Bi-Monthly By Ryan #30

Dear Comrades,

Everything is political, so I treat my life as a political action. I have been this way my whole life. I have never cared to conform to systems and structures of control because I do not like to be oppressed.

I hate the feeling of oppression. I do whatever I can, when I am experiencing oppression, to eliminate it. This has involved a huge amount of sacrifice in my life.

I have made many mistakes along my way. Making mistakes is one way I figure out my way forward. In the past, I did not have things like representation and other people around me who were doing what I was doing to model my way forward.

However, in the act of doing; in allowing myself to make mistakes as one of my strategies for figuring out a way forward, I have connected with others who are doing the work I am doing, in ways that are deep, meaningful, and real. I connect with others who can see, clearly, the work I am doing because they are trying to do the same work. Here is a reminder, for all of us, that trying is doing, and also that now is the time for us to get to work.

Now is the time for us to get to work. I know we are working already, and now is time for us to work as hard as we might to hold onto our freedoms. Though the conditions may be less ideal than they were, they are currently better than they will ever be—by which I mean do not wait.

Eat, hydrate, and rest. Then, get up and move with clarity, conciseness, and precision. Protest is an important way into activism, and the feeling of collectivism, but protest is just the tip of a myriad of other more direct actions which are begging for our attention.

H.R. 5140 seeks to lower the age at which a minor may be tried as an adult for certain criminal offenses in the District of Columbia to 14 years of age. It passed in the house. Scott Perry, who is the elected representative of the district in which I currently reside, voted for this.

He has two daughters. He is working against his own interests, as are we all, in the pursuit (and hoarding) of money. The first step is to become realigned with ourselves and, at the same time, we also must become realigned with each other.

I hope this email will inspire you to live and move differently than you currently are. I hope this email will encourage you to make mistakes, and then learn from your mistakes rather than punish yourself for them. Please fight for y(our) freedoms.

Love, Ryan <3

linktr.ee/ryanartes

Ongoing:

• On Sunday, October 26, 2025 at 3pm PST/6pm EST, I am participating in Words as Lifelines: BIPOC Adoptee Voices for Gaza. The registration page is full of information. All funds go directly to our friends in Gaza for food, shelter, and survival. <3

• The next session of The Adoptee Open Mic is on Monday, November 3, 2025 at 4pm PST/7pm EST (sign up here). I am taking the month of October off for an intentional vacation and time for rest. After November’s event, I will be taking an indefinite break from hosting virtual gatherings. <3

• On Saturday, November 8, 2025 at 4pm PST/7pm EST, I will be participating in A Celebration of Adoptee Voices and Performance Anxiety, Sullivan Summer’s debut poetry collection. The event will be held in-person at Brooklyn Poets, and will also be live-streamed. Ticket sales will be split between the readers and the nonprofit Adoptees for Family Preservation. <3