The Monday Quotable
needed inspiration for what’s to come
I had originally planned on doing a substantially different theme for this edition of the Monday quotable. Then Saturday happened. And somehow raunchy, sex based quotes just didn’t have the same resonance.
I’m not going to deconstruct what happened in Charlottesville, as much has been said already, but I will recommend that you read the article below by writer Mirah Curzer. With typical sage insight, she offers an exacting and on-point critique of both the event, and what we need to do now.
For me, the take away from this event is a need for belief to manifest as action. If we are truly allies, if we believe in human rights, and if we hold a vision for a future that is inclusive, diverse, and peaceful, then we need to act. Simply believing in an ideology or supporting certain philosophical tenets is not enough. After what happened this weekend in Charlottesville, your continued silence will be deafening, and it will speak volumes.
We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.
~ Elie Wiesel
We all have things we can do. Focus on what you do best, and get involved on a community level. Not everyone has to protest in the streets, there are other ways to actively show your support.
For myself, I am showing my support and dedication to the resistance by organizing a medic team that will be on hand during planned protests and rallies. While traditional and locally paid EMS units have ultimate jurisdiction and transport authority over medical emergencies, their assessment and treatment is often delayed due to access issues. If the situation is violent or has a reasonable threat of violence, EMS teams will always wait for police backup before assisting, potentially causing critical delays in serious emergencies.
That is where we come in. A group of four paramedics (myself included) and two RN’s met yesterday in a Cabbagetown coffee shop to narrow down the logistics of creating a team to provide emergency medical treatment during protests and events. In real time, on the scene, as it happens. We are in the beginning stages and much needs to be done, but we turned our commitment to anti-racism and the principles of inclusion, into action.
I think this quote by feminist and poet Audre Lorde is appropriate here.
When I use my strength in the service of my vision it makes no difference whether or not I am afraid.
~ Audre Lorde
To the people I know, read, and interact with on Medium: We are diverse, talented, and accepting people. We can all do something to help and show our support in the fight against bigotry, exclusion, and hate. Yes, it is scary and overwhelming, but I think we are past the tipping point here. What are you going to do? I’d love for you to tell us in a response.
Though to close, I want to share a quote that I think is instructive for anyone, but particularly instructive for while people who have good intentions and plan to participate in what I will broadly call human rights activism. It’s another quote from Audre Lorde …
The master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house.
To give that quote its full and appropriate context, the words came from a response letter Lorde wrote after being asked to speak on an academic panel at a feminist conference. The letter critiqued both the lack of inclusion on the panel, and the methods used to recruit women of color, all of which amounted to classic tokenism. From her letter:
“survival is not an academic skill. It is learning how to stand alone, unpopular and sometimes reviled, and how to make common cause with those others identified as outside the structures in order to define and seek a world in which we can all flourish. It is learning how to take our differences and make them strengths. For the master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house. They may allow us temporarily to beat him at his own game, but they will never enable us to bring about genuine change. And this fact is only threatening to those women who still define the master’s house as their only source of support.”
In the fight against racism, white nationalism, fundamentalist Christianity, et al I think it is vital we remember Lorde’s words. We need to ask ourselves what it means when the tools of a racist patriarchy are used to examine, understand, and fight against it. And if that is our only analysis and response, as Lorde said, it means only the most narrow perimeters of change are possible and allowable.
So … the take away, in a nutshell, and in the context it applies here, is that we need to move forward carefully, intentionally, and mindfully. We need to get it right. The movement to push back against intolerance and the denial of civil liberties, must be a visionary example of what it is we are fighting for. If you are an ally to marginalized groups, the way to do that is by not recreating those oppressive structures. Many times that will mean listening when you think you should speak, and offering deference to those you are advocating for. It is their movement, so let them lead.
In the translated words of Eastern European revolutionary movements:
Nothing About Us Without Us
Please share your quotes that inspire and resonate on the issue of human rights, anti-racism, activism, or the progressive fight for change:
- Quotes can be either in traditional response form at the end of the piece, or submitted as an original piece to C(G).
- If you are not a current C(G) writer but would like to submit an original piece, no problem. Just leave a response to the post asking to be added as a writer and we’ll get you all set up.
- All submissions will be published in the new quotes section on the homepage of the site, accessible from the navigation menu.
While I welcome anyone who wishes to participate to respond or submit, I’m specifically tagging individuals who have been included in previous prompts both for C(G) and other publications. If you wish to be included, please leave a response below. If you don’t wish to be included in this prompt, just let me know in a private note or email, and I’ll remove you immediately.
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In 2006 Allan left a career as a flight paramedic to obtain his MFA in creative nonfiction. Today he is a qualitative public health researcher exploring intersections of HIV, PTSD, and stigma using a narrative focused model of inquiry. The managing editor for Special Editions at daCunha, and the creator and editorial director of Crossin(G)enres, Starbucks, satire, and stray dogs do not displease him.
