Tue, 13:11: I ordered a face scrub from Amazon, and my email confirmation doesn't say what it is, but rather says "Item hidden for privacy," as though I'd ordered a dildo.
Tue, 21:50: For too long now I have been wildly disillusioned with and deeply cynical about the efficacy of protest—in retrospect, just playing into the hands of my oppressors. I might as well start saying voting doesn't matter. Both of these things could not possibly matter more.
But on the protest point, I have been turned around on this completely in the last couple of days. Last night we watched the season premier of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, and the episode predictably focused on the deeply cruel and hostile takeover of the new President Fuckwit administration. One of the many points he made was that massive protests in his first term were actually critical in getting many of his orders and initiatives blocked or slowed—anything and everything counts. The same will be the case now.
At the Town Hall held tonight by our spectacular representative here in Washington's 7th Congressional District, Pramila Jayapal, she strongly reiterated this point multiple times: taking to the streets to protest makes a huge difference, as does calling and writing to your representative, even if you know she already stands for the same principles as the vast majority of her constituents.
I am so glad I went to this Town Hall. It was a genuine eye opener, and Jayapal was amazing—not perfect, of course; I have to be careful to remind myself of that: neither she nor any other elected official is, and must always be held to account. A couple of attendees actually did this more than others, insinuating she isn't doing enough, sometimes with good reason. But she always responded well and respectfully, and I was on board with everything she said.
After a surprise, brief appearance by Governor Bob Ferguson, Jayapal also hosted a panel with critical representation across all the panel guests: Jaelynn Scott, Executive Director of the Lavender Rights Project who spoke about the attack on the trans community; Malou Chávez, Executive Director of Northwest Immigrant Rights Project who spoke on the assault on immigrant communities; and Michele Storms, Executive Director of ACLU of Washington who spoke about all the legal avenues of fighting this administration's broadly illegal actions. The panelists were sobering but engendered hope in the many things we can do right now if we work together; Jayapal's remarks were genuinely inspiring; and the audience questions that closed out the program were almost uniformly smart and elicited illuminating responses.
Most critically, it left me with a renewed commitment to attending all the marches and protests I can. And if you're reading this from another part of the country, *especially* if you are represented by a Republican in Congress—you need to be contacting them to express your outrage. Getting back to that bogus idea that votes don't matter: Pramila said not one Republican is standing up to the litany of outrages occurring right now, but the one thing that will move them is hearing from their constituents. You know who elected officials actually listen to? THEIR CONSTITUENTS. Why? BECAUSE THEY VOTE. If they fear they may lose an election, they will change their tack.
Fucking. Vote. But also: Speak up. Speak Out. Resist. Protest.
It was heartening to see the turnout tonight. Shobhit and I arrived 40 minutes before the event was scheduled to start, and the line was stretched around to literally the opposite side of the block. By the time they started letting people in, and we reached the entrance to the Town Hall building, the end of the line had stretched full circle around the block to right in front of us outside the entrance! And it should never be forgotten: *that* is where the power lies. With the people. With us.
I hope to find more Town Halls to attend as well, including for local state representatives. A lot of gratitude was rightly expressed tonight for the rights we have protected locally that do not get the same protection elsewhere, but not even that will last without getting involved in the same way, if not even more vociferously, on the local level. https://t.co/Rse29IxQef
