Chapter One: Daily Meditations for When the Bottom Drops Out.
Social justice is patient. It plays the long game. It takes two steps forward and one step back. Progress should be measured in the macro – not the micro. Sadly, sometimes people, even generations, take one for the team. But in America; slowly, but surely, as a society we evolve. What at first appears a crushing defeat proves only a final kick and gasp from a dying injustice. Despite horrors and setbacks, we’ve progressed from slavery to Obama, sodomy as a capital offense to marriage equality, and coverture to pussy grabs back (by the millions).
Backlash in social change is unavoidable. Though there have been (and will be) instances when the growing power and influence of women in our society is slowed, stopped or even temporarily reversed –the long term trajectory is undeniable. Not to belittle the pain to come, but the Trump Presidency’s effect on social justice will likely be minimal. Trump’s character flaws guarantee – sooner rather than later – the most spectacular crash and burn in US political history, one so devastating that his policies (maybe even his party) won’t survive. The aftermath of which will usher in the most accelerated period of progressive change in the country’s history.
For many of you maleness has paid off well. Your piles of money will insulate you from what is coming. The rest of you will have to work, interact and live in a society where women have the same rights, influence and power as men. Below are a few introductory meditations and mantras to help you prepare for what’s coming. Do with them as you wish, but know this fellas, you get to decide how many branches you hit on the way down.
- Try not to take what has happened personally. It’s not about you – and that’s why you feel so uncomfortable. You no longer have any control over how women choose to live their lives. And there is not one legitimate reason you should.
- Let go of your guilt – embrace the change! By believing you were more capable, deserving or even superior to women you were only doing what you were taught and the people who taught you were only doing what they were taught. And while we’re myth busting – Buddha wasn’t fat, George Washington didn’t have wooden teeth…….and Mrs. O’Leary’s cow did not start the Great Chicago Fire.
Repeat mantras 10 times hourly.
No one is taking anything away from me – it wasn’t mine to begin with
It’s not that I’m being unfairly treated – it’s that others are being treated fairly
I can learn to see everyone as an equal – or I can spend the rest of my life bitter and irrelevant
Serenity Hack – By changing just a word or two these same meditations can relieve angst related to Black Lives Matter, Immigration, The Affordable Care Act 2.0, Climate Change and any and all things GLBT related.
Kelly Overton is a middle-aged white male. He lives in Joshua Tree, California. He received a BA in Human Services Management from the University of Massachusetts Boston, an MPH in International Health and Development from Tulane University School of Public Health & Tropical Medicine in New Orleans, a graduate certificate in Conservation Biology from Columbia University’s Center for Environmental Research and Conservation, and an MPA from Harvard University’s John F Kennedy School of Government. His writings on humanity’s mistreatment of animals have appeared in the Washington Post, Boston Herald, Philadelphia Inquirer, Austin American-Statesman, Buffalo News, Baltimore Sun and CounterPunch. He runs the non profit Mojave Animal Protection, which creates education and advocacy programs that inspire and empower people to protect the flora & fauna of the Mojave Desert ecoregion.