Hello Julia,
Happy July! Fireworks and barbeque? Maybe. We live in unusual times, where we are confronted with competing visions of freedom and independence.
Freedom and independence are two of our most cherished American values. Two of our most celebrated virtues. And two that, in these uncertain time, seem to more and more divide us as a nation.
As an emPOWERment self-defense teacher, I hold these truths to be self-evident: That all people are equally human. That we all have rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That we are entitled to a representative government to safeguard and enforce these rights. And we are entitled to organize and advocate for change when our elected officials fall short.
That being said, as an emPOWERment self-defense teacher, I very strongly believe that any “information” that encourages you to make someone else’s life smaller, based on their race/gender expression/ethnicity/sexual orientation/nationality/etc., is neither useful nor empowering to you, nor to anyone else.
As an emPOWERment self-defense teacher, I very strongly believe that everyone deserves safety, regardless of their political beliefs. And the harm that has been institutionalized, and currently enforced upon broad swaths of our people, is not in keeping with our foundational values.
As an emPOWERment self-defense teacher, I very strongly believe that individuals have the right to bodily integrity, that each of us has the right to determine what happens to our physical bodies. To that end I support everyone’s rights to full reproductive choices.
And, as an emPOWERment self-defense teacher, I say you do not have to relinquish your power. You do have power. Alice Walker has said, “The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” Keep in mind that nobody will give you power — you need to exercise it.
Please continue contacting your elected officials, singularly or en masse, to ask them to use the power we entrusted to them to end these policies of purposefully traumatizing and harming our communities. Protest. Donate. Participate.
You may need to remind your fellow citizens too, on occasion, that you have the right to live in peace and dignity. Sad, but unusual times brings out the best in some people and the worst in others.
Independence isn’t a once-and-done deal, sealed with the signing of a piece of parchment. It wasn’t perfect then, it’s not perfect now. We are a work in progress. And we have a long way to go.
Stay safe, live life.
Sincerely, Joanne
