Metro Times 04/03/2024

NEWS & VIEWS

We got a lot of feedback in response to Randiah Camille Green’s cover story about how the Detroit Institute of Arts is returning some of its collection to comply with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.

We visited the Field Museum in Chicago this week, and probably 40% of its Native American exhibit was covered up. There were signs explaining that this was done to comply with NAGPRA. They still have Egyptian remains in their Ancient Egypt exhibit however... �� You could tell that much of the Field Native exhibit had already been adjusted to be more culturally sensitive to indigenous

people on Turtle Island. But the covered exhibits showed they had much further to go.

—@nadiromowale, Instagram

I held my breath the whole time listening to this. I was prepared to begin my one woman protest and letter writing campaign based on what you relayed. I am relieved to know that DIA is in compliance. This is so disturbing on many levels. I adore DIA but prepared to never darken its doors again if they refused to do the right thing. We already know why they had human remains in their archives. Sickens my very soul.

—@reneerhapsody, Instagram

Comments may be edited for length and clarity: letters@metrotimes.com

NEWS & VIEWS

News Shorts

Nikita Sanches has a social justice mission for the former Hilton Road Cafe

In December, chef Nikita Sanches of the popular former Rock City Eatery teased in an Instagram post that he was taking over Ferndale’s shuttered Hilton Road Cafe. Located at 3150 Hilton Rd., the restaurant closed in October after 15 years in business.

“We’re taking it back to where it all began,” he wrote in the caption of a photo showing him holding a key. “See you soon, Ferndale! Stay tuned for details.”

Sanches is now ready to say more. He tells Metro Times that he plans to soon open the doors of the business, but that he’s pivoting to something else.

“I’m pretty sure everyone is thinking that I’m just going to open up another restaurant, but the actual concept is going to be something different,” he says. “And I’m actually thinking it is probably the future of the restaurant or food industry, because I think having social good attached or associated with your business is the future.”

The new venture is called the Patchwork Culinary Project. His plans for the space include a bodega-style deli and store with a nonprofit organization aimed at helping immigrants enter metro Detroit’s restaurant industry. Sanches is also an immigrant, having moved to the U.S. from Russia when he was 12.

“I just sort of fell into the culinary field at 14, 15,” he says. “And that’s been my life’s work.”

He adds, “When you do something for 20-plus years, you kind of know all the ins and outs, and just kind of want to help [other people] avoid some of those landmines that I myself fell into.”

He anticipates launching the program in phases. “Because this is somewhat of a different approach, I want to start off very small,” he says. “And then hopefully, there’ll be a positive response to this.”

The first phase would pay for prospective restaurant staffers to get ServSafe certification, a program administered by the U.S. National Restaurant Association that teaches the safe preparation and handling of food. Sanches says ServSafe certification will help immigrants earn more money working in the industry.

“Those things are pretty pricey,” Sanches says of the certification. “So taking that expense on someone’s plate is a pretty good way to start this thing.”

The next phase would help connect prospective restaurateurs with food trucks and trailers and financing so they can start their own business. And the ultimate goal is to open up something akin to Ferndale’s Rust Belt Market, but with a focus on food.

“The big goal is to open something up like the Rust Belt, but where you have stalls where people can sell their products from their homeland, or carry-out food and whatnot,” he says. “Some kind of food hall, but

JESSICA IMBRONONE SANCHES

focused on providing space for immigrants to showcase their things and stay there as long as they need to move on and open up a restaurant.”

He adds, “I would love for people who are interested in selling salsa or hummus or dip or things from wherever they’re from, and they’re looking for space where they can sell it or have folks taste it, I want us to be a location for them to be able to do that.”

At the former Hilton Road Cafe, Sanches envisions a New York-style deli or bodega with sandwiches, baked goods, and a small store. He says he’s inspired by something like Al-Haramain International Food in Hamtramck or Taco Tienda Mexicana in Madison Heights, “where there’s the food stall where you can buy food, but then there’s also a tiny grocery store as well in there,” he says.

He also plans to host fundraising dinners, which would also offer an opportunity for prospective restaurateurs to share their work.

Sanches says he’s doing the construction himself with the help of his father and hopes to open in May

or June.

Sanches made a name for himself first by selling his Rock City Pies in the Rust Belt Market (that’s what he meant by “We’re taking it back to where it all began” on Instagram, he says) followed by his former restaurant Rock City Eatery, which he launched in Hamtramck in 2013 and relocated to Detroit’s Midtown in 2016. It closed for good in 2021.

“Unfortunately, that chapter has closed,” he says of the restaurant, which served up playful items like mac and cheese served in a bowl made out of baked Parmesan.

He says Rock City Eatery fans are in luck, however: he plans on bringing back some items to the Hilton Road Cafe.

“We will have some items rotated in and out from the old menu and restaurant,” he says. “People had some favorites. And there’s a good chance that there will pop-up here and there at the new spot. Not permanently but like, as a special treat.”

—Lee DeVito

From Russia, with love: Nikita Sanches wants to help other immigrants enter the food industry.

Lawsuit seeks to save trees, protect residents at contaminated AB Ford Park

Three Detroit residents filed a lawsuit against the city in hopes of halting a controversial plan to remove more than 250 trees from AB Ford Park and cover the contaminated park in two feet of new soil.

The lawsuit, filed in Wayne County Circuit Court last Monday, alleges the city violated the Michigan Environmental Protect Act and is endangering residents by exposing them to toxic pollutants.

The residents — Terry Swafford, Brenda Gail Watson, and Emma Miller — are seeking “protection of the air, water, and other natural resources and the public trust in these resources from pollution, impairment, or destruction,” according to a lawsuit filed by their lawyer Lisa Walinske of the Detroit East Community Law Center.

Walinske tells Metro Times that she plans to file an emergency preliminary injunction to stop the work until the city pulls the proper permits and provides sufficient evidence through scientific tests that its proposed solution won’t endanger residents.

City officials defended their plan, saying it is based on the recommendations of environmental experts.

“The City has a legal obligation to remediate this soil now that testing has shown that it has contamination,” Detroit corporation counsel Conrad Mallett told Metro Times in a statement. “The approach the city is taking on behalf of residents that live near and use AB Ford Park is based on the recommendation of environmental experts. We intend to respond vigorously to this complaint so this important work is not unnecessarily delayed.”

In late February, the city announced that it was closing the waterfront park in the Jefferson Chalmers neighborhood to begin removing the trees, some of which are more than 100 years old and are used by bald eagles and other wildlife.

The city insists the trees won’t survive after crews cover the 32-acre park in two feet of fresh soil.

The plan comes nearly two years after environmental testing uncovered excessive levels of arsenic, mercury, lead, barium, cadmium, copper, zinc, volatile organic compounds, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the soil.

Despite this, the city kept a large portion of the park open to the public

without revealing the findings. The test results weren’t disclosed until after Metro Times raised questions about why the city hadn’t been more transparent about the findings.

Despite increasing concerns about the park, the Detroit City Council unanimously approved the renovation plan last Tuesday.

The lawsuit also alleges the city’s plan will increase pollution in the neighborhood because an average of 20 to 30 heavy trucks will trudge through nearby streets every day from March to September to cover the park in new soil.

In addition, the lawsuit claims the city’s plan will destroy habitat, cause soil erosion, and increase the risks of floods because the additional soil will raise the level of the river’s edge, blocking stormwater runoff.

The city “is not taking sufficient remediation steps to ensure that the soil contamination does not harm the visitors to the park, does not harm the adjoining waterway and does not have a negative environmental effect on the Park’s ecosystem,” the lawsuit states.

In effect, the city’s plan to cover the contaminated soil in even more dirt

“The City has a legal obligation to remediate this soil now that testing has shown that it has contamination.”

will “encapsulate toxic pollutants” at the edge of the Detroit River without remediating the contamination, the lawsuit alleges. Since the park is in a designated floodplain, excessive rain could cause the toxic pollutants to spread.

The lawsuit also raises concerns about a large mound of “toxic soil” at the park’s entrance that is across the streets from homes. The dirt was dumped there during previous renovations, and the contamination is spreading “with each passing breeze.”

After the remediation, the city plans to include walkways, a playground, basketball court, fitness and picnic areas, tennis and pickleball courts, a fishing node, beach, and waterfront plaza.

—Steve Neavling

Detroit City Council takes action after study suggests lowest valued homes were overtaxed

The Detroit City Council is calling for a reduction in property taxes for low-valued homes and a moratorium on owner-occupied foreclosures after a study suggested the city is illegally overtaxing houses worth less than $35,000.

The council unanimously passed the resolutions last Tuesday, a day after housing activists held a news conference about the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy study.

“While we have undoubtedly had some key victories in our attempt to restore dignity to impacted homeowners and provide restitution, none of it has been done without a fight and a willingness to stay vigilant,” council President Mary Shefield said. “The most egregious part of the systemic overassessment of properties in Detroit has been the issue of regressivity, which is when low-

value homes are assessed at a higher percentage of their true market value than are high-value homes. While we recognize the assessor’s job is difficult, the stakes are too high to sit idly by while the city’s lowest-valued homes are consistently overassessed.”

It’s unlikely that Mayor Mike Duggan’s administration is going to lower assessments because Detroit Assessor Alvin Horhn called the study “utter nonsense” and “politically driven.”

Horhn said the methods used by the University of Chicago “violate Michigan tax law and the practices that every assessor in Michigan is legally required to follow.”

It isn’t yet clear whether Wayne County Treasurer Eric Sabree plans to consider reducing assessments for homes valued at less than $35,000. Metro Times is awaiting a response from him.

Activists for the Coalition for Property Tax Justice, a group that advocates for homeowners in Detroit, called on the council to address the assessments.

Bernadette Atuahene, a property law scholar who has studied Detroit’s property tax foreclosure crisis, called the council’s resolutions “an amazing milestone in our fight for property tax justice.”

“The City Council finally acknowledged the continued over assessments and unanimously demanded that the Duggan administration and the County Treasurer take action to correct the ongoing property tax injustice,” Atuahene said in a statement. “Now Treasurer Sabree and the Duggan administration must follow these resolutions with action.”

The group has been behind a separate push to compensate an untold number of Detroit homeowners who

were overtaxed for their homes more than a decade ago. Between 2010 and 2016, the city of Detroit overtaxed homeowners by at least $600 million.

The Michigan Constitution prohibits property from being assessed at more than 50% of its market value. Between 2010 and 2016, the city assessed properties at as much as 85% of their market value.

The latest study suggests that homes valued at less than $35,000 are disproportionately overassessed. By contrast, the highest valued homes in the city are the least likely to be overassessed, according to the study.

Activists are worried about another wave of foreclosures based on inflated property taxes on the lower valued houses, which tend to be owned by people struggling financially.

—Steve Neavling

Disability justice groups demand more resources

Two influential disability justice groups have joined forces to launch a campaign calling for “substantial increases” in funding for people with disabilities in Detroit.

The objective of Fund Disabled Detroiters is to persuade Mayor Mike Duggan’s administration and Detroit City Council to devote more resources for people with disabilities.

Detroit Disability Power and Warrior on Wheels are leading the campaign, which runs through April.

A disproportionate number of Detroiters live with disabilities. According to the 2020 American Community Survey, more than 128,000 Detroiters — or one out of five residents — have at least one disability. By contrast, roughly one out of seven Michigan residents live with disabilities.

“Disability is not a niche issue; it’s a universal concern that can affect anyone at any time,” Lawrence Franklin III, lead organizer with Warriors on Wheels, said in a statement Monday. “By prioritizing disability funding, we’re investing in a Detroit where everyone thrives.”

The campaign is running now because the Detroit City Council is beginning to explore Duggan’s annual budget proposal, which goes into effect on July 1.

In previous years, Detroit Disability Power led a campaign to increase the budget of the Office of Disability Affairs to $1.4 million annually. This year’s campaign is different because it’s taking a more comprehensive approach, calling for increases across multiple departments.

Among the key demands are:

• Adding $3 million to the Department of Election to increase physical accessibility and federal compliance at polling locations. Only 16% of the polling locations in metro Detroit are fully accessible, according to the campaign.

• $7.8 million for the Detroit Department of Transportation to improve paratransit and fixed-route accessibility for buses.

• $25 million to the Department of Public Works to repair sidewalks and ensure greater mobility for people using wheelchairs and other mobility devices.

The full list of requests is available online.

“This campaign underscores the importance of recognizing that funding

U-M faculty coalition calls out administration for treatment of Arabs and Muslims on campus

A growing coalition of University of Michigan faculty members has united to confront what they see as the university administration’s inadequacies in crisis response concerning the challenges faced by Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim students and staff within the campus community. This collective action follows “biased” statements from the administration over the past five months, coupled with numerous appeals for action from members of the pro-Palestinian community, which have yielded minimal results.

On Oct. 10, 2023, U-M’s President Santa Ono released a “statement regarding Mideast violence” following Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israeli citizens. In the statement, which Ono began with “violence is never the answer,” he expressed that he reached out to universities in Israel to express his concern for students, with zero mention of Gaza or Palestine or the Palestinian lives lost at the hands of Israel.

Since then, the university administration has been criticized for its lack of response to issues affecting Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim communities within the university and its failure to protect pro-Palestinan students and staff from hate and violent threats.

After more than five months now of ongoing violence in Gaza, Ono has barely expressed concern for the over 32,000 Palestinian lives lost. Another statement on Dec. 5 regarding “ongoing campus tensions” disallowed voting on two “controversial and divisive” Central Student Government resolutions related to the conflict.

Last Sunday, U-M’s Honors Convo-

cation was disrupted by student activists calling for the university to divest funds in Israel. Many were angered at the protest, although it didn’t begin until the end of the ceremony after all student awards were given out.

Following the recent event, the university proposed a policy that states “no one has the right to infringe on the exercise of others’ speech and activities by disrupting the normal celebrations, activities, and operations of the University.” Feedback on the proposal is currently being accepted from Ann Arbor campus students, faculty, and staff members until April 3.

U-M faculty members also released a report, the 2024 Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim U-M Communities’ Survey, which highlights key concerns about the university’s response to the conflict including one-sided communications, discrimination, and a demand for action.

“Institutional behavior has been one-sided and unequal, fostering an environment where anti-Palestinian and anti-Arab sentiments are normalized, while structural Islamophobia is allowed to proliferate unchecked,” the report states. “Among the thousands of U-M’s Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian community members, there exists a pervasive sentiment of being neglected and endangered by an institution that appears indifferent to their fundamental rights to a secure

and dignified working and learning environment.”

In the survey, 90% of respondents expressed dissatisfaction with the university’s communications regarding Gaza, and 89% deemed the university’s efforts to combat Islamophobia as inadequate.

Of the 308 respondents who represent faculty and staff, 50% have contemplated leaving the university due to its treatment or messaging regarding Palestinians.

The survey was conducted online from March 17-21 and represents U-M students, alumni, faculty and staff, and parents and community members among the university’s anti-Islamophobia and pro-Palestinian communities.

Overall, 78% of respondents desire a structured U-M Strategy to combat Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism.

The faculty coalition is calling on the university administration to conduct formal assessments that engage with the needs and priorities of Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim constituents. Emphasizing the importance of fostering an inclusive and supportive environment for all members of the university community, they urge the administration to take tangible steps toward addressing these pressing issues.

—Layla McMurtrie

for disability extends beyond the Office of Disability Affairs,” NaJaRee Nixon, lead organizer from Detroit Disability Power, said. “It’s about fostering inclusivity and dismantling ableism in every direction our tax dollars flow.”

People with disabilities are more likely to live in poverty or unable to afford essentials, such as housing, child care, food, transportation, and health care, according to a report from the Michigan Association of United Ways and research hub United for ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed).

As part of the campaign, activists are encouraging residents to participate in a letter-writing initiative to urge the council and mayor to support the budget recommendations.

—Steve Neavling

“Ceasefire Now” sign in downtown Ann Arbor. MARK SCHEUERN / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

NEWS & VIEWS

Lapointe

Amid gambling investigation, Detroit can remember Ohtani’s great day at Comerica

By Joe Lapointe

Late last July in Detroit’s Comerica Park, the baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani — then with the Los Angeles Angels — accomplished something so rare and so special that it may never again be done in the major leagues.

In the first game of a doubleheader against the Tigers, Ohtani pitched a one-hit shutout, the first complete game of his career, in a 6-0 victory. In the second game, as a designated hitter, Ohtani hit two home runs in an 11-4 victory. His two-pronged attack reinforced his image as a unique and special star.

Despite arm surgery that will keep him from pitching this season, Ohtani’s new, 10-year, $700 million free-agent contract with the rival Los Angeles Dodgers seemed like yet another glorious chapter for the Japanese star who is probably the world’s best player — and maybe baseball’s best ever.

But that happy storyline was jolted last month when the Dodgers fired Ohtani’s friend and interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, for his involvement with a bookmaker taking illegal sports bets in California. Reports said Mizuhara owed $4.5 million.

Even the very best explanation is embarrassing to both Ohtani and to baseball: That Ohtani had no knowledge of his friend’s gambling habits; that Ohtani knew about the trouble but took pity to help a friend pay off a debt; that Ohtani has “been the victim of a massive theft.”

Before long, Ohtani, his lawyers and his former translator will get their stories straight. In the meantime, we are left to contemplate the worst possibilities imaginable against the modern backdrop of the shotgun marriage of legal gambling and major sports.

Since the Supreme Court opened this Pandora’s Box in 2018, arenas and telecasts are cluttered with cheesy ads pushing get-rich-quick schemes. They urge addictive and destructive behavior — and instant gratification! — upon gullible suckers who are usually, but not always, young males.

One of the myths about legalized sports gambling is that players earn so much now that they don’t need to fix games or shave points. Even if that is true, this wishful thinking ignores the modestly-paid persons behind the scenes who interact daily with professional sports teams. Translators, for instance.

They are privy to inside information about injuries, personal problems, or illness that might affect the winner of a game or the margin of victory. Information like that can be passed on to gamblers or bookies to settle other debts or to place new bets before the point spread changes.

Here in Detroit, we are well-versed in gambling scandals and sports. We remember Alex Karras, a star of the Lions’ defensive line, suspended for gambling by the National Football League in 1963. We remember Tigers’ pitcher Denny McLain, pal of bookies, suspended by MLB for half the

1970 season.

Beyond the Motor City was baseball’s Pete Rose, of course; and basketball’s Michael Jordan, who “retired” for a season after gambling revelations and the murder of his father; and the college basketball scandals around New York City that set the sport back in the 1950s; and going all the way back to 1919 and Shoeless Joe Jackson’s Chicago “Black Sox” who conspired with gamblers to throw the World Series to Cincinnati.

According to American folklore, a little boy in Chicago on the courtroom steps allegedly shouted to Jackson: “Say it ain’t so, Joe.” Perhaps someone, in some language, will shout to Ohtani: “Say it ain’t so, Sho!”

Or maybe the real story will come from Mizuhara, who said he bet on pro football, college football, soccer, and basketball. He grew up in California and speaks English well. The IRS is investigating him, so perhaps we will learn how well he speaks under oath.

“I never bet on baseball,” he told ESPN. “That’s 100%. I know that rule.”

Diane Bass — lawyer for the Orange County alleged bookie Matthew Bowyer — told the Los Angeles Times that her client “never met, spoke with

or texted or had any contact in any way with Shohei Ohtani.”

Ohtani, who turns 30 years old on July 5, could be in his prime. He is a six-year veteran of the American major leagues and a two-time most valuable player. Before that, he played five professional years in Japan.

Last spring — it seems like more than a year ago — Ohtani led Japan to a victory over the United States in the World Baseball Classic, an event that seemed to add momentum to American baseball’s connections with Asian markets and talent.

Last month, that effort continued when Ohtani and the Dodgers opened the major-league season with two games against San Diego in Seoul, South Korea. If this were a movie, a gangster actor would now walk into the scene to say: “Nice sport ya got here, baseball. Be a shame if somethin’ happened to it.”

Or, as Mark Twain once allegedly said: “Why shouldn’t truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense.” The problem here with this strange story is the fear that it makes its own kind of cynical sense, and that one of the best, feel-good stories in sports is about to erupt into a devastating scandal.

Say it ain’t so, Sho.

MOGAMI “TOSA” KARIYA, FLICKR CREATIVE COMMONS

The court can’t stop

stop abortion pills

Community support networks safeguard abortion access against anti-choice attacks

BY JEX BLACKMORE

Last Tuesday, the United States Supreme Court took a decisive step in the long-standing controversy over abortion post-Roe v. Wade by examining the regulatory framework surrounding mifepristone, a key drug in medical abortion protocols. This case, spotlighted for its profound implications on reproductive healthcare and the regulatory authority of the FDA, underscores the ongoing and contentious battle over abortion access in America.

The case concerns the regulation and access to mifepristone, a drug used in the majority of medical abortions across the nation. Initiated by the Texas-based Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine against the FDA’s policies, the dispute highlights significant disagreements on the safety, oversight, and accessibility of the abortion pill. These policies, which have been liberalized over the years, now allow the drug to be prescribed via telemedicine and mailed directly to patients. The challenge questions both the FDA’s original approval of mifepristone for abortion and its subsequent decisions to ease access restrictions, implicating broader debates over reproductive health care, regulatory authority, and the impact of judicial decisions on medical practice.

The defendants in the case, represented by the Biden administration and Danco Laboratories (the distributor of mifepristone), argued strongly in favor of maintaining access under the FDA’s current regulations. They contended that the lower court rulings, which sought to restrict access to the drug, were unprecedented and contradicted the FDA’s scientific judgment. The administration emphasized the potential regulatory chaos and significant impacts on healthcare access that could arise from upholding these rul-

ings. They highlighted that the drug’s safety profile is well-documented, with a complication rate lower than many over-the-counter medications, and warned that curtailing access to mifepristone could undermine trust in the regulatory framework and affect other medications, including contraceptives and vaccines. Danco Laboratories, meanwhile, described the situation as an “untenable limbo,” arguing that without the FDA approvals, they would not be able to legally market and distribute the drug, further complicating access for those in need.

The prevalence of medication abortions in the U.S. underscores their significance in reproductive healthcare. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that, as of 2021, medication abortions accounted for 56% of all abortions in the U.S., marking a rise from previous years. Mifepristone, used in combination with misoprostol for medical abortion, has a well-documented safety record supported by decades of data and is approved for use in nearly 100 countries. Since its FDA approval in 2000, extensive evidence has demonstrated mifepristone’s safety and effectiveness, showing it to be a crucial component

of reproductive healthcare. It’s a part of the World Health Organization’s list of essential medicines due to its role in decreasing the incidence of unsafe abortions and is considered safe for use through ten weeks of gestation.

The FDA announced in April 2021 that it would temporarily allow abortion pills, including mifepristone, to be mailed to patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. This decision facilitated the prescription of mifepristone via telehealth by enabling patients to receive the medication without requiring an in-person visit to a healthcare facility. Following this temporary allowance, in December 2021, the FDA issued a permanent decision to allow the mailing of abortion pills, expanding access through telehealth and pharmacies.

This move by the FDA was supported by extensive research demonstrating that telemedicine abortions are as safe and effective as in-person care. A large multi-state study, for instance, analyzed records from nearly 6,000 patients receiving medication abortion either through telemedicine or in person and found that outcomes for medication abortion via telemedicine are comparable with those provided in person, with very rare complications

Furthermore, even in states where abortion access is heavily restricted, telehealth has continued to rise as a critical means for patients to obtain necessary care. Studies and organizations advocating for reproductive rights have emphasized the importance of telehealth in maintaining access to abortion pills, highlighting its safety

A wheatpaste reads, “Fuck The Courts Abortion Forever.” EZRA DICKINSON , SHOUT YOUR ABORTION

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and effectiveness, and noting that more Americans are using telehealth to access or even stockpile abortion pills in anticipation of future needs

For the majority of Americans, telehealth has emerged as the primary, if not sole, avenue for accessing abortion care. This trend is not limited to states where abortion services have been heavily restricted or outright criminalized. In rural areas, such as those found in Northern Michigan, the challenges of geographical isolation and scarcity of healthcare providers compound the issue, making telehealth a crucial option for those seeking abortion care.

The financial impact of in-clinic abortions, often exceeding $600 per procedure, significantly burdens those seeking abortion care. This cost does not include additional financial pressures such as lost wages from taking time off work, travel expenses to the clinic, and, when necessary, accommodations for overnight stays due to distant providers. These accumulated costs render in-clinic abortions a challenging option for many, particularly in areas even with several clinics, such as metro Detroit. Here, despite the availability of clinics, the high costs of procedures often present an insurmountable barrier, making medication abortion a more viable option. Offering a cost-effective solution for those navigating financial obstacles, medication abortions are available online, with prices ranging from no cost up to $150. The medications are delivered directly to homes, representing a practical alternative for individuals unable to afford clinical care.

Although medication abortion is demonstrated to be safer than widely prescribed medications such as penicillin and Viagra, the contention surrounding it is driven not by its medical application but rather by its political implications. The truth is that the antichoice movement perceives abortion medication delivered via telehealth as a significant loophole, representing a modern method for ensuring abortion access despite legislative restrictions. Despite the availability of evidence showcasing its effectiveness and safety, as well as data highlighting the adverse outcomes of denying access to abortion, opponents of abortion rights persist in advancing their agenda, regardless of the consequences for the health and well-being of those seeking care and their families.

During last Tuesday’s oral arguments, the Supreme Court appeared inclined to reject challenges to the availability of abortion pills.

The litigants maintain that attending to patients who have used abortion medications violates their personal

moral and religious convictions, and while Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar emphasized that the plaintiffs’ ethical dilemmas are already mitigated by established federal conscience protections, the lawsuit seeks to impose stringent restrictions on these medications, which would restrict availability to all people in the U.S. The court appeared skeptical about the necessity to amend FDA regulations universally just to accommodate the concerns of a specific group.

The final decision is likely to remain uncertain until June, when the Court typically announces its rulings on highly debated cases. In the meantime, we can take away that the anti-choice movement is strategically targeting the scientific and regulatory underpinnings of abortion rights, focusing on legal challenges and efforts to sway public opinion to restrict access to abortion services.

The anti-choice movement’s tactics align with its long-standing approach of disseminating misleading information about abortion medication and organizations like Planned Parenthood, as well as their widespread success in restricting access to comprehensive sexual education and establishment of so called “Crisis Pregnancy Centers,” which masquerade as legitimate abortion clinics but instead aim to dissuade individuals from seeking abortion care through misleading counseling and information.

Republican voters, particularly those with strong evangelical beliefs, have significantly influenced the GOP’s stance on abortion, despite representing the minority of Americans who oppose abortion access. This focus has led to a strategic alignment with antiabortion policies, aiming to secure and mobilize the evangelical base in support of Republican candidates, as seen in recent election cycles. This strategic alignment underscores a prioritization of appeasing a specific voter base rather than legislating in the best interest of the country’s citizens based on empirical data and objective analysis.

While Republicans have undeniably capitalized on the abortion debate for electoral gains, Democrats have also leveraged it to their advantage. For decades, Democrats have campaigned on safeguarding reproductive access, with Vice President Kamala Harris recently launching a “Reproductive Freedoms Tour” as part of the Biden-Harris 2024 campaign. Despite substantial financial investments in supporting pro-choice candidates, the erosion of protections under Roe v. Wade persists. The absence of an effective mechanism to hold elected officials accountable for

their campaign pledges suggests that abortion has become a potent rallying point for committed single-issue voters, offering little impetus for either party to seek resolution on the matter.

However, hope does lie at the end of the tunnel. According to new research published in the medical journal JAMA last Monday, there were about 26,000 more self-managed medication abortions than expected based on preDobbs trends and about half of the pills for self-managed medication abortions were provided by community organizations outside of the formal healthcare system. Community networks supplying abortion pills typically consist of grassroots organizations or advocacy groups operating at local, national, or international levels and provide access to reproductive healthcare, including abortion services, to individuals who may face barriers such as financial constraints, geographical distance from clinics, or legal restrictions.

These provisions are frequently established outside legal frameworks, ensuring that safe, effective, and affordable abortion medication is accessible to anyone in need, regardless of judicial rulings or current elected officials. Currently, abortion medication is available by mail in all 50 states. Although this form of medication is highly safe, its legal standing in the United States remains precarious. A 2023 study by If/When/How reported that 61 people were criminally investigated or arrested for allegedly ending their own pregnancy 2000 and 2020.

Given that the criminal justice system disproportionately impacts marginalized communities, it follows that abortion regulations will similarly affect these groups, especially Black individuals and low-income people of color. This pattern suggests that any restrictions or criminalization of selfmanaged abortions will most heavily impact those already facing systemic inequalities. That’s exactly what the data reported by If/When/How shows. Out of 54 cases that involved adults investigated for pregnancy termination, more than 40% of the cases involved people of color.

In a significant number of instances, healthcare providers, uncertain about legal obligations and concerned over potential prosecution for complicity, have reported patients to authorities. It’s important to note, however, that no current state or federal legislation mandates medical professionals to report instances of self-managed abortions to law enforcement. Proper patient education on the expected outcomes of medication abortions would likely decrease unnecessary emergency room visits. Moreover, informed patients

might refrain from disclosing their use of abortion medication to healthcare staff, as medically, a self-managed abortion is indistinguishable from a miscarriage.

This implies that irrespective of the Supreme Court case’s resolution, if the anti-choice advocates have managed to sow sufficient doubt regarding the safety and legal status of abortion pills, thereby leaving individuals in need of this essential medication uncertain about its administration or where to seek assistance and healthcare providers unsure of their duties, we are likely to witness a surge in avoidable regulatory crackdowns. This underscores the danger of both restricting access to information on self-managed abortions and spreading misinformation about them. These actions can significantly jeopardize public health and safety, as they contribute to confusion and potential harm among those seeking safe abortion methods.

Fortunately, comprehensive support networks are being built across the country and expanding to assist individuals, irrespective of legal constraints. Organizations such as Plan C Pills and Aid Access are connecting folks with safe and affordable medication and have committed to providing information about how to obtain abortion pills regardless of what the courts decide. The Miscarriage + Abortion hotline is staffed by doctors with years of experience caring for miscarriage and abortion are available by phone for all questions and concerns throughout an abortion or miscarriage, and the Repro Legal Helpline can answer legal questions about abortion.

These organizations, along with many others, form a unified front of support, ensuring that everyone, no matter their location, can access abortion pills safely. The truth is, it’s not feasible to limit the distribution of abortion pills via mail. The primary obstacle is simply the unawareness of the existence of these vital resources, and it’s something everyone can participate in.

Our collective effort is critically needed: Gaining an understanding of how these support networks function and the necessary safety measures is essential. By securing abortion medication in advance, to have it on hand for either personal use or to assist others later, we enhance our shared resource network. By openly sharing this vital information, we can collaboratively work to expand abortion access throughout America for everyone.

The courts can’t stop us, but we need your help.

Jex Blackmore is a founding member of Hydra Mutual Aid Fund.

WHAT’S GOING ON

Select events happening in metro Detroit this week. Be sure to check venue website before events for latest information. Add your event to our online calendar: metrotimes.com/ AddEvent.

MUSIC

Wednesday, April 3

20 Front Street Presents: Rend Collective 7 p.m.; Flagstar Strand Theatre for the Performing Arts, 12 N. Saginaw St., Pontiac; $25-$55.

Woodbridge Pub & The Preservation of Jazz Presents Just Jazz & Blues Every Wednesday Night 7-11 p.m.; Aretha’s Jazz Cafe, 350 Madison St., Detroit; no cover.

Thursday, April 4

Benson Boone, Mimi Webb 7 p.m.; The Fillmore, 2115 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $33-$53.

Jo Dee Messina 8 p.m.; The Capitol Theatre, 140 E. Second St., Flint; $50-$110.

Kane Brown, Tyler Hubbard, Parmalee 7 p.m.; Little Caesars Arena, 2645 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $44.95$134.95.

Kate Clover, Timmy’s Organism, David Turel 6:30 p.m.; Pike Room, 1 S. Saginaw, Pontiac; $15.

Erik McIntyre with special guests Michael Karoub & Dawn Giblin: Alpino Roots Cellar Music Series 6:30-8 p.m.; Alpino, 1426 Bagley St., Detroit; $10.

Ska Thursday with Killer Diller & You Dirty Rat 8 p.m.-midnight; Bowlero Lanes & Lounge, 4209 Coolidge Hwy., Royal Oak; no cover.

Tyr, Trollfest, Æther Realm, The Dread Crew Of Oddwood 6 p.m.; Sanctuary Detroit, 2932 Caniff St., Hamtramck; $25.

Friday, April 5

Anthony Gomes, The Stone Blossoms, Lexi Blue 7:30 p.m.; The Token Lounge, 28949 Joy Rd., Westland; $20-$120.

Cascade Riot, Goalkeeper, Fremont Pike, Floor Space, Bring Your Best 7 p.m.; Pike Room, 1 S. Saginaw, Pontiac; $15.

Early Moods, Morbikon, Mammon, Baazlvaat 7 p.m.; Sanctuary Detroit, 2932 Caniff St., Hamtramck; $15.

I Dont Know How But They

Found Me, Benches 7 p.m.; The Shelter, 431 E. Congress St., Detroit; $25. Moravian, Freedom From Concern, Buried Lights, Abuse Repression, Blank Tape Tax & DJ Hinchmobb 7 p.m.; Small’s, 10339 Conant St., Hamtramck; $10.

One Hallelujah 6:30 p.m.; Fisher Theatre, 3011 W. Grand Blvd., Detroit; $60.95-$183.00

The Ghost Club, Fuller, The City Lines 8:30 p.m.; Lager House, 1254 Michigan Ave., Detroit; $15.

DJ/Dance

Midnight City – 90s Indie Dance Party withDJs Josh and Zumby 9 p.m.-1 a.m.; Bowlero Lanes & Lounge, 4209 Coolidge Hwy., Royal Oak; no cover. Sfam, Patches, Phrey, Pandora Love, Tym, Sdescrllr, Vagabönd, Chikin Jo 9 p.m.-2 a.m.; Tangent Gallery & Hastings Street Ballroom, 715 E. Milwaukee Ave., Detroit; $20.

Saturday, April 6

“The 35th Anniversary Show”

The Erotic Poetry & Music Festival 7 p.m.; The Loving Touch, 22634 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; $20.

Adel Ruelas feat. Luna 8 p.m.; Pike Room, 1 S. Saginaw, Pontiac; $19.

Bad Bunny - Most Wanted Tour 8 p.m.; Little Caesars Arena, 2645 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $106.95-$955.

Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra - Beethoven Symphony No. 5 8-10 p.m.; Michigan Theater, 603 E. Liberty St., Ann Arbor; $15-$90.

Celtic Woman 7:30 p.m.; Fisher Theatre - Detroit, 3011 West Grand & Fisher, Detroit; $69-$234.

Chamber Soloists of Detroit: Partners in Time - Simply Sublime! 7:30-9 p.m.; Grosse Pointe Memorial Church, 16 Lake Shore Dr., Grosse Pointe Farms; $25-$30.

Girlschool, Lillian Axe, Alcatrazz 6:30 p.m.; The Token Lounge, 28949 Joy Rd., Westland; $45.

HEAR THIS! FEST 2024: If Not For Me, Vampires Everywhere!, Dead Eyes, American Dream Machine, Sever The Crown, Second Salem, Fatal Conceit, Yayo, Ghosts In Motion, Living AI, Sharp Lives, INFLUENCE, Precordial Thump, Armada Lodge 4 p.m.; Pike Room, 1 S. Saginaw, Pontiac; $20.

Michael Nau, Allegra Krieger 7

p.m.; Magic Bag, 22920 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; $22.

PinkPantheress, Bktherula 7 p.m.; Saint Andrew’s Hall, 431 E. Congress St., Detroit; $27.50-$33.

The Ruiners: Record Release & Nina’s Birthday 8 p.m.-1 a.m.; Bowlero Lanes & Lounge, 4209 Coolidge Hwy., Royal Oak; no cover.

Zombi, Overcalc, Voyag3r 7 p.m.;

Sanctuary Detroit, 2932 Caniff St., Hamtramck; $18.

DJ/Dance

80s Party 4a Purpose Charity Event 7 pm; Emerald Theatre, 31 N. Walnut St., Mount Clemens; $19.84-$350.

Sunday, April 7

Los Lobos, Orbitsuns 6-11 pm; The Token Lounge, 28949 Joy Rd., Westland; $58.

Los Lobos, Orbitsuns 6 & 7 pm; The Token Lounge, 28949 Joy Rd., Westland; $58.

The Slackers, The Operators 7 p.m.; Magic Bag, 22920 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; $25.

Oceano “Depths” 15 Year Anniversary Tour, By the Thousands 6 pm; Sanctuary Detroit, 2932 Caniff St., Hamtramck; $25.

Wheeler Walker Jr., Logan Halstead 7 p.m.; Saint Andrew’s Hall, 431 E. Congress St., Detroit; $35.50.

Monday, April 8

The Way Down Wanderers 7 p.m.; Magic Bag, 22920 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; $15.

DJ/Dance

Adult Skate Night 8:30-11 p.m.; Lexus Velodrome, 601 Mack Ave., Detroit; $5.

Tuesday, April 9

Live/Concert

Boblo Islanders 6:30-7:30 p.m.; Alpino, 1426 Bagley St, Detroit; $10.

Matt Axton & Badmoon, The Tainstville Players, Five N Dime Poets 7 p.m.; Lager House, 1254 Michigan Ave., Detroit; $12 advance, $15 day of show.

Palaye Royale 6 p.m.; Sgt. Pepperoni’s Pizzeria & Deli, 4120 Woodward Avenue, Detroit; $25.

Scary Pockets 7 p.m.; Saint Andrew’s Hall, 431 E. Congress St., Detroit; $23.

DJ/Dance

B.Y.O.R Bring Your Own Records

Night 9 p.m.-midnight; The Old Miami, 3930 Cass Ave., Detroit; no cover.

THEATER Performance

Detroit Repertory Theatre Annabella in July; $25 in advance, $30 general admission; Fridays, Saturdays, 8-10 p.m., Saturdays, 3-5 p.m.; and Sundays, 2-4 p.. Flint Repertory Theatre Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf; $10$27; Wednesday, April 3, 10 a.m.-noon; Thursday, April 4, 10 a.m.-noon; Friday, April 5; 7-9 p.m.; Saturday, April 6, 7-9 p.m.; and Sunday, April 7, 2-4 p.m.

Meadow Brook Theatre Native Gardens; $43; Wednesday, April 3, 2 & 8 p.m.; Thursday, April 4, 8 p.m.; Friday, April 5, 8 p.m.; Saturday, April 6, 6 p.m.; and Sunday, April 7, 2 & 6:30 p.m.

The Whiting Cirque FLIP Fabrique with Blizzard; $21-$65; Thursday, April 4, 7:30-9 p.m.

COMEDY

Improv

Go Comedy! Improv Theater Pandemonia/The All-Star Showdown; $20; every other Friday, 8 & 10 p.m.

Stand-up

Mark Ridley’s Comedy Castle

Tom Green; $35; Wednesday April 3.

Mark Ridley’s Comedy Castle

Adam Ray; $25; Thursday, April 4, 7:30-9 p.m.; Friday, April 5, 7:15-8:45 & 9:45-11:15 p.m.; and Saturday, April 6, 7-8:30 & 9:3011 p.m.

Mark Ridley’s Comedy Castle

Jamie Lissow; $25; Sunday, April 7, 7-8:30 p.m.

Stand-up

Opening

Caesars Palace Windsor - Augustus Ballroom Bad Friends with Andrew Santino & Bobby Lee; $33-$88; Friday April 5, 8 p.m.

District 142 Tom Green; $25; Saturday April 6, 7 p.m.

The Fillmore Kountry Wayne: The King Of Hearts Tour; $35.50-$45.50; Sunday April 7, 6:30 p.m.

Fox Theatre I Think You Should Leave Live with Tim Robinson & Zach Kanin; $39.50-$99.50; Friday, April 5, 7:30 p.m.

The Congregation Detroit Comedy at the Congregation; $15 advance and $20 at the door; first Friday of every month, 7:30-9 p.m.

DANCE

Dance performance

Saint Andrew’s Hall Sasha Colby: Stripped Tour (18+) $37.50-$49.50 Thursday April 4, 7 pm.

MGM Grand Detroit Event Center Thunder From Down Under $49-$99 Saturday April 6, 8 p.m.

FILM

Screening

Motor City Cinema Society Stanley Kubrick’s The Killing (1956); Monday, April 8, 6:30 p.m.

Film festival

Senate Theater Detroit International Festival of Animation 9; $10; 7 p.m.; Saturday, April 6, 8-10 p.m.

ART

Art exhibitions

Cranbrook Art Museum 2024 Graduate Degree Exhibition Opening Preview Party; Saturday, April 6 from 6-9 p.m. The exhibition opens to the public on Sunday, April 7. Free for Art Members, $20 general admission; Saturday, April 6, 6-9 p.m.

Ford Hall Gallery Breaking Boundaries From Thursday, April 4 to Saturday, April 27.

Color & Ink Studio Delicate Balance: Birmingham Society of Women Painters Runs through May 3.

Eleanor Oakes: love’s labor The photographs on view are made by using each mother’s own breastmilk as a light-sensitive agent in the historic salted paper process, interjecting a feminist narrative into the history of photography. Friday, April 5, 6-8 p.m.; College for Creative Studies, A. Alfred Taubman Center for Design Education, 460 W. Baltimore Ave, detroit; no cover.

Artist talk

2024 Annual Knoll Public Lecture: John Edelman Thursday, April 4, 6-7:30 p.m.; Cranbrook Art Museum, 39221 N. Woodward Ave., Bloomfield Hills; no cover.

Public Lecture: Natalie Ball A citizen of the Klamath tribes, Ball is bestknown for repurposing and re-contextualizing found materials and media that often confront the reductive narratives surrounding Native American identity. Tuesday, April 9, 6-7:30 p.m.; no cover.

Toyota Lecture Series: Industry

April 3-9, 2024

Cars & Coffee

CAR CULTURE: If you love cars, caffeine, and not spending any money, this event’s for you. Pontiac’s M1 Concourse is kicking off its 2024 season with its popular Cars & Coffee event featuring Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury models of all eras, though all other classic, collector, and special interest vehicles are welcome as well. “The first M1 Cars & Coffee of the year is always a muchanticipated event with the pent-up desire to kick off the outdoor car show season for most enthusiasts,” said M1 CEO Tim McGrane. “Last year our Ford, Lincoln and Mercury themed event was one of the largest so the two combined, along with owners of other classic and collector cars, to make for a great way to kick off the M1 event year and also introduce new visitors to M1 Concourse.” The 87-acre automotive enthusiast’s paradise features a 28,000-squarefoot event complex, a 1.5-mile closed track, and 255 private garages. Did we mention that the event is free and open to the public? Registration ahead of time is encouraged, which will grant attendees a QR code for easy access to the site.

—Lee DeVito

From 8-11 a.m. on Saturday, April 6; M1 Concourse, 1 Motorsports Dr., Pontiac; m1concourse.com/calendar. No cover.

Radyo Ayoon: Boostan

MUSIC: Back in September 2023, new venue Foxglove Detroit provided the city with a lowkey urban garden for vinyl-only listening parties. Since then, the space has held many cool events and continued expanding its beauty. This Saturday, Foxglove is hosting “Radyo Ayoon: Boostan,” a fundraising and mutual aid event for Palestine. The event will include musical acts, a popup market, and a silent art auction with all proceeds supporting the Palestinian people. Radyo Ayoon, the event’s presenter, is a radio show and podcast showcasing the struggles of the Arab diaspora through music. The musical lineup will include Radyo Ayoon hosts Bana and Fana, plus one of Foxglove’s creators Dru Allan, local audiovisual artist Otodojo, and local DJ Salar Ansari. For the pop-up market, local vendors will sell a variety of items from clothes to art to jewelry to household knick knacks and more. The collection of art that is part of the silent auction is currently live and can be viewed online at otodojo. mmm.page/silentauction.

—Layla McMurtrie

From 4-10 p.m. on Saturday, April 6; Foxglove, 258 Kenilworth St., Detroit. Tickets for the event can be purchased at the door for a sliding scale fee of $10-$30.

Eddie Vargas pop-up

FOOD: Birria has certainly been having a moment in recent years. Originating in Jalisco, Mexico as a stew commonly made from goat or lamb, the dish has exploded in popularity in a taco form out of Los Angeles-via-Tijuana. Hazel Park’s Frame is getting in on the action with the help of restaurateur Eddie Vargas, who comes with plenty of birria bona fides. Vargas’s grandparents hail from Jalisco, and his family immigrated to L.A. and finally Detroit, where they served birria out of a taco stand in a Southwest Detroit park. Vargas says while his father used to make birria with lamb, he prefers beef. “What’s special about this recipe is that it’s been passed on for generations,” he says. “This recipe was created with the knowledge from my grandparents passed on to my father, who uses a few different ingredients that others don’t use. And there’s a lot of love in it.” The Frame menu includes a birria platter, a quesabirria, a torta, and sopes, a street food made from cup-like corn flour. The pop-up starts Wednesday and runs through Cinco de Mayo.

—Lee DeVito

From April 3-May 5; 23839 John R Rd., Hazel Park. See framehazelpark.com for hours and prices.

Cars & Coffee returns to Pontiac’s M1 Concourse. COURTESY PHOTO

LET’S GO TIGERS!!!

JOIN US FOR OPENING DAY APRIL 5TH

Thurs 4/04

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PATRICK CAREY!

FRI 4/05

TIGERS OPENING DAY HOURS: MAIN BAR @ 11a PATIO BAR @ Noon

DJ SKEEZ & FRIENDS (hip-hop/soul/funk/house)

Doors@8p/$5cover

Sat 4/06

THE END OF ENDS/HIDING SALEM/ SECOND HAND DRUGS/ BELLING THE TIGER (psych rock/blues-ish/garage/ prog rock)

Doors@9p/$5cover

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JAMES MURPHY!

Mon 4/08

FREE POOL ALL DAY

Tues 4/09

B. Y. O. R.

BRING YOUR OWN RECORDS (WEEKLY)

Open Decks@8PM NO COVER IG: @byor_tuesdays_old_miami

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ERICA PIETRZYK!

Coming Up: 4/12

MUSIC

4/27 3

5/04 Sick like you/Pink 50s/velvet snakes

Book Your Parties at The Old Miami

us: theoldmiamibarevents@gmail.com

Local buzz

Cannabis-friendly Field of Greens announces first festival

A new cannabis-friendly music venue believed to be the first in the U.S. to offer both cannabis and alcohol sales and consumption is getting ready to hold its first event.

Grams & Jams Productions announced that its “Bikers, Buds, & Brews” festival planned for May 18 will feature alternative rock acts Marcy Playground and Soul Asylum. The concert will be the first to be held at Field of Greens, which is located on a former driving range in Baldwin where a cannabis dispensary now stands.

The event coincides with Baldwin’s annual Blessing of the Bikes, in which a Catholic priest blesses motorcycles ahead of the summer season.

Grams & Jams Productions has also announced a nonprofit initiative called Baldwin Gives Back, which will raise funds for the community.

“The Baldwin Community has welcomed us with open arms,” Grams & Jams Productions executive producer Connie Maxim-Sparrow said in a statement. “Baldwin Gives Back is our way of showing appreciation for the warm welcome! We are very excited for the future!”

Grams & Jams Productions has produced Muskegon’s Cannabash festival

since 2022, hosting big-name rappers like Ludacris and Sada Baby and drawing some 12,000 people in 2023.

Earlier this year, Grams & Jams Productions announced it would launch its own music venue in Baldwin. Liquor laws prevent alcohol and cannabis from being sold and consumed in the same place, but Field of Greens plans to divide its space with a fence with alcohol sales on one side and pot on the other.

Unlike other Michigan cannabis and music festivals, Field of Greens plans to host multiple events in its space throughout the season.

Previously, Maxim-Sparrow said Field of Greens could tentatively hold around 15,000 people. The venue will be ages 21 and older only.

The venue is also seeking sponsors for its summer concert series. Brands can contact info@cannabashfest.com to learn more. —Lee DeVito

Afro Nation teases 2024 headliners

Afro Nation Detroit is coming in hot for 2024. The festival, set for August 17-18, dropped its initial lineup Wednesday and it’s already filled with

bangers.

Nigeria’s “golden child” Rema is among the first round of headliners along with Toronto R&B singer-songwriter PartyNextDoor. The “princess of Amapiano” Uncle Waffles and Scorpion Kings are both making their U.S. debut at the festival. Detroit’s own Kash Doll is also on the bill along with South African singer and dancer Kamo Mphela.

Other performers announced so far include Adekunle Gold, Amaarae, Ayra Starr, King Promise, Ruger, Musa Keys, DBN Gogo, Kelvin Momo, TxC, 2woBunnies, and DJ Moma.

The international African diaspora music festival featuring Afrobeats, Amapiano, rap, R&B, and more made its Detroit debut in 2023. The festival takes place at Bedrock’s Douglass Site, the former location of the BrewsterDouglass Projects where Motown legends like Diana Ross and Smokey Robinson once lived.

Tickets for Afro Nation Detroit 2024 go on sale on Wednesday, April 3 at 10 a.m. via detroit.afronation.com. Those who signed up for pre-sale access will be able to buy tickets starting at 9 a.m. on April 3, an hour before sales open to everyone else.

—Randiah Camille Green

The Bikers, Buds, & Brews festival has tapped Marcy Playground and Soul Asylum, above, as headliners. SHUTTERSTOCK

FOOD

Chowhound

Two Dashers dishing

By Robert Stempkowski

Chowhound is a weekly column about what’s trending in Detroit food culture. Tips: eat@metrotimes.com.

Has a food delivery service ever let you down? Have you ever used one and gotten something for nothing?

If you answered yes to either of those questions, you’re affirming claims made by two former DoorDash drivers I recently interviewed, who say things go wrong in that line of work routinely, and for all kinds of reasons. To hear them tell it, chinks in the chain of possession, problematic service protocols, and plain dishonesty in customers and drivers alike all contribute to a food industry service that often fails to deliver.

“Anything can happen,” Jasmine, my first interviewee, couched cryptically to open the conversation. She drove for both DoorDash and Instacart from 2021 to 2022. “People don’t like to answer the door for starters, and that causes lots of problems.”

“There’s all kinds of issues and a high rate of delivery failures,” seconded Adam, who started as a “Dasher” for a

time in 2018 before delivering regularly between 2020 and 2022. “Try reaching people on the 20th floor of the Penobscot Building and trying to find parking that you won’t have to pay for, because there’s no reimbursement for that, while everything’s being tracked and timed [by the delivery apps and their users].”

Outlining working rules they ran with as drivers, A & J explained what pick-up and delivery-drop procedures they were expected to follow, along with what the real rules of the road became after they confronted the actual rigors of their jobs as meal jockeys. Officially, after arriving at a delivery destination, they were required to alert the customer (click, call, text, knock, ring, etc.). Failing any response, drivers are then required to remain at the location for a full five minutes in an effort to confirm customer receipt of service. During that time, delivery service software can verify a driver’s whereabouts.

“Some [customers] learn to play the game,” Adam insists. “After those five minutes, we’re supposed to leave our delivery ‘in a safe space’ and take a pic.

Well, customers catch on quick. They learn to wait me out until I leave that order, then grab it and still claim they couldn’t find it right there. And in that case, it becomes a race to the [app] button. If I’m not quicker to click ‘order has been delivered’ than they are to hit ‘didn’t receive food,’ I’m screwed. The [food and gratuity] charges get reversed, so I’m out my DoorDash money, the tip, and possibly face my account being suspended. It’s bullshit, basically.”

On the flip side, Adam admits to playing that game himself.

“I was sometimes that customer saying I didn’t get my food, just because I felt it was a little too expensive after [eating it].”

While Jasmine didn’t own-up to anything similar, she testified to seeing fellow drivers doing each other dirty by stealing orders.

“I’ve definitely seen it done, but I wouldn’t do it because if I go to pick up an order and it’s gone, I don’t get paid. Then, it’s a whole process that isn’t worth going through, really: statements, pictures you’re supposed

to take, and after all that they [the services] might pay you half. It happens a lot. People pick up their own orders and one or two sitting next to it.”

According to both ex-Dashers, this can happen when restaurants don’t do their due diligence monitoring who’s coming and going with all those food orders. Citing some big corporate chains like Chipotle, Chick-fil-A, Tropical Smoothie Café, and Wingstop as culpable in such instances, A & J elaborated.

“They just set out the orders and that’s it,” Jasmine explained. “Other places keep orders behind the counter. They have our names and check. Sometimes, people lose their money and their food in all that mess. That’s the risk nowadays. It’s all about what you can prove. Drivers need to take their pictures for sure. I’ve seen drivers take pictures of their food then still steal other people’s. It’s pretty rough, really.”

Adam agreed. And then some.

“Anything can happen to your food. I was hungry sometimes, and what I was delivering smelled good. I did get my account suspended eventually for that

Unfortunately, even checks and fail-safes built into popular food delivery apps aren’t foolproof.

SHUTTERSTOCK

kind of thing, though.”

Unfortunately, even delivery system checks and fail-safes built into the apps aren’t foolproof.

“We had an emergency button with options,” Adam said. “‘Can’t deliver.’ ‘Order not ready.’ ‘Restaurant closed.’ ‘Restaurant too busy.’ Or even just, ‘I don’t want order anymore.’ Even if I’ve already grabbed the food, I can hit one of those buttons at any time prior to clicking and confirming receipt.

If you’ve driven for these services, you learn the loopholes. Restaurant employees just press ‘order is done’ and set stuff on a shelf. I can just pick up whatever I want at that point and walk out with it. As long as I look confident like I know what I’m doing, I can just ‘Dash’ with whatever.”

So, who ultimately pays for all that? Neither driver knows for sure, of course. Yet if this kind of loss to theft by both drivers and consumers happens to the degree Adam and Jasmine estimate (“30% of the time” and “once or twice a shift,” respectively) these problems would appear epidemic, and certainly help to explain all the news feeds we read these days of retailers citing large-scale losses to theft, which, personally, I’d previously assumed was attributable to old-school, in-store shoplifting. But product and profits lost somewhere over the course of conducting third-party delivery service business just might be amounting to at least as big a siphon on food industry revenue streams.

Does this, perhaps, explain at least partly why prices at sit-down and fastfood restaurants have risen so high since the demand for meal delivery services exploded some four years ago?

“These are huge companies hiring all kinds of independent contractors,” Adam summed up some key points to consider. “The problems begin and end with businesses that are lacking in confirming orders are prepared and picked up correctly, and customers and drivers working a system that’s easy to beat. The companies don’t seem to care, so they must still be making plenty of money.”

“I’d do it again,” Jasmine tossed in her last two cents on the subject. “I was making $600-$700 working twenty hours a week.”

Hmmm. Earning $30-35 an hour doing deliveries on your own schedule, in a corner of food commerce that doesn’t require waiting on tables or working as a line cook for about half that. Maybe I’m finally starting to see what happened to some of the restaurant industry workforce that disappeared when the pandemic struck. DoorDash and its fellows, though flawed in their own ways, had something worthwhile

to offer as an employment option. Better pay. Flexible hours. And a smorgasbord of food freebies drivers learned how to feast on illicitly, along with their ever-growing throng of sometimes conscienceless consumers.

What a racket. And from the top to the middlemen and even some bottom feeders not above getting their grub on as cheats, most everyone might be in on it.

Honest John: Kudos to Cadieux Café co-owner John Rutherford, who recently responded to our mid-March review of his establishment. In specific, he reached out to address my impression of Cadieux’s Belgian Beer Stew which, to me, fell a little flat for want of more meat, potatoes, and such.

“Thank you for your review and coverage of the Cadieux Café!” John emailed us enthusiastically. “We have addressed the portion size of the stew! Thanks for pointing it out.”

And thank you, John, for sending a message that sends another I wish more restaurant goers and operators would get. My food writer’s role serves both a consumer advocacy and customer feedback purpose. What’s offered through my observations are opinions informed by 40-plus years of professional experience working in and writing about food and beverage businesses. Everyone’s welcome to take or leave them for whatever they think they’re worth.

Still, let’s get this much straight: I’m not some TikTok flash-in-the-pan talking shit purely for likes from followers. Frankly, anyone who considers themselves a “critic” in this highly subjective arena of taste has too high and mighty a self-perception. I’m just someone with a restaurateur’s background offering considerations and coverage to the restaurants I write about. Every butt-hurt owner, chef, and manager who takes personally whatever any restaurant reviewer might take some issue with should think twice before firing off conspiracy theory emails to editors, along with threats to pull their advertising dollars where applicable. Those kinds of reactions to objective opining are equally pathetic, predictable, and about as old as Gutenberg’s printing press. Unless I get the facts wrong, getting a retraction from me is highly unlikely.

Instead, more reviewees might do well to respond like Mr. Rutherford chose to. He read what we said, looked into the matter himself, decided to act as he did, and then let us in on his decision. Now he gets even more coverage, after getting back to us in a correspondence free of ass-chapped accusations and innuendo.

Nicely done, sir.

CULTURE

Arts Spotlight

Two Detroit activists met at a prison writing workshop, now they’re providing a pathway for returning citizens

By Randiah Camille Green

When Kyle Daniel-Bey was 17, he received a mandatory life in prison sentence for murder. But even a lifetime behind bars couldn’t imprison his creative spirit. “Juvenile lifer” may be one of Daniel-Bey’s descriptors, but so is writer, poet, artist, activist, and teacher.

While serving his sentence at the Macomb Regional Correctional Facility, Daniel-Bey joined a weekly creative writing and art discussion group called the “Writer’s Block.” Like Daniel-Bey, many of his fellow Writer’s Block artists were juvenile lifers turned adults who never thought they’d be able to share their work outside of prison.

Then 2012 came. That year, the Supreme Court ruled that mandatory life without-parole sentences for juveniles convicted of murder were unconstitutional and considered “cruel and unusual punishment.” The decision was retroactive, leading the way for people like Daniel-Bey to be resentenced and return home, which he did in 2018 after 25 years.

Now in his forties, Daniel-Bey is spearheading an artist residency for returning juvenile lifers like himself, not just to help them settle back into society, but to allow them space to work on their art.

“I’ve always been an artist,” DanielBey says over Zoom. “I didn’t think I’d ever see the day… but when I got out, I didn’t want my art to get lost in all the other things I had to deal with trying to

readjust.”

Daniel-Bey is the co-creator of Entry Points along with artist and activist Jonathan Rajewski. The Hamtramckbased residency covers housing costs and utilities for returning juvenile lifers. It also provides them with funds to cover studio materials and opportunities to exhibit visual art or publish their writing if they wish.

Rajewski and Daniel-Bey met in 2012 at the Writer’s Block meetup when Daniel-Bey was in prison and Rajewski was one of the workshop’s volunteers. Writer’s Block was initially organized by the Prison Creative Art Project at the University of Michigan and later became part of the Hamtramck Free School. Rajewski is a co-founder of the school, which offers education free of charge, and Daniel-Bey is a co-organizer.

“He had us in there reading Audre Lorde,” Daniel-Bey remembers about the Writer’s Block with Rajewski. “There were a couple different volunteers but his dedication was just different.”

Forging their bond in the Writer’s Block, the pair of activists continued to work together to help people impacted by the criminal justice system after Daniel-Bey’s release. In 2020, they helped organize remote readings of James Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time across eight correctional facilities when the pandemic halted educational programming. In 2021, they published How

His work often offers commentary on how Black men are disproportionately handed harsh prison sentences. One of his pieces titled “Pre-destined” shows a pregnant Black couple getting an ultrasound and their baby, still safe in their mother’s womb, behind bars on the monitor. He will exhibit work made during and after his incarceration at the end of his residency.

Daniel-Bey and Rajewski’s activism also stretches to the Hamtramck Free School, which Rajewski explains is not a traditional school, but a “rhizomatic educational project.” The school hosts things like poetry readings, film screenings, workshops, and other events rooted in collective liberation and knowledge exchange in and out of the carceral system.

“The Hamtramck Free School is not a school. It has no classrooms [and] no fixed location,” Rajewski says. “We convene in prisons, parks, coffee shops, bookstores, community centers, living rooms, wherever. The Free School is not an organization because ‘organizations are obstacles for organising [sic] ourselves,’ to borrow from The Invisible Committee. It’s more like a continuously changing and emerging set of relationships not bound by the architecture of schools.”

to Start a Writing Workshop, a manual supporting creative workshops in prison formed without state approval in partnership with incarcerated poets, artists, and activists across the country.

Michigan reportedly had one of the highest juvenile lifer populations in the U.S. and nearly half of them have been released from prison since 2016, according to a report from Michigan Public

In addition to housing and studio costs, Entry Points also provides a network of activists and educators to help returning citizens make the transition to life on the outside. Daniel-Bey and Rajewski received a Creative Capital grant in 2024 to help fund the program.

Their first Entry Points resident was writer-artist James D. Fusion from October 2022-2023. Fusion also met DanielBey and Rajewski in Writer’s Block at the Macomb Regional Correctional Facility and his work has been featured in The New Yorker, Ugly Duckling Presse, Washington Square Review (New York University Press), University of Michigan Press, and Essay’d (Wayne State University Press). His first poem collection, 20 Years: Reflections of an Empty Sky was released in 2014 and talks about his first 20 years in prison. Fusion is also a 2023 Kresge Arts Fellow.

The next Entry Points resident will be figurative visual artist and writer Yusef Qualls-El, a former juvenile lifer who spent 28 years in prison.

He adds that the school, “recognizes everyone, and acknowledges everyone as capable of being a poet, an artist, a writer, a teacher-student.”

Hamtramck Free School also runs an independent publisher, Free School Press, which published Rajewski and Daniel-Bey’s How to Start a Writing Workshop manual, as well as Qualls-El’s 2017 poetry collection, Thoughts Are Things

Daniel-Bey’s forthcoming poetry collection, Infernal Speech, Divine Thoughts, is due out from Free School Press in April of 2024. It will be available via Allied Media Projects.

In addition to poetry, since being released from prison Daniel-Bey has earned an associate degree from Wayne County Community College, is an ironworker, and has been a guest lecturer at the Yale School of Art, the University of Michigan, and Wayne State University.

He doesn’t shy away from acknowledging his past.

“Sometimes people say, ‘don’t tell people you were a juvenile lifer,’ but I don’t have a problem telling people that about me,” he says. “I want them to know that I have more to offer. I’m a hard worker. I’m an artist.”

While the first two Entry Points residents are men from the Writer’s Block workshop that Rajewski and Daniel-Bey participated in, they clarify that the program is also open to women juvenile lifers and will have a formal application process.

Participants from the Writer’s Block at Macomb Regional Correctional Facility in 2015.

SAUL METNICK

CULTURE

Film

Empire falls

By Craig D. Lindsey

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

Rated: PG-13

Run-time: 115 minutes

Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures’ MonsterVerse is a studioblockbuster franchise that’s been going on for a decade — and yet I have to continually remind myself that it exists.

Seriously, does anyone you know talk about the Godzilla reboot that kicked this thing off 10 years ago, or the King Kong revamp Kong: Skull Island that dropped a few years later? These films are supposed to be behemoth updates of the adventurous, old-school thrill rides of yore, but they have a tendency to evaporate from your memory once you’re done with the cinematic carnage. Honestly, it wasn’t until I did a recent, first-time watch of 2021’s Godzilla vs. Kong that I realized, oh shit, I did see that Godzilla: King of the Monsters sequel from 2019. (To be fair, it came out the summer before COVID, and my memories of what happened the year before the whole gotdamn world shut down are a little hazy.).

The big boys are back to tussle in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, but it takes a long time for that to happen. Whereas Godzilla vs. Kong had them going toe-to-toe in several rowdy setpieces, the monster roughhousers don’t square up in this film until way into the climax. Most of the movie has them going on their own individual journeys. Kong is down in Hollow Earth, lonelier than a sumabitch and forever on the lookout for big, hairy beasts like himself. Meanwhile, Godzilla is back on drier, human-filled ground, on a globetrotting mission that has him destroying a lot of property along the way.

Godzilla is more of a supporting character in this chapter, as we focus primarily on Kong and his search for a tribe. He practically gets his own Gollum when he descends to the “Subterranean Realm” and meets a cute-but-shady Curious George-looking chimp that acts like the Kevin Hart to Kong’s Dwayne Johnson. (Before you accuse me of being racist, keep in mind I’m Black and I can get away with pointing that shit out.)

Kong eventually finds a bunch of mega-monkey slaves controlled by the Skar King, a large, primate prick who also remote-controls a Godzilla-ish reptilian monster who can make everything he breathes on ice-cold. So, just in case Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire didn’t give you enough chilly thrills, here we have another sequel in theaters where the world is in danger of having another Ice Age.

As always, the travails Godzilla and Kong go through are far more interesting than whatever the hell the human characters are doing. Since the last film was overstuffed with people running around and dumping exposition, Empire’s cast of characters have been thankfully streamlined. (Bye-bye, Millie Bobby Brown’s insufferable teen Godzilla ally.)

Rebecca Hall returns as the doctor who looks after both Kong and her adopted daughter (Kaylie Hottle), who can communicate with the big guy via sign language and is also looking for a group to call her own. They link up

with Bryan Tyree Henry’s crackpot podcast host (the most annoying character from the last movie) and Dan Stevens’s supposedly maverick Aussie monster veterinarian as they all head down to Hollow Earth, where they keep tabs on Kong and discover that this world isn’t just inhabited by strange creatures.

Godzilla x Kong director Adam Wingard continues the MonsterVerse tradition of making a proudly mid popcorn flick where the computer-generated monsters are more fully realized than the real-life characters, the jumble of a story is obviously cribbed from other movie franchises, and the soundtrack is punctuated with kitschy, ironic needle drops like Jim Reeves’s “Welcome to My World” and Badfinger’s “Day After Day.” As always, the fight sequences are some wildly staged affairs, as the monsters occasionally pop up on land and decimate cities like Cairo and Rome during their matchups. This installment is a must for those who ever wanted to see Godzilla and Kong fuck up the pyramids while carrying on like they’re in a

backyard-wrestling video.

Although the sight of Godzilla and Kong teaming up to whup some oppressive ass may seem like the biggest “Twin, where have you been?” moment in pop culture right now, Empire is some half-assed escapism, just like all the previous MonsterVerse entries. Wingard and company put so much effort into making the Godzilla/Kong parts so real and convincing that it looks like they lazily threw together the scenes with real people during a weekend of reshoots.

Considering how the Toho-produced Godzilla Minus One from last winter won over critics, audiences, and Oscar voters, eventually getting a Best Visual Effects Oscar earlier this month, perhaps Warner and Legendary should holla at those filmmakers for help on the next MonsterVerse installment. If they’re gonna continue with this forgetful franchise, shouldn’t they get with the people who not only do giantmonster movies well, but came up with the shit in the first place?

Godzilla x Kong is another forgettable chapter in the MonsterVerse.

WARNER BROS. PICTURES

CULTURE

Savage Love

Quickies

By Dan Savage

: Q I’m a single cis gay man and I’ve been going back and forth between wanting an open relationship or a throuple/quad when I start dating again. Do you have any advice or recommendations for finding out more about gay throuple/quad relationship structures? I’ve talked about open relationships and relationship anarchy with my peers and therapist, but no one seems to know a lot about throuples/ quads.

A: I don’t think there’s a lot of research into gay throuples and quads. (Hell, there isn’t that much research into gay couples.) But most successful gay throuples and quads started out as couples — so instead of seeking a throuple or a quad, your best bet may be fucking with single men who are open to relationships and fucking with couples — as a single person or once you’re coupled — who are open to regular thirds and/or fourths.

: Q Why is it hard to get a relationship partner to confirm you’re in a relationship or define the relationship?

A: Most likely because your partner benefits somehow from the relationship remaining undefined — they feel freed from certain obligations — and they sense you aren’t willing to call their bluff. Meaning, they sense you won’t break up with them if they refuse to define the relationship. You can’t call the question if you aren’t willing to call it off unless you get an answer.

: Q My lover is in town for business, but he has an impossible work schedule. The only way I can probably see him is if I crash one of his work events. I’m tempted, but it probably means I’d just see him for a moment, say hi, and have to leave. How important is it for us to have in-person time? If we haven’t seen each other in months, shouldn’t I make the effort, even if it’s just for a moment together?

A: Being in the same room with your lover and having to play it cool and not being able to touch them sounds like

torture. It also sounds incredibly hot. So, if you’re sure your lover wants to see you under those circumstances and isn’t just telling you what you wanna hear — if seeing you and not being able to touch you would drive you both wild in a good way and make your next actual meeting even hotter make the effort.

: Q Do I play with cut [eggplant emoji] and uncut [eggplant emoji] the same way or do I treat them differently?

A: An uncut [eggplant emoji] essentially comes with its own built-in masturbation sleeve — you can roll the foreskin up and down the shaft and over the head. You can’t do that with most cut [eggplant emoji], as there’s not a lot of loose skin to work with/manipulate/roll up and over on most circumcised men. So, uncut [eggplant emoji] typically doesn’t need lube while cut [eggplant emoji] typically do need some sort of lube. But cut or uncut [eggplant emoji], don’t make assumptions. Ask for direction.

: Q I met a gay couple in my building. One half of the couple — the not-thathot half — told me they “only play together” while the other half of the couple — the hotter-than-fuck half told me hooking up one-on-one was possible so long as his husband never found out. What should I do?

A: You should move.

P.S. Look, some marriages need to end. So, if the worst happens and not-that-hot catches you with hotterthan-fuck, you could wind up putting a highly dysfunctional marriage out of its misery. Some marriages, on the other hand, thrive on chaos and drama [shrug emoji] and you could wind up bringing them closer together. But if they are chaos and drama types, they will blame you — both of them for the chaos and drama.

: Q My husband and I — an opposite-sex married couple — are talking about embracing a more monogamish lifestyle. We’ve written each other letters about what we are open to, what our limits are, and we feel good about where we’ve landed, which is out-of-town play for now. Do you have any suggestions on how we can gently start? A slower pace would work for us. Any advice would be lovely.

A: Find an out-of-town sex club, become members, and stick to soft swap for now — soft swap means only oral sex and non-penetrative sex play with others until you’re both ready to have PIV with other people. And there’s no rush and no requirement to do PIV with other people if it never feels right.

: Q Familial loves feels icky. Romantic love does not. Newest RAD AF girlfriend occasionally gives me feelings of ick. Why?

A: It’s too soon for this romantic relationship to have succumbed to the kind of siblingification that can de-eroticize a long-term relationship — you haven’t lived with each other long enough (you presumably haven’t lived with your new girlfriend at all) — which has me wondering if your dad might’ve been a sperm donor back in the day. Just a thought.

: Q Perving to an OnlyFans account that’s the spitting image of my sister-inlaw. OK to do that if I tell no one?

A: I will allow it.

: Q Why does everyone treat HSV2 like it’s worse than HIV?

A: Because most people aren’t that bright, first and foremost, and HSV2 sometimes referred to as genital herpes (which isn’t entirely accurate) creates physical discomfort, can be seen, and takes a person out of the action until the sores heal. HIV, assuming someone has access to treatment (which is a huge assumption), is invisible to the eye and doesn’t take someone out of the action. So, some people may legitimately experience HSV2 as worse — again, if they have access to the treatments that have made being HIV+ a non-issue for some.

: Q Any advice for a man who has a hard time getting out of his head during sex?

A: A little pot, a little wine, and maybe some CBT — CBT here referring to “cognitive behavioral therapy” and not “cock and ball torture.” Although… letting someone put your nuts in a bull crusher is a pretty effective way to get out of your head.

: Q Arguing with queer friends about what’s worse: compulsory heterosexuality or compulsory homonormativity. Your thoughts?

A: Compulsory heterosexuality exists and is still enforced in many parts of the world with deadly violence. Compulsory homonormativity, on the other hand, only exists in the imaginations of queer people lucky enough to live where they’re free to make their own choices thanks to LGBT activists who fought real and not imaginary oppressions. And since bad things that exist are always worse than imaginary things that do not, compulsory heterosexuality is infinitely worse than compulsory homonormativity.

: Q I can’t suck cock because I gag and will vomit. Sensitive to smells and I have a shit gag reflex. Any tips?

A: Don’t suck cock.

P.S. You can do a little oral without puking. Ask your sex partners to shower right before sex with heavily scented soap. Then instead of putting his cock in your mouth, put your mouth on his cock — lick the shaft, wrap your lips around the head without it going past your teeth, swirl your tongue around, work the shaft and head with your spit-covered hands, etc.

: Q Is rendering a real kink? I can’t find anything about it anywhere.

A: I’m happy to report that boiling down sex partners and using their rendered fat as lube is not a real kink with its own play parties, munches, deep fried twinkies, etc.

: Q I am suddenly reading a lot about saline douches. So, is anal douching with tap water considered unsafe now?

A: My first thought was… if douching with tap water was dangerous… bottoms would’ve gone extinct by now. But I went ahead and googled that for you and, according to the SF AIDS Foundation, douching with tap water on a daily basis — which some elite-level/always-prepared bottoms are doing these days — can result in a potentially dangerous electrolyte imbalance. “One of the safer liquids to put up your butt is called ‘normal saline,’” says list of anal douching

safety tips on the SF AIDS Foundation’s website. “You can get this stuff in a saline Fleet enema, or you can also make normal saline at home by combining a half teaspoon of salt with a cup of water.”

: Q Can men orgasm if they are not hard?

A: Yes.

: Q SF or Seattle?

A: Chicago.

: Q This is not a relationship question, but as a musical theater gay, I’m wondering if you’ve watched Dicks: The Musical yet? If not, please watch it and let the people know what you think. It is truly unlike anything else I’ve seen in my life.

A: Watched it, loved it, I’ve been singing “Don’t Give Up! (When People Tell You No)” to myself for weeks — a very problematic song! — and I’m crushing so hard on Aaron Jackson that he should probably take a preemptive restraining order out against me.

:

Q City or suburb?

A: You can’t be serious.

: Q Is it ever worth arguing with idiots online?

A: Only if you’re Dr. Jen Gunter and Mr. David Simon — and even then, remember you’re not arguing with the idiot. You’re arguing for the benefit of gullible people who might be following that idiot. The point of arguing with idiots online is peeling low-information non-idiots away from them, not bringing malevolent idiots to their senses.

: Q Is having ongoing health issues (otherwise fit) a legitimate reason to remain solo or am I avoiding relationships because I don’t want to make myself vulnerable?

A: We all have health issues — ongoing or incoming — which is why every love story is a tragedy in disguise. The play doesn’t end until the lovers are dead.

: Q Did you get the sense that Molly Roden Winter’s was pressured by her husband into polyamory?

A: I got that impression from reading the reviews of More: A Memoir of Open Marriage, but I didn’t get the impression when I read the actual book.

: Q How do I help a friend who is in a dysfunctional relationship without isolating them?

A: You keep showing up, you keep listening — unless the relationship is so chaotic you feel unsafe and/or you begin to feel like showing up is enabling your friend to stay the relationship. Then you tell your friend, “Look, I can’t be around you right now — but I will be there for you when you’re ready to get out of this. And I’ll show up with a moving van full of empty boxes, not ‘I told you sos.’”

: Q On the verge of having a love affair, but the guy I’m involved with is having cold feet. He tells me all the time about how much he loves me, but when I try to get physical, he recoils from my touch. I’ve tried a lot of very innocent and gentle (G-rated) touching, to get him used to it — touch his hair, scratch his back, hold his hand — and he can tolerate that. How can I ease him into touching past the Grated level? What can I do to put him at ease?

A: When someone recoils from your touch… you should stop touching them.

: Q I could have sworn that I read somewhere that there are rules regarding the allowable number of consecutive spanks and the minimum time between sets of spanks in adult movies, but I can’t find any documentation about this online.

A: You can’t find anything about that because that is not a thing.

: Q I am a woman dating a man. The sex is the best we’ve had in years we’re both recently divorced — but we need you to settle this issue for us. I enjoy giving blowjobs, but my guy needs stimulation at a certain tempo. I told him that one or the other of us will have to do the work. I can’t stroke, cover my teeth, and breath while he thrusts at his preferred tempo. So, he’s either going have to sit still and allow me to do the work or allow me to get myself in the right position and let me sit still while he fucks my mouth. What say you?

A: I say any man who won’t take “go ahead and fuck my face” for an answer doesn’t deserve the blowjob you’re trying to give him.

Got problems? Yes, you do. Send your question to mailbox@savage.love! Podcasts, columns, and more at Savage.Love.

CULTURE

Free Will Astrology

By Rob Brezsny

ARIES: March 21 – April 19

Aries author Eric G. Wilson claims, “Darker emotional states — doubt, confusion, alienation, despair — inspire a deeper and more durable experience of the sacred than contentment does.” I disagree. I know for a fact that an exquisite embrace of life’s holiness is equally possible through luminous joy and boisterous triumph and exultant breakthroughs. Propagandists of the supposed potency of misery are stuck in a habit of mind that’s endemic to the part of civilization that’s rotting and dying. In any case, Aries, I’m pleased to tell you that in the coming weeks, you will have abundant opportunities to glide into sacred awareness on the strength of your lust for life and joie de vivre.

TAURUS: April 20 – May 20

Will humans succeed in halting the decimation of the environment? Will we neutralize the power of

fundamentalism as it fights to quash our imaginations and limit our freedoms? Will we outflank and outlast the authoritarians that threaten democracy? Sorry I’m asking you to think about sad realities. But now is an excellent time for you to ponder the world we are creating for our descendants — and resolve to do something in loving service to the future. Meditate on the riddle from Lewis Carroll’s book Through the Looking Glass: “It’s a poor sort of memory that only works backwards.”

GEMINI: May 21 – June 20

ground ivy, hawkweed, and dandelions with splendid flowers and fairy down, than the too-well-tended lawn.” I encourage you to adopt his attitude toward everything in your life for the next few weeks. Always opt for unruly beauty over tidy regimentation. Choose lush vitality over pruned efficiency. Blend your fate with influences that exult in creative expressiveness, genial fertility, and deep feelings. (P.S.: Cultural critic Michael Pollan says, “A lawn is nature under totalitarian rule.”)

VIRGO: August 23 – Sept. 22

self-care: a physical check-up, perhaps, and visits with the dentist, therapist, hairstylist, and acupuncturist. Try new healing agents and seek precise magic that enhances and uplifts your energy. I trust you will also call on luxurious indulgences like a massage, a psychic reading, gourmet meals, an emotionally potent movie, exciting new music, and long, slow love-making. Anything else, Sagittarius? Make a list and carry out these tasks with the same verve and determination you would give to any important task.

CAPRICORN: Dec. 22 – Jan. 19

I praise and celebrate you for your skills at helping other people access their resources and activate their potentials. I hope you are rewarded well for your gorgeous service. If you are not, please figure out how to correct the problem in the coming months. If you are feeling extra bold, consider these two additional assignments: 1. Upgrade your skills at helping yourself access your own resources and activate your own potentialS. 2. Be forthright and straightforward in asking the people you help to help you.

LIBRA: Sept. 23 – Oct. 22

The genius polymath Galileo Galilei (1564–1642) contributed much treasure to science and engineering. One encyclopedia sums up his legacy: “He was the father of observational astronomy, modern-era classical physics, the scientific method, and modern science.” Unfortunately, many of Galileo’s ideas conflicted with the teachings of Catholicism. The church fathers hounded him for years, even arresting him and putting him on trial. The Vatican eventually apologized, though not until 350 years after Galileo died. I expect that you, too, will generate many new approaches and possibilities in the coming months, Gemini — not Galileo level, of course, but still: sufficiently unprecedented to rouse the resistance of conventional wisdom. I suspect you won’t have to wait long to be vindicated, however.

CANCER: June 21 – July 22

What’s the over under on teams getting caught up in gambling shenanigans, during March madness? I BELIEVE WE HAVE OBERON

Now would be a perfect time to prove your love. How? You might begin by being extra considerate, sensitive, sweet, and tender. I hope you will add sublime, scintillating touches, too. Maybe you will tell your beloved allies beautiful truths about themselves — revelations that make them feel deeply understood and appreciated. Maybe you will give them gifts or blessings they have wanted for a long time but never managed to get for themselves. It’s possible you will serenade them with their favorite songs, or write a poem or story about them, or buy them a symbol that inspires their spiritual quest. To climax all your kindness, perhaps you will describe the ways they have changed your life for the better.

LEO: July 23 – August 22

Leo naturalist and ornithologist William Henry Hudson (1841–1922) said, “I am not a lover of lawns. Rather would I see daisies in their thousands,

I don’t regard a solar eclipse as a bad omen. On the contrary, I believe it may purge and cleanse stale old karma. On some occasions, I have seen it flush away emotional debts and debris that have been accumulating for years. So how shall we interpret the total solar eclipse that will electrify your astrological house of intimate togetherness in the coming days? I think it’s a favorable time to be brave and daring as you upgrade your best relationships. What habits and patterns are you ready to reinvent and reconfigure? What new approaches are you willing to experiment with?

SCORPIO: Oct. 23 – Nov. 21:

At your best, you Scorpios are not invasive manipulators. Rather, you are catalysts. You are instigators of transformation, resurrectors of dead energy, awakeners of numb minds. The people you influence may not be aware that they long to draw on your influence. They may think you are somehow imposing it on them, when, in fact, you are simply being your genuine, intense self, and they are reaching out to absorb your unruly healing. In the coming weeks, please keep in mind what I’ve said here.

SAGITTARIUS: Nov. 22 – Dec. 21

In my astrological opinion, it’s prime time for you to shower big wild favors on your beautiful self. Get the fun underway with a period of rigorous

The coming days will be a favorable time for you to wrestle with an angel or play chess with a devil. You will have extraordinary power in any showdown or collaboration with spiritual forces. Your practical intelligence will serve you well in encounters with non-rational enigmas and supernatural riddles. Here’s a hot tip: Never assume that any being, human or divine, is holier or wiser than you. You will have a special knack for finding compassionate solutions to address even the knottiest dilemmas.

AQUARIUS: Jan. 20 – Feb. 18

Your featured organ of the month is your nose. This may sound beyond the scope of predictable possibilities, but I’m serious: You will make robust decisions and discriminating choices if you get your sniffer fully involved. So I advise you to favor and explore whatever smells good. Cultivate a nuanced appreciation for what aromas can reveal. If there’s a hint of a stink or an odd tang, go elsewhere. The saying “follow your nose” is especially applicable. P.S.: I recommend you take steps to expose yourself to a wide array of scents that energize you and boost your mood.

PISCES: Feb.19 – March 20

When is the best time to ask for a raise or an increase in benefits?

Can astrology reveal favorable periods for being aggressive about getting more of what you want? In the system I use, the time that’s 30 to 60 days after your birthday is most likely to generate good results. Another phase is 210 to 240 days after your birthday. Keep in mind that these estimates may be partly fanciful and playful and mythical. But then in my philosophy, fanciful and playful and mythical actions have an honored place. Selffulfilling prophecies are more likely to be fulfilled if you regard them as fun experiments rather than serious, literal rules.

Homework: Imagine that everything and everyplace in your life are holy.

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