There a lot of things I’m holding onto in order to quell my cynicism right now. To quiet that pernicious little voice that says things won’t change, haven’t changed, can’t change. It’s not helpful, KAREN. (I don’t know why this voice is named Karen, just seemed right.)
When working with the organizers of #ShutdownSTEM (the STEM field’s contribution to #Strike4BlackLives) last week, they said they were seeing real commitments from major scientific institutions to become anti-racist. Companies that they’d never seen in the conversation before. Leaders taking their call to action seriously and putting money and strategies behind them.
When we attended Black Lives Matter protests in Sacramento, I saw the most intersectional movement I’ve ever witnessed in the streets (Muslims for BLM, rainbow and trans flags, Latinos for BLM, healthcare workers, teachers, folks with disabilities, self-described “mama bears”…not so many Karens, but I digress…) A microcosm of a country I can take pride in.
I hold on to the moments when I speak with friends who hold me up and remind me that I have everything I need to contribute right now. Sometimes these moments feel like thimbles of water in a desert of our parched humanity…wow, are these my best analogies right now? Even my creativity takes a melodramatic hit with a pandemic and political failure across the board.
So when SCOTUS comes along and makes it the law of the land to grant federal employment protections to the LGBTQ community, I can hardly believe it. When Trump’s appointee to the Supreme Court protects transgender workplace rights and delineates sexual orientation from gender? My little Karen’s pretty quiet. She’s stunned. And I feel a little skeptical that I haven’t been punked by The Onion. Aimee Stephens, you rest in power today.
Lest we forget: the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends [and snaps] towards justice. We’ve got a DACA decision pending really soon, may it please the Court, so I am buckled up.
When all the Warrens get you down, you just bend….and SNAP.