“Action is the antidote to despair.” —Joan Baez
On the evening of Nov. 5, 2024, the sound of clinking dishes lingered in our typically bustling six-person San Luis Obispo rental house. Slowly the conversation picked up, emotions poured out, and one thing was certain—holding the grief of the election results was better together. We began to brace for the Trump administration’s impact on our undocumented community members, our bodily autonomy, our economy and job opportunities, our environment and climate change, the genocide in Gaza, and our democracy. We took a moment to sit with the feelings of heartbreak and powerlessness in the face of the United States’ systems and leaders.
Misery loves company. But in this case, mutual despair pushed us out of stagnation and into brainstorming ways to join the marathon of resistance. Thus sparked a new endeavor: Seven (sometimes eight or nine) friends wholeheartedly agreed to meet from 7 to 8 a.m. (as non-morning people, this is an unfortunate scheduling reality for the two of us) every other Thursday to learn and take action together. We call it Activism Hour.
At the crack of dawn, this small group of friends trickles into the chilly living room and starts the conversation wrapped in blankets. We bring our personal experiences and an array of expertise, including music, farming, baking, teaching, environmental advocacy, community mental health support, writing, firefighting, harm reduction, and so much more. The goal becomes co-creating a consistent and intimate space to research justice movements, get active in our community, give emotional support, and remain accountable.
Scrappy beginnings evolved into taking turns facilitating dialogues about any justice-related topic—with humility that we are not experts, but forever students of past and present activists. The host may choose a PowerPoint presentation, video, or activity, with room for check-ins and spontaneous current event processing. All we ask is that sources are cited and reputable, the conversation pushes us to learn directly from diverse perspectives, and we allow honest opinions, emotions, and questions without judgement.
We’re still playing around with what works for us. When life inevitably changes our schedules, we give grace. Calendar reminders, group chat texts, and meeting structure give us a rhythm even when the work gets hard. When weekly meetings didn’t allow for the work to breathe, we switched to every other week to be mindful of our capacity and prioritize getting involved with other local work.
We encourage each other to take real-world actions, during and outside of Activism Hour, like: attending local events and protests together, exploring volunteer opportunities and training, calling our elected officials, and encouraging each other to go to city council meetings and community action spaces, like the SLO Tenants Union, the 805 Immigrant Rapid Response Network, or the poetry fundraisers from SLO Book Bike. At this point, every one of our state and federal representatives has received calls and postcards from us on various issues. To mix art and activism, the group helps me (Cate) gather resources to hand out at concerts, like flyers for mutual aid fundraisers, the Transitions-Mental Health Association Central Coast hotline number, and call scripts. This is not to say we (or you) have to do it all, just find something. This exploration is our launch pad to determine what actions work for each of us.
We’re becoming activists step by step, through asking hard questions, exploring difficult emotions, and getting out in the community. Along the way, we sometimes cry, give hugs, and cook each other breakfast because it’s really early, and, yes, we still all have to go to work when the hour is over. One friend, Grace, says she appreciates having “a place where it’s safe to not know and it’s safe to fuck up. … I reflect back on myself in 2020; the way I was going about things wasn’t sustainable and I was burnt out and not well. But having this space keeps me oriented within my sphere of influence. And it makes me at least feel a little less helpless.”
So we’re here encouraging you to explore entry points to incorporate activism into your life and relationships. If 7 a.m. isn’t your cup of tea, maybe it starts with a group chat with loved ones to share resources. If you prefer to attend a pre-organized space, there’s the Sierra Club Santa Lucia Chapter’s bi-monthly Earth Action Hour, the next one is Feb. 25 (sc.org/sl-takeaction). Additionally, there is a long list of local community spaces waiting to embrace you. The question is, what do you want to work on? What is a baby step you can take toward getting involved?
Activism Hour is our idea for how you can begin answering these questions alongside your people. It works for us right now, but we are open to the ways it will inevitably evolve. It’s certainly not the only way to take action—we hope you will discover what inspires you. ∆
Gianna Patchen is chapter coordinator for the Santa Lucia Chapter of the Sierra Club. Guest co-author Cate Armstrong is a Cal Poly Sociology alumni turned local singer-songwriter and mental health advocate. Respond with a letter to the editor emailed to letters@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Jan 29 – Feb 5, 2026.
It’s too bad one can’t be a Democrat without having to support Hamas and illegal immigration.
Weird, almost like it came from Putin’s lips.
Is activism really a good thing when it draws emotional, excitable people with poor impulse control into the street to fight with the police, and get people killed? Or, are they just expendable collateral damage in the service of your cause?
Bro forgot how the United States of America was formed 😵😵💫
Jan 06 for $200 Alex?
“We’ve never in this country had federal law enforcement agents routinely cover themselves up in masks and stand in front of cars or at the side of cars,”
said Naureen Shah, director of government affairs in ACLU’s equality division.
“The things that this administration is ordering agents to do are resulting again and again in them violently confronting members of the public.”
Former CBP Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske told PBS News Hour that federal agents are “untrained and unskilled for policing an urban environment.”
“They don’t have that kind of experience and background and training to work in an environment that can actually become a bit hostile,” he said, “and city police officers know how to handle those things.”
“It’s very obvious that ICE and the Border Patrol do not,” he added.
WOW, WHO KNEW 30 SHOOTINGS UNDER TRUMP IN A YEAR WOULD CAUSE THE CITIZENS TO BE UPSET?
Why would anyone want to help anybody?
The rare times where anyone ever helped was usually for self interest. After all, isn’t that basic premise of economics? People are rational actors making decisions based on self interest. My experience isn’t representative of most people, my wife for example, is just a nice person and does things for others because that’s just how she is, she enjoys it. Is it any surprise she is from the East? So lucky to have her in my life.
Love this! Such important work we need to stay informed and take action!
This just in: Experts warn failure of traditional reactionary propaganda may cause shortage of conservative men telling uppity young women to sit down and shut up.
Keep up the fight.
I’m a conservative and have never told my wife to “sit down and shut up.” Who’s the actual reactionary?
You’re about as conservative as Ché Guevara.