Suck fatigue.

I've been spending a lot of time lately re-educating myself on history and culture, trying to get a more balanced perspective than the white patriarchy version I learned in school. A lot of this has been really jaw-dropping for me, like stumbling across the story of Saartjie Baartman (a.k.a. the 'Hottentot' Venus, a Khoikhoi woman who was shown off like some sideshow freak for the shape of her ass - which, as a substantially bootylicious chick myself, just...yeah, it blew my mind, and not in a good way), learning about the "convict leasing system" (a vomitous practice that kept black men legally enslaved well into the twentieth century), and discovering the truth about "banana republics.

You know, I would think that surviving childhood rape, divorce, a schizophrenic mother, and suicidal-drug-addicted roommates would pretty much keep my expectations for the human race pretty fuckin' low....but turns out I still have a shred of faith in humanity. Lord knows why.

What with my illness awhile back, I spent most of my vacation time from work....but I think I'm going to take a summer media vacation anyway. I declare that I need a break from having my nose rubbed in mankind's shit-on-the-carpet, so my soul can grow back a little. Otherwise, I may just lose all ability to believe that change is possible, and give up, and go buy an SUV or something.

So, for awhile, I am willfully burying my head in the sand, though in this case, the sand is likely to be music and popsicles and fluffy novels and a quest for sunburns at my local beach.

Before I officially shut off my political awareness, though, I need to mention that the ass-kicking Coalition of Immokalee Workers is going after Chipotle (not to mention apparently planning to target Whole Foods soon - yippee!), trying to ensure something closer to fair work conditions for farm workers. You can learn how to help here, including awesome letters you can print up and deliver to your local Chipotle managers. You know, if you eat there.

Also: via my awesome roomie, here's a site encouraging communities to convert high-visibilty lawns and such into organic food gardens. There's a petition to start with the White House lawn. How fucking cool is that?