So well stated, we keep emailing our representatives, smile and say hello to people we pass in the streets. Help folks we see struggling, pay for a strangers lunch or coffee. I don’t really know.
Luisa, thank you so much for expressing everything WE, who follow and love your writing, are feeling whether we live in the US or not.
We who love an almond scented cake, a soft sweater, a good book, travel that makes you marvel at the sky, and the joy of hearing someone else’s joys and is also able to bear witness and sit with someone else’s struggles and sorrows. This all feels like too much to take in, but WE will continue to FIGHT.
founded 10 years ago by some children’s book writers crestfallen by the 2016 election. It was a giving circle event at my friends clothing store, and she gathered her friends to hear the writer speak about how state legislators, unglamorous but truly powerful positions in law making, are a real way to create positive change. The Republicans have been taking over these positions for a few decades now, increasingly implementing more and more Christo fascist, misogynistic, racist, anti LGBTQ laws quickly and efficiently.
The speaker said something that has stuck with me since Thursday night. She spoke of how, after a particularly devastating election loss, she said to her mentor “we fight we win we fight we lose we fight we win we fight we lose, what are we doing?” And he asked her “what is the constant in what you just said?” And she said “We fight”.
So whatever that means to any of us, we fight. We fight with our money, we fight with our words, we fight with our love, we fight for our lives and the lives of so many we will never know but still care about.
So thank you again for articulating so clearly the primal pump of rage coursing through all our chests. And we will fight.
A good start is something like this… a neighbor posted this to our group email. It is a go fund me set up to help a neighborhood in Minneapolis that is in dire need of rental/food support:
We make our signs and go to protests. We donate. We rail against the unbelievable bullshit that's happening. We repeat our incredulity with all of our friends and *some* of our family. We read books about the rise of the Nazis and ask, "doesn't everyone else see what is going on???" We walk the dog. We read the news and then try to NOT read the news for a while. We remind ourselves we are in the long sweep of history and we don't know where it will end up.
Thank you for this eloquent expression of what this feels like. And I’m saying that with full awareness that I am speaking from a place of privilege as a white woman in NY. Many in this country have seen what this united states has always been for decades and decades. Take care, Luisa.
We do all the things you and your other commenters write about. And we ache and cry. And, as we were reminded in this morning's sermon, we practice self-care - in part by limiting our news consumption - and we stay in community, so we can bear to look at the news each day and keep on fighting. Our book group last month read On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, by Timothy Snyder. It's instructive, if depressing.
One thing that gives me hope recently is the neighborhood and community organizing that has been happening quietly and behind the scenes, connecting neighbor to neighbor and making coordinated action and mutual support possible. It's one very good thing coming out of this terrible time.
My heart aches every day for my neighbours to the south and we fight the fight here to stop the spread of hate further and keep our own elbows up to protect our sovereignty - we donate or knit - I 've pledged to knit every day in February for cancer research so my first project is the red Norwegian anti Nazi hat to support MN. A tiny effort on my part along with sending love and thoughts to those affected. Love to all in these crazy times.
So well stated, we keep emailing our representatives, smile and say hello to people we pass in the streets. Help folks we see struggling, pay for a strangers lunch or coffee. I don’t really know.
Thanks Luisa,
Donna
Luisa, thank you so much for expressing everything WE, who follow and love your writing, are feeling whether we live in the US or not.
We who love an almond scented cake, a soft sweater, a good book, travel that makes you marvel at the sky, and the joy of hearing someone else’s joys and is also able to bear witness and sit with someone else’s struggles and sorrows. This all feels like too much to take in, but WE will continue to FIGHT.
I attended an introduction event for this group,
https://statesproject.org
founded 10 years ago by some children’s book writers crestfallen by the 2016 election. It was a giving circle event at my friends clothing store, and she gathered her friends to hear the writer speak about how state legislators, unglamorous but truly powerful positions in law making, are a real way to create positive change. The Republicans have been taking over these positions for a few decades now, increasingly implementing more and more Christo fascist, misogynistic, racist, anti LGBTQ laws quickly and efficiently.
The speaker said something that has stuck with me since Thursday night. She spoke of how, after a particularly devastating election loss, she said to her mentor “we fight we win we fight we lose we fight we win we fight we lose, what are we doing?” And he asked her “what is the constant in what you just said?” And she said “We fight”.
So whatever that means to any of us, we fight. We fight with our money, we fight with our words, we fight with our love, we fight for our lives and the lives of so many we will never know but still care about.
So thank you again for articulating so clearly the primal pump of rage coursing through all our chests. And we will fight.
A good start is something like this… a neighbor posted this to our group email. It is a go fund me set up to help a neighborhood in Minneapolis that is in dire need of rental/food support:
https://gofund.me/4a0c6d5e7
We make our signs and go to protests. We donate. We rail against the unbelievable bullshit that's happening. We repeat our incredulity with all of our friends and *some* of our family. We read books about the rise of the Nazis and ask, "doesn't everyone else see what is going on???" We walk the dog. We read the news and then try to NOT read the news for a while. We remind ourselves we are in the long sweep of history and we don't know where it will end up.
Thank you for this eloquent expression of what this feels like. And I’m saying that with full awareness that I am speaking from a place of privilege as a white woman in NY. Many in this country have seen what this united states has always been for decades and decades. Take care, Luisa.
We do all the things you and your other commenters write about. And we ache and cry. And, as we were reminded in this morning's sermon, we practice self-care - in part by limiting our news consumption - and we stay in community, so we can bear to look at the news each day and keep on fighting. Our book group last month read On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, by Timothy Snyder. It's instructive, if depressing.
One thing that gives me hope recently is the neighborhood and community organizing that has been happening quietly and behind the scenes, connecting neighbor to neighbor and making coordinated action and mutual support possible. It's one very good thing coming out of this terrible time.
My heart aches every day for my neighbours to the south and we fight the fight here to stop the spread of hate further and keep our own elbows up to protect our sovereignty - we donate or knit - I 've pledged to knit every day in February for cancer research so my first project is the red Norwegian anti Nazi hat to support MN. A tiny effort on my part along with sending love and thoughts to those affected. Love to all in these crazy times.