KTA: Neighbors Not Enemies

Why This Activity?

I just got back from a few days on the road visiting with human dignity leaders in Polk, Yamhill, and Marion counties. Something that one local leader said has stuck with me: that after this election is over, no matter the results, “We’re going to have to re-establish that we aren’t enemies.” – Sidra

Whether you’ve been knocking on doors for weeks or wishing you could stick your head under a rock until this election is over, the divisiveness of election season has taken a toll on all of us. We don’t know exactly what the outcome of the election will be, how quickly we will know that outcome, or what the blowback might look like. There will be a lot to discuss: what’s happening nationally, what democracy needs from us in this moment, and how the election result, and its aftermath, are playing out in our communities.We may need to respond to political violence or an attempt to steal the election, or we might need to strategize how we keep our immigrant community members safe in anticipation of harmful policies and attacks. And looking beyond crisis response, how do we lay the groundwork to start repairing the divides following the election, instead of letting them widen even further?

What is the Activity?

Despite all this focus on what divides us, Rural Oregonians know that at the end of the day, neighbors show up for neighbors, which is essential to our communities’ survival and health. Not only that but also, there is SO much that we can agree on. The vast majority of us want ourselves and our loved ones to be safe, happy, and able to live with dignity. 

This month’s Kitchen Table Activity (well, actually November’s, but we’re sending it in advance so you have some time to prepare) is to put two things on your group’s calendar following the election: 

1. Get together with your Human Dignity Group right after the election.
2. Join the virtual post-election gathering with the ROP community and national strategists to grapple with these questions. Register here! 

How to Complete the Activity:

1. Join the Statewide Call: Join movement leaders and ROP organizers from across the state on November 7th to process, debrief, and strategize.
   • Make sure a few folks from your group join the conversation to share about what’s going on in your community and bring what you hear back to the rest of your team. Register here!  
2. Host a local get-together: Schedule a time for your leadership team or the key members of your group to get together and assess what’s happening after this election. 
   • Plan to gather in a comfortable place where you can talk openly- a living room or a friendly church or community center with a room you can use. 
   • We might all be feeling tired or overwhelmed, so ask someone to bring tea and someone else to bring a few snacks.
   • It’s okay if you don’t have a formal agenda or plan! We know that in moments like this, what matters is connection and conversation. But in case you do want a bit more structure, check out the questions below to help guide your conversation! 

Here are a few suggestions for what you might discuss. Let us know if we can help you put together a more detailed agenda! 

1. What do we know and not know about the election outcome and its impact? 
2. What are our communities facing and grappling with in this time? 
3. As leaders, activists, organizers, and justice-seeking people, what does this moment call upon us to do? What are ways, big or small, that we can show up for our communities?
4. What does it mean to be a voice for justice, democracy, and human dignity right now? 

Background: Kitchen Table Activism (KTA) is a monthly activity by the Rural Organizing Project. The theory is that small actions can lead to powerful collective results as groups of people gather to complete the same action throughout the state of Oregon. ROP works to keep each KTA easily achievable so that groups with other projects or groups with limited immediate energy can still manage to complete the KTA each month.