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Awards for Good Byes
awardsforgoodboys.substack.com

Awards for Good Byes

No I'm sticking around but that title, I mean, I had to do it

awards for good boys
Nov 28, 2020
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Hello everyone!

Today some new and old things to read, places to give your money if you can, photos of my dog, small shops to support. I’ll write about my decision to move off social media in more detail someday (think book length, I have thoughts) for now: thank you thank you thank you, I’m really excited to continue making art and thinking out loud about things so make sure you’re signed up for this newsletter regardless if you pay or not—I’ll be releasing more newsletters in general, a mix of free and paywalled, with links and comics, and updates on whatever happens next.

I really love that page, and that space, but I’m just not in a place personally to be trying to communicate with almost half a million people with what’s going on in my life, in the world. I never really was—I cannot stress enough how much of an accident it all was. I’m just me.

Individuals are not meant to speak to this many people at once, in this way—it’s just chaos. CHAOS. I feel so blessed that I nurtured a project which is so collective in spirit—and as I’ve written about in many places, awards for good boys is very much based on my experiences, but it’s also really not. It’s about patterns, not people—it’s a template, a framework, for others to use. (The end of my book really clarifies this and gives blank awards for people to make their own, which is partly why when everyone following me did not immediately read my book upon publication I was mystified. I was like okay, it’s June 4 2019. Why doesn't everyone acknowledge that I’m handing the project over? You mean people are not running to get my illustrated comedy gift book that’s probably kept at the register or like, under some lint, in the middle of the work day?)

It’s why people around the world could relate even though we all have such different experiences. It’s why we got to hear stories about good boys from Australia and Japan, Spain and Turkey. But “social media” is not collective, even though it can give birth to and nourish amazing communities. It’s personality driven, persona driven. As I find my footing more and more in how to articulate what I believe in, personally and politically, in the world, it just feels weirder and weirder to have this much power as an individual in a virtual space. I realize we’re all trapped in the same system and it sucks, but I’m not in a place to meaningfully explore myself/others while being held up as the arbiter of anything, seen as some sort of expert, held to some pinnacle of “correctness” (the irony, it hurts) while residing within the individualistic, personality-centric world of being successful—and liked—on social media. I just truly don’t give a fuck.

Plus as many can attest to, it’s fucking lonely being an original creator in a sea of Meme Men, of screenshot repurposing and personality driven silos, of lightly redrawn things you’ve made in the past. It’s an eerie split, feeling excited that people are using the framework you’ve made, and feeling like people are running with it, never mentioning you, never looking your way. I started to question my own reality, seeing things I’d written around the internet with someone else’s name attached. Seeing jokes I’d made years ago now floating around, disembodied and seemingly omnipresent. I knew I’d left my thumbprint in certain niches, but it felt like a constant battle of “narcissism on my end or legit people can’t stop regurgitating my work without crediting me?” And then I’d feel the rush of shame—why did I need to be credited? But then, I literally do! It’s not navel-gazing to want to be associated with a project you’ve created, as many would tell me. WOULD U ASK A MAN ETC ETC ETC.

I’m lucky to be able to leave right now, incredibly so, and I recognize that’s not an option for many. It stopped feeling like a decision I could mull over when it started to gnaw away at my IRL health. It was harming me—the potential losses in sales, the blows to my ego, the feeling like who the fuck walks away from half a million followers—those things stopped feeling like theoretical questions and simply facts of a reality that I no longer could exist in if I wanted to exist in my reality. The world—my world.

I hope I can find a meaningful way to repurpose that space going forward but I don’t know what that looks like yet (deleting might be the most meaningful, who knows, or maybe people want an archive of the cartoons, or a platform to share other awesome work from people).

And really, please stick around! I’m also way easier to get in touch with than people think—will I respond? In three months, or a year, besides the point. But if you want to say hi, or chat, or whatever, or if my DMs / the page were a place for you to feel seen, heard, validated, and you still need a spot to do that — my email is awardsforgoodboys@gmail.com. I’m still here. And working on ways to connect you all with each other. A Discord? An elaborate mycology role-play, I am very into mushrooms right now did I mention? Anyways, thank you all. So so so so much. I’m excited and honestly, really really terrified, for what is to come. And if you have, uh, thoughts on that, or like, a road map? Or GPS? For my life? Yeah let me get that—thanks!


indigenouspeoplesmovement
A post shared by Indigenous Peoples Movement (@indigenouspeoplesmovement)
warriorsofthesunrise
A post shared by Warriors of The Sunrise (@warriorsofthesunrise)

Read the article above by Nick Martin here, quoted below.

This is a story about two billboards and angry rich people in big houses, yes. It is also, though, more substantially, about generations of land theft, broken treaties, and trust responsibilities—and one of the bluest states in the nation paying shallow lip service to tribal sovereignty while standing in its way. 

SovereigntyCamp 2020 GoFundMe

blackandpinkorg
A post shared by Black and Pink National (@blackandpinkorg)
Twitter avatar for @COVIDBailOutNYCCOVID Bail Out NYC @COVIDBailOutNYC
💥 Solidarity Bail Out!! 💥 Q's Mom: "Help Bring My Son Home" Q is 20. He's been on Rikers for 14 months. He's struggling. Q's mom & younger brothers ache for him. And they're trusting us to join them to raise the $10k bail set. Let's do it! Venmo: @ Judith-Pierre-6 (Q's mom)
Image

November 20th 2020

85 Retweets66 Likes

Amazon Workers to Stage Coordinated Black Friday Protests in 15 Countries

Support on Patreon: The #WeStillGottaEat Initiative is creating FREE meal care packages for Black people in need


A refresh on best Covid practices for anyone who needs, here’s a roundup from April in an aptly titled newsletter “Mouse Scream.”

How to Properly Wear a Facemask for COVID-19 Protection

Fat Lib Inc - #NoBodyisDisposable

  • Staying safe during COVID if you’re a living w/ an abusive partner

  • Lausan HK - Care workers in the epidemic part 1

  • SEX AND CORONA VIRUS - NY gov

Here’s the mouse scream (NSFW, jk but it is really high pitched heads up):

Gift ideas! Not Amazon! Woohooo!

  • Masks from Seeding Sovereignty: When you buy this mask, you donate one to the Indigenous youth and the leftover dollars go Seeding Sovereignty’s ongoing mutual aid work!

  • Andre Shakti's Holiday SWer Wares Guide

Twitter avatar for @Dazzling_DeafDazzling Deaf 🤟 @Dazzling_Deaf
Grab some snazzy skins, or ASL decor for a loved one or for yourself this holiday season! Friday through Monday the shop will have 15% off everything! Keep an eye on Dazzling Deaf's social media for an EXTRA code to allow followers even more savings on top of this!
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November 26th 2020

12 Retweets5 Likes

Wonderful books that make lovely self/friend gifts from people I think are amazing. Also, call your local book shop if you can / check out Bookshop so that you can support local bookstores as well as these fantastic authors.

  • Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby

  • Men to Avoid in Art and Life By Nicole Tersigni

  • Am I Overthinking This by Michelle Rial

  • That Can Be Arranged By Huda Fahmy

Here’s a newsletter with a bunch more of my favorite books + a roundup of a few of my favorite sci-fi / fantasy books for Document Journal. Breaking news, I love books !!! I’m unique :) OH also AK Press has great books and a lot are on sale! Bluestockings is one of my favorite bookstores, see below for info on how to support them!

Twitter avatar for @Bookshop_OrgBookshop @Bookshop_Org
“Please keep showing up for us so we can continue to build community and spaces for radical imagination with you.” #shopearly and #shoplocal to show up for @bluestockings GoFundMe:
gofundme.com/f/build-a-new-… Main site: bluestockings.com Bookshop: bookshop.org/shop/bluestock…
Image

November 26th 2020

11 Retweets21 Likes

More incredible treats n’ gifts, for self or others:

greengirlorganix
A post shared by Green Girl Organix 🌱 (@greengirlorganix)
jpapanyc
A post shared by J.Papa (@jpapanyc)

Know any readers? Pop culture fanatics? Film buffs? Gifting someone (or yourself) a Patreon subscription is a cool way to support independent creators AND give a friend something to look forward to in their email inbox. Here are a few awesome people to check out:

  • Jourdain Searles is creating tweets, lists, fiction, nonfiction & culture criticism

  • Kendriana Speaks / Future Femme Text is creating Futurist Literature + Art

  • Clarkisha Kent is creating cultural commentary and your favorite viral tweets!

  • Hallie Bateman is creating comics, writing & illustration

  • Millennials Are Killing Capitalism

Around the web, generally, and things to read. Firstly, I am so absolutely bewitched with Dionne Warwick tweeting. NO ONE else should be allowed to tweet.

Twitter avatar for @_DionneWarwickDionne Warwick @_DionneWarwick
Can Gen Z and Millennials please tell me why you’re always saying “SCREAMING” or “Yelling”? Why are you shouting? Should I be shouting as well? Thanks.

November 27th 2020

2,003 Retweets17,616 Likes
Twitter avatar for @_DionneWarwickDionne Warwick @_DionneWarwick
Thank you for telling me what a “hot girl” is, even though I specifically asked you not to.

November 25th 2020

4,270 Retweets43,330 Likes

DID YOU GUYS KNOW THE PREMISE OF AWARDING IS A SCAM AND THAT WAR CRIMINALS GET THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE AND THE WHOLE INDUSTRY IS OPTICS, I MAY HAVE CONSIDERED THIS IN MY WORK ABOUT AWARDS GENERALLY. Which is to say, see: The 2021 Grammy Award Nominations Are a Total Disaster

Twitter avatar for @LaraFriedmanDCLara Friedman🔥 @LaraFriedmanDC
I contributed a take on Pompeo's West Bank Visit to Jewish Currents’ Roundup of Takes - read it at the link (along with takes from ⁦@joshualeifer⁩ ⁦@InesAbdelrazek⁩ & ⁦@PeterBeinart⁩) or in this thread:
Pompeo’s West Bank Visit: A Roundup of Takesus19.campaign-archive.com

November 26th 2020

11 Retweets32 Likes
Twitter avatar for @jbratichjack bratich @jbratich
I've been fielding media calls for my thoughts on QAnon so I figured I'd write some down:
Siege the Day: QAnon, Trumpist Blockages, and the Logistics of Spiritual Warfare - CounterPunch.orgWhile mainstream media and their “information experts” persist with faith-based strategies of ridicule and Big Tech banning, QAnon continues to elude most of its critics by feverishly cultivating its shadowy populism. I consider QAnon to be an internet-enabled and religiously-based trumpist social m…counterpunch.org

November 27th 2020

6 Retweets12 Likes

Wanna feel old? 100 links from Dec. 2019

In “uh sir, WTF?????” news:

Twitter avatar for @VarietyVariety @Variety
Music Legends Eric Clapton, Van Morrison Team for Anti-Lockdown Single ‘Stand and Deliver’
Music Legends Eric Clapton, Van Morrison Team for Anti-Lockdown Single ‘Stand and Deliver’Music legends Van Morrison and Eric Clapton have announced a new single, “Stand and Deliver,” in support of Morrison’s Save Live Music campaign. The blues track was written by Morrison and is performed by Clapton. Morrison, best known for songs like “Brown Eyed Girl,” “Domino” and “Wild Night,” as w…variety.com

November 27th 2020

1,414 Retweets4,777 Likes

Thanks so much guys! Important work.

Clem:

ID: a very close up photo of Clementine. Her nose is very close to camera, and she looks sleepy and peaceful.

ID: A photo of m lap dog Clementine fitting perfectly in my lap.
ID: NOT Clementine. This dog looks like he walked out of the Sopranos. He is a lab mix (?) sitting on his back legs like a human, and is in fact wearing a little chain.

Sending love, all the good vibes, a glimmer of hope in these bad times. Talk soon!

Shelby (+Clem!)

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