Every week there is a new horrifying or gobsmacking event happening in the US. I try to write in ways that are relevant to current events and how to navigate them while tending to our inner world and the collective, but I don't have the capacity to respond to them every time. Now that my cued e-letters for Reiki training are up (we've postponed the start until we have more registrants, so let me know if you are interested!), I'm confronted again with what to write. 

I'm going to speak plainly today. 

If you haven't been paying attention, you need to now. 

If you listen to Fox News, it's time to find another source. They've been lying to you. 

It's time to find non-violent ways to respond, and repeat, ad nauseam. This is the necessity of these times. 

Minnesotans are brave. Resilient. Scared. Doing the thing anyway. In frigid, unsafe temperatures. I love them. I wish they didn't have to do this.

I know many of you have Minnesotans in your life. Check on them. Send them care packages. Protest in solidarity with them (there are many ICE Out protests going on around the country.) Let them know they aren't doing this alone.

Us Midwesterners are hearty folk. We've lived through the bitter cold and snow year after year. We care about our community, and that is showing in the unwillingness to submit to bullies who just want us to lay down and take it. Fuck that.

The macrocosm is the microcosm. Imagine (or remember) an abusive family system. The emotionally and physically abusive parent hurts one of the children. The other is the golden child (immune to the physical harm, but also steeped in the emotional harm in different ways). The child who is being hit says something, speaks out about the abuse. "How dare that child say anything?" thinks the abusive parent or enabler. They should just sit there and take it. The abusers thinks the child is making them hit them, because the child upset them. It would all just be better if they were quiet.

Well, that's the narrative for the US right now coming from those in positions of power.

Historians and political scientists have a world for it when it's a government: Totalitarianism.

From Britannica.com:
Totalitarianism is a form of government that attempts to assert total control over the lives of its citizens. It is characterized by strong central rule that attempts to control and direct all aspects of individual life through coercion and repression. It does not permit individual freedom. Traditional social institutions and organizations are discouraged and suppressed, making people more willing to be merged into a single unified movement. Totalitarian states typically pursue a special goal to the exclusion of all others, with all resources directed toward its attainment, regardless of the cost.

My work is all about healing and releasing trauma. This administration is generating so much trauma it brings me to tears. Sometimes I collapse on my floor, head in my hands, before I rally myself. 

Alex. Renee. A baby that stopped breathing from being teargassed. An autistic woman carried away as she was on the way to the doctor. A peaceful protestor blinded. Oglala Sioux Tribal members detained (they are the only ones who never immigrated! wtf?!?!). People of color (citizens and those here legally) profiled, harassed, detained because of how they look, how they speak, how they dress. I could go on and on.

All of these people, they need us. We need us. 

The Republican members of Congress have the power to stop this. There is still time to pressure them to rein in ICE. Congress: 202-224-3121. You don't have to have the perfect thing to say. You just need to call. Honestly, I find it rather cathartic hounding Ron Johnson. ;)

What I do believe in is the power of the people. You and me. There are more of us than there are of them. We are fed up, and this doesn't have to continue. We just have to be willing to do something about it. Stand in your power. Don't give it away to them in complacency or fear. We are stronger together. 

Voces de la Frontera has resources to support immigrants, and rally to protect them in Wisconsin. Donate, volunteer, get involved. We need to be ready.

Monarcha is the rapid response line in Minnesota. They need our support. 

Keep an eye on the 287g program, and speak up! This gives municipalities federal money for local law enforcement to collaborate with ICE. Because they've been deputized in this way, essentially any police officers in participating counties are also effectively ICE agents. They often also have beds reserved in their jails for detainees. There are numerous counties in Wisconsin that are currently participating at the time of this writing: Brown, Calumet, Fond du Lac, Kenosha, Kewaunee, Kewaunee, Manitowoc, Marathon, Marquette, Outagamie, Sauk, Sheboygan, Washington, Waukesha, Waushara, Winnebago, and Wood Counties Sheriffs' Offices, and the Palmyra Police Department. This is also reversible! So if you live in one of those counties, speak up and say you do not want your police department participating!

Know that I'm doing what I can to stand with you in this. I've been standing up to bullies since 1987. Standing up to these bullies has become my new hobby.

If you need help regulating your nervous system, or finding moments to recharge to keep doing the thing, I'm here. 

I'm also wanting to offer Reiki to immigrants and those being harmed by this administration. If you would like to donate funds to help sponsor folks, or donate your own Reiki skills to help, let me know. Hopefully, our little bits of effort will lessen some of the long lasting impacts of this harm. 

Keep showing up.

Love ya'll and stay safe out there,

Sarah

Last Friday, I had just wrapped up with clients, and decided to log onto Instagram briefly before heading home. The first thing on my feed was a video of the most traumatizing and disturbing ICE encounter I've seen yet.

My survival mode kicked in, and I messaged some people I follow about the need to speak up. Why are they staying silent when horrible things are happening? I got home, and I was essentially in a freeze state the rest of the night on my couch, staring at my wall while my kitties purred and tried to soothe my nervous system. 

The encounter I saw online didn't happen in my neighborhood. It's hard to know how to respond when the threat isn't immediately in front of you. It's hard when you try to say something, and the people in power don't listen, and are the ones actively causing the harm. It's hard when you see people suffering... not just suffering... being brutalized and dehumanized, and you don't know what you can do. I can see the deep scars this moment will make on these individuals, and the help they'll need to heal if they are fortunate enough to access those resources in the future. 

I know you see it too. At minimum, you know this is happening out there somewhere. 

Some would say, "Sarah, this is why I don't watch the news. It's too distressing, and I can't do anything about it anyway. You just need to stop watching." 

Yes, current events are distressing. I'm really disheartened by the decisions many humans are making these days. 

Some would say, "That's just how humans are! You can't do anything to change it! People will always hurt other people, be selfish, ignorant, etc."

Yes, humanity has shown violence, thirst for power, greed, and lies for thousands of years.

Guess I should just give up. It's not worth it. Let it all devolve into even greater chaos.

...

That last line was so disingenuous, it was hard to type. 

In my personal life, I'm someone that needs the elephant in the room acknowledged, otherwise I end up feeling pretty gaslit. My life experience has shown me that pretending something isn't happening when it is, not only doesn't stop it from happening, it can also cause more harm. It also makes it harder to address the problem, when you are ignoring the presence of it. While there are limits to how I consume the news (I might need to manage how, when, and how much I take in), avoiding it isn't the solution.

About humanity doing dastardly things... yeah, maybe. But that is only one side of the potential of humanity. The other end is full of revelation, compassion, creativity, resilience, service. That's the side I aim to live on. The fact that I feel things when I see injustice and cruelty is a sign my heart is still open. I can use those feelings as fodder to propel actions that bring healing, liberation, growth, etc. 

I know many of you are walking with me on this path. And, I know it's not easy. I wish we didn't have to do it. 

And if you aren't already walking with us, I invite you to join us. 

So, what do we do?

I don't have all the answers, and I think it's going to vary depending on what's happening in your communities right now. That being said, here are a few ideas:

• Be a part of a neighborhood watch for ICE, or help brown, black, immigrant friends and neighbors safely get to school, work, get paid, etc..
• Learn more about your local ICE detention facilities, protest, and contact immigrant rights attorneys and local elected officials about what's going on.
• Boycott Spotify (who is running ads for ICE and has invested hundreds of millions into AI military defense) 

Brainstorm ways that you can practice non-compliance and throw sand in the gears of the machine. Every bit, small or large makes a difference. If we keep it up, eventually the wall will crumble. 

One upcoming piece of (non)action:

MASS BLACKOUT 
Wed Nov 25–Tues Dec 2nd
(Yes, that's over Black Friday and Cyber Monday)

Avoid major retailers, travel, restaurants. Cancel streaming and digital subscriptions.

If you must spend: support small, local businesses only.  Pay in cash if you can. 
Small Business Saturday on Nov. 30 is exempted from the blackout

To stay engaged for the long-term, we need to be regulating and taking good care of ourselves. You might find our healing work and meditations to be supportive in this process. If so, reach out. 

I'm here for you, and walking with you,

Sarah


P.S. A little palate cleanser and chuckle for ya, from the Canadians.