What the f*ck are we doing here?!
*Instagram Reel links are embedded within this post. Links may not work via newsletter (due to unknown tech issues by Instagram). To properly view, I encourage readers to read this piece directly on my website. Thank you.
First and foremost, Happy Black History Month! Depending on who you are, I hope you are celebrating with the utmost joy and love OR paying your reparations and educating yourself on the importance of Black history in this country. It is absolutely essential to understand how the root of all of our issues today stem from the violent start of our country and its deep ties to slavery.
This year alone, eight people have died (so far) due to the murderous brutality and barbarism of our own "law enforcement," journalists have been detained against their First Amendment rights, and countries around the world, like Palestine (Gaza), Sudan, The Congo, Iran and MORE, are experiencing complete destruction, genocide, starvation, and massacres due to the war machine that is the United States.
Before I continue, take a deep breath in.
Now take a deep breath out.
Seriously, pause and regulate yourself for a moment.
I am emphasizing the suffering of people in our own country and around the world because (a) Black History Month is a reminder that no one is free until everyone is free, and (b) I know many of us are aware of the atrocities happening, and we all seem to be a bit paralyzed on what to do and how to live. How do we create art during this time? How do we laugh and yap over a warm meal and glass of wine when the world is suffering?
I don't have the answer.
Honestly, I thought the solution was balance. We all need to experience happiness, right? Whether or not we go shopping for a new wardrobe or grab a martini at happy hour, those who are directly affected by these dire situations will continue to live as they are. There is no reason to deprive ourselves of the little dillies and dallies of life, as long as it's not harming anyone.
On the contrary, I believe that real change only happens within discomfort. After some deep reflection, I realized that we cannot live our daily lives as usual if we want the world to be better. If our country were to actually change, we would need to seriously disrupt the economy and the daily beat played by the institution's drum. We can protest and call our representatives and share as many reels as we can to our bubble of people who watch and respond, but what does any of that actually surmount to?
I am feeling a mixture of hopelessness and carelessness.
My interests in social justice have always been intertwined with environmental justice. The discourse on sustainability has always debated the impact of the individual versus corporations versus the system/ governance. A great example of this is the straw movement. After a viral video of a straw being pulled out of a sea turtle, millions of people around the world started switching over to reusable straws. Since then, I've seen cafés and restaurants offer paper or compostable straws.
Simply to say, people saw that they can help sea creatures by not using plastic straws. This shift in the individual then caused businesses to assess their own environmental impact, and many, if not most, stopped offering straws or switched over to "earth-friendly" straws. In this case, the individual influenced the corporations to change and then in turn changed the law/ governance for some cities.
Even though over 70% of greenhouse gases are produced by big corporations, I have always believed that individual choices help create change in some way or another. What most people don't discuss, though, is how the individual must turn into the collective for any change to even begin. One or two people didn't shift the straw industry. This change happened because individuals came together in masses. The community made the impact.
Unfortunately, human death seemingly doesn't affect us like a poor, dying sea turtle did. If it did, wouldn't we be doing everything in our power to save our own species?
I blame comfort.
Refusing a straw is easy. It's a quick way to feel good about doing something positive for the planet. I work as a server at a restaurant next to the richest shops on 5th Avenue (NYC), and people dripping in shopping bags, covered head-to-toe in solid gold jewelry, make me laugh when they say, "No, I don't use straws anymore." I guess I'm glad that these people have an ounce of morality.
I don't mean to be so cynical, if that's how I sound like to you. I also am not trying to be a social justice enforcer as I myself use plastic straws sometimes and wear gold jewelry. I like expensive clothes and traveling around the world by plane. I enjoy driving (even if I don't have a car for now), and I buy single-use event goods from the dollar store. I have a list of ways I pollute the planet, of course. No one is perfect, and I'm not trying to say that we have to be.
Comfort is the plague. We have grown up in a society that has fed us expectations and encouraged certain dreams. Study hard, get a job, make money, and in return? Receive food on the table, a roof over your head, and various hobbies that alleviate the pain of this system. We are so embedded within this false pursuit of happiness that we cannot accept that there could be even more bliss if we exchange our individual lives for the movement of shared community, even just for a couple years. What would happen if we prioritized everyone's lives as our own? As our loved ones? What would happen if we broke away from the everyday and disrupted our own routine for the sake of tomorrow?
Breakaway Slowly
I know I am speaking with a bit of grandiosity, so let's take some steps back.
Here is a little exercise to try. I encourage you to discuss this with loved ones. I've done this for my own environmental/ sustainability journey, and I am just starting to do this for my own general moral compass.
Start with a blank sheet of paper (or a digital blank document if you prefer typing). Categorize your writing area into three sections: Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3.
I'm hoping this is eventually going to be pretty self-explanatory, but in the Tier 1 section, write down all the ways you can easily help others. Think of this section as your comfort zone. Maybe write down what you already do. Do you volunteer? Donate to something? Post information on your story? These are activities/ actions that are extremely accessible for you.
In Tier 2, write down all the actions that you can and maybe will do eventually. These are activities / actions that are definitely more difficult than your daily practice, but these are attainable with a bit more work and time. Think of ways where your daily life may need to be disrupted.
Lastly, Tier 3 should have your dreams. These actions/ activities need to almost seem crazy — like they can't even happen. I cannot list any of examples of my own due to potential legal reasons, but... think of sh*t like that. Tier 3 should sound like an eruption. Create a story of a completely different life. Dream wildly.
After you write your tiers, create a section at the bottom called "How-To." No, you will not be writing a detailed plan on how to get everything done...
As much as I clamored about the need for community, we still have to be a bit selfish in some ways. Think about everything you wrote in your tiers, and then reflect upon what you need to do for yourself to accomplish or even attempt to do everything you wrote down previously. The reason it's called "How-To" is because caring for your own psyche and body is the best way you're going to get anything done for others.
For me, my self-care and act of rebellion is pursuing my art. As many of you are fellow creatives, I beg of you: do not let the world diminish the flame that the universe has given to you. It may seem like art is but a luxury within communities of immense suffering, but art is the way we as humans cope. It is an act of healing. It is a pathway for us to gather and unify.
I am still feeling a mixture of hopelessness and carelessness, but neither shall tempt me into letting those currently in power have the only voice.
Disrupt your daily life AND care for yourself deeply and wholeheartedly. The world we experience today may be ending, but a new one is on the horizon. By us, for us.