I hope you took a moment of joy in seeing Donald Trump’s mugshot on Friday. Why not! It’s objectively a very, very funny photo. Lauren from Centennial said he looks like an Angry Bird, do you see it? Enjoy the lols while they last, because once the memes are over the implications of this for the U.S. and the world and Australia are… geez. I’ve read and listened to so much my head is spinning. Right now, there is no real consensus so I’m trying to unpack what is most pressing for us here in Aus. Muddle through it with me?

First things first, strap in for a Trump 2024 Presidential campaign. I know, I know – it’s exhausting just to read that. The Republican party is currently going through the process of choosing their nominee and according to all the USPol experts I trust, the first candidate’s debate was an absolute bomb for all involved. At one point, they were asked who would support Trump (who didn’t attend) as the nominee if he is convicted and they all raised their hands! Anyway, even though we’ll probably be forced to endure Trump antics, it almost guarantees the Democrats & Joe Biden to win 2024.

More concerning for Australians is that the outcome of Trump’s criminal trials will be lose-lose for democracy. The man is facing 78 counts of various charges. Whether he is cleared of it all, or convicted of some and sent to prison, a lot of Americans will lose (even more) faith in their institutions. The Republican party will use this as reason to lurch, dangerously, further right – under the guise of needing more control over institutions to stop ‘political persecution’. Every little legislative win they secure shifts the U.S. away from its flawed version of democracy, towards authoritarianism.

This is not just ‘American news’ dominating our screens, feeds and timelines. The more countries with healthy democracies, the better off we all are – Australia in particular relies on international cooperation for our own health, prosperity, security. Whether we like it or not, the U.S. is currently a linchpin of the international system; their norms, their economy and their culture influences all others.

On a political and diplomatic level, how easily will Australia be able to work with a more authoritarian U.S.? On a social level, how will the fallout embolden far right politicians, groups and individuals on Australian soil?

We’re much better protected by the compulsory voting system, thank fuck, but Trumpian tactics have and continue to be used here by the Liberal party’s hard right faction (who currently have control of the party). Where I feel Scott Morrison hoarded power for his own ego, Peter Dutton is a cop – he wants control. During the 2022 election there was a murmur about ‘rigging’ that re-emerged on Friday around the Voice referendum. Apparently, the rules for marking your referendum ballot paper is a conspiracy to rig the outcome in favor of the Yes vote. It’s an easily debunked and entirely baseless theory. But Dutton, the ‘No’ Liberals and conservative campaigners will allow or even encourage it to spread.

If the Yes vote wins, don’t be too surprised if Dutton uses that confusion to imply there is still doubt over whether Australia really wanted a Voice, and tries to make the legislation process as difficult as possible. To him and the other hardline conservatives, our vision for Australia does not matter. Only theirs does.

So, yeah. We’re all kind of bracing for what comes on the other side of this trial, whenever that happens. It’s weird and scary, but I’ll leave you with this uplifting nugget from a 2022 interview with Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a historian who studies authoritarian leaders: "It’s very important […] there is this energy of protest and love for democracy and freedom that we can’t lose, because once you decide that it’s all rigged and there’s nothing you can do, then you lose democracy."

It’s not rigged. There is something we can do. These are the ideas I’m holding on to.

– Crystal
Founder & Chief of Everything at Zee Feed
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Good stuff on Zee Feed rn:

Simran wrote this thoughtful and very personal musing on what it means to live an active, healthy lifestyle as a fat woman in a society that assumes you’re working out to lose weight. No easy answers, but a good reminder to mind your own business about people’s bodies! CLICK HERE TO READ.

Smart stuff on the Internet 💭

All the stuff I found on the web that made me think, smile, or have an ‘aha!’ moment. Spend your Sunday reading them – you'll be better off for it:

Blueberry milk nails and the illusion of choice under capitalism on Dazed
"We can choose between being blueberry milk nails girls or tomato summer girls or latte make-up cozy soft life girls. But in reality, it is only the illusion of choice. Capitalist society is invested in offering us these glimpses of choice and naming them freedom, in the hopes that we will remain distracted enough not to realise that… We spend most of our lives at jobs we keep to survive.”

These women fell in love with an AI-voiced chatbot. Then it died on Rest of World
I was not expecting this to be so genuinely heartbreaking: “The messages from “Him” were so caring and respectful users said they got deeply attached to the program. Even though they realized “Him” was delivering the same scripted lines to other people, they viewed their interactions with the bot as unique and personal. One user said she gradually fell in love — “Him” made her feel more safe and respected than the men she met in real life.”

The rise of pity marketing on The New Statesman
A lot of discussion to be had around this piece, not sure which side I fall on. If you have strong feelings, let me know: “Struggling artists do deserve empathy – often the only thing standing between talented artists and their success is a little bit of support… [But] this manufactured pity instead blindly inflates the value of the work in question – as if to say: if the story is sad enough, the art is automatically good.”

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