We are six months into the dictorship and the country already seems to be on the brink of World War III. People are being kidnapped off the streets of America by masked men whose authority to do so is questionable. People are being rounded up and sent to concentration camps in third countries. Members of congress are being prosecuted and another was thrown to the ground for asking questions. Journalists have been shot with rubber bullets covering the massive peaceful protests that have been happening around the country as this regime calls in the military to work alongside militarized police forces. The chaos so many of us saw on the horizon if this person became president again is coming to fruition. Add a techno-fascist surveillence state on top of that and it really seems like we're cooked as a country.

And on top of that, after I finished writing this blog post, I learned that two Democratic lawmakers in Minnesota were shot by someone impersonating a police officer. I have an event today and must admit I am afraid to go, especially since someone in this city was caught with weapons and impersonating a police offer here just the other day. Nationwide protests are happening today as well as a weird military parade and fear hangs heavy in the air, but I can't live in fear.

The people are fighting back through protests, boycotts, divestment, and in the courts. We should all be doing our part to chip away at their power, in whatever ways our privilege allows us to. Some people have more privilege than others and should be fighting on behalf of those will fewer rights, because we gotta be honest, some of us have fewer rights. Some of us have always been treated second class and because of this we are choosing to fight against this regime in ways that allow us to survive and keep fighting. Find what that is for you and get to work.

Here is the newsletter I sent to my subscribers right after the election and I am posting it here on the blog because I want to make it clear where I stand. If you're new here, I'm not down with this current regime and I hate to see my some of my worst fears coming true.

textile design by Tammi Williams - "With Liberty & Justice for All"

Hello Everyone,

I’ve got no words of wisdom about the election results and I’m filled with sadness and anger — just like a lot of you reading this — because we have lost our democracy. Likely for generations. Although I thought Kamala Harris would have made a great president, it was not just about a candidate for me. America will have an openly fascist government and real people will face real harms as a result. I live in a heavily immigrant community and I am worried about my neighbors. You might not believe it now, but I encourage you to pay attention and listen to what that man and the people around him with their ready-made plans have been saying.

They mean every word.

I’m supposed to keep politics out of my business, but I’m a Black woman in America and I was raised to speak up for myself and for others. And although the incoming regime says they care about free speech and claim to want to protect it, I doubt that applies to politics or speaking out against their inhumane policy agenda. It is scary to think about what’s coming and I need to think carefully about how I will show up going forward. Black women are bullied and harassed on these social platforms that are owned by the very people who bought the election and others who are obeying in advance, and I need my energy for the creative work that makes my life worth living.

But on the other hand,

I really don’t like fascists and I might not be able to shut up about it.

Was Kamala Harris a savior? No. Would she have given us a chance to make the country better for everyone? I believe so, yes. That is why I raised funds for her campaign with your help. We believed in her and hoped she’d win and did what we could to make that happen. We should not be ashamed for having hope. Fascism thrives in an environment of hopelessness. We should not be ashamed for working to bring about the future we want. The fascists want you to feel powerless.

I’m proud of the work I did, even though we didn’t get the result we wanted. It filled me with hope to see so many makers in this community posting about voting and democracy and speaking up for their values. But now we have to figure out what we’ll do next. I don’t have any answers. But I do know that we’ll need each other. And if you are not on the side of the fascists, we can be in community together. Everyone else can kick rocks, unsubscribe, unfollow, take your bad vibes and go.