47: Week 2

I'm not quite sure where to start when I consider this past week, a week filled with a daily dose of horrors, chaos, and challenges. A week of attacks against democracy. A week of dismantling information. A week of heavy sorrow and anger watching outright attacks on transgender rights through a systematic erasure by a callous hateful contingent of petty white men. I'm angry.

And so what to do? I reach out and check in on some friends to see how they're coping and feeling. I send a message offering support and care to a former trans student whose been posting about his concerns, fears, and reactions to various actions such as the relabeling tips on a state department site that used to say LGBTQI+ Travelers and now says LGB Travelers (and I imagine LGB Travelers will eventually disappear as well).

Early Tuesday morning, after waking to the news of  freezing federal spending, I called both my senators, and left messages imploring them to be revolutionary, to stand up against all the injustices, to be leaders, to represent citizens like myself, ending each call almost in tears. Later in the week, I called Senator Bill Cassidy and urged him to be courageous and stand up against Robert Kennedy Jr.'s confirmation, reminding him of his duty to represent and care for US citizens. And this morning, I signed up to be kept in the loop by the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition.

Yesterday, while chatting with a very dear friend over zoom, we talked about protests and how we don't take to the streets in outrage like other countries would if a coup just happened, if their foundations of freedom were being systematically erased. I wonder who will rise to lead our voices and create a movement with a unified message. We must not be silent. We must not lose hope.

Yes, this week has riled me up. I need to stay active and aware. I need to keep finding sources providing information when mainstream media fails and when the government shuts down pipelines of public health information on the CDC page.  Dr. Jeremy Faust and his Inside Medicine substack newsletter is my new public health info channel. Here's a data dashboard about respiratory viruses. 

Through all the exhaustion of the week, I remain steady with meditation and walking, clocking more than 30 miles this week, taking advantage of a reprieve from the frozen earth. Last night, I ended my evening listening to some of Rolling Stone's Top 100 Best Protest Songs. And tonight, I will escape into the sweetness of PBS's All Creatures Great and Small. 

I hope you have found your comforts and strength navigating this week of challenge.