Drawing fills some needs, while blogging and journal writing some other needs, but there are also times when I really need to make lists. I often type lists or make spreadsheets, but sometimes I really need to be able to write them.
Therefore, I am also working on this page where I write down different problems I expect in the wake of this election, along with things that might be helpful, and then potential problems with the solutions.
Allow me to give some examples. This will be three topics out of many.
Trump has promised mass deportations and Stephen Miller has promised to "turbocharge" denaturalization -- stripping citizens of their status.
My mother has been a citizen since 1967. I don't even know if she will live past the inauguration and it's unlikely they will target old people in memory care. Still, there is a personal level on which that offends me.
That one won't probably hurt my family directly. There are other problems.
Although they say they are focusing on criminals, Ana Navarro has correctly pointed out that there are not enough "criminals" to provide those numbers, probably meaning family members who are citizens getting caught up. That means not just DACA recipients, but children born here.
In addition, last time around, because of the sweeping and racist nature of the roundups, occasionally citizens got swept up. It was surprisingly hard to get extricated once that happened.
https://revealnews.org/article/u-s-citizens-caught-up-in-immigration-sweeps/
Why, yes, the common factor in the people being rounded up -- with official status or not -- was skin color. That is the real reason it probably won't affect my mother, but she does have an accent and she lapses into Italian more frequently now. People often assume it is Spanish.
She is probably still safe, but I have neighbors that could affect. It probably won't here in liberal Oregon, but it is still disturbing.
Then there will be the effect on business, which could affect food availability and will certainly affect GDP (and adds to the possibility of that dreaded inflation).
https://cmsny.org/how-trump-mass-deportation-plan-would-hurt-usa/
There is a sort of cycling through in the process: this part won't affect me, these parts probably won't but there is a real rage associated with this possibility, and this part will almost certainly affect me.
That is not to determine that things that don't affect me are not problems. What I hope it does is give me a better idea of where to take action, what needs more research, and what can go on the back burner. Maybe there is still fear, but ideally it is not panic, becoming more practical.
Here's another one.
Based on how many women are getting messages now about ownership, being murderers, and looking forward to the loss of their rights, I cannot help but think that sexual harassment and rape will be increasing.
There could be a really long post on this, and that may happen. I just want to do a short mention now that perhaps it is time for more self-defense classes, or maybe I should get some pepper spray. I don't leave the house much, but it might be good to have on hand.
This is a very minor potential solution, but it brings up two problems right away. I remember reading about a woman who had taken self-defense training. They taught her to gouge eyeballs, but in the moment she could not bear the thought of the eyeballs falling onto her.
That may sound silly (and gross), but if you are gearing up to hurt someone, can you execute it? Would you be able to react quickly enough and follow through? Sometimes that requires drilling.
Also, the other problem it brings up is that when women defend themselves they end up being charged a lot, almost as if even now their rights are not as fully respected.
Finally, this is a stressful time, and I already had a high stress load. That often affects sleep, which is not good for my blood sugar. I also overproduce a specific type of white blood cells, eosinophils. It's at a low level, but it is there and it seems to be stress-based because all of the other potential causes tested negative. These are the kind of things that wear your body down at a faster rate, so it may be shortening my life at a faster rate than before.
That is a reason to try and do things for stress reduction, and I can set goals with that. I do have a tendency to prioritize other things and other people, and that is not always wrong. Clearly there are people who are in more danger than me.
There will be times when working against injustice or defending someone is more important than my white blood cell count, but I should understand that choice so I know what I am choosing.
Does this process calm me? I think it helps somewhat. It's my default, whether it helps or not.
With the art, feel your fears and your anger and sadness, but don't stop at feeling them. It is a starting place, not a stopping place.
Also, notice how it cycles, where I am looking at myself, and at my neighbors, and at the Gross Domestic Product, and thinking about other women, but also back to my health. De-centering is important, but sometimes centering is important too. Balance is hard, so sometimes the workaround is to rotate, looking inward, then outward, and then repeating.
Honestly, inappropriate centering is a big part of the problem with the bracelets. That's what we are going to look at tomorrow.
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