Volume 3, Issue 20: Perfection in the Progressive Olympics
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Hi friends! Today I want to talk about what I will refer to as “Perfection in the Progressive Olympics.” There are people who try to do the absolute most. I know because I have been one of them.
I buy my coffee from a local, Black woman-owned brand (Kahawa 1893) that gets their beans from Black women farmers in various African countries (it’s delicious and I highly recommend it). I try to buy books in person at my local independent queer-owned bookshop (Spectator Books) or at the oldest independent Black bookstore in the U.S. (Marcus Books). I try to buy clothing from brands that make their clothes in the U.S. and have ethical practices and bonus if the company is woman-owned. We try to drive as little as possible. We use reusable cotton pads instead of disposable ones. I don’t remember the last time I read a book by a cisgender white man (a graphic novel, maybe?). I am the chair of the DEIBJA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging, Justice and Access) committee for the international professional organization for my day job. In my day job I help fundraise for huge amounts of money to fund things like finding cures for cancer and training more Black teachers for K-12 schools. We buy most of our produce from the farmer’s market. We donate money to abortion funds and local community programs. We buy what we can from brick & mortars so as to not add to the amount of packaging and mailers that go into the trash or recycling. And so forth, and so on.
It is expensive to do all this. It is unrealistic for most people. And it’s fucking exhausting. There will always be more that we can do and beyond that, it will still never be enough. Our household of two adults is not going to single-handedly end white supremacy/capitalism/patriarchy and y’all:
I’m. So. Damn. Tired.
I know I’m not the only one. I’m not the only one doing so many things and I’m definitely not the only one that is tired down to my bones.
I’ve been coming to terms with the fact that it is impossible for me to do everything “right” and that capitalism is designed for us to fail at being fully ethical. We still live on stolen land! I use non-biodegradable glitter! We get take-out that comes in packaging that is neither recyclable nor compostable! I own a pickup truck! A person can easily burn out by trying to do the most ethical thing in every situation and I’m desperately trying not to.
“No ethical consumption under capitalism” sure yes okay. But that doesn’t mean we don’t try our best. Still, we gotta be mindful of when we are lighting ourselves on fire to keep others warm. Is individual responsibility going to solve white supremacy? No, of course not but neither is burning ourselves out. Resistance isn’t only an outward energy. Rest is resistance. Joy is resistance. Building community is resistance. Creating is resistance. Compassion is resistance.
So, yes, please keep doing the obvious things like respecting people’s pronouns, not being racist, paying creators for their work, pronouncing people’s names correctly, not being homophobic, trying to do capitalism in a way that minimizes harm and is also accessible to you, etc. Above all, be gentle with yourself. We need each other to be present and to be able to show up fully so that we don’t only “get through” life, but so we can enjoy the journey and hopefully, leave this place better than we found it.
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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.
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