chdarling reblogged
Ask box: Open, but anon is permanently off.
The Last Enemy series on AO3:
Snippets and Spoilers on tumblr:
TLE1
chdarling reblogged
Meeting the Man: James Baldwin in Paris (1970)
chdarling reblogged
Hi. Things are bleak, I know that. I know that we paid for Trump's last term with blood and it is likely the price will be blood again.
But listen to me. LISTEN.
You do not have to force yourself to witness horrors as an act of activism. It is not a form of activism. You can put your phone down, you can block that horrific video. We cannot win if you cannot fight and you will not be able to fight if you are hopeless.
Do not let them guilt you into this. People who are exhausted are easier to walk over. Take care of yourself, find community where you find joy.
You do not have to force yourself to witness horrors as an act of activism. It is not a form of activism.
^^^ remember this. do not exhaust yourself into hopelessness. take care of yourself and stay strong.
I know I've recced it before, but if you want a place to monitor the news while avoiding getting caught in the horrors, What The Fuck Just Happened Today is a really useful resource. They summarize political (& adjacent) news so you can remain aware of what's going on while still minimizing the emotional energy you expend on any one issue. (And they provide links and sourcing if you need to know more.)
chdarling reblogged
THE WORK RELIES ON YOUR CONTINUANCE
🤝
YOU ARE NOT REQUIRED TO COMPLETE THE WORK, BUT NEITHER ARE YOU FREE TO DESIST FROM IT
I feel this. I do.
The thing that's helpful for me is to remember that while you are just one person, and you are small and tired and scared, you are not alone.
There is a shit ton of work to do, but nobody expects you to do it all by yourself.
The second quote above is from Pirkei Avot, "Ethics of our Fathers." (If anyone else reading this is unfamiliar, this is a collection of Jewish wisdom.) In another chapter, we're told: "Do not separate yourself from the community." I think that's also wise advice for these times. Whichever communities you belong to, remember that you're not on your own.
You're not required to complete the work; it has been ongoing before you were ever on this planet and you will hand it off to the people who come after you. You don't have to do everything, because you are not alone, and together we are far more than just one person. You don't have to do it all, but you do have to do what you can.
chdarling reblogged
Anonymous asked:
Then why stay in a state that clearly hates you? Why don’t you leave instead of acting helpless
do you have “move out of state” money to give? do you have a support system set up for after i leave my friends and family behind here? do you have money to give me for a car that can drive more than 45 minutes from home without risk of breaking down? do you have a job lined up for me in a blue state that accounts for a change in the cost of living? are you going to pay off all of the bills that keep me tethered here? shut the fuck up.
#gosh I hate this dismissive attitude towards people who live in red states#it cost me most of my savings when I decided to move to a new state#and I was in the extremely fortunate position that my then-employer let me go fully remote#I picked up my life to move somewhere where I kinda knew one person#it’s worked out for me but I still feel the loss of the community I had in the other state#I don’t see my family often#it is HARD#and let’s remember please that it’s not like there are only 5 dems in any red state#THERE’S A LOT#in swing states that go red it sometimes comes down to a handful of votes!#that’s a fuck ton of people you’re telling to just pick up and move#we should be able to live anywhere in this country without fearing for our lives regardless of state#that’s not the case rn but don’t blame the individual stuck there for it
chdarling reblogged
If it makes any of you feel better, Donald Trump will have an uphill battle to change the constitution. He will need:
-2/3 of Senators (60)
-2/3 of the House of Representatives (290)
-3/4 of the states (38)
In 2026, 33 senate seats will be up for grabs, and we’ll be able to vote for people who are against Trump and his ideals.
Breathe and remain hopeful because it’s not over. We can still fight and make Trump’s last four years hell.
This is so important. Also pay attention to local elections. Now more than ever it's important to have staunch anti Trump democrats at every level of government - from school boards to senate seats. Apathy and not voting helped Trump win. Now is the time to wake up and get serious and hold on to the freedoms we have left. We have got to fight for every inch of territory. Do not give up. Do not give him any more power than he already has.
Seems an appropriate time to bring back this snippet from TLE2:
It had happened. It had finally, really, truly happened. Her inequality in this society had just essentially been written into law. She felt ill, as though the heavy dread she’d carried in her stomach all year long had sprung forth and spread through the rest of her body like poison.
She couldn’t quite believe it. She had known — logically, politically — that the legislation was likely to pass, that the Wizengamot was no longer the progressive force it had once been, that bigots like Abraxas Malfoy were pulling strings behind the scenes — yet even in her darkest moments of despair, she hadn’t truly believed it. Some final shred of innocence she’d clung to had insisted that justice would prevail, that good would triumph.
That shred of innocence was now gone.
It had happened.
Sending love to you, ch, and thanks again for putting our anguish into words so poignantly. There’s something comforting in finding solidarity with your Lily ❤️
😢💔
It is not a question but i wrote to you some time ago to thank you for your great stories that helped me trough tough times during my exam period. Today I write to you to tell you that i absolutely understand your grief today and of course you know it....but I still want you to know that we are not alone in this. I am not from america but I am from country (Slovakia) where things look grim too but I believe that it can be better because every kind person in this world counts and I truly believe that 😄.... You helped me with tough times with you writing so I just wanted to write you and remind that no one is alone this ❤️.
PS: Love your writing you are incredible ❤️
Thank you so much ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
And apologies, I haven’t had a chance to go through my inbox yet but your kind words mean a lot. I appreciate you ❤️🫂
As a fellow American struggling with rage and grief today, just sending a hug. It's nice to have someone else to scream and grieve with.
💔
chdarling reblogged
Anonymous asked:
Sending so much love!!!
I think Europeans tend to have a little superiority complex going on regarding American politics, but as a German, trust me, I know how easily uneducated people can be manipulated by fascism.
It just breaks my heart seeing you apologize for something that you obviously can't control. I wanted to let you know that I've used your story multiple times over the last few years to get my fight back after an election night. I hope it can do the same for you. If not, trust that we all will be fighting alongside you, whatever may come! 🪻🩷
I truly appreciate you. Thank you. This actually brought about the first elusive tears I’ve shed since the election. 💔❤️🫂
Hey CH,
I can't say how sorry I am. Know that us non-Americans are just as devastated, furious and terrified as you.
In my language we say that there is no bad that doesn't come out to good ("nėra to blogo kas neišeitų į gerą"). Not sure if there are any words to bring you comfort right now but sometimes that's the only thought that keeps me going.
Sending you strength and love. Please take care of yourself and your loved ones no matter what the future holds <3
I appreciate you 😭❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
chdarling reblogged
Hey, also, all the anarchist shit aside, tomorrow I want you to make something.
I forced myself to draw something after the 2016 election. I forced myself to draw something when my mother died in 2018. I forced myself to draw something when my spouse was hospitalized for multiple organ failure in 2021.
When you are miserable, make something. Add a row to your project, bake a box cake, draw on a sheet of lined paper, write a poem on a napkin, fold an origami shirt out of a dollar bill, make your favorite recipe for dinner, but make something with your hands, something that you can hold and look at engage your senses in.
It won't fix the world, but it will change the world. You will have made something that didn't exist before. You will have impacted your reality, even in a very small way. And it is going to be something you made *after.* Something bad happened, something shook you, and you made something after, in spite of it.
chdarling reblogged
Congrats your chipotle burrito will continue to be expensive when you use uber eats *and* millions of Americans will lose their rights and freedoms.
Anonymous asked:
I am in France and woke up this morning to discover the terrible news. So sorry for the american people and the entire world because the damages will be massive even outside the borders of the USA. Be brave and strong, I think about you, and send lots of love from here (where it is becoming pretty shitty too politically...)
Thank you. I’m incredibly, devastatingly sorry for what this will do to the rest of the world. I don’t even have words. Please know that while half of this country is apparently made up of disgusting Trump-voting fascist scum, there are nearly as many of us who did not want this, who fought so hard against it. It wasn’t enough, but please just know that millions of Americans do not want what happens next. I’m sorry.