Thank you for writing it down. My own life has been one of running toward an immediate fire lately, while also feeling the grief and weight of what is occurring globally. We all live here. The Earth is really just a small town in space. I have two jobs. In one I hold the grief, suffering, and crises of human beings. In the other I pour and sell wine to people who are looking to have a nice day in their time away from work. The dichotomy is profound and such a glimpse into how fractured the world is and continues to be and I find that I cry equally about both camps. And yet, feed the cat, brush the teeth, celebrate my son's birthday. I don't even really know what to say. Gratitude for what I have while being ever aware and not turning away from the suffering of others. No trigger warning necessary.
hi. the bell hooks quote is from p. 30 of Killing Rage, Holt Paperbacks, 1995
("...The rage of the oppressed is never the same as the rage of the privileged. One group can change their lot only by changing the system; the other hopes to be rewarded within the system...")
So so so so good. "I wonder if the very idea that we should be able to pick and choose when we give our attention to atrocity stems from the same sense of separation that makes us feel helpless to stop it."
These are the words that I stopped to read twice too. When we remember this oneness, this interconnection, in a way that is so deeply felt in our very core, we know that to be fully in body, rooted in love and truth, is the greatest revolution. Imagine the power of that in each and every one of us, breathing love across space and time. Setting the world free from the inside, out. Thank you for this piece Anna. 🤍
"It’s as if every day is a theater production." Feeling this so deeply when visiting family and friends lately, especially those less engaged with what's happening.
Such a meaningful contribution to the conversation. Thank you for naming what so many of us are feeling.
i share this only in response to your invitation about it: i think that lately the idea of a trigger warning has gotten lost in translation, or skewed. while i firmly believe that no one is responsible for my triggers, and i am not responsible for theirs, i do still find it important that we attempt to come from a place of compassion and not spread more harm. i am not saying you should have added a TW for what you reposted by any means. i stand with you in the frustration of people seemingly being able to pick and choose what they pay attention to; but i know that, for me personally, a trigger warning has only always allowed me a moment to center myself, to come from a place of attention and not dysregulation. because to show up in my dysregulation would not rightly or justly serve the people needing it. so many of us live with trauma in our bodies, that we have had to learn how to open our window of tolerance much wider, instead of dive head first out of it, and it can't possibly do others any good to live in that heightened state. i am able to show up for others in their grief and despair BECAUSE i have had to learn to come from that center. does this make sense? some people have to start much smaller so they can open that window wider. maybe it's as simple as we needing a new name for "triggers".
Mmm yes I really really appreciate this. I agree and like the idea of reframing it or just coming up with a new word or way to precede taking information in. I felt conflicted which is why I invited a comment like this in, mainly because consent practices are really important to me. Thank you!
you raise a really interesting discussion about purpose and responsibility within online social spaces in regards to activism. I myself have been grappling with the extreme dystopia that is scrolling through an app like instagram, going from horrific war video to outfit videos to an ad for a product to a horrific infographic to a beautifully curated photo of someone's house and so on and so on. it's of course a luxury to even have 5 minutes in my day to sit and scroll on my phone. and it's true that these days we can completely ignore something simply by unfollowing certain people or deleting certain apps, where as in the past everyone read the newspaper and watched tv. there was no avoiding what was going on. trigger warnings absolutely allow people the option to close out and turn away, for better or for worse, and you're absolutely correct in that war does not have a trigger warning.
however this made me think of a similar conversation in summer 2020, in the wake of the murder of george floyd. different situation of course, but i remember many people in my community asking that the video of this murder and ones like them not be shared on social, and if they were, to include a warning. I remember reading something at the time about the collective desensitization of violence inflicted upon black and brown bodies because we have seen it throughout history so many times. as a person of color (and i am ofc speaking only for myself) i find it such a double edged sword. sometimes i am ignited into action by seeing and sometimes i am paralyzed.
i don't really have an answer for the "right" or "wrong" way to advocate and spread information. i think care and caution are extremely important and i also want everyone to be awake to what's happening in gaza. and i empathize so deeply with feeling like life is a play and we are just acting along (it's been impossible to get into the christmas spirit). but i also like what stephanie said about being aware of what a video like that might do to someone's nervous system with no warning. it's impossible to know the lives of everyone who follows us and interacts with us—some people may have experienced war themselves or their parents have and that trauma lives within them and deeply affects how they move through the world. perhaps this kind of content is indeed very triggering, but they are able to engage in meaningful and sustained activism without needing to see it. some people, on the other hand, may be intentionally removing themselves from it all that they barely know what's going on, a trigger warning only allows them to turn away more and skip to the next thing.
again, don't have an answer. it's a lot to think about and juggle and navigate and there is no road map. thanks for opening up the space for conversation though, as i think they're super important to have!
Thank you for this ♥️💚🤍🖤 I grew up in Iran during the Iran/Iraq war when the US was funding Saddam Hussein’s military campaign against Iran (back when he was a US ally). My tax dollars are now funding Netanyahu’s genocidal campaign against Palestinians. The grief and the rage is overwhelming 🇵🇸
it's this knowing about things, but being so far away from the things that the things do not directly impact/disrupt your own life piece of this writing that sums up the immense frustration within me and in so many of us.... it's a very real thing we're all trying to grapple with either up front or in the background. as you said, "our humanity knows no territory" and may it continue to be so. thank you for this writing.
You're so welcome, it's been there for me during this time as well - as Etel Adnan often is. Thank you for your words; the naming of illusions/reality is surely love itself.
Oh Anna, I felt this on my bones. Every word. Thank you for your articulation, your words, your mind and heart ❤️🔥 Free Palestine ❤️🔥
Thank you for reading Fariha. Yes indeed.
Thank you for writing it down. My own life has been one of running toward an immediate fire lately, while also feeling the grief and weight of what is occurring globally. We all live here. The Earth is really just a small town in space. I have two jobs. In one I hold the grief, suffering, and crises of human beings. In the other I pour and sell wine to people who are looking to have a nice day in their time away from work. The dichotomy is profound and such a glimpse into how fractured the world is and continues to be and I find that I cry equally about both camps. And yet, feed the cat, brush the teeth, celebrate my son's birthday. I don't even really know what to say. Gratitude for what I have while being ever aware and not turning away from the suffering of others. No trigger warning necessary.
The Earth is really just a small town in space. Brilliant.
hi. the bell hooks quote is from p. 30 of Killing Rage, Holt Paperbacks, 1995
("...The rage of the oppressed is never the same as the rage of the privileged. One group can change their lot only by changing the system; the other hopes to be rewarded within the system...")
Thank you so much. I was hoping someone would share.
(my pleasure! I feel strongly about sources, credits;)
So so so so good. "I wonder if the very idea that we should be able to pick and choose when we give our attention to atrocity stems from the same sense of separation that makes us feel helpless to stop it."
These are the words that I stopped to read twice too. When we remember this oneness, this interconnection, in a way that is so deeply felt in our very core, we know that to be fully in body, rooted in love and truth, is the greatest revolution. Imagine the power of that in each and every one of us, breathing love across space and time. Setting the world free from the inside, out. Thank you for this piece Anna. 🤍
"It’s as if every day is a theater production." Feeling this so deeply when visiting family and friends lately, especially those less engaged with what's happening.
Such a meaningful contribution to the conversation. Thank you for naming what so many of us are feeling.
Yes, it's a real dissonance or dissociation.
i share this only in response to your invitation about it: i think that lately the idea of a trigger warning has gotten lost in translation, or skewed. while i firmly believe that no one is responsible for my triggers, and i am not responsible for theirs, i do still find it important that we attempt to come from a place of compassion and not spread more harm. i am not saying you should have added a TW for what you reposted by any means. i stand with you in the frustration of people seemingly being able to pick and choose what they pay attention to; but i know that, for me personally, a trigger warning has only always allowed me a moment to center myself, to come from a place of attention and not dysregulation. because to show up in my dysregulation would not rightly or justly serve the people needing it. so many of us live with trauma in our bodies, that we have had to learn how to open our window of tolerance much wider, instead of dive head first out of it, and it can't possibly do others any good to live in that heightened state. i am able to show up for others in their grief and despair BECAUSE i have had to learn to come from that center. does this make sense? some people have to start much smaller so they can open that window wider. maybe it's as simple as we needing a new name for "triggers".
Mmm yes I really really appreciate this. I agree and like the idea of reframing it or just coming up with a new word or way to precede taking information in. I felt conflicted which is why I invited a comment like this in, mainly because consent practices are really important to me. Thank you!
you raise a really interesting discussion about purpose and responsibility within online social spaces in regards to activism. I myself have been grappling with the extreme dystopia that is scrolling through an app like instagram, going from horrific war video to outfit videos to an ad for a product to a horrific infographic to a beautifully curated photo of someone's house and so on and so on. it's of course a luxury to even have 5 minutes in my day to sit and scroll on my phone. and it's true that these days we can completely ignore something simply by unfollowing certain people or deleting certain apps, where as in the past everyone read the newspaper and watched tv. there was no avoiding what was going on. trigger warnings absolutely allow people the option to close out and turn away, for better or for worse, and you're absolutely correct in that war does not have a trigger warning.
however this made me think of a similar conversation in summer 2020, in the wake of the murder of george floyd. different situation of course, but i remember many people in my community asking that the video of this murder and ones like them not be shared on social, and if they were, to include a warning. I remember reading something at the time about the collective desensitization of violence inflicted upon black and brown bodies because we have seen it throughout history so many times. as a person of color (and i am ofc speaking only for myself) i find it such a double edged sword. sometimes i am ignited into action by seeing and sometimes i am paralyzed.
i don't really have an answer for the "right" or "wrong" way to advocate and spread information. i think care and caution are extremely important and i also want everyone to be awake to what's happening in gaza. and i empathize so deeply with feeling like life is a play and we are just acting along (it's been impossible to get into the christmas spirit). but i also like what stephanie said about being aware of what a video like that might do to someone's nervous system with no warning. it's impossible to know the lives of everyone who follows us and interacts with us—some people may have experienced war themselves or their parents have and that trauma lives within them and deeply affects how they move through the world. perhaps this kind of content is indeed very triggering, but they are able to engage in meaningful and sustained activism without needing to see it. some people, on the other hand, may be intentionally removing themselves from it all that they barely know what's going on, a trigger warning only allows them to turn away more and skip to the next thing.
again, don't have an answer. it's a lot to think about and juggle and navigate and there is no road map. thanks for opening up the space for conversation though, as i think they're super important to have!
these conversations are so important - i loved the invitation. this piece was beautiful and necessary to share with us - so thank you!
Brilliant and beautiful and captures so much of the things I feel and don’t have words for.
Thank you for this ♥️💚🤍🖤 I grew up in Iran during the Iran/Iraq war when the US was funding Saddam Hussein’s military campaign against Iran (back when he was a US ally). My tax dollars are now funding Netanyahu’s genocidal campaign against Palestinians. The grief and the rage is overwhelming 🇵🇸
and painful. Thank you for reading.
it's this knowing about things, but being so far away from the things that the things do not directly impact/disrupt your own life piece of this writing that sums up the immense frustration within me and in so many of us.... it's a very real thing we're all trying to grapple with either up front or in the background. as you said, "our humanity knows no territory" and may it continue to be so. thank you for this writing.
Thank you for reading Jenn. It feels like a regular betrayal of something...is it simply a betrayal of our humanity?
Yes. Thank you <3
"To Be in a Time of War" - Etel Adnan
https://lareviewofbooks.org/short-takes/to-be-in-a-time-of-war-an-homage-to-etel-adnan-1925-2021/
Wow thank you so, so much for sharing this here. I have never read it - it's incredible and really captures how I am feeling.
You're so welcome, it's been there for me during this time as well - as Etel Adnan often is. Thank you for your words; the naming of illusions/reality is surely love itself.
Yes yes yes, my heart echoing so much of what you said here. 🧡
I knew this would resonate with you, Lisa. Thanks for reading as always.
Ufff. Heavy. Beautiful. Thank you.
https://www.youtube.com/live/W7-LwkLImiw?si=8NJW3KBbjD6SuNJa
Thank you for putting into words.
thank you. the grief is heavy and omnipresent and it feels important to name it.
Thank you. 🇵🇸❤️