We will not back down. We will not go quietly.

I haven’t written in quite a while.  Not on my blog, and not anywhere else except the occasional post on Bluesky.  I’ve been busy and it has meant less time for things like posting.  I’m considering starting a Substack, so I’m posting this in both places to see what happens. 

Friday I went to our local version of The People’s March.  There were about 70 of us there, standing in the cold with signs protesting Trump and billionaires, calling out the need for Reproductive Rights, safety for our immigrant communities, the need for an actual Democracy, and more.  We had a few maga cultists shout at us, but mostly positive responses.  Honks, peace signs, thumbs ups, smiles and waves.  We did have one man inexplicably say that he supported Biden and Harris and also supports Trump.  I guess his point was that whoever the president is is fine with him? I’m not really sure.

Last Tuesday, I held my 3^rd community meeting inspired by Worth Fighting For, a coalition of other groups including Indivisible, Move On, and the Working Families Party.  We spent our first meeting working through our thoughts and feelings about the election, our second learning about the nature of power, and our third honing in on what we wanted to be and do as a group.  I have loved hosting them, and we have a great and growing group of people looking to do lots of work over the next four years to combat what’s coming.

Today is the day we celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday.  Something else happened today, but I don’t believe it worth mentioning.  Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would recognize the America of today all too well.  I believe he would be heartily disappointed at the lack of progress.

I had not picked a “Word of the Year” this year, although I have in the past, until today when I read a poem by Kim Nelson on her Substack Word Work.  It was called “Persist: a Season of Dissent” and it inspired me to choose my word of the year.  Dissent.   

In this case, I mean the verb form, meaning to withhold assent or approval (Merriam-Webster).  I will not approve of the current president.  I will not assent to standing by while he persecutes people who are not rich, white, straight, men.  I will dissent.  Loudly, publicly and as often as needed. And I hope some of you will too.