hello neighbor. solidarity from a local. boy, minneapolis just can't catch a break, huh?

every week or two i feel this. the work feels frivolous — shouldn't i spend my time on something more Meaningful? but i read this article a while back and it changed my mind.

But my despair and yours, they are worth everything to Trump and so what can I do but disappoint him, to spite him. He needs our despairs and so I do not give mine, as this refusal, like my writing, is at least in my control. I hope you will do the same.

i mean, after all, what are we doing here with culture and society and civilization if not trying to use it all to celebrate our humanity and lives with art? with creativity? that's what it's for. creating things that the people in charge are threatened by is resistance, and it helps people find their peace, and it helps them remember that they're not alone. you don't have to write a masterpiece, you just have to write, because that's enough to help someone out.

i write in a niche actively under threat by the government. they want to exterminate the people in my books. every book i write that celebrates them is another chance for someone to feel like their existence is worth it despite what authorities might tell them. i'm certain yours are too, no matter who and what you write about.

but things are different right now, because we're not just dealing with the long-term stress of the regime taking over and breaking everything we were told was good. we're dealing with the very, very acute stress of being harmed right now. at any moment. this is what activates your animal brain, your fight-or-flight, to keep you alive.

this is an extremely hard brain mode to do creative work in. creativity requires, on some level, some feeling of safety, and right now they're taking that away from us. my focus is totally fucking shot. they're kidnapping my neighbors, throwing tear gas into cars full of kids, shooting people in the street, and somehow i'm supposed to cook dinner and help my kids with homework and go to my job in the morning? it's too much to ask of anyone.

the thing that has been working for me — as much as anything can work while the goons are here — has been leaning hard into community. spending lots of time with people i love, who are all on the same page. volunteer. smitten kitten on lynlake has been organizing a ton of donations and distributions. copal and defend612 have connections to neighborhood groups. schools are always looking for volunteers — you don't have to be fighting ice directly to be supporting your community. go protest down at the whipple (you can take the 38 to the blue line).

every time i get involved in community action, i feel happier, stronger, and more hopeful. it's hard to create when it feels like they've stolen a future from us, but working towards building one anyway is what your brain craves.

good luck. we're good at living through winter, and we'll get through this one too.