Need context?
With a special note for Martha-Ann Alito, who needs a reminder which way is up — in every sense of that phrase.
It took a tiebreaking round against the other remaining competitor, but at the end of the 2024 Scripps National Spelling Bee, St. Pete-based Bruhat Soma correctly spelled 29 out of 30 words correctly, trouncing Faizan Zaki from Texas, who managed to get nine of them right.
He won with the word “abseil” (pronounced “ab-SAIL”), a term used in rock and mountain climbing to descend a vertical surface by using a rope tied around your body and secured to a point above. It’s used more in the UK than in North America, and it’s a synonym for rappel.
In his honor, these billboards have been popping up alkl over the area:
Congrats, Bruhat, and thanks for representing all of us Asian overachievers in Tampa Bay!
Need context? It’s a recent internet debate, and you can find out more in this article, Women Are More Afraid of Men Than Bears, According to TikTok.
And if you don’t read the whole article, at least read its closing paragraph (added emphasis is mine):
The bear experiment shouldn’t make men mad, it should make them pause. The more we can be curious about the experiences of women under patriarchy, rather than question them, the better positioned we are to modify the systems that harm us all. The fact that this dialogue about gender-based violence could be uncomfortable is what makes it most imperative. Men should be bold and have that conversation, even if they’re scared. If women are strong enough to brave a bear alone in the woods, then surely men can muster up the courage to talk about the reason why.
…because the current crop of headlines suggests that’s not the case.