Our Shot: September 18, 2025
Welcome to the 22nd edition of Our Shot, a weekly newsletter of actions that anyone (especially kids) can take to resist the Trump administration.
This week's edition is a little bit different, in that rather than sharing specific actions, Leo and I have been talking about mindsets and emotional states and how those factor into resistance. I feel grateful that he is still young enough (and not online enough) that he could hear about Charlie Kirk's death from me, rather than learning about it from social media or news organizations or terrifying videos. Our conversation about it is one I wanted to share, as Charlie Kirk and the role he played in Trump's election and presidency is one that I think about a lot as our 3 boys get older.
We talked about a few broad ideas that I'm summarizing here, in the hopes that they might resonate or at least provoke conversation and feedback that we can use to improve this newsletter.
First, we don't have to react to everything instantly. It has only been 8 days since Kirk was killed. If I had written this newsletter 8 days ago, I would have had very different feelings and thoughts than the ones I have today. In a news cycle of instant takes and reactions, it's easy to feel like we have to know what we think and feel immediately, and share it immediately, and respond immediately. We are allowed to hear about shocking events and feel feelings that we sit with and process over time.
Second, the platforms where we get news and information are profiting off our emotions. These platforms rely on engagement - time spent on content, clicks, likes, comments - and the highest engagement content is the kind that makes us feel high-arousal emotions. The content that we see is upsetting by design, and is normalized the more that people engage with it.
Put simply, someone is making money by making you mad, and you don't have to let them. Anger is a beautiful and powerful emotion, and you deserve better than to give it to strangers on the internet for free. Next time you see a post or a video that makes you feel upset, pause for a moment and think about that. You don't have to feel that way. (This also gave me an opportunity to share one of my favorite xkcd comics from almost 20 years ago - I keep meaning to frame and hang it on the wall).
Finally, many of the descriptions of Charlie Kirk that I've seen in the last week have lauded his openness to debate and his defense of free speech. I've seen articles making the case that we need more of that debate moving forward, that he helped a generation of young men synthesize their ideas and debate them. As if there's a choice to be made between open dialogue and compassion, between sharing ideas and basic human decency. The idea that intellectual debate is an excuse for cruelty. (Or as one of my favorite Taylor Swift lyrics puts it - "So casually cruel in the name of being honest").
It is not open-minded to travel around and argue with people, and then argue about the arguing. Any good-faith debate requires you to first see and accept the humanity of the people you are talking to and about.
So this week our actions are about noticing how we think and engage, resisting the infrastructure of immediacy and rage that has fueled the Trump presidency. We'll end with Leo's always relevant advice: next time you see something online that makes you mad, look for a video of a very cute puppy. ❤️
Do you have any ideas for actions people can take? Have you taken an action of resistance that you would like to share? Please email ctsvirsky@gmail.com to let us know - we would love to hear from you!
We are not throwing away our shot!
Leo & Charlotte