Waking up this morning, it was a brisk -45 degrees with the windchill here on the North Shore of Lake Superior. But today is the day, the day that many of us Minnesotans are standing in solidarity with Minneapolis and our immigrant communities including Soft Days Collective.
While many of my fellow Northern Minnesotans may be hundreds of miles away from the chaos, heartbreak, and repeated trauma happening in the Twin Cities, we are standing with our fellow Minnesotans, seeing the injustice happening across our state and this country, and saying enough.
The United States was built, evolved, and continues to flourish through our immigrant communities. We are a country built on both visible and invisible diversity, and when we come together, we are better together. In the face of the current administration’s determination to divide us, we are finding ways to stand together and protect the human rights of everyone. Despite where you were born, gender, education level, faith, or immigration status, everyone deserves to be treated as a human being.
So what am I doing to stand with Minnesota today?
I am off from work and staying home in solidarity for our amazing immigrant communities. I have never been comfortable attending peaceful protests, not because of what they stand for, but because large crowds make me anxious and I get overstimulated quickly. Instead, I will not participate in any economic exchange involving currency. No money spent or earned. I will be following the protests happening around the state online and, in an act of bravery, publishing this post on Soft Days Collective.
Soft Days Collective is a welcoming, safe, and inclusive space for everyone. Regardless of nuerotype, nationality, political affiliation, or faith, here we stand firm for basic human rights, the freedom to be your authentic self, and the belief that diversity makes the world a better place.
So today, I am here as a landing space for those of us afraid of where this country is headed, how our immigrant and minority communities are being treated, and for the lack of care for Mother Earth.
Our voices are stronger together, and I encourage you to be brave today and do something that supports our collective immigrant communities today. Attend a peaceful protest, share a post on your socials today, or be brave like me and publish a post.
Diversity makes the world a better place. I stand with our immigrant communities, and I hope you do too.
Take care, my friends, and please be safe in your peaceful protests today.