Radical Community as a form of Resistance
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“For me, forgiveness and compassion are always linked: how do we hold people accountable for wrongdoing and yet at the same time remain in touch with their humanity enough to believe in their capacity to be transformed?�
― bell hooks
In this last year, there have been many instances of intentional division and a general feeling of distrust and fear in this country. This being most prevalent in recent examples of Trump's decisions on DACA, the plan to penalize sanctuary cities/states, and the recent event in Charlottesville following a white supremacist rally. It is important to build and maintain relationships in our community to sustain ourselves and those we care about. Holding love, support and accountability for members of our communities is necessary to come together in resistance to systems of oppression that allow these things to occur. The intention of this list is to compile questions and things to consider as we continue to build our communities in the face of oppression. If we combat things such as racism, misogyny, transmisogyny, heteronormativity, xenophobia, and Islamophobia everyday in our lives, through the action of intentionally building community and support, we can move closer together while working to dismantle the current systems of hate and division we live under.
Know yourself: Before you can give support and fight back, it is important to know who you are and what you can/should do. ● What privileges(1) do you carry? Consider how understanding this can help you become a better ally to struggles you may not carry. Consider how your identity gives you certain outlooks on the world, exists in how you feel comfortable navigating the world, exists in how comfortable you feel expressing your emotions and in what form, etc. ● How would you like to be supported by a community? How much support can you give to a community? ● What resources (time, money, a place to stay for a night, going to the grocery store with someone, helping with mundane and tedious tasks etc) can you provide for others? ● What are you doing to resist systems of oppression? What more could you be doing? What's stopping you? Educate yourself about what happens in your current communities ● What is the history of the land you occupy? ● What more can you learn about that was intentionally left out in school or college education? What issues could you know more about (history of the land we occupy, racism in America and larger institutional systems, documentation and immigration based struggles, gender and LGBTQA issues, Islamophobia, etc) ● How are you complacent in the face of racism, misogyny, transmisogyny, heteronormativity, xenophobia, Islamophobia? ● What organizations are working in your communities? What work are they doing that you could be involved with? ● What legislation is impacting your community/city/state? How can you transform your community to fight back against legislation affecting
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members of your community? How can you support the folks in which this legislation is targeting? Build Supportive Intentional Relationships ● Ask your friends and community members what this can look like, such as knowing how best to support them when they are going through trouble. When doing this, really hear what people are saying and do your best to show up in these ways. For example, if a friend has depression allowing them to show up that way and be their full self could help make someone feel less alone and supported in their struggles. Having conversations about these things are important as people work in different ways: sometimes we need to be alone, sometimes we need to be surrounded by concerned community, or sometimes we need to be distracted. Intentionally having these conversations helps build trust and sets the framework for supportive relationships. ● Other important ways to show up include learning your friends pronouns, supporting them through emotional situations, listening intently and knowing how to support your friends when they face interpersonal oppression (especially your friends of color). Speak out against violence ● Acknowledging your privileges (such as white or cis-male privilege), what can you do in the face of violence? ● Violence isn't always physical, it can also be emotional or verbal. It's important to call people out/in(2) when this occurs and support the person impacted in ways that they feel comfortable with. This support greatly depends on what the situation was and what the needs are of the individual you are supporting are, sometimes this can look like talking the situation through, listening to someone vent or experience emotions; the
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list goes on but it is important to ask what the person who experienced violence most needs(3). ● Learn about the different ways violence can manifest (physical, sexual, microaggressions, verbal, interpersonal, passive, institutional, etc) Show up for your friends ● Consider what it means to show up for community members who are queer, trans, indigenous, undocumented, Muslim, disabled and people of color. It is important we show up in ways of support to both insure we are standing up and fighting for our communities while fighting against the systematic oppression that allows this type of violence to exist. Consider the ways in which you can show up for community members that is both interpersonal and fights to push against these systems that perpetuate racism and misogyny. This can look like answering hotline calls for community organizations working to support folks facing violence, going to Black Lives Matter meetings, showing up to marches that show solidarity, and working with community organizations to education can change the paradigm of violence in this country. Call people in for growth ● Calling people in(4) reminds them that you still care and upholds that the person's relationship is not one which is disposable. When you witness someone acting in an oppressive manner (such as saying a racist joke or comment, misgendering someone, etc) in which another person in your community or otherwise needs growth, call them in with stern love and accountability. Look into resources on how this could look for you; once you have a basis of your own knowledge share resources with friends and
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community for their own growth. Start conversations with coworkers, other students, and people in your life about how they can educate themselves, and make a point to be there along the way for support. This is important, as we are intentionally working to dismantle and shift ways of knowing in our own communities to center love and accountability. ● It's important to consider your privilege here. Do you carry certain identities that make it is easier for you to talk to a person who needs to be called in/out? As an example, if you are a white person and witness another white person being racist in any way (a joke, microaggression, etc), whether in a space that is a majority white people or specifically to a person of color, as a white person you have an identity that makes it safer and less emotionally laborious for you to call someone out/in. This should be considered in other situations of oppressive behavior as well, such as transmisogyny or xenophobia. ● Do you carry an identity in which you are constantly targeted with violence or confrontation? If not, how are you makings sure to use your privilege to educate others? ● Know that there are times when the emotional labor of maintaining a relationship can be too much. Understanding yourself, your privileges and relying on advice from your community can advise when it may be time to let someone grow on their(5) own or within their circles. Find options for support that don’t rely on the justice system(6) ● Sometimes calling the police makes situations worse for people, such as people of color. Explore with your community what systems of accountability and support might be an option outside of the justice
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system. Look into community-based mediation, intervention/support in interpersonal abuse, and support in situations of trauma(7). It is also important to note that if the justice system is involved, you can find ways to support folks within that system. Give Resources ● Sometimes this looks like financial support for friends in trouble, or fundraisers for people impacted by events such as displacement or loss of a job. Sometimes this looks like listening as someone vents, cries, yells--supporting them through emotional stress. Sometimes this looks like time, when volunteering for an organization or showing up in solidarity to a march. Sometimes this looks like opening up your place for someone to stay the night, or feeding them or driving them to where they need. Consider what resources you are able to give based on different privileges and skills you hold and make them available for folks who are in need. Build relationships outside of your immediate community ● Reimagine who could be welcomed into your community: peers, work colleagues, neighbors, homeless people. Building relationships with these folks can help confront violence before it occurs and can create relationships where growth and support can happen. ● Consider who you aren’t in community with and how this can be a result of ways of knowing that are instilled and systemic, such as racism, or Islamophobia. What steps can you take to change this?
If we intentionally work to support and build community we can create pockets of resistance that use love, care and accountability to educate and stand up for our friends and family in the face of hate and division. Doing this can create tangible change in the lives of folks who experience racism, misogyny, transphobia, xenophobia, heteronormativity and Islamophobia on a daily basis, systemically and interpersonally.
Footnotes: 1: Privilege: A special advantage, immunity, permission, right, or benefit granted to or enjoyed by an individual because of their class, caste, gender, or racial/ethnic group. (See link: https://www.cssp.org/about/race-equity/GLOSSARY-OF-TERMS.pdf 2:Call out: includes someone publicly pointing out that another person is being oppressive. (See more about how calling out can be condusive to growth: http://everydayfeminism.com/2015/01/guide-to-calling-in/ ) 3: See video for more information: Don't be a Bystander: 6 Tips for Responding to Racist Attacks 4: Call in: Calling in as a practice of loving each other enough to allow each other to make mistakes, a practice of loving ourselves enough to know that what we’re trying to do here is a radical unlearning of everything we have been configured to believe is normal. (see link: http://www.bgdblog.org/2013/12/calling-less-disposable-way-holdingaccountable/ ) 5: The use of ‘their’ as an pronoun of an individual is a way of expressing that some folks do not identify as she or he. This term is used as a gender neutral way of referring to an individual. 6: What to do instead of calling the police (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_Y0LwX0uOz-P63FVhV0OFk DObbBXcy16YPOcsqnBqto/edit ) 7: Community organizations that work on issues related to this can be a great start to educating yourself and finding tools to support community
Glossary: This is only a short this of terms used in this zine, its important to educate yourself about words or concepts you are not familiar with- this is only a start. ● Ally: A person, ““currently operating in solidarity with” the marginalized or oppressed.” (See link: https://everydayfeminism.com/2013/11/things-allies-need-to-know/ ) ● Accountability: ‘The root of being answerable to your thoughts, your intentions and your actions.” ● Native land: (http://native-land.ca/ ) ● Xenophobia: A culturally based fear of outsiders. Xenophobia has often been associated with the hostile reception given to those who immigrate into societies and communities. ● Privilege: A special advantage, immunity, permission, right, or benefit granted to or enjoyed by an individual because of their class, caste, gender, or racial/ethnic group. (See link: https://www.cssp.org/about/race-equity/GLOSSARY-OF-TERMS.pdf ) ● Radical Accountability: The root of being answerable to your thoughts, your intentions and your actions. (See link: http://www.tamrafleming.com/uploads/4/4/7/5/4475447/radical_account ability.pdf ) ● Microaggressions:”commonplace daily indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate racial slights and insults toward people of color.” (https://www.npr.org/2014/04/03/298736678/microaggressions-be-care ful-what-you-say) ● Institutional violence: The use of power to cause harm (ie. violation of human rights) and to enforce structural oppression. (http://www.coloursofresistance.org/definitions/institutional-violence/ ) ● Call out: includes someone publicly pointing out that another person is being oppressive. (See more about how calling out can be condusive to growth: http://everydayfeminism.com/2015/01/guide-to-calling-in/ ) ● Call in: Calling in as a practice of loving each other enough to allow each other to make mistakes, a practice of loving ourselves enough to know that what we’re trying to do here is a radical unlearning of everything we have been configured to believe is normal. (see link: http://www.bgdblog.org/2013/12/calling-less-disposable-way-holding-ac countable/ )
Some resources I found helpful: ● romantic love is killing us (https://thebodyisnotanapology.com/magazine/romantic-love-is-killingus/ ● Why ive started to fear my fellow social justicers (http://www.yesmagazine.org/people-power/why-ive-started-to-fear-m y-fellow-social-justice-activists-20171013 ) ● Alok manon, I can love everyone (https://www.alokvmenon.com/blog/2017/9/15/i-can-love-everyone ) ● 12 things to do instead of calling the police (https://archive.org/details/12ThingsToDoInsteadOfCallingTheCops ) ● My gender is my gender zine ● Decolonizing Gender zine ● Creative interventions ● (http://www.creative-interventions.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/CIToolkit-Complete-Pre-Release-Version-06.2012-.pdf ) ● Nuture culture (https://norasamaran.com/2016/02/11/the-opposite-of-rape-culture-isnurturance-culture-2/ ) ● Social isolation is killing us ( https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/22/upshot/how-social-isolation-is-kil ling-us.html ) ● Radical love (https://medium.com/perspectiva-institute/a-radical-politics-of-love-fbe 259170646 ) ● Definitions for the revolution (http://www.coloursofresistance.org/definitions-for-the-revolution/ ) ● Community Accountability ( https://communityaccountability.wordpress.com/ ) ● Principles and Practice of Anti-oppression (http://soaw.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=398 ● Self Care / Collective Care (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ffbACkUKkBvtJzTgNkYyMlCB nHVOEreBch1qYNCWFtc/edit)