One thing I like to study is what's called "revenge theory." It's a way of understanding social phenomena where a thing you're trying to avoid is the thing you cause to happen. It explains more things than you might imagine.
For example, recent funding restrictions in Iowa on Planned Parenthood have resulted in a growing number of abortions. Surprise, surprise.
While local businesses often rely on Small Business Saturday as the 'shop local' alternative to Black Friday, this year's event might be the most important one yet. Many small businesses faced a bumpy year and are still straining in the COVID-19 economy.
Around 60% of virus-related small business closures became permanent this year, according to the National Federation of Independent Business.
Of course the moral argument for doing this is important: Small businesses don't have the reserve capital or resources to sustain themselves for very long, and Federal government assistance seems to always gravitate to larger and/or more influential companies. But shopping locally, for goods manufactured (or crafted) in the region, has a profound impact on your carbon footprint. You should always take a "miles traveled" approach when you open your purse or wallet. Granted, some items (appliance, electronics) are now only manufactured overseas, but that just means you have to be more careful in selecting other goods. There are many options to shop locally, supporting artisans and sustainable farming. But today I wanted to highlight Benevolence Farm, which gives newly released women prisoners a sanctuary and fresh start:
GREENVILLE RACIST WHO THREATENED BLACK FAMILY GETS TWO YEARS IN PRISON: A North Carolina man who pleaded guilty three months ago to charges that he threatened to shoot an African American family for renting a home has been sentenced to more than two years in prison. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the prison sentenced handed down to Douglas Matthew Gurkins, 34, on Monday, is followed by three years of supervised release. No hometown was given for Gurkins, and officials didn't say where the incidents occurred. Court documents said Gurkins drove to the family’s home, yelled racial slurs at them and told them they didn’t belong in the home. According to the documents, Gurkins threatened to shoot the mother and four children and any other Black people who entered the property. He then threatened the family with a metal rod, prosecutors said. The family moved out a few days later. https://www.wral.com/prison-sentence-for-man-who-threatened-black-renters/19402857/
Not a day goes by that I don't miss my parents in one way or another. But this time of year, I really miss my Mom. She put on a Thanksgiving spread that no fancy restaurant could ever compete with. But one of the things that set her dinner apart from every other I've experienced was her Giblet Gravy. Yes, it deserves capitalization. The funny thing is, the giblets themselves had to be painstakingly removed from said gravy for obvious reasons (what the hell is a giblet...nope, don't want to know), and then hidden under residual mashed potatoes or half a dinner roll. But the gravy was sooo good that even though it had been previously contaminated by inedible turkey parts, it made everything it touched delicious. By the way, that's Jive Turkey over there. I didn't invite him, but some people always show up whether you want them to or not.
NC STATE EMPLOYEE IN SPOTLIGHT OVER PROUD BOY CONNECTION: N.C. State University is investigating the online behavior of an employee who is alleged to be a member of the Proud Boys, a right-wing group that is proudly anti-feminist, pro-Western civilization and has sometimes been involved in street violence. The Proud Boys are designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The employee, Chadwick Jason Seagraves, told the News & Observer in a statement Wednesday that he is not a member of the Proud Boys and “to paint me as a racist and fascist is heinous slander.” Olivia Katbi Smith, co-chair of the Portland chapter of Democratic Socialists of America, filed a lawsuit against Seagraves in Oregon for invasion of privacy last week, the alternative weekly newspaper Willamette Week reported. She alleges that Seagraves shared the address of her and her family as part of a data dump of thousands of files with photos and activists’ personal information. https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/education/article247422330.html
Nearly 80% of North Carolinians are at least considering sharing a meal with someone outside their household on Thanksgiving or winter holiday, and nearly 18% reported having too little food on at least one day in the previous week, according to preliminary results from an online survey conducted Nov. 17-22.
The US Department of Agriculture reported 13.1% of North Carolina households from 2017-2019 did not have enough food, relied on food banks or food stamps, or used other strategies to eat.
Bolding mine, just to highlight where I got that 40%. This is bad news on both fronts. Apparently people aren't taking the warnings about Thanksgiving seriously enough, and we can expect a (possibly huge) spike in Coronavirus cases in early December. But I'm sure some of those folks are also part of the 18% who are food insecure, and congregating may be the only way they can have a meal tomorrow. Or the day after. Here's some analysis from the NCCU survey folks:
![bluenccup-1[1]_0.jpg](/sites/default/files/bluenccup-1%5B1%5D_0.jpg)
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