“In 2021, conservatives just decided to double down on racism and death. They didn’t say that outright, of course, but they understood that hatred of Black and brown people is still a potent weapon among white voters,” Clay Wirestone writes in this column for Kansas Reflector.
“Saturday should have been a banner day for my family. I brought my 10-year-old son to West Middle School in Lawrence, where he received his first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine,” Clay Wirestone writes in this column for Kansas Reflector.
“The Kansas GOP has reminded everyone that our state’s high tax on food is very, very bad and must be changed. … If only we could figure out who was responsible,” Clay Wirestone writes in this column for Kansas Reflector.
“In short, every single debunked bit of irrational absurdity we’ve heard over the last few months — in Kansas and nationwide — will be repeated ad nauseam” in Kansas’ 2022 elections, Clay Wirestone writes in this column for Kansas Reflector.
“No horror lurked here, bloodcurdling or otherwise. Nor did I feel abstracted peace. Limitless sorrow permeated, bound up with unyielding love,” Clay Wirestone writes in this column for Kansas Reflector.
“On that Saturday morning by the Kansas River, as soil was scooped into glass jars and carnations placed on top of each, a spirit moved among the crowd. They had gathered there, near Lawrence City Hall, to commemorate the victims of a lynching nearly 140 years ago,” Clay Wirestone writes in this column for Kansas Reflector.
“Compelling figures apparently weren’t enough for (Sen. Richard) Hilderbrand to see systemic or institutional racism at work,” Clay Wirestone writes in this column for Kansas Reflector.
“The same day that U.S. deaths from COVID-19 passed the toll of the Spanish flu pandemic, a modern-day medicine show rolled into Lenexa. Like the entertainments of old, this medicine show boasted cure-alls, rousing oratory, and shameless self promotion,” Clay Wirestone writes in this column for the Kansas Reflector.
“Next summer, Kansas voters will decide on a constitutional amendment that, if passed, would make a Texas-style ban (on abortion) plausible here. States across the country are watching, and women could pay the price,” Clay Wirestone writes in this column.
“I sympathize with the anger. But during this virus-riddled time, we can’t allow the pandemic to melt our minds. We should not want people who disagree with us — even if that disagreement takes the form of refusing a vaccine or mask — to forgo health insurance or medical care,” Clay Wirestone writes in this column.
