Hi there, my darlings.
How are you? No, I mean it. How are you?
It’s so rough out there right now.
I woke up on Saturday morning with nothing to do until the evening, when we had tickets to see Ira Glass at City Arts and Lectures. I planned to lounge in bed. I’d cleared work from my plate until Monday, and I was going to have a Day Off. I was counting on pajamas and muffins and knitting and maybe some cleaning out of books.
Instead, I read about the Muslim Ban. I got more and more upset, as you probably did, too.
What has happened in a week and a half? The brand new White House policy advisor, Steve Miller, actually organized white supremacist events at Duke University with Richard Spencer (the Nazi who got punched last week).
Steve Bannon, the ex-Breitbart alt-right (read: Nazi), has the same status of the secretary of state as of this weekend. He has not been vetted. At all. (There’s a theory that says he’s setting us up for an attack by ISIS. No sitting president has ever lost reelection in wartime.) And he’s in the driver’s seat now, not Trump.
There are strong signs that this is a coup.
Read that again.
There are signs that this is a literal coup, well-planned and orchestrated by Bannon. THIS ARTICLE says more and is scary as hell.
Saturday morning, watching all of it unfold, I felt hopeless.
Furious.
Helpless.
Yes, we should call our representatives and congresspeople, we know that. Calls are worth way more than paper letters, and emails/Tweets/FB messages are all but ineffective. (I didn’t know until this week that if you do write paper letters, send them to their regional, state-level office rather than DC. Good info.)
But my congressperson who’s waffling on voting No on Sessions and Tillerman is Diane Feinstein. None of her offices are answering their phones. At all. You get messages that say the voice mail is full.
The voice mail is full! There’s nothing you can do with that! You can keep calling, hoping a live body will answer (in DC, in SF, in LA, in SD, even in Fresno) but no one does.
I felt so hopeless I felt sick.
Then I saw the march planned at SFO. When I saw the FB page, only 9 said they were going. That was okay. I talked to Lala (who couldn’t go–she went on Sunday) about contingencies in case of my arrest. I made a hasty sign.
I went to BART and made my way there to find I wasn’t the only one.
For a while, we stayed on our sides of the street, letting traffic flow.
Then, led by a tiny elderly Asian woman who waited for the cops to get distracted and then stepped into the street. She gave a little “come on” sign with her hands and we all did.
It was a loud crowd, the chants never stopping, the mic-checks almost drowned out by the sheer righteous anger that surrounded us.
The ban is not our America.
It’s not what this country was founded on.
It felt good to fight. To resist. To yell as loudly as we could, “No ban! No wall! Sanctuary for all!”
And it’s just the start, my friends. We have at least four years of this to come.
What do we do now to resist?
Protests are important (and let’s face it, they can be soul-mending and even fun).
Calling your elected officials is essential. (We’re finally learning how to use our smart phones to make calls!)
But what else?
This is what I’m doing to make a difference:
Call: On the off-chance you haven’t seen this already, start with 5calls.org. You just put in your zip, and you get info on who to call with what message.
Swing Districts: Control of the House in 2018 depends on a few swing districts, and it’s time to start thinking about that NOW. Go HERE to find out the one closest to you, and then get to work there. (I’m CA Dist 7, see you in Modesto!)
Put “social activism” on your To Do list every day. Cross it off after you’ve made contact with someone. Today I crossed it off after sending a fax to Diane Feinstein (apparently faxes are good for something!) through this site from which you can fax both house and senate.
Arrest: Are you in a place of privilege that you could be arrested if need be? Lala and I are (no kids, no jobs that would punish us for doing so), but we are putting into place to set up care for the animals. (We’ll use IFTTT to send a text blast to the relevant people who have our house keys. A beloved friend who can’t be arrested but wants to help is our bail money. She’s set it aside on purpose, keeping it liquid for this reason, for those she loves.) Related: I’ve been a good girl my whole life. Kept my nose clean. It’s fucking NUTS that this is the conversation we’re having.
Start learning about that same privilege. I can only speak to white women, but start here. Already feel you’re a good intersectional feminist and ally? Level up here.
Get organized, on a grass-roots level. I’m part of a local crafting group, and this was done in the first meeting:
- Write down the social topics that matter to you (it might be a long list)
- Have people sign up for those they’re most interested in.
- Get a leader for each topic.
- Each leader disseminates that info to the people interested, with news and plans of action.
By dividing, we can conquer. My particular group meets once a week for an hour and a half, in person. Knitting is in our hands and we’re taking action.
Every HOUR it seems like the news gets worse, and we can’t all fight all the things all the time. But we can help each other hit the high points, break through the noise, and take action.
Together.
Don’t despair.
I know that’s hard, but there are more of us, who value the rights all of human beings, than there are of them.
Keep fighting. (And keep talking. Comments open. Polite comments of all types will be kept and cherished. But come into my house with fists swinging, and I’ll delete you right out of my house, and you won’t even get a gluten-free muffin to go.)
And remember to put on your own oxygen mask first. Too much? Step away. Rest. Read something light. Take a bath. Then come back swinging. We’re in this together, petals. We’ve got this.
I love you! That is all. Thank you for being so afraid that you can’t be silent. Coincidence that I sent you an email three minutes before I read this. I think not.
What Andrea said! also, thank you, love, from the bottom of my clenched and weary stomach. Keep telling us. I feel so overwhelmed and angry and helpless. And I am taking action. I may have to move to the emerging nation-state of Cali or Oregonia or Washington. hugs to you both, brave wonderful womens!
Good on you! Xxx
Thank you.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and resources…I am absolutely terrified by what is happening right now. I am trying to hold onto the solidarity that I felt at the women’s march and in connecting with like minded people. I really appreciate your willingness to reach out and share, so that we can all continue to feel hope by connecting with each other!
I hate conflict and politics and avoid both whenever I can. But this morning I joined the ACLU and called my senators and representative. I keep thinking of one of the signs I saw from the Women’s March that said “So bad, even introverts are here.” That sums it up for me.
That was one of my favorite signs. YES. Thank you, Sam.
I had an argument with a friend back in 2008 that left me so irritated I joined the ACLU and made my first-ever donation to a political campaign. Little does my friend know what he started!.
And I’ll say that, even on those rare occasions when I don’t agree with the ACLU’s position, I’m so grateful they’re out there representing the underdog and fighting for civil rights.
Rachael,
Thank you for this. I took the weekend off from media because the ban made me almost physically sick. I am so afraid I sometimes can’t breathe. However, we have been calling our rep’s/senators. Both their #s are in my phone. The guy who answers my Representative’s phone is named Billy. He sounded like family. It helped. Please know that blog posts like the one above really do help people to hang in for the long haul, and are appreciated.
Also as an aside–I was told if your rep’s voicemail is continually full, you should call the office of Bernie Sanders, who is keeping track of this (apparently some people are not emptying their inbox as a way to not deal with calls?)
Thank you for posting this.
I marched in DC!!!
I felt better…for awhile.
I’m sick over this.
Have been calling reps, but have stepped away from Facebook for the moment.
About to go back into that fray, with a heavy comment deletion finger for the wankers and trolls.
Just. Breathe. Kim.
Again, thank you.
Courage is contagious.
The view from this side of the Pond is one of disbelief. His actions are incomprehensible until you consider who is advising him. Then he sacks the Attorney General for doing her job by standing up to him?!
All I can say is my heart and soul cry out to support you and, once I can walk again, I’m going to protest for the first time in my privileged white life. Might not make any material difference but I need to voice my outrage you know?
Above all, please stay safe.
Hi, Rachel–
Please know that people around the globe are terrified, too. I am a proud Canadian, marched with my sister and my daughter in the Women’s March, and have been wracking my brain to think of more ways to support my American friends during this awful time. Donations to vital organizations such as the ACLU, Planned Parenthood and the Sierra Club (US) have all been made, a subscription to the New York Times has been purchased, and I’m continuing the fight with my wallet by boycotting any stores up here that carry Trump products.
Trying to do my small part from afar… and praying that every little bit helps. Rage on. xo CGF
Thank you, Rachel, as ever and always. Hang in there, m’dear. Life is gonna suck for a good long while here, but never forget: we WILL win out in the end.
I wish I were not reading this post so longer after you wrote it! But I want to share with you what I’ve learned over the past few months …
I am a blue-state girl living in one of the reddest states in the country. Calling or writing my Congressional representatives almost inevitably feels like an exercise in futility. (One Senator’s staff does take the time to craft an actual answer, not just a form letter; but I have no expectation of changing his vote..)
I participated in the Women’s March in my city, and the March for Science, too. Both events were inspiring and wholesome and uplifting, which was both wondrous and completely unexpected! I realized from those events that, as with a letter or phone call, I’m still sending a message; BUT I’m doing it in a way in which all of us gathered to send that message are also supporting and encouraging one another. The mutual support and inspiration makes this a healthy, frustration-free way for me to participate. I joke with my loved ones that protesting may well be my newest hobby, LOL.