Join E. Jean Carroll's Paper Clip Protest -- Cat Lady Version!!!
A great idea, beloved of Joyce Vance ... and me!
Here’s what the inimitable Joyce Vance and the unconquerable E. Jean Carroll had to say. Vance quoting E. Jean:
On Thursday, E. Jean Carroll started it: Paper Clip Protest.
“Comely Reader! I suggest we all start wearing the paper clip. Subtler than a red hat, more powerful as a CONNECTION,” she wrote, explaining they were also worn during World War II as a sign of resistance against the Nazis.
Norwegian teachers and students wore paper clips to signal their opposition to Nazi occupation. They attached them to their lapels and wore them as jewelry, a symbol of solidarity binding them together as paper clips did with papers. It was a quiet act of defiance, expressing that Norwegians remained united against Nazi rule.
Friday, when I signed on to tape the #SistersInLaw Podcast, Jill Wine Banks had a clip delicately attached to the collar of her shirt. It made me smile. In that moment, I knew E. Jean was onto something. Our defiance can and must be loud and public at this point. But the quiet symbol of solidarity on someone’s collar when you walk into a crowded room? Genius. And much better than a red hat.
You probably have a paper clip in your desk or junk drawer that you can put on straight away. You can be a subtle signal of support for people who need that right now. You can be a conservation starter. Jill tells me she’s having special paper clips made for the occasion—very fitting for a woman known for wearing pins—and has promised to send me one.
Small efforts can bear fruit when we’re all in on them. I’m going to find a paper clip before I head out to the farmers’ market.
We’re in this together,
Joyce
And from me: Here the Amazon link to the ones I have (above):
https://www.amazon.com/Paper-Planner-Organize-School-Office/dp/B09YCY77JG/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?
Thanks for joining in. It’s a really small thing, not garish, not all over your face. Small, with a beautiful history, a way of standing up …
Just ordered some in 10 colors and 2 different cat styles. I think this is meant to start a discussion not end it. The resistance is not dead! and the cat ladies are still alive and well! I don't think we're about to forget the slings and arrows (not to mention the downright lies) of JD and his fearless leaders. They underestimate women, as they always have. And though some still fall into the trap of thinking ... Gee he puts me on a pedestal (but gosh it has a domestic force field around it), I think most of us are free thinking women who want the best for ourselves, our loved ones and the rest of the world (we are all one after all).
When these coded symbols become a focus of resistance, I fear that real discussion stops and people just flock to identifying with their group.