…brave the Beast every day, living in its belly as we struggle to transform it…
Activist lives are full of solidarity, engagement, connection, joy, inspiration, and adventure.
We undertake, endure and often accomplish amazing things, far beyond our numbers and the recognition we receive.
In the midst of struggle we carve out liberated spaces to experiment with creating the new world now.
Activists are key to saving an endangered world, but our work often endangers us.
We deal daily with the dilemmas of living life in the belly of the beast we're trying to beat.
Our stress and frustration rises along with inequality, global heating, nuclear danger, and violence.
We're targeted by the "usual" race, class, gender, and other oppressions, but often with extra viciousness, because we take active stands against them.
Activist groups contend with legal hurdles, infiltration, cooptation, defunding, distraction and many other issues...
Stereotypes dehumanize us in mainstream culture--when we're noticed at all!--making us easier to ignore and attack.
We are vulnerable to isolation, discouragement, divisiveness, burnout...
The more active and outspoken we become, the more risks we face--which increase tremendously for activists belonging to peoples and groups targeted with multiple oppressions.
If you don't like being silenced, marginalized, surveilled, evicted, fired, infiltrated, deported, de-funded, jailed, maligned, beaten, tortured, disappeared or murdered...
