I really, really appreciated a therapist's take on this. "We all feel anguish, and we all feel helpless" is something that will live in my soul. The important takeaway, for me, is that we can and should take action, AND ALSO know that this is ultimately out of our direct control. That means we are taking action for the right reasons-- to protect human life and prevent human suffering-- and not for the wrong reasons, which can be manifold, but includes unproductive self-soothing and posturing for others.
As people with a platform of over 60k people on Instagram, books, and a podcast you have a responsibility to do more than just mindfully witness. The importance of condemning a genocidal government and taking a side is not only important for us as individuals but is especially important for anyone with significant influence. It needs to become impossible for this ideology to thrive and we all have a part to play in that. German citizens who turned a blind eye were complicit in what happened in Germany. People in America who turned a blind eye during the civil rights movement were complicit in the racism of that era, not just those who were “actively” racist. At this point it’s been 8 months of us watching a genocide that our country is funding and denying. It is no longer enough to simply witness to sit with our difficult feelings. ESPECIALLY when you have a platform like this. Educating your followers, providing a platform for Palestinians to speak about this, raising money or at the very least sharing fundraisers feels like the bare minimum for anyone with a platform. To abdicate responsibility due to worrying about your own mental health or feelings overwhelmed is selfish and rooted in white privilege.
It’s absolutely insane to act like “choosing a side” in a “war” is difficult. It is disgusting and an absolute moral failure. This isn’t a war-it’s a genocide. Look at the scale, look at the resources and weapons, look at the death toll. I don’t understand why you don’t know what to “do” for Palestine? Palestinians have clearly laid out so many options: boycott, call your government officials, share fundraisers, go to a protest, share images and information on social media, use your privilege of a platform! You have a politics podcast!!! This is politics!!?! To say you have no idea what to do means you have not been listening to people over the past 8 months. And to defend Joe Biden right now?!!? Who has not passively sat by but actively supported and funded this genocide! And is clearly supporting Israel explicitly and not the Palestinians in this which is wrong!
I would absolutely ask yourselves why it’s “easier” to see the good and bad guys in Russia vs Ukraine that is not due to racism and the ease of accepting American propaganda about the Middle East.
Also, being primarily concerned with being a bad person because you will experience rejection, criticism, abandonment and shame instead of being concerned with doing the right thing because you care about that is something you may want to examine.
I am both stunned and in tears after reading this beautiful note from Brooke. It is so much of what I've experienced both intimately in my daily life this past year watching immediate family members suffer through horrible health issues and watching horrible violence around the world throughout news and the shockwaves it's sent across social media in the past year. I have been at such a loss for words about how to articulate my grief, disappointment, and anger about it all. And I just want to sit with conscious witnessing for a long, long time.
Great thoughts. I really think that our ability to know and see in real time about so much suffering all over is beyond what our minds/spirits can handle. Past humans didn’t know much beyond their tribe. Later news took months to get from one place to the other. So most events, if known, were in the past. Our ability to bear witness real time of atrocities and disasters that we can’t do much about it can feel and be really crushing.
I really, really appreciated a therapist's take on this. "We all feel anguish, and we all feel helpless" is something that will live in my soul. The important takeaway, for me, is that we can and should take action, AND ALSO know that this is ultimately out of our direct control. That means we are taking action for the right reasons-- to protect human life and prevent human suffering-- and not for the wrong reasons, which can be manifold, but includes unproductive self-soothing and posturing for others.
Also, the urge to make yourselves feel better about not doing more in this genocide through therapy language is gross and reeks of white feminism.
As people with a platform of over 60k people on Instagram, books, and a podcast you have a responsibility to do more than just mindfully witness. The importance of condemning a genocidal government and taking a side is not only important for us as individuals but is especially important for anyone with significant influence. It needs to become impossible for this ideology to thrive and we all have a part to play in that. German citizens who turned a blind eye were complicit in what happened in Germany. People in America who turned a blind eye during the civil rights movement were complicit in the racism of that era, not just those who were “actively” racist. At this point it’s been 8 months of us watching a genocide that our country is funding and denying. It is no longer enough to simply witness to sit with our difficult feelings. ESPECIALLY when you have a platform like this. Educating your followers, providing a platform for Palestinians to speak about this, raising money or at the very least sharing fundraisers feels like the bare minimum for anyone with a platform. To abdicate responsibility due to worrying about your own mental health or feelings overwhelmed is selfish and rooted in white privilege.
It’s absolutely insane to act like “choosing a side” in a “war” is difficult. It is disgusting and an absolute moral failure. This isn’t a war-it’s a genocide. Look at the scale, look at the resources and weapons, look at the death toll. I don’t understand why you don’t know what to “do” for Palestine? Palestinians have clearly laid out so many options: boycott, call your government officials, share fundraisers, go to a protest, share images and information on social media, use your privilege of a platform! You have a politics podcast!!! This is politics!!?! To say you have no idea what to do means you have not been listening to people over the past 8 months. And to defend Joe Biden right now?!!? Who has not passively sat by but actively supported and funded this genocide! And is clearly supporting Israel explicitly and not the Palestinians in this which is wrong!
I would absolutely ask yourselves why it’s “easier” to see the good and bad guys in Russia vs Ukraine that is not due to racism and the ease of accepting American propaganda about the Middle East.
Also, being primarily concerned with being a bad person because you will experience rejection, criticism, abandonment and shame instead of being concerned with doing the right thing because you care about that is something you may want to examine.
I am both stunned and in tears after reading this beautiful note from Brooke. It is so much of what I've experienced both intimately in my daily life this past year watching immediate family members suffer through horrible health issues and watching horrible violence around the world throughout news and the shockwaves it's sent across social media in the past year. I have been at such a loss for words about how to articulate my grief, disappointment, and anger about it all. And I just want to sit with conscious witnessing for a long, long time.
Great thoughts. I really think that our ability to know and see in real time about so much suffering all over is beyond what our minds/spirits can handle. Past humans didn’t know much beyond their tribe. Later news took months to get from one place to the other. So most events, if known, were in the past. Our ability to bear witness real time of atrocities and disasters that we can’t do much about it can feel and be really crushing.
Thank you, Brooke, for this. It helps me understand all my messy feelings about the global situation(s) so much better.
Father’s Day gift, check!