remain joyful / no more water

Preview

fascism, particularly in the 21st century, thrives on attention. it demands it. it is fueled by it. it consumes attention and requires ever greater amounts. that attention fuels its shallow and hollow power. it only has the power we give it, and that power — power rooted in fear and control — is always fragile and transitory.

liberalism and propriety are like gateway drugs to fascism. while deliberately appearing alluringly transgressive to some, the “proper” liberal looks on — lasciviously — and disingenuously exclaims “oh my goodness, can you believe such things!” and waits impatiently for the next atrocity to play out in the media. they invariably fail to see how we have gotten here, as if it’s not a very, very, very old story. very old.

like, probably older than you’re thinking.

the point is, we’ve done this before.

the media are complicit. they profit from the attention. they allow those who commit, and plan to commit, atrocities a platform, while the voices of those the oppressed and murdered are silenced. they are silenced before they can even find their voice, because so many are afraid to speak.

fascism (and any fascist, by extension), is like a destructive toddler having a tantrum because you asked him to pick up his toys and eat his supper — which has something *green* in it. if you play into that energy, you fuel it, you grow that moment into something much larger. it takes great focus in the face of such distraction to remain joyful.

it takes great focus to remain joyful.

remain joyful.

that’s not the whole of it, but it’s a start.

eradicating fascism need never be a goal. it is self-destructive. it seeks eradication — in every way.

it wants you to stare at it in horror and say “you are *terrible*” as it growls at you through gritted teeth, “i *KNOW*” — it wants to goad us into retaliation with a thousand slices into our flesh. it wants us to punch it, stab it, scream at it. it wants nothing more than to drag us down into the dirt with it — a bloody, dirty, and eventually dead and rotten mess.

the moment always passes.

there is no real power in it.

it feeds off of a false sense of connection, while separating all from each other, thus summoning this beast that must consume itself in a frenzy of self-destruction.

true connection — built slowly, lovingly, with focus and care — there is real strength there. i see many doing this work, and it gives my heart fire — and i know that fire can spread.


God gave Noah the Rainbow sign / No more water but fire next time!

Note: i hesitate to use this quote, because it is from an African American spiritual and that is not my culture, and references a James Baldwin book (The Fire Next Time - 1963) i have not read — and i want to be respectful, but also realistically i’m not gonna go read a whole book before i use a really on-point quote, i am not a perfect person nor do i strive for perfection, but i do overexplain because wow people misunderstand shit a LOT. if you have the spoons, check out the sources, and the Meshell Ndegeocello album ‘No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin’ — which i HAVE listened to multiple times since my partner told me about it last week.

Previous
Previous

miranda comes to life

Next
Next

new energy for old projects