An Exciting Time to Be Alive
[When it was announced that Joe Biden had won the U.S. presidential election], my neighbors were out on the street. Nobody wanted to go inside. People talked to people who live near them that they don’t usually talk to.
People are again claiming that they are from the United States of America; they are claiming the U.S. flag.
It is an exciting time to be alive. People are talking about racism in a way that’s never happened before. Women are continuing to speak out about sexual harassment and assault. Organizing is increasing! People are getting smarter and bolder. Young people are leading. People of color are leading. Black people are leading. We have a Black woman vice president-elect of the United States. (It makes me cry every time I say it.)
We RCers have a big role to play. People need to understand what we know about discharge and distress recordings. Distress recordings are what have gotten us into the mess we’ve been in, and we know how to get out of them. Our understanding of attacks is needed—we’ve done the best thinking so far about them. We understand the importance of closeness. We know how to be a united front while continuing to look at the oppressions among us. It is not a time for us to be shy!
Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, USA
Reprinted from the RC e-mail discussion list for leaders of women
(Present Time 202, January 2021)