I know there are a many causes that should take up my attention, but I feel personally connected to this as I have family across the border. For some context, I live in Chicago as a music director.
I was recently moved by a post from a Canadian begging Americans to do something, anything , to stop war between the US and Canada. Trump’s rhetoric and private comments have made it clear he actually wants to annex Canada, and they don’t want that and neither do I. The post mentioned that “we are your brothers, your sisters, your neighbors. He’s openly planning to attack us and you are doing nothing. What kind of family does that?”
Something about that hit me. I’m so used to taking our, hell my, relationship with Canada and Canadians for granted because it was absurd to think there would ever be a fight on the northern border. But this hit me like a bucket of ice water.
My Uncle lives in Montreal and has been a resident for 50 years. My great aunt and uncle lived in Toronto. I grew up in Seattle, and just 2 hours away I would celebrate Canada day in Vancouver (which also happens to be my birthday). Needless to say, Canada is my favorite country.
My undying love for Canada and Canadians has usually felt like a place of comfort when I would doom scroll, but now I’m heartbroken and terrified of what I’m seeing.
Anyway, now for action.
I wish I could just walk outside with a picket sign and suddenly a protest would erupt, but that’s not how any of this works. I also feel like protest is dangerous and might not even be effective right now. I was in 2 BLM protests and stood toe to toe with the CPD in Humboldt Park. Shit got real when my friends were corralled, but we forced the cops to retreat with our numbers. Back then I remember thinking “at least I’m not up against the CCP in Hong Kong or Russian Cops in Red Square”. But with this administration, it feels like our work has been erased and this time all bets are off when it comes to safety.
What I do have is a weekly music jam that has become a bit of an anarchist community. Oftentimes that’s where we make connections that end up helping us barter goods and services. I just traded trombone lessons for someone to help me make puppets (a sentence I’m so proud to write). We will have community meals and there are lots of leftovers. We organize little trips to Milwaukee or the Indiana dunes. We have about 600 people who attend a year with average events having 40 people.
My shit is microscopic beans, but I feel like it’s a tool I have at my disposal that could effect change.
Anyway how can I do something to help? I would love to hear from my Canadian lemmings especially. 🍁 ❤️
I think trading your trombone lessons for puppet making is cool. I traded a giant turnip and a jar of pickled beets for some of my neighbour’s candied ginger last week.
Since you asked for ideas about organizing and what your fabulous ‘microscopic beans’ group might get up to:
Maybe talk to your community of regulars about being willing to mobilize in some way. Like, who wants basic disaster training. Maybe one of you knows first aid and can teach the rest. Those community meals you have could turn into bringing food to war refugees or families of stolen migrant workers out every Monday morning at the embassy (or wherever they protest regularly in your area). You can make one of your meetings about media literacy, and spotting propaganda, or if you’re all already savvy, you could create a fabulous Introduction to Propaganda Techniques performance and bring it to a mall or public square.
Poster/sticker campaigns telling people which media are Feeding them nazi shit are really helpful atm. No idea what your jam session might make out of an action like that, but artists jailbreak people’s programming in nifty ways no one expects. You could have everyone learn Jesse Welles’ War Isn’t Murder song and flash mob it somewhere.
Also, and this is where I know NOTHING about you, so apologies if it’s too personal or presumptuous.
I remember the G20 up here in Toronto really well. I remember them putting up those barricades all over downtown, telling locals not to go outside in our own neighbourhoods, them rounding up people the nights before protests, getting kettled and on. That shit is absolutely traumatizing, and you’re right: all bets are off when it comes to safety at protests where you are. Your safety is solely in the hands of the protester next to you, as theirs is in yours, just like always. My advice is to ask your group if anyone else feels traumatized by past protests in a similar way. Maybe the number is higher than you think. Maybe they want to talk about like, feelings and stuff. Maybe you can make something out of that (tactics, actions), or maybe it’s just a conversation. Either way, win-win.