The Ones Who Didn’t Slow Down

Shorter days, family obligations, movement cycles all contribute. But while the rest of the world slowed down, you didn’t.

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TL;DR: November and December are historically the slowest months for activism and organizing… shorter days, family obligations, movement cycles all contribute. But while the rest of the world slowed down, you didn’t. This is for the readers who held the line during winter when holding the line is hardest.

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Here’s something not many people care to pay attention to about activism and movements: they have seasons.

November and December are historically the slowest months for activism and organizing. It’s a documented pattern that every successful movement navigates. Shorter days and Seasonal Affective Disorder sap energy. Families scatter for holidays. Attention divides between democracy and dinner tables. The biological and social realities of winter make sustained action harder.

The Civil Rights Movement’s major actions happened in spring and summer for a reason.

But while the rest of the world took that natural winter breath, many of you chose to participate anyway, with boycotts and other local action.

You kept the comment sections alive when engagement typically drops. You kept sharing posts when most people are doom scrolling. You sparked those controversial strategy debates because you understand that democracy dies in comfortable silence, not in passionate disagreement.

While winter slows the world down, you keep the fire burning.

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Movement scholars call it “cycles of contention”, the natural ebb and flow of social movements. Winter is for strategic planning, relationship-building, rest. Spring is for planting new actions. Summer is for maximum energy and visible protest.

The movements that fail try to operate in eternal summer until everyone burns out. The movements that win understand that someone has to hold the line during winter.

That’s you.

You’re the patriot who’s been sharing every important post because you’ve seen this happen before and refuse to watch it happen again. You’re the person choosing to fight for neighbors facing ICE raids instead of pretending everything’s normal. You’re the activist who sparked that heated debate last week because you know our strength comes from informed argument, not blind agreement.

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Other: Comment to let us know what you’ve been up to:

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Most audiences are passive consumers… read, maybe share, move on. You turned this into a town square and a community of peaceful resistance. A place of fierce, informed, unrelenting resistance.

January 20, 2026 is the Free America Walk Out with Women’s March. We’re going to need everyone. Not just people with summer energy, but the ones who proved they’ll show up during winter’s hardest months.

When spring comes, we’re not starting from scratch. We’re starting with millions of people who already proved they’ll show up when it’s hard. Who built relationships during quiet months that make loud months possible. And who practiced sustained engagement over viral enthusiasm.

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This Christmas morning, while some people are with family and some are fighting and all of us are navigating this moment, I need you to know:

We see you.

The ones who commented when the world went quiet. Who shared the crucial information. Who engaged in good faith even in disagreement. Who never let the fire go out during the months when fires are hardest to keep lit.

History books will talk about big marches and famous organizers. But resistance movements win because of people like you, the ones who participate on winter days when showing up is hardest. Who keep conversations going when engagement naturally drops. Who prove that resistance is about being consistent.

2026 is going to demand everything from us.
And we’re going to win because of you.

Thank you for holding the line during the months when holding it mattered most. For the comments. For the shares. For the debates. For being the support when biological and social forces told you to rest.

We run together in January.

Always forward,
Blue.