A kind of petition

I will praise your madness, and
in a language not mine, speak
of music that wakes us, music
in which we move. For whatever I say
is a kind of petition, and the darkest
days must I praise.

Often, however, an editor is trying to capitalize off of current discussions on race, gender, class, etc because it’s the cool thing to do and not because they have any interest or understanding of their own complicity (or that of their publication) in oppression. When your language butts up against their own biases or privilege, they will then flex that privilege to try to tone your words down to a volume they can safely ignore. This is fuckery.

They are using a “content first” approach? So they are going to be making knitting content, SEO optimized content to gain market share. They will not be creating this content themselves [...] So they are either going to rely on free, crowdsourced content, thinking knitters will just jump on board and do free labor, or [they're] going to pay a few people pennies to create this content for them. Do they know how long it takes to knit a garment?

Real, respectful depictions of the Arab world and of SWANA [South West Asian and North African] cultures are few and far between. And we aren’t the ones who have the resources to tell our stories yet. We’re hired to help white creators avoid mistakes and to absolve them of guilt, to shield them from criticism and feel grateful we’re even allowed behind the curtain.

ATF’s marketing effort worked. Jim Crow wasn’t a bestseller, but it sold well enough that ATF recast the typeface again in 1949. Indeed, the name “Jim Crow” didn’t put off graphic designers from using the typeface. […] While consumers of these books and albums likely had no idea of the typeface’s name or origin, the graphic designers did. They made a choice to use Jim Crow in spite of, or because of, the name.

Amy’s Kitchen and Annie’s Macaroni and Cheese are about as whimsical and informative as I’m willing to go: Some people had a kid named Amy or Annie, she liked macaroni and cheese, they made her some, it was terrific, they made some for me too and here it is. Just enough detail for the human touch, not so much detail that I feel implicated in someone else’s personal life, like how most private-label apple cider vinegar companies are evangelical Christians for some reason who want you to hear about how honeybees disprove evolutionary theory before you can make salad dressing.