Jess Calarco

@jessicacalarco

Sociologist. Author. Professor. Roosevelt Institute Fellow. Expert on families, schools, kids, privilege, and power. Bylines in NYT, WaPo, MSNBC, Atlantic, etc. "Other countries have social safety nets. The US has women." www.jessicacalarco.com

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Jess Calarco@jessicacalarco· 26d

Hearing about the men, women, and children incarcerated at Kilmainham Gaol (for stealing bread, begging, drawing political cartoons...), about their inhumane treatment, and about the revolutionary energy that inhumanity generated, it was easy to see parallels to US prisons & detention centers today.

Graffiti carved into the plaster by political prisoners at Kilmainham Gaol

Jess Calarco@jessicacalarco· 26d

Kilmainham Gaol might be the most moving place I've ever visited. Built in the 1780s, expanded in the 1800s, and in full use through the 1920s, it represents not only the sordid history of prison "reform" but also the horrors of colonialism and the long, bloody struggle for Irish independence.

The panopticon-style wing of the prison added in the 1800s, which includes memorials to the members of the Easter Uprising of 1916--the Irish republican activists who signed a declaration of independence and were executed on the grounds of the gaol by the British officials running the prison

A small, dark cell in the oldest wing of the prison, built in the 1780s, as part of the Protestant "prison reform" movement, based on the belief that prison should be a place for the "reform" of incarcerated people. The proponents of this model believed that such reform could be achieved only through solitude (23 hours a day), silence (24 hours a day), and prayer (including Bible reading). So, initially, incarcerated people (including men, women, and children as young as 5) were placed one to a cell. However, in the wake of British economic exploitation and political oppression, the gaol quickly became overcrowded, and cells designed for one held four or five. Conditions became even worse when the gaol became a holding pen for "criminals" scheduled for deportation to the Australian penal colonies, often for "crimes" like begging or stealing bread. Even when the new wing was built in the 1800s, this older one remained in operation, and mostly held women and children.

A cross marking the place in the prison yard where the signers of the 1916 Irish declaration of independence were executed by British officials. One of the men executed was so badly injured in the revolutionary battle that he couldn't even stand to face the firing line and had to be tied to a chair. Another, Joseph Plunkett, was married in the prison the day before his execution, and his wife, Grace Gifford, was later incarcerated at the gaol, too, for her political cartoons, which were labeled by the British as "seditious propaganda."

The mural painted by Grace Plunkett in her cell at the gaol, during her incarceration following the 1916 Easter Uprising, for producing political cartoons critical of the British government

Jess Calarco@jessicacalarco· 26d

Here are my kids on the 5-hour train we took from Bucharest to Barlad (near Moldova's border) to surprise my brother at his wedding (my sister-in-law was in on the surprise). Because of travel issues, we just barely made it to the wedding in time. And we definitely wouldn't have if we checked bags.

My then 1 and 4 year old on a train in fancy wedding attire

Jess Calarco@jessicacalarco· 27d

Silver lining: the kids are being incredibly sweet to each other, despite all the chaos and the (going-on-five-hour) delays.

My 12-year-old picking up my 9-year-old in a big hug

Jess Calarco@jessicacalarco· 27d

At Trinity College, three of us opted to find a bench in the shade to eat our lunches, while the 12-year-old opted for the grass, and seeing her on the green, it was hard not to get teary-eyed thinking about how her own college years aren't that far away.

My 12-year-old sitting on the quad at Trinity College, eating her lunch.

Jess Calarco@jessicacalarco· 28d

When you're awake before the swans.

Photo of the sun coming up over the harbor in Galway, with colorful buildings illuminated along the waterfront and swans sleeping in the water with their necks draped back over their shoulders onto their backs

Jess Calarco@jessicacalarco· 29d

Spending tonight in the basement of a 600-year-old castle, in a bed built from a confessional repurposed from a French church.

The entrance to our castle rooms, where a lot of the stone and plaster is original to the building, and where some of the decor is 400 years old

The bed built from a confessional box, in a domed plaster room

The kitchen with some original stone and plaster work

Jess Calarco@jessicacalarco· Jul 12

So, how should I represent Lindsey Graham? A hawk? A flip flop?

Stitch-the-news daily news diary with embroidered icons representing a major news story of each day

Jess Calarco@jessicacalarco· Jul 10

In striking contrast to what happened in Moygashel, the nationalist side of the border in Belfast has a Solidarity Wall, linking the political oppression of Catholics in the North of Ireland to the political oppression of Palestinians.

Jess Calarco@jessicacalarco· Jul 10

We learned from our Black Cab Tour guide that bonfires in the loyalist neighborhoods of Belfast often burn Irish flags and effigies of Irish nationalist activists and politicians, along with effigies of new Catholic immigrants to Northern Ireland. Here are some from coverage of last year's fires:

News article with image of a burning bonfire in a loyalist neighborhood of Belfast, with an effigy of immigrants in a boat and a sign saying "stop the boats"

News article with image of a burning bonfire in a loyalist neighborhood of Belfast, with Irish flags burning

News article with image of a burning bonfire in a loyalist neighborhood of Belfast, with an Irish slogan burning

News article with image of a burning bonfire in a loyalist neighborhood of Belfast, with a kneecap effigy burning

Jess Calarco@jessicacalarco· Jul 10

I was in Belfast last week, and it was striking to see evidence of the tensions that still cut through the city--in the gates that still lock every night to separate loyalist from nationalist neighborhoods, and in the bonfire towers going up in loyalist neighborhoods in preparation for July 11th.

One of the gates separating Catholic and Protestant neighborhoods in Belfast, showing the daily hours

The fences on the Catholic/nationalist side of border, and the cages on the backs of houses abutting the fences to protect the houses from projectiles thrown from the other side. The neighborhood here was burned to the ground by a loyalist mob in the late 1960s--more than 1,000 people displaced-- helping to prompt the demonstrations that led to Bloody Sunday.

One of the many bonfire towers going up in loyalist neighborhoods for July 11th

Our tour guide told us this is one of the "kiddie bonfires" that'll be lit early for kids who can't stay up until midnight

Jess Calarco@jessicacalarco· Jul 10

Sunrise over Galway Bay.

Jess Calarco@jessicacalarco· Jul 9

A misty morning run.

The view from a run along Lough Gill, near Sligo in Ireland, where the mist was so thick I couldn't see the mountains across the lake

Jess Calarco@jessicacalarco· Jul 9

There once were two kids on a road trip; Packed lunch but had nowhere to eat it. So, they sat in the trunk, Food ate, and drinks drunk. Twas a good way to stay on a budget. (When in Limerick...)

My kids in the trunk of our rental car, in a parking lot outside of Limerick, eating their lunches, after touring Bunratty Castle.

Jess Calarco@jessicacalarco· Jul 7

Yes.

Jess Calarco@jessicacalarco· Jul 7

And of course, every cow, too.

Two cows in a field behind some barbed wire at the start of the trail to the Caves of Keshcorran

Jess Calarco@jessicacalarco· Jul 7

My 12-year-old wants to stop for a photo of every sheep we see in Ireland.

My 12-year-old taking a photo of the sheep at the top of Sliabh Liag, the highest cliffs in Ireland

Jess Calarco@jessicacalarco· Jul 7

Sometimes they like each other ❤️

My kids, smiling and laughing together as they walk down the street behind me--my younger one eating Gelato and my older one drinking a lime Jarritos.

Jess Calarco@jessicacalarco· Jul 7

Somehow, both kids are smiling, despite the fact that we woke them up early for a very steep hike.

My kids at the top of the trail to the Keshcorran Caves, with sheep dotting the steep green hills below

My husband and my 12-year-old in front of the entrance to the caves

The view from the trail, out over rolling hills of farms

Jess Calarco@jessicacalarco· Jul 6

Kind of horrified to see that the hot rollers my mom used when I was a kid are now old enough to be featured in a museum.

A plastic plug-in container with metal rods and hot rollers for hair curling.

Jess Calarco@jessicacalarco· Jul 6

Very cool! We did the bridge, too : )

Jess Calarco@jessicacalarco· Jul 5

Possibly the most otherworldly geological formation I've ever seen. (The hexagonal basalt columns of the Giants' Causeway on the north coast of Ireland).

Jess Calarco@jessicacalarco· Jul 5

Week 26 (plus an extra couple days) of my stitch-the-news daily news diary included: A giraffe A Richter scale chart A set of imbalanced scales An athlete The Empire State Building A National Park patch A diamond ring A broken ferris wheel

Embroidered icons representing:

A giraffe for Gracie, who was living her best life before being found in Texas
A Richter scale chart for the earthquake in Venezuela
A set of imbalanced scales for the Supreme Court's ruling on independent agencies
An athlete for the Supreme Court's anti-trans ruling
The Empire State Building for the climbers who scaled it, and then proposed marriage on top
A National Park patch for the Supreme Court's ruling that Trump can rewrite the parks' history material
A diamond ring for Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's wedding
A broken ferris wheel for Trump's debacle of an attempt at a celebration of 250 years of the US

Jess Calarco@jessicacalarco· Jul 4

It also wouldn't be a Calarco family vacation without at least one 30,000+ step day

Jess Calarco@jessicacalarco· Jul 4

It feels both fitting and somehow melancholic to be spending today in the place my immigrant ancestors left in search of a better life.

A photo of the cliffs on the north coast of Ireland, with lush green vegetation on dark rocks over turquoise water

Jess Calarco@jessicacalarco· Jul 4

It wouldn't be a Calarco family vacation without a hike up some very steep stairs.

My husband and my kids hiking up steep stone steps

The view from partway up the steps, looking down over green cliffs and basalt columns to the ocean

Jess Calarco@jessicacalarco· Jul 3

Hmm. I suspect it's an upload issue on my end (my data coverage has been pretty hit or miss).

Three tiny slant-roof cottages, on rolling green hills in front of a blue sky

Jess Calarco@jessicacalarco· Jul 3

A bit of bliss

Rolling clouds over a flowery meadow, with the ocean in the distance

Jess Calarco@jessicacalarco· Jul 2

OOO message unlocked.

Thanks for your message! I'm currently out of the office, trading paper deadlines, academic disputes, and review requests for screen time negotiations, sibling conflicts, and snack demands while attempting aninternational "vacation" with my kids.

To that end, I'll be checking email less regularly (or at least more distractedly) than usual until XXX, and I appreciate your patience with my response,
Best Wishes,
Jess

Jess Calarco@jessicacalarco· Jul 1

To process the chaos, I'm spending a few minutes each night stitching a news diary--embroidering tiny icons representing an important story of the day. June brings us to the upside-down, both literally and figuratively, given all the wildly destabilizing news we've had in this past month.