November 18, 2024

We Don't Have Other Choices | LISB

Hey y’all.

Two weeks ago, I told you I was reorganizing my office as an avoidance behavior, coping mechanism. When I hit send on that email, I was not yet done.

Gentle reader, I am still not yet done. Partly that is because I have been turtling after the election. Partly that is I was at a meeting in Atlanta all last weekend. And partly, it’s that I am a chaos Muppet with poor executive function.

Honestly, it’s mostly that last part. Anxiety does nothing to improve my executive function. The opposite, in fact.

I’m in a lot of circles, both literal and figurative. I am on a couple of boards, I pastor a small, progressive church, I work as an organizer in a very economically depressed region, I consult to progressive causes, and, of course, I write.

And there is a lot of anxiety out there right now, especially in historically marginalized communities. And I get it. I love people who are directly threatened by this new administration.

Some of the best advice I have gotten is to not borrow trouble by assuming things will happen that have not yet happened. This is not to say we should not prepare for possible threats – but rocking back and forth on your couch, paralyzed by what may happen next year is unlikely to prove helpful to anyone.

I will not lie to you or give you platitudes- this will be ugly for lots of folks. But what marginalized communities have always known, and the rest of us are learning, is that the way we will survive this is by building stable communities based on trust and shared values. The politicians will not save us. The government will not save us. The Supreme Court will not save us.

We will save us.

We must – we don’t have other choices.

If you have well developed plans or coping mechanisms, I would love to hear about them – just hit reply or leave them in the comments on the web version.

Five Beautiful Things

I started this newsletter in early 2015, because I was struck by the sheer ugliness I found myself surrounded by, and decided to look intentionally for things I thought beautiful (or hopeful, inspiring, or cute). When I find something, I share it here. - HH

AAP Magazine has posted the winners of their 43^rd photo contest, with the theme of Colors. These are stunning.

If you are feeling apprehensive coming into the holidays, I present: A Tiny Hamster Thanksgiving

Daren Jannace drew 30 Post-It Illustrations a day for a year, then animated them and put it to a soundtrack.  That sounds nothing like how awesome this is.

Josh Neuman, hurtling down the side of a mountain at what must be 70MPH, on a skateboard. It’s terrifying, and yet I cannot look away.

If you are feeling powerless, Haymarket Books has put together a collection of ten eBooks for such a time as this and has made them available to download for free for the next 4 days.

Members Only

Members get, among other occasional goodies, a weekly essay in their inbox. Their support keeps this newsletter both free and ad-free for everyone else. Here are the ones I have published since the last LISB issue.

Hog Killing Day – I was seven when racism finally broke through, and I learned something I did not want to know.

What I know how to do – November’s Members Only newsletter

The stuff – What happens to what we leave behind

Also…

Social Media is even more complicated now, but I just joined Blue Sky, if anyone is over there. Not sure how much I will use it, but early signs look hopeful.

Thank You!

Link ideas in this issue from Tracy Durnell, Jason Kottke, and my friend Derrick who has no website.

I never take your readership for granted. That you allow me in your inbox, week after week, is one of the privileges of my life. 

If you want to support this work, you can become a member, forward this to a friend, or buy me a cup of coffee. However you do it, thank you from the bottom of my heart. 

If someone forwarded you this email, you can subscribe here.

Take care,

HH

-- -

Hugh L. Hollowell Jr
(he/him)
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