“The grand thing about collective effort is that we can generally trust that someone is out in the world, doing important social justice work when we are too tired or burned out to join in.” -Roxanne Gay
By Andrea Loewen
@ms_andreajoy
A monthly round up of Resistance Research, including quotes, news, analysis, inspiration, and action items. Let’s break this regime down into actionable items and take it down, bit by bit!
This Month’s Action:
This month, let’s take a page from Roxanne Gay’s advice column, because by now we all are feeling a bit tired. It can seem like following along with all the outrageous news is all we have energy for, but as Ms. Gay suggests: even the act of following all the news may not be in our best interest.
Instead, this month, give yourself some compassion. Pick one or two news sources you trust and check them no more often than once a day. Pick one cause that you can worry about right now (maybe it’s reproductive rights and education, gun control, or immigration), and find one tangible action you can do to help support that cause.
Remember that someone else is worrying about the other ones, so you don’t have to carry it all around in your heart.
Buuuut, if you do have one action this month, here’s what you can do:
Donate to the Stop KM Legal Defence Fund: ICYMI: Nearly 200 people have been arrested resisting the Kinder Morgan pipeline in Burnaby, several of them First Nations people defending their own land. Donate to support legal defence costs stemming from protest, civil disobedience, and direct action activities in opposition to the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.
This Month’s Reading:
WTF List (Keeping Up With the News):
What the Fuck Just Happened Today: Because you might still want to keep in the loop on what is going on in the Whitehouse.
The 53 Most Stunning Lines from Donald Trump’s Fox & Friends Interview: If you couldn’t bring yourself to sit through the whole thirty minutes, here’s a fantastic summary, from his admission to being a thoughtless husband to describing professional qualifications as “beautiful.”
ICE Has Trapped This Immigrant in a Church for Three Months: An Albanian man who had been allowed to stay in the country for humanitarian reasons (to care for his wife with MS) is now holed up in a church.
In a Closed-Door UN Meeting, Trump Officials Pushed for Abstinence for International Women’s Health Programs: It’s funny, they call the US a ‘pro-life’ nation, and so little is done to preserve the lives of humans once they are born.
New York Just Passed a Bill Banning Cops from Having Sex with People in Custody: It is a little mind-blowing that this needed to happen, but it did, and it happened thanks to the strength and determination of one victim of police rape.
Action Inspo and Instructionals:
Let these alternate guides and examples of resistance inspire you!
There is a Rapist in the Whitehouse: Some beautiful, blatant protest art on Trump Tower in New York.
Stampeding Out of Trump’s Door: A simple piece of art illustrating all the people who have fled the Oval Office.
Catholic Church Returns Island to West Coast First Nation: A beautiful example of doing the right thing.
Vermont Lawmakers Pass 2 New Bills to Restrict Guns: Progress! Slow but real progress!
Analysis, Opinion, and Enrichment:
These will help you better understand how what’s feeding the madness and expose you to perspectives different from your own (regardless of their direct connection to Trump’s madness).
More Evidence That Racism and Sexism Were Key to Trump’s Victory: In case you still need to have this conversation with someone.
More Than Checking Privilege, the Gun Debate Has to Get Serious About Race: Black teens from Parkland to Chicago are having their experiences with gun violence overlooked. Why?
Why the Stormy Daniels-Donald Trump Story Matters: It’s not just a run-of-the-mill sexual scandal. This could have a real impact on Trump.
Trump Believes We Need to Issue Work Requirements to Social Safety Net Recipients. The Research Says Otherwise: In case you need back up in your next debate about social services.
Andrea is a Vancouver-based writer, theatre producer and promoter, choreographer, and yoga instructor with a big dose of love for sci-fi/fantasy, her cat, green tea, riding her bike no matter the weather and using a robot to vacuum her floors so she doesn’t have to. She covers dance for Vancouver Presents, as well as writing for her own blog, The Receptionist. www.andrealoewen.com
