Unraveling, with Brooke Baldwin

Dearest Unravelers and Unravelers-to-be – 

Y’all. We are ANGRY. We’re (understandably) angry about a lot of things. I just had a guy roll up to my parked car, bang on my passenger window and ask me — not quite yelling but nearly: “Hey Stupid! Are you gonna move?” Heyyyy Stupidddddd. To a complete stranger. It took everything in me not to jump out of my car and get all up in that guy’s business. “HEY!!! Who are you calling stupid??” I saw it all play out in a nanosecond in my mind. It didn’t end well for me. So I decided to just take a breath and drive off. Turns out the guy just wanted my parking space. But dear-lord-baby-jesus this man was upset… and clearly in pain. And he totally T-boned my nervous system. I’ve done my work. I knew how to breathe through it. Maybe he lost his home in the fire? Maybe his father called him stupid growing up? Maybe he was having a super shit morning? All I know — and this is not scientific just pure BB observation: Americans are fucking angry. What I can’t help but wonder is: what are we going to do about it?

I’ve gotten so many messages from y’all about anger — either anger you’ve observed or <<eh hem>> anger you’ve taken part in. The anger. The shame. (Hell, somehow I felt a touch of shame for a few minutes after my encounter with Mr. Stupid thinking: “Brooke, you’re all about using your voice and standing up for yourself as a woman… and you just drove away?!” Oy. But I still stand by my choice.)

Gee. Perfect time to stop drinking. This was me and my MOCKTAIL this week. 🫠

A quick Google search tells me that America is angrier than ever before, and older generations report higher levels of anger:

• 57% of Baby Boomers say they are "extremely angry." (Mr. Stupid was easily 70 years old.)

• 48% of Generation X report the same.

• 38% of Millennials and 32% of Generation Z identify as "extremely angry." 

Guess which gender is the angriest? Sorry, guys, it’s you.

What is frequently identified as a significant source of stress, anger and anxiety? News consumption.

According to Pew Research, Americans increasingly feel mistrust and hostility toward those with differing political views, in part due to the framing of political news. (I mean, we kinda knew that didn’t we?)

Y’all. I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately.

This may seem weird coming from me (see above) but — turn off the news, y’all. Or, at least, turn it DOWN. Find a way to stay informed, of course. Only you know what a healthy amount of news consumption is for you and your brain and your nervous system. I rarely turn on the TV anymore. I read my news and only in moments when I can really absorb it. I’ve also made a new agreement with Peter. With the exception of him checking his kids’ geographic locations, no phones in bed. I just need it all off at a certain time now — no matter what. Hard boundary. 

Here’s a thought: what if we traded some of our news consumption for getting out? Going to the places where we can get a different, more nutritious type of engagement? Yoga. Church. Activism spaces. Queer country line dancing night (Jaycee, I’m looking at you. WHEN are we going?!). A rave. Sun ☀️Day service (

Natalie Kuhn

). Let’s lean on community and relieve ourselves of the burden of knowing everything, all the time, all at once. We need community. We need each other. 

Speaking of — as my fingers have been flying on my keyboard writing this newsletter, my phone buzzed. It was a text from my friend/documentary producer Christine. It’s as though she read my mind. Here’s what she just sent me from @Sliimkim on IG:

(I wonder what she would think of Candace Owens… but yes Black women roll as one and indeed understood the assignment.)

But to her point about white women and sisterhood — I did something I’ve never done before. And I haven’t stopped thinking about it. KEEP SCROLLING.

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