Friday, June 15, 2023
Happy indictment week (again), folks. Let's see what I have compiled for your edification and amusement this week.
Item 1: a link
I remember reading about this on Kottke.org quite a few years ago but the story of the white guy in this iconic photo* from the 1968 Olumpics has always stuck with me. His name is Peter Norman and he's from Australia, as the little kangaroo on his jacket might suggest.
Most people, seeing this photo and understanding that the two American Black men with upraised fists (Tommie Smith and John Carlos) are protesting racial injustice, assume that Norman is standing opposed - or, at best, indifferent - to their cause. But it's clear from this story that Norman, from an Australia bound by its own hateful racist regime, supported Smith and Carlos's protest and suffered his own serious consequences for doing so.
I won't steal Kottke's thunder (please click through), but the best part of this history comes much later, when a statue commemorating this event is built.
Peter Norman died in 2006.
* I'm surprised, in fact, that it's never been featured on the Iconic Photos blog (which I recommend nonetheless).
Item 2: a list
Cream cheeses previously ranked by Defector, ranked
- Chive
- Scallion
- Plain
- Lox spread
- Veggie
- Honey walnut
- Strawberry
- Blueberry
- Cinnamon raisin
Item 3: a media recommendation
James Beard’s Famous Onion Sandwich Recipe
Item 4: word of the week
Feretory
"Welcome to my feretory", he whispered, as he ushered his piano teacher through the hidden door behind the dresser, into a dank and dusty cave filled to bursting with long-expired bags of Cooler Ranch Doritos. The door closed behind them with a muffled thunk, and the maniacal laughter began.
Item 5: a photograph
See ya!
Thanks for reading the only weekly newsletter likely to contain the inspirational story of a multiracial coalition for justice, and also a picture of a greater prairie-chicken. See you again next week.
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