Hi everyone,
We’ve been in covid-tena since last Friday. I got tested for covid-19 on Tuesday due to possible exposure to confirmed cases, ensuring we were most informed for my team that was exposed to me as well, and experiencing symptoms. We are still waiting for my results; B has not shown any symptoms (yay!).
I am feeling a lot better today physically, but I am in full rage mode for many reasons right now. This crisis is fully exposing how rotten all of our systems are for the 99% of us and if that doesn’t make us flip some tables, I am worried about what will? If this is not bad enough to wake the majority of us up, than what will? AND I am also feeling the transition period that we are in. It is crucial to pause and feel it all, that’s our first point of connection, those feelings, our humanity, the compassion.
AND that alone will not be enough AND each of us will need to figure out what we are willing to do? How are we willing to do that? With whom will we be willing to do that with? When is the moment to take action? I am sitting with all of these questions to myself.
All of these things can be true all at once, the urge to keep our nuclear family and friends safe, to expand to our neighborhood being taken care of and feel like that’s all we can do at this moment that is so big and overwhelming. That’s been my first thought, but as I have been feeling better physically my spirit has also been feeling anxious and the sense of something is not right, has been growing, the restlessness is more palpable.
So I am also allowing myself to sit with that, and that’s what has led me to this:
My plea to us, is that we allow ourselves to sit with the feeling that this is NOT OK, and really sit with it. That you do whatever it is to act on that feeling. That we don’t let this crisis pass us by like it’s normal, or let it further desensitize us to human pain and death.
That you let your feelings drive you to action beyond ranting about it (like I am doing now, I am fully aware of my action) over social media. That we be bold, be brave and push for what seems to be impossible because our rage and solidarity are powerful ingredients.
That we come out of this stronger, clearer, and sharper because the powers that be, will come out of this with the playbook of how to deal with a global pandemic and economic crisis by keeping the status quo, IF WE LET THEM.
I am sending you all love and agitation.
Update: This post was written on March 19th, 2020 and yesterday, Neidi’s results came back negative!
Mijente is a national digital and grassroots network of Latinxs y Chicanxs in the US who are pro Black, pro queer, pro migrant, pro worker y más. Ahora más que nunca, we must organize for everyone to get the care and basic resources we need to live:
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*Fotos from Free our Future action con Mijente, San Diego 2018, by Belen Garcia y Angela Jimenez.
Written by Neidi Dominguez, Mijente co-founding member, labor and community organizer. Currently working in the Bernie Sanders Campaign.