Words Matter

A Bulletin from Occupied Minneapolis

Dear Writer,

It’s been a minute, but I’m back with an important message:

Words matter; and writer, YOU matter. While this is always true, it is even more true when we find our basic freedoms as a people under threat. Yes, they have guns and tear gas. But inflammatory words made it possible for them to show up and terrorize our community. And words of resistance are what we must use to push back against authoritarianism. If authoritarianism takes hold, what you can read and what you can think will continue to be censored. Presses like ours, that focus on creating empathy and understanding through amplifying the voices and stories of underrepresented groups will be under attack, much like underrepresented people and their advocates are actually under physical attack here in Minnesota. If we allow it to stand, it will spread like a virus. We need all of you writers to pitch in and help us stand up to tyranny.

I have been a college professor for 36 years, and I’m teaching lessons I’ve never taught before — but I should have been teaching, it turns out. Last week, we practiced the art of close reading by analyzing the First Amendment, the Second Amendment, the
Fourth Amendment, and the Fifth Amendment. Many of my students had no idea of their actual Constitutional rights, or how to protect them. The ones that knew best were those who had recently become citizens, as they had studied for the citizenship test. One, a recent immigrant, asked “What good does knowing my rights do for me if the people who arrest me are violating my rights?”

Today, I taught a lesson on rhetoric, specifically Rogerian argument, which is based on the idea that in order to convince someone to change their mind, you must first establish common ground, mutual respect, and open mindedness. You must listen to the points and grievances of the other side of the issue, and be able to articulate those issues and then take them apart (refute them) or compromise with them. One of my students asked, “How do I establish that with someone who thinks I’m not even a human being?”

While words are important in this digital age, so are pictures and visual literacy. Without the cameras bearing witness to the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, along with countless other incursions on the rights of innocent bystanders and peaceful protestors, we may have never known the extent of the Constitutional abuses that have taken place and are still taking place on the streets of Minneapolis and in greater Minnesota.

So, dear writer, I’m asking you to bear witness in your home community in whatever way you feel inclined to do. Maybe it’s publicizing true stories and outing propaganda online. Maybe it’s donating to food shelves or other charities that serve those being targeted. Maybe it’s showing up to a vigil, a protest, or other peaceful assembly. You can even hold your own Virtual Vigil, as we did through Trio House.

After these conversations with my students, and after hearing from my K-12 teacher friends how frightened young kids are when they keep seeing “army men” on the streets with guns, I’m also committing to at least three random acts of kindness a day, with special attention to the young ones. They need to know there is kindness in the world, and more good than bad. Smile and say hello, or hold a door for someone; buy a coffee for the next person in line; compliment someone on their awesome red sparkly shoes.

And don’t forget, write. Whether you write to escape the madness or you document it, your words matter. We all matter.

With gratitude,

Kris