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Thursday, January 18, 2018

A Joe Hill post. Resist and Organize.

Structural factors that facilitated the election of a man who demeaned almost every marginalized demographic in this country are being re-examined.  The Women’s March was an outpouring of grief and anger, and a large rock that sent waves of hard examined thought across this country. In the last year no boulder so large has been launched, but rocks and stones continue to resonate.

(I love adult magazines that so clearly state positions it takes me a morning to write up! Thank you Slate, Huff Post, etal. The papers I dropped ten bucks apiece to for subscriptions are pretty good, too. I really like digging down to the local papers through the national papers. Attributions done, on with the essay.)

This weekend is an anniversary march, and I made plans to put in an appearance. We started a small scheme, a friend and me, to get to Cleveland, deposit me somewhere obvious and appropriate and retrieve me when it was time to go home. My new opiod does not facilitate marching, but, by damn, I can stand in one place and yell for more than a few hours.

Near selecting an appropriate corner in Cleveland, I remembered my daughter is coming Saturday, for the morning. From Cleveland. But, her son’s rock climbing team practices out of Appalachian Outfitters, here in the township. The same ones sending Laura’s team out Polar Bearing this weekend. Or, life is involved. I’ve already sponsored someone to go to the march; I’ll sponsor another one and be one ahead. Perhaps my job is mouth and phone. I’m facile with both, and we know I have nothing but time.

The strongest tree of resistance that has grown from that nearly spontaneous march a year ago simply is that: Resist. All the branches are organized groups across this country that have formed to act on local issues, local politics, local elections Actually, issues with a capital ‘I’. Voting rights, pay and wage rights, women’s rights, religious rights, race rights, it’s going on.

It’s astounding to me to see the scope and memory of institutionalized discrimination, violence, bullying. My history predates sexual molestation at age 18; I remember coming out swinging at a fellow fifth grade classmate bullying my five year old, kindergarten brother. My seven year old brother, ever the quiet peacemaker, at my shoulder, had my back. I took Ray Curly down, and might have buried him in the mud, except Walt picked me up and gave Ray a hand up. This year the history of so much inequity has been thrown in our faces. Our creative minds and abilities are devices and schemes to move forward.

Now I need to call congressmen about DACA and CHIP. Hard to believe, isn’t it. Obama’s CHIP, that made me quit smoking because it was a costly cigarette tax, is on the block. All those CHIP monies to go toward reducing the income taxes of the one percent. We surely have a lot of work left to do. 


My brothers, Walt and Mel. I think I've nailed the ages here. I know that is Mel in kindergarten, and see how Mom has them in matching shirts for school pictures.


22 comments:

  1. You are a power to be reckoned with, Joanne. "Standing in one place and yelling" indeed! You go, girl!

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  2. Hari OM
    You can indeed yell and man the phone and keep the rally moving! More power that collective voice. YAM xx

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  3. You started young and did nothing but pick up speed. Good for you.

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  4. I considered going this year, and may still go, but this time it will be in Philly. I have apprehensions about Saturday’s march because sequels are never as good as the originals and a repeat might diminish the first. I can’t imagine it as large or bringing out people from around the world. I think it would be just as meaningful to continue working with our local government in securing good candidates and encouraging people to vote.

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    1. I agree. A local showing to underscore the year's activity, and back to the desk, working on the nitty gritty.

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  5. Weren’t they adorable?

    The last year has seen a ground swell of citizens exercising their civil rights, Joanne. That’s great!

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  6. I marched last year. It was a wet slog, but that didn't stop tens of thousands from coming out to Market St.

    This year I'll be volunteering with the Women's March Org. It will be interesting to see how this march compares with last year's. Will we be more enthusiastic? Less? I doubt I'll see as many unrepentant Berners as I did last year.

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  7. Your brothers are cute and I'm pleased to read that the quiet one stood beside and had your back. Reminds me of my older son, who teased his younger sister so much at home, but if anyone troubled her at school he was right there looking out for her, defending her.
    I pleased too, to read the resistance movements continue and so strongly.

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  8. I'm marching tight with you from over the pond x

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  9. Proud of you!!! You are an inspiration.

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  10. and Tom Cotton is sending out cease and desist letters to his constituents...stop contacting me! while the Republican majority in Congress plans to blame the Democrats for the upcoming gov't shut down. I have phone calls to make.

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    1. I think Abe Lincoln, the best Republican that ever was, is grinning from ear to ear.

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  11. Your brothers were very cute back then. Hope all is well with you.

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  12. My contribution this year was knitting hats for those going who wanted one. I didn't charge them and even paid the postage. 14 hats went out to various places in the US and two spots in Canada. Last year all my hats went to Washington. So we don't all have to march. Your sponsorship is a great idea. Aside from almost daughter in law and my middle son, I don't know any marchers this year.

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  13. Some marches were not nearly as good as the originals last year. In Boston, the organizers made the decision to hold lots of local rallies instead of one big one, so none of them were impressive in terms of size. But look what they pulled off in little Ashville, NC! Conveniently for me, the Cambridge march was 5 minutes from my apartment. We all keep resisting any way we can so as not to give in to despair and a feeling of impotence.

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