Activist Mothering

I have been struggling with how much to include Wee One on with regards to my activism, which has stepped up in the past year or so.

I recently talked about the Stand on Every Corner vigils (protests), in which I hold a sign as a busy intersection close to where I live. WO usually comes with me, and she knows it’s a “vigil” at the “coffee shop.”

She usually plays in the coffee shop yard (which is fenced in), but comes out to check on me at the corner. For a few minutes, she’ll hold signs next to me. So far, I have been a little uncomfortable with her doing that because I don’t want to use her, like take advantage of her youth for poignancy.

I remember being young, junior high, maybe, and standing on a corner holding a pro-life sign. Touching, right? Yet totally not what I believe in right now.

But as I reflected on that this morning, I realized: everyone changes their mind. That’s part of maturity. People grow and assimilate new information, and that’s sign of healthy critical thinking.

And thanks to that experience, I learned about protesting while I was relatively young, and not everyone gets that kind of participation. My mom went to her first protest, like, a year ago. By taking WO with me, even if she holds a sign and later changes her mind, I realized I’m teaching her about civic engagement, our rights as United States citizens, and the importance of advocating for those who can’t.

She’ll keep coming with me.