Sophia Babai
@swingingstorm.bsky.social
Author | Activist | Cultural consultant | Somatic creativity coach | Sufi mystic
🇮🇷 🇹🇿 🇮🇳 🇦🇫 🇵🇸 🇦🇿 (my ancestors really got around)
Posts about books, human rights, chaos baking, history/poetry/folklore, and other nerd stuff
Rep Seth Fishman
🇮🇷 🇹🇿 🇮🇳 🇦🇫 🇵🇸 🇦🇿 (my ancestors really got around)
Posts about books, human rights, chaos baking, history/poetry/folklore, and other nerd stuff
Rep Seth Fishman
Pinned
My mom and stepdad are from the same diaspora group as Zohran Mamdani’s dad (same like “my stepdad was kicked out of the same town and knows some of his classmates”) and apparently the New York Times doesn’t understand how diaspora works, so I am going to tell you a little about my mom’s people!
Reposted by Sophia Babai
I did it!!!
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee fewer than twenty pages left to edit eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
February 11, 2026 at 2:31 AM
I did it!!!
Delighted that I immediately recognize (and wholeheartedly agree with!) the two books in the summary
February 11, 2026 at 10:29 PM
Delighted that I immediately recognize (and wholeheartedly agree with!) the two books in the summary
When you say "powerful"
February 11, 2026 at 9:12 PM
When you say "powerful"
I did it!!!
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee fewer than twenty pages left to edit eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
February 11, 2026 at 2:31 AM
I did it!!!
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee fewer than twenty pages left to edit eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
February 10, 2026 at 3:01 PM
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee fewer than twenty pages left to edit eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Reposted by Sophia Babai
American views on Palestine are a striking social experiment in the difference between people caring about morality (e.g. "not violently oppressing an entire population on the basis of religion / ethnicity") and people caring about what they have been told is moral (e.g. "not criticizing Israel")
February 8, 2026 at 12:10 AM
American views on Palestine are a striking social experiment in the difference between people caring about morality (e.g. "not violently oppressing an entire population on the basis of religion / ethnicity") and people caring about what they have been told is moral (e.g. "not criticizing Israel")
Reposted by Sophia Babai
Apparently the majority of the American public draws this line at genocide. This is heartening. Obvious caveats (wish it were a greater majority, wish it had happened sooner), but still heartening.
February 8, 2026 at 12:11 AM
Apparently the majority of the American public draws this line at genocide. This is heartening. Obvious caveats (wish it were a greater majority, wish it had happened sooner), but still heartening.
Thank you :) I did in fact initially write "a Latino" but it's very intentional that it was a Latino who speaks only Spanish, openly wants Puerto Rican independence, etc so I changed it to Bad Bunny and forgot to remove the a 🫣
That would be a delightful crew!
That would be a delightful crew!
February 10, 2026 at 1:38 AM
Thank you :) I did in fact initially write "a Latino" but it's very intentional that it was a Latino who speaks only Spanish, openly wants Puerto Rican independence, etc so I changed it to Bad Bunny and forgot to remove the a 🫣
That would be a delightful crew!
That would be a delightful crew!
for resistance, rather than a way the ruling class is co-opting and commodifying resistance. To quote Lena Khalaf Tuffaha:
"Every empire denies the iceberg
it crashes into, hires a chorus, funds the arts.
Every empire sings itself a lullaby."
"Every empire denies the iceberg
it crashes into, hires a chorus, funds the arts.
Every empire sings itself a lullaby."
February 10, 2026 at 1:16 AM
for resistance, rather than a way the ruling class is co-opting and commodifying resistance. To quote Lena Khalaf Tuffaha:
"Every empire denies the iceberg
it crashes into, hires a chorus, funds the arts.
Every empire sings itself a lullaby."
"Every empire denies the iceberg
it crashes into, hires a chorus, funds the arts.
Every empire sings itself a lullaby."
"He might be playing them" in particular is simply not how that works. They made the conscious intentional choice to hire him while knowing his beliefs, and of course he's going to use that platform to express his beliefs. Again, very classic. The danger comes when people mistake this as a victory
February 10, 2026 at 1:13 AM
"He might be playing them" in particular is simply not how that works. They made the conscious intentional choice to hire him while knowing his beliefs, and of course he's going to use that platform to express his beliefs. Again, very classic. The danger comes when people mistake this as a victory
I also trust that you already understand the difference between an individual's personal beliefs and a system's ability to co-opt them -- if not, that's also pretty easy to research. Again, all of this is very classic, so it's very easy to learn about if you're interested in learning :)
February 10, 2026 at 1:12 AM
I also trust that you already understand the difference between an individual's personal beliefs and a system's ability to co-opt them -- if not, that's also pretty easy to research. Again, all of this is very classic, so it's very easy to learn about if you're interested in learning :)
Yes, exactly. Many Black celebrities didn't support Nixon, but they still operated within a system that oppressed the Black masses while uplifting a few Black celebrities. That's a great example of what I'm talking about.
February 10, 2026 at 1:11 AM
Yes, exactly. Many Black celebrities didn't support Nixon, but they still operated within a system that oppressed the Black masses while uplifting a few Black celebrities. That's a great example of what I'm talking about.
Yes, exactly my point: commodifying resistance. Bad Bunny represents resistance.
Research the history of how empire takes prominent anti-empire celebrities and elevates them in order to appease / diffuse resistance movements. It's all very classic.
Research the history of how empire takes prominent anti-empire celebrities and elevates them in order to appease / diffuse resistance movements. It's all very classic.
February 9, 2026 at 9:42 PM
Yes, exactly my point: commodifying resistance. Bad Bunny represents resistance.
Research the history of how empire takes prominent anti-empire celebrities and elevates them in order to appease / diffuse resistance movements. It's all very classic.
Research the history of how empire takes prominent anti-empire celebrities and elevates them in order to appease / diffuse resistance movements. It's all very classic.
Omg I promise I know his name is “Bad Bunny” not “a Bad Bunny,” my kingdom for an edit button!
February 9, 2026 at 5:18 PM
Omg I promise I know his name is “Bad Bunny” not “a Bad Bunny,” my kingdom for an edit button!
(Notice as well how specific and strategic they are about who to highlight and who to erase — there’s also a reason the man who waved Palestinian and Sudanese flags during Kendrick’s show was arrested and banned for life.)
February 9, 2026 at 5:18 PM
(Notice as well how specific and strategic they are about who to highlight and who to erase — there’s also a reason the man who waved Palestinian and Sudanese flags during Kendrick’s show was arrested and banned for life.)
This isn’t unusual. South Africa had Black models and stars during the worst of apartheid. India‘s most famous actors are largely Muslim despite the nation’s increasing violence against Muslims. They want to contain our anger through public ritual, and also they want to make money off of it.
February 9, 2026 at 5:15 PM
This isn’t unusual. South Africa had Black models and stars during the worst of apartheid. India‘s most famous actors are largely Muslim despite the nation’s increasing violence against Muslims. They want to contain our anger through public ritual, and also they want to make money off of it.
You can enjoy the Halftime show, but please resist the urge to romanticize it. The ruling class commodifies resistance, too. There’s a reason they chose a Bad Bunny while Latinos are being forced into concentration camps, just as they chose Black artists during the Black Lives Matter protests.
February 9, 2026 at 5:14 PM
You can enjoy the Halftime show, but please resist the urge to romanticize it. The ruling class commodifies resistance, too. There’s a reason they chose a Bad Bunny while Latinos are being forced into concentration camps, just as they chose Black artists during the Black Lives Matter protests.
Did we win?
I don't know anything about sports and I will not be watching the 🦉 and indeed I'm not sure who the other team is but go Seahawks!!
February 9, 2026 at 4:17 PM
Did we win?
I don't know who they are but screw them! \o/
February 9, 2026 at 12:34 AM
I don't know who they are but screw them! \o/
I don't know anything about sports and I will not be watching the 🦉 and indeed I'm not sure who the other team is but go Seahawks!!
February 9, 2026 at 12:21 AM
I don't know anything about sports and I will not be watching the 🦉 and indeed I'm not sure who the other team is but go Seahawks!!
\o/ Seattle represent
February 9, 2026 at 12:20 AM
\o/ Seattle represent
Idk I'm having fun not knowing
February 9, 2026 at 12:19 AM
Idk I'm having fun not knowing