An Artist-Activist Support Group
Betsy Damon recently led a women’s artist-activist support group. She spoke of stepping out of our comfort zones in doing our art and activism. She challenged us to think big and feel all the discomfort of seeing broader visions and not letting our fears stop us.
I’m a raised-working-class Catholic female who pushes against old messages about not being valuable enough. I work in a career that I love but that often feels unimportant to the larger world. It was good to discharge on Betsy’s challenge, especially as an activist working on the climate crisis. It was also helpful to be part of a group of female artists whom I respect as leaders.
We were reminded to have a cheering squad around us—people who lovingly follow our career and encourage and celebrate us for doing our best. Our support group can be a cheering squad for each of us as we face the discomforts and challenges.
The next night Simone Biles stepped out of the U.S. Olympic Team competition because she was experiencing what athletes call “the twisties” (when the athlete’s mind starts interfering with their muscle memory so the body will not react as trained). For an athlete to stop competing for a mental rather than a physical reason was something totally unexpected. And because of Betsy’s support group, I realized that Biles’s decision to stop for the sake of her own safety, in such a public way, was a powerful act of leadership and was in opposition to “mental health” oppression.
Biles held a press conference and said without excuse or apology that she would take things day by day rather than try to press unthinkingly forward. It let the world know about the dangers athletes routinely face in their careers. Her cheering squad was her own Olympic team members. They, and other athletes and teams from around the world, shared their own “twisties” stories in response.
Thank you, Betsy and Simone, for helping me be aware that activism can sometimes look like proudly acknowledging a personal difficulty, and that taking care of our health can also mean we are not stopping.
Santa Ana, California, USA
Reprinted from the RC e-mail discussion list for leaders of wide world change
(Present Time 205, October 2021)