New York Magazine - 19.08.2019 - 01.09.2019

28 THECUTAUGUSTSEPTEMBER,

 Illustration byLAUREN TAMAKI

FEED

since her inauguration,when she promised

to impeach Donald Trump, Michigan representative

Rashida Tlaib has proved herself to be perhaps the

fiercest of the progressive freshmen “Squad,” refusing

to hold back whether she’s taking on the president or

her own party.

unfluencer posting like it’s her job even when

it’s not? Does she think she looks good in all

those jumpsuits, or does she keep posing in

them because she likes the comments? Is she

just angling for free stuff? And then my mind

wanders to the macro questions: Does the

ubiquity of a certain kind of self-regarding

taste water down its appeal?

I’m being dramatic and dramatically petty,

which of course is its own kind of pleasure. But

that’s also part of the pernicious effect of the

unfluencer. It is inherently a lonely pursuit.

There’s something satisfying about feeling like

you’re the only one who doesn’t think this per-

son is as cool as the rest of the world does. It’s a

little like “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” but

instead I’m forcing myself to breathe deeply

through my rage at a woman who keeps tagging every

caftan she wears like she is the queen of sack dresses.

There is clarity in knowing what doesn’t do

it for you. The breaking point for me always

hinges on the unfluencer’s taste’s not being

what she thinks it is. But my being provoked

probably has less to do with the narcissism I

perceive on the unfluencer’s part than with my

own: I’m not as original as I wish to be; my

taste is not as interesting and refined as I think

it is. I can hear my mother’s voice in my head

telling me, circa grade school, “The things you

hate are usually the things you do yourself.”

The unfluencer has the ability to bring up some

big, primal emotions—fear, frustration, terri-

toriality, disappointment. So who cares if

I can’t order a Negroni without cringing? I

should credit her in the end for allowing me to

better understand myself. The unfluencer

makes me dig into my psyche as well as my old analyst

did, and she does it all for free. ■

On being told she needs

to “wait her turn” to change

things in Congress:I say,

“Is there a line?” I really

want to change people’s lives

immediately.

Onme er

mento

congresswomanBarbara

Lee:I meet with her

every month. I love that she

understands why I’m angry

and allows me to embrace it

and to use it for good.

On showing emotion at work:

I’ve cried in the legislature.

I think my residents have seen

me er

talk c ld

not have been more than

4 years old, who I saw when

I took a trip to a border

detention center in Texas

[on] a trip down there with

a congressional delegation,

I just start crying again.

The image won’t go away.

On being tweeted about by

Trump:It fuels me to be

stronger and more courageous

when my residents say

“Be careful, you’re going to take

a lot of heat for this or that.”

I say, “Well, you didn’t elect me

to function from a place of

fear. I will always outwork the

hate. You wanted someone that

would hit the ground running.”

But they don’t like it when he

tweets about their member

of Congress. Especially because

he’s not focused on my policy

agenda. He’s focused on

my ethnicity, my background.

Onwhatshedoestorelax:

I love going to my brother’s and

just hanging out. When I

do, we have a rule: When I say,

“Okay, last question,” then

we have to stop [talking

about my work]. I want to talk

egular things like

ody else.

On unwinding at the end of

the day:I don’t really unplug

when I’m in D.C., because it’s

mostly late nights and early

mornings. I watched the final

season ofGameofThrones,

which my staff loved because

they’re all obsessed with it.

As for books, I just finished

The Subtle Art of Not Giving

a F*ck,byMarkManson.

On bringing her sons to

Congress:My eldest, he spent

the whole day with me

yesterday. And he wanted to

stay—they were talking about

divesting from fossil fuels.

Chairwoman [Maxine] Waters

was in the room. And she

always hugs him. He’s going to

be 14 soon, and he’s like,

“Oh my God, she’s always

hugging me!” I said, “Well, you

know moms, let them hug

you.” He turned to [her] and

said, “If I let you hug me, can

I stay for this meeting?”

Onwhatcomesnext:

Whatever happens between

now and 2020 won’t be

about my career or my future;

it’ll be about ensuring I’ve

made a meaningful difference

in the lives of residents in my

district, that I did everything

I could on their behalf.

Extremely

handsome guy

wearing black

pants cropped

right across

his calf muscle

and a bomber

jacket even

though it’s 90

degrees out.

Gray-and-black

socks are pulled

all the way

up his calf, the

tag on his

shirt is hanging

out of the

bomber.

Wearing Vejas,

but the kind

that look more

like Nikes than

anything else.

A teen who

could be cast on

Euphoria

is wearing

yellow flared

pants and

carries a Dior

saddlebag—one

of the original

blue-logoed

ones. Her white

tank top looks

like it was cut

with scissors to

show just a bit

of underboob.

A thin guy with

a pencil mus-

tache is wearing

a bucket hat

in a white ban-

danna print,

a sheer pat-

terned blouse,

and white pants

with so many

zippers that you

can imagine

the Backstreet

Boys wearing

them.

A mother and

daughter—both

with blonde

hair that hits

just below

the shoulders.

The mom has

an Hermès

Evelyne cross-

body bag with

a Dia de los

Muertos felt key

chain. The

daughter is

wearing suede

red shorts

and a blue baby

tee and has

a butterfly clip

in her hair.

How I Get It Done

U.S. Representative

Rashida Tlaib

By Bridget Read

P50toner

Aesophandbalm

No.6clogs

Patagonia fleece

A few more

things prone to

unfluence