Andrea Pitzer
@andreapitzer.bsky.social
Books! One Long Night: A Global History of Concentration Camps, Icebound: Shipwrecked at the Edge of the World, & a Nabokov bio. Now working on Snowblind: Death on the Polar Ice. Former karateka & record store clerk. Newsletter & podcast: andreapitzer.com.
Pinned
Andrea Pitzer
@andreapitzer.bsky.social
· Nov 10
Degenerate Art
Andrea Pitzer on politics and history, the Arctic, and Appalachian exile.
degenerateart.beehiiv.com
I currently have a newsletter in which I write regularly about how societies devolve into authoritarianism & what that means right now in the US & around the world. It also features essays about my unsettled childhood in West Virginia. Soon, it will also include art, surprises, & links to resources.
Tried calling Kaine's office (DC and three local ones) and can't get a human being on the line anywhere. Even the "leave a message" option isn't working in some office voice mail systems.
November 10, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Tried calling Kaine's office (DC and three local ones) and can't get a human being on the line anywhere. Even the "leave a message" option isn't working in some office voice mail systems.
Reposted by Andrea Pitzer
And again, we're not guaranteed to win, and we're not going to sit around hoping for a win. We need to be out there working—out doing the anti-authoritarian work in the streets that needs doing, pushing candidates and electeds to do more, building grassroots infrastructure. Working. Fighting.
November 10, 2025 at 3:24 PM
And again, we're not guaranteed to win, and we're not going to sit around hoping for a win. We need to be out there working—out doing the anti-authoritarian work in the streets that needs doing, pushing candidates and electeds to do more, building grassroots infrastructure. Working. Fighting.
Reposted by Andrea Pitzer
yea the problem with poverty and food scarcity is that once people experience extended food scarcity that shit is carved in there forever. this was a major observable thing after the great leap forward and its resulting famine
November 9, 2025 at 7:58 PM
yea the problem with poverty and food scarcity is that once people experience extended food scarcity that shit is carved in there forever. this was a major observable thing after the great leap forward and its resulting famine
Body my house
my horse my hound
what will I do
when you are fallen
Where will I sleep
How will I ride
What will I hunt
Where can I go
without my mount
all eager and quick
How will I know
in thicket ahead
is danger or treasure
when Body my good
bright dog is dead
—from "Question," by May Swenson
my horse my hound
what will I do
when you are fallen
Where will I sleep
How will I ride
What will I hunt
Where can I go
without my mount
all eager and quick
How will I know
in thicket ahead
is danger or treasure
when Body my good
bright dog is dead
—from "Question," by May Swenson
November 9, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Body my house
my horse my hound
what will I do
when you are fallen
Where will I sleep
How will I ride
What will I hunt
Where can I go
without my mount
all eager and quick
How will I know
in thicket ahead
is danger or treasure
when Body my good
bright dog is dead
—from "Question," by May Swenson
my horse my hound
what will I do
when you are fallen
Where will I sleep
How will I ride
What will I hunt
Where can I go
without my mount
all eager and quick
How will I know
in thicket ahead
is danger or treasure
when Body my good
bright dog is dead
—from "Question," by May Swenson
The "free lunches are bad" and "down with empathy" sloganeers never, ever want their words applied to them.
November 9, 2025 at 5:40 PM
The "free lunches are bad" and "down with empathy" sloganeers never, ever want their words applied to them.
Reposted by Andrea Pitzer
"No good part of our existing system can be safe as long as civilians can be beaten on the streets by masked men, whether they’re citizens or not."
Winning Elections Is Only The First Step
YouTube video by Degenerate Art by Andrea Pitzer
www.youtube.com
November 7, 2025 at 2:09 PM
"No good part of our existing system can be safe as long as civilians can be beaten on the streets by masked men, whether they’re citizens or not."
Reposted by Andrea Pitzer
Whistle up Baltimore.
I have been actively watching contracts and surge funding over the last few days and what I would say to my friends in Baltimore is “be absolutely ready, right now.”
ICE poised to ramp up raids in Baltimore by Thanksgiving
The Trump administration has rush-ordered infrastructure to conduct raids, abduct residents, and detain people for months.
open.substack.com
November 9, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Whistle up Baltimore.
Area Dog just stood at the bottom of the steps and barked once to remind us that only stupid motherfuckers don't understand it's time to go to bed.
November 9, 2025 at 3:39 AM
Area Dog just stood at the bottom of the steps and barked once to remind us that only stupid motherfuckers don't understand it's time to go to bed.
Reposted by Andrea Pitzer
It's not even noon yet and feds (specifically Border Patrol and BOP officers in this caravan with Bovino) have fired tear gas, pepper balls, and bean bag rounds at people in Little Village and Cicero.
November 8, 2025 at 5:55 PM
It's not even noon yet and feds (specifically Border Patrol and BOP officers in this caravan with Bovino) have fired tear gas, pepper balls, and bean bag rounds at people in Little Village and Cicero.
Reposted by Andrea Pitzer
Coming back as cuomo considers a run for a house seat
November 8, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Coming back as cuomo considers a run for a house seat
Reposted by Andrea Pitzer
I needed this today.
My latest is a love letter to Chicago. "I see you stumbling through the stubborn, awkward rhythm of showing up, again and again. I see you fighting alongside people who sometimes frustrate and confuse you, and defending neighbors you may have never met, because you know they’re all your people."
In Chicago, We Run Toward Danger Together
"Faced with unrelenting state violence, Chicagoans have refused to be cowed," says Mariame Kaba.
organizingmythoughts.org
November 8, 2025 at 4:09 PM
I needed this today.
Reposted by Andrea Pitzer
When I was an organizer talking with folks about forming a union, a common refrain was people wanted management to respect them and their work. I would explain that we can’t change the bosses heart, but we could build enough power to force them to pretend.
November 8, 2025 at 2:55 AM
When I was an organizer talking with folks about forming a union, a common refrain was people wanted management to respect them and their work. I would explain that we can’t change the bosses heart, but we could build enough power to force them to pretend.
Reposted by Andrea Pitzer
The Times interviewed dozens of migrant men sent to a prison in El Salvador by the Trump administration. Independent forensic analysts called the testimony credible and consistent and said the treatment met the U.N.’s definition of torture.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/w...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/w...
‘You Are All Terrorists’: Four Months in a Salvadoran Prison
www.nytimes.com
November 8, 2025 at 11:58 AM
The Times interviewed dozens of migrant men sent to a prison in El Salvador by the Trump administration. Independent forensic analysts called the testimony credible and consistent and said the treatment met the U.N.’s definition of torture.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/w...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/w...
Reposted by Andrea Pitzer
The Friday roundup is here! Includes links to this week's podcast episode and a new story about my mother.
"She was asking me to agree on which memories we would rescue and which we would leave behind. She’d always wanted to be a good mother. She was still trying to find a way to have been one."
"She was asking me to agree on which memories we would rescue and which we would leave behind. She’d always wanted to be a good mother. She was still trying to find a way to have been one."
November 7 Friday roundup
Links to the podcast episode! Also: surviving a blizzard (and my mother).
degenerateart.beehiiv.com
November 7, 2025 at 6:19 PM
The Friday roundup is here! Includes links to this week's podcast episode and a new story about my mother.
"She was asking me to agree on which memories we would rescue and which we would leave behind. She’d always wanted to be a good mother. She was still trying to find a way to have been one."
"She was asking me to agree on which memories we would rescue and which we would leave behind. She’d always wanted to be a good mother. She was still trying to find a way to have been one."
Reposted by Andrea Pitzer
Guy with a sandwich: “Fuck you armed agent of the state.”
Ivy League: “I will eat my poop and thank you for it because I’m scared of a Fox News personality cosplaying as a lawyer”
Ivy League: “I will eat my poop and thank you for it because I’m scared of a Fox News personality cosplaying as a lawyer”
Breaking News: Cornell University reached an agreement with the Trump administration that would restore hundreds of millions in funding to the university. It's expected to pay a $30 million fine to the government and to invest $30 million in agriculture and farming programs.
Cornell Reaches Deal with Trump Administration to Restore Research Funds
The Ivy League university had warned of layoffs after the Trump administration stripped it of funds this year. The cuts were among the deepest in higher education.
nyti.ms
November 8, 2025 at 1:15 PM
Guy with a sandwich: “Fuck you armed agent of the state.”
Ivy League: “I will eat my poop and thank you for it because I’m scared of a Fox News personality cosplaying as a lawyer”
Ivy League: “I will eat my poop and thank you for it because I’m scared of a Fox News personality cosplaying as a lawyer”
Shame over poverty is such that people reflexively hide it. I had one pair of pants for years, and we lost our house to bankruptcy. But my mother and stepfather in the same town (with whom I didn't live) had no idea. So many people, barely hanging on, keeping it to themselves, now without food.
“The Supreme Court on Friday granted the Trump administration’s emergency appeal to temporarily block a court order to fully fund SNAP food aid payments amid the government shutdown.”
Supreme Court issues emergency order to block full SNAP food aid payments
The Supreme Court has granted the Trump administration’s emergency appeal to temporarily block a court order to fully fund SNAP food aid payments amid the government shutdown.
apnews.com
November 8, 2025 at 3:04 AM
Shame over poverty is such that people reflexively hide it. I had one pair of pants for years, and we lost our house to bankruptcy. But my mother and stepfather in the same town (with whom I didn't live) had no idea. So many people, barely hanging on, keeping it to themselves, now without food.
Reposted by Andrea Pitzer
Keep track of the victories when they come
BREAKING: A federal jury in Brooklyn awarded our clients — 674 immigrants unlawfully jailed by the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office — $112 million. Could not be more proud to work at @latinojustice.bsky.social and to partner with the talent of Winston & Strawn.
Jury Awards $112 Million to 674 Immigrants Unlawfully Held by Suffolk County for ICE Handover | LatinoJusticePRLDEF
FOR IMMEDIATE
www.latinojustice.org
November 8, 2025 at 12:26 AM
Keep track of the victories when they come
C'mon. Those women and children aren't going to beat themselves up.
November 7, 2025 at 11:50 PM
C'mon. Those women and children aren't going to beat themselves up.
Reposted by Andrea Pitzer
OVER A MILLION USERS
DISCUSS SUICIDE WITH CHATGPT
EVERY *WEEK*
what the fuck are we DOING here
DISCUSS SUICIDE WITH CHATGPT
EVERY *WEEK*
what the fuck are we DOING here
Panera’s moderately caffeinated lemonade was loosely associated with 2 deaths before it was taken off market.
This article alone has 4 examples of ChatGPT encouraging young people to commit suicide, and OpenAI’s own public stats estimate over a million users discuss suicide with ChatGPT each week.
This article alone has 4 examples of ChatGPT encouraging young people to commit suicide, and OpenAI’s own public stats estimate over a million users discuss suicide with ChatGPT each week.
I fully believe in the corporate death penalty and believe we would be a better world if OpenAI lost its corporate charter and was forcibly dissolved.
www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/u...
www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/u...
November 7, 2025 at 10:59 PM
OVER A MILLION USERS
DISCUSS SUICIDE WITH CHATGPT
EVERY *WEEK*
what the fuck are we DOING here
DISCUSS SUICIDE WITH CHATGPT
EVERY *WEEK*
what the fuck are we DOING here
Reposted by Andrea Pitzer
One reason I keep urging people to read "One Long Night" is because Auschwitz is not the only model of concentration camp. And people desperately need to expand their understanding of what a concentration camp actually is.
November 7, 2025 at 8:50 PM
One reason I keep urging people to read "One Long Night" is because Auschwitz is not the only model of concentration camp. And people desperately need to expand their understanding of what a concentration camp actually is.
Reposted by Andrea Pitzer
all of this is also true for sexism. you tell me you think women are biologically less smart and i’ll suspect that i could probably convince you to drink your own piss
November 7, 2025 at 9:01 PM
all of this is also true for sexism. you tell me you think women are biologically less smart and i’ll suspect that i could probably convince you to drink your own piss
Reposted by Andrea Pitzer
This has not gotten much attention, but it should.
Virginia under Youngkin returned to an insanely harsh system where people convicted of any felony lose their voting rights FOR LIFE.
Dems' win this week mean they'll get to advance a constitutional amendment to end lifetime disenfranchisement.
Virginia under Youngkin returned to an insanely harsh system where people convicted of any felony lose their voting rights FOR LIFE.
Dems' win this week mean they'll get to advance a constitutional amendment to end lifetime disenfranchisement.
November 7, 2025 at 8:59 PM
This has not gotten much attention, but it should.
Virginia under Youngkin returned to an insanely harsh system where people convicted of any felony lose their voting rights FOR LIFE.
Dems' win this week mean they'll get to advance a constitutional amendment to end lifetime disenfranchisement.
Virginia under Youngkin returned to an insanely harsh system where people convicted of any felony lose their voting rights FOR LIFE.
Dems' win this week mean they'll get to advance a constitutional amendment to end lifetime disenfranchisement.
One of my first national news features (almost 20 years ago now) was about James Watson's racist, sexist spewing. He was remarkably, reliably a horrible person decade after decade.
Came to my high school in the mid 90s and said insanely sexist and racist things to my class
November 7, 2025 at 8:50 PM
One of my first national news features (almost 20 years ago now) was about James Watson's racist, sexist spewing. He was remarkably, reliably a horrible person decade after decade.
Reposted by Andrea Pitzer
YAAASSSSS! 🔥
Go-Go is D.C.’s heartbeat, and the story’s still being written. Celebrate Go-Go Preservation Week with DC Public Library and help us keep the beat alive ➡️ https://bit.ly/46c0FDy
November 7, 2025 at 8:15 PM
YAAASSSSS! 🔥
Reposted by Andrea Pitzer
"Everyone has a story about how they made their way into the world. Mine is about how my mother carried me from danger to danger, until I could barely survive her love."
The Friday roundup is here! Includes links to this week's podcast episode and a new story about my mother.
"She was asking me to agree on which memories we would rescue and which we would leave behind. She’d always wanted to be a good mother. She was still trying to find a way to have been one."
"She was asking me to agree on which memories we would rescue and which we would leave behind. She’d always wanted to be a good mother. She was still trying to find a way to have been one."
November 7 Friday roundup
Links to the podcast episode! Also: surviving a blizzard (and my mother).
degenerateart.beehiiv.com
November 7, 2025 at 6:24 PM
"Everyone has a story about how they made their way into the world. Mine is about how my mother carried me from danger to danger, until I could barely survive her love."