Reflections on Revolution

Hola mi gente,
I attended a coalition meeting this past Saturday and it compelled me to write to short pieces. One I posted yesterday and this one -- a reflection.

I can’t stay quiet and I abhor when conscious communities stop questioning assumptions. 

It is our duty to fight for our freedom. It is our duty to win. We must love each other and support each other. We have nothing to lose but our chains.
 -- Assata Shakur, An Autobiography

The following is a work in progress. Assata’s words bring to mind what I call conscious radicalism. A method of inquiry and practice that questions everything and takes nothing on face value.

It is our duty to fight for freedom…

It’s winter in America, as brother Gil Scott Heron noted. But there’s a new resistance here… 

Rather than passively accept second class status, movements for the liberation of people of color (and our white allies) are defining, resisting, and rising against white supremacy and its many tentacles that have been choking our people for centuries. Unfortunately, I might add (fuck it, I’m keeping it real), some social justice organizations have become part of those tentacles. This newer resistance, however, composed mostly of young black and brown people, is involved in the struggle to be free from subjugation, oppression, and domination. Its pursuit is the manifestation of a truly just, sustainable, and equitable society.

It is our duty to win…

The sheer weight of the task of unravelling a massive social habit of and addiction to violence and injustice cannot be underestimated. It comes with the convenient amnesia about historic transgressions of such enormity it overwhelms the mind. It proves daunting at the least, stunningly and increasingly destructive on mental, physical, material, and psycho-spiritual levels. Even as the effort is meant to liberate, its current methodology was for the most part forged within the same construct it seeks to undermine: competition at the cost of collaboration, power over equality.

We must love each other and support each other…

I am no longer surprised to the degree of chauvinism in the nonprofit sector when it comes to self-care. We work long hours with little pay. The boundaries between our personal lives and mission-related work have become blurred or have ceased to exist at all. In fact, I have observed many within the social justice field take pride in how much they can do without. I get it, this is hard work, and much of my personal mission is closely tied to my collective endeavors. I understand how easy it is to be obliterated in all the mess. But this serves no real purpose. 

Keeping it 100, this is a reflection of the oppressive forces under which we labor. We mirror the same power dynamics of the larger dominant society. We earn little, work long hours, and have even less to show after decades of doing this work. How is that justice? If this set of circumstances was being played out by corporate interests, we would be (rightfully) outraged. Yet we do it to ourselves. We adopt the same oppressive hierarchies that keep us down and then we expect change. We run our organizations and our movements just like corporations and we inflict the same harm, with just a few reaping even a decent living.

Yet I do see a change coming. I see young people seeking a different form of consensus or at least attempting to define a consensus that is truly equitable. Liberation can only come about through love and until we do away the master’s tools, we will continue to flounder. For too long our methodologies have been forged within the crucible of the dominant mindset of colonization, capitalism as religion, corporations as demigods, domination of people and planet, zero-sum mentality, rape and plunder as spoils of victory, human and natural resources taken as objects of subjugation to the very few privileged -- the one percent.

I am taken aback to how easily we fit into our internalized oppression. Even when we are conscious of how the structures we resist can manifest in our work: suppression, depression, martyrdom, and simply taking the abuse until there is no room left in our bodies to contain all that destruction. Eventually, it turns inward and, like the disease that it is, eats at us from the inside-out. Without the habit of questioning our most cherished assumptions, and the practices of self-awareness, and undoing vicarious trauma -- in other words, without love -- the degree of suffering we will unwittingly bring upon ourselves will be too much.

We have nothing to lose but our chains…

Conscious radicalism is about bringing a focus and a method of inquiry that keeps us aligned with our missions. In the final analysis, this movement isn’t about a particular legislation, incremental or revolutionary change, a particular jail closing, or even mass incarceration. This is not about subject and object, practitioner and observer. This is about liberation. A liberation that is both personal and collective. It is not about branding, or taking photos with people in power, or sidling up to the symbols of our oppression. It’s about leadership predicated on the models passed down to us by our ancestors, who have been resisting for centuries. This isn’t about seven effective habits, positive thinking, or prosperity gospel. This is about love in the service of true freedom.

We all bear the scars and wounds of this struggle. Therefore, when we bear witness to this suffering writ large, we also bear witness to the wisdom of liberation from that suffering. And we bear it together.

My name is Eddie and I’m in recovery from civilization… 

Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it, please consider helping me out by sharing it, liking me on Facebook, following me on Twitter, or even throwing me some money on GoFundMe HERE or via PayPal HERE so I can keep calling it like I see it.

Why I Write

Hola mi Gente,
Having attempted to facilitate groups at Rikers Island, I am of the firm conviction that Rikers cannot be reformed. It needs to come down. Period. Not that I ever thought it could be fixed, but this experience just nails it for me.

Oh yeah, my thoughts and opinions do not reflect on my the positions of my employer… 

Lineages

All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible.
-- Thomas E. Lawrence

I am a radical progressive descended from a long line of radical progressives. I stand proud on this heritage because my lineage has a long and legendary history. Its narrative is driven by the progressive principles of freedom, equality, dignidad (human dignity), and the celebration of diversity, and by the immovable conviction that our common wealth should be used for the common good. Our species’ greatest moments occurred when these values prevailed. I write so that these principles may endure.

I write because voting isn’t enough.

Whoa! You might say. Whadaya mean voting isn’t enough, Eddie?!

I mean exactly that. Voting is may seem important, but my ancestors and mentors taught me long ago that freedom isn’t guaranteed. Nothing can guarantee your freedoms. The Constitution isn’t worth the paper it’s written on if you’re not actively engaged in the liberation process. Voting every four years for the lesser of two evils will not ensure your freedom. It will only ensure evil. The principles I adhere to can only be attained through action -- participation.

My lineage has shown this to be true throughout the ages. My ancestors are those that have stood to speak truth to power throughout the ages. 

These principles do not belong to particular nation or political party. They belong to no race, class, or gender. They certainly do not mirror some bullshit red state/ blue state dichotomy. I write today to remind myself that it has been the progressive principles that have always elevated us to a higher moral position. And today I look back in the hope that we can leave our children with a better future.

My lineage has included of some of the greatest men and women, people who were able to articulate and act upon these principles. They were the ones who gave relevance to a Constitution that was founded on slavery and inequality through the courage of their convictions. The legacy of my lineage is my proudest heritage. It humbles me. I write so that I, too, may act on my deepest convictions.

The greats of my lineage have been common people. First, there were revolutionaries. Revolutionaries who dared dream with their eyes open who inspired later revolutionaries in Europe and later in the colonies of the so-called New World. My lineage includes proud First Nation peoples, who were here before any of us, whose methods of governance inspired the so-called founders of the United States.

My lineage includes the abolitionists, like Frederick Douglass, John Brown, and Harriet Tubman, who insisted that no democracy could respectfully call itself one so long as slavery endured. My lineage includes the suffragists, like Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who fought to expand our understanding of equality and won for women the right to vote.

There are many others. The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks who marched for tolerance and inspired a nation and a world to celebrate diversity. My fathers include people such as Malcolm X and Albizu Campos, both of whom who spoke eloquently of action and of “taking our freedom,” and both of whom paid with their lives for articulating such a vision. Mother Jones, Cesar Chavez, the Yong Lords and the Black Panthers, and Sojourner Truth -- all living at different times -- all championing the inalienable dignity of all human beings.

I write because the beliefs, the convictions, the values that inspired my lineage can inspire us today. While it is true the issues we face today are different, the guiding principles remain.

Our most significant challenge today is the dark cloud of global authoritarianism that hangs over us, making it almost impossible to address issues without major political change. The neoliberal project has taken over the reins of government for too long and has been controlling the terms of debate for far too many years. For real change to happen, the progressive ideals of my lineage must be brought back to the center of our revolutionary actions. This will be neither quick nor easy and I despair that it will ever happen because too many of us are content with the crumbs of the 1%.

However, if you believe in the progressive principles of freedom, equality, human dignity, tolerance, and the celebration of diversity, then this is also your lineage -- your heritage. It leaves us with the clear realization that it is up to us to create a greater future for our children and to save this world. As one of the Fathers of my lineage, Frantz Fanon, said, “Each generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfill it, or betray it.”

My name is Eddie and I’m in recovery from civilization… 

Fundamentalism

Hola mi Gente,

In the wake more terrorist attacks in Brussels, the din calling for more blood and vengeance is hard to countenance.

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Sculpture: "Fundamentalism" by Jens Galschiot

That Old Time Hand-Me-Down Religion

Man is the only animal that has the True Religion – several of them. He is the only animal that loves his neighbor as himself, and cuts his throat if his ideology isn’t straight.

 -- Mark Twain

What I find interesting about “holy rollers” is that it always comes down to this: I’m going to hell in a hand basket for daring to challenge their beliefs. Recently, someone actually commented that, for my sake, I had better be right, because (presumably) God is gonna have his vengeance on my blaspheming ass! It has been my experience that “true believers”(and I include radical atheists in this group) are more interested in defending dogma rather than actually living. If you’re a Christian and you find glee in the fact that your God will sentence me to a hereafter of eternal damnation, then what kind of person are you? 

Beliefs can be a ma’fucca sometimes… SMDH

As a matter of habit, I do a “belief spring cleaning” at least once a year. What I mean is that I regularly taken an inventory of my beliefs and dump the ones that have no real foundation. Now, this is no easy feat. Over the years, I have had to throw away some really cherished beliefs.

One such belief was my belief in me! I used to believe that “Eddie” existed, but when I sat down to look for “Eddie,” I couldn’t find him. What I found instead, when I looked closely while suspending my belief, was an on-going process – a series of beliefs –which I managed to cobble together to create this entity we’ve all agreed to call “Eddie” (and some other choice names). In fact, what I found was an amalgam of defense mechanisms, beliefs, fears, and personality quirks, that if you ran it really fast, looked like what I perceive as my personality -- or “Eddie.” It’s a lot like a film. A film gives the viewer the illusion of movement and substance because the individual frames move at a very fast rate through the projector.

But when I sat down and slowed down, suspended my belief system, what I saw wasn’t “Eddie,” but a bunch of different components that added up to what I call “Eddie.” At first that was a fucked up revelation. How could it be that I don’t exist?! I must be going insane, I thought to myself, so I began to do some research. After all, I was very much attached to the “Eddie” I had created.

But nowhere could I find the basis of Eddie. The brain/ mind has no specific function that creates “Eddie.” There’s no central processing area in the brain responsible for “Eddie.” It’s all made up! At first, this was a very scary revelation. I mean, how will “Eddie” go to heaven if there is no “Eddie”? But then, upon further reflection, I realized that this kinda/ sorta liberated me. I mean, if “Eddie” was something I made up as a way to cope with life, then that meant I didn’t have to defend myself as much. “Eddie” was a story I made up in order to explain shit, but it wasn’t really who I was. Sure, I use “Eddie” for stuff like paying the rent, crossing the street, and trying to get into your pants, but “Eddie” is still just a story, a movie I made up.

And that’s how I lost “Eddie.” Or my belief in it.

Another belief I lost early on was the hand-me-down belief in a patriarchal God that lived in the sky somewhere and who either punished or rewarded according to behavior. That one was a lot easier than losing “Eddie.” I realized very early on that belief in a Divine Hierarchy that needed to be prayed to in order to curry favor was pretty much juvenile. And that shit about the world being created in seven days? Yeah right! And why God gotta be a man?! What’s up with that? What I came to experience and realize was that we’re all partly composed of the stardust ( the Divine Spark?), that God isn’t somewhere out there, but here inside of me (and everyone else). And some day, even that belief will be discarded.

Any hand-me-down belief system is a subtle appeal to your deepest fears and longings. It’s like a parasite that wraps itself around your mind – almost like a demonic possession. And this is why fundamentalism is so dangerous. Facts or logic will only make true believers hold on tighter to their beliefs. Borrowed and deeply held belief systems came make you strap on a bomb and make the ultimate sacrifice.

Don’t get me wrong, most belief systems contain important truths, questions, and sometimes even answers. Yet, at a very deep level, they are not your truths, questions, or answers. An unquestioned belief system is like eating cotton candy, it only masks the real hunger we have for spiritual fulfillment. This basic human hunger can only be satisfied by our own efforts, by the planting and cultivation of our questions, by the harvesting of our own answers, and by coming to our own truths. Only then will you learn to live consciously, mindfully, and truly become alive. Blind faith, on the other hand, is, well, blind.

Hand-me-down beliefs are a lot like easy spiritual junk-food handouts offered to us by outdated belief systems and thought constellations that keep us spiritually dependent, rendering us incapable of fending for ourselves, incapable of becoming who we really are. If we, in our thirst for spirituality, agree to drink the Kool-Aid of guilt, shame, and fear, we will live as zombies – dead from the neck up.

The way I see it, most belief systems are the rotted remains of what one person did in deliberation and mindfulness for themselves. Will you be content to live on the rotted meat of their long-lost labors?

The unexamined life is a second-hand life. It is second hand because it is dependent on other things for meaning. Take away the hand-me-down beliefs and what do you have? A life lived consciously and with intention is meaningful because it is the examination and personal exploration that gives it meaning and grants dignity. Do you really believe in or want off-the-shelf, one-size fits-all truths, or are you going to find your own? The choice has always been ours. The crisis we face today is rooted in this very question.

My name is Eddie and I’m in recovery from civilization… 

Our Deepest Fear

Hola mi Gente,

I used to have a printed/ framed version of the following in my office. Sometimes I re-post it -- especially during times when I need to be reminded of its truth…

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Our Greatest Fear

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

from A Return to Love by Marianne Williamson

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My name is Eddie and I’m in recovery from civilization…