I keep wanting to share the next post in my racism series. Each week, I mean to post it, but then something occurs that makes it feel ill-timed.
This week, of course, I’m hesitating after Wednesday’s storming of the Capitol. The police response drew many comparisons with the responses to Black Lives Matter protests last year—many people are angry about the relative tolerance of white rioters after so much intolerance and violence toward Black protesters and their allies. Out of respect for that anger and the wounds of people of color, I’ll wait longer to post about my cousin’s and my dialogue.
I wrote a whole post about Wednesday’s events instead…but then I decided not to post that, either.
Briefly: I wrote that Wednesday’s violence was the natural and predictable consequence not only of Trump’s recent rhetoric but also of his election. He is no more unfit for office now than he was four years ago. And yet, he was elected—so although he should be removed immediately, that won’t solve the underlying problems, one of which is a crisis of reason in the Republican Party. When loyalty gets mistaken for truth, authoritarianism results. It’s not only the rioters and Trump, but also his many enablers in party leadership, who are responsible for Wednesday’s events.
You get the idea. I wrote that post.
But when I emerged from writing it, I felt strung out and jittery. What I had been writing and thinking all day had not been good for me.
It had actually made me unwell. I could feel physical stirrings in my gut that told me I needed to be careful. My chronic illness forces me into deep awareness of my wellbeing, because prolonged stress can trigger a flare-up. My energy felt angry, pinched, narrow, and vindictive, and it was affecting my body.
I stepped away from the computer and went for a walk in the woods, where I found one of the beautiful flower mandalas created by our local artist.
Resting my eyes on the soothing colors and walking next to mossy trees and the clear, babbling stream felt healing. My gut began to unclench. I felt myself to be once again in touch with my deeper Self.
Upon returning home, I found emailed statements from leaders in the dialogue movement. These are people who managed to get past their own anger more quickly than I did and write the healing words that had eluded me thus far. I’m grateful for their wisdom.
I’m sharing their words here instead of my angry post. Not because what I wrote doesn’t need to be said—it does. But various others are already saying it, and this blog is about healing.
Urban-Rural Action, a Pennsylvania-based dialogue group, released a statement condemning Wednesday’s violence and naming President Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric as a proximate cause.
“But there is nothing inevitable about where we are headed as a country,” they go on.
UR Action was founded on the conviction that our geographic, racial, political, and other differences are a source of strength — that we can build relationships by solving problems together, and we can solve problems together by building new relationships. Let us therefore continue the long, hard task of working across our divides… There is no better time to further dedicate ourselves to the work of strengthening democracy than when it is threatened.
Karin Tamerius, founder of the Facebook group Smart Politics, offers guidance to progressives on how to build relationships with Trump supporters. In the wake of Wednesday’s events, she has written advice that I recommend all progressives read in full here.
“Be kind, respectful, & compassionate,” she says. “Direct your anger at Trump and his enablers, not ordinary voters. The overwhelming majority are good people who’ve been duped.” She counsels us to “Listen, listen, listen,” because listening has the power to calm people down and get them thinking about their own beliefs.
And she advocates building “golden bridges,” a concept that was new to me.
The term “golden bridge” comes from Sun Tzu, the great strategist and author of The Art of War, who said, “Build your opponent a golden bridge to retreat across.” … In the political setting, golden bridges are about making it easier for people to change their minds. … The worst thing you can do in these moments is say, “I told you so.”
When I read that, I smiled in recognition of Karin’s wisdom. My initial, angry blog post would have largely been one big “I told you so.”
David Blankenhorn, founder of the national dialogue group Braver Angels, invites us all to a national, action-oriented town hall meeting next Tuesday to “‘Hold America Together’ in light of yesterday’s events in Washington and of the upcoming Inauguration.”
“We’ll gather strength from one another,” he writes.
We’ll listen to people who voted differently. We’ll find ways forward together…
We will defeat fear with patriotic empathy.
We will defeat despair with active citizenship.
We will defeat violence with the fierce urgency of love.
And in a separate email, Braver Angels shared the words of Charles Heckscher, a local group leader who is liberal:
There have always been and will always be extremists who take destructive action. But they flourish only when there is a wide sense of exclusion and frustration among people who would never themselves storm the Capitol or firebomb a courthouse…. Punishing the extremists is necessary…but it will not solve the deeper problem.
I support Braver Angels because…the mission is essentially to try to repair the broken bonds of trust and understanding with people who have lost faith in our system.
It’s appropriate to be angry after Wednesday. It’s also appropriate to be shaken and strung out, like I’ve been feeling. But plenty of others are capturing that anger and acting on it, by working to remove Trump from office, exposing hypocrisy, and shining light on racial injustice.
Along with all of that, there is healing needed as well—interpersonal healing among Americans and internal healing within ourselves. The latter is especially necessary because our national problems will take a long time, and a lot of stamina, to fix.
The groups I’ve mentioned, and others listed on my Resources page, offer a proactive, healing path. These groups are looking to the long term, strengthening our foundation as a country through humanizing Americans to each other. I’m so grateful for their guidance.
