oh jeez do I ever know! I find, for me, focusing less on my anger for the people causing the hurt and more on the love and care I want to show to folks who are on the receiving end is a helpful start, often.
Sometimes the only thing I can do in the face of violence and despair is to go to bed whispering that all life is precious and then get up in the morning willing to keep believing it. Thank you for this, I needed it.
Oh man, the way that I was fatigued from discourse over this before it even began. Not since the last election have I been so preemptively tired of online discourse (both a short and a long time ago which is how everything feels now!). This is nothing against your piece of course, which I was looking forward to reading as soon as all this occurred. But it feels like a lot of yelling will be done in the usual echo chambers and nothing meaningful will be done because those in power benefit from an environment of fear, even if it picks off a few of their own from time to time. Since, as individuals, they still see themselves as immune due to hubris, as I’m sure Kirk himself did. The only good thing I can see maybe coming from this is that those people might realize they are not actually immune and have to mind the masses after all. But why would you even believe that when you’re so insulated from consequences in every other aspect of your life?
I just feel so much dread about the next unwell person with a gun trying to do a retribution killing over this. I am always thinking about parallels to the 1960s these days, and this feels a bit like one of those high profile murders to me in how it is contributing to a general feeling of helpless unrest (maybe more like a George Wallace moment so I guess the extended tail of the 60s).
But mostly I find myself thinking about how everyone is trapped in really poor information ecosystems right now. And those information ecosystems, many of which are really toxic, dangerous places, are part of why this keeps happening. I wish there was a way to break those up, and I don’t know how.
Gretchen, yes! 100%! I wrote this yesterday in part thinking "Garrett, if you write the little things that have been on your mind down, then you can ignore the flood of discourse that's about to be flooded on us" but I haven't been perfect at ignoring it and, sure enough, I am exhausted!
There is a lovely metaphor that is used every Friday nite in most American Jewish homes to teach children the importance of valuing life and respect. 3 short blessings begin the Sabbath meal. The bread, aka challah, is the third and remains covered until its turn. The message is: we don't want it to feel bad about being last. If we care so much about its feelings, how could we care less about making sure it and every living thing stays alive and healthy? More than ever we need to focus on the sanctity of life all life.
Garrett you know I'm writing here as a kindred spirit in this quest to jolt us out of our disconnection. And yet what I'm strugling with most today is how painful it is to watch how much airtime and effortless coverage a white supremacist's shooting gets compared to the shootings of so many black and brown folks who die under the same conditions.
It's particularly hard to watch the juxtaposition of all the hot takes on this particular shooting compared to threes years of Palestinians literally having to scream into the void of the internet, documenting *their own genocide* while their journalists get systemically killed one after the other the world stayed mostly silent.
We have to name the inequity of coverage of white lives vs black and brown lives here. Coverage is not equal, and what does that say about whose lives we value enough to write about?
Agree with every single word of this Sara and so glad for you to lay it out so explicitly (but also am so sorry for how, at moments like this, we get one more reminder we didn't need of whose story/pain/grief is valued and whose aren't.
Always a really good point and also- our country’s obsession with guns is one big way that our world does not love life, but it is far from the only factor at play.
I’m realizing upon reflection that my comment was not very thoughtful. Because obviously, it is hard or else we would have solved it by now ?
As an immigrant ( from France) who loves this country ( been here more than half my life now) I can get pretty irritated and judgy about Americans calling America the world and how passive Americans can be about things that matter. Clearly a deep breath would have been a better choice here as I know you are one of the people who works actively to dismantle these things.
The lesson that people are failing to learn is that it is delusional to believe you can control the outrage and violence you incite in people. Just because we call them followers in a digital sense does not mean they are literal followers whom you can command.
Amen. But oh, what a challenge it is to not feed the unkind feelings lurking in my soul right now. Thanks for your essay. It helps.
oh jeez do I ever know! I find, for me, focusing less on my anger for the people causing the hurt and more on the love and care I want to show to folks who are on the receiving end is a helpful start, often.
Sometimes the only thing I can do in the face of violence and despair is to go to bed whispering that all life is precious and then get up in the morning willing to keep believing it. Thank you for this, I needed it.
that's a beautiful grief ritual
Oh man, the way that I was fatigued from discourse over this before it even began. Not since the last election have I been so preemptively tired of online discourse (both a short and a long time ago which is how everything feels now!). This is nothing against your piece of course, which I was looking forward to reading as soon as all this occurred. But it feels like a lot of yelling will be done in the usual echo chambers and nothing meaningful will be done because those in power benefit from an environment of fear, even if it picks off a few of their own from time to time. Since, as individuals, they still see themselves as immune due to hubris, as I’m sure Kirk himself did. The only good thing I can see maybe coming from this is that those people might realize they are not actually immune and have to mind the masses after all. But why would you even believe that when you’re so insulated from consequences in every other aspect of your life?
I just feel so much dread about the next unwell person with a gun trying to do a retribution killing over this. I am always thinking about parallels to the 1960s these days, and this feels a bit like one of those high profile murders to me in how it is contributing to a general feeling of helpless unrest (maybe more like a George Wallace moment so I guess the extended tail of the 60s).
But mostly I find myself thinking about how everyone is trapped in really poor information ecosystems right now. And those information ecosystems, many of which are really toxic, dangerous places, are part of why this keeps happening. I wish there was a way to break those up, and I don’t know how.
Gretchen, yes! 100%! I wrote this yesterday in part thinking "Garrett, if you write the little things that have been on your mind down, then you can ignore the flood of discourse that's about to be flooded on us" but I haven't been perfect at ignoring it and, sure enough, I am exhausted!
There is a lovely metaphor that is used every Friday nite in most American Jewish homes to teach children the importance of valuing life and respect. 3 short blessings begin the Sabbath meal. The bread, aka challah, is the third and remains covered until its turn. The message is: we don't want it to feel bad about being last. If we care so much about its feelings, how could we care less about making sure it and every living thing stays alive and healthy? More than ever we need to focus on the sanctity of life all life.
A truly lovely metaphor, indeed, Gail.
Garrett you know I'm writing here as a kindred spirit in this quest to jolt us out of our disconnection. And yet what I'm strugling with most today is how painful it is to watch how much airtime and effortless coverage a white supremacist's shooting gets compared to the shootings of so many black and brown folks who die under the same conditions.
It's particularly hard to watch the juxtaposition of all the hot takes on this particular shooting compared to threes years of Palestinians literally having to scream into the void of the internet, documenting *their own genocide* while their journalists get systemically killed one after the other the world stayed mostly silent.
We have to name the inequity of coverage of white lives vs black and brown lives here. Coverage is not equal, and what does that say about whose lives we value enough to write about?
Agree with every single word of this Sara and so glad for you to lay it out so explicitly (but also am so sorry for how, at moments like this, we get one more reminder we didn't need of whose story/pain/grief is valued and whose aren't.
Thank you for this, Garrett.
Thanks Amara!
Beautiful, perfect. Thank you.
Thank you.
Yes. Sad times.
And too many of them.
James Talarico said it really well.
https://share.google/Nsf66Sujp7Hf3rPhu
Yes to this. Thank you, Garrett.
Garrett — thank you. I was feeling lost. I really appreciate your words.
Thank you for this. And to be fair, yes the world, but not the whole world. Gun control is not that hard. Our country is just insane right now.
Always a really good point and also- our country’s obsession with guns is one big way that our world does not love life, but it is far from the only factor at play.
I’m realizing upon reflection that my comment was not very thoughtful. Because obviously, it is hard or else we would have solved it by now ?
As an immigrant ( from France) who loves this country ( been here more than half my life now) I can get pretty irritated and judgy about Americans calling America the world and how passive Americans can be about things that matter. Clearly a deep breath would have been a better choice here as I know you are one of the people who works actively to dismantle these things.
Live and learn and thank you for your grace.
Gah I typed an apology comment for this not very well thought out reactive comment and then pushed a wrong button and deleted accidentally.
Next time I’ll take a deep breath and check my irritation at the door. Obviously, it is a hard problem or else we would have solved it by now.
Thanks for your grace, Garrett !
The lesson that people are failing to learn is that it is delusional to believe you can control the outrage and violence you incite in people. Just because we call them followers in a digital sense does not mean they are literal followers whom you can command.