On Monday, we had a conversation cafe. The topic was “No money. No power. No status. Must be women’s work.” Many things were discussed – too many ideas to capture them all here with any depth. I did walk away with a question in my head – Are we ready for a revolution?

I understand that we all get tired. Hell, I am tired most every day when I wake up  but what is really stopping me from getting angry enough to take action. What is stopping the masses from rising up and demanding change?

One of the things that was shared during the conversation is that some of us don’t want to be seen as angry, bra burning, man hating feminists. Some of us are not even sure we are feminists. Some of us want to feel safe and at home in a community and to work collectively for amicable change. I wonder if those with power, status, and money will ever be willing to give up enough so that we all have equal chance for living our best lives. I wonder if in fact we have to take it from them.

All of this wondering reminded me of an article by Bernice Johnson Reagon called “Coalition Politics: Turning the Century“. In this article Reagon reminds us that in coalition we are not comfortable, we are not safe, we are not at home – in fact we are at war. We would not be outside of the safety of our own little lives if it were not a matter of urgency for us to be together.

I think about people like Gandhi and Mother Teresa who could envision a different way of protest that did not see us wrestling things from the hands of the oppressors. Mother Teresa said she would not march in an anti war demonstration but if ever there was a march for peace she would be there. I have felt that way myself. When I get riled up with anger, my energy is not peaceful. Neither are my thoughts or actions.

That is one of the reasons my friends and I took our daughters to Ottawa for a women’s peace march. While there we were assaulted by a group of men playing touch football. In front of our children, one of us was thrown to the ground and kicked repeatedly. When we turned to the RCMP for support, we were told “We had a safe route to be on and we had left it.” My response was to circle the wagons and stay at home. Hmm. Oversimplified retelling of a story but I feel sad about it just the same.

Today on facebook I received an invite to a group protesting the deadly beating of youth by police and an update about the rounding up of the so called illegal immigrants from local malls. Two big wake up calls that my city is not at peace. Many people are not as comfortable as I am. They have the war of greed, poverty, and discrimination in their faces every day. I am asking myself, “Am I ready for a revolution?”

Are you?