Erasure

By: Gabriela Yareliz

Candace Owens led an interesting discussion around the attempted erasure of ancestry. Cue the Cracker Barrel controversy. (Truly one of my favorite places to be. I heavily considered planning a wedding party there).

“It’s a spiritual attack on the idea of ancestry. Nothing can be old. Everything must be new. They want everybody to look the same; there will be no personality in anything. They will turn us into AI bots— [this] is actually the explicit goal. You may not realize that. […] Even the way they are making homes. It’s ugly. Everything is ugly. There is a reason for that. They don’t want you to think that structures existed. They want you to think you are just floating through the wind and nothing matters. Your family doesn’t matter; ancestry doesn’t matter. Everything yesterday is gone.” Candace Owens

As I heard her say this, I was reminded of a conversation I had recently along the same themes, except my conversation had to do with government and political erasure of ethnicity, language and family history/culture in colonialism and communism. Owens’ description could fit into a description of communism as well. Modern society mirrors some of communism’s absurdities. Truly.

Differences carry identity, power and strength. They give identity outside of politics. They are a threat to desperate power. They are complicated to navigate. This is why systems seek their erasure. The human default is to always seek what is convenient or easy.

Owens described those who protested the Cracker Barrel logo and aesthetic as those who recognized it has been a year of “some BS.” And no, we are not over the Epstein files situation.

Owens calls this the “Plantation of sameness.”

She continued saying, society’s message is:

“We are getting rid of AP classes; there will be no honors classes; no test scores. We aren’t even gonna track how stupid we are making your kids, anymore.”

I talk about this societal decline with my husband all the time.

It’s easy to make erasure seem virtuous and to keep groups of people down by having them feel like victims. If you are going to win in life, victimhood can’t be your only identity. It’s time minorities understand this, and celebrate their true identities and the strength one finds within that. A positive identity is strength.

This is a unique country that is a mosaic of culture. The future should not be the erasure of the unique identities or the division of those identities. It should be a unity while standing in our differences. Isn’t that the great American experiment? The freedom to remain who you are while coming together under one flag and set of universal moral virtues?

Owens is right, the people said you are not getting rid of the old man sitting next to the barrel. No one was more outraged than Southerners— the warmest people this country has to offer. They made corporate bow down after making them lose millions.

People on all ends are tired of erasure and the demonization of our differences. Cracker Barrel united Americans. We know who we are, and that won’t be erased. You can’t give us some generic Denny’s aesthetic. As one meme said during the controversy— give us hoarding memaw or nothing.

Cracker Barrel embodies American principles— rural grit, family and excess. The threat of its erasure was a reminder that every piece of the mosaic counts, and it makes up this great flag.

All of It

“Fall in love and stay in love.

Explode. Don’t intellectualize. Get passionate about ideas. Cram your head full of images… Stay off the internet and all that crap. Read all the great books.

Read all the great poetry. See all the great films. Fill your life with metaphors. And then, explode.”

Ray Bradbury

Podcasts of the Week 9/4/25

By: Gabriela Yareliz

Happy Thursday! Given the short week and packed trains (thanks to school restarting), we are all disoriented.

I see tiny kids in new outfits and sweaters they will regret later in the warmer parts of the day. There is a woman with a visor that extends at least a foot away from her face. A standing man holding onto nothing but his Wall Street Journal. Yesterday, I saw a frail skinny elderly woman get on the train. She approached a seat and immediately whipped out a seat cushion, and then, plopped down on it. An icon. There was also a sticker that read “Cuomo go harass some other city.” Amen.

There is a man who has a 90s Backstreet Boy haircut. He draws on the thickest eyebrows we have ever seen collectively. It’s akin to my blush blindness but more dramatic. I wonder what his face looks like in the rain. Hopefully, it’s waterproof. His goatee is also bold. I swear he spray paints it.

Some good podcast episodes emerged this week:

There was the HSR podcast with the Arrae founders. Arrae is set to exceed $100m. It was a reminder that building a team that wins can be fun.

Andy Frisella did Real Talk (The Illusion of Permission) and reminded us of what it takes to succeed. It’s brutal, but one can’t operate off of anything but reality if you are going to win the game of life.

Theo Von interviewed a “Young Amish Male” on rumspringa. This interview was gold. The discussion around first cousins was priceless, and Theo Von was made to have this conversation. It was lighthearted, educational and had the dose of innocence only Theo can bring. This was a reminder to laugh and smile.

If you haven’t watched or listened to Alex Ikonn and Asma Khan— you shouldn’t miss that gem. Find it here.

We are almost to Friday. And just like the week is winding down, this train is emptying out. I spy a seat!

The Right Question

By: Gabriela Yareliz

I was on a coaching call not long ago, and as a particular issue was being discussed, the coach’s question was:

“What does love do next?”

You could have heard a pin drop.

That’s a profound question. We so often do things from our false self and ego— but what does love do next?

It stayed with me. I am clearly still thinking about it. It’s a question worth asking.

How to be Remembered

“I believe, wholeheartedly, that when it comes to caring for people, “chill” won’t cut it. In fact, I think I reject nonchalance in nearly every aspect of my life. Care about things! Big things! Be incredibly curious and deeply interested! Solve real problems! Read, drink, eat, go, do—with muchness! At the end of my life, I want to be remembered as a moment-maker for my family, friends, and strangers alike — as someone who brought people together and gave them wind at their backs as they left feeling full.”
— From the Dinner Party Directory

The One Who Learns the Most

By: Gabriela Yareliz

Back-to-school season is upon us. Fall is in the air early. (Usually, NYC is at a low simmer during this time of the year). The trash is usually roasting, and us pedestrians are one shove away from landing in a boiling heap of trash bags, and surrendering because the heat has drained our will to live. Instead, we have the gift of 60-degree weather. We are giddy.

This weather makes me want to drink a hot tea, eat warm comfort food and watch an Arthur Thanksgiving special. Autumn arrives, and I COME ALIVE. ✨

This time of the year comes in with a heavy dose of nostalgia, but also, with the tickle of wanting to learn new things. I mean, what is life if not an eternal pursuit of truth and knowledge?

James Clear had a fabulous quote the other day about the ones who learn the most:

“The person who learns the most in any classroom is the teacher. 

If you really want to learn a topic, then “teach” it. Write a book. Teach a class. Build a product. Start a company.

The act of making something will force you to learn more deeply than reading ever will.”

As the temps drop, may we drop into learning mode. Pick something. Master it.

“Being ready is a myth. You start. You just do it. You suck. You figure it out.

You get better. And you do it again.” Dara Kaye

Goosebumps

“Because if a man selling tomatoes at a market can look me in the eye, show me his goosebumps, and say, “I adore my life” – then maybe that’s what we should all be striving for. Not perfection, not recognition, not more. Just a life that gives us goosebumps.” Chloé Crane-Leroux