Today I read news, both positive election results (well done!!!) and the sadness and resignation of friends who are out of options, recognizing they can no longer afford health insurance, which means they can no longer afford to see their doctors, pay for their prescriptions, or maintain any illusion that they have a safety net for the inevitable expenses of health care due to the for-profit nature of medical care in the United States.
Photo of a sunset over the boardwalk by Jamie Feinberg
People share their best tips for eating on a budget and making due if food stamps are cut or gone.
Politicians on the wrong side of history pledge to publish people who stood up for themselves and used their power in NYC and elsewhere.
The United States is no longer just a country living under the threat of daily gun violence in schools and other community gathering places. It is also a country at war with itself, destroying any sense of safety and community and any illusions its children and others had.
Those who followed the rules aren’t safe. No one is safe, though the lightness of your skin can help.
I exchange stories with friends who are socking away food for the winter, like squirrels and chipmunks, unsure what the winter has in store or how it will end.
In one hand, I hold gratitude for my amazing family, friends, and neighbors. I work to stay present to the textures my hands touch, to the warmth of a hug, to the creaminess of the oat milk in my coffee. In the other hand, I work to break free of the inner critic, telling me I am not doing enough, and the sometimes paralyzing anxiety about where we are headed and what could be next.
I sit here, warm under blankets and a cat who adopted us in Florida ( once a fun and affordable home for our RV, now a place we’re not sure we’ll ever return to again).
I remember that whatever our own health challenges are, whatever our own financial struggles may be, we are extraordinarily grateful to be in Canada, to be here, right now.
As you write your own poems, remember the joy. I hope you can find the moments of calm, the moments of love, the moments of beauty. I hope you never give up and that you never give in.
You are worthy. And I will do what I can to support you. Love your neighbors, friends.
When mind games are kicking in and you’d like support learningto control your thoughts and stop the self-sabotage, take a saboteur assessment.
Anyone else getting sick of “adulting”, aka going through the world bearing some of the boring responsibilities of being a human (at least in our current society) when fascists are taking over and cultures and families and people are being destroyed?
I feel this way a lot, but in addition to pausing to get present and taking time for joy where I can as means to combat inertia/anxiety/despair, I am also trying to stop and celebrate signs of progress when I see them.
A solo raven perches on top of a birch tree branch (photo by Jamie Feinberg)
One sign of progress, of course, was that more than 7 million (some sources suspect it was closer to 8 million) people turned out, entirely peacefully, for the No Kings rallies across the United States and even in some cities around the world. Scholars much more qualified than me rightly shared criticisms of the effort (which wasn’t really a “protest”, and didn’t have clearly articulated goals and next steps in place, amongst other things), but I think it’s reasonable to rejoice at the show of solidarity and optics of having an event like that – especially after so many right-wing extremists were warning about the “violent” people who’d be participating. While there were a few violent people who tried to dampen the mood, those who turned out to say no to kings did so peacefully.
If you made it out for No Kings, thank you, and I hope you found it encouraging, made some new friends, and were inspired to take some additional steps to protest the rights and freedoms of your fellow Americans and humans of all sorts.
Another sign of progress is at a more local level. In Boston, Massachusetts, Fenway Health works to provide affordable and accessible health care, and in a stunning move becoming too common across the US, they recently announced they’d stop offering healthcare for trans youth – in an effort, they said, to protect their ability to serve other people due to the changing regulations.
Photo of the ocean through the trees with changing leaves by Jamie Feinberg
From Fenway Health’s website: “The Trans Health Program at Fenway Health supports members of trans and gender diverse communities, their families, and the providers who serve them. We provide patient-centered, evidence-based care to ensure trans and gender diverse people are informed and affirmed in their gender and healthcare needs.”
What infuriates me to no end is when healthcare providers like Fenway don’t acknowledge that offering trans healthcare for youth is actually the safest, least invasive way to provide trans healthcare, because youth who know they are trans are saved having to complete puberty and thus require more invasive care down the line (often with less success) when we provide them with the care they need at a younger age. Not to mention the rates of suicide and murder for trans people….I could keep going, but here’s the good news!
Boston and those from around the region who rely on Fenway have decided they aren’t going to take no for an answer. Hundreds have taken to the picket lines, and reportedly some people who’ve come to Fenway for their care (like flu shots) have instead joined the picket line!
Erin in the Morning reported the following:
“We are calling on Fenway to find brave and creative solutions to maintain funding while following their mission to provide the same rights to every patient,” said Teddy Walker, a 20-year-old Boston student, reading from a statement penned alongside 21-year-old Berry Andres, their co-organizer for Monday’s action. Both are Fenway patients who started hormone therapy as teens—the very care and demographic being cut off now. So they know intimately how vital this life-saving care is for trans young people.
“This failure of courage does not have to be permanent,” Walker told Erin in the Morning. “We can still be allies in this historic fight together, because we know Fenway Health is not our enemy. The Trump Administration is. But that does not mean we will stand idly by as Fenway does Trump’s work for him by stripping patients of their care.”
Have you seen a sign of progress this past week? I’d love to hear about it. And as always, if you need support in navigating these and other challenges, I’d love to speak with you. Let’s start with a saboteur assessment.
Hi folks. I hope this title spells out what this article will be. I’m going to specifically speak to those of you who are very concerned about what’s going on in the United States right now. In particular, I’ll spell out what’s making me most concerned. I’ll also share one way to help yourself to pay attention, but not too much attention, if you’re finding that looking at the news is really anxiety-provoking right now.
CW: I’m going to talk about some scary stuff that could happen very very soon. Especially to trans people.
Sound okay? Read on.
We as Americans are at an interesting time in our history. To say the least, right? Though I’ve been sounding the alarm for a long time, in the past week, I have gotten especially concerned that the combination of a government sending innocent people to prison and saying they can’t get them back, combined with talk of invalidating the passports/legal documentation of trans people entirely (as well as disenfranchisement for others, such as married women who changed their name at marriage but don’t have a matching birth certificate) is something we should find extremely frightening.
It’s such a tiny step to move from that to, oops, we are now sending trans people out of the country for the crime of being trans, and no, we can’t get them back. (And if the conditions are as awful as the 60 Minutes documentary exposes, how many people will die there? Even if it’s sometimes dying of lost hope?)
And after the trans folks are gone, what about the people of color? The liberals or the people who spoke against Trump? The intellectuals? The disabled? Queer people?
You get the idea.
If this stuff doesn’t scream Holocaust to you, then you don’t know your history.
And to be clear, I have trans friends, family members, work colleagues etc. Tons of people that I know and love and respect. I am so angry right now.
Many people I’ve been talking to have said they’re getting anxious, or even having a panic attack, when they look at the news headlines. I hear you, and it’s so hard right now.
My personal suggestions if you’re struggling in this way?
Limit yourself to a very short window where you check in on the headlines every day. If that proves too much, go to a trusted friend or family member for a daily summary of what you need to know, AKA what should I call my reps about today, or what should I make sure I do? If you can’t do it daily, do it weekly or as often as you can.
Before you check the headlines, take some time to meditate/practice some form of mindfulness. Savor the feeling of hot water on your back as you shower. Enjoy some tea or coffee and really savor it. Get outside for a walk in nature. Focus on the detailed sensations where you are. Then, and only then, when you’re in a good space, read the headlines. Set an alarm and then do some more self-care. Repeat as needed.
If your current source of news is “too real”, change it up. Skip the TV and read an article. Move to a weekly instead of a daily cadence if daily is too much. Read a blogger you respect instead of a Facebook feed.
These are the ways I am making it work for me right now, and I hope some combination of these things might work for you too.
And while I am 100% not a lawyer, not an expert etc., I will say that if you have some privileges right now, now is truly the time to use them. Things have gone south so quickly, and there’s not much progress happening. What does that translate to?
Keep boycotting if you can. Keep protesting if you can. Keep calling. And keep making noise. We are going to need as many people as possible to keep resisting.
And if you’re in a role where you are being asked to do something that you know is immoral by our federal government or by your organization, consider the consequences of saying no, or of quietly ignoring the order.
And if you’re trans? I am frightened for you. I know everyone’s circumstances vary, but if you can get to Canada or another country and ask for asylum, maybe it’s time to consider it? If I had the money and I were trans, I’d be gone. On the other hand, I know traveling at all right now could increase your visibility which may not be helpfull. So maybe talk to a lawyer. If you have these privileges, of course. Because of the ways we’ve treated you, you’re less likely to have the cash for such moves. I am so sorry, and I won’t stop fighting. But we are in the danger zone, friends, so while it’s only a small minority of you who may have these kinds of financial privileges and options, I don’t think there’s any shame in taking care of yourself if that’s available to you. (And for all of us, organizations like the Transgender Law Center would love your support.)
If you’re white and/or privileged, consider if there’s a bigger role you could play right now. Can you take a stand at work when they’re axing DEI programs to remain compliant with the government? Can you speak up to ICE or the police or elected officials when you see something wrong happening in front of you? Can you stage something larger, or fight back in a more prominent way? I remember how much I was in awe of Julia Butterfly Hill, living for 738 days as an act of civil disobedience in a redwood tree. Do you have a way to use your power and visibility to support the people and causes you care about?
I’d love to hear your thoughts on all of this. What are you doing? I know it’s awful, and I wish I could fix it. I’ll keep working to do whatever I can. And mental fitness will be playing a very important role in that.
Crafting The Life You Want: A Practice in Living 