About How You’d Expect

rainbow-circle-2The community I live in has this regular thing where we sit in a circle, pass around an object of some kind, and share what we’re feeling. Whoever holds the object talks and everyone else listens. Cross-talk – responding directly to what another in the circle has said – is discouraged.

This ritual is immensely important to me, because it’s a place where people can share their lives and emotions and not fear judgement. It’s one of the reasons I moved to this community – the only place I found it before was at AA meetings I attended with my ex-boyfriend (and it’s really not right to attend those meetings unless you have an addiction problem).

I’m of the opinion that humanity could use more of this kind of thing. Instead, we get Facebook. Social media sites where the only option is to engage in a dialogue. I’m realizing that a large part of the reason that I avoid social media sites is because of the fear of judgement. People shouldn’t have to defend their views all the time. People deserve to be heard and not be criticized or commented upon. I wonder how many voices Facebook actually silences?

I don’t really know what to say about the outcome of the election. I was shocked, and now that emotion is settling into a familiar stew of anger, fear, apathy and fear of my own apathy. I barely want to say anything for fear of it bouncing around the internet echo chamber. But for what’s it’s worth: fuck misogyny, fuck xenophobia, black lives matter, and viva rampant faggotry. I love and care about you.

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