As far as I know there are just 3 of us in this neighborhood who are active in trying to stand up against the insanity. When your tiny sticker showed up months back, I was afraid to be seen putting it up, so grabbed one of the other 2 and together we wrapped it around the pole of a stop sign on our tiny street. Because it's still there, I'm guessing that you have to be looking to see it. So why bother? Because every time I drive by, it reminds me that I'm not alone. Because now I reach out to those two whenever there's a way to act on our beliefs and we stand, call, write and are a bit braver together. Because each of us is part of other groups and now carry the message so we can come back and celebrate together. Certainly grand gestures and actions matter, but we need to remember that the little ones are the glue building up to those grand gestures.
Gail, I love that you know it’s there, that the other three know it’s there and that most importantly you all know each other are there! Appreciate you so much.
I've been dithering whether or not to attend the protest on Saturday—I've gone to SO MANY protests, I have a little library of homemade signs dating back to 2017—and was thinking about how it doesn't matter because the right wingers will just say it's AI-generated crowds or the result of George Soros cutting checks. You're correct, of course, that the true purpose is to be in community with like-minded people.
A few days ago, I had lunch with a friend, and something she said has really stayed with me. Out of curiosity, she'd visited the ICE recruiting website, and she mentioned that they're offering student loan forgiveness and huge signing bonuses to people who join. I hate that my tax dollars are going to this! Times are tough, inflation hasn't magically disappeared the way Trump said it would, and this is the sort of offer that could appeal to a LOT of people who are struggling financially. ICE hasn't really shown up in a major way here in the Bay Area the way it has in Portland & Chicago, but I know it's just a matter of time that Oakland & SF are targeted.
I absolutely love protests and have never had a single one where I haven’t had to do some element of “come on Garrett, I know you’ve been to plenty but do it again.” Recently I’ve started assuming that everybody else in the crowd had the same inner monologue, which only makes me appreciate them more!
You are probably going to have to give me this pep talk every time there's a protest! I'm sure I'll be there tomorrow... if nothing else, it's going to be 70 degrees and sunny, so no one can complain about the weather.
I remember the uprising of 2020 and how chronically online I was throughout all of it. Most of my feed was dominated by angry progressive voices (who I probably still agree with) and groups looking to burn it all down. What got lost was what people imagined as a better reality than the one we were in. I'm sure it was there, but ignored by the algorithm. My mental health and relationships suffered because of how addicted to the algorithm I was. Now I seek out people I can learn from and who are motivated by love and have a sense of what a better future would be, even if it seems impossible now. Thank you for all you do, Garrett. 💜
Brita a not insignificant part of my coming to this approach and philosophy was feeling a deeply complicated relationship to both the hope and energy (awesome) and self righteousness and one upmanship (not as awesome) I witnessed that summer
I would very much like to take your class, but it requires me to sign in via Google, and my gut tells me not to do that. Will there be a recording of the class? If so, and if you can email that recording, I'd be happy to make a contribution to support the work. I'm hoping you can reply to the email address I use for my subscription to The White Pages.
Aside: I sometimes post quotes on FB, and several times the quotes have been from you with, of course, proper attribution. Thus far, and to the best of my recollection, the only other living person I've quoted is Heather Cox Richardson. Enough said.
That’s my neighborhood! Thanks for seeing us. Rogers Park is not the easiest place to call home, which is part of its charm. I’vebeen soothed + energized by our response to ice fuckery. We have said, “we cannot stop you but we’ll not stand idly by.”
As far as I know there are just 3 of us in this neighborhood who are active in trying to stand up against the insanity. When your tiny sticker showed up months back, I was afraid to be seen putting it up, so grabbed one of the other 2 and together we wrapped it around the pole of a stop sign on our tiny street. Because it's still there, I'm guessing that you have to be looking to see it. So why bother? Because every time I drive by, it reminds me that I'm not alone. Because now I reach out to those two whenever there's a way to act on our beliefs and we stand, call, write and are a bit braver together. Because each of us is part of other groups and now carry the message so we can come back and celebrate together. Certainly grand gestures and actions matter, but we need to remember that the little ones are the glue building up to those grand gestures.
Gail, I love that you know it’s there, that the other three know it’s there and that most importantly you all know each other are there! Appreciate you so much.
Tks. Back atcha, although yours are more likely in the thousands.
I've been dithering whether or not to attend the protest on Saturday—I've gone to SO MANY protests, I have a little library of homemade signs dating back to 2017—and was thinking about how it doesn't matter because the right wingers will just say it's AI-generated crowds or the result of George Soros cutting checks. You're correct, of course, that the true purpose is to be in community with like-minded people.
A few days ago, I had lunch with a friend, and something she said has really stayed with me. Out of curiosity, she'd visited the ICE recruiting website, and she mentioned that they're offering student loan forgiveness and huge signing bonuses to people who join. I hate that my tax dollars are going to this! Times are tough, inflation hasn't magically disappeared the way Trump said it would, and this is the sort of offer that could appeal to a LOT of people who are struggling financially. ICE hasn't really shown up in a major way here in the Bay Area the way it has in Portland & Chicago, but I know it's just a matter of time that Oakland & SF are targeted.
I absolutely love protests and have never had a single one where I haven’t had to do some element of “come on Garrett, I know you’ve been to plenty but do it again.” Recently I’ve started assuming that everybody else in the crowd had the same inner monologue, which only makes me appreciate them more!
You are probably going to have to give me this pep talk every time there's a protest! I'm sure I'll be there tomorrow... if nothing else, it's going to be 70 degrees and sunny, so no one can complain about the weather.
I remember the uprising of 2020 and how chronically online I was throughout all of it. Most of my feed was dominated by angry progressive voices (who I probably still agree with) and groups looking to burn it all down. What got lost was what people imagined as a better reality than the one we were in. I'm sure it was there, but ignored by the algorithm. My mental health and relationships suffered because of how addicted to the algorithm I was. Now I seek out people I can learn from and who are motivated by love and have a sense of what a better future would be, even if it seems impossible now. Thank you for all you do, Garrett. 💜
Brita a not insignificant part of my coming to this approach and philosophy was feeling a deeply complicated relationship to both the hope and energy (awesome) and self righteousness and one upmanship (not as awesome) I witnessed that summer
I would very much like to take your class, but it requires me to sign in via Google, and my gut tells me not to do that. Will there be a recording of the class? If so, and if you can email that recording, I'd be happy to make a contribution to support the work. I'm hoping you can reply to the email address I use for my subscription to The White Pages.
Aside: I sometimes post quotes on FB, and several times the quotes have been from you with, of course, proper attribution. Thus far, and to the best of my recollection, the only other living person I've quoted is Heather Cox Richardson. Enough said.
Janice if you’d like to send me an email (Garrett at barnraisersproject.org) we can get you an alternative way of signing up
Needed this today. Thank you!
So glad. I needed to write it!
thank you for this dose of hope! I'm a new subscriber and already feeling richer for it.
Thank you so much for being here!
That’s my neighborhood! Thanks for seeing us. Rogers Park is not the easiest place to call home, which is part of its charm. I’vebeen soothed + energized by our response to ice fuckery. We have said, “we cannot stop you but we’ll not stand idly by.”
Love you and love your neighborhood!