Reflections on the 2016 Presidential Election
The following is copied from a Nov 12, 2016 fb post:
To my Brothers and Sisters who care deeply about social/environmental justice around the world,
I have a story to share with you:
I woke up at 4:30 AM Wednesday morning and drove to Kgale Hill for my weekly sunrise rock climbing session. Four of us approached the crag just as the sun was hitting the horizon, and there was a troupe of baboons chilling on rocks nearby.
My long-time climbing partner Kwame and I decided on our way to Kgale that our “project” (climbing term for specific route we are training/working/attempting) for the morning would be “Black Pudding”. We were pumped to gauge our respective climbing strengths since we are both recovering from injuries and haven’t attempted the route in over a year.
When we arrived at our climbing spot, a handful of male baboons scampered across the routes. One of the larger baboons perched himself ~3 meters (~10 feet) above us on Black Pudding and stared down as we unpacked our gear. The other baboons checked us out, but were also messing around with each other.
I spend a lot of time on Kgale Hill and enjoy observing baboons and their dynamics. This male locked his gaze on each of us, completely unfazed by the other baboons messing around near him. I sensed curiosity in his eyes, but also something else… I wasn’t sure what it was.
… then he turned around and took a big shit.
The feces smeared across the rock and hit multiple key climbing footholds and handholds on its way down. Then it collected in a pile on the ground at the base of the climb where we were just about to place our rope bag. The baboon locked his gaze at each of us again, and then effortlessly scrambled away across the rocks with the other baboons.
- - - - - - - - - - -
Brothers and Sisters,
That big shit on our morning climbing project is like the 2016 US Presidential Election on humanity’s social/environmental progress.
We know that humanity has made great strides in recent generations, but we also know that we need to climb much higher, very soon. The urgency to elevate is profound and real.
Some of us had a vision of how we would attempt the climb, and now there is shit all over it. But there are other ways we can ascend...
We need to get more creative/innovative with which holds we embrace to elevate our causes.
We need to focus more strength/power/pressure into certain movements at strategic moments.
We need to put ourselves in uncomfortable positions that we have not been in before.
We need to reach out further than we ever have before.
We need to be prepared to support each other if/when we fall. Because we are all in this together.
And even if we do all of those things, we will probably still get some shit on us along the way.
But it will be worth it, because climbing is always worth it.
- - - - - - - - - - -
Don’t let this shit keep you down.
Climb on.
Rock on.
