Nancy's Musings

Last night my roommate (an English professor) and I had a fascinating conversation, spurred by our Book of Mormon reading (Alma 11:3, I think), about the currently formulated possibilities for police reform. My mental library of dystopian fiction asserted itself, and I realized that most of these stories focus on the moment when some system no longer serves the people, and must be destroyed or deconstructed. Mostly, they get destroyed because the change necessary must be radical in order to avoid falling back on the same ills as the system had rested upon. Deconstruction tends to be rhetorical, and doesn't always filter down to practical application from the social critics and academics who disrupt language. As a fiction writer, I enjoy worldcrafting. I like thinking of different patterns, structures, and systems and how they might function broadly and specifically. I described a few alternative police systems to my roommate. They were radically different and sought to undo binary...

I am writing today to identify the cause of death of my most recent demi-relationship. I feel like I should acknowledge several things before I get started: 1. Specific members of police forces have gotten away with murdering black people. 2. Systemic racism continues, and most white people are more or less clueless about how to help. 3. There are protests and riots in all 50 states and in several countries outside the US. 4. Coronavirus is still a thing, although my town is in denial pretty heavily. 5. It's rude to talk about somebody else online. Despite all of these things (and because of, in the case of #4), I am going to PM this thing. My life right now is full of a disturbing level of change and worry, and I have been struggling to process emotions. Yes, I could just write it and not publish it. But I also need someone to listen to me. I hope that if he finds out, and if this bothers him, he is able to forgive me. Friends, I really like him. I enjoyed his company, and wanted ...