EEDA Newsletter Vol 5, Iss 23: Oh no.
This is a public issue of Enthusiastic Encouragement & Dubious Advice. Feel free to share it!
Hi friends. I’m writing this on Wednesday evening, the day after the election. There is simultaneously nothing to say and everything to say.
If you are a Black woman or femme, I hope you get some rest. I hope you get peace. We tried, yet again, to save a country that hates us.
If you are trans and/or disabled, I see you. I love you. This is absolutely fucking terrifying.
Black femmes, trans folks, disabled folks: we are all the prophetess Cassandra, cursed by Apollo to never be believed though her predictions were accurate.
I’m sitting here thinking, wow, what even is “self-help” right now? I just wrote some stuff in next week’s podcast episode script so you should check that out next Wednesday but for this space, I’m going to offer a slice of it that starts with caring for ourselves.
Whatever you are feeling is legit. Anger, rage, fear, sadness, despair, shock, grief. Let it out or else it’s going to eat you up from the inside. Cry if you can, it will help lower your heart rate.
Right now in the immediate aftermath of the election is not the time to be making big decisions. We are all panic, no disco. Let yourself exist and get your feet under yourself before making plans.
Have you eaten? Have you had some water? Have you moved your body in a way that is not being hunched over your phone, tablet, or computer?
Have you bathed? Have you brushed your teeth?
Have you taken your meds?
Have you connected with others instead of isolating?
We need to continue to take care of ourselves. Our work begins with staying alive.
Some practical things that I’m recommending without explanation at this time:
Turn off the microphone on your Google home or Alexa or whatever
If you have a passport, get it renewed. Even if it still has a couple years on it, renew it early.
Make sure you have copies of all your documents and have them in a single, accessible place.
If you are married queers, get wills/power of attorney drawn up.
Think about your online presence. Do you need to take some things down? Delete some accounts? Make some accounts private?
Finally, you are still allowed joy. You can still celebrate a birthday. You can delight in kittens. You can laugh at a show you’re watching. You can read a great book. Joy can happen even when everything is falling apart. Joy is what keeps us going.
That’s it for this week! You can shop many books I’ve mentioned in this newsletter at my affiliate shop, The Infophile’s Bookshop, and support independent bookstores. In fact, any Bookshop, Amazon, or Etsy links in this newsletter are affiliate links so if you shop through those, it helps support my work. Or you can leave me a tip on Ko-fi, Paypal, or Venmo.
If you want to send me some snail mail, you can find me at P.O. Box 21481, Oakland, CA 94620-1481.
You can find our podcast, Enthusiastic Encouragement & Dubious Advice on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, and wherever else you get your podcasts.