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Nov 26
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Michele Peters (she/her)'s avatar

Thank you for being here. I am worried about what will happen and know there is much more to do. We (especially the privileged) have to stop being paralyzed and start taking action.

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Nov 26
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Michele Peters (she/her)'s avatar

Yes, exactly. We clearly have not done enough.

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Kim Pitts's avatar

Truly beautiful call to action for vulnerability my friend 🏳️‍🌈

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Gordon Bonnet's avatar

First: you are a deeply good person.

Second: I so resonate with what you've written. In the past two weeks I've constantly been thinking, "What more could I have done?" -- and worse, "Why didn't I do it?"

Third: Safety. Yeah. I've long believed that the three most important words you can say to someone are not "I love you" but "You are safe." Partly that comes from the fact that I never -- not for one moment -- felt safe as a child. Part of it is from being a queer guy from deep red Louisiana (haven't lived there in decades, but you don't forget). I'm still deeply hesitant and cautious around people, and probably always will be. But I've realized that it's critical I overcome that, now, because there are so many people in a far more dire situation than me who will need me to muster up every bit of my courage, so I can continue to speak out (and as you said) ACT out on all of our behalfs.

Last: reach out to other good people. Being in a situation like this is exhausting, and the old truism of not being able to help others if you're not taking care of yourself is... well, true. There are other good people in the world, and we'll need to stick together and prop each other up when it gets to be too much to bear.

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Michele Peters (she/her)'s avatar

Thank you, Gordon. I am so thankful to have you here. Despite being on the opposite side of the US, I would love to be part of your ‘good people’ circle.

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Gordon Bonnet's avatar

You are, no worries.

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Sunday Dutro's avatar

Love this!!

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