Hello, Friends. Happy Friday! How are you? Did you have a good week? We are in another lockdown, so the kids were doing school-from-home today. And for the next two weeks, the whole country of France is on Spring Break, so the kids will also be home, but won’t have to think about school. (Our Spring Break was originally scheduled for the first two weeks of May, but it was shifted to April and included as part of this new lockdown.)
We’re not sure if it’s possible, but we really, really want to move in to The Tall House at the end of this month, so during the next two weeks, we’ll be over at the house quite a bit — sanding floors in a couple of rooms, working on more painting, and trying to complete as much of the dusty work as possible before we move in.
I’ve got a great link list for you today. Here are a few things I’ve wanted to share:
-Evidence is mounting that a tiny subatomic particle is being influenced by forms of matter and energy that are not yet known to science but which may nevertheless affect the nature and evolution of the universe.
-“Everyone Just Knows He’s an Absolute Monster“: Scott Rudin’s Ex-Staffers Speak Out on Abusive Behavior.
-It’s hard to believe workers in the U.S. ever unionize when the odds are so stacked against them.
-“In 2021 a woman deciding to engage in consensual sexual activity is somehow a mark against her morality, but a man sharing images of women without their consent on the House floor is not grounds for his immediate removal from office or resignation.”
-When Robert Pape studied those arrested at the Capitol, he thought he’d find they were driven by economic anxiety. Instead, he found they came from places where residents were worried about immigrants and minorities taking over from white people.
-A 3,000-year-old ‘lost golden city’ has been unearthed in Egypt.
-French Senate Votes to Ban the Hijab for Muslim Women Under the Age of 18. “Forcing women out of clothing is as violent as forcing them into it- in sport or elsewhere.”
-WOW. New HIV vaccine with a 97% antibody response rate in phase I human trials. This is the most effective trial HIV vaccine to date. It is based on the Moderna’s COVID vaccine.
-“The DOD inspector general has uncovered evidence that Michael Flynn accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars from foreign interests and governments, despite repeated warnings that his conduct might be illegal.”
-A Gallup poll this week found that 47% of U.S. adults say they belong to a religious congregation — down from 70% who said the same in 1999. It’s the first time that figure has fallen below 50% since Gallup began asking the question more than 80 years ago.
-I’m thinking I need a short-sleeved jumpsuit for warmer weather. How cute is the pale green color?
Here are some tweets I saved for you:
-Everything about Elon Musk makes me roll my eyes.
-No, really, I just care about the purity of women’s sports.
-This wealth inequality is not sustainable.
–Curious about union benefits?
-This should be required reading for anyone who wants to know more about trans children.
-It’s amazing what happens when we elect people that actually want the government to work.
–A simple thread about Ramadan.
–Hahahaha.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend. I’ll meet you back here next week. I’m miss you already.
kisses,
Gabrielle
The topic of religious signs in the public space is touchy in France. French citizen can hardly stand religions sharing their political views for exemple. I couldn t bear it if a nun would accompany my son s class to some outing. It must be hard to understand for Americans because religion is everywhere, but in France the majority barely tolerated the sound of Church bells. !
Agnes, it doesn’t make sense for a nun to accompany your child on a field trip unless your child attends a catholic school – nuns are not parents of schoolchildren. It does make sense for a Muslim mother of a child in your child’s class to come along for her child’s field trip – her apparel should have no bearing on the other children in the class unless she is proselytizing (which she surely would not do) any more than another parent’s floral print shirt inspires someone to become a vegetarian, or a beret-wearing parent inspires someone to join the military. If we’re making these kinds of distinctions, I do not want people who wear Crocs in public or who pair brown with red accompanying my kids on field trips.
I hear you eliza, but that’s the law in France! A medal around the neck is barely tolerated and no Kippa, same for political t-shirts ! There is a great essay by rabbi delphine horvilleur about how laicity allows religions to be together peacefully. As for school outings you could be an aunt or uncle or a social worker so yes a nun is possible though yes they already know they re not popular in public schools. I grew up in religious schools, in a religious household and i agree with keeping religions at home.
I believe that all people should be free to wear what they like; however I worry that the right of Muslim women to decide for themselves to come out of hijab is not being protected as strongly as the right of women to go into hijab is. There is a lot of family and community pressure on women to go into and stay into hijab – their right to choose for themselves – either way – needs to be protected and defended equally.
France is obsessed with secularism because of their bloody history with religious conflict. My Huguenot ancestors fled to South Africa because Catholics were burning Protestants in town squares.
Does France not allow Sikh men to wear turbans?