THINKING ABOUT: MOTHERS & CRYPTO
What’s the connection between mothers and crypto? Other than, as Forster so beautifully captured, mothers are quite non fungible?
In this week’s issue of Smesher we explore the connection between mothers (and by “mothers” we mean anyone who mothers or parents) and crypto, in our somewhat associative style. We hope you’ll find it inspiring and thought provoking.
But before we dive in, here are two updates about last week’s issue: First, we had to remove one of the art-stories, since the artist featured in it feared political persecution. The second and happier update is about Kashmiri rapper Mehak Ashraf. One of her fans contacted us, to let us know she is alive and kicking (ass) on her new Instagram. And now, mothers & crypto.
Mothers DAO: Big Green
Stephen Colbert famously asked Elon Musk whether he was a superhero or a supervillain. Well, we leave it up to you to decide. His brother, however, Kimbal Musk, sure looks like a good guy, being the founder of Big Green DAO.
Big Green is worth noticing for at least two reasons: One is that they are the first nonprofit-led philanthropic DAO —
a direction we hope to see more of in the future. The second is, that Big Green focuses on Earth, our collective primordial mother. Big Green supports initiatives that teach people to grow food. The idea is, that growing your own food improves nutrition security and mental health. And also, that the time spent outdoors cultivates a deeper appreciation for our collective impact on the climate.
In 2001, Big Green spent almost a million dollars on school gardens, in order to get school kids to spend time outdoors. They also granted the Global Growers Network, an organization started by a group of refugee women who wanted to reconnect with the land and reclaim their agricultural heritage. To learn more, visit Big Green organization and DAO.
Mothers Merch: NFT
The thought about mothers being non fungible, made us think of this cute tee 👇
But also of this heart-wrenching NFT 👇
Mothers NFT: MOTHER
The childhood story of Italian pop singer-songwriter GionnyScandal is quite heartbreaking. Clearly, it hasn’t held him back. But we feel this first NFT of his tells the whole story. It sold for 2ETH shortly after it listed on Foundation. We’re waiting for someone to start a DAO that collects mother-related NFTs, sells them for a profit, and donates the crypto to motherless children. If you are that person, let us know. We promise to help.
P.S.
The ink hadn’t dried on this newsletter when Maxity announced its launch. It’s an NFT marketplace “with a charitable aim”. Looking forward to seeing where it goes.
Mothers Empowered: Crypto Explained
They say that one of the most important feminist actions one can take is educating one’s children. Bobby Wegner wrote an entire book about it: Raising Feminist Boys: How to Talk to Your Child About Gender, Consent, and Empathy. And Bibi van der Zee, of The Guardian, wrote a great column about it, A feminist's guide to raising boys.
However, it goes the other way too. We mean from the kids to the parents. Educating our parents about crypto and NFTs is an act of feminism — as long as you understand feminism to include compassion and inclusiveness — as it brings them into the conversation, instead of leaving them behind. Which in our mind is the bare minimum you can do for someone who changed your diapers.
Emmy award-winning journalist, Joanna Stern, who is also a mom and a daughter, did exactly that. She minted an NFT out of her kids’ drawing, and gifted it to her mom! Watch this great video she made, and share it with anyone who still doesn’t get NFTs.
Mothers Food For Thought: The Three Mothers
“The mother is the first teacher of the child. The message she gives that child, that child gives to the world.” Malcolm X
This quote is taken from the book The Three Mothers: How the Mothers of Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation. Doesn’t the mere name of this book, by Anna Malaika Tubbs, make you want to read it? But also ask yourself, how is it that I didn’t know their names were Louise Little, Alberta King and Berdis Baldwin? We didn’t either. But now we can learn about these three inspiring women, thanks to Tubbs, who pieced together what she could from the “margins and footnotes” of books, speeches, funeral programs, and letters. Follow her on Twitter!
That’s it
For today. We are thankful to everyone who inspired this newsletter, and to you for taking the time to read it. Please subscribe, leave comments, share with friends and let us know your thoughts. Team Smesher.