There was an incident in some of my activism work this month that demonstrates some of the challenges from this week’s materials. A group that I have worked with was using materials and social media posts claiming that there were only 9 victims of the Boulder mass shooting that happened last month. The reality is that 10 people were shot and killed, one of them a police officer.
Everyone here will not be surprised that I am an active supporter of police abolition, however, I split with this group on this issue. I feel strongly that I can see the racism and damage of an organization, while also holding the humanity of those involved. This group was trying to strip that police officer of his humanity because he was part of a system of domination that has done incredible damage to their communities. If we are willing to do that, doesn’t that make us become exactly like the system we are fighting against?
In the interview, Keating commented, “anger has not served me; when I put anger out, I get anger back.” I fear that these extreme and hate-filled responses are part of the perpetuation of systemic oppression, not a solution. As a white, cis, documented citizen, I have chosen to listen to the voices of those who are most impacted by the “-isms.” However, I am learning to draw the lines I won’t cross in love. The internalization that Miller and Stack address of things like misogyny and homophobia are based in hatred. We have a culture that teaches us to not only hate others, but to also hate ourselves. Why? I suspect that Keating hit close to the answer in discussing how we all “suffer from fear of separation” and have a deep “longing for reconciliation.”
In witnessing atrocities and living in a system that fosters such hatred, it seems to me a true act of resistance is to continually center love. As Rosas commented, this is a conclusion that comes from me “listening to life.” Perhaps it is part of Keating’s “visionary pragmatism.” Much like Anzaldúa says, I “try to integrate the experiences I’ve had or have been witness to and try to make some sense of why we do violence to each other...I’m trying to create a religion not out there somewhere, but in my gut...I am trying to make peace between what has happened to me, what the world is, and what should be.” (Keating, p.60)
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