Hope After 100 Days of Unthinkable Cruelty
As I reflect on collective grief and the urgency for solidarity amid turmoil, I'm seeking meaningful action.
It’s been more than three months since I’ve last written, but I imagine you’ve had other things on your mind. As Trump’s second term reaches the 100 day mark, I thought I’d check in.
This week I’m thinking a lot about grief. There’s so many versions of grief I’ve been getting familiar with lately. There’s the grief of living through a catastrophe that feels like it could have been avoided. There’s the grief of an unabated genocide. There’s the grief of knowing life saving research and resources has been callously decimated. There’s the grief of losing an alternative future where we worked to respond meaningfully to climate change. There’s the grief of knowing that things can, and likely will, get worse.
Mixed in with the grief is anger, fear, and anxiety. In the initial days after the inauguration I felt numb. Eventually that numbness has subsided. And like many people I’ve been trying to figure out how to take some meaningful action, one day at a time.
While I’ve tried to limit my social media consumption, I have been very grateful for the wisdom of long-time organizers like Mariame Kaba and Kelly Hayes. A recurring theme of organizing advice has been to find community, build community, and join existing opportunities to resist wherever and whenever possible. The truth is, the response to growing authoritarianism requires many of the same skills we’ve been asked to cultivate since COVID and farther back. We know what to do. The most important tool at our disposal is solidarity.
To get more specific, here are some things I’m trying to do:
1) I’m trying to manage my information intake. Scrolling social media can quickly feel overwhelming and I feel anxiety and sadness overtake my body. At the same time, I want to stay informed. For me, Democracy Now’s overview of the daily headlines is a great way to do this.
2) I’m trying to pick a fight to focus on. I want to fight ICE and I want to protect our clean air and water and I want to protect bodily autonomy and so on and so on. But I have limited time and energy. For now, my main focus is getting a progressive mayor elected in New York City. I’m also working to support mutual aid efforts in my neighborhood. I’m also able to passively support other causes by making a small recurring donation to my local bail fund, abortion fund, and food bank. Beyond that I’m making phone calls and signing petitions in support of other causes, but I’m not devoting significant time or resources.
3) I’m trying to protect my heart. This is going to sound cheesy and maybe give a whiff of toxic positivity. But after reading this piece from Kelly Hayes, I’m convinced that remaining kind and humane is a key act of resistance. I will continue to love my neighbors. They will continuing trying to warp our reality and tell us to fear and hate immigrants, trans people, unhoused, disabled, Muslim and anyone outside their Christian white male oligarchy. But we cannot let them destroy our compassion and love for one another. We will need to survive these dark times and we will need it to build whatever comes next.
Related to this, we need to protect our understanding of what is true and what is false. The attacks on the media and institutions of learning (from pre-k through university) are an attempt to conquer information. Identifying trusted sources and being willing to name truths and falsehoods will be vital skills moving forward.
We are living in truly scary times. And while we have templates for survival — freedom fighters from across history, including today — have faced more dire circumstances. And yet today’s context includes unique challenges such as digital surveillance. The only way out is through community and solidarity. We all need people we can trust and rely on.
It is my sincere hope that my words don’t read as cruel optimism. Tremendous harm has been done in a short amount of time, and more harm is on the way. And neither positive thinking nor self-care will be enough to stop it. But we can draw strength from a commitment to human rights in the face of relentless cruelty.
I’ll close with these three quotes from Jewish wisdom which I think can illuminate our path forward:
“The whole world is a very narrow bridge, but the most important part is not to be afraid.” - Rabbi Nachman of Breslov
“You are not obligated to complete the task, but neither are you free to desist from it.” - Rabbi Tarfon
“The only recognizable feature of hope is action.” Grace Paley
Wishing you courage, hope, and community to strengthen you and the actions you take in the days ahead.
Recommendations for Reading, Listening, and Watching:
The courage to be decent - by Radley Balko - The Watch
The Trump administration wants to make us too afraid to look out for one another. Don't let them.
