If you read and follow activism work to respond to authoritarian, fascist, political violence, and other extreme efforts to control our democracy locally or globally, you will hear that it requires communities to respond. As Ejeris Dixon from the podcast, The Fascism Barometer say, “it requires massive quantities of people power.” It is through our joining, even with unlikely partners, that we develop the counter narratives, initiatives, and efforts to respond. For our congregations and communities, we recommend that you develop deeply your relationships with congregations and organizations in your towns and states. Lean heavily into our notions of interdependence among communities. As Paula Cole Jones puts it, “be the community of communities.”

One useful tool for reflecting on and determining who your communities are to help respond to violence locally or beyond, is pod mapping. Born out of the work of transformative justice, pod mapping is a useful safety tool to respond to the challenges of our current time. It requires that we focus in on our interdependence and to get clear about the relationships we need to maintain to manage potential threats of political violence.

In an online resource on pod mapping by Mia Mingus titled Pods: The Building Blocks of Transformative Justice and Collective Care, it is pointed out that “we must create what we need.” We exist, as Dr. King put it, in “networks of mutuality.” For those networks to be meaningful and supportive, we must first choose to engage with them. We need to prioritize relationships and building trust. It may mean getting out of the comfort of our own communities or asking for deeper opportunities to connect with folks we have pre-existing relationships with.  We literally need one another to survive.

If you find your community or congregation is being targeted by political violence in any form, please contact your primary contact or myself for support. You are not in this alone. Please reach out to us and to one another.

Below are some resources on responding to the challenges of our time. Pacific Western Region is hosting a monthly series called “Responding to Now” that focuses on some of the tools and skills needed to respond to current times. We are thinking about how to continue that work in the coming year. General Assembly’s theme this year is “Meet the Moment” which will of course address these challenging times.

May you keep strong in your good work. May you build the capacity to respond. May you know you are not alone. May you be the blessing this world needs.

Resources:

• “Pods: The Building Blocks of Transformative Justice and Collective Care” by Mia Mingus
• End Political Violence (website) – includes 5 principles for responding to active political violence.
• The Fascism Barometer (podcast) – covers the basics of what fascism is and how it works in the United State.
• “Grounded, Resilient, & Responsible: Responding and Organizing in Authoritarian Times” by UUA Side with Love
• The Anatomy of Fascism (book) by Robert O. Paxton

– Rev. Sunshine Wolfe, PWR Lead