KWICK 6: Boredom, Welfare, and International Humanitarian Law

Thought of the Week:

10 minutes. 10 minutes workouts all week. This week I have committed to getting a 10-minute workout done every day. And I have accomplished that! I have found that 10 minutes is too short of a time to make excuses for why I cannot work out. The goal is just to start and increase over time. Social media makes it seem like if you are out of shape, jumping into a 30 to a 60-minute workout routine is easy. However, the issue I've had is consistency. I would be so sore that skipping days would be easy and never start again. With 10 mins (I have been doing 15 minutes), I am sore but not enough that I can't move. Let's try for week 2!

What I've Consumed:

Yes, I Get Bored at Work

Are you bored at work? According to the article, Why Boredom at Work Is More Dangerous Than Burnout, boredom is a leading factor in people leaving a job. Boredom can cause depression, anxiety, stress, and insomnia. It gives 5 ways to overcome boredom at work. For me, boredom usually comes when there is not enough work to fill my 40 hours and when I feel like I am just another cog in the system. It is something I actively try to overcome. I am interested to see if the 5 tips work; however, 3 of the 5 are dependent on the employer. I am unsure if this article was really meant for the employee. If anyone has tips, I am all ears!

Welfare Needs a New Scapegoat

Welfare is a charged topic and has been since it was created. Around 100 years ago, the New Deal, which came out of the Great Depression, created this system to help Americans hit by poverty. However, both Republicans and Democrats will use black women as the shining light of the ills and successes of welfare. Robb Willer and Rachel Wetts "survey showed that when presented with false claims about falling incomes for white people and rising incomes for minorities, white people would rather cut programs they saw as supporting minorities than boost programs to help white people." Even though studies show that "the longer families receive stable and predictable support, the better they and their children do.” Although the caricature of the face of welfare has racist undertones, people with privilege can and do commit welfare fraud. The system is quick to tear down a poor person who commits fraud more quickly than a rich person. Brett Favre can walk around free and give cash back without interest for receiving TANF funds for speeches he never gave. We have to be more sympathetic to the plights of those less fortunate. A majority of them aren't trying to game the system; they are trying to survive. To learn more, read the full Mississippi (Welfare) Queen article.

Keep Sweet & Pray

Another week and another Netflix documentary. This documentary is an introduction to FLDS and Warren Jeffs. They talk to former members of FLDS and Jeffs' victims. I say this is an introduction because while it goes into some details, it does a good job of laying out an overview of the people involved, the crimes, and the destruction they have caused. It does a good job of answering how people could believe in and follow Jeffs. My one takeaway is that, as humans, we want to believe in something greater than ourselves. However, blind faith is dangerous and is usually preceded by a gut instinct we ignore. So many people in the documentary stated they "knew" or "had a bad feeling" or something of the like, then followed it up with "but I wanted to please..." If you suffered abuse, then this may be a triggering documentary. I would recommend this to anyone who knows nothing about FLDS and Jeffs. If you want other insights into FLDS, some other documentaries also do a good job of tracing financial crimes.

International Law in Real Time

This week I read an article that details what is allowed under international law when attacking power infrastructure in an armed conflict. It gives some past examples of where the US received criticism and where they did so in a lawful way. The author walks the reader step by step through determining whether Russia is violating international law in its attacks on power stations and substations. The author does a good job of making the information accessible to those who don't regularly practice or read this area of law. I thought it was an interesting article. Russia's indiscriminate attacks may have disastrous repercussions on civilians. The "strategy" reminded me of a modern-day example of a siege. For example, the author describes sieges in the book African Samurai: The True Story of Yasuke, a Legendary Black Warrior in Feudal Japan. They would surround a place and cut off supplies. The men, women, and children would starve, forcing their lord to surrender. Modern laws of conflict and international humanitarian laws are meant to limit civilian casualties and not use their suffering as a way to "win" a war. The author concluded that some Russian attacks violate the law, but that fact shouldn't be a surprise.

📚 Currently Reading:

The Color of Compromise: The Truth About the American Church's Complicity in Racism by Jamar Tisby

• 43% completed. I am really about 50% through this book since a chunk of the book is the index. I have a lot of highlights in this book. The author is doing a good job connecting history together and running a line through it. He takes us on a journey through time, seeing that there were multiple times the Church compromised on the Gospel. It is not an easy read. There are days I get through 10-15 pages, and some I get through 5. Taking time to reflect while reading this book is important.

Building a Second Brain: A Proven Method to Organize Your Digital Like and Unlock Your Creative Potential by Tiago Forte

• 20% completed. This book is for beginners just starting out. At least right now, it is. The first 3 chapters were basically introduction chapters. Haven't gotten much value out of the book so far.

Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston

• 36% completed. I started this book as an audiobook to listen to while I did emails and the like at work. But this weekend, I needed a book that was easy to read so I could relax. Middle-grade books do that for me. The world-building isn't complex, the story is fun, and it's a great book to get lost in. I can see myself introducing this book to my goddaughter when she gets older. The main character is a strong-willed and determined black girl who is judged and doubted; however, she is courageous.

If you need some recommendations, check out my Goodreads or StoryGraph. And then follow me on Instagram and Twitter. One of my favorite newsletters to read for current events is Morning Brew. Check it out.