Increasingly for me, "there" is simply the other person with whom I am in contact, an immediate place beyond my own head. It is more or less real, depending on my honesty and that of the other persons in the space. I would say that that space is not necessarily social or political in any broad sense. Still, these are "there" spaces in which I have some agency, unlike all those spaces that determine the context of those singular spaces: do the people in them have jobs, health care, are they experiencing justice, etc. I fear that this limitation of "there" to my local contacts is an abrogation of my Kantian responsibility to a perhaps now mythical broader social "there" to which I *feel* I should belong, but to which I no longer have any meaningful access.
I immediately shared this with my husband who, more than anyone I know, embraces the ethos of cultivating "thereness" for himself and others. He has, for years, coordinated and sustained and refused to be too precious about-- except to prioritize accessibility-- a successful, local comedy and music open mic.
I, on the other hand, have a lot to chew on re: my own attitudes toward social media. I do recognize a tendency to shoehorn my way into connections with others on social media when I've done nothing to build trust or "do my time" with humility. Because social media disincentivizes that kind of deliberateness and intentionality and nuance
This is a bitter pill for me, in some ways, because I spent so much of my childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood (all before social media) feeling isolated, lonely, and misunderstood. So it's like, Back to that, I guess. I have to remind myself that social media didn't truly remedy this either, though.
Thanks for this. Does the ‘therelessness’ of social media have something to do with the (American?) use of ‘community’ to mean ‘people who are identical in one respect’? Polish on!
Now that the State has been purchased by oligarchs, it is off limits to the rest of us. Our only agency can be at the local level, in face to face interactions that humanize us. Thank you for pointing this out.
Local is definitely where it’s at, in terms of political organizing and participation. But I do want to point out that, at the national level, protest — in all its forms — is still very important, and still a way to compromise the oligarchs. Thanks so much for reading!
Knowing you and knowing your home, I imagined "while I was polishing silver" occurring with a soupçon of griping and oodles of characteristically Patrick dry bile, so yes, antifascistly (-ey? Ly feels like it sticks in my throat. Let's not even entertain -lie. Or should we.).
Increasingly for me, "there" is simply the other person with whom I am in contact, an immediate place beyond my own head. It is more or less real, depending on my honesty and that of the other persons in the space. I would say that that space is not necessarily social or political in any broad sense. Still, these are "there" spaces in which I have some agency, unlike all those spaces that determine the context of those singular spaces: do the people in them have jobs, health care, are they experiencing justice, etc. I fear that this limitation of "there" to my local contacts is an abrogation of my Kantian responsibility to a perhaps now mythical broader social "there" to which I *feel* I should belong, but to which I no longer have any meaningful access.
Thank you. I deeply appreciate you and your writing. This missive went straight to my anxiety ridden soul like a wise, warm balm.
I’m so glad. Thank you for reading!
Incisive as always - many thanks!
I immediately shared this with my husband who, more than anyone I know, embraces the ethos of cultivating "thereness" for himself and others. He has, for years, coordinated and sustained and refused to be too precious about-- except to prioritize accessibility-- a successful, local comedy and music open mic.
I, on the other hand, have a lot to chew on re: my own attitudes toward social media. I do recognize a tendency to shoehorn my way into connections with others on social media when I've done nothing to build trust or "do my time" with humility. Because social media disincentivizes that kind of deliberateness and intentionality and nuance
This is a bitter pill for me, in some ways, because I spent so much of my childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood (all before social media) feeling isolated, lonely, and misunderstood. So it's like, Back to that, I guess. I have to remind myself that social media didn't truly remedy this either, though.
Thanks for this. Does the ‘therelessness’ of social media have something to do with the (American?) use of ‘community’ to mean ‘people who are identical in one respect’? Polish on!
Now that the State has been purchased by oligarchs, it is off limits to the rest of us. Our only agency can be at the local level, in face to face interactions that humanize us. Thank you for pointing this out.
Local is definitely where it’s at, in terms of political organizing and participation. But I do want to point out that, at the national level, protest — in all its forms — is still very important, and still a way to compromise the oligarchs. Thanks so much for reading!
Knowing you and knowing your home, I imagined "while I was polishing silver" occurring with a soupçon of griping and oodles of characteristically Patrick dry bile, so yes, antifascistly (-ey? Ly feels like it sticks in my throat. Let's not even entertain -lie. Or should we.).
You know it well <3