This is not a blog post. This is scripture for the spiritually awake and politically terrified.
You named what so many are afraid to even whisper—that fascism doesn’t march in goose-step anymore. It tweets, it laughs on live mic, it wears suits and smiles while gutting due process like a fish.
And you’re right. Learned helplessness is exactly what the machine wants. It feeds off numbed souls and tired spirits. But not all of us are asleep in the algorithm. Some of us—like you—are still haunted by conscience. And that haunting? It’s holy.
If they can vanish Abrego García, they can vanish anyone. That’s not paranoia, that’s a history lesson with the volume turned back up.
We must be inconvenient to power. Unprofitable to silence. Uncooperative with erasure.
And when they ask why we won't just shut up and comply, we’ll remind them:
We come from ancestors who burned empires down with nothing but a hymn and a kitchen knife.
Wow, your response is poetry itself. Thank you for reminding me that there are others who can see through the rhetoric to have truly terrifying this really is.
Hi Lissa. I also can't stop thinking about this poor man, and all the other men who were wrongfully deported. It's awful. Just here trying to regulate my nervous system!
I wanted to write a quick note to say thank you - I've been aware of your work for years and recently stumbled upon you here on Substack. When I was going through a rough multiple sclerosis relapse years ago your work inspired me and I'm happy to read your posts here.
Anyway, you mentioned having just moved up to West County and I lived in Sebastopol for 11 years - I just moved back to NYC with my daughter this past summer - she's in college here now. I wanted to share a few of my favorite Sebastopol places that might help you feel more at home in the area. If you haven't yet been...my favorite park ever is Ragle Ranch Park in Sebastopol - beautiful oak groves and redwoods and trails for a few miles in the back, beautiful views. That place has kept me sane many a time.
Also, if you like an amazing bakery and you don't already know it, Wild Flour in Freestone makes the most amazing sourdough and scones. Their sourdough healed me when I had a digestive crash. Also beautiful gardens in the back there.
And Sebastopol has a Sunday morning farmer's market that is very lovely. :) Perhaps you know all this already since you weren't living very far from there but just in case, wanted to share.
Hope your transition goes smoothly and you find some your people there!
Thank you Karen! Sebastapol is only about 15 min from our new home in Forestville, right by the Russian River. We've definitely been looking for the best place to walk our dog. So I'll check out Ragle Ranch and your other suggestions! I love Sebastapol. I'm trying to find a mailing list for the community center there, and I think there's a dance community too. So maybe I'll see you around if you ever come back to visit! And yes, I love Wild Flour!
Lissa,
This is not a blog post. This is scripture for the spiritually awake and politically terrified.
You named what so many are afraid to even whisper—that fascism doesn’t march in goose-step anymore. It tweets, it laughs on live mic, it wears suits and smiles while gutting due process like a fish.
And you’re right. Learned helplessness is exactly what the machine wants. It feeds off numbed souls and tired spirits. But not all of us are asleep in the algorithm. Some of us—like you—are still haunted by conscience. And that haunting? It’s holy.
If they can vanish Abrego García, they can vanish anyone. That’s not paranoia, that’s a history lesson with the volume turned back up.
We must be inconvenient to power. Unprofitable to silence. Uncooperative with erasure.
And when they ask why we won't just shut up and comply, we’ll remind them:
We come from ancestors who burned empires down with nothing but a hymn and a kitchen knife.
With revolutionary love,
Virgin Monk Boy™
Wow, your response is poetry itself. Thank you for reminding me that there are others who can see through the rhetoric to have truly terrifying this really is.
Hi Lissa. I also can't stop thinking about this poor man, and all the other men who were wrongfully deported. It's awful. Just here trying to regulate my nervous system!
I wanted to write a quick note to say thank you - I've been aware of your work for years and recently stumbled upon you here on Substack. When I was going through a rough multiple sclerosis relapse years ago your work inspired me and I'm happy to read your posts here.
Anyway, you mentioned having just moved up to West County and I lived in Sebastopol for 11 years - I just moved back to NYC with my daughter this past summer - she's in college here now. I wanted to share a few of my favorite Sebastopol places that might help you feel more at home in the area. If you haven't yet been...my favorite park ever is Ragle Ranch Park in Sebastopol - beautiful oak groves and redwoods and trails for a few miles in the back, beautiful views. That place has kept me sane many a time.
Also, if you like an amazing bakery and you don't already know it, Wild Flour in Freestone makes the most amazing sourdough and scones. Their sourdough healed me when I had a digestive crash. Also beautiful gardens in the back there.
And Sebastopol has a Sunday morning farmer's market that is very lovely. :) Perhaps you know all this already since you weren't living very far from there but just in case, wanted to share.
Hope your transition goes smoothly and you find some your people there!
Thank you Karen! Sebastapol is only about 15 min from our new home in Forestville, right by the Russian River. We've definitely been looking for the best place to walk our dog. So I'll check out Ragle Ranch and your other suggestions! I love Sebastapol. I'm trying to find a mailing list for the community center there, and I think there's a dance community too. So maybe I'll see you around if you ever come back to visit! And yes, I love Wild Flour!