Inauguration Day

[tassosss]

I feel like I should have something profound for today. I'm writing this after midnight, so technically it's Inauguration Day already. All I got is solidarity.

We are here. We are with you. We are going to be here, together, for the next four years. And our small community here is not alone. In this week's check in posts folks have been going out and finding others in their communities, too, who are with us too. On Saturday the Women's March and all its sister marches are a world full of people who understand what's at stake and are making their voices heard.

Friday Jan 20
What you can do - is really what not to do
Tomorrow, the current call I've been seeing around for boycotting the Inauguration is don't reward any media format covering it, which means all media on the Internet. Don't go to news sites, don't get on Facebook, don't get on other social media. Those companies are counting those clicks.

If you are on the internet or your computer, fandom_stocking has an open invitation to keep filling stockings. It's also fandom's More Joy Day tomorrow.

Saturday Jan 21
If you're planning on attending a Women's March sound off!

I'll be at the one in DC. If you're planning on attending as well and you're not local, please pay attention to all the travel, metro, and road closure info. It's going to be a mad house and getting anywhere is going to take about twice as long (at least) as you think it will.

ETA: If you can't go to a March and still want to participate, the_rck pointed out that there's Disability March
https://disabilitymarch.com/join-the-march/

Chin up, everyone. It's on us now.

The worst thing that can happen in a democracy - as well as in an individual's life - is to become cynical about the future and lose hope. - Hillary Clinton

We have hope. Rebellions are built on hope! - Jyn Erso, Rogue One

Feel free to share other inspirational quotes in comments too.

Comments

[sathari]

We are building on hope. This community is building on hope. We'll rebel well.

Thank you for the heads-up about not going on media sites--- I'd already committed to the National General Strike, but I might have read up on Stuff and Things and that's good advice. (And, oops, had been reading stuff for a little while after midnight, though not actual inauguration coverage, will stop that now.) Today will be spent with like-minded family watching a marathon of relevant political movies. Tomorrow I march.

Right now I'm listening to Come On Home by the Indigo Girls and Girl in the War by Josh Ritter. (Anybody with icon-making skills who wants to use lyrics from those, I would love you.)

And here's another Jyn Erso Rogue One quote: "...we'll take the next chance, and the next, on and on until we win, or the chances are spent."

And a couple from SW:TFA's Poe Dameron: "We're gonna do this... don't let these thugs scare you."

We pick up the tools of our democracy to fix our broken government. (If it helps any, the US is a country that once went so far off the rails that we have a Constitutional amendment banning alcohol and another to fix that. Sometimes it happens that the only ones using the tools the framers gave us are the extremists with out-there agendas. And then everything goes off the rails for a while until the rest of us collectively pick up those tools ourselves and unfuck it. This time at least we're noticing the fuckery early and often and so many of us are stepping up. Let's keep that up.)

Also, I've been thinking about the quote, "Speak your mind, even if your voice shakes," by Audre Lorde. And about the fact that my hands have been shaking a lot since the hellection--- I'm just that rattled. So, here, have an add-on: "work for change, even when your hands shake". (Not gonna lie, Bodhi Rook from Rogue One is one of my inspirations: the poor guy is scared out of his wits the whole movie, but by DAMN he keeps going on and doing the next thing and the next and the one after that.)

And, if an awesome and well-told story of Nerdy Women of Color Being Epic and Very Much Building the Foundation of the Internet would help? Go see Hidden Figures, if not tomorrow then this weekend. I can't rec it enough, and now I'm going to go read the book on which it was based.

[tassosss]

Thank you for your words and links. I love the Audre Lorde quote because that's how I feel too.

I still need to see Hidden Figures and I want to see Rogue One again.

Mostly tangential/OT, but

[rydra_wong]

Not gonna lie, Bodhi Rook from Rogue One is one of my inspirations: the poor guy is scared out of his wits the whole movie, but by DAMN he keeps going on and doing the next thing and the next and the one after that.

You probably know this already, but just in case it enhances your inspiration, Riz Ahmed (who plays him) seems to be a delightful and multi-talented human being; he's also the "Riz MC" who features in the stunning "Immigrants (We Get The Job Done)" on The Hamilton Mixtape:

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2016/dec/04/riz-ahmed-actor-interview-star-wars-rogue-one-outspoken-scary-times
http://moosesaywhat.tumblr.com/post/153993194354/madlori-soyeahso-busyasabree
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/15/riz-ahmed-typecast-as-a-terrorist

Re: Mostly tangential/OT, but

[sathari]

I did not! What with the relative timing of Rogue One and the "hellection" all of my energy that normally would have gone to stanning for SW characters and their actors has gone instead to researching various politicians and related issues and Doing Stuff About Them. (Politics, it is my new fandom.) So I am very very grateful for the links.

Re: Mostly tangential/OT, but

[rydra_wong]

*beams*

Glad I could share, then! It does give me a little moment of happiness to know that some of the huge media attention and love that you get from being IN STAR WARS is going to someone who who talks so acutely about being a British Muslim, getting searched every time he goes through an airport, being typecast as a terrorist, and so on. Maybe it means someone will hear and listen to it who might not otherwise.

And obviously actors are not their characters, etc. etc., but (for me) it's always a nice extra bonus when a character I love turns out to be played by someone awesome.

Re: Mostly tangential/OT, but

[rydra_wong]

Also:

https://twitter.com/lin_manuel/status/820235120858828801

http://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/celebrity-news/riz-ahmed-the-new-star-wars-is-about-waking-up-to-political-reality-a3393676.html

“Rogue One is about waking up to the real political situation of your time and accepting you can’t sleepwalk into the future because there won’t be one.”

And he went on the Women's March on London, too!

Re: Mostly tangential/OT, but

[sathari]

Aw, thanks! AAAAAH Ahmed and and Miranda are SO CUTE TOGETHER!!!! That interview was awesome, and OMG HE WENT ON THE WOMEN'S MARCH. :D :D :D :D :D :D Thank you for sharing!

Re: Mostly tangential/OT, but

[rydra_wong]

And he has a fundraiser to support Syrian refugees:

http://www.crowdrise.com/riz

And he takes photos of protest signs with Hamilton quotes on them and tags LMM in them:

https://twitter.com/rizmc/status/826155388714184709

I feel we should take all the fannish squee we can get in our activism; it will help sustain us. *g*

(Also, you know Ian McKellen went on the Women's March carrying a placard with a shot of Patrick Stewart as Picard facepalming?)

Re: Mostly tangential/OT, but

[sathari]

OH WOW. ALL OF THAT IS AWESOME. And, yeah, fansquee in our activism is LIFE. I've started referring to my own personal model of pluralism/intersectionality/coalition-building in said activism as "the Alliance to Restore the Republic."