We're in This Together.  And We're Not Giving Up.

This was always going to be a tough one.  We helped flip a congressional district, decisively ousting Brandon Williams and electing John Mannion in NY22.  We helped pass Prop 1 to protect all New Yorkers from discrimination and safeguard reproductive freedom by changing New York's state constitution.  We even helped turn out voters to hold the one Democratic representative the Mohawk Valley has in the state legislature--Marianne Buttenschon.  But it feels like cold comfort because. of....all the rest of it.  It's okay to feel gutted and wonder how this happened.  

Here's what we know for sure:

1) Our progressive political activism community was born eight years ago out of our shared values and commitments, and those have not changed.
2) We have grown an amazing community where people see and support each other as allies, work together on issues that matter to people's lives and futures, and bend the arc toward a more just future together.
3) Electoral politics is exciting, energizing, exhausting, and sometimes disappointing, and that's why we do the work together.  
4) The struggle is long, sometimes beyond our horizon, but our part in it still matters.

Friends, we will keep going.  We will work strategically and smart, and we'll do it together.  

But for now, we will take a breath and celebrate all the hard work of this past electoral cycle.  We do that at a special event every year, and you're invited: 
 

IMV's Annual Post-Election Fall Fiesta

Saturday, Nov. 9th 1-3 pm (that's tomorrow!)
Jewish Community Center
2310 Oneida Street, Utica

Join us for great Tex-Mex food and camaraderie. 
Bring new friends and old.
At the end of a hard week...It's better to be together than to be apart. 
 

Bonfire for Humanity

If you need to keep connecting and reconnecting after the Fall Fiesta, join our Herkimer County friends, Chris and Bill who are hosting a Bonfire for Humanity Saturday, Nov. 9th from 4-8pm at their farm in Little Falls. There will be cider (hot, cold, and hard); and some light grub. There will be things you can beat on. And there may be a nature walk, for those able/inclined. Bring a friend, bring two, bring a dish or not, bring something to burn if you'd like. Other ideas welcome. Please bring a folding chair if you have one 
 

CAFE Fridays

CAFE Fridays is a core IMV group that meets virtually over Zoom every Friday to socialize and strategize.  
Fridays 9:30-10:30 am
Zoom link HERE.   PW: 607973

All are welcome!
 

Message from Indivisible National

 In case you missed this from an Indivisible Team email yesterday: 

 "If there’s one message that sticks with you, we hope it’s this: We still have power and that power lies in the community we’ve built over the last eight years. 

Together, we were able to stop Trump from repealing the ACA, we saved healthcare for millions of Americans, and then we won the largest midterm margin in U.S. history. Grassroots organizing was key to resisting Trump before and it will be again. But before any of that work can begin, we have to process, grieve, and regroup with each other.

At this moment, Trump wants us to feel isolated and powerless. But if we cave in to those feelings, all we will be doing is ceding more power to MAGA. The best way to counteract those feelings is to join in solidarity with other people who share our values, our beliefs, and our conviction to defend democracy."  

P.S. -- Make sure to register for Indivisible's movement call on Wednesday, November 13 at 8:30pm where Ezra, Leah, and the team will be rolling out the new Indivisible Guide. 

Reminder: Fall Fiesta 1-3 pm Tomorrow

Friends, we'll see you tomorrow for food and friendship. 

And we'll let you know soon a date and time for our December meeting. What do you want to talk about that meeting?  We welcome your ideas and suggestions about what would help at this time...and where you want to go from here.  

We're in this together.
And we're not giving up.

Follow us on Instagram's Threads.net/@indivisiblemohawkvalley, on X (Twitter) using @indivisiblemv, and of course, on our Facebook page and IMV Activism Group.