A letter of appreciation to my best comrade Alex, to raise funds to cover her medical bills.
“Somos mejores porque existe el amor” – Victor Jara Chilean teacher, artist, singer-songwriter and Communist political activist assassinated by US-supported Pinochet dictatorship.
Alex: In this hellscape that is sometimes the world we live in, I’m honored to be your friend. When Morris County’s capitalism weighs heavy on us, our families, and our neighbors, I’m grateful that we affirm each other and talk our shit. I wish I had reflected earlier on what it means to be in this fight with you. Feliz cumpleaños, comrade, we admire you!
When Alex joined, Mutual Morris was sending out dozens of regular, free weekly deliveries to towns across the county. With no hesitation in helping out burnt-out bilingual volunteers (shout out to Lily, Martha, and Jose), she stepped in and organized Dover for us. At the height of those delivery operations, Alex was receiving daily calls & messages, organizing bags with the local supermarket, and dropping off deliveries herself. If there is someone who genuinely cares about their direct community, it’s Alex. Together with everyone who has helped these last three years, we have fed, sheltered, and cared for our neighbors while nonprofits and governments abandoned them.
An astrological cliche, Alex and I are two Aquariuses with many competing interests and community project ideas. In one car ride or sitting, we’re talking about makeup, apartments in the county that real people can’t afford, fashion, police budgets, hobbies, and all the plans we have for ourselves, our families, and our communities. We pitch our community projects to each other and give each other the affirmation that they are possible and will be achieved in time.
Most, if not every, mutual aid organizer I know goes through severe bouts of depression, anxiety, and grief. As witnesses to capitalism and consumerism’s cruelty, how could we not be distressed and saddened by what our current situation here in the suburbs offer us? Last November, before leaving on a crucial personal trip to Honduras, my thoughts had fully convinced me I was irredeemable. I called Alex, as I regularly do, and she immediately noted the concern in my voice. Twenty minutes later, she arrived with Dunkin in hand to remind me that the awful person I had convinced myself I was, was not the person they or the community knew. Alex is someone you feel good around.
That day, I received care and support from Alex that I will never forget. I hope this letter of appreciation and newsletter gives Alex the same respect she provides this community. People should have what they need and receive quality health care that won’t plummet them into further debt. We’re slowly building a future away from these systems that have consistently failed us. Through it all, to have friends to laugh, cry, critique, and conspire with is priceless.
Alex makes those around her better; please donate to our medical fund for her here:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/mutual-morris-medical-fund/donations
~Jenny