How can you help?

This blog is a reflection based on a series of questions posed in a Substack I subscribe to.

The Substack was titled: cause for concern, reflections on the revolution

Whoa.

I mean, Rachel Ricketts makes me THINK and FEEL and reflect reflect reflect always. But this post seemd bigger. It took up a lot of real estate in my head. She writes about this feeling far better than I ever could, and I highly recommend subscribing to her Substack. It will push you, be prepared to sit with some discomfort especially if you are a white person. (If you are feeling things related to that, stay out of her inbox and get into mine please.)

Anyhoo, she poses some questions in her post that I wanted to answer for myself:

How can I support liberation for all outside of / in addition to political engagement? How can I help forge grassroots & mutual aid efforts? How am I supporting, building and expanding networks and communities of care?
Rachel ricketts

IDEAS, STRUGGLES, GOALS

Writing about these questions took a lot of digging, discomfort, and curiosity. But I was also able to activate some excitement and imagination as well.

Struggling with connection to folks who are closer to the work (BIPOC, the queer community), I feel like my purpose is to grab all the white, privileged people I can and get them working on this! In reading and learning from Black and Indigenous folks, I know that they must direct the work and steer the goals, but they can’t always be holding our hands. Nor should we expect that labour of them (and we often expect not to have to pay for it either).

White folks need spaces to mess up together so we don’t add to the trauma our race has already caused. We can say the dumb stuff, call each other in, learn together.

Supporting and expanding networks of care looks like clubs and meetups. Opportunities to just meet folks, expand our social circles, and build community. This is the most exciting part for me, because honestly, the sky is the limit and the bar is so low right now.

So many folks continue to disengage from community as a side effect from the pandemic lockdowns that we maybe don’t event realize we’re doing it. We’ve forgotten the skills to connect, or we never learned them in the first place. Anything I do, any contribution I make to this is a huge win.

My goals for the Not Ladylike Community are:

to be consistent
to communicate our values and be ready to defend them
to be clear what we are actually working toward
to try new things and encourage everyone’s involvement in the planning and implementation

CONNECTING TO CREATIVITY

I struggle with writing sometimes, and find it easier to work through my thoughts and feelings in my art journal. These prompts earned themselves four pages, and I am really proud at how the text, colour, and images turned out.

GROWTH FOR LIBERATION

This blog has come a long way, because I am not a static brand. I am a person, and as I learn things I am going to take this blog – and y’all – along with me. But, the ultimate work is done out there.

“We need Black Panther Party level shit (and then some) – community organizing, supporting, caring, providing & protecting FOR us BY us. And it needs to be done OFF the oppressor’s social media.”

– Rachel Ricketts

I feel an almost constant pull to get off of social media. Some days it’s a whisper, and some days I feel some hurricane force winds telling me to delete it all! You can tell what’s been winning, as you can still find Not Ladylike on an app in your phone.

When I evaluate why I continue on social media, I find three solid answers:

Tell people about Not Ladylike events
Connect with people and organizations doing similar work
Learning from unconventional sources I would never find otherwise

Learning and marketing come quite easily, but connection goes both ways and that is NOT happening for me. I make a post and the only interactions I typically get are ‘likes’. A like is not a conversation, and I am exhausted at the work required to maintain those conversations in a space that’s sole purpose is to monetize my attention.

My follow up questions are:

what does it look like to take this work “offline”?
what will it take to push this community to the next level?
who do I need at my side to pull this off?

I’ve got another few months – and a few more art journal layouts – to figure that one out. TO be honest, I consider this my life’s work and appreciate any and all challenge and direction. It’s terrifying and exciting to be alive at this point in time, and I just want to do my best by you.

FURTHER RESOURCES AND READING

Here is the link to Rachel Rickett’s Substack again.

Perhaps one day I will put together a list of alllll the places I learn from. But that’s not today. Drop a comment with your favourite liberation mentor or teacher.

How can you help?