Community and Belonging

Hi Friends,

I'm noticing a theme in a lot of what I am reading and hearing in my community, which is that we must find ways to include as many people as possible in the resistance to authoritarianism and fascism in order to succeed.

Kelly Hayes, in her interview with Mariame Kaba, says, "I want to win. That means I want us to have more power than our enemies, and I want to take away the power they have. The people who have supported them, and put them in office, are obviously a big part of that power, so yes, I want them to lose those people. That means there have to be other places for those people to go, places where they are welcome. As an organizer, this isn’t my biggest concern right now, because I am primarily concerned with creating as much safety as possible for the people in my communities who are being harmed, most of whom did not vote for that man. But that objective is also more important to me than any resentments that I have." [my emphasis]

Everett Rudolph, new to activism, makes important points about welcoming everyone into this movement. "I know that I wouldn’t take someone’s opinion seriously if it’s being screamed in my face and I’m being called names. Even if I agreed with someone, I’d lose respect for both them and their belief system if that’s how they treat me in conversation. That’s what I try to keep in mind when attending these demonstrations: Progress isn’t made through petty arguments, it’s made through well-researched civil discourse, demonstrations highlighting a broad base of public support and public awareness of negative experiences."

How do we treat each other? As enemies? Or as potential allies, as fellow humans we have something in common with?

Anand Giridharadas adds, "the resistance has been hurt by an attitude that can sometimes imply moral superiority or dismissiveness toward the very citizens it hopes to persuade. There is often an affect of being the only ones to get it. The movement has struggled to attract people of color, and Black people in particular; it has struggled to attract young people and working class people who don’t have the luxury of time and gas money. And these conspicuous (and democracy-threatening) absences often seem to inspire contempt for those who don’t see rather than curiosity about the resistance’s own limitations. In politics, if your ranks are fewer than you want them to be, the safe assumption is that it’s your own fault."

The Catalyst Project shares, "We have a choice about how to relate to this phenomenon- criticize from the sidelines because the politics aren’t as radical as we want, or see it as an organizing opportunity to bring people to movement, draw the connections between what is happening to people domestically and what is happening around the world. We need to find the people who are looking for us, the people who know we’re in a deep crisis and are hungry for a vision that resonates with their values and a way to be part of building a different world."

We have an opportunity to build community and connection.

Lyz Lenz reminds us in a dive into prepping culture that survival is community: "people who survive disasters aren’t the ones with well-barricaded fences and stockpiles of shelf-stable goods, but those with friends and strong community bonds. A billionaire’s apocalypse bunker might sound appealing, but it’s no replacement for a strong network of people who check in on you."

Connection is what fights fear. Daniel Hunter with Waging Nonviolence writes, "Connect with the people in your life who love you — feel that connection and let it touch your fear. Connect with allies in your network, organization or company. And find some outside of those, too, to share in these moments. Whenever you can, send signals out to other sectors that you’re with them in spirit — and look for avenues of allyship." Lucas Kunce has great advice about how to connect with people regardless of what you might have in common.

Giridharadas quotes from an interview with former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich regarding solidarity: "Solidarity. is necessary for courage. I mean, people are not gonna be courageous unless they feel that they are embraced. I mean, there are certain wonderful people who will be courageous regardless, but most people are gonna be courageous if they feel like their neighbors and their friends and their communities are courageous. So the solidarity is often a precursor and a prerequisite to the kind of courage we need."

L. A. Kauffman writes about how to spread courage. Nicole Cardoza raises up the power of empathy, "Empathy isn't just a personal virtue – it's a social practice of finding shared understanding in the experiences of others, especially when their experiences are foreign to our own. Empathy forces us to acknowledge suffering and ask uncomfortable questions about who benefits from our current systems and who pays the price."

Eleanor Hancock of Comrades Education writes, "This world is full of the energy of people pushing back against a system designed to maximize profit at the expense of everything else. We actually do NOT need to live this way, and people all over the world are getting their bearings and fighting back against the horrific tsunami of capitalism and imperialism that began pouring out of Europe some 500 years ago. You can be part of that fight, regardless of who you are or where you come from. Let’s squash the oligarchs nightmare of “end times fascism” and make this “the age of the people” instead."

Nicole Cardoza reminds us that "I think we’re collectively raised to believe that beauty is in the absence of conflict. Worse, that any conflict somehow threatens the beauty that we seek. When we witness conflict, we retreat. And we miss out. Because that’s the fertile soil where we can deepen our relationships, set stronger boundaries, and tap into resources to repair and reset."

Rebecca Solnit writes, "All that activity comes from love, and while a thousand things tell us in a thousand ways, and have all our American lives, that everything we want is private and personal and much of it is money and commodities, we are so much bigger than that. So much better than that. We want so much more than that, which is a testament to our idealism. By idealism I mean care for things beyond ourselves, where empathy, solidarity, generosity, commitment to the public realm and the collective good flourish." I also want to highlight her recent post about the nature of violence and how the ongoing violence of the systems is not called out in the same way that individual violence is.

If you're participating in an action on June 14, here are some resources:
- Women's March linked to this Protest Safety Guide from Nonviolent Peaceforce
- Waging Nonviolence shared "Streetwise & Steady: A Workbook for Action Peacekeepers or Event Marshals"

If you're looking for some additional actions or resources:
- Indivisible is running "Solidarity in Action: Training for Systemic Change and Allyship Series Kick-off with Heather McGhee" on June 24
- Heather Cox Richardson released a ten episode "Journey to American Democracy: Ten Steps to Revolution" (each one is less than two minutes long)

I want to leave you with the uplifting and visionary words of Valarie Kaur, who when faced with a threat of violence in Los Angeles this week, turned to the person behind her with messages of radical, revolutionary love, reminding us that those who threaten violence are "frail and wounded human beings." They are scared of us. We must not give anyone our humanity or give in to anyone's tendency towards hate.

Emily
Listen. Amplify. Follow. In Solidarity.