Elitism, Precariousness, and Resisting Hate

Hi Friends,

Once again, I am likely one of many messages you’re reading about the election last week and the multitude of feelings we’re grappling with as we understand how this could have happened. Like many in my own news feed, I am not interested in hot takes or blame games or anything else that feels petty and unrooted and surface-level. So, I have been seeking depth and humanity and compassion.

This is not to say that I’m not worried or fearful or angry or numb. However, because I know that our ability to survive hardship, whether it is social upheaval or natural disasters, is strongest when we are part of a connected community, that is my focus. I am most concerned about our ability to connect with each other, our ability to work together, and our tendencies to cancel each other when we disagree, that I am exploring a path of connection and love.

I am gaining a greater understanding of the ways in which our political systems are not serving a majority of Americans and how experiences of being dismissed, tokenized, and/or ignored can lead to dangerous political choices. I am seeing more clearly how elitism in American politics by both major political parties has alienated so many people AND continues to divide us from working with each other and seeing each others’ humanity.

We are being intentionally divided from each other, and our individual tendencies to sever relationships over voting choices is playing into these efforts. We are being encouraged to hate each other, to see each other as less than human, for our voting choices, for our lived experiences, for our desires to belong and to be included and valued and heard. Overcoming this division is the way we survive whatever is coming.

This is likely skimming the surface, but what Karen Tumulty shared in The Washington Post resonated with me:

“But I think the main thing that happened Tuesday was an expression of frustration and impatience with a political system so wrapped up in itself that it no longer hears the concerns of ordinary Americans, much less addresses them. For too long, Democrats have been in thrall to their educated, affluent elite. They denied that there was chaos at the border, until the impact began to be felt in blue cities. They told less fortunate people that they were imagining the economic stresses in their lives; the statistics, after all, said otherwise. They kept businesses and schools under lockdown during the pandemic, taking a toll on the working class and their children that will not be overcome for years, maybe decades. They refused to see past group identity — race, gender, sexual orientation — to individual circumstance.”

It is worth noting that while the US economy has improved in drastic ways by many measures, these improvements were not felt by a significant portion of Americans. Lyz Lenz called this out in her blog last May, “But it’s more than just the price of groceries and the financial hole we are all crawling out of. It’s that everything is so precarious. We are like spiders floating over the edge of a cliff. One small gust of wind and we are gone. One medical tragedy, one unexpected pregnancy or hospitalization, one bad diagnosis, one car accident, and the detente between us and our finances goes out the window.”

She goes on to say that “The economy is doing well for people who can afford to put money in the stock market, who can buy homes, who don’t have to check over their receipts at the grocery store or the gas station, who are lucky enough to hold the kinds of jobs that help pay for health care (and allow time off to access it). For everyone else, ‘Actually, the key economic indicators show you are wrong’ is not a convincing argument or a helpful one.”

Chris Walker’s article in Truthout points out that “The stock market, of course, is not a proper indicator of how well the economy is doing, especially for the half of all households in the U.S. whose members do not own any stock, including 401K retirement plans, and are therefore not impacted by positive performances on Wall Street the same way the ultra-rich are.”

The economic disparities in our country are having impacts across our lives, including in the ways we vote, in the ways we want to be valued, and in the compromises we are tired of making for little actual progress. We cannot discount the lived experiences of so many Americans and the validity of their concerns and desires, even as we know that the incoming administration threatens so many of us.

Alberto Toscano’s thoughts in In These Times are relevant as well: “In a deeply unequal society in which most peoples’ everyday life is wracked by precariousness, anxiety, debt or inflation, the forces of authoritarian populism always have an advantage. Making the vulnerable responsible for the hardships of the many or stigmatizing some elites to enshrine ever greater inequality is an old game.”

The biggest question in my head right now is how to build solidarity and connection in my community. How do I reach out with love in my heart to understand my neighbors and learn about what they worry about most and work together to address those concerns?

Garrett Bucks from Barnraisers shared a thought-provoking scenario — “What if the most caring members of your community all knew each other?” Can you identify any of these people in your community? Do they know each other? Are you the person who can connect them?

Bucks continues: “When I imagine the networks we have to build in every single American community at this moment in time, I don’t just want to re-create the same activist clubhouses over and over again. I do, in fact, want to look for the helpers, because that advice isn’t just a Mister Rogers cliche. ‘The helpers’ don’t exist merely as abstract reminders of human kindness; they’re the actual people who we need to connect together if we have any hope of digging out of this cursed political moment.”

If we believe that, as Bucks says, “We have everybody that we need already. We just need to find each other,” what role can you play in making those connections? Please revisit the Social Change Map if you’re unsure about your strengths and where you are most needed. Reach out to me if you want to explore the ways you want to show up in this movement.

I am encouraged by Valarie Kaur’s message about “The Long Labor” — “We need to hold fast to each other in the dark, now more than ever.” She continues, “And in our hardest moments we will remember: In every turn through the cycle of human history, people have been thrown in the darkness. And they have a choice — we have a choice: Do I succumb to my despair, or dare lift my gaze and sing a song of love? Do I free only myself, or do I refuse to leave anyone behind?” Building and maintaining relationships with each other is hard, even when we love each other. Fortify yourself with your connections, rest when you need it, plan for the long road ahead.

Please remember the important role of grief and mourning as we move towards action. As Nicole at Reimagined shared, using grief and mourning can be resistance: “The process of acknowledging and processing grief has the capacity to change much about who we are, and what we know about ourselves. And that’s true on a collective level, too. Many of the moments that have shaped policy, shifted institutions, and reshaped communities were sparked by loss — the deaths of everyday people and political figures, the heartbreaks in mass shootings, the turmoil of elections lost. Without giving them space to be seen, felt and acknowledged, we couldn’t transform today to tomorrow.”

Take care of yourselves, breathe and push, pause before severing a relationship that has been meaningful to you in the past, resist hate, and find your role in your community. You are needed.

Emily

Listen. Amplify. Follow. In Solidarity. 

Taking Care of Each Other

Hi Friends,

I’m sure you’re inundated by election-related emails and messages and news and I hope that you’re finding ways to manage anxiety, fear, and stress right now. I imagine that this week is going to be one for the history books, no matter what happens.

I’m reaching out now to share a message of hope, love, and encouragement. The paths we are walking are longer than our lifetimes and while the threats we face sometimes feel overwhelming and impossible to manage, times like this have happened before and they will happen again. Our work still remains, our need for rest and taking breaks continues, and the fundamental centrality of solidarity and community is unshaken.

I am still solidly guided by my confidence that how we take care of each other is what matters most.

Here are some people and organizations that have given me strength. Some are resources I have recommended to you in the past and some are new:

Valarie Kaur has a new book out, called Sage Warrior, and I attended an event with her that was partially about her books, but mostly felt like active community building and grief holding and authentic connection. Her work has changed my life. “Our most urgent task is to alchemize our pain into energy and action. And the only way to do that is together. The labor is long. Let us fortify each other. Who will you breathe with today? Who will help you push?”

Rabbi Alissa Wise has a new book out, called Solidarity is the Political Version of Love, and I heard her speak at a book event with her co-author, Rebecca Vilkomerson. Their words were all about organizing and staying the course for the long-haul and attending to our needs in the short-term.

Lyz Lenz said in a recent newsletter, “The only real solution to managing our fears is collective action. The only real peace is the peace that comes from being part of the community. You are not helpless here and you have more than your vote.”

Nicole Cardoza at Reimagined (formerly Anti-Racism Daily), said in a recent email, “If you’re feeling a sense of dread or overwhelm, remember: we are the leaders that will get each other through. Let this be an opportunity to shift your solidarity from institutions to each other. Voting is good, but committing to the collective wellbeing of your neighbors is better. So is showing up at your local school board and community council meetings, protesting against injustice, boycotting and divesting, and doing the deep work to evolve your own relationship to what institutions try to teach us. The good fight isn’t over until we give up on ourselves and each other. And I’m glad to be in this fight with you.”

David Dean shared resources and encouragement, and outlined the “Block and Build” strategy that he uses for short- and long-term action. “Throughout history, moments of rising political repression have often resulted in splintering and infighting on the left that has ultimately led to the destruction of once-promising movement-building efforts. Regardless of our political strategy in this moment, it is incumbent upon all of us to see one another as comrades and engage in good faith discussion about our political strategies.”

The Catalyst Project shared recently, “If we are thoughtful and intentional about how we treat each other, we can address conflict in generative ways. This can strengthen our movements in the coming months and years. Deeply committed, principled, and thoughtful leaders are advancing different strategies to win power and create change on the scale that our communities need. In this political moment, where so many of us feel so exhausted, it can feel difficult to look for common values and approach each other with humility. We can practice both humility and also principled struggle.”

- Eleanor Hancock at White Awake wrote recently, “Finding a way to immerse yourself in a supportive, loving community is also vital. I encourage everyone to find, build, act, spend time within a political home — even if this home is fragmented or spread out over a variety of different groups and relationships.”

Heather Cox Richardson shared detailed information about facism, based on a pamphlet created by the US War Department for the US Army in 1945. Please be informed about the tactics used and how to respond to these threats to democracy.

- Nadia Bolz-Weber shared in 2021 about respecting our individual capacities for what is enough and resisting the constant clamoring around us that we must do more and more and more. “I only have so much water in my bucket to help with the fires. The more exposure I have to the fires I have NO WATER to fight, the more likely I am to get so burned, and inhale so much smoke that I cannot help anymore with the fires close enough to fight once my bucket is full again.
So I try and tell myself that It’s ok to focus on one fire.
It’s ok to do what is YOURS to do. Say what’s yours to say. Care about what’s yours to care about.
That’s enough.”

I also wanted to share this resource called Dismantling Antisemitism, which gives really in-depth detailed guidance about how to engage with this important work.

Breathe. Push. Rest.
Block and Build.
Connect with your people.
Repeat.

Emily

Listen. Amplify. Follow. In Solidarity. 

Common Shared Humanity

Hi Friends,

I hope you all had an enjoyable summer. I have been reading I Never Thought of it That Way: How to have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times by Mónica Guzmán and it has been shifting my perspective, yet again. Isn’t learning wonderful?! I highly recommend the book and I’m hoping to share some resources related to what I’m learning and seeing that might help illustrate just how essential these perspectives are for creating the world we want to live in. In case it’s not clear, that world includes every single one of us.

The goal is to reduce the divisions among us and to find ways to connect over our shared humanity.

I’ll start with a very clearly laid out opinion piece by Nicholas Kristof called “Here’s Why We Shouldn’t Demean Trump Voters” in the New York Times last month. He rightly points out the classism that many progressives engage in, even as we fight against sexism and racism and how important it is that we learn to stop doing that, not simply because it is expedient for the upcoming election, but because it undermines our moral values to demean any group of people for any reason.

Much has been said about Michelle Obama’s speech at the Democratic National Convention last month, but I was particularly moved by Phillip Bump’s focus on her phrase that most of us “will never benefit from the affirmative action of generational wealth.” He explains the genius of her phrasing: “Her line overlapping affirmative action and generational wealth wasn’t offering “affirmative action” as a pejorative term. It was, instead, contextualizing a different way in which people are boosted by circumstances that aren’t always under their control. It was a defense of affirmative action programs that noted how wealth built in an explicitly unfair economy was its own form of unearned advantage.” I share this here to highlight the ways in which most of us have more in common in our experiences of (economic) systemic oppression than not.

There was a story in the Washington Post recently about a Black couple hosting parties at their home and their neighbors calling the police. The article by Ellie Silverman does a good job of capturing the nuance and complications of the situation and it made my heart ache. I share it here to highlight the situations that arise when people don’t reach out and get to know each other as people, but treat a situation as something for the police to handle. I can see so much lost opportunity for everyone involved to create a connection and the ability to treat each other as people instead of a problem.

The next story is by Abha Bhattarai about how the unhoused population in our country increasingly includes working people. Besides raising awareness about this growing problem (again, along economic lines), I encourage you to consider your assumptions about the unhoused population and consider that who you might see on the sidewalks and streets is not a complete picture. For example, ask your local school or school district about their programs for unhoused children and learn more about the less visible unhoused population in your community. Did you know that it costs less to provide basic preventative support for people (housing, food, medical care, etc.) than it does to address the challenges they face when things fall apart (prison, ER visits, clearing “encampments,” policing and crime)? There are multiple studies that prove this, but we’re way behind because of fear, ignorance, and a lack of connection around our shared humanity.

Another article that broadened my understanding of the complexities and brilliance of humanity is the Washington Post Opinions series highlighting government employees. Michael Lewis wrote about Chris Mark of the Department of Labor in an article called “The Canary” and I found the entire thing riveting. But what keeps running through my head is the way the article brings out the personal story, the relationship he has with his father, the ways he has adjusted his perspective and understanding of the world because of his experiences. “But Chris had been endowed with a deeper-than-usual desire for fairness. He had a powerful father and a powerless mother and wound up feeling powerful sympathy for the underdog. He’d ended up working for the institution best equipped to help the unlucky defend themselves from the lucky. And the effect of his work had indeed been to make the world just a little bit less unfair.” I am so grateful for the problem solvers who are passionate about their work for its own sake.

If you’re interested in another perspective-challenging experience, I want to highlight Robin Givhan’s article about artist Hank Willis Thomas. His description of the conundrum of race is poignant “‘And so there I am: [Race] is not real. But the impacts are real! But it shouldn’t exist. But it does!’” The images of his work are striking, particularly “The Cotton Bowl” and his statuary with hands and arms is very moving to me. “Thomas strives to link our past to our future, to communicate urgent and difficult ideas when words fail us, when politicians make matters worse, and when moralists and terrorists all lay claim to God’s unique favor. As we struggle to communicate across the divides — political, racial and demographic — perhaps a monumental sculpture or a disruptive photograph can help us better recognize each other’s humanity.” [emphasis mine]

Food for thought (and action!).

Emily
Listen. Amplify. Follow. In Solidarity.