Some people, like myself, still experience being in a bubble, sheltered from precisely how fast the US is moving backwards, as you put it, Wayne. As a white, middle-class Millenial professional, I must constantly remind myself that minority groups of all kinds are being persecuted, in torturous ways, right in front of my nose.
Well yeah...but ‘minority groups’ include you. As a solid member of the majority - young, White, attractive, professional, homeowner - don’t even you feel tortured? I sure do.
Yes and no re feeling tortured. I think gratitude and guilt, over my complicity in systemic oppression, (and nowadays genocide), outweighs my personal woes. I feel tortured by a sense of hopelessness that Trump is the most powerful political figure on Earth, with 87% of Republicans approving of his acts. I must find hope!!!
As troublesome as these last 9 months have felt under a change in leadership, I feel the heightened visibility of oppression has woken up quite a few people...not enough, but more of us have come face to face with racism through Project 2025 tactics. May we continue to learn, resist, and remove the impacts of racism.
Thanks much for your comment, Deb. I wish I had a wise response. I’m not sure that we leftie patriots are terrified enough. It’s easy and extremely tempting to sit on our leafy front porch or rear deck, sipping a margarita, and believe that things are going to be ok. That there’s a cadre of movers and shakers who are going to make everything OK. That cadre is us, and the task of “making everything ok” is a huge and disruptive pain in the ass. Even just knowing what to do...what would be the most effective course of action. I wish like heck that I was insightful enough and smart enough to give you valuable direction. I’m not.
I hear you. Looking at everything to be done to make things ok feels exhausting. I'm trying to do things with local impact first. Relationships, talking to people and asking what they need as a starting point. Knowing my neighbors. Volunteering. Indivisible.org is one place I've put my local efforts. I've met some great people locally and we're taking local actions. Letters to the editor, sharing on social media factual information and encouragement. Voting and encouraging others to vote...I posted registration information on my socials and asked friends to share to get the word out. School Board and school lunch protection are on the ballot Nov. 4th. Small acts, but these lead to creating democracy which works for all of us. I just wish I'd started sooner.
Some people, like myself, still experience being in a bubble, sheltered from precisely how fast the US is moving backwards, as you put it, Wayne. As a white, middle-class Millenial professional, I must constantly remind myself that minority groups of all kinds are being persecuted, in torturous ways, right in front of my nose.
Well yeah...but ‘minority groups’ include you. As a solid member of the majority - young, White, attractive, professional, homeowner - don’t even you feel tortured? I sure do.
Yes and no re feeling tortured. I think gratitude and guilt, over my complicity in systemic oppression, (and nowadays genocide), outweighs my personal woes. I feel tortured by a sense of hopelessness that Trump is the most powerful political figure on Earth, with 87% of Republicans approving of his acts. I must find hope!!!
As troublesome as these last 9 months have felt under a change in leadership, I feel the heightened visibility of oppression has woken up quite a few people...not enough, but more of us have come face to face with racism through Project 2025 tactics. May we continue to learn, resist, and remove the impacts of racism.
Thanks much for your comment, Deb. I wish I had a wise response. I’m not sure that we leftie patriots are terrified enough. It’s easy and extremely tempting to sit on our leafy front porch or rear deck, sipping a margarita, and believe that things are going to be ok. That there’s a cadre of movers and shakers who are going to make everything OK. That cadre is us, and the task of “making everything ok” is a huge and disruptive pain in the ass. Even just knowing what to do...what would be the most effective course of action. I wish like heck that I was insightful enough and smart enough to give you valuable direction. I’m not.
I hear you. Looking at everything to be done to make things ok feels exhausting. I'm trying to do things with local impact first. Relationships, talking to people and asking what they need as a starting point. Knowing my neighbors. Volunteering. Indivisible.org is one place I've put my local efforts. I've met some great people locally and we're taking local actions. Letters to the editor, sharing on social media factual information and encouragement. Voting and encouraging others to vote...I posted registration information on my socials and asked friends to share to get the word out. School Board and school lunch protection are on the ballot Nov. 4th. Small acts, but these lead to creating democracy which works for all of us. I just wish I'd started sooner.
Yeah, Indivisible is a great organization for all that I hear.
And your organization and Substack offerings are beautiful contributions to waking us up and giving us the truth about America's thing with Race.