To a Beautiful Resistance
This, to me, is the ultimately heroic trait of ordinary people; they say no to the tyrant and they calmly take the consequences of this resistance.
~ Philip K. Dick
“Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion against injustice and lying and greed. If people all over the world...would do this, it would change the earth.”
~ William Faulkner
This will not be a long piece of writing.
Nor will it be about folklore, witchcraft, foraging, cooking or any of those other subjects that I adore, that give me strength, that inspire me and that I hope inspires others too.
This wasn’t what I had planned on writing, indeed, the original essay will just have to wait for another time.
Instead, this might be a reminder for us to be vigilant. To some it might be an eye-opener, but I doubt it very much. I suppose if anything, it is a reminder of the work that still needs to be done, and in our own communities too. Because sometimes, it’s easy to see the news and think those problems are somewhere else, in someone else's community, that they belong to somebody else.
This week, I have seen the absolute best and absolute worst of the place where I live. This kind of thing doesn’t happen very often, at least not in such a clear and obvious way that makes us stop and wonder for a moment. I mean, we’ve all become used to the shit show, right? The constant news streams, tell us of everything that’s wrong in the world, of course you know. In a way, it’s desensitised us to the true horror of things. Nothing surprises us anymore, even when it should.
A tragedy occurred in my small market town, during which a young child died and the community has rallied around that family in a way that truly displays the best qualities of humanity. It makes me proud of the town where I live and of the working class people who have rallied around to support another.
And yet...
Earlier in the week, the local paper released a story about one of the first Afghan families that will be homed in our town. Instead of this being another reason to celebrate the kindness of the people where I live, it highlighted the racism and the real lack of empathy and care we have towards other people, those we don’t know, or who don’t speak our language. The Other. And while on Facebook this morning, I saw a post about an awful homophobic attack, a very nasty physical attack, in the town centre.
These things shouldn’t surprise me, but they do. You see, I suppose I fell into the trap of believing that things aren’t as bad where I live as they are in other places, that the problems that occur out there in the world aren’t mirrored here at home (and of course, they are a reflection of what is happening in the wider world, all you need to do is look at the Home Office’s proposed changes to the immigration bill that would criminalize RNLI volunteers who help drowning immigrants in the English Channel, as above so below, as within so without). I think most of us (at least those of us who aren’t in those vulnerable groups, who, no doubt, could tell you of the abuse they face daily) are, to some extent, guilty of that.
And so this short piece is a reminder. A reminder to reach out to those in your community who want to see the same things as you, freedom from oppression and poverty; empathy. Form those community groups. We don’t have to like everyone in those communities, and you won’t either, that’s just human nature, but our shared goals and values are what unite us. Put in the work, even if you have to start something yourself, even if that’s starting with your own neighbour, your own street, your own town.
The last couple of years have been hard, on that we can all agree. We are all tired. But this is a rallying call. A reminder that we are not useless, as much as it might feel we are against the ever-increasing tide of hatred, greed and injustice that is upheld and even supported by capitalism. We have power and that power is multiplied when we come together.
Let us continue to resist beautifully.
EMMA KATHRYN
Emma Kathryn, practises traditional British witchcraft, Vodou and Obeah, a mixture representing her heritage. She lives in the sticks with her family where she reads tarot, practises witchcraft and drink copious amounts of coffee.
You can follow Emma on Facebook.