Pretti Good Whistles

I hate confrontation.

I avoid confrontation to a pathological degree. I don't even like to return things. I've been known to quietly remove a stray hair from a sandwich and once, when I found a dead moth under a piece of lettuce on my plate at a restaurant, I just politely put the lettuce back on top.

I've been hesitating on sending this email for weeks.

But if you've been here for a while, you know I love to collect quotes, and I read this one recently

“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor”. Desmond Tutu

So, this is that email. The one where I cross the line from showing you my work and talking about the weather, to expressing my utter and complete disgust, devastation and heartbreak over what is happening in my country.

I posted this on Instagram 2 days ago and the response has been overwhelming and positive. I lost 4 followers. I gained 27.

So if you're not on the 'gram, here it is, in it's entirety.

Pretti Good Whistles

I’m trying to find the words

But I don’t know what to say

(Its not that I’m speechless,

I’m sputtering with rage)

“We had whistles. They had guns”

I’ve written this post so many times since Renee Good was killed. I didn’t know how to articulate just how angry and helpless I felt.

I couldn’t stop thinking of what her widow, Becca, said: “we had whistles, they had guns”

Whistles vs guns

A dystopian David vs Goliath.

So I turned to silver, and made a whistle to honor her.

And I made it a bird, something cheerful and sweet

as Renee was described to be.

Before I could even draw breath to blow into this tiny act of resistance,

Alex Pretti.

So I made another whistle.

Each one, a different sound.

Every piercing note a reminder.

And I kept making them.

When I finished the last one (in gold, because if ever there was a time for something precious, it is now) I learned 7 more names:

Keith Porter.

Geraldo Lunas Campos

Luis Gustavo Núñez Caceres

Luis Beltrán Yanez-Cruz

Parady La

Heber Sánchez Domínguez

Victor Manuel Díaz

Nine people killed since New Years Eve.

And now another voice, silenced,

another whistle to be made for Linda Davis.

Ten lives in 47 days.

47.

How ironic

I found words.

I’m finding my voice:

F u c k. I c e.

I will officially be posting these whistles this Thursday, March 5th, but they are live on the site now, hidden. If you feel strongly that you would like to have one, please hit reply and I will give you the link.

If you want to take your chances (I have a feeling they will go quickly) set a reminder for 6:00PM EST on Thursday, March 5th.

(I still need to make 3 more, so if you miss them on Thursday, there are three more coming.)

I will donate a portion of the sale of these to the ACLU.

If you're still here,

Thank you. I know it's dark right now, and difficult to find the light. So what do I do when I begin to lose hope? Here are some suggestions.

Get outside. Take a walk someplace beautiful. If you’ve got a bike path, a lake, an ocean or a mountain path near you, go for a walk. Do it without input- no podcast, no music, no friends (or if you bring a friend, no talking). Just observe and breathe.

Dark showers. If you can do this safely, take a shower (or a bath) in the dark or semi-dark. I’ve been doing this when I feel overwhelmed, and it’s blissful.(If safety is a concern, light a candle or put on a nightlight- the idea is to remove as much outside “noise” as possible. If you’re not looking at how dirty the tile is, it’s one less thing to occupy your brain or add to your stress)

Write. In your journal, or just take out a blank plain piece of paper and brain dump. Write down your fears, what is scaring you or bothering you. It doesn’t matter what you do with this paper later. You might even burn it. The point is to dump those stressors from your brain to paper.

Make something. Make without expectations, without agenda or expectation. Do you have some watercolors laying around? Crayons or markers? Just put marks on paper- blend colors, paint rainbows. Don’t worry about making something beautiful. Just make something.

Call someone you love. Not to complain or share your distress, but in the words of Stevie Wonder, "to say I love you".

Boycott where you can. It may not seem like it makes a big difference, but it does. You will also feel better knowing you aren’t lining the pockets of greedy billionaires. Support local businesses as much as possible. Yes, I know Amazon is convenient, but your local stores are struggling to survive. https://www.boycottcitizens.org/ice

And above all else, take care of yourself. That’s so important right now.

Take breaks.

Take a walk.

Scream.

Drink water.

Take a breath.

Blow a whistle.

Blow it loud.

Resist.

Rest.

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