Dread and hope

As I write this, simultaneous shootings are unfolding at a high school in Los Angeles, CA, at a Walmart in Pittson, PA and at a hospital in Tulsa, OK. There have now been 20 mass shootings since the one in Uvalde just last week…people who would be alive today if we had taken action on gun control.

But the relationship between cause and effect doesn’t seem to phase politicians. And the effects extend well beyond the casualties. They shape the minds of those who lose loved ones, witness violence against their neighbors, feel unsafe in the everyday spaces they move in. They are alive in all of us who feel fear of the next shooting or who are losing hope that people in power will actually do something to change it.

Because if we don’t change things, things won’t change. And for me, that’s too high a cost to bear. I will accept nothing less than no more guns, no more prisons, no more people starving and being denied basic human rights, no more lives lost.

“I’m camped out between dread and the hope of tomorrow”. But I am clear about what I value. And I am committed to the future that we all deserve.

Kerri (she/her)

Art by @zeaink

1. Gun control can be a winning issue for Democrats, if they act quickly. Democrats Should “Do Something” the Way the GOP Does Things. [click to tweet]

2. As the Supreme Court’s new conservative majority prepares to strike down abortion rights, experts say its legal logic could also endanger gay marriage, transgender healthcare and even the right to gay sex. Why we should be terrified. [click to tweet]

3. "I bought into this thing that we even had a shot at equality . [It’s] what I call the big lie of corporate feminism”. Reshma Saujani challenges the unequal expectations of women and moms, both in the workplace and at home. [click to tweet]

4. Many spaces in U.S. society over-rely on the police to prevent problems that are better addressed through other means. Rethinking 'safety' in the wake of Uvalde. [click to tweet]

5. “If we are constantly tracking each other for things that need accountability, always operating in pursuit of the approval of others, or being held to standards set by others, how can we trust our own choices?” adrienne maree brown on how accountability begins within? [click to tweet]

So grateful for this reminder from @ParentingIsPolitical. I don’t have a focused action this week, except that we need to be prepared for the many crises we are facing. We must remember we are powerful. We must continue to show up in solidarity and collective care. And we must keep going. Here’s how we practice:

RESOURCE YOURSELF: While it may be easy for some of us to turn away and stay in our gated communities of wellness, we must instead turn toward the hard-­to-­look-­at truth of our people and planet. Resource yourself so that you can FEEL your way through change and transformation. A different future is only possible if we are willing to feel into the present and repair the past. What do you need to be present? What support can you ask for? How can you make time to feel?

ORGANIZE YOUR PEOPLE: Organizing is how we come together and get aligned around what matters to us. It’s centering our values in everything we do. Sometimes this looks like building relationships of mutual care and support. Other times it is disrupting harm and holding people accountable. But at the core, it is relational. Who are you people? How can you engage them in courageous conversations about the future that we all deserver?

GET POLITICAL: There is no neutral; no escape from the discomfort of this moment. If we want to change the conditions that enable us and everyone one else to be well, then we need to change the systems we are a part of. That means getting educated about the issues, getting curious about your local government, getting personal with your candidates, and getting your people to vote. What can you do today?

Art by @ParentingIsPolitical

It’s ok to not be ok right now. The world is a mess and the grief is unbearable. But we must grieve.

“Grief is proof that we belong to each other. When we reach out to one another in times of grief, we are saying, “I can’t do this alone, because I am not alone.” By allowing ourselves to be seen in our whole truth and humanity and to receive love and support from others, we strengthen the ties that bind us and build more resilient possibilities for healing and community.

Grief also reminds us that we carry our ancestors with us, all those who came before and made it possible for us to be who we are today. Knowing who and where we come from allows us to both heal our timelines and bring forth the legacy of wisdom and learning that is essential to reconciling the past, meeting this moment, and creating a new future. We walk into a future of uncertainty with our ancestors at our backs and our hearts broken open.

Activist and writer Malkia Devich-­Cyril shows us what’s possible: “As we strip away the chains of nation-­state to become true patriots to the nation that has not yet been born—the one beyond national borders and prison bars, the one forged in the fire of a deep, abiding love with an economy steeped in dignity and rights—we can come to know a richly resilient grief rather than a desperate, starving one.”*

*Excerpt from American Detox: The Myth of Wellness & How We Can Truly Heal (June 7th). Join us for a 40 day book club as we explore what it means to be well in a toxic world and how to show up for the wellbeing of everyone. Register here.

Art by @ctznwell

Wisdom by Dr. Bernice King

Art by @ariedelsole

CTZNWELL is community powered and crowd-sourced. That’s how we keep it real. Please consider joining us on Patreon for as little as $2/month so that we can keep doing the work of creating content that matters for CTZNs who care.