I'm very grateful for your thinking here. I've (mostly) kept talking with an old friend who has veered (via RFK) toward supporting Trump. It has nothing to do with the racism/bigotry (which genuinely give him pause) but with the sense that everything is breaking, the Democrats are too distanced from any of that to notice or care, and at least Trump is connected to what a lot of people feel. I may think that supporting Trump is a poor response to these realities, but on an emotional/psychological level I understand viscerally where my friend is coming from.
I know this is an older post but it remains relevant post election, hard as it may be to hear when the siren Fafo sings. Finding out I'd had students at Berklee who had been homeless while studying was an eye opener for me. When can we get you to Berklee to support our Songs for Social Change initiative?
Another excellent piece. "Emergency Shelter.." was the first work of yours that I ever heard. Went to hear it because it is something I care deeply about (my Grandma worked with Haddassah to find and alter clothes for poor and unhoused people so the "looked nice" for job interviews at the same time that I was living in Venice Beach and helping care for our street dwelling neighbors there).
I'm very grateful for your thinking here. I've (mostly) kept talking with an old friend who has veered (via RFK) toward supporting Trump. It has nothing to do with the racism/bigotry (which genuinely give him pause) but with the sense that everything is breaking, the Democrats are too distanced from any of that to notice or care, and at least Trump is connected to what a lot of people feel. I may think that supporting Trump is a poor response to these realities, but on an emotional/psychological level I understand viscerally where my friend is coming from.
Exactly this. Thanks for sharing your experience!
I know this is an older post but it remains relevant post election, hard as it may be to hear when the siren Fafo sings. Finding out I'd had students at Berklee who had been homeless while studying was an eye opener for me. When can we get you to Berklee to support our Songs for Social Change initiative?
I’m not familiar with that initiative! Shoot me an email and let me know more!
best to follow up on this not via substack. it's complicated right now especially for our international students as you can imagine.
Another excellent piece. "Emergency Shelter.." was the first work of yours that I ever heard. Went to hear it because it is something I care deeply about (my Grandma worked with Haddassah to find and alter clothes for poor and unhoused people so the "looked nice" for job interviews at the same time that I was living in Venice Beach and helping care for our street dwelling neighbors there).
Agreed, thank you so much for verbalizing what I was feeling but didn’t have the words for!
Thanks for writing this; can’t wait for the performance.