Unfortunately, Liberation has become an absence of Oppression to me. I associate Oppression with the discovery from within a system that it has been constructed to create predictable outcomes, and that there is no "way out," by design. Whether it's a system of unspoken norms and codes that prevents certain people from excelling, or something as overt as discriminatory laws, the defining feature of oppression for me is the labyrinthine structure that appears to present choices while actually preventing most possibilities. I suppose that makes Liberation into an state in which outcomes are not foreseeable. Yes, I think that also addresses the inherent fragility of Liberation, and its vulnerability to disruption by those who misuse their freedoms to make unpredictability unsafe for others.
Activism has also transformed its associations for me in recent times. I think the word itself simply means to make time in one's life to raise an objection to what one disagrees with, on the understanding that activism exists within systems that give some kind of countenance to objection. Lately, it seems to be an aggressive form of insistence that demands be met immediately, predicated on the expectation that raising an objection is insufficient to being heard and considered, and also predicated on the narrative that all other forms of communication have failed.
I have always understood Resistance to mean the physical manifestation of Activism, i.e., that Activism is still by en large advocacy work, and that Resistance is a refusal to physically be or do what is expected or required. That's how I am able to divide Resistance into Passive and Active categories. Passive resistance is non-cooperation or non-participation, and Active resistance would be the physical doing of what is disallowed. Both are not ends in themselves, but aim at some change beyond the act of Resistance itself. The word Resistance has changed as well for me recently, as it has been used to mask acts of violence that can have no possible conduit for a preferred outcome, but appear to be an expression of animus.
Tova - it's been a verrry long time! Thank you for your breakdown. I'm so excited to see your contextual and relational analysis of these words. A recognition that we're limited by our systems and it's almost ridiculous to think that the work needs to be done to these systems, or to ourselves in the system to produce the desired outcome of change/liberation.
I also share your thinking about passive vs active resistance. Not participating in activities that are ultimately oppressive or morally violating no longer provides energy to preserving that system. The fuckery about resistance = intentional violence are constructs of psychopaths. I'm not only board with that.
Thank you again for your thorough and thought-provoking response to my questions Tova. Sending you love from the other side of the world.
If we speak to Justice then we often missing the legal framework. From teaching and advising schools, Govt, corporates, NGOs individuals. The law is a good starting place. Human Rights are often missed and becoming less respected but is a neutral place to help us. Secondly history. Imagine how this has helped school children form an informed perspective and remain empathic and connected.
Thanks Gerri. I wonder if human rights are understood in the same way by different groups of people or even the different people in the same group...especially when they're comprised of people from differing countries, religions and beliefs about rights.
The problem is more are they used at all to guide us in dialogue? Are they even consulted or taught, Or used to illustrate, map, or solve conflict. This is why we have international laws, its the basis of interstate civility. Human rights law our own civility, it is universal. Bringing mental or physical harm is understood in most beliefs as wrong
Activism engages willpower to make societal change. There’s a point when it becomes a form of zealotry. Dispossessed people “awaken” to the “Matrix”, exchanging one set of reality for another through a more radicalized lens. Then you have a tougher time getting people to relate to your POV. PR becomes a matter of ideological survival, even if converts are few. Political tradesmen start viewing activists as viable workhorses, checking teeth, inspecting hooves- even vetting fertility(; which is a disgusting and exploitative way of viewing human labor, but it is done). Then the real mental illness play of force starts to happen: the card trading on causes. “Oh they see my issue! They’re with me!”, while they are actively shelving your interest group and setting up a tax shelter for your rival to outcompete you. So, yes, activism can get “oppressive”, but I think it’s the captured activism, manipulated by control groups who actually try to speak for their rivals without actually talking to them. That’s how cable news keeps the division wedges going like a soap opera in it’s 18th season. That’s why cable never ends any conflict.
Activism vs captured activism is a great distinction Sheila!
Cable news is one of the many tools to keep mass mind enslavement and psychic control. You're making good points about the devolution of genuine activism into conspiracy thinking and paranoid politics. Lots of food for thought here. Thank you Sheila for bringing it!
Trans activists have denied biological reality and erased women ‘pregnant people’ uterus havers etc. this is not a good direction. It’s profoundly mysogynistic at is core. As are ‘transwomen’ (men) in women’s sports.
You are in a difficult position. These are difficult questions, requiring time and hard work to answer. You don't have time. I began in 1970, when I was 15 years old. I did not want my brother, who I loved, to die in Vietnam. There were kids who became activists. They smoked dope, read about radicalism in books, by Arendt, and Hoffman. Kids were speaking out. They were beaten and shot. For example, I spoke out against the coach one day when he wanted to paddle me. Corporal punishment eventually went away, because of my efforts. To my shock, this coach transferred to HS with me! I was hit one day on the court by footballers, and put in the hospital. I did not know why then the coach had left the room. He set me up. This is an example of oppression by the State on the activists.
Here is something I recently learned. If there was a gun to your head, and someone was going to blow your brains out, you would not know you were going to die. I paid attention to bullying in school. This girl in 8th grade had funny hair, and other girls put smashed cheese puffs, or something, in her hair. I felt so sorry for her. She did not know what was happening. The buffalo in the 1800's did not know they were being killed. Neither did the Jews in Europe in 1940. Now we have so-called climate change. People will die in large numbers, because the State is setting us up. They are setting us up!
Your feelings mean nothing, Ms Martinek. When I was in Iraq helping the Army in 2004, I felt someone breathing down my neck. Later I learned who it was, and what they would do to me if I was captured. The State, Bill Gates, is ready to cut your head off, Ms. Martinek. They don't care how you feel. In fact, they will cry crocodile tears as they do it. Listen to Liz Cheney recently?
We are in serious trouble. Jesus Christ is the One I read/ think the most about these days. I pray for you, Ms Martinek. Its not fair what is happening to you.
I feel sad that activism has been usurped by violent Social Injustice Warriors who haven't found healthier outlets for their own betrayal trauma.
I also appreciate what you see as resistance. It was a time before that those on the left resisting structural inequality have embedded practices that has undermined any legitimate grievance and turned them into the new oppressors.
I'm going to keep thinking about your definition of liberation vs freedom from. Thank you!
Unfortunately, Liberation has become an absence of Oppression to me. I associate Oppression with the discovery from within a system that it has been constructed to create predictable outcomes, and that there is no "way out," by design. Whether it's a system of unspoken norms and codes that prevents certain people from excelling, or something as overt as discriminatory laws, the defining feature of oppression for me is the labyrinthine structure that appears to present choices while actually preventing most possibilities. I suppose that makes Liberation into an state in which outcomes are not foreseeable. Yes, I think that also addresses the inherent fragility of Liberation, and its vulnerability to disruption by those who misuse their freedoms to make unpredictability unsafe for others.
Activism has also transformed its associations for me in recent times. I think the word itself simply means to make time in one's life to raise an objection to what one disagrees with, on the understanding that activism exists within systems that give some kind of countenance to objection. Lately, it seems to be an aggressive form of insistence that demands be met immediately, predicated on the expectation that raising an objection is insufficient to being heard and considered, and also predicated on the narrative that all other forms of communication have failed.
I have always understood Resistance to mean the physical manifestation of Activism, i.e., that Activism is still by en large advocacy work, and that Resistance is a refusal to physically be or do what is expected or required. That's how I am able to divide Resistance into Passive and Active categories. Passive resistance is non-cooperation or non-participation, and Active resistance would be the physical doing of what is disallowed. Both are not ends in themselves, but aim at some change beyond the act of Resistance itself. The word Resistance has changed as well for me recently, as it has been used to mask acts of violence that can have no possible conduit for a preferred outcome, but appear to be an expression of animus.
Tova - it's been a verrry long time! Thank you for your breakdown. I'm so excited to see your contextual and relational analysis of these words. A recognition that we're limited by our systems and it's almost ridiculous to think that the work needs to be done to these systems, or to ourselves in the system to produce the desired outcome of change/liberation.
I also share your thinking about passive vs active resistance. Not participating in activities that are ultimately oppressive or morally violating no longer provides energy to preserving that system. The fuckery about resistance = intentional violence are constructs of psychopaths. I'm not only board with that.
Thank you again for your thorough and thought-provoking response to my questions Tova. Sending you love from the other side of the world.
If we speak to Justice then we often missing the legal framework. From teaching and advising schools, Govt, corporates, NGOs individuals. The law is a good starting place. Human Rights are often missed and becoming less respected but is a neutral place to help us. Secondly history. Imagine how this has helped school children form an informed perspective and remain empathic and connected.
Thanks Gerri. I wonder if human rights are understood in the same way by different groups of people or even the different people in the same group...especially when they're comprised of people from differing countries, religions and beliefs about rights.
The problem is more are they used at all to guide us in dialogue? Are they even consulted or taught, Or used to illustrate, map, or solve conflict. This is why we have international laws, its the basis of interstate civility. Human rights law our own civility, it is universal. Bringing mental or physical harm is understood in most beliefs as wrong
Activism engages willpower to make societal change. There’s a point when it becomes a form of zealotry. Dispossessed people “awaken” to the “Matrix”, exchanging one set of reality for another through a more radicalized lens. Then you have a tougher time getting people to relate to your POV. PR becomes a matter of ideological survival, even if converts are few. Political tradesmen start viewing activists as viable workhorses, checking teeth, inspecting hooves- even vetting fertility(; which is a disgusting and exploitative way of viewing human labor, but it is done). Then the real mental illness play of force starts to happen: the card trading on causes. “Oh they see my issue! They’re with me!”, while they are actively shelving your interest group and setting up a tax shelter for your rival to outcompete you. So, yes, activism can get “oppressive”, but I think it’s the captured activism, manipulated by control groups who actually try to speak for their rivals without actually talking to them. That’s how cable news keeps the division wedges going like a soap opera in it’s 18th season. That’s why cable never ends any conflict.
Activism vs captured activism is a great distinction Sheila!
Cable news is one of the many tools to keep mass mind enslavement and psychic control. You're making good points about the devolution of genuine activism into conspiracy thinking and paranoid politics. Lots of food for thought here. Thank you Sheila for bringing it!
Trans activists have denied biological reality and erased women ‘pregnant people’ uterus havers etc. this is not a good direction. It’s profoundly mysogynistic at is core. As are ‘transwomen’ (men) in women’s sports.
Dear Nathalie Martinek:
You are in a difficult position. These are difficult questions, requiring time and hard work to answer. You don't have time. I began in 1970, when I was 15 years old. I did not want my brother, who I loved, to die in Vietnam. There were kids who became activists. They smoked dope, read about radicalism in books, by Arendt, and Hoffman. Kids were speaking out. They were beaten and shot. For example, I spoke out against the coach one day when he wanted to paddle me. Corporal punishment eventually went away, because of my efforts. To my shock, this coach transferred to HS with me! I was hit one day on the court by footballers, and put in the hospital. I did not know why then the coach had left the room. He set me up. This is an example of oppression by the State on the activists.
Here is something I recently learned. If there was a gun to your head, and someone was going to blow your brains out, you would not know you were going to die. I paid attention to bullying in school. This girl in 8th grade had funny hair, and other girls put smashed cheese puffs, or something, in her hair. I felt so sorry for her. She did not know what was happening. The buffalo in the 1800's did not know they were being killed. Neither did the Jews in Europe in 1940. Now we have so-called climate change. People will die in large numbers, because the State is setting us up. They are setting us up!
Your feelings mean nothing, Ms Martinek. When I was in Iraq helping the Army in 2004, I felt someone breathing down my neck. Later I learned who it was, and what they would do to me if I was captured. The State, Bill Gates, is ready to cut your head off, Ms. Martinek. They don't care how you feel. In fact, they will cry crocodile tears as they do it. Listen to Liz Cheney recently?
We are in serious trouble. Jesus Christ is the One I read/ think the most about these days. I pray for you, Ms Martinek. Its not fair what is happening to you.
The answer to your question is "Yes."
JK
This a generous response Penny - thank you!
I feel sad that activism has been usurped by violent Social Injustice Warriors who haven't found healthier outlets for their own betrayal trauma.
I also appreciate what you see as resistance. It was a time before that those on the left resisting structural inequality have embedded practices that has undermined any legitimate grievance and turned them into the new oppressors.
I'm going to keep thinking about your definition of liberation vs freedom from. Thank you!