D'NALI

I think by now, unless you live somewhere without a t.v. or newspaper, everyone has heard of the P*ssyhat project and the Womens March 2017.  I made 4 hats for the march and am still making for anyone who asks me for one.

This time two Saturdays ago (January 21st 2017), I was making my way home, euphoric and just plain overwhelmed with all the feels at the fact that 300,000 marchers instead of the expected 75,000 showed up in NYC and were able to make their choices clear, without division, without anarchy, without a single person getting arrested.  No one got arrested, even when my crew and I jumped police barricades to get to 5th Avenue. 😉 According to reports, 4 million people turned up worldwide to make their “no to hate, no to racism, no to xenophobia, no to inequality, no to taking away people’s individual choices, no to division” agenda known.  Statistics show it was the largest protest march in the history of the US to date.  The idea of strength in numbers was made absolutely real to me that day.  What was even more heartwarming was that there were more pro-inclusion, pro-love signs than there were anti-government.  That said to me what was in people’s hearts and the knowledge strengthened me.  The sea of pink hats have now become the symbol of resistance.

Post march, the lines have been drawn and both sides are hard at it.  I’m not going to rehash what has been dished out to U.S citizens and the world in the last two weeks but I will say that those on the side of fairness, being just, being inclusive, being loving  have a hard fight ahead of us.  I keep telling anyone who will listen, the animal kingdom got it right — they fully understand that what’s good for the group is good for each individual unit.  If they can get it, why can’t we?

So I’m going to apologize now in a #sorrynotsorry kinda way.  I know this is a mostly crafty blog — whenever I post 😉 —  with some books and other things thrown in at times, but this is not a time I can stay silent.  My political and humanistic views are as much a part of me as my craftiness is.  Thanks to my parents, my sense of fairness, of inclusion as much a part of me as my DNA.   So while this will remain a mostly crafty blog, there are times I’m going to use it for craftivism which by the way has the following meaning:

is a form of activism, typically that is centered on practices of craft – or what can traditionally be referred to as “domestic arts” ~ Merriam Webster Online.

Some might be waging this war with bullying, unfair tactics, alternative facts,  gag orders, disregard for anyone different from them, pure hate and greed but to fight back I’m going to use fairness, inclusion,  celebration of diversity, yarn, thread, a set of sticks, hooks but most of all … love & prayers.  I fight for me and anyone marginalized, even if they think differently, worship differently, look differently from me.  Even those who disagree with me politically and those in favor of what’s happening in the US now.  At the end of the day … aren’t we all human?   The march has come and gone, but putting our money where our mouth is needs to continue.  It doesn’t end here, there is so much more to be done.  We can’t return to status quo and expect change to happen.  As Gandhi encouraged, we each have to “be the change we want to see”.   I don’t care what you do, what side you’re on or how you show true activism — just as long as your efforts have their foundation in love, inclusion and community building.

I don’t know this lady, but she is who I want to be — her reason for marching — “I can use my entitlement and resources to help fight for others who are marginalized.”  Her sign, my favourite one of the day, said all that needed to be said   It was not intentional, but my photo of her also caught sign held up by the woman on the left.  Together both of them portray the overall message I want my craftivism to have — we the people, protect each other.  Stronger together.  ❤