Jonathan Dresner
@jondresner.bsky.social
690 followers 230 following 10K posts
Japan/World/Food/Migration historian. Nerd, geek, comics. Blogger. Rootless Cosmopolitan. Still masking. Views expressed are mine alone (RTs are someone else's). Cis he/him/his. Same handle on Spore.Social. There are no good-faith anti-trans arguments.
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jondresner.bsky.social
Our intolerance for disorder, diversity, and difference will kill us all. But we will kill the diverse, different, and creative ones first.
Reposted by Jonathan Dresner
anitmata.bsky.social
But, getting to my actual point, you can't solve a systemic problem with personal virtue.

(This does not excuse my personal vice.)

Alter building codes to include air filtration. Encourage masking by making surgical masks easily available. Design an N-95 I can wear with my glasses.

8/
Reposted by Jonathan Dresner
katelynburns.com
I've met these two wonderful parents before. i was reporting on a roundtable discussion of trans parents held at the HRC HQ and then we all went out for dinner afterwards. after dinner Keisha and Sean insisted on walking me all the way to the metro stop to make sure i made it okay.
jondresner.bsky.social
"People tend to select from history what pleases them, and I think that the historians' job is to remind them that the rest of it exists." -- me
unlawfulentries.bsky.social
At a conference last year a prominent senior political scientist told me he was "disturbed" that I was using settler colonialism as a frame in my book on US migration & citizenship history because I should "give the MAGA people something to be proud of in their history." 1/
michaelleroyoberg.bsky.social
Let me state this as clearly as I can:

It is not the job of a historian to make you feel good about your nation’s past.

We need to print this on t-shirts and bumper stickers.
Reposted by Jonathan Dresner
sepoy.bsky.social
Long awaited and lovely to hold! Mahmood Mamdani’s brilliant new history *Slow Poison* 🗃️
IDI AMIN, YOWERI
MUSEVENI,
and the
MAKING
of the
UGANDAN
STATE
SLOW
POIson
MAHMOOD MAMDANI
Reposted by Jonathan Dresner
jondresner.bsky.social
They really think this is how liberalism was built: in HR training sessions and school assemblies.
jondresner.bsky.social
They really think this is how liberalism was built: in HR training sessions and school assemblies.
jondresner.bsky.social
May your doctors know their business and serve you well.
Reposted by Jonathan Dresner
ellejohara.com
It's Portfolio Day and I'm technically an artist, but not a pro. I long ago gave up the idea that my art would earn me a living.

So now I just say, "I draw indie comics. You've probably never heard of me." I really lean into that, actually. Which is one reason why my avi is Hipster Ariel.
Kitab - Not Really Anything

1.
[I lean on the sink and look at my reflection.]
In my youth, people often told me I had so much potential to become somebody.
Like a famous artist or something.
But I have never been able to live up to this potential.
Now, decades later, I understand why.
For a while I thought it was Borderline Personality Disorder.
But I found out what it actually is.

2.
[I hold my fists up. Above each is a figure: the ADHD Creature and the Autism Creature.]
It turns out one can be ADHD and autistic at the same time.
That's a hard-hitting one-two punch that makes everything I try to do much more difficult and frustrating.

3.
[Behind me are some folks. Two are chatting. Another two are flirting. I cannot tell the difference.]
It's why I don't understand how people work.
For example, I always misinterpret social cues.

4.
[Around me are examples of hobbies and projects I've abandoned or left unfinished. I look very sad/frustrated.]
Vintage computers; making videos for my YouTube channel; belly dance (and dance in general); my graphic novel; my homebuilt electronic wind instrument (and music-making in general); volleyball (specifically sand court)
It's why I abandon hobbies and never finish what few projects my executive dysfunction actually allows me to start.

5.
[I cry out in anguish as the tag on my tee shirt drives me insane.]
It's why I sometimes lose my shit over something completely trivial.
Like an itchy tag irritating the back of my neck.

6.
[Finger guns to my reflection.]
I am AuDHD. It's not a bug. It's a feature.
Which is fine, I guess. I'd definitely rather be autistic than borderline.

7.
[I glare over my shoulder into the camera.]
I'm 50 years old now. I've always been like this. It's not going to change.
I'm fundamentally dysfunctional.

8.
On the bright side, I guess I don't need to feel pressured to try and become someone anymore.
Because now I know that's probably not even possible.
[Text on each side of my face: Certified Nobody] Witchy me in black with my hair pulled into an updo with chopsticks sits on a hovering broomstick and looks down at a visiting snake. A full moon's reflection shimmers in a mountainside lake, while a campfire keeps me nice and warm.
Reposted by Jonathan Dresner
andreagrimes.com
For ex.: Today's excellent piece on intimacy coordinator backlash is paywalled, b/c we paid the writer a fair (if tbh lower than we'd like) rate of $.50/wd, b/c it's the right thing to do to walk the walk of supporting feminist journalism. We believe in paying freelancers in dollars, not "exposure."
Reposted by Jonathan Dresner
katelynburns.com
The merch story is my baby and i love her
andreagrimes.com
We're always exploring alternative revenue streams, and I can't enough hype @theflytrapmedia.com's absolutely badass merch store, which features the gorgeous art of our creative director rommy torrico, along with work from freelance artists who are always paid a fair rate for their work.
The Flytrap Media
The official shop of The Flytrap Media. Buy merch, and support your favorite feminist media collection!
theflytrapmedia-shop.fourthwall.com
jondresner.bsky.social
May they know their business and serve you well.
jondresner.bsky.social
Is there a trolley in the room?
Reposted by Jonathan Dresner
emuehlbe.bsky.social
Usually, to show an author love, the first rule is: buy the book. And, you can totally buy this book---but, it's also available OA, which means you can in a few weeks' time get it for free.
luminosoa.org/books/m/10.1...

So, the updated rule: to show an author love, get her book and read it!
Things Unseen | University of California Press
How do you know the nature of another person: who she is, or what she is capable of? In four exploratory essays, a seasoned historian examines the mechanisms by which ancient people came to have knowl...
luminosoa.org
jondresner.bsky.social
There are no good-faith anti-trans arguments
dexanderson.com
Why put out this study at all?

Anti-trans policy requires a belief that being trans is a trend. If the numbers of people ID'ing as trans is shown to have major fluctuations, it can be used to argue that trans identity is fake and social contagion. That's the point of this whole project.
Reposted by Jonathan Dresner
williamthomas.bsky.social
Big deal in the science policy for physics world. DOE Office of Science has consolidated all its advisory committees into one. The High Energy Physics Advisory Panel dated back to 1967. www.aip.org/fyi/doe-cons...
DOE Consolidates Office of Science Advisory Committees
Six long-standing committees advising the Department of Energy’s Office of Science have been rolled into one.
www.aip.org
Reposted by Jonathan Dresner
jeremycyoung.bsky.social
Great piece by @compact.org's Bobbie Laur in response to the other "Compact" being proffered to universities by the administration.

compact.org/news/a-highe...
A Higher Education Compact in Action
compact.org
jondresner.bsky.social
This is one of those questions where, as my father used to say, "who defines the terms wins the argument."
jondresner.bsky.social
Yeah, that's buying into incel self-mythologizing more than anything else.
jondresner.bsky.social
Mostly I believe that art and satire is pretty free rein, but if you make a Peanuts riff that's vulgar, racist, etc., I block, and I never see you or your work again.

And if you share it... well, it depends on who you are, but it's hard to forget quickly.
jondresner.bsky.social
See also: ableist metaphors
dmuma.bsky.social
I know changing your language is difficult, but the effort you take to minimize and eliminate gendered words and phrases can make the world of difference for people who need to see allyship in the world.
jondresner.bsky.social
I'm reading a history of hiking. Lots of ups and downs.
bsky.app/profile/anit...
anitmata.bsky.social
I'm reading a book about allusions. It's as reference work
spatula8.bsky.social
I'm reading a softcover paperback book that I'm perusing, about redundancy.
Reposted by Jonathan Dresner
vjpsyverson.bsky.social
Both of the veto messages Newsom submitted for the two bills he vetoed (linked in the story) give as their reason something about them potentially raising health care costs. I guess now we know what industry special interest group feedback he was waiting for before deciding which of these to sign?
transnews.network
CA UPDATE:

Newsom has signed these queer rights bills:
- AB 82 / SB 497 (Medical privacy)
- AB 1084 / SB 59 (Name/Gender changes)
- SB 450 (Adoption access)

And vetoed these bills:
- SB 418 (HRT stockpile)
- AB 554 (PreP)

Final total: 8 bills signed, 2 vetoed.

transnews.network/p/california...