Collected Item: “Laura Larson Oral History, 2021/02/21”
Title
Laura Larson
Who conducted the interview? List all names, separated by comma.
Kit Heintzman
Who was interviewed? List all names, separated by commas.
Laura Larson
Email Address(es) for all interviewers. Separated by comma.
kheintzman@gmail.com
Use one-word hashtags (separated by commas) to describe your oral history. For example: Where did it originate? How does this object make you feel? How does this object relate to the pandemic?
#queer, #Minneapolis, #selfcare, #trauma, #activism, #foodjustice, #music, #arts, #GeorgeFloyd, #healthinsurance, #masks, #climate
What is the format of your recording?
Video
In what ZIP code is the primary residence of the interviewee? (enter 5-digit ZIP code; for example, 00544 or 94305)? In what city/town/village does the interviewee live? In what country does the interviewee live? All comma-separated.
Minneapolis, Minnesota
What is the gender of the interviewee? Be sure to allow interviewees to self-identify their gender in the pre-interview or interview. *Do not assign a gender identity to interviewees.*
female
What is the age of the interviewee?
35 to 44
How does the interviewee describe their race or ethnicity? Be sure to allow interviewees to self-identify their race/ethnicity in the pre-interview or interview. *Do not assign a racial or ethnic identity to interviewees.*
white
Describe the oral history.
Self description: “My name is Laura, and I am in two bands right now. I am in a band called Scrunchies and a band called Kitten Forever. I play guitar, base, drums, and I sing in those two bands. I live in Minneapolis, Minnesota. For work, I work at a community cooperative grocery store, in an administrative position, but one that is community outreach based and have a lot to do with meeting and coordinating with our community partners, a lot of the work that I do is about mutual aid, and helping out the community with the resources that we have available to us. Besides that I am a visual artist, I like to paint, I like to draw, I like to read books, and I live in a little duplex with my partner and our cat Sissy.”
Some of the things we spoke about included:
- In addition to performing in the bands Scrunchies and Kitten Forever, working for a community grocer and its ties to health activism.
- Income and racial disparities in Minnesota.
- The fear that comes with being uninsured in the United States.
- The national confusion around the values of masking and other safety precautions and the burden placed on individuals to make these decisions in the absence of clear and consistent messaging.
- The significance of shutting down music events while keeping sporting events going.
- Media representation of event cancelations, freezers of bodies, and overwhelmed hospitals.
- Living less than a mile from where George Floyd was murdered and movements to defund the police.
- How the ongoing destruction of the earth conditioned the pandemic and the enduring importance of climate change.
- Grocery store workers being essential workers who still did not receive vaccination prioritization.
- Collective trauma and that fear begets fear.
- Making and consuming art as a form of self-care.
- How new the internet still is as a technology.
Cultural references: Save Our Stages, The Atlantic article “Cancel Everything”.
See also:
https://scrunchies.bandcamp.com/
https://kittenforever.bandcamp.com
Some of the things we spoke about included:
- In addition to performing in the bands Scrunchies and Kitten Forever, working for a community grocer and its ties to health activism.
- Income and racial disparities in Minnesota.
- The fear that comes with being uninsured in the United States.
- The national confusion around the values of masking and other safety precautions and the burden placed on individuals to make these decisions in the absence of clear and consistent messaging.
- The significance of shutting down music events while keeping sporting events going.
- Media representation of event cancelations, freezers of bodies, and overwhelmed hospitals.
- Living less than a mile from where George Floyd was murdered and movements to defund the police.
- How the ongoing destruction of the earth conditioned the pandemic and the enduring importance of climate change.
- Grocery store workers being essential workers who still did not receive vaccination prioritization.
- Collective trauma and that fear begets fear.
- Making and consuming art as a form of self-care.
- How new the internet still is as a technology.
Cultural references: Save Our Stages, The Atlantic article “Cancel Everything”.
See also:
https://scrunchies.bandcamp.com/
https://kittenforever.bandcamp.com
On what date did you record this oral history?
2021-02-21T16:35