I was really engaged in John’s talk and I did go back and listen to it again. Even though I’m late posting this, I’m glad for this push that forces me to form my thoughts! One thing that I’ve been thinking about a lot was when John reminded us that people should not HAVE to learn resilience. I’ve been working on a painting that came largely out of my coming to understand and admire the resilience of the Palestinian people, and their deep connection to their land. Their determination to stay, to resist, and surprisingly to dedicate so much of this resistance to creative and nonviolent forms, leaves me in awe. So while on the one hand we can admire their beautiful acts of resistance and resilience, it should also break our hearts, because these very things are a witness to all they have endured.
I used to hear the phrase “kids are so resilient” a lot, though I think perhaps it was more popular in the 90’s and I am thankful I don’t hear it much now. Now that we have children through adoption,that phrase sounds even more ridiculous. We know that this resilience isn’t so much a full recovery back to normal, but survival techniques built into the human psyche that are activated by hardships. We can thank God that He built this “resilience” into us, that enables us to survive so much trauma, but the long term consequences without healing are huge: the nervous system is on high alert, stress is building up in the body causing all kinds of chaos, and eventually, unless a person is able to revisit and process these traumas and form new neural pathways, the resilience can kill.
What did I discover about the role of resistance and resilience in dismantling institutional racism?
- I am reminded that my teachers of resilience and resistance are the marginalized, the ones suffering the most violence (and institutional racism), and I should look to them (as John said, reading is a way; listening) to learn
- I will probably never develop resilience as deep as these teachers because I will not truly be the target of this violence or racism, and I may get tired more easily…
- Beholding someone’s resilience/resistance can be a measure of the violence they have endured AND remind us of their inherent dignity as imago dei.
- It led me to think about Jesus, whom God chose to “make perfect through suffering” and considering this for the injustice that it was. But what a mystery that God does choose to right the wrongs by creating beauty out of suffering…
Now I am thinking of one of my favorite examples of the beauty of resistance/resilience: Vedran Smailović, also known as the cellist of Sarajevo. Or Tiananmen Square. It enabled the people suffering under attack to remember their own humanity, and gather strength to resist and to continue on. These examples teach me, and push me forward, too.
1 comment
Katie,
That statement that people should not have to learn resilience struck me deeply also. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. As we head to the immersion trip I will hold on to what you said about beholding someone’s resistance/resilience and seeing it not only as a “measure of the violence they have endured” but to also see them as God’s beloved.