F : Big Stretch!

Do you recognize this?

(Not my photo. Read on to learn more.)

They’re called resistance bands. Or, to preschoolers in my music and movement classes, they were called “the red stretchy things.” A resistance band is used in physical therapy and in some exercise programs to build muscle strength. Here’s the complete photograph from an online article entitled “Types of Resistance Bands: How to Choose and Use.”

[Resistance bands] help you to build muscle strength by putting your muscles under tension as they work. The further you stretch the band, the harder your muscles work.

By creating tension during movements, resistance bands engage muscles effectively, promoting muscle growth and enhancing overall fitness. As you pull against a resistance band, the tension in the band gradually increases. The further you pull, the harder your muscles have to work to keep stretching the band.

As you can see, resistance bands come in a variety of colors. This is not merely to accommodate the color preferences of consumers. Each color indicates a level of difficulty on a “stretchiness” continuum. (Red is the easiest to stretch which is why I chose it for preschoolers.)

In physical therapy or exercise programs, you work from the easiest colors to ones that are progressively more challenging in order to build strength. It would do you no good to start with a really tough one. You would either hurt yourself or give up in frustration. It takes time and consistent effort to build up the strength you will need to make progress. 

That brings us to today, February 28th, 2025. 

Art by @martharich63

There’s been a good deal of back and forth about whether a one-day economic boycott* will have any significant impact on the onslaught of oligarchic, antidemocratic violence from the current administration. 

One day? One day won’t mean anything.

Here’s my two cents. Many of us don’t understand the first thing about resistance. And that’s what an economic boycott is: an act of resistance. For us to learn anything about the power of resistance and what it really entails, we have to start somewhere. And the more people who start at the same time, together, in solidarity - - the better. It has to be something that a lot of people feel they can do, and are willing to commit to.

Resistance is a long road. It will require a good deal of strength and endurance. It may will get progressively harder.

Today is not meant to be the be-all and end-all. Today is (metaphorically speaking) the red band. It is the introductory level of resistance. It is a level of stretch that many people are capable of achieving in order to encourage them to take the leap.

What will make you take the leap from thinking about something to doing something?

Much has been written about the success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott but most of us don’t really understand how hard it was, how much organization it took, how exhausting and even dangerous it was. White people, especially more affluent ones, don’t have personal experience of that level of resistance. Do we have it in us? 

I honestly don’t know. But I do know that we have to start somewhere if we are going to get anywhere. And then - - keep stretching.

Village Green/Town² Comments

*Remember what you should do: support local businesses, eat at local restaurants, use cash.