It’s been a long year of wins, losses, joy and struggle my friends, and tomorrow we wake up to a new week, a new year, and a new opportunity to reshape this world in a way that we can be proud of.
Even without the prime minister of the apartheid state of Israel explicitly saying that the current genocide will continue for “many more months,” it’s clear that our marathon continues. The growing international calls for a cease-fire will continue into the new year, but the “both sides” narrative can be left in 2023 my friends. This “both sides” narrative, from westerners in particular, is only ever meant as an attempt to minimize the impact of genocide, justify the horrors of genocide, and absolve the perpetrators of the genocide (in this case that would be Israel). I pray that 2024 brings an end to this horrifying chapter of humanity and a future of Palestinian liberation and justice.
I thank you sincerely for joining me on this continued journey of learning, joking, investigating, and storytelling. This year The Mourning has continued to grow thanks to your support. May 2024 bring further growth for all of us, with minimal hassle.
In 2024 we’re looking out for one another. Take a mental health day, (or several to be honest). Go on a longer vacation than your work permits, but don’t let the constant pursuit of that vacation feeling take you away from the work we’ve gotta do. Don’t forget about the movement you’re a part of to make things better for everyone everywhere. I’m proud of you for making it this far, let’s keep going.
Side Items
Rare Detroit Victory: In what is surely a sign of the end times, the Pistons of Motor City, Michigan finally got a win last night, after losing a record 28 games in a row (!!!). The Pistons were just barely able to eke out a victory over the bumbling Toronto Raptors 109-107. This was their first win since October 28th, so you’ll have to forgive them for not knowing how to react
McKinsey Settles: The massive consulting firm agreed to a $78 million settlement with health insurers over their role in promoting opioids. If you weren’t aware, McKinsey worked directly with Purdue Pharma – the makers of OxyContin – to employ incredibly aggressive and exploitative marketing and sales tactics to overcome any medical professional’s reservations about the highly-addictive drugs. Insurers claim that forced them to pay for prescription opioids rather than safer, non-addictive and lower-cost drugs. The end result was that, according to the CDC, from 1999 to 2021 nearly 280,000 people in the US died from overdoses of prescription opioids