Star Tribune
Even in tough times, we all need and deserve to seek moments of joy
On a recent walk through Charlotte, N.C., I saw an unhoused man near my hotel. As he shuffled past me, I noticed he wore only a thin jacket without an undershirt.
The man shivered with each step, as I searched the area for a place to purchase a new coat or sweater for him. But it was late and the stores were closed.
By the time I’d looked back, he’d turned the corner. Then, I began to feel helpless in a country where more than 653,000 people are homeless, the highest tally since the numbers were first reported in 2007, per the Associated Press.
I stood on the street, for a moment, saddened by it all. It was a familiar — and relatable — feeling.
I’ve noticed, among my friends and family members, the holiday break feels more necessary than it has in past years. Yes, it’s a chance to convene, socialize and connect but it’s the rest they crave. Surrounded by calamity, folks are exhausted.
With the winter solstice behind us, it will get brighter every day in the weeks and months ahead. But an abundance of light in our own lives seems less certain.
I also think it’s necessary.
As 2024 approaches, I am determined to continue the fight for that light — those moments of joy and comfort every person covets — despite living in a climate that suppresses those aspirations. I do not think the fight will get easier.
The 2024 political wave will once again create a polarizing environment as undeniable truths — such as the damage created by racism, homophobia, misogyny, climate change and the attack on the poor — will be discussed as subjective ideas. Hatred will be peddled as morality by those who’ve devalued our collective humanity according to our identities.
Plus, the ongoing global suffering is indisputable. Economic reports say there are more jobs but ignore the higher prices for everything from food to car insurance. For many, every day has been a battle in 2023 and those hurdles will spill into the new year.
Through the 24-hour stream of social media and cable news, the opportunity to drift into a sense of hopelessness will never cease. But we’re worthy of an experience with joy, sometimes available in a windfall and other times only accessible by the spoonful.
I do believe it is ours, though.
In Tricia Hersey’s “Rest is Resistance: A Manifesto,” the author said the glimpses of positivity many seek will demand a cultural shift.
“For many, rest feels elusive and there is no model for rest in our culture,” she says in the book.
“We must create the model and dream up new ways of being. It is our work to reimagine rest for ourselves. We do this by tapping into the infinite imagination we have as divine beings. We slowly take our time to go underneath the many layers of trauma we have experienced individually and collectively in this violent system. We lay down literally and figuratively.”
I do not aim to minimize the barriers to this idea. I have friends and family members who — with the help of multiple tools — are not always capable of escaping the darkness, even for a moment. But I hope they feel supported on those challenging days. And if I fail to search for the light myself, then I can’t offer the reassurance they might want.
The problem with any discussion about joy, however, is that it’s easy to sink into some self-help nonsense that denies reality and tells everybody to just think happy thoughts and everything will be OK. But that tends to work more for the authors who profit off those theories than those who attempt to abide by them.
I hope this does not sound like that. I just know, even in the tough times, I need the light.
It comes from my children.
It comes from those I love. It comes from the cultivation of gratitude or a funny movie or good conversation or a concert.
I found a baseball video game earlier this year and I play when I have time. I’m on the rookie level, moving up to veteran soon. Yeah, it’s silly. But it’s fun. That’s allowed. It has to be, right?
On Sunday mornings at church when I was a child, my mother and the other congregants would sing, ‘This joy that I have, the world didn’t give it to me. The world didn’t give it and the world can’t take it away.” They were referencing a higher power but I always believed the philosophy could work for anyone. A joy that’s secure from outside disruption. A joy that’s real. Consistent.
I didn’t have that when I encountered that man on the street in Charlotte. It all seemed so wrong.
He deserved warmth and joy, too.
I don’t always know how to smile through those obstacles, which sometimes feel so much bigger than anything I can imagine to affect change.
But I also think the fight for the light is important for our resilience. I’m not always sure where to find it.
I just know I need it.
Two men are dead and one woman was injured in a shooting at a homeless encampment in south Minneapolis on Sunday afternoon, police said. It was the second shooting at a Minneapolis encampment this weekend.
At about 2:20 p.m. Sunday, police responded to a reported shooting in the 4400 block of Snelling Avenue near the railroad tracks at the small encampment between Snelling and Hiawatha avenues. At the scene, officers found two men with fatal gunshot wounds, said Sgt. Garrett Parten Minneapolis Police spokesman. Responders rendered aid, but both men died at the scene.
A woman was found at the scene with life-threatening injuries and was taken to a local hospital where she was being treated Sunday night, he said. Police have yet to say whether the three were living at the encampment.
Officers detained three people, who Parten said have since been released after police found they were not believed to be involved in the shooting. No suspects had been identified as of 6:30 p.m. Sunday.
The shooting is the second at a southside homeless encampment this weekend. One man died and two were critically injured early Saturday at an encampment shooting near E. 21st Street and 15th Avenue S. On Sunday, the man was identified as Deven Leonard Caston, 31, according to the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office.
“We don’t know if there’s a connection between this homeless encampment shooting and the one that occurred yesterday,” Parten said on Sunday. “That is a consideration of the investigation. We can’t rule it out.”
Ward 12 Council Member Aurin Chowdhury, who represents the area and lives nearby, was at the site of the shooting Sunday afternoon. She said officials need information about what happened to better understand how to address situations like this long-term.
“This is an absolute tragedy, and this type of violence should never occur within our city,” she said. “It really makes me think about how we need to look at this more systemically and not just take a whack-a-mole approach and expect the problem to go away.
During Sunday’s Twitch stream, Walz and Ocasio-Cortez played Madden while discussing making homebuying more accessible, building affordable housing, eliminating student loan debt and raising the federal minimum wage.
After the match, Walz showed off his Sega skills in a round of “Crazy Taxi,” the Y2K-era racing game where gamers play as a taxi driver picking up passengers and taking them to their destination for cash.
Walz called himself a “first-generation gamer” and recalled playing “Crazy Taxi” when he bought a Sega Dreamcast. He also mentioned the Minnesota Star Tribune’s coverage of how his old game console was sold and ended up with a Plymouth resident, who still has it.
Afterward, Walz and Ocasio-Cortez watched a short clip of Trump denying on Rogan’s podcast that he lost the 2020 presidential election. Democrat Joe Biden won that year.
Ocasio-Cortez during the livestream also showed viewers her farm on the cozy, indie game Stardew Valley. Walz said the game reminded him of Minnesota: “You’ve got mining,” he said. “You’ve got agriculture. You’ve got snow.”
Before Walz headed out to a rally in Nevada, he pleaded with viewers to vote. More than 12,000 viewers tuned into the livestream on Ocasio-Cortez’s Twitch channel. More watched from Harris’ channel.
”Hey guys, they’re now scrambling and trying to call us Nazis and fascists,” said Alina Habba, one of Trump’s attorneys, who draped a sparkly ”MAGA” jacket over the lectern as she spoke. ”And you know what they’re claiming, guys? It’s very scary. They’re claiming we’re going to go after them and try and put them in jail. Well, ain’t that rich?”
Declared Hogan in his characteristic raspy growl: ”I don’t see no stinkin’ Nazis in here.”
Trump has denounced the four criminal indictments brought against him as politically motivated. He has ramped up his denunciations in recent weeks of ”enemies from within,” naming domestic political rivals, and suggested he would use the military to go after them. Harris, in turn, has called Trump a ”fascist.”
The arena was full hours before Trump was scheduled to speak. Outside the arena, the sidewalks were overflowing with Trump supporters in red ”Make America Great Again” hats. There was a heavy security presence. Streets were blocked off and access to Penn Station was restricted.
In the crowd was Philip D’Agostino, a longtime Trump backer from Queens, the borough where Trump grew up. The 64-year-old said it was appropriate for Trump to be speaking at a place bills itself as ”the world’s most famous arena.”
”It just goes to show ya that he has a bigger following of any man that has ever lived,” D’Agostino said.
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