Notices by Heidi Li Feldman (heidilifeldman@mastodon.social), page 3

Refusing to treat the current political and cultural situation as normal is brave. Being publicly honest about the reprehensible misogyny and racism that led so many to vote for Trump-Vance is a start. Object to those who try to explain it away. Yes, a more equitable distribution of wealth helps blunt the effects of misogyny and racism. But there is no ethical excuse for voting for candidates like Trump, Vance, and others in their mold. Keep saying that. 2/

Today, I felt more ready to look systematically at what the handful of politicians and lawyers who are I deeply respect are saying. I’m sharing the best of what I have found. I don’t agree with every last word, but I agree with much and the rest is worth considering. These are people I would go to for personal advice because of their intelligence, values, and expertise.

Elizabeth Warren - https://time.com/collection/time100-voices/7173801/elizabeth-warren-democrats-plan-after-2024-election/

Marc Elias - https://www.democracydocket.com/opinion/the-fight-continues/

“I think this is the work: news needs to invest in platform, and platform builders need to work in news.” - @ben
https://werd.io/2024/building-the-news

I’m still trying to tread lightly when I express my feelings and ideas about life and politics in the U.S. now. If my own days are indicative, anybody who worked to defeat Donald goes through many moods and attitudes throughout the day. I have to pick and choose what I read. I’m more prone to disgust and fear. To avoid getting bogged down in those feelings I have to read selectively. I’m trying to be equally selective and mindful when I post here. 1/

There are not going to be any obvious or quick fixes to a country where over half the population voted for Trump-Vance and so many voted for down ballot candidates who will do their bidding. We have to allow our thoughts, plans, and responses to arise from thought and reflection. I do not that as a legal scholar, I will not mindlessly participate in conferences or in writing. We now have faux-courts and faux-legislatures and a faux-President. 1/

I know that the larger political and cultural situation will of course affect and sometimes threaten our more everyday networks of friends and associates. But we can strengthen these networks and ultimately we may be able to use them to bring about the great social and political change our country needs. 5/

When a regime is oppressive and illiberal, people committed to liberty, justice, the public good simply cannot take comfort from even the best possible responses to it. Comfort will have to come from whatever spheres of our lives we can preserve and protect from consequences of the regime’s governance. We can nurture and gain comfort from our connections with members of our inner circles, our person-to-person ties with those who stand against the regime. 4/

So, I have some budding thoughts of what we must NOT do,and of what I will not do when it comes to law and politics as I try to live in the U.S. today. In some ways, I find that helpful, the beginning of orientation to the post-election reality in the U.S. But of course this nascent orientation is not comforting. No realistic orientation to the current political and cultural situation in the U.S. can be comforting. 3/

Legislatures, courts, and executive branches controlled by Republicans are now absolutely clearly anathema to rule of law in a secular pluralist constitutional democracy. I cannot urge people to argue to these institutions as if they were genuine parts of such a democracy. We who yearn for actual rule of law in an actual secular pluralist democracy may decide to use these institutions tactically, but we must not mindlessly legitimate them. 2/

Paying careful attention to the needs and the capacities of the anti-fascist, genuinely feminist, ant-racist individuals we know is itself anti-fascist, a way of fighting the Republican fascist regime. The government may not see us or care about us, but we can insist on seeing and caring about each other. 7/

Right now, trusted people must redouble how they help each other. We have to offer each other everything from material assistance to humor to beauty to patience to honesty. These offerings are what will allow us to survive and to have the strength to fight against the particular brand of fascism that our country is in the grips of. 6/

Tomorrow will almost certainly be another psychically and emotionally vexed day. But just by showing up for it, resisting the paralysis of despair, we show our mettle.

See you in the morning. 7/7

Being afraid doesn’t mean one is not courageous. Being anxious doesn’t mean one is not strong. Being angry doesn’t mean one is not focused. I know all this is true of myself and true of many of you taking the time to read this thread. I trust our resolve and our ability to push back effectively. 6/

Every time we find the wherewithal to appreciate our allies and our loved ones, to concentrate on learning, to take in beauty — we claim something for ourselves. We deprive those who accept or embrace dictatorship, fascism, and hate of our full attention. That is important. It is one strand of freedom. 3/

The moments of fright and anger were unpleasant, to say the least. But with them, with the tumbling and sliding, here I am, still here. Every day, every hour you or I is still here is a small, but not trivial, triumph. We oppose fascism, misogyny, racism, xenophobia, an unfettered market making the rich richer, destruction of the environment. When we are still here, still opposing all of that, we strike a small, but not insignificant blow against fascism. 2/

I spent parts of the day out walking and in a museum. I tried to help a loved one review time sensitive legal documents. I lurched between periods of calm determination and moments of fear/anxiety/disgust. In other words, I tumbled and stepped and slid through this day after. 1/

We must keep thinking for ourselves. We most reinforce our values and our commitment to them. This is the beginning of sustained, robust opposition to the Republican Party’s domination of the federal government and its supporters’ practices, objectives, and worldview. I am not “coming together” with them. I am not going to be wholly civil. I hold myself apart, to think and to act as oppositionally as I can, within the bounds of reasonable prudence. 4/

I will not be easily deterred from the public square. I will not resist letting fear, anxiety, or anger subdue me unduly; I will resist the tendency of those sentiments to separate me from those who fundamentally share my ethics. In short, I’m not going to be made small and isolated without as much fight as I can marshall. 5/

Today, I will tread very lightly in speaking about politics or the state of the country, here and elsewhere. (Hence, the CW on this thread.). Many people are raw today. Each of us needs psychic space to regain at least a small footing. I know that in the days and weeks to come we will find ways to resist fascism in the U.S. I absolutely know that will happen. 2/

There is no right or wrong way to feel today. An objectively terrible thing has happened and it is terrible in ways large and small; and we will have to work to survive it and ultimately to change it. If it helps you to rehash what has happened, do that. If it doesn’t help you, then don’t do that. Be as selective as you can in who and what you engage with. Don’t expose yourself to unnecessary stresses. I find it helpful to provide care to my cats and to my most trusted people. 1/