bouncing back
by Social service organizations, like nonprofits and foundations, love resiliency! In their world, resiliency means a person’s ability to bounce back after a crisis. A person might come to them during …
Category: essay
thought experiments
talking to statues
Seattle’s most recent citywide election happened in 2023. Kshama Sawant, my beloved rabblerousing socialist council member, resigned after a decade on the dais. Many of the more progressive incumbents lost …
the future of food banks
Where do you see yourself in 5 years? The question may be complicated by surges of fascism and ever-looming climate change. When we’re thinking 5 years ahead, we can be …
flinch or fight
I drove to the gym this morning. I turned left onto the main road, taking the turn with cars behind me. A woman nearby was finishing her walk up a …
grafted ways of being
How do I perceive the world? My frame of reference is by default a colonial one. I often think and speak in English, which is a language not native to …
the power of Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles
by this is a collaborative post: concepts and words by Jamie Martinez and josh martinez. I’m so excited to unveil my 200th post for be the future. It’s wild that I’ve …
outcomes unlocked
I was sick with covid last month. For what it’s worth, the symptoms this time weren’t nearly as bad as my first time with the virus. I was still contagious, …
disability justice and belonging
What does it mean to belong? I heard many fantastic speakers cover this topic at the 2024 Othering and Belonging conference last month. john a. powell remarked that we humans are all connected to each other. This is true whether we’re aware of it or not; whether we resist it or not. To him…
living futures
The Duwamish Solidarity Group sends a newsletter to Real Renters about once a month. Their email in February opens with, “One of the most frequent requests made of the Duwamish …
like a broken record
My colleague Clara and I were facilitating a meeting that was long overdue. The participants were there to solve a problem that was also long overdue. One participant explained, with …