More Red Emma's Pictures



 

The Baltimore Free School is located in the back of Red Emma's Bookstore and Coffeehouse. Thank you to the teacher and students of The Baltimore Free School for permission to take photos and publish them on this blog!

 



 

 

 

 



Red Emma's

The Nasty Women have relocated to Baltimore, Maryland. We have been here three months and are slowly learning to make our way in a much larger city. Now that we have settled in we are ready to get back to blogging and actively working to help make America the country it is supposed to be. Resist!


Rory asked to make a trip to Red Emma's for her birthday and we finally had some time to try it out. What a wonderful place! It is a collective bookstore / coffeehouse that is owned and operated by all of the employees. It has a great hippy vibe and eclectic clientele where it is clear that everyone is welcome and everyone is a friend.

The coffeehouse has a great selection of food including a multitude of vegan and vegetarian options. We had the vegan mac and cheese, loaded falafel sandwich, and a grilled (dairy) cheese with tomato. It was all amazing. And the vegan chocolate chips cookies were surprisingly delightful. Also, in this day in age when our country's leadership is looking to create friction among the masses, Red Emma's is making an effort to make all feel welcome and wanted with a "refugees welcome" sign at the register. There is also a pay it forward program that allows patrons to purchase various food and drink items that can later be redeemed by those who are less fortunate or unable to purchase their own food. It really creates a wonderfully inclusive environment.
 

The book selection in the bookstore is really something to be envied. It has one of the best history sections I have ever experienced. And any bookstore that carries the latest issue of Bitch magazine is always tops on my list. There is also a great selection of feminist titles. It is truly designed for intellectuals.

The Nasty Woman (and Men) of Nasty Women Revolt will be regulars here!

The Women's March on Washington

We did it! Today we took a stand for equal rights and we took our own fight to the streets. The whole world not only watched but joined. But today was just the beginning. Now we ride our momentum and we contact our representatives and speak our minds, we run for local office, we volunteer for organizations who help defend our rights, and in 2018 WE TAKE BACK CONGRESS!!!! Let's finish what we started!

I'm baaaaack....

I've been away for awhile. Not only is it the busy holiday season but we are in the midst of relocating from Cincinnati to Baltimore. I have never made a long distance move so the whole process has been rather intimidating. And when moving away from home there are tons of goodbye dinners and activities that take up all the free time.

Plus, honestly, I just needed a break from politics. I have generated so much anxiety from the fear of the incoming administration I just had to stop thinking about it. I continued to stay engaged with news sources and political discussion but I had to refrain from analysis. I had to stop trying to wrap my brain around what was coming next and trying to figure out how to respond. But after yesterday's Electoral College fiasco I realize that my respite is over. It is time to jump back on the train and figure out what needs to happen.

I knew the EC was a long shot. I tried to hold out hope even though I knew in my heart it was not going to go well. So as I watched the votes pile up I grabbed Bernie's book and filled my soul with hope and the will to fight. I watched Full Frontal with my husband and children (it's okay, my children are both adults now) and I let her help me feel better about the finality of the vote.

I am making a conscious decision to start focusing on the positive. After all, he-who-shall-not-be-named is only one man. He is surrounding himself with a team of deplorables but even they are just a small group of humans. Overall, we are still a nation with a majority of voters who did not choose this administration. There are still more of us than there are of them and I have to believe that when all is said and done, good will prevail. Plus, as my daughter pointed out a few weeks ago, what change is worry is going make? I can worry until I'm dead but it isn't going to change anything. Action is what will change the world. And I cannot take action unless I surround myself with positivity. So I focus on the good. I get to Baltimore and find a political group to join. I get involved with politics at the local level because that's where we are going to make change. And when I get sad, scared, or feeling overwhelmed by this country's leadership....I will Google Biden memes. Good ol' Uncle Joe will always bring a smile to my face and peace to my soul.

Today's reading...

 

Dinner with some nasty women

Tonight Rory and I had dinner with a great group of nasty women. We shared our stories, our hopes, and our fears. There was lots of laughter but also many tears as we relived those first days after the election and really reflected on what the next four years might bring. But I did leave dinner with a renewed hope. In my mundane, day to day life, I forget that there are other nasty women out there living their regular lives doing their small part to make a difference. When we add all those small parts together it turns out we are going to make big changes. That gives me hope.

Together we are stronger.
Love trumps hate.
I'm still with her.

I am not okay

Ten days later and I am still so hurt and confused. I've spent the last week and a half being brave, wearing a smile, talking to other people who are in shock, and just generally trying to hold it together. However, here I am at 6:00 on a Saturday morning, sobbing, still trying to wrap my brain around it. How did we get here? How did this happen? What am I going to do? And I don't mean from a revolutionary standpoint. I know I'm going to stand up and fight. I'm going to join protests and attend meetings, call my congressman, sign petitions, and keep screaming until my dying breath.

I mean what am I going to do? In my everyday life, I am now facing challenges I never imagined. How am I going to pay for my daughter's healthcare when she loses her coverage? How are we going to pay higher taxes when Trump cuts child tax credits? What if my birth control fails and I find myself pregnant in Trump's America? Carrying a baby to term would jeopardize my life. If Roe v Wade is reversed I will have limited options.

Logically I know that he cannot make all these changes on his own. When I listen to my brain it says he won't always have the full support of Congress to get issues passed. It says that one person does not make up the government. But my heart says look at the potential for deviststion. Look at the destruction his promises could cause. And when I see the quality of people he is surrounding himself with in his transition team and his cabinet, it amplifys the fear. And when I see that he is already breaking with protocol in meetings with foreign leaders behind closed doors and he is refusing to get briefings and he's running this like he's the only one in control I am just reminded how we have elected a dictator. He's doing exactly what he promised and it is terrifying. And the last time I listened to my brain it said "Don't worry...Hillary Clinton has this election in the bag" while my heart was screaming that something was terribly wrong.

I will continue to fight and do my part to make this country a better place. But I foresee four more years of sleepless nights, second jobs, and the harsh reality that hatred and discrimination are going to be the norm. I am disappointed but not defeated, bent but not broken, devastated but not destroyed. I will wear my brave face...

but I am far from okay.

Twelve ways to take action

Many of us feel the need to take action but do not know where to start.

Click here for 12 ideas from The New York Times.

The latest from Sanders

Here is a video featuring Bernie Sanders. These days, hearing this man speak is the only thing that brings me any peace.

EPA petition

Please take a moment to sign this petition letting President-elect Trump know you do not want a climate change skeptic to lead the EPA transition. 

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/do-not-allow-myron-ebell-lead-epa-transition

Petition

Please take a moment to sign this petition from Southern Poverty Law Center. We want to keep Stephen Bannon out of the White House. 

https://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.splcenter.org%2Ftell-donald-trump-reject-hate-and-bigotry-0&h=4AQGPP8hN&s=1&enc=AZOKggyh6tHHCg9BqS_0zA2rZ7so8PTpNLNAbrt_361bg8j8xYWQtXTl15CS-6Tz0C9yvpMFHlMfVVFkv2yZqfnDvhCROHJxPQgzuOs4d23AFg

Baby steps

It has been almost a week and many of us are still feeling shocked and overwhelmed. Every morning I wake with a heaviness in my chest as the reality of a Trump presidency continues to sink in. I still cannot believe Hillary Clinton won the popular vote but will not be my president.

Where do we go from here? We look to 2020 and begin making changes now that will affect the outcome of the next presidential election. But what about doing something tangible today? What about doing something that makes a difference now?

There are several little steps you can take to begin healing while making a difference.

• Wear a safety pin to show your support and solidarity with others who are feeling rejected and discriminated against. Your pin tells others that you are a safe person to turn to when they are experiencing trouble.
• Become educated about the policies the new administration wants to implement. Check out the idebar to see what legislation Congress is reviewing this week and other important bills to watch. Click the link to read bill summaries.
• Speak out by contacting your Congress Person and letting them know how you feel about pending legislation (we have form letters coming soon so you can just print, sign, and send a letter to Congress).
• Read, read, read. We will soon be posting a suggested reading list of books and articles.
• Join a peaceful protest. Join up with other nasty women and let the GOP see our numbers.
• Donate. Many organizations like Planned Parenthood and local animal shelters are facing the possibility of being defunded. Find the organizations that coincide with your beliefs and donate to their cause.
• Volunteer. Those same organizations that are going to be defunded will be depending on the work of volunteers to help keep their doors open and their services available to the public. Please give your time!
• Lower your carbon footprint. President Elect Trump stated he wants to eliminate the current Climate Control Initiatives. This means we have to lessen our footprint at a local level since there will be less regulation at a corporate level. Recycle, conserve water, and shop local. We will soon be adding information on additional steps to take to counteract the reduction of corporate regulation.

Together the nasty women can make difference!

Million Woman March

There is a Million Woman March scheduled for January 21, 2017. Rory and I will be attending. Please join us!

http://nytlive.nytimes.com/womenintheworld/2016/11/11/million-women-march-being-planned-for-january-21-2017-in-d-c/

 

Coming Soon

• A calendar of House and Senate agendas
• A calendar of planned protests, meetings, and gatherings
• Form letters so you can pick the issues that matter to you, print a letter, sign your name, and mail to your Congress Person or Representative
• Links to petitions
• Suggestions for how to help in 5 minutes, an hour, or full time
• Information regarding the policies President elect Trump would like to implement
• Contests to help motivate you to get involved!

Nasty Women

The role of this blog is going to be to keep all the nasty women informed on the current political situation in the United States of America. We may not have been able to get Hillary Clinton into the White House but we can continue to fight for our rights and stand up to a system that has betrayed us. And we are not fighting just for ourselves. We are fighting for every member of every class that is protected by the Civil Rights Act of 1964. We believe everyone should have equal rights and no one should experience discrimination.

Let's unite all the nasty women, men, Muslims, Jews, African-Americans, Hispanics, immigrants, LGBTQ+, people with disabilities, and every other American who feels attacked, disenfranchised, or afraid.