By Wu Chen Khoo
I hope you are all well and safe, not just in this time and place, but across time and place. I say this because I know that for many of you, even if you are safe in this time and place of reading, it is all too easy to know of times and places when you will not be safe or well.
As the pandemic of SARS-2 (that causes the illness known as COVID-19) ravages humans across the globe, we find ourselves in a very peculiar vantage point: just as the clouds of smog have lifted from human cities in mere weeks, so too have the veils that lay across the machinations of the forces that claim to guide us, protect us, serve us been lifted away.
In the past few weeks, in the past few hours, many times has the phrase “there is nothing new here” been uttered. And while it is true, it also does not reflect the reality that the stripping away from the veil is new, and for many of us, it is jarring and terrifying. Now, it feels like there is nowhere to hide, nowhere to rest. The constant uncertainty and the relentless din of our colliding lives and worlds is exhausting.
But you know what?
Those few who have sought to enrich themselves at the expense of the many many wonderful people of the world, and their cronies who protect the unjust power structures built to serve these same few also have nowhere to hide, nowhere to rest. As they offer ridiculous morsels to try to distract us, they reveal how terrified they are that we will see what is now in plain sight.
We can see plainly now that armed militia whose claims can be boiled down to: my individual choices should outweigh the health and well-being of the entire public, are of no threat to the powers that be, whereas folks with nothing more than what few rocks, paint or their own voices calling for justice and healing in the face of ongoing, centuries old vile violent suppression, oppression and murder are to be shot, maimed and gassed.
We see plainly now that it is more important to hold profits and control over sharing knowledge and space that would lead to life-saving breakthroughs for the whole world.
We see plainly now that there are enough resources to feed us and educate us and free us from devastating debt. There are enough resources for all of us to live lives of dignity, of humanity, of justice. There is enough for us to share with our neighbors. There’s power in sharing with our neighbors.
We see plainly now that much of the narrative we are fed every day is nothing more than a hallucinogen, meant to keep us at each other’s throats, bickering and tearing each other down and apart instead of recognizing this world for what it is:
Ours. Ours to shape into a better world. A world of sharing, kindness and mutual aid and support. A world where we go up to someone we don’t know and offer to listen and support, not call The Authorities to remove them from our sight. A world where we all get to wear what we want, play with toys, sit on our cars and not get harassed, bullied, assaulted, shamed or killed.
This is a battle of ideas, and of stories.
Stories of hope, justice, Solidarity are at the core of all of those with whom we stand in solidarity. These are your stories. The stories of the people who live in this world, who live with this world. As is the hallmark of the East Side Freedom Library, we commit to continuing this work, of holding space for the difficult conversations that need to happen, of working with you to re-energize and re-distribute the tools needed to bring this work out into our communities, to build the networks of mutualism and collectivism needed to show, clearly, definitively, that THERE IS ANOTHER WAY.
We commit to continuing to ask questions – of those who presume to hold power over us, and of ourselves.
In the series All The Wrong Questions, Lemony Snicket writes, “No reality can dispel a dream.” Pertinently, All The Wrong Questions is about the titular character, working through an organization, attempting to make the world a better place. He is trying to do just that in one specific place, but things are going poorly because he (and everyone) is asking–well, you know.
I’ve been talking to my kids (aged five and three) a lot about state violence lately, as well as what constitutes justified violence in resisting oppression.
But mostly I’ve been talking to them a lot about conflict and conflict resolution. At our kids’ school, there’s a kid who apparently is always getting in trouble. We’ve talked a lot about how a good thing for them to do would be to reach out to the kid, to ask them what’s on their mind, what are they feeling, what tools do they need to process through whatever is bothering them. We love their teachers, but just calling the teacher whenever this kid hits or yells isn’t changing anything and just further alienates the kid in question and doesn’t help our kids build empathy, conflict management and love.
We don’t need The Authorities to sort out our problems.
And we commit to dreaming, ever dreaming. Cultures are built upon their stories. Worlds are built upon their cultures. A different world is possible. Let’s build it, one story at a time. Let’s build it together.
Wu Chen Khoo is a co-founder of the education and outreach program Technical Tools of the Trade, he is also a founding member of the Class & the Arts collective. He is a member of IATSE (International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees) Local 13.