Yeah, so like I said in a previous blog post, since I didn't get the Wild gig I thought I was going to get, that opened up the possibility that I could take today/Friday off in solidarity with the general strike (which is also in the vein of a nationwide walkout for which I did my best to participate in by leaving work Tuesday afternoon). And, it just so happens that the most brutal cold snap in what seems to be at least a few winters is descending on us this weekend, the worst of which is happening right now through this/Friday afternoon. When there is more than one sign pointing you in a certain direction, you best pay heed. And so, with the blessing of my new boss and my co-workers, I am staying in from now through the weekend (which means that not getting the Wild job is a blessing in disguise; I would otherwise have to be running around the tunnels underneath Grand Casino Arena and driving around town, and then I would have to hang out during the Game at the compound where there is no heat while temperatures plummet).
I'll admit it: I don't want to get my ass kicked. But how can I show my support against fascism without sticking my neck out? By not working or shopping today, which many faith leaders in the Twin Cities has asked us to do in order to get these motherfuckers out of our safe, diverse community. I could march downtown Minneapolis like a lot of people are planning to do, but dammit, the government will get my face, plus it's brutally cold. (And I wonder if it would have been better to march through a part of the city where more immigrants reside, but I'm not marching, so who am I to scold?) So I get to protest by going to bed late, getting up late, and not working? That's a win-win!
I am in awe of the list of local businesses (as well a few places in Duluth and Rochester) that are shutting down in solidarity, which are listed courtesy of Bring Me The News. You know this economic blackout (coming on a Friday, natch) is getting to be pretty fucking serious when even Dreamgirls, the downtown strip club where I have had a lot of fun before (even though it's been years), is participating in the shutdown. I think people are getting the message that a lot of places they would go to shop and dine and, well, get lap dances won't be open today/Friday. So, for those businesses, especially the local ones, that will remain open, will they make enough money to justify being open? Remember that there is a polar vortex happening right now. A shop or a restaurant may not care one way or the other about what's happening in our community, but it might not be worth it to open because it's so goddamn cold. And I think there will be brownie points given if they choose not to open. Does it matter if it's really because to save money when you can just say you're standing with your neighbors in the face of federal occupation? It may not be for the right reason, but that's a compromise I'm willing to take.
As for myself, I intend to just chill for the next, oh, 66 hours or so ... and hope that these people don't knock on my door. I have thought about just not answering, which is what I hear more and more people are doing when they hear a knock on the door. But that might not matter because these pricks have been given permission to violate the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution and just bust the door down. You know, I hate guns, but this is the point where I have to consider invoking my Second Amendment rights. Maybe more on that later, if this siege continues.
It is profoundly sad that, as much as I want to feel safe at home, I don't feel 100% safe here right now. I can't even enjoy sanctuary where I live because of this out-of-control Republican government? We don't live in a democracy anymore. And I hope my personal lockdown expressing that anger is a valuable contribution to the Resistance.
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