Nothing to add, Rene, this was eloquently said. The breaking point, however, seems to keep shifting as more and more gets normalized. I think that is the one of the frightening aspects to all of this.
Thanks for this thoughtful post. It’s important to remember that everyone has a different relationship to conflict (and especially physical conflict) which is why it is so important to create different ways for people to participate in movements, and to have honest conversations about our differences as we do.
Yes. There’s a lot of nuance that can be missing in these conversations and a lot of social pressure to be that person who till stand in-between a victim and an aggressor. I’ve seen a lot of people calling others cowards and even worse, but it can often be more complicated than that.
Thank you for your weekly thoughts! I read it every Wednesday afternoon in my car while waiting for my 17 year old daughter to finish her cello lesson… she is half Asian and got called a Jewish bitch the other day in a crowded subway wagon and nobody helped her or talked to that guy ☹️😭so many German people just voted for a very racist party, my 44year old heart is really worried and hurt about this worldwide development 😢
I’m really very sorry your daughter got called that. I have a cousin living in Germany and saw the news about the election. It’s always good to hear from readers outside the U.S. I know that we’re really going through it right now and can get really siloed in our mess, but far-right ideology is spreading in many countries.
Thank you for this Jenna. Why and how we get involved in this day to day onslaught is dependent on so many factors. The internet gives us more ways to be involved. May we all do what what we can, amd maybe we all hold on to the concepts of a better angels among us.
It does give more ways, Pamela, but it also allows people to hide behind their keyboards while judging others. As you say, may we all do that we can. "maybe we all hold on to the concepts of a better angels among us." That is a beautiful line, thank you.
Jenna, as a former political blogger/writer who wrote for the Kerry campaign blog and then my own and other news outlets, I learned to not let those who hide behind their keyboards get to me.
That is to be honest the least of our worries with the advent of online politics. I am more concerned about the deluge of misinformation and disinformation online from both sides as a start.
P.S. the concept of "better angels" among us in politic matters dates back to speech by Lincoln.
Thank you for this. Now in my 70s, and I can't believe I'm seeing this. Marched from Union Square to Washington Square and was discouraged to see mostly people my age, white like me, even though it was a federal holiday and school and most jobs were off for the day. Signing petitions, showing up, donating what I can, and feeling more helpless than I thought. Like you, I am not OK and searching for actionable steps.
It's interesting, your observation of the demographic at the marches. It's very telling, actually. I would say that most are not off that day—certainly not blue collar jobs—and maybe that's could explain the demographic you saw. Although I have Gen Z kids, I don't know really know their positioning on protesting this administration. And I've also noticed on social media that some Black women are sitting this one out because they were the only demographic that came out in numbers and voted overwhelmingly for Kamala.
Well, that troubles me. I can understand not getting off from your blue collar job, but getting. pass because you voted for Kamala in the last election, so your work is done? I find that attitude hard to forgive.
It's not about getting a pass. I understand their positioning. I almost regret mentioning this because it is not for me to say or explain, but it is a discourse that is happening online on social media. I encourage you to not pass judgement based on my (inadequately explained) mention of it.
Thank you -- I must admit it's difficult for me when I feel others may not be standing up, which was the message of your original post. I'm unaware of any discourse that is happening online. Can you enlighten me?
I don’t have anything to point to, just conversations and threads that I’ve been seeing on social media. One thing to remember: attending protests is just one thing. People are working on other forms of activism. I think this one point was just around attending these protests. And to be honest, I myself had a similar reaction in November after the election. I went down to Washington to the Women’s March. I posted on social media the question about asking who would march again because I had no plans to. Somehow it felt different this time, and indeed there was a march organized but it was less attended and renamed the People’s March. I barely saw any press around it. We’re all highly emotional right now and still processing this barrage of daily news as we figure out how to move forward.
I plead guilty to being highly emotional these days. And I realize that marching may seem merely performative and ineffective. I struggle to find meaningful ways to effect change.
Black women have been doing The Work for centuries. If you want to follow someone for perspective, follow Luvvie Ajayi Jones on IG. Black women are TIRED. Tired of being mammies and having the burden of teaching evvvvveryone else about racism and discrimination. I did my master’s capstone on Black women in politics. It’s not pretty. We (white women especially) get ourselves all worked up but our feminism tends to be white feminism. We are complicit in patriarchy and the systems that keep our own selves and women of color swimming upstream. I encourage you to read Koa Beck’s book White Feminism.
I feel so conflicted right now. I feel like it has to get bad/worse for everyone so they stop listening to the nonsense that Fox News and the Republicans spout about how awful things were under the Democrats. The majority voted for this, so let them have it. And besides, so many are still not convinced that anything is wrong. So many are still saying they aren't convinced that all this is going to be bad for them, and that they need more time to see how this affects them. I mean, farmers aren't even convinced yet, and they're being triply hurt by the shuttering of the USAID program (essentially a subsidy program for US farmers), the tariffs on Canadian imports (90% of US farm fertilizer is imported from Canada), and the stoppage of a Biden program that was going to reimburse them for the purchase of energy efficient equipment, which leaves farmers with loans they can't pay if they don't get the money they were expecting from that Biden program. It's a huge rolling disaster, and these people are standing there gaping at the giant wave headed their way saying, "I'm not sure that this is bad. If they need to break things to fix them, then I'll just wait and see how it goes before getting worried about it. I don't believe this is bad yet. I need more time to see what happens."
At the same time, every fiber of my being is on fire right now. I'm angry, and sad. I don't want people to get hurt, even if they brought this on themselves.
The voters who voted for him will have to feel pain in their lives before anything changes their mind. Unfortunately the entire country will suffer alongside with them. All of these orders and firings will trickle down to everyone aside from the very wealthy and I don't think we can even imagine how wide-ranging the effects will be. For self protection, I have to compartmentalize some of it because it boggles the mind how short sighted these executive orders, firings, and funding cuts are. Breaking things is a tech play and Musk is doing just that. I still can't get over just how much power and authority he is being given while the GOP goes along. I don't know which of the two I hate more right now.
“I’m confronting with searing honesty today is this: will I be a bystander or an intervener?” a great question everyone should be asking of themselves!
Thank you for including my piece, I’m glad it made you think 🙏🏾
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this. That incident is just the beginning of much more and I hope those that can, will step up because they are coming for everyone. At the same time, whatever we can do at our local levels, be it educating people, attending community meetings real or virtual, sharing information, helping out people in our communities however we can will help.
At the same time, we need to be able to understand what's possible for us and other people to actually do. Dealing with the firehose of crap coming at us every day from this administration feels like a sledgehammer, which is the purpose. They want us confused, disoriented and cowed into silence. Not every action has to be big, but there has to be some kind of action to move things towards a positive outcome, no matter how small that action is.
I know that's the intention. And then there's that abhorrent AI Gaza video today (OMG) released to distract right after the budget resolution vote for medicaid. It's a pattern. We have to learn how to live our lives while processing all this firehose of crap as you say. Like have these important conversations and educate ourselves, but also close our damn computers and get outside.
Oh wow, that f&%king video! The distraction pattern is always on with these people. I completely agree that closing the computers and getting outside is going to do more for us than being on the computer/phone constantly. The addictive nature of our constantly being “connected” online is a real problem, but one of many we have to manage along with everything else.
Nothing to add, Rene, this was eloquently said. The breaking point, however, seems to keep shifting as more and more gets normalized. I think that is the one of the frightening aspects to all of this.
Thanks for this thoughtful post. It’s important to remember that everyone has a different relationship to conflict (and especially physical conflict) which is why it is so important to create different ways for people to participate in movements, and to have honest conversations about our differences as we do.
Yes. There’s a lot of nuance that can be missing in these conversations and a lot of social pressure to be that person who till stand in-between a victim and an aggressor. I’ve seen a lot of people calling others cowards and even worse, but it can often be more complicated than that.
Dear God, that is no good. I am so glad almost all of my organizing work happens offline.
The internet is gonna internet. Same as it always was.
Thank you for your weekly thoughts! I read it every Wednesday afternoon in my car while waiting for my 17 year old daughter to finish her cello lesson… she is half Asian and got called a Jewish bitch the other day in a crowded subway wagon and nobody helped her or talked to that guy ☹️😭so many German people just voted for a very racist party, my 44year old heart is really worried and hurt about this worldwide development 😢
I’m really very sorry your daughter got called that. I have a cousin living in Germany and saw the news about the election. It’s always good to hear from readers outside the U.S. I know that we’re really going through it right now and can get really siloed in our mess, but far-right ideology is spreading in many countries.
Thank you for this Jenna. Why and how we get involved in this day to day onslaught is dependent on so many factors. The internet gives us more ways to be involved. May we all do what what we can, amd maybe we all hold on to the concepts of a better angels among us.
It does give more ways, Pamela, but it also allows people to hide behind their keyboards while judging others. As you say, may we all do that we can. "maybe we all hold on to the concepts of a better angels among us." That is a beautiful line, thank you.
Jenna, as a former political blogger/writer who wrote for the Kerry campaign blog and then my own and other news outlets, I learned to not let those who hide behind their keyboards get to me.
That is to be honest the least of our worries with the advent of online politics. I am more concerned about the deluge of misinformation and disinformation online from both sides as a start.
P.S. the concept of "better angels" among us in politic matters dates back to speech by Lincoln.
Thank you for this. Now in my 70s, and I can't believe I'm seeing this. Marched from Union Square to Washington Square and was discouraged to see mostly people my age, white like me, even though it was a federal holiday and school and most jobs were off for the day. Signing petitions, showing up, donating what I can, and feeling more helpless than I thought. Like you, I am not OK and searching for actionable steps.
It's interesting, your observation of the demographic at the marches. It's very telling, actually. I would say that most are not off that day—certainly not blue collar jobs—and maybe that's could explain the demographic you saw. Although I have Gen Z kids, I don't know really know their positioning on protesting this administration. And I've also noticed on social media that some Black women are sitting this one out because they were the only demographic that came out in numbers and voted overwhelmingly for Kamala.
Well, that troubles me. I can understand not getting off from your blue collar job, but getting. pass because you voted for Kamala in the last election, so your work is done? I find that attitude hard to forgive.
It's not about getting a pass. I understand their positioning. I almost regret mentioning this because it is not for me to say or explain, but it is a discourse that is happening online on social media. I encourage you to not pass judgement based on my (inadequately explained) mention of it.
Thank you -- I must admit it's difficult for me when I feel others may not be standing up, which was the message of your original post. I'm unaware of any discourse that is happening online. Can you enlighten me?
I don’t have anything to point to, just conversations and threads that I’ve been seeing on social media. One thing to remember: attending protests is just one thing. People are working on other forms of activism. I think this one point was just around attending these protests. And to be honest, I myself had a similar reaction in November after the election. I went down to Washington to the Women’s March. I posted on social media the question about asking who would march again because I had no plans to. Somehow it felt different this time, and indeed there was a march organized but it was less attended and renamed the People’s March. I barely saw any press around it. We’re all highly emotional right now and still processing this barrage of daily news as we figure out how to move forward.
I plead guilty to being highly emotional these days. And I realize that marching may seem merely performative and ineffective. I struggle to find meaningful ways to effect change.
Black women have been doing The Work for centuries. If you want to follow someone for perspective, follow Luvvie Ajayi Jones on IG. Black women are TIRED. Tired of being mammies and having the burden of teaching evvvvveryone else about racism and discrimination. I did my master’s capstone on Black women in politics. It’s not pretty. We (white women especially) get ourselves all worked up but our feminism tends to be white feminism. We are complicit in patriarchy and the systems that keep our own selves and women of color swimming upstream. I encourage you to read Koa Beck’s book White Feminism.
Thank you. I will.
Thank you, Kris.
If you’d like to read my master’s capstone, I uploaded it to my Substack last year.
I feel so conflicted right now. I feel like it has to get bad/worse for everyone so they stop listening to the nonsense that Fox News and the Republicans spout about how awful things were under the Democrats. The majority voted for this, so let them have it. And besides, so many are still not convinced that anything is wrong. So many are still saying they aren't convinced that all this is going to be bad for them, and that they need more time to see how this affects them. I mean, farmers aren't even convinced yet, and they're being triply hurt by the shuttering of the USAID program (essentially a subsidy program for US farmers), the tariffs on Canadian imports (90% of US farm fertilizer is imported from Canada), and the stoppage of a Biden program that was going to reimburse them for the purchase of energy efficient equipment, which leaves farmers with loans they can't pay if they don't get the money they were expecting from that Biden program. It's a huge rolling disaster, and these people are standing there gaping at the giant wave headed their way saying, "I'm not sure that this is bad. If they need to break things to fix them, then I'll just wait and see how it goes before getting worried about it. I don't believe this is bad yet. I need more time to see what happens."
At the same time, every fiber of my being is on fire right now. I'm angry, and sad. I don't want people to get hurt, even if they brought this on themselves.
The voters who voted for him will have to feel pain in their lives before anything changes their mind. Unfortunately the entire country will suffer alongside with them. All of these orders and firings will trickle down to everyone aside from the very wealthy and I don't think we can even imagine how wide-ranging the effects will be. For self protection, I have to compartmentalize some of it because it boggles the mind how short sighted these executive orders, firings, and funding cuts are. Breaking things is a tech play and Musk is doing just that. I still can't get over just how much power and authority he is being given while the GOP goes along. I don't know which of the two I hate more right now.
“I’m confronting with searing honesty today is this: will I be a bystander or an intervener?” a great question everyone should be asking of themselves!
Thank you for including my piece, I’m glad it made you think 🙏🏾
You are a wonderfully talented writer. Not sure how I came across your writing, but happy to have found you.
Thank you for finding me however you did, this is such a kind thing to say and I look forward to reading more of your thoughts!!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this. That incident is just the beginning of much more and I hope those that can, will step up because they are coming for everyone. At the same time, whatever we can do at our local levels, be it educating people, attending community meetings real or virtual, sharing information, helping out people in our communities however we can will help.
At the same time, we need to be able to understand what's possible for us and other people to actually do. Dealing with the firehose of crap coming at us every day from this administration feels like a sledgehammer, which is the purpose. They want us confused, disoriented and cowed into silence. Not every action has to be big, but there has to be some kind of action to move things towards a positive outcome, no matter how small that action is.
I know that's the intention. And then there's that abhorrent AI Gaza video today (OMG) released to distract right after the budget resolution vote for medicaid. It's a pattern. We have to learn how to live our lives while processing all this firehose of crap as you say. Like have these important conversations and educate ourselves, but also close our damn computers and get outside.
Oh wow, that f&%king video! The distraction pattern is always on with these people. I completely agree that closing the computers and getting outside is going to do more for us than being on the computer/phone constantly. The addictive nature of our constantly being “connected” online is a real problem, but one of many we have to manage along with everything else.
Thank you for the 5Ds link. As an already very socially awkward person, it helps immensely to have a script.
Absolutely. I very much appreciate all of the sites who provide scripts to call our reps, etc.
I cheat w. Feta also
I had long forgotten my days of lentils,three colors
TY for your reminder, new friend
. . from one of those 80's glad to be back in the action and community of the 60's.
Thank you, Carole 😊