On Saturday, when my husband and dog and I left home to walk to the beach, our house sat right on the fog line. To our left, west, a solid marine layer over the ocean and up a few blocks. To our right, east, blue skies and sun. Such is life in the microclimates of San Francisco.
We knew a swell had come in, so overhead waves were out there somewhere, but from shore they were a gray shadow, barely discernible. And was that the only break or was there one out even further, even bigger?
Surfers in their black wetsuits and with their sleek pointed boards would stand for a moment on the beach, as if it were a normal day, as if they were assessing the conditions before picking the line they’d follow to paddle out, where they’d want to position themselves on the break. But soon they’d just have to pull up their hoods, strap their leash around their ankles, and enter the water, not knowing exactly what they were getting into, just knowing they’d have to have a combination of trust and audacity if they wanted to surf.
Don’t we all need this combination, of trust and audacity, right now? Trust in ourselves, trust in our people, trust in the goodness of humans. The audacity to speak up and out, the audacity to find ways to use our unique and specific skills towards the common good, the audacity to be radical and progressive and demand better. It even feels audacious in this moment to believe that we’re all human and deserving of love and respect and dignity and safety, regardless of whatever other adjectives are placed on us (woman, queer, immigrant, unhoused, disabled, impoverished, minoritized).
In thinking about my own “unique and specific skills,” what can I do? I can do research. I can organize resources and people. I can integrate Post-it notes into conversation. I did a mini version of this last night—a few friends and I gathered to name what we are feeling and why, and to share ways we’re thinking about acting or questions we have about what and how to do. Not as a way to solve problems or to give advice, but to start to wrap our heads around what we need to be ready for. I won’t say it felt “good,” but I was glad to have had the conversations.
I will also start including links at the end of my weekly posts that point to articles, resources, actions that have resonated with me. I’m very allergic to the post-mortem analyses, especially from the left, pointing fingers and making unprovable declarations of “If only so-and-so would have been the candidate, we would have won.” Y’all, pointing fingers and blaming is what has allowed fear to divide us. So I’ll be sharing… anything but that sort of thing. You can either click on them or not, and I don’t mean this as an invitation for the comments to devolve into anything unproductive and hurtful. But if you have resources, please do share!
10 ways to be prepared and grounded now that Trump has won (Daniel Hunter). "The key to taking effective action in a Trump world is to avoid perpetuating the autocrat’s goals of fear, isolation, exhaustion and disorientation.”
Finding steady ground. “Here are 7 behaviors we can use right away to strengthen ourselves, so we can keep taking more and more powerful and strategic actions.”
What if Trump wins? Can I just say, the people who have been thinking about this for a long time are absolute heroes.
Companies that benefit people who made major contributions to the Trump campaign. Note: can’t find a time stamp on this one, and I’ve come across others that I’m trying to verify (e.g., Sephora).
“I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it.” Maya Angelou
“When we speak, we are afraid our words will not be heard nor welcomed, but when we are silent we are still afraid, so it is better to speak.” Audre Lorde
“When we understand love as the will to nurture our own and another’s spiritual growth, it becomes clear that we cannot claim to love if we are hurtful and abusive.” bell hooks
I think I need to buy more post-it notes... 🙂
Well said!