Re-Humanizing Each Other
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Hello friends My intention for this week’s newsletter was to share what I’d written on community prosperity and magic a couple of weeks ago. Or the podcast I just did on love and determination during hard times. And I’m still going to, below, because those thoughts are important, too. But first, I need to speak honestly about my current state. It’s not my usual uplifting musings, and I hope that’s okay with you. Last night, my sleep was troubled. I kept waking with thoughts of the men in CECOT prison, and the planes in Texas waiting to take 200 more immigrants to that pit of brutality without even the thinnest veneer of due process. All prisons are brutal, but this one seems worse than should even be imaginable. This morning, the news tells me that the US Supreme Court finally woke up and did something to stop the latest transport. I’m relieved. And I also know this fight is far from over. Yesterday, I sent out a call to file a complaint with the UN Human Rights Commission about the abuses at CECOT and the US transports, and I still think that is a good idea. It is one small way to take action. We must approach our current situation from all angles, whether supporting immigrant’s rights organizations, writing letters, marching in the streets, monkey wrenching the companies of the people in charge of this debacle, creating safe space for LGBTQ+ kids, or supporting our neighbors. But the first thing we must do? We must re-humanize one another in order to combat this fascism based on hatred. Dehumanization is the key to their power. Did you know that Martin Niemöller was an anti-Semite who supported the Nazis? They still took him to a concentration camp. His famous poem is not a parable or metaphor. It actually happened to him. He said nothing as group after group was rounded up, until literally, there was no one left to stand with him. Niemöller’s regret and remorse were real. They also came too late. It is not too late for us. Whenever we hear dehumanizing language, or witness dehumanizing actions—be they against trans people, disabled people, racialized people, immigrants, or people of different religions—we can speak up. We can ask questions. We can intervene. We can act. And we can, whenever possible, look upon each other with kindness and support our best natures. In supporting our best natures, we have a chance to welcome each other into pockets of safety and love. We have a chance to make it through. Thanks for being here — Thorn If you are interested in more thoughts about ways to make it through, here is my recent podcast on fostering determination through love: Magic, Creativity, and Life And my essay on community prosperity: Community Prosperity, Community Health.
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T. Thorn Coyle
Hello friends, It’s the full moon today, which is a time I like to pause and reset my focus. After a rough few days because of the state of cruelty in the world—including the minor personal annoyance of dealing with a sudden mass of deeply unhappy and toxic trolls because one of my photos went viral on Facebook—last night, I did some cleansing and recentered before bed. This morning, after lighting my candles and making my prayers, I decided once again that today I would focus on the things I...
Hello friends, While walking in downtown Portland, Oregon, I was waiting at a crosswalk for the light to change. I glanced left, and there was a tiny piece of art affixed to a parking sign. It was a portrait of a person with peachy skin and long dark hair, among city lights, and it made me smile. Now, I know nothing about this artist. Perhaps they have paintings hung in galleries. Perhaps they sell art full time from their online store, or at weekend craft fairs. Who knows, maybe their work...
Hello friends, On one of my recent walks, I saw a sign stapled to the utility pole which read: “This is not a time for disbelief. This is a time for new beliefs, a time to remake the impossible.” Yes, indeed. It is also a time to take stock of what we do believe. What are our ethics? What are our core values? How do we wish to live? When we focus only on what we do not want, we tilt the world in that direction. Our thoughts and emotions become consumed, our bodies and actions dragged into the...