Notebook & Writting Tool

• Please bring something to take notes

Craft Supplies

• Yarn, hooks/needles

• Colored markers

• Sign supplies

Craft Fair

• All donated items will be priced and sold by us with all proceeds going to community causes

• You can add a tag to promote your brand or provide extra information to your item

Personal, food/drink

• We will not be providing lunch, there is a cafe on site, you are welcome to bring your own items for your own consumption

• Refillable bottle (water fountain on site)

• Headphones if you want to listen to something

Sharable food and beverage items for the group

• Must Have: Full Ingredient List, Individually Sealed and Packaged, ie. elementary school rules

• Napkins, tissues, or other items you believe would benefit the group

Anxiety to Action Theory and Process

This worksheet can be printed, written into a notebook, or added into notes on your phone. This idea is a part of gaining momentum in activism by taking the first steps out of overwhelmed paralysis into effective civic action. The other part goes back to the idea of “strength of weak ties.” Read through the links below to educate yourself on these concepts. 

The original concept was in relation to job hunting but the research has evolved: 

Original paper 

In Psychology today, more relevant to our goals

A blog from Cornell, highlights important points. 

Being an activist is about solidarity more than friendship. Solidarity is unity of action and mutual support among individuals with a common goal or interest. It is lovely that we can make great friends along the way, but those ‘weak ties’ are strong together. You do not have to be close or know a person’s life story to work together and be effective. As the Cornell article linked above states, “ Studies have shown that more than 80 percent of contacts with helpful information were from the weak ties.” When we value our fellow activists we can learn from their skills, experience, and expertise. Focus on the goal. We are here together to preserve democracy and we don’t all have to be best friends to do that, we just have to work together. 

As you move through the worksheet steps and build on these foundations, stay curious. Listen to your community, learn from them, and ask questions. We can all do something right now and we are here to decide what that is.

The worksheet is broken into four steps, each explained below, followed by an example. 

In Solidarity,

Angry Knit In Team

Step 1 Identify

3-5 Topics/areas of focus that bring me anxiety, fear, anger, confusion, or passion

This process is about identifying what it is that is overwhelming to the point of inaction. What is too much? What is scary? What is confusing? Is it elections, foreign policy, healthcare, environment, law enforcement? By naming the thing that is causing us to freeze we can learn about it and we understand things, they become far less scary. The more we know, the more power we have. 

Step 2 Learn

3-5 Resources for education, information, and actionable steps

Knowledge and resources work when we apply them. Who is talking about this topic with reliable information? Where do I learn about this thing? What organizations are working on this and how can I support them? What actions are people with expertise on the topic suggesting? When those resources are easy to access people are more likely to use them. If there is a phone number for the lawyers guild, put it in your phone now. If there is a quick response team in your community, connect with them now. 

Step 3 Skills

3-5 People with skills and solidarity

Who do I already know or have met today that I can connect with to learn, have support, and be in action with me? Maybe someone has a skill set you can learn from or utilize in your efforts. Maybe you can get a calling group together. Maybe your friend you haven't talked to in a while is going to protest and you can join them. Be in connection with real people. Be so connected that isolation becomes a distant memory. Value the wisdom and skill sets of those around you. 

Step 4 Break the ice

3-5 things I will start doing today. This is your activism to do list!

We are thinking about our barriers to entry. What is the smallest, lowest risk step I can take to build momentum? By doing the novel thing you build resilience, confidence, and challenge yourself to be the hero you read about when you studied civil rights movements. Take the first step and soon it will feel like a normal part of civic action. The big feelings get smaller and the frustration is managed by the very simple fact that you did your part and tried. Remembering that feeling gives you more confidence for your next area of focus. We build on the things we do by layering in more. You become a resource and support for others. That impact ripples out and builds the coalition. 

An Examples of how this can work. 

Example. 1

Step 1 - Identify. Maybe you want to call your reps but are too anxious to do it. 

Step 2 - Learn and resource. You learn more about how it works, what the process is, and the efficacy. You discover the 5 calls app as a resource and download it to your phone. You read “tips for calling reps” on the knit in website. 

Step 3 - Find skills and solidarity. You have found two people who will be moral support as you call and help with accountability through check-ins. You three text each other when something happens so you can get on the phone right away, and you support one another with tips and motivation. Who knows, maybe you will become the support for someone you meet. 

Step 4 - Break the ice. Now you actually do the novel thing of doing the thing. Start small, build your momentum, flex those muscles, and keep the ball rolling. 

Example. 2

Protests scare you and seem overwhelming. You learn about the history of protests, the effect they have in building the movement, and you want to participate. You aren’t ready for a protest, but you drive by to scope it out, wave, and show your support. Then you can drop off water, handwarmers, or food. Next you make some signs to pass around. As you go you learn tips about safety and the process. You have a bag ready with eye wash, ppe, first aid, a sign, and any phone numbers you may need just in case. Now going and staying starts to feel less overwhelming because you have had multiple touches with the idea, seen how it is, and have gotten prepared to be there. We are breaking the ice (pun intended) to move from a state of inaction to a state of organized, effective action. 

Slogans to Stand By

If it scares you - study it

If its too much - break it down

If its too hard - find your reason to do it anyway

If your heart is broken - you do it with a broken heart

Anxiety to Action Worksheet

Step 1 Identify: 3-5 Topics that bring me anxiety, fear, anger, confusion, or passion

Step 2 Learn: 3-5 Resources for education, information, and actionable steps

Step 3 Skills: 3-5 People with skills and solidarity

Step 4 Break the ice: 3-5 things I will start doing today. This is your activism to do list!

Community Circles Exercise

This exercise is designed to move from hierarchy to a circle. It is a chance to evaluate our privilege, vulnerability, situational awareness, and ability to protect. The concept can be carried throughout everyday life to increase awareness of risk and meaningfully adjust to intersectional spaces. It is a thought experiment as much as real life one. 

The Frame:

Patriarchy is a hierarchy.

A ladder. A pyramid.

Power at the top. Everyone else beneath it.

Matriarchy is a circle.

Not women at the top.

But children and the vulnerable in the center.

The question isn’t “Who’s in charge?”

The question is: “Who are we protecting?”

The Physical Setup:

1. Form a wide circle.

2. In the center place:

• A blanket

• A basket of yarn

• Or written words like: children, immigrants, queer kids, the elderly, the poor, the sick, the silenced

3. If children are present, they are invited (never required) to sit or play in the center.

The center represents who power is for.

No one stands above.

No one commands.

The Exercise:

Round 1: Naming the Ladder

Prompt: Where have you experienced hierarchy in your life — and what did it cost you?

(Workplace. Church. Military. Family. Government. No debate. Just stories.)

Round 2: Turning the Structure

Have everyone look at the center.

Prompt: If our power was organized around protecting the people in the middle, what would change?

Examples might emerge:

• Policies

• Budgets

• Language

• Safety

• Who we listen to

• What we measure as success

Let people imagine it concretely.

Round 3: The Commitment

Final prompt: What is one way you can move from ladder-thinking to circle-thinking in your own life?

Small. Specific. Personal. This is where it becomes embodied, not theoretical.

Closing Ritual

Everyone reaches one piece of yarn toward the center.

Not tied together. Not tangled. Just extended.

This is what protection looks like.

Not domination.

Not control.

Care.

Hold 10 seconds of silence.

Then release.

The opposite of patriarchy is not women in charge.

It’s care in charge.

Critical reflection questions:

How do I evaluate vulnerability? Age, race, pregnancy, disability, gender?

How do I value my ability to protect others by virtue of the privilege I may or may not carry?

In what situations do I feel vulnerable?

Who would I want to stand in front of me?

What’s My ROLE?

Pick the archetype that best fits you for this event and generally

Write it on your name tag

Each group/table should have at least one of each role

Caretaker

• Event, I make sure people are fed, helped, supported

• Generally I make sure people have what they need and help when I can

Protector

• Event, I walk on the outside and can provide de-escalation

• Generally I make sure are safe

Connecter

• Event, I connect with people and learn their skills

• Generally I match skills to needs and and always know who to call

Organizer

• Event, I make sure the collective craft is coming together and we have all the roles

• Generally I organize logistics and follow through on ideas

Collector

• Event, I make sure all the items are collected and passed to the right teams

• Generally I collect items and manage the distribution to those who need them

Mover/mobilizer

• Event, I can move things where they need to be and hold signs

• Generally I help physically move things to where they need to go

Items created and collected will be responsibly distributed to local communities in need. We have teamed with several people who are doing the on the ground work of ensuring items go into the hands that need them. We are sending items to four main areas;

Washington, D.C.

Baltimore, MD

Minneapolis, MN

Georgia

Tips from White Woman Whisperer

Anger is an important first step 

• Accept it all, better late than never. Embrace your anger, and embrace the anger of oppressed and suppressed voices...their anger is valid too. Accepting not only your own anger, but those who have anger towards you for past inconsideration is not comfortable but it's reasonable. 

Journal for clarity

• Why am I angry now?

• What voices have I not listened to?

• Who do I think is 'allowed' to be angry?

• When have I policed other people's anger and what happened?

• What did I think people were angry about before I understood?

• What allowed me to not be angry when others were? 

• 3 d's; what allowed me to dismiss, distance, or disbelieve 'their' anger?

• What is my privilege?

• The opposite of privilege is consideration. How have I not considered others because I was privileged?

Acronyms to remember:

WAIT - Why Am I Talking?

• Am I turning anger into action constructively with community, or am I miserable and looking to commiserate?

WAITT - Who Am I Talking To?

• Know when to listen

• Don't look for comfort from those who you have harmed

• Do the work with those that are still causing harm

• Don't colonize 

• Don't use coercion, correction, confusion, and crying for your comfort

• It's not the job of the oppressed to comfort the newly aware oppressor

Community

• Community is about common cause, not common enemy

• Have empathy not sympathy, see others as yourself

• Be the one who makes the space less dangerous

• Deconstruct so you don't colonize

• Listening and learning is not obeying and memorizing. It is deepening empathy and actively listening. 

• Build distress tolerance rather than seeking comfort

• Take things seriously, not personally

• Discern between discomfort and danger