You are 100% correct, Dr. Glaude. And I find myself breathless with anxiety as I consider my own response to this crisis. As a retired person, I cannot stay home from work as part of a general strike, but I can boycott, and I am boycotting all but one Trump aligned or clueless business I know of. I also postcard, protest on the streets, poster, vote, call and write my representatives at the Federal and State level. And I stand ready to do more, if only I knew what that more might be. Nothing like the morally alight march across the Edmund Pettis bridge suggests itself. Please, please keep us well advised about what's coming up on the horizon. My firm belief is that there are more of us than ever, that more are waking from their slumber and denial and that in the end, the sight of the sufferings of our sisters and brothers under God will bring us together to resist the agents of destruction. Keep on truth-telling, please.
Profound! Interesting how timeless the writing is for the current moment. Is it true, there really is noting new? At least not when greed and racism are concerned, which is much of what wakes me in the middle of the night these days. So much cruelty against people of color and our marginalized transgender community--I have to question my actions (or inaction) in my community. Thank you for another reminder, democracy is not a spectator sport!
Thanks so much for reminding us of Thoreau and his call to action--too many people I know and love are hiding from the evil rather than standing up and fighting back. The tactics of the oligarchs are like an injection that numbs, disorients, then kills
You continue to touch me with your insights, especially when reaching back to historical events and seeing today's challenges expressed through our great writers such as Thoreau. Yes, we all need to stop and take a deep, long look into the mirror and see where, and what, we can be doing differently. To actually act our ideals, not simply discuss ad infinitum.
I have been thinking a lot about the Montgomery Boycott of Montgomery's city buses, 381 days of getting to work by feet, by rides from those with cars, and fundraising to help pay for taxis etc. I'm with you Eddie, there is power that we have to organize lots of us to withdraw funds from banks, from networks, and more. We have to identify sites and organize massively. I even think the professional athletes have power to get to the owners if they decided to boycott. I have no idea how effective the Target boycott was/is but we need to organize and select some targets.
Soul-rattling words...Thoreau's and yours! The almost non-stop personal question: What is MINE to do in this moment? Whew! How I appreciate your faithful work to keep us reminded!
paraphrasing one line of this compelling post - We must work to live a life that gives no evil no quarter to breathe. And that means ALL of us who do not want to be complicit.
This is a brilliant approach: 'Something akin to “rolling blackouts,” where ordinary people made their rejection of the current order of things known by withholding their dollars and participation in random ways—a guerrilla approach to noncooperation.' I think randomness is important. I searched on-line, but could not find, reporting on attempts made a few years back by conservative lawmakers in Texas to prevent (I believe) contract denials based on ethical grounds. The effort must have failed, but it was an early example of the right's anti-capitalistic, oligarchical drive to consolidate wealth and power, unhindered by concerns for the greater good.
I believe a significant way we who oppose trumpism but go on living our normal lives in a passive way is through our investment accounts, whether invested personally or through our employers. Our hard earned dollars are invested in funds made up of clusters of publicly traded companies which bow to and benefit from this administration's tactics (not to oversimplify - damage is occurring as well) - gun and ammo manufacturers, defense contractors, detention center facilities, prisons, media companies - like Disney/ABC and Paramount/CBS - which surrender to trump for the sake of shareholder profit. This is not easy to untangle. But it's worth checking our portfolios. Let's divest.
Amen and ase! As Frederick Douglass stated, “Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did, and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted with either words or blows, or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.”
You are 100% correct, Dr. Glaude. And I find myself breathless with anxiety as I consider my own response to this crisis. As a retired person, I cannot stay home from work as part of a general strike, but I can boycott, and I am boycotting all but one Trump aligned or clueless business I know of. I also postcard, protest on the streets, poster, vote, call and write my representatives at the Federal and State level. And I stand ready to do more, if only I knew what that more might be. Nothing like the morally alight march across the Edmund Pettis bridge suggests itself. Please, please keep us well advised about what's coming up on the horizon. My firm belief is that there are more of us than ever, that more are waking from their slumber and denial and that in the end, the sight of the sufferings of our sisters and brothers under God will bring us together to resist the agents of destruction. Keep on truth-telling, please.
Profound! Interesting how timeless the writing is for the current moment. Is it true, there really is noting new? At least not when greed and racism are concerned, which is much of what wakes me in the middle of the night these days. So much cruelty against people of color and our marginalized transgender community--I have to question my actions (or inaction) in my community. Thank you for another reminder, democracy is not a spectator sport!
Absolutely compelling. Haven't read him for years, and just now you move me to my shelf. Grateful.
Thank you, Eddie, for reminding us again of what we need to do. Your courage is an inspiration. Stay well. Stay safe. We need you.
Thanks so much for reminding us of Thoreau and his call to action--too many people I know and love are hiding from the evil rather than standing up and fighting back. The tactics of the oligarchs are like an injection that numbs, disorients, then kills
You continue to touch me with your insights, especially when reaching back to historical events and seeing today's challenges expressed through our great writers such as Thoreau. Yes, we all need to stop and take a deep, long look into the mirror and see where, and what, we can be doing differently. To actually act our ideals, not simply discuss ad infinitum.
I have been thinking a lot about the Montgomery Boycott of Montgomery's city buses, 381 days of getting to work by feet, by rides from those with cars, and fundraising to help pay for taxis etc. I'm with you Eddie, there is power that we have to organize lots of us to withdraw funds from banks, from networks, and more. We have to identify sites and organize massively. I even think the professional athletes have power to get to the owners if they decided to boycott. I have no idea how effective the Target boycott was/is but we need to organize and select some targets.
Many, many thanks 🙏🏼 Ongoing prayers for your mother’s improving health.
Soul-rattling words...Thoreau's and yours! The almost non-stop personal question: What is MINE to do in this moment? Whew! How I appreciate your faithful work to keep us reminded!
paraphrasing one line of this compelling post - We must work to live a life that gives no evil no quarter to breathe. And that means ALL of us who do not want to be complicit.
This is a brilliant approach: 'Something akin to “rolling blackouts,” where ordinary people made their rejection of the current order of things known by withholding their dollars and participation in random ways—a guerrilla approach to noncooperation.' I think randomness is important. I searched on-line, but could not find, reporting on attempts made a few years back by conservative lawmakers in Texas to prevent (I believe) contract denials based on ethical grounds. The effort must have failed, but it was an early example of the right's anti-capitalistic, oligarchical drive to consolidate wealth and power, unhindered by concerns for the greater good.
I believe a significant way we who oppose trumpism but go on living our normal lives in a passive way is through our investment accounts, whether invested personally or through our employers. Our hard earned dollars are invested in funds made up of clusters of publicly traded companies which bow to and benefit from this administration's tactics (not to oversimplify - damage is occurring as well) - gun and ammo manufacturers, defense contractors, detention center facilities, prisons, media companies - like Disney/ABC and Paramount/CBS - which surrender to trump for the sake of shareholder profit. This is not easy to untangle. But it's worth checking our portfolios. Let's divest.
Amen and ase! As Frederick Douglass stated, “Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did, and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted with either words or blows, or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.”
So grateful for this perspective.