Don’t get burned out, because the bigger battle is yet to come.
They’re trying to exhaust us. Don’t get tired.
Trump was SO mad that anybody would consider pulling down the statues of the patriarchs. Well, you know I definitely vote yes for taking ALL of them down. Yes, even Jesus.
If we want to create a sustainable culture on this planet, then we need to center non-human species as much as possible. Removing human images as a focal point in every park, church, and government building is such a tiny and wonderful place to start with that.
But I get it that the patriarchs are uncomfortable in this moment. Indeed, the POTUS acts exactly like an angry child, throwing tantrums, calling names, threatening violence. But if you stop blaming him and step back for a moment you can see that he is a perfect microcosm of the greater ill that is patriarchy in general. Donald Trump, and everything he represents, is the result of centuries of enabling, of “voting” for the lesser of evils, of ignoring the suffering of billions, of tolerating and turning a blind eye to violence, rape, abuse, oppression. Do we deserve him? Nobody does. Did we create him? Of course we did.
But a word of warning:
Don’t underestimate the resistance of the other patriarchs in this moment.
If you believe that voting will be enough to dismantle a carefully constructed, centuries-old and inconceivably powerful entity such as what I dub “patriarchy”, you might be suffering from Stockholm Syndrome. #justsayin
Notice how everybody is just SO EXCITED to get a(nother) rich, centrist, child-groping, sexual-harassing, neoliberal Boomer patriarch into that chair. Oh don’t worry — I’m sure he will put ALL those environmental protections right back in place…errr no actually, he won’t. Biden is no solution, and the fight is far from over.
If we look at the details, we can see there has never been a truly democratic election in the USA, simply for the reason that so many people weren’t allowed to vote. Add in the layers of political corruption, media bias, and random chaos, and the elections are basically performative, with “winners” being chosen by a combination of data analysts, electoral collegiates, and back door palm-greasers.
Do you realize most of the media companies subsist by a huge percent on political ad money? Elections are a huge industry. Anyway this time it’s even more of a charade, because Trump has all but told y’all he intends to stay in the White House, no matter what, and the truth has already been laid bare that he will stop at nothing to get what he wants.
Meanwhile, the Dems are notoriously arrogant and overconfident and probably underestimating the psychosis of the incumbent. They might even just lose, in an obviously scammed election. Or they will “win” but dude won’t leave. OR they will “win” and Biden will make it seem like the massive class divide and all the little boring stuff like mainstream rape culture is just peaches and cream because hey at least the monster is gone, right?
Looking for solutions? Bioregionalism.
We’re at a ride or die moment, as a humanity. But most of us seem to be waffling around in the stalls. People don’t know where to start. You’re tired. Overwhelmed. Seriously fucking depressed.
So start in the garden. It seems a glib response, yes, but it isn’t. At this point, regenerating nature is a biological imperative. We will literally perish if we don’t start tending the garden.
But also:
All of the problems enumerated above, and more, get solved when interconnected watersheds come tightly together to protect ALL species within.
The plants and other species have the answers for us. We just have to start listening.
What am I on about? Put your hands in the soil and you’ll know exactly what I mean. The only way out is through. But you have to trust it. You have to go all in. There is no fence. Pick a side and live it, in whatever way you can.
And here’s hoping Biden “wins” and that he picks a woman of color for VP, and then he dies in office, and then FINALLY we can get some real work done, for the future of the Earth and everyone on it. Meanwhile, remember that resilience is a daily practice. Don’t get tired. Don’t get used to this. It’s not normal, acceptable, or right. We can change it. We ARE changing it. Eat salad, ok?
Oh hey also: I have this “how to cope with burnout” infographic I made a while back — maybe it’s helpful? You can download the PDF here.
