Disrupting For Good When Things Are Bananas

For a few weeks, I have pondered the challenge of living a good, happy life while also resisting the political and ideological harms we are witnessing. 

How do we stand in solidarity and not be complacent without also becoming cynical and miserable? Is it possible? Is it even moral? Can we truly be in solidarity only if we are in misery? Does resisting only count if it is really hard? Is it cheating to also have some fun?

As Deepa Iyer tells us, we all have a role in social change, so I assume that translates to us all having a role in resisting whatever you would call all this egregious behaviour and the despair it invites. 

And then, just this morning, I asked myself, why do I assume resisting has to make me miserable and leave me deprived of all happiness?

For example, do you know what we can still do when we are boycotting? Play board games we own with people we like. Go for a long walk. Read a book. Take a nap. Make a favourite recipe or try a new one. Shave our legs and put clean sheets on our beds and feel like a million bucks. 

Some of my favourite resistance learning over the years includes framing rest as resistance and joy as resistance. Resisting requires imagination and hope. And there are so many benefits to doing it in community. 

Rest. Joy. Imagination. Hope. Community. 

This doesn’t sound like misery. This sounds like #LifeGoals. 

So without further ado and in no particular order, I give you a few of my favourite tidbits on resistance rooted in rest, joy, imagination, hope, and community. 

1. Unsubscribe From the Grind. In the Nap Ministry, Tricia Hersey says, “This is about more than naps. It is not about fluffy pillows, expensive sheets, silk sleep masks or any other external, frivolous, consumerist gimmick. … Rest pushes back and disrupts a system that views human bodies as a tool for production and labour. It is a counter-narrative. We know that we are not machines. We are divine.” This reminds me of an uncredited graphic I saw recently online that says “Consumerism wants you to believe that the thing you want that rich people have is luxury - fancy houses, fancy cars, fancy clothing, but the thing that most people actually want that rich people have is LEISURE. Have agency over how to spend our TIME is the real luxury good.” If you want to explore this more, I recommend the book The Art of Frugal Hedonism, a delightfully quirky book full of ideas on how to joyfully resist consumerism. (I read it for free on Hoopla.)
2. Ask Disruptive Questions. A lot of us are laughing along awkwardly while people spout really out-of-pocket things and then beating ourselves up about it afterward. But we don’t have to be experts in something to challenge an assumption with a disruptive question, and we don’t have to be jerks about it, either, unless we want to. For example, instead of yelling “Shut up, fascist!” or maybe worse, sitting silently while people say terrible things, we can make a habit of speaking up and breaking the spell of the status quo with a question like “Sorry, can you explain that joke to me? I’m not sure why you think it is funny.” Or “Why does it have to be one or the other?” (Like I asked myself today.) Or my new favourite, “Which part of DEI do you find offensive specifically?” Someone else will probably speak up, too, once you do. 
3. Join a Real Life Community. Even if we are giant introverts, there is value in finding some people who care about the same things as us and getting together with them from time to time in real life to contribute to a good cause. Go new places to meet new people and try new things. It goes against most instincts I have, but when I do it, I feel great. 
4. Do Not Obey In Advance. From Timothy Snyder, a historian: “Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then offer themselves without being asked. A citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do.” This quote is a close cousin to a personal favourite from Alice Walker: “The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any.”
5. Make Eye Contact And Small Talk. Also from Timothy Snyder: “This is not just polite. It is part of being a citizen and a responsible member of society. It is also a way to stay in touch with your surroundings, break down social barriers, and understand whom you should and should not trust. If we enter a culture of denunciation, you will want to know the psychological landscape of your daily life.”
6. Take Responsibility for the Face of the World. Last one from Snyder: “The symbols of today enable the reality of tomorrow. Notice the swastikas and other signs of hate. Do not look away, and do not get used to them. Remove them yourself and set an example for others to do so.” Look for opportunities to use art as a form of resistance to reclaim spaces and remove symbols of hate.

Writing this today has helped me start to think through a mindset shift, from focusing on the ways I'm missing out, making sacrifices won’t ultimately make a difference in the big picture (will anyone really even notice if I stop drinking Tropicana orange juice??), to feeling good I’m making intentional choices that align with my values.

I'm not being a martyr. I'm enjoying making empowered decisions. Some will be more visible and impactful than others. But even if I’m the only one who knows about some of them, it’s not nothing. We have to start somewhere, and maybe small habits of resistance help us get ready for the bigger ones.

How are you resisting in ways that bring joy? I'd love to hear about it. ​