Personal

A march, a future, a past

Why I marched:

because it was relatively easy
because it was clear and obvious
because I reject the idea that Americans are largely racist and fascist, in love with authority
because we must remind everyone that we are not racist and fascist, not in love with authority
because I wanted to be with people
because I wanted to see what this aspect of my adopted city is like, who comes, what they wear, how we dance
because it is a beginning

What I will do next:

continue learning about leadership opportunities with the idea of running for office
seek ways to ensure voter numbers rise
design a t-shirt
work on voter registration drives
learn who exactly reports to me and start making phone calls
attend a city council meeting
attend another local governmental meeting
get better at public speaking
organize conversations among my people (my neighborhood, Drupal people, writers, dancers, etc)
write and publish more (like this list) (which meant I had to fix my hacked blog) (the cobbler's children, etc.)
continue pushing the envelope as a genderqueer woman in the technical industry
find ways to improve my immediate civic environment
get involved with bicycling coalitions (go to a meeting)
keep doing pushups and getting physically stronger
write more poems (a.k.a. do more shit that I've internalized as a problem because fuck that oppressive shit)
read more non-fiction
have more conversations
wear more political t-shirts
spend less time on facebook
read a newspaper every Sunday (maybe)
sew a flag for the new American resistance
gather people to bicycling, reduced meat eating, technology, frugality, creative expression
help people plan better marches with more art involved
build space for peace, silence, community, love, art in the civic world
support my loved ones as we grieve, rage, and work hard

It is a start. It is not the end. There will likely never be an end, so we must find our place in the work. We must settle in to the long arc of the universe, bending towards justice, moving toward a world that feels good. A world where there is space to be quiet and peaceful as well as loud and angry. A world where people are eating every day and don't have to worry about the cops shooting them.

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