This video is a genius piece of art. In the first bit, there is some extra hard to watch violence. But before you turn away and before you decide not to watch further, check in with your privilege, and then watch to learn.
This is a new series of writings, Fascinations. I’ll be looking at things that, well, fascinate me in various ways, and how those things then take me deeper into relationship with my own body and the body of landscape and community around me and finally deeper into relationship with the entirety of the earth body. Fascination is not always fun. True fascination should take us into very uncomfortable territories.
The world is not “getting worse.”
If you are a white American reading this, you’re just seeing the world more clearly than ever. It is what it has always been. Now it’s just on the steroid of social media so you can’t avoid it.
And if you’re not somehow actively participating to change things, then you remain part of the problem.
Is that harsh? Too bad.
When you do nothing to change systems that benefit you… I’m not going to try to make you feel okay about that.
Time to learn.
All of us.
NOW.
“Doing something to change the systems” can feel overwhelming, and we don’t want to just jump in to spaces that are not ours and do the usual Person of Privilege Crap. You know… take over, show “how it’s done,” stand in the spotlight.
First, your “doing something” has to be about learning.
So in that light, I’m here with some leads and lists.
This list is a great starter, full of articles, books, podcasts, websites, films.
This is a list of ACTIONS, including things like “decolonizing your bookshelf.” (I think back to actual FIGHTS I had with male teachers in my lit classes in college over the simple act of adding a WOMAN to their syllabus. My GOD… truly nothing has changed…)
Check out the online resources at the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
And this is a deeper reading list created by the writer and scholar, Ibram X. Kendi.
Here’s a great very short video for dealing with stupid things people say — like “black on black crime” or “blue lives matter too.”
Don’t be overwhelmed. We can’t use that excuse anymore. Pick something and start.