Greetings! I hope everyone is doing as well as possible – all things considered. As we continue to watch the clown car of cruelty (aka Trump’s cabinet) gain new members, we need to remember a few things. Competency, the ability to govern, and respect for institutions (even with the flaws) were never going to be Trump’s criteria for administration minions. Instead, his picks are based on loyalty to him and a willingness to trash the house. This is all about promoting his agenda of revenge and grifting, while at the same time hollowing out government functions. The chaos that is generated is entirely the point.

As we grapple with how to respond or navigate this terrain, many of us have found some comfort in joining various communal events. ACOSA held one such event last Friday – a Happy Hour nominally billed as teaching social action content but really was more about coming together for support. Fifteen of us participated and the 90 minutes was filled with anger, frustration, some crying, some laughing, caring, and commitment. Personally, I greatly appreciated the perspectives that were shared as we try to figure things out.

For me, some of the take-aways were:

Distinguishing safe spaces from “brave” spaces. I often preface meetings such as Friday’s as offering a safe space. But what was suggested by others is that no space can be truly safe, and that is especially true for more vulnerable individuals. In contrast, Brave Spaces encourage exploration, vulnerability, and risk-taking in a setting that provides respect and support. I really appreciated the conversation we had about this – it has me rethinking how to frame such gatherings as well as what we ask of ourselves and others.

Attendees occupy very different spaces and that shapes how we understand and engage in coping and responding to current circumstances. I, for example, live in a deep blue bubble; my district was the bluest in Pennsylvania. Another attendee is the only registered Democrat on her block. We have very different conversations with our neighbors and gain very different perspectives. For me, it was a reminder that my protective bubble also may keep me from engaging with others who hold alternative views. Several people expressed feelings of loneliness because they don’t have a bubble, so it’s important to help generate those spaces so that the loneliness doesn’t give way to despair. Additionally, it was instructive to hear that not all alternative views are evil but are real concerns of friends and neighbors.

Several of us, as educators, are grappling with how to facilitate conversations in our classrooms about the election and its aftermath. This gets complicated when there are opposing positions among students, especially if one group is celebrating and others are devastated. I’m not sure we came to any resolution other than this is really difficult. And, as the administration’s priorities and actions take shape, we will probably need to continually address the reactions in our classrooms. At this moment, it seems that the most pressing issue for my students is health care, and the fear that Obamacare will be repealed. Their vulnerability was and is palpable.

One participant offered the opinion that had the Democrats won, many of us would have patted ourselves on the back and then probably gone back to business as usual, or what they called – cruise call. This view resonated with the other attendees and led to a discussion on the need to engage, mobilize, and especially build power. Electoral politics or voting campaigns aren’t enough. Or as another said (and I paraphrase) – there’s always been work to do, but now it feels very different with very high stakes. That this election is a wakeup call is a gross understatement.

Finally, with all the chaos and hate swirling around us, a pressing question was how to hold onto our humanity. To that, I would add, how do we recognize and protect the humanity of others, even if we disagree with them. I’ll admit that there are situations, such as some Trump voters now signaling buyer’s remorse, that make me want to scream – “we told you so!” Or what I hear from others that when Trump supporters start to feel some of the pain from his policies that we embrace schadenfreude (German for pleasure from someone’s misfortune). We have every right to be angry, but we cannot let that anger destroy who we are as humans who envision a very different world centered on compassion and justice.

It is my hope that ACOSA will continue to hold these events to provide folks with a place to come and process, vent, debate, celebrate, connect, plot, plan, and mobilize. Over the next few weeks, I hope to pull together resources including those mentioned last Friday that might help. These will be shared through the e-Blast and if you have recommendations, please forward them to me (chair@acosa.org). People are hungry for ideas and inspiration.

We have a lot of work to do from keeping ourselves and our loved ones safe to mobilizing for real system changes across so many issues. Share your stories. Stay connected. These challenges and struggles can only be dealt with, and hopefully overcome, collectively.

In solidarity,

Cheryl (chair@acosa.org)

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