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Oct 3, 2023·edited Oct 3, 2023Liked by Valorie Castellanos Clark

If you look up Creole trail rides, you may embark down the path of zydeco music and how the whole trail-riding culture sprang up out of the history of Southwestern Louisiana Black cowboys. And if you get real deep, you might stumble across a video where Kathe Hambrick of the West Baton Rouge Museum talks about the origin of the word "cowboy."

https://youtu.be/Zd6Mdh8q15k?si=5VlwUbKq5mrFNTHG&t=69

The winning doc of this year's #CreateLouisiana film prize was called "Footwork" by Drake LeBlanc, about Creole trail rides, and opened up this whole side of history I never knew about the origins of cowboys.

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I always appreciate your news round-ups! However, I think the violence going on in Gaza is better referred to as ethnic cleansing and settler colonialism, given that most of the time the "warfare" is very one-sided. And in case any trolls respond to this, please everyone just look up the numbers of Palestinian deaths compared to Israeli deaths (or also deaths of Israeli Arabs at the hands of Israeli police, the repression of antiwar and antiracist Israeli Jews) going all the way back to 1948 and Israeli racism becomes pretty clear.

Not trying to give you a lecture, I just think it's really important not to refer to highly asymmetrical conflicts as though they were evenly two-sided.

Have a good evening!

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This is a great point, thank you Peter! I always hesitate to use “hot button” phrases, but you’re right that there’s really nothing else to call what’s happening in Gaza.

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