We can learn from past mistakes. We can stop operating out of sheer ego-protection and fear. We can choose to not preference the making of money over the well-being of community. We. Can. Do. This. We all play a part in upholding the churning of oppressive systems, especially those of us in the middle and upper economic classes. Especially those of us who are able bodied and neurotypical. Especially those of us with white skin. We consistently place too great of a burden on t

Every day it’s one more thing. Sometimes several things at a time. Fire. Flooding. Death. Disease. Poverty. Injustice. Corruption. Shootings. Bombs. Another Black or Native person killed. Another cop goes free. And here we are, trying to live. It can feel overwhelming. Poor, oppressed, and marginalized people know that one must rest when one can, and take joy when one can, because tomorrow may bring more hardship and pain. Meanwhile, we are too little connected. We are too mu

Sexism is real. As a gender-nonconforming, female-presenting person living in the US, I know this. I’ve seen it time and time again, particularly when I was younger. But sometimes, something happens that really connects the brain to direct experience. I saw it this week. But first, some personal history: Many years ago, I was in a motorcycle accident. The classic “car made a left turn into me,” one block from my San Francisco flat. The car pinned my leg to my bike, knocking m

People complied. Now, I wasn’t there, so perhaps some of them questioned what was happening, but as far as I know, every person showed their ID. The “immigrant” was not found. What if every single person on that airplane said as loudly as possible, right to the agents’ faces, “There is no reason for you to ask for identification. There is nothing that compels me to offer you proof of who I am. In solidarity with any immigrants who may or may not be on this airplane, I refuse

How to live in late capitalism, in the midst of climate change, political upheaval, and the fading of empire? Say fuck you. Say bless you. Just live. Find joy. *** Our joy is a glorious thing. It will not be denied. Joy is not the same as happiness. Joy can include fierceness. Joy includes compassion. Joy reaches beyond the self and includes the world. We can be in joy even in the midst of anger. We can rally with joy. We can dance with joy. We can weep with joy. We can sho

“The price of kissing is your life…” – Mevlana Rumi There is a cost for everything: loving, not loving, oil, guns, greed, laughter, sharing food with friends, driving kids to soccer practice, school, no school, backyard chickens, factories, ants hard at work, no ants at all, war, no war, the argument, no argument, that kiss, no kiss, sunshine, rain, drought, seeds, people, airplanes, telephones, computers, turning soil, tea, flannel sheets, running water, practice, no practic