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I feel it all these days. The rage at a system that puts corporate profits over people’s lives. The fear of sickness and isolation. The grief of lost lives and lifestyles. The discomfort that comes with an uncertain future. But today, I woke up feeling curious. Curious about what might be possible if we learn from this moment and choose to do something different…
We are learning how to be together apart. We are learning how to survive on less. We are learning how to share. We are learning that we are interconnected, interdependent, inter-everything. We are learning that that this system is not working for most of us and it needs to change. We are learning about mutual aid and community care. We are learning that we need a safety net to survive. We are learning about privilege. We are learning about trust.
You are not expected to be your most productive self during a fucking pandemic. Slow down, listen and learn.
Kerri (she/her)
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Every disaster shakes loose the old order. Already progressives and conservatives are scrambling to make changes that will alter American society. Who will win the fight for a post-Coronavirus America? Rebecca Solnit on how the answer is up to us. [click to tweet]
Americans struggle mightily with the ideology of individualism: that all that matters, in a particular moment, is what is happening to you and yours. But this pandemic is not your vacation. How the wealthy are fleeing the city, spreading the virus and putting locals at risk. [click to tweet]
We don’t endorse candidates, but it sure seems like this crisis is demanding a politics of care like #Medicare4All and #GreenNewDeal. How reality has endorsed Bernie Sanders. [click to tweet]
The Coronavirus crisis is exposing what we’re always known to be true: Capitalism, and the culture of hierarchy that props it up, doesn’t work. We shouldn’t go back to the way things were. [click to tweet]
“Without racial data, we can’t see racism, and racism becomes like asymptomatic carriers - spreading the virus and no one knows it.” Ibram X. Kendi on why we don’t know who the coronavirus victims are. [click to tweet]
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This crisis is not just exposing our inequities, it’s showing us how desperately we need a politics of care. It is a feminist response to this crisis that affirms that everyone deserves universal healthcare (#Medicare4All), family care, workers protections (#GreenNewDeal) and voting rights (#VotingRightsAct). A politics of care demands a #PeoplesBailout that puts the dignity, welfare and protection of people above corporations. Now is the time to make invest in a care economy and build the infrastructure to ensure everyone has what they need to survive and thrive. Here’s how we make it happen:
1-MUTUAL AID: Provide relief for underestimated wellness leaders/studios through Reclamation Venture’s Relief fund.
2-SOLIDARITY: Support front-line doctors, nurses and caretakers in these ways.
3-ORGANIZE: Gather your people in a circle/pod to engage in a politics of community care and mutuality.
Check out our latest call to action on CTZN Podcast. And stay up to date and engaged with our Coronavirus Community Care Guide.
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(Note to self) It’s ok to not be your most productive self during a global pandemic. And yet capitalism says “you can hustle at home”. It says “now is a good time to build your online business” and “how to up your social media game during a crisis”. And when you’re not working, it suggests that we try baking bread or growing an herb garden or launching a podcast or learning to sew. Capitalism is relentless in its attempt to steal our time and profit from our suffering. But we don’t need to comply. The Nap Ministry asks “now that we are being forced to slow down, will we answer the call to collectively stop to dream, daydream, cultivate silence and rest?” We don’t want to go back to normal. Normal wasn’t working for us. Hustling to maintain the status quo won’t get us where we need to go. We need to slow down and make space for grief that leads to healing. We need to listen to the truth that is longing to be heard. And we need to imagine better, beyond the world that we know, and towards a future of collective possibility and thriving. This is the time of The Great Pause.
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Grateful for the reminders to rest and resist capitalism’s demand for productivity. Be kind to yourself…none of this is easy.
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