It Ain't What You Get, It's What You Give
You never know how your actions are gonna land, but you do them anyway
Dear friends,
Behold, a recent Facebook post of my 'conversation' with Senator Tim Scott (R-SC). If you follow me on FB, you'll know that I frequently post email exchanges I've had with various Republican senators. In fact, that is how this newsletter came about - when Cousin Rebecca suggested I turn my email activism into a newsletter and (appropriately, though somewhat cheekily) name it Letters From A Canadian.
Dear Senator Scott - I appreciate you taking the time to respond to my grave concerns regarding Trump’s gestapo assaulting innocent people and destroying our communities with their lawless, unleashed violence, but I am absolutely gobsmacked to read that you actually support this fascist takeover.
Certainly, you must be able to recognize the difference between securing our borders and spending billions of tax dollars to turn thousands of untrained, heavily armed, violent racists out on our streets to assault and abduct whoever the hell they want. American citizens are being murdered by ICE goons. Immigrants are being murdered by ICE goons. Young children are being kidnapped from their homes and schools in Minneapolis and transported to concentration camps in Texas. Entire communities are being ripped apart by marauding thugs who are literal Nazis. How in heaven’s name can you still condone this? Give me a goddamned break! This is NOT immigration enforcement, this is government sponsored terrorism. And the Republican response is to lie through your teeth when we can all see with our own eyes exactly what is happening.
Either you support democracy and rule of law, or you support fascist authoritarianism. It appears that you are pro-fascist. Let me remind you yet again that you were elected to uphold the American Constitution and the rule of law, not to offer unwavering fealty to a wannabe dictator. Do your job! Jessica
#lettersfromacanadian #BeNoisy #cantstopwontstop
One thousand 'likes'!
I honestly have no idea how the 'algorithm elves' (and, yes, this is my understanding of how technology works) perform their magic to decide which posts get seen and which posts don't, but I guess they were smiling favourably upon this exchange between myself and Senator Scott (R-SC), because, wow! this post received ONE THOUSAND 'likes', 195 comments, and 125 shares. Typically, my posts receive anywhere between 12 - 20 'likes'. Some of them will inexplicably receive closer to 75 likes. However, this is the first post to receive a whopping one thousand 'likes', and I have no idea what about this particular post hit a nerve with so many scrollers, but I guess it resonated with them enough to react.
So, here's the thing about getting all these 'likes' on my recent post - I'm not actually fussed about it. Surprised, yes, but it didn't make me feel anything beyond bewildered, and a little bit hopeful that when I post these email exchanges, I might be inspiring others to be noisy. Of the 195 comments, I was pleased to read so many starting with, "When I wrote to my rep/senator..." which tells me that lots of us are filling the inboxes of those who are persistently enabling the cruelty and sheer stupidity of this fucked up regime. More than anything, we want to know that others are working with us to bring this bullshit down, and quite often, our connection to likeminded activists is through social media. Thank you Meta for linking me to so many other political emailers.
As bewildering as the actual number of reactions to this post is, the sentiment behind some of the comments really caught my attention. I'm delighted to say that, of the 195 comments (admittedly, some of those are me responding), only 2 came from rightwing, racist trolls. What I found fascinating, however, was just how many commenters expressed their outrage that Senator Scott sent a 'boilerplate' response similar to ones they've received from their reps, and even more people were furious about the different fonts indicating that his email was a cut & paste job, and not at all sincere (to be fair, I copy & paste my emails to all the senators).
Oh boy! If I allowed myself to get upset by the utter nonsense these senators send back, I'd need heavy medication to calm my frayed nerves. I receive between 6-15 responses a day from senators, and almost all of them are cut & paste versions of the party line. But, what matters here is that I am bothering to email them. The fact that I'm actually receiving responses to the actual subject of my emails tells me that my outrage is hitting the senators' desks and being noted. And, just maybe, along with all the other emails and phone calls they're receiving, it's making a difference.
Just doing my job!
As I type this, I am sitting on my couch in beautiful Victoria BC, cuddled up with my snoring cat ('working from home'). I'd like to think that if I was in the US, I would be protesting outside ICE concentration camps, documenting gestapo transgressions, and screaming at Nazis. It is part of my DNA to fight injustice, and silence is not an option, but I am limited in what I can do from this side of the border, and so I do what I can with what I've got. Almost a year ago, last February 14th, with the help of this handy-dandy spreadsheet created by my more technically savvy friend Susan, I started emailing US senators (mainly Republicans) to add my voice to the resistance to the onslaught of government sponsored terror. It is something I can do within my skillset and from my geographical location. So, just doing my job, I sent 170 emails and responses to Republicans in 2025, and am on record to break that this year, though we're only one month in. My point being that, wherever we are, we can all do something to support those on the frontline, those under assault, those suffering the consequences of last November's US election.
"And though she be but little, she is fierce."
And relentless. Absolutely, fucking relentless, because that is what it will take from all of us. Whether emailing politicians or posting their bullshit responses, I am not doing so expecting miracles. I do not write because I think the recipient will suddenly become a mensch. I do not post because I am hungry for 'likes'. I relentlessly harass politicians because it is the form of resistance available to me and resisting is the right thing to do in times like these. I post on social media in hopes of encouraging others to email and/or call to add their drops of resistance to the growing flood. To 'flood the zone' so that the politicians have no choice but to pay attention (and it seems to be working!). It isn't the responses from Republicans (though the fact that they're still responding to me is absolutely mind-boggling) or the 'likes' on FB posts (equally mind-boggling) that matter to me - it's knowing that I am doing what I can to stop this assault on democracy, on decency, on neighbours and friends. It ain't what you get, it's what you give that matters.
We keep going!
All the smart people I follow keep saying that it's going to get worse before it gets better (ugh), but they all agree that, with our relentless resistance, it will get better because we are making sure it does. We are seeing some 'wins' here and there, but I suspect most of our victories won't be visible anytime soon. That doesn't mean we've lost. That doesn't mean we stop whatever we're doing to fight fascism. It means we're on the right path and we keep going.
Friends - we're in this mess for a while longer, so I hope you are taking breaks, stepping away from the screen, breathing fresh air, and generally taking good care of yourself. Your efforts are needed. You're needed.
Onward with love and courage!
Jessica (she/her)
p.s. In case you're worried that my efforts are overly US-centric, please rest assured that I am also constantly writing to my Canadian MLAs, MPs, Ministers of Whatever, PM, City Council, and local paper. Lucky them!
