1. In The Bubble, life continues for progressive Americans as if the election never happened. From SNL.
2. This 4-year-old made an unlikely friend at the grocery store. I’ve posted about this before, but this video gives a bit more of the story, and way more cuteness.
3. More about the Dakota Access Pipeline: Who’s Banking on the Dakota Access Pipeline? and “We have alternatives to oil, no question. We do not have any alternatives to water,” and Robert F. Kennedy explains exactly why the Dakota Access Pipeline is being pushed so hard, and Breaking: DAPL Construction on Hold Pending Further Review and Tribal Consultation, and the news archive page on the Stand With Standing Rock website, and Feeding the Fight at Standing Rock, and This Gorgeous Short Film Takes Us to the Heart of the Dakota Access Pipeline Standoff, and How to Contact the People Sending Militarized Police to Standing Rock, and Hundreds of Water Protectors Injured as Police Fire Water Cannons in Freezing Temperatures — which happened just last night. In related news, Gas pipeline project headed to Suwannee River leaks into Georgia waterway; sparks environmental worries.
4. As the lights wink out… “Grief, I’ve learned, is really love. It’s all the love you want to give but cannot give. The more you loved someone, the more you grieve. All of that unspent love gathers up in the corners of your eyes and in that part of your chest that gets empty and hollow feeling. The happiness of love turns to sadness when unspent. Grief is just love with no place to go.”
5. Islamophobic Myths: Shutting Down BS with Muslim Women.
6. Good stuff from Patti Digh: Walking into this new day, and What is the unmet need that has just been expressed?, and 37 Days of Activism, and The Art of Activism: Hard Conversations Book Club 2017 (even if you don’t sign up for this one, check out the reading list from the last session, start your own book group), and Hard Conversations: An Introduction to Racism.
7. Van Jones: “Hope for the Best, Expect and Prepare for the Worst” How the country can survive a Trump administration, and in related news, How Van Jones Became a Star of the 2016 Campaign.
Consequently, Mr. Jones didn’t want people to infer from his election-night comments that he thinks all of President-elect Trump’s supporters are bigots. At the same time, he thought it was essential not to brush aside the role of racism in Mr. Trump’s ascent. “If you only focus on the toxic crap, you’re not being fair to the Trump voters,” Mr. Jones said. “But if you deny all the toxic crap, you’re not being fair to the rest of Americans.”
8. Advice from Angela Davis in the aftermath of the election. At her recent lecture at University of Chicago’s Rockefeller Chapel, Davis read something from James Baldwin, “If we know, and do nothing, we are worse than the murderers hired in our name. If we know, then we must fight for your life as though it were our own—which it is—and render impassable with our bodies the corridor to the gas chamber. For, if they take you in the morning, they will be coming for us that night.”
9. Fifth Harmony’s Lauren Jauregui Pens Open Letter to Donald Trump Voters: ‘I Am a Bisexual Cuban-American Woman & I Am So Proud of It.’ “We are not ‘whining’ about our presidential choice losing, we are screaming battle cries against those whose political and personal agendas threaten our lives and sanity. We are making sure you hear us, no matter how much it bothers you, we EXIST.”
10. Colson Whitehead Has Some Advice for Getting Through the Next Four Years. “Be kind to everybody, make art, and fight the power. That seemed like a good formula for me, anyway. So B, M, F, and if you have trouble remembering that, a good mnemonic device to tell yourself is, They can’t break me because I’m a Bad Mother Fucker.”
11. Amazon Tackles Islamophobia In Heartwarming Christmas Ad.
12. Suggested reading: The Stop Trump Reading List: Arm Your Mind With These 16 Books, and 50 Necessary Books for Your Anger and Your Action.
13. He’s a professional hugger, and he’s out to change the world one hug at a time. Knowing the origins of his free hugs project only makes me love him more.
14. Best Day Project, “seeks to find people in their lowest moments and show them that it’s possible to go into the world and live life however is best for them.”
15. Kohl’s and Mudd – stop stealing the work of independent artists. This issue still hasn’t been resolved. Sign the petition.
16. Let’s all pledge to register as Muslim today. I’ve heard people say this won’t work, but I’m willing to try.
17. 5 Things You Can Do Post-Election to Regain your Sanity Bit by Bit, a video from Susan Piver. Also from Susan, Don’t Bite the Hook: Five things to remember post-election.
18. A 12-Step Program for Responding to President-Elect Trump. In related news, What to Do About Trump? The Same Thing My Grandfather Did in 1930s Vienna. “When the levers of power are seized by the small hands of hateful men, you work hard, you stand with those who are most vulnerable, and you don’t give up until it’s morning again.”
19. Somali-American makes history with election. “State representative-elect Ilhan Omar, the first Somali-American elected to a state legislature, talks with Rachel Maddow about the demonizing of her community by Donald Trump and how her election is being received by the public.”
20. “We’re His Problem Now” Calling Sheet, a Google doc.
21. The Right Heart is More Important than the Right Analysis in Fighting Racism.
22. 25 ways to be politically active … beyond the safety pins. I’m currently writing a similar list for introverts and highly sensitive people.
23. Twitter suspends alt-right accounts. More of this, please.
24. Black Lives Matter issues a statement on Trump’s election.
25. How To Call Your Representative To Protest Steve Bannon’s White House Appointment. In related news, Donald Trump hires man with ties to white supremacists, a post from Dan Rather, and this, White Nationalists Rejoice at Trump’s Appointment of Breitbart’s Stephen Bannon, and More than 150 House members urge Trump to rescind Bannon appointment, and 6 Things You Can Do To Keep Steve Bannon Out Of The White House. Here’s a petition you can sign.
26. Holy Fuck. The Fucking Election. “That piece of shit known as Donald Trump won the election. But that doesn’t mean it’s fucking over.” This is a great website.
27. A List of Pro-Women, Pro-Immigrant, Pro-Earth, Anti-Bigotry Organizations That Need Your Support.
28. This dog lived outside on a chain for a DECADE — and he had the sweetest reaction to being set free.
29. White Women, You Need to Talk About Racism.
30. January 20th, 2017 general strike. No work. No school. No shopping. No fascist USA.
31. What to Do When You Don’t Know What to Do. ***Spoiler alert*** “When you don’t know what to do, help someone else.”
32. 5 Ways to Restore Post-Election Wellness.
33. Who’s Ya’ Mama! from Dr. Vickie. “We will survive Trump’s presidency. Our fight to retain and stand up for our human rights is no different then the generations that came before us. Those generations often shielded us from the fights they had so we could be comfortable. We are no longer comfortable. It’s our turn to fight.”
34. The *new* Black Friday. “This event is my antidote to the craziness of Black Friday and the consumerism it represents. The *New Black* Friday is about taking time to create gifts that are creative, heartfelt, and impactful.” I’ve done this the past few years, and it’s WAY better than shopping. Find out more and share on the Facebook event page.
35. Embodiment from Rachel Cole. “Being in our bodies doesn’t have to be complicated, or graceful, or formal.”
36. Gandhi’s 10 Rules for Changing the World.
37. 25+ Hilarious Conversations Between Obama And Biden Are The Best Medicine After This Election. Best meme ever.
38. Lies in the Guise of News in the Trump Era.
39. Street Photographer Tracks Down People He Captured 30+ Years Ago To Recreate Their Photos.
40. Sisterhood and Racism: An Online Workshop for White Women. In related news, Every White Woman In The History of The Universe: A Webinar for White Women…
41. Our movements are powerful. The institutional left is not the solution. Here is what we should do next.
42. Aftermath: Sixteen Writers on Trump’s America. “Essays by Toni Morrison, Atul Gawande, Hilary Mantel, George Packer, Jane Mayer, Jeffrey Toobin, Junot Díaz, and more.”
43. Remembering Gwen. “Gwen Ifill, a journalist to her core, who served as the PBS NewsHour’s co-anchor and managing editor and, in her own words, sought to always ‘tell the stories that shed light and spur action,’ has died from complications of cancer. She was 61.”
44. Chili’s Apologizes For Taking Meal From Black Veteran On Veterans Day.
45. This teenager is giving out free meals to classmates in need.
46. The American Thanksgiving. “The Times asked 15 families from across the country to show us the holiday dishes they make that speak most eloquently about their heritage and traditions. The stories of these home cooks help tell the story of the nation, the story of who we are.”
47. The Official #GrabYourWallet Boycott List of Companies that Do Business with and/or Back the Trump Family, a Google doc.
48. I did not know it felt like this. This writing is raw and real, authentic, heartbreaking and human, beautiful and brutal.
49. The memories we rehearse are the ones we live with.
50. How to Easily be a White Ally to Marginalized Communities. “Leave your safety pins at home, and take action that will actually help the people hurt by Trump.”
51. After the Election: Buddhist Wisdom for Hope and Healing.
52. No white work friend, I won’t be chatting with you about Grey’s Anatomy for a while. “The unfiltered truth about “how Black people are doing” right now aka when #GenerationalTrauma happens in real time.” In related news, Black Woman Defines White Supremacy in the most EPIC Facebook Rant Ever, and An Open Letter to White Liberal Feminists.
53. Joy and Wisdom (Part 1 of 7), podcast with Sharon Salzberg & Joan Halifax. “Roshi Joan Halifax contrasts her experiences on pilgrimage in Nepal with her recent travels in our nation’s airports. Sharon Salzberg discusses the distinction between happiness and pleasure, and the effect that pleasure can have on our practice. Salzberg explains importance of cultivating the awareness of how pleasure can lead us to clinging.”
54. Letting Go of “Health-ism” and Related Panic from Isabel Foxen Duke.
55. Jon Stewart: ‘Nobody Asked Donald Trump What Makes America Great.’
56. Meet the Professor Who’s Trying to Help You Steer Clear of Clickbait.
57. It’s been this bad before: Civil rights activists from the 1960s have comforting words for American progressives today. “There’s no reason why the election of Donald Trump should halt activism or put an end to the legislative gains the left has made, she said. ‘You continue to live, you continue to do your work, you continue to teach and write and change people’s lives. It ain’t easy. But it’s a life’s work.'”
58. ‘Vote shaming’ Trump supporters is fair. What they have done is shameful.
59. Healing Arts: In Troubled Times, Artists & Galleries to Support.
60. How to call your reps when you have social anxiety.
61. Obama Reckons with a Trump Presidency, “Inside a stunned White House, the President considers his legacy and America’s future.”
62. Grief is a luxury we can’t afford right now.
63. Southern Poverty Law Center is a really great resource, because of things like this, Speak Up: Responding to Everyday Bigotry.
64. “Will I die, miss? Will I die?” This child in Syria was a victim of chlorine gas attack. What happens to the hospital he’s being treated in, the last one left that treats children, is heartbreaking.
65. My Civic Workout. “We know that just like working out, civic activism can feel intimidating at first. It seems like everyone else knows how to use the machines, and you’re just not sure that activism is your kind of place. We’re here to help you get started with emails a few times a week that have 5-minute, 10-minute, and 30-minute activism ‘workouts’ that will help you (and America) get in shape.”
66. Trump: Making America White Again. In related news, Donald Trump’s presidency isn’t looking any better: 6 despicable things the president-elect did last week.
67. Leonard Pitts Jr.: Time to take OUR country back.
68. December Reflections, 2016. Love this challenge from Susannah Conway. I’ve done it for the past few years and it’s a wonderful way to wind down the year.
The holiday season can often feel overwhelming so this is our chance to weave some mindfulness and calm into our days in the run up to 2017. The idea is simply to take a photograph (and share it if you wish) every day in December while reflecting back over the year. I’ve provided a list of daily prompts with a mix of things to photograph — for example: light, circles, “on the table” — and things to ponder. The “ponder prompts” are an extra invitation to pause for a moment and consider some of your favourite bits of 2016. Share your treasured photos from the year alongside your thoughts. Dig further into the prompts privately in your journal. You may feel moved to create paintings or doodles, collages or poems. December Reflections started as a photo project but feel free to take it in any direction that calls to you!
Open Space Practice, (AKA: A Thousand Shades of Gray) 