No Shame, Yes Anger

Using fury for action

Last week I shared an article “Why I won’t shame you for who you vote for…”

Literally that evening I camped next to a group of loud white men sitting around an American flag booming music late into the night. The next day I watched as a line of Trump supporters drove their trucks through downtown Ojai several times, honking horns and literally waving flags. My personal favorite was the Trump flag that said: “Fuck your Feelings.”

And then I saw this video.

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thedailyshow

A post shared by @thedailyshow

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My response: Fury. Frustration. Fear. What. The. Fuck.

I am grateful to live in a democratic country. I am grateful for the right to vote. I am grateful for choice.

I am still shocked by the divisiveness, racism, flag-waving ignorance of us humans. On both sides of the spectrum.

I want you to vote. Or not. As I said: I won’t shame you for who you vote for, or if you choose not to vote.

But I will take my anger at ignorance, racism, dangerous hateful rhetoric, loss of women’s right to choose, homophobia, misogyny, transphobia and so much more and take action for what I believe in. I will stay focused on creating a world that aligns with my values and heart. I will not get bitter or hopeless. I will stay strong and loving, courageous and compassionate. I will stand for love, and choice, and true freedom for who you want to be. I will stand for your bodily autonomy and mine. I will stand for your right and artistry to choose who you want to be.

@geekynerdbitchcarmen#stitch with @Date Right Stuff

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I invite you to do your own research. Don’t fall into any of the rhetoric or emotion or fears or bullshit. Don’t get bogged down. Stay light, dear ones. These times require our focus and self-care and compassion and creativity and fierce love for our earth, for our choices, for those marginalized. Theses times are inviting us to learn how to have discourse, to disagree, to stay with our discomfort. We are being asked to stay steady, to not drain our energy trying to convince others who’s minds are made up, but to lean into helping those who are undecided. And continuing to educate ourselves. With love.

You don’t have to make others wrong or evil to know what you stand for.

You don’t have to get bogged down by the hatred and lies and fear. Let’s use the next two months to get even more steady, calm, and fiercely loving. Practice good self-care. And see how you might volunteer, have hard conversations, learn, and listen.

A friend of mine who is a Republican shared with me: I’m voting for Kamala because choice is a right for all women; and it is a religious choice, not a choice that the government gets to make.

We are a country that was founded on the separation of church and state. For freedom and happiness. Trump is not a savior… and neither is Kamala. They are both flawed, imperfect humans, just like us. I don’t love all of Kamala’s politics or stances. And we don’t have to be in complete alignment for me to know that she is championing many things that I fiercely believe in, and will stand up for.

Let’s use our anger as fuel, not poison. Action, not despair. To motivate, not tear down others.

This will be my last political post of the year; next week I’ll share some difficult news and then some wondrous news about the land. But I wanted to share my thoughts here, and I’m open to your thoughts as well. I’m not posting this on social media, as I don’t believe we can have conversations there. But we can here.

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Register now or check if you are registered to vote….

I just checked and somehow I am not registered properly in New Mexico, despite getting a confirmation when I updated my driver’s license… so re-registering myself now! It is easy to check:

https://www.usa.gov/register-to-vote

Once you are registered or confirmed make a plan for how and when you are going to vote on November 5th.

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Questions? Research and learn through these organizations…

Need some help sorting through the political ads and scare stories during this election season and beyond? Here are some reliable sources that sift through the hype and fabrications for us. 

From https://my.lwv.org/michigan/copper-country/reliable-sources-fact-checking

Media Bias Fact Check (MBFC) is a fact-checking page, which relies strictly on signatories of the International Fact Checking Network (IFCN) when evaluating the political/factual bias of 3,100+ media sources (left, center-left, least biased, center-right, right, pro-science, conspiracy and pseudo-science, questionable sources, and satire). It includes the methodology used to classify each source. Sources rated very high or high on factual reporting have proper sourcing and a clean fact check record. Here's their 2024 Least Biased List of the best fact-checking websites, including all the ones below.

AP Fact Check Daily Mining Gazette has been printing. Associated Press is currently at the border of least-biased and left-biased but very high on factual accuracy. IFCN Signatory.

Lead Stories tracks story trends and debunk fake news before it becomes viral. They are often the first to debunk outrageous claims with "hoax alerts." Their clever tag line is "Just Because It's Trending Doesn't Mean It's True—Fact checking at the speed of likes since 2015." MBFC rates it as dead-center least biased and very high on factual reporting. IFCN signatory.

Ballotpedia is a nonprofit and nonpartisan encyclopedia, sponsored by the Lucy Burns Institute, designed to connect people to politics utilizing a neutral point-of-view philosophy. We believe in the power of information to transform lives and politics, and we are committed to making the most knowledge available to the greatest number of people. MBFC rates it as dead-center least biased and very high on factual reporting.

FactCheck.org from the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy Center is a nonpartisan, nonprofit "consumer advocate" for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics. FactCheck monitors the factual accuracy of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews and news releases. MBFC rates it as dead-center least biased and very high on factual reporting. IFCN signatory.

PolitiFact is a project of the St. Petersburg Times to help people find the truth in American politics, reported in the form of a Truth-O-Meter. It is among the least-biased IFCN sites but leans slightly left of center and ranks high on factual reporting of the accuracy of claims by elected officials and others who speak up in American politics. IFCN signatory.

Check Your Fact is owned by but operated independently of the Daily Caller. Media Bias Fact check rates Daily Caller an unreliable news source, but Check Your Fact is one of very few right-center IFCN fact-checkers with high factual accuracy. They focus primarily on hoaxes and political statements.

Verify This VERIFY is dedicated to helping the public distinguish between true and false information. With help from questions submitted by the audience, the VERIFY team tracks the spread of stories or claims that need clarification or correction. They provide trustworthy, transparent information to prove or disprove them. VERIFY's sources are always provided, allowing the audience to see exactly how the team determines the veracity of any claims. VERIFY is owned by TEGNA, one of the country's largest owners of local television stations. They work with 49 newsrooms nationwide, so VERIFY covers various topics impacting diverse communities