urple North Carolina just got way more unpleasant for progressives, and don’t even get me started on Democrats.
Just last month, a visiting colleague asked me if it was safe to recommend schools in my state to her daughter, who was shopping for colleges like it’s a Black Friday sale. My colleague and her spouse are practical parents who know that, surprise, young people have sex and sometimes that whole baby-making thing happens. They want their daughter to go to college in a state where she would have access to reproductive care without the risk of turning into a jailbird. Over some fancy drinks, I explained that North Carolina is not exactly a BFF to one’s reproductive rights. Sure, abortion is legal there, but access is as spotty as a Dalmatian. Care is getting harder to access as a jumble of laws in bordering states makes it as hard to navigate as a labyrinth. North Carolina has its big bad ban on abortion after 20 weeks and six days of pregnancy, and keeps throwing other obstacles on access like it’s an episode of Wipeout. But, just to give them a faint glimmer of hope, I explained that the state wasn’t quite in Mad Max territory yet, thanks to our governor’s handy dandy veto power. And that’s how we chat about our rights in the state—usually relying on one bloke, typically a dude, at a time.

I’ve got my peepers fixed on the South for many reasons. First off, it’s home sweet home. It’s also got the charming history of being this nation’s original hot mess express. Nothing about the future of this country can be figured out unless it is first sorted out here: be it the climate crisis, the border, life expectancy, or anything else of national significance. If you don’t tackle it in the South and with the Southern folks, it’s just not going to fly./n/n Serious news: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/11/opinion/tennessee-house-nashville-shooting.html