This episode is just one big content warning. I’m talking about politicizing tragedy, and public mourning, and I touch on a lot of hard things and recent, awful events, including the Humboldt Broncos bus crash, the Quebec City Mosque shooting, the death of Coulten Boushie, as well as mass shootings and school shootings, cancer and … Continue reading Episode 2.13 Politicizing Tragedy

This episode is just one big content warning. I’m talking about politicizing tragedy, and public mourning, and I touch on a lot of hard things and recent, awful events, including the Humboldt Broncos bus crash, the Quebec City Mosque shooting, the death of Coulten Boushie, as well as mass shootings and school shootings, cancer and suicide. If you’re not in the place to think about this stuff right now—including if the Humboldt Broncos crash impacted you personally—please please please tap out with my blessing. I’m going to talk about grief and politics and how they intersect, but if you’re grieving right now, you don’t owe me your attention.

Read Viet Vu’s discussion of politicizing mass shootings and his data-driven analysis of when we can talk about tragedy.
I quote from this article about the Humboldt Broncos GoFundMe and its unprecedented success.
Here’s an article about the simultaneous GoFundMe campaigns for Coulten Boushie and Gerald Stanley.
You can read more about Aymen Derbali, and his remarkable bravery during the Quebec Mosque shooting, here.
The Judith Butler book I discuss is Frames of War: When is Life Grievable?, which is excerpted here.
Kaarina asked me to link to this article, which asks whether self care is really available to everyone.
And finally, I’d like to draw your attention to this piece about the parents of Jacob Leitch, one of the men who died in the bus accident last week. Specifically, this quote from his mother:

“I want to be part of something bigger,” Celeste said. “There is so much hurt in this province in so many ways, particularly with the First Nations community. There is so much tragedy and affliction in this world and they don’t get the attention they deserve sometimes. I have no idea what this is going to look like, but I want to start a movement of some sort. People are hurting in this province with the whole Colten Boushie trial and it’s time that people reach out. From hurt can come good.”


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The podcast theme song is “Mesh Shirt” by Mom Jeans off their album “Chub Rub.” Listen to the whole album here or learn more about them here. Kaarina’s theme song is “I Will” by Mitski. Follow me @hkpmcgregor, follow Kaarina @kaarinasaurus, and tweet about the podcast using #SecretFeministAgenda.


Secret Feminist Agenda is recorded on the traditional and unceded territories of the Squamish, Musqueam, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations.

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