian, Olympic boxer, Imane Khelif, of being a man. An opponent withdrew from a fight, claiming Khelif was overly aggressive. And last year, Khelif was disqualified from the World Championships because of elevated levels of testosterone. But Khelif was born a woman, lives as a woman, and has never claimed to be anything other than a woman. But this did not stop the anti-trans train from leaving the station with many spreading lies around the internet that played on racist, transphobic and misogynistic stereotypes.  Fortunately, Li Zhou from Vox wrote a great article giving us background, insight, and helpful analysis. As followers of Jesus, we pray for the physical safety and emotional health of Khelif, and we should commit to always learning as much as we can about those who are different from us.

-            Read about the controversy

Pray for Bangladesh, Venezuela and the UK

During our contentious election season, it is easy for Americans to forget about events happening around the world. But the rest of the planet doesn’t go on pause because Vice President Harris picked a running mate. This Tuesday, the figurehead president of Bangladesh dissolved parliament and called for elections as the military moved toward taking over the government and the ousted prime minister fled the country. This followed weeks of protests about government job policies and rising unemployment, as well as a violent government response that left about 300 protestors dead. Violence has also rocked Venezuela where incumbent President Nicolás Maduro brutally cracked down on a protest movement insisting—accurately it seems—that he stole the country’s recent election. And anti-immigrant rioters destroyed property and attacked people in several cities across the UK last weekend, reacting to incorrect rumors that the suspected perpetrator of a recent highly publicized murder was an immigrant. I want to encourage you to continue to make space in your prayer life for those our media is currently overlooking. These are the folks Jesus always sought out first.

Sy's Recommendations

What We Can Learn from the History of Mental Health Treatment

In the Boston Review, Yale psychiatrist and historian Marco Ramos reviewed two recently-published books discussing the history of treatment for mental illness in America. I really like the article for three reasons. First, it gives us a digestible overview of the history, demonstrating that ableism, racism, and other oppressive systems have always driven our decisions about how to deal with neurodivergent people. Second, it highlights the promises of incredible,, world-changing breakthroughs that accompanied historical shifts in mental health treatment, before we discovered that the new treatment was largely a way to control certain populations and/or for corporations to make a ton of money. It then draws clear parallels between those historical shifts and today’s movement toward psychotropics, which I suspect )though I’m no expert) could use a little grounding. Third, the article highlights the ways that academic and popular discussions about mental health often leave out or marginalize the trauma-inducing nature of various forms of oppression in our society. And it advocates for more holistic research and treatment in the field. It’s a great read and worth your time.

-            Read the article

Cori Bush loses Primary after AIPAC Spends millions

Missouri Congresswoman Cori Bush lost her primary race this week to a pro-Israel prosecutor backed by AIPAC. Bush has been one of the fiercest critics of Israel’s genocide in Congress, and an AIPAC super PAC spent $9 million to defeat her, half the total spent by her challenger. The only primary that was more expensive this year was another AIPAC-funded take-down of a Black representative critical of Israel, Jamaal Bowman. I’ll be honest though, I think AIPAC may have ousted the wrong person. In Bush’s concession speech, which sounded more like a campaign rally, she said she was never going to stop working, and promised to tear AIPAC down, insisting all they had managed to do was radicalize her. In another interview, she pointed out that she has been doing the same political work for years, mounting multiple unsuccessful runs for Congress before her victory. “One thing I don’t do is go away.” Pouring as much money as AIPAC did into defeating one woman’s criticism of Palestinian slaughter is disgusting. And it’s another in a million examples of how easy it is for money to subvert democracy. This is a sad day. But I can’t help being a little excited to see what Bush does next.

-            Watch Bush’s speech and read about the race

Staying Grounded with Jonathan

“James Baldwin was a human being.” This is what award-winning author Robert Jones, Jr. wrote this week to mark the 100th birthday of one of the most consequential figures in American history. Baldwin wrote awe-inspiring prose and stirred millions to deep thought and profound action. Yet, there were places he needed to grow, lean in, and learn. Jones highlights recorded conversations Baldwin had with Audre Lorde and Nikki Giovanni that exposed his flat sides when it came to patriarchy. Baldwin’s views seemed to have changed by the end of his life. But this reminded me that, both in ourselves and in the heroes we venerate, we are often tempted to make people appear perfect. If James Baldwin had places to learn and grow, so do I. So do we all. I praise God that we don’t have to be perfect, that folks are willing to teach us, and that continuously seeking more wisdom is a virtue in the kingdom of God.