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Friday follow-ups

Not quitting! + Some thank yous and questions toward the end

Julia Smith

21 Feb 2025 — 2 min read

Weekend plans, perhaps?

To read

➡️ THIS IS REALLY HARD (BUT WE ARE NOT QUITTING): REFLECTIONS ON KINDNESS AND RESOLUTENESS by Rebecca Solnit, who points out:

…We are in a culture that often seems to insist that our first job is to be happy, and that anything else or less is a failure, and I'm all for whatever moments of joy, repose, and encouragement we can find or make or offer in this hideous crisis, but also it's okay to be sad. That sadness is a sign of care […] We are feeling what all this stuff under attack is worth to us.

➡️ Pairs well with Courtney Martin’s recent piece on Grace and Proportionality in Polycrisis.

Finding it hard to focus and prioritize?

➡️ Maybe try Mariame Kaba’s new zine, Making a Plan. (Hat tip: Kate Barrow.) I especially love the “capacity checks” and journaling prompts toward the end.

➡️ Or I often turn to the prompts from this Molly Wizenberg post to untangle my thoughts and feelings.

If you are feeling less reflective/mournful/solitary and more hit-the-streets/skill-up/chant-and-sing

➡️ Check Indivisible’s map of upcoming actions. There’s more than one opportunity to scream outside a Tesla dealership if that sounds cathartic.

➡️ If you’re in DC, there are so many events listed on this Movement Calendar. Do I know any academics or others who will be at the Hands Off! Our Healthcare Research Jobs rally on Tuesday?

➡️ I’ve mentioned Right to Be’s free bystander intervention trainings. If you want to explore other options, here’s one this Sunday at 1pm ET from Aleah Black, aka @gendersauce, who promises to use “a combination of lecture, somatic practice, activities, and storytelling to help you learn to effectively and compassionately disobey.”