Terry Tempest Williams

(to community, held within the Open Space of Democracy)
 

Erosion
_____________________
 

Dear Hannah, Olivia, Laura, Blaine, Carly and Donna,

I know you all are having a hard time – we all are – and I certainly don't want to erase the reality of the moment, but looking back on my own activism and feminism, I realize that from difficult moments has often come some of my proudest moments.

Dear fellow human beings,

If you’re not worried right now, you’re not paying attention.  The two months since the election have confirmed that this American administration will be the most reactionary, racist, and far-right in nearly a century.  

But if you’re only worried right now, that sucks.  Most importantly, for those of us not at immediate physical risk– white folks like me, cisgender folks like me, documented folks like me – our friends and family who are at such risk need us.  But our loved ones also need us to not fall apart.  We need each other.  

THE ARC OF JUSTICE
For Chelsea Manning

Dear Child,

(to my son, and any sons and daughters who might be listening)

A few months ago, during the primary elections, you asked your dad, “If Donald Trump hates women, will he send Mommy away?” Your dad reassured you but later, when you were asleep, I reminded him that while Trump may not send your mommy away, he and his team have threatened to send other people's mommies away.

Dear Young Seeker

I am writing my letter to the revolution to you and to you specifically because you are that rare creature, the seeker. You do not really feel comfortable in any group, you do not have an identity made up of 7 adjectives that box you into a group with both the privileges of “Belonging” and the mental suffocation that comes from belonging to a such a “‘group”.

Oh, dear—

Somehow on that night I found myself alone in the park, looking up at the stars yes the stars were beautiful that night we don’t usually see the stars at this time of year in rainy Seattle and something came running up maybe I screamed?

Dear weary folks,

(Content/TW: Discussion of racist and ableist violence, mentions of sexual violence)

Dear fellow organizers, activists, rabble-rousers, and rebels,

To the next generation of activists,

(You may not think of yourself as an activist yet, but a lot’s going to happen in the next four years, so please hear me out.)

The election of Donald Trump as president of the United States was devastating for so many of us. He’d spent months threatening immigrants, women, people of color, Muslims, and the differently abled, among others. This goes against everything I stand for. But within a few days, my initial feelings of despair began to change into something more powerful and productive: the resolve to resist.