{"id":377,"date":"2025-06-13T00:32:47","date_gmt":"2025-06-13T07:32:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/?p=377"},"modified":"2025-06-15T21:15:49","modified_gmt":"2025-06-16T04:15:49","slug":"keep-building-toward-a-different-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/2025\/06\/13\/keep-building-toward-a-different-future\/","title":{"rendered":"keep building toward a different future"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The recent post by Peter Coyote<\/a> about comportment at charged demonstrations, and the backlash that followed from various quarters about respectability politics and race- and class-based values in activism got me thinking:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who is really creating blueprints for demonstrators, based on lived experience and study of what has worked to create effective resistance movements in the past?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who is providing examples of how to build consensus among demonstrators in the field, so that we are aligned and have each other’s backs when things get heated?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once again, TeenVogue<\/a> is doing the heavy lifting to share a variety of perspectives on urgent issues. No joke, you would do well to like and subscribe for a wholly relevant cross-section of what’s happening in the culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This recent article<\/a> finds several activists from various communities reflecting on the demonstrations of 2020, and offering helpful insights into preparation, long-term planning, and on-the-ground support strategies for activists involved in the events unfolding now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you’re looking for a specifically non-white, non-Boomer, gender-diverse set of perspectives on how to navigate the resistance demonstration landscape, this is a good place to start. It’s one article, but you might find that the voices represented inspire you to dig deeper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’m not amplifying these voices because I am 100% on board with all of their takes, but because I believe we make better decisions when we consider multiple strategies and consequences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article includes reflections from:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ol\u00faf\u1eb9\u0301mi O. T\u00e1\u00edw\u00f2<\/a>
Kandist Mallett<\/a>
Kelly Hayes<\/a>
adrienne maree brown<\/a>
Dean Spade<\/a>
Vicky Osterweil<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Study! Examine your narratives! Reflect on what has worked in the past! Avoid dead ends that sidelined our forebears!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be safe out there!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“For this story, we want to recall the lessons of that time — lessons that seemed so unprecedented — and to practice what Olurin called for: Remember our history, that we’ve been here before, so we can learn from the past and keep building toward a different future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.teenvogue.com\/story\/organizers-and -thinkers-share-lessons-from-the-2020-protests<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The recent post by Peter Coyote about comportment at charged demonstrations, and the backlash that followed from various quarters about respectability politics and race- and class-based values in activism got me thinking:<\/p>\n

Who is really creating blueprints for demonstrators, based on lived experience and study of what has worked to create effective resistance movements in the past?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[6,15,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-377","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-neighborhood","category-politics","category-reflection"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paor1p-65","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":350,"url":"https:\/\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/2025\/06\/11\/respectability-politics\/","url_meta":{"origin":377,"position":0},"title":"Respectability politics","author":"Ryk Groetchen","date":"June 11, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"To the many brave voices calling out Peter Coyote's advice regarding peaceful demonstration tactics as representative of an entitled, race- and class-based, and performative nod to respectability politics: I hear you, and I recognize this perspective. I would challenge that perspective as confusing symbology with strategy. I see it as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "politics"","block_context":{"text":"politics","link":"https:\/\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/category\/politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ADB6CBDC-F930-41E9-867D-894CB634CF15_4_5005_c.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ADB6CBDC-F930-41E9-867D-894CB634CF15_4_5005_c.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ADB6CBDC-F930-41E9-867D-894CB634CF15_4_5005_c.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":837,"url":"https:\/\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/2026\/07\/23\/837\/","url_meta":{"origin":377,"position":1},"title":"more spectra","author":"Ryk Groetchen","date":"July 23, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"In my last reflection, I mentioned the intersection of race, gender expression, and neurodiversity in my family story\u2014qualities that all have spectra embedded in them. 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It's not about you. 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