May the odds be ever in our favor

When my daughter was in 5th grade, her response to the growing conflict around her was to retreat from the drama, stay quiet, and read. For most of that year she was reading and rereading The Hunger Games.

I knew nothing about The Hunger Games except that kids were fighting other kids. Once I asked her if she was on Team Peeta or Team Gale because I had seen it on Instagram, and she said, “Mom. I’m on Team Katniss.” My feminist heart sang.

Then I watched the movie, and my perspective on my daughter was turned upside down. I had no idea that whole time she was cocooning herself into a nook and reading, she was steeping in a bloody war for social justice — one that brings civilization to the brink. (Constance Grady at Vox captured its significance completely in her story How the Hunger Games Anticipated Donald Trump’s Rise. Seriously, read it.)

It’s also a story where kids just a little older than she was then take up the cause of fighting hate, spreading compassion, and saving the world. And now she’s a little older. And her inner revolutionary is awakened. (Veronica Mars and Holtzmann had a hand in that, too.)

In the tornado of thoughts and emotions after Donald Trump became president-elect, one thought kept swirling into view: this is the Hunger Games generation. They see and know injustice, they are not afraid to fight back against power, and they are our greatest hope.

I went to a solidarity rally last night in New Haven, put together by the City Wide Youth Coalition. Young speaker after speaker came up to the mic and shared their vision for the future and their commitment to solidarity and compassion.

I’m so sad and scared for all of them, that this horrific chapter has to be part of their coming of age stories. But I have incredible trust in our youth to be on the right side of history and to be the strongest, most creative force pulling us from the brink of Trump’s dystopian future. And I am ready to join them.