I want to start this post with something one of my favorite artists said on her Facebook, something I no longer access except through messenger for various reasons.
“Never Again is happening on our watch.”
Azam Ali, who works with the bands Vas and Niyaz and one of the most compassionate artists I know out there, speaks truth to power. She made a statement condemning atrocities done in Gaza; none of which have anything to do with hunting Hamas. Someone in response echoed what people told me when I condemned the war in Iraq: “go back to your country from which you came if you don’t like what we are doing.” This, does not show a care for free speech at all, yet people say we in the United States are in ‘the land of the free, home of the brave.’
Truth to Power Must Be Spoken
I may not experience life the way Azam Ali does, but I know how it is to, when people know you are not white regardless of how light-skinned you are, patronize you by telling you to shut up and that we have to be grateful to even exist. More than once, people have told me I would not have existed if not for the Viet Nam War. Before, I just conceded but now, I get quite angry when people tell me this because they insinuate I should be grateful to simply exist in this country. No one should have to live life like they cannot exist by the virtue of being a human being and must be grateful for it in kind. Not me, not my family, and definitely not Azam Ali.
Years ago, I used to be a lot more on the fence regarding matters in Israel when it came to Gaza. While I wanted peace and wanted coexistence, I did not speak as strongly about the oppression of people in the region. Ever since, I have seen matters escalate, the bloodshed get worse, and ever since, I have stated the government in Israel needed made accountable even if everyday Israelis were just people like any one of us. Make no mistake: anyone doing their research and cross-referencing knows the current people in power over there do not even care about their own people who stood up for human rights. They have made that clear in their actions. Their goal has nothing to do with protecting Jewish people, including their own. Palestinians are descended from the same tribes, yet become victims of the very same system that led to the Holocaust happening in World War II.
More locally, I become nervous about a trend: we have people disappearing in the United States by the so-called Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a number of which because they had spoken against the ongoings even when we have the First Amendment. ICE agents taking people in has been happening since the beginning of the millennium, but it had escalated over the years. I may not be under threat at the moment, but seeing the headlines about actual citizens and people legally here being taken, I feel it may be a matter of time when either my family, or myself, might become targeted. More people need made aware but more, those in power able to do something about it need to do so before we lose thousands more residents contributing to our beautiful world. It cannot, nor should not, be on the people who may be more immediately impacted by this to do the protests, the petition singing, and risking themselves more than others. Everyone has to do their part.
Finding Joys Amidst Sorrows
This leads me to what I promised to discuss in previous posts: how we can find reason for living through such times, how we can find joy amidst sorrows or take care of ourselves with political stress. No one paying attention to liberation psychology or social justice movements will find my upcoming words unique. Dr. Thema, the psychologist I linked a few posts back also touches on some of this. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) also had spoken similar advice to people.
AOC talks about how authoritarians try to weigh people down by ‘flooding the zone.’ Their intent with all the chaos, flood of news and misinformation, and showing how powerful they are is their way to try demoralizing people. Anyone feeling overwhelmed, or paralyzed on what to do, I say to you from Commander Adama in Battlestar Galactica: “So say we all.” I know it weighs on me, too. Yet we have to keep trying to do something, even if a little. Every little bit counts.
I fear I cannot find the post, but something AOC had brought up when discussing this tactic also includes, sometimes when the news feels soo much, just simply going outside to touch grass.
While more people need to do something, we also still need to sometimes take a step back.
This bombardment of news happened from 2016 to 2020 to a smaller degree. We see it again right in this year. If doing work effectively means closing a few of those tabs and focusing on one or two of them, so be it. Sometimes, the best way to fight all of this includes not just taking care of one’s own mental health, but also knowing in a capitalistic society, rest can be resistance in moderation. The Nap Ministry has a whole platform dedicated to showing the value of rest as resistance.
To make things clearer, I am not saying to never do anything. I am however saying we sometimes just need to find a way to rest, or to find moments of joy amidst sorrow. For example: I have been in conversation on a deeper level with someone that I had not in years. It sounds simple and silly a reason to find joy, especially because I consider the person a friend first and foremost, but here I am. Our chemistry just works out wonderfully and we can discuss not just some of the topics I bring up in my blog, but also things enjoyable such as Azam Ali’s works or go into a road down memory lane to some of our nostalgic, childhood goth and wave artists.
Other sources of joy include my dance, including my working on a choreography with input from someone who has experience in the music traditions from which I will interact with in my dance. I also find joy in an interview coming up, songs, my video games, and finding enjoyment in spaces where I can thrive. Another source of joy includes watching the Devil May Cry animation on Netflix and seeing Adi Shankar continue to deconstruct Christofascism in both Castlevania and this series.* Such people do no justice to the compassion and empathy found in the Bible, what I had been taught the most important things about Christianity even if I do not consider myself a practicing Catholic anymore. Despite how ‘on-the-nose’ the series became as it progressed, perhaps it may be the only way for people in this world to ‘get what is wrong in the world.’
Other sources of joy include closure on some sources of insecurity, a lectureship of speculative fiction in which I took part over the past few days, and having a day to enjoy a change of scenery. Some of these things seem big, other things small, but I make note of every single one because it helps me cope with ongoing sorrows. I feel everyone should make a practice of this, even if they find only one thing to enjoy. One can find joy even with the world burning around us.
After all, some do so because they have no choice. If you cannot find sources of joy, then at least try living through times ahead out of spite for the powers-that-be. May we find it in ourselves to pray for our humanity.
Until next time, I leave you a song performed by Azam Ali, Ya Leil, a lullaby dedicated to a friend of hers killed in Palestine.
—Arya
* This blurb was made before I became aware Adi Shankar went from opposing Agent Orange 2.0 (our not-President) to becoming a supporter of him. Hearing this and him supporting Prime Minister Narendra Modi has disheartened me. Though this does not mean I may stop watching Castlevania or Devil May Cry with all the other people involved in the project I want to support, it gives me pause. I will at least not choose to watch these without much thought and consideration to who I may support.
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