And second of all, I would love people’s thoughts about not becoming internal emigres (thank you for teaching me that phrase) while maintaining joy in one’s life. I struggle with this a lot, and spent late 2016-2022 in a state of mostly grim activist determination. I know no one is asking me to do that! But I find striking the balance hard and would love to know how other people think about it?
Yes, so important. This is one of the topics that comes up throughout Let This Radicalize You, and I have also found the work of Karen Walrond helpful: https://www.chookooloonks.com. I’m not sure what your grim activist determination looks like, but I pick one thing and do it well with the amount of time I have to give — at this point it’s about one hour a day, six days a week, and that includes working some days, learning on others. I did the same thing with money — I give away a set about each month as a tithe for just being alive, which may work for some people and may be too church-esque for others. I used to give away a bunch of tiny amounts. Now I do fewer, larger amounts. I also think about small, practical changes. Not using Amazon is feasible for me—it hasn’t always been. For instance, I used to be in a direct giving group that used Amazon to distribute diapers to people who needed them. That was a good use of Amazon. When the person I was sponsoring had kids that aged out of diapers, I moved the money to a local org that does diaper drives. These are all pretty painless for me. Do I sometimes feel like I should be doing more, that there should be more discomfort for me if it means more “good” for others? Yeah, but I know my limits and I know that’s not sustainable.
Also keep in mind I live alone, have jobs that I can put aside when I’m done with them for the day, and don’t have kids or other caretaking responsibilities, so that also makes a huge difference.
First of all, thank you for saying that about Amazon. I ditched Prime pre-pandemic and only miss it when there’s a show I want to watch. (So far it’s been maybe 3.) The point isn’t to stick it to Bezos, it’s to keep the other options alive.
I appreciate your thoughtfulness + anger + links to good things to read. I got wayyyy out of my comfort zone this year and spent over 100 hours phone banking with SURJ (Showing Up for Racial Justice). I didn't want to wake up on Nov 6 and wish I'd done more. I gave everything I had. It was a challenge and a balm. SURJ's Zoom on Wednesday helped me feel less alone and more determined than ever to not give up, or turn into an internal emigre (which was absolutely my first inclination on Tuesday night when my nervous system was totally disregulated). Organizing white people into multiracial movements for racial & economic justice, in partnership with people-of-color led orgs, one conversation at a time, feels even more necessary now. I am heartbroken and afraid but to quote Timothy Snyder, I will not "obey in advance." (here is the link to the FB livestream of Wednesday's Zoom https://fb.watch/vKO6oRUWZg/
Karen, those hearts literally brought me to tears on Wednesday. I really needed it.
As for what's been inspiring me, Brene Brown had a post on instagram about despair and hope that I thought was lovely and encouraging.
❤️
And second of all, I would love people’s thoughts about not becoming internal emigres (thank you for teaching me that phrase) while maintaining joy in one’s life. I struggle with this a lot, and spent late 2016-2022 in a state of mostly grim activist determination. I know no one is asking me to do that! But I find striking the balance hard and would love to know how other people think about it?
Yes, so important. This is one of the topics that comes up throughout Let This Radicalize You, and I have also found the work of Karen Walrond helpful: https://www.chookooloonks.com. I’m not sure what your grim activist determination looks like, but I pick one thing and do it well with the amount of time I have to give — at this point it’s about one hour a day, six days a week, and that includes working some days, learning on others. I did the same thing with money — I give away a set about each month as a tithe for just being alive, which may work for some people and may be too church-esque for others. I used to give away a bunch of tiny amounts. Now I do fewer, larger amounts. I also think about small, practical changes. Not using Amazon is feasible for me—it hasn’t always been. For instance, I used to be in a direct giving group that used Amazon to distribute diapers to people who needed them. That was a good use of Amazon. When the person I was sponsoring had kids that aged out of diapers, I moved the money to a local org that does diaper drives. These are all pretty painless for me. Do I sometimes feel like I should be doing more, that there should be more discomfort for me if it means more “good” for others? Yeah, but I know my limits and I know that’s not sustainable.
Also keep in mind I live alone, have jobs that I can put aside when I’m done with them for the day, and don’t have kids or other caretaking responsibilities, so that also makes a huge difference.
First of all, thank you for saying that about Amazon. I ditched Prime pre-pandemic and only miss it when there’s a show I want to watch. (So far it’s been maybe 3.) The point isn’t to stick it to Bezos, it’s to keep the other options alive.
I really appreciated this entire post and saved many excerpts / links. Thank you!
I appreciate your thoughtfulness + anger + links to good things to read. I got wayyyy out of my comfort zone this year and spent over 100 hours phone banking with SURJ (Showing Up for Racial Justice). I didn't want to wake up on Nov 6 and wish I'd done more. I gave everything I had. It was a challenge and a balm. SURJ's Zoom on Wednesday helped me feel less alone and more determined than ever to not give up, or turn into an internal emigre (which was absolutely my first inclination on Tuesday night when my nervous system was totally disregulated). Organizing white people into multiracial movements for racial & economic justice, in partnership with people-of-color led orgs, one conversation at a time, feels even more necessary now. I am heartbroken and afraid but to quote Timothy Snyder, I will not "obey in advance." (here is the link to the FB livestream of Wednesday's Zoom https://fb.watch/vKO6oRUWZg/
Thank you for your hard work! Finding the “challenge and a balm” in the face of heartbreak and fear is key right now 😵💫