“Power wants your body softening in your chair and your emotions dissipating on the screen. Get outside. Put your body in unfamiliar places with unfamiliar people. Make new friends and march with them.”
Timothy Snyder, On Tyranny
If you haven’t already taken part in protests, find a cause you believe in and get in the streets. Or if not the streets, then organize or participate in get-togethers where a group of people are working toward a common political or social goal, or join an organization doing work you believe in. The point is to move your body, physically, and thereby to “take a stand,” morally.
In early 2017, Claire began co-organizing screenprinting work parties at Pratt. Mandolin held postcard-writing parties at Grapheme. This led to other printmaking events and “Get Out The Vote” efforts over the years. By holding events that brought people together to create the world we wanted, we both gained the courage to be in the streets, practicing corporeal politics in larger and smaller ways. The work parties started with a group of strangers and led to marching in the streets with thousands of others.
Studies show–and we know–that sitting behind a computer or doom scrolling on social media tends to make people feel isolated and powerless, whereas getting out and participating in peaceful protests and other political events has personally taught us that being outside mixes things up and allows for unexpected ideas and collaborative work not possible when we remain isolated and inactive. Plus, working together in community can be empowering and encouraging, especially when you see how many others are out there acting in solidarity.
Watch Snyder’s YouTube video on this tenet here.
This lesson was letterpress printed with handset wood type and Green ink on a Vandercook proofing press.
