Telling the truth at the Thanksgiving dinner table. Plus, how to #BoycottBlackFriday and find joy in justice. #WELLREAD.

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where wellbeing meets politics


** Truthsgiving
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This thanksgiving, there are a lot of truths that need to be told. The first being that this very holiday was built on a lie. Worse it emerged out of a national horror that we are yet to come to grips with.

Giving thanks is only possible when we start from a place of truth - when we reckon with our true history and our complicity, when we name and acknowledge the toxicity of a culture and system that is keeping us stuck in our lies and when we work to correct the injustice and repair the breach.

This week’s #WELLREAD is all about that. It’s about reclaiming the truth of this holiday, it’s about rejecting the colonialism and capitalism that inspired it and it’s about doing our part to disrupt harm when it happens and create the conditions for healing and transformation.

But that’s not the whole story. Despite the hardship and heartbreak of this moment, there are miracles and magic all around us. And that while we must bring justice home, we can also embody compassion and joy.

Anasa Troutman reminds us “Joy requires radical truth. Seek out, listen to and tell the whole truth. And then let your heart be open to hold both the joy and the pain of our shared story.”

And so when we give thanks this holiday, let us include the whole of it - the whole history of who we are and how we got here, the whole of our human family especially centering those who have been erased and oppressed, and the whole of our experience, complete with sacred rage and joyful resistance.

May our truth lead to reconciliation and our justice lead to joy.


Kerri Kelly

(she/her)

TRUTHSGIVING
Thanksgiving promotes a white-washed history, so Christine Nobiss organized #Truthsgiving ([link removed]) instead. One of the most celebrated mythologies is the holiday of Thanksgiving ([link removed]) , which is believed, since 1621, to be a mutually sanctioned gathering of “Indians” and Pilgrims. The real story is one where settler vigilantes unyieldingly pushed themselves into Native American homelands and forced a "gathering" upon the locals. In 1970, Wamsutta Frank James, Wampanoag elder, called for a National Day of Mourning ([link removed]) in protest to the false history and ritual that we know to be Thanksgiving. The legacy of this lie
continues: Indigenous people face higher rates of mental illness ([link removed]) , sexual assault ([link removed]) , and mortality than other Americans ([link removed]) . Here's how you can do your part:
1) Acknowledge National Day of Mourning
2) Donate to Indigenous Rights Organizations ([link removed])
3) Support Native Born Businesses and Artists (here's a list ([link removed]) )
4) Do not use culturally appropriative decorations
5) talk about the truth ([link removed]) (and Trump) at Thanksgiving (thanks, Ibram X Kendi).
Image via @3tokenbrowngirls

BOYCOTT BLACK FRIDAY
Do we really need more stuff? One truck of textiles is landfilled and incinerated every second as a result of this weekend's shopping extravaganza. Black Friday is an ugly symbol of over-consumption and we're over it. Some brands are jumping on the bandwagon ([link removed]) , calling people to consume more responsibly, but this isn't about them - it's about survival. We're using more resources than our planet can generate (the US alone represents 5% of the population but takes up 25% of earth's resources). This means we're stealing from future generations to accommodate our desire for more, more, more. The truth is, consumerism (that's us) plays a huge role in climate change ([link removed]) . Here are some Black Friday resistance alternatives:
1) REBEL: Extinction Rebellion is taking to the streets this Friday. Check out Meditation Rebellion in NY ([link removed]) , the funeral procession in Vancouver ([link removed]) , and events happening everywhere.
2) PLEDGE: Pledge to not buy clothing or textiles for 52 weeks with #XRBoycottFashion ([link removed])
3) SUPPORT: It's not too late to support #IndiginousGivingTuesday ([link removed]) and buy from BIPOC-owned businesses ([link removed]) .

FAMILY INTERVENTION
The old adage of "no politics at the dinner table" is not just impossible in an non-neutral world, it's not helpful. As Rachel Cargle reminds us, "toxic ideologies often start at the dinner table" ([link removed]) . But we've got you covered. Check out the replay of Monday's webinar on how to have Courageous Conversations ([link removed]) featuring Katie Loncke, Carinne Luck, and Kerri Kelly. We used the Build/Block/Be framework (hear more about this in our convo with Katie on CTZN Podcast ([link removed]) ) and prepared to face our families and fortify ourselves in collective resilience. Here are the highlights:
1) BUILD a new culture: Truthsgiving starts with a land acknowledgement. ([link removed]) Before saying grace, educate your family on whose land you are really on.
2) BLOCK racist jokes, political propaganda, and toxic perspectives. Compassion often calls us to say hard things. Be prepared to disrupt harm when it happens. Then listen and go from there.
3) BE your best self. Disrupt with love. Stay curious about what you might not know or understand. And take care of yourself when you need. #boundaries
Image by @futurefeminists

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Looking for more programming to help you take action and find community support? Join Anasa Troutman and Kerri Kelly on December 12 for Joy & Justice!

Everyone who joins us on Patreon at $10 or more each month will get access - plus a CTZN hat!

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