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Denman Island Pottery Tour: Thalita Forray

We’re pleased to introduce Thalita Forray for the 2026 Denman Island Pottery Tour, happening this May 16th & 17th. For Thalita, pottery is about reconnecting with the sacredness of the everyday. Both in being mindful in its creation and its enjoyment.  Being present in ordinary moments like a sip of tea or a nourishing meal. Thalita began her  pottery journey in 2019 and joined us on Denman in 2021. She is looking forward to sharing her work with everyone — organic forms inspired by nature.

Drawn to the patterns that repeat across forest floors and ocean beds, her pieces reflect the quiet intelligence of the natural world; seed pods, fungi, lichen and forms that echo both land and sea. As a Magyar-Canadian artist, she brings her heritage into her craft: a deep appreciation for beauty that is also practical, and a belief that how a meal is presented is as important as the food itself. She is currently experimenting with her grandmother’s Hungarian folk art crochet patterns pressed into clay, and crafting her own glazes from foraged pigments and mud found close to home. She is excited to share her organic functional ware and sculptures. 

Come meet Thalita this May 16th & 17th and experience pottery where earth, memory, and nature converge.

 

 

The Voice of Hind Rajab

The Denman Island Palestine Solidarity Group will be hosting a screening of The Voice of Hind Rajab” on Sunday, May 24th at 2p.m. at the Denman Community Hall. This Academy Award nominated film tells of the last hours in the life of 5 -year -old Hind Rajab and her extended family as they try to evacuate from Gaza during the ongoing genocide.

The Grayzone reports that Israel, in an effort to counter international outrage, has created nine English language websites to sow misinformation to AI platforms such as Claude and ChatGPT. Clock Tower X maintains those websites, founded by former Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale, now a federally registered foreign agent.  The website Factsignal.org attempts to cast doubt upon the truth of Hind Rajabs story by raising alternative explanations” including the falsehood that the Rajab family was murdered by Palestinian resistance fighters. This film details the evidence of what actually happened to this civilian family, trapped in their car, and to the paramedics who attempted to rescue them.

Amid ongoing efforts to discredit Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Karim Khan, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court watching this film is a small act of resistance. Supporting the work of those who refuse to be silent is necessary if we are going to stop the ongoing genocide of Palestinians.

The film is a docu-drama that uses audio from the 911 calls between Hind and members of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society trying to rescue her. For those wishing to debrief there will be a sharing circle after with light refreshments. This film is not suitable for children. This event is by donation with all proceeds going to the Hind Rajab Foundation. For those who wish to donate but cannot attend go to

THE HIND RAJAB FOUNDATION

THE HIND RAJAB FOUNDATION

https://www.hindrajabfoundation.org

Marathon Denman Dance Temple, May 23rd 11-7pm

Organizations have been invited to put up any tables in the green space while the outdoor covered space by the hall will be used for the May 23rd all day marathon Dance Temple from 11 till 7pm. Folks from Denman and hopefully Hornby coming for the event. Please stop by our table where we have invited Comox Valley Transition Society to bring some resource material and be available for people to ask questions and to learn.

We also want to announce that in the fall we intend to bring a new film to Denman to be shown in the fall called “Dear Lara” which just this February premiered in Santa Barbara to rave reviews and interest has been growing at every showing.    To view the trailer go to https://wwwdearlara.film

 

Womens silence is ending about their sexual abuse as children by men in positions of power over them. We hope you will come and have fun dancing and drop by and chat with us and pick up some resource materials.

Shucking Oysters: Better Safe Than Sorry

Label: Do not drive with sun shield in place.

Shucking Oysters: Better Safe Than Sorry

By Alex Allen

How often have you driven on the Big Island upper highway and encountered a parade of orange traffic cones and warning signs lined up 29 kilometres before the actual “traffic event”? And then you finally get there (after driving 15 kilometres in one lane at 60k), and it’s a bucket truck trimming a tree with three flag people and six traffic trucks – all with those flickering, pulsating, distracting vehicle “safety” lights. Those lights are supposed to warn us to slow down and pay attention. Yeah, you’ve got our attention. When confronted with those distracting high-intensity strobe light bars (equipped with enhanced optical lenses to blind us), one tends to brake suddenly and dangerously. And don’t try to be clever. You can be fined $253 for speeding in a construction zone and $196 for disobeying the almighty flag person.

Even the local roads crew now have those obnoxious LED flashing lights on their trucks. I get it. You’re parked on the side of the road looking at a culvert or you’re on your way to fill a pothole. So just in case we can’t see your big orange vehicle, those flickering, pulsating lights have got our attention. If it’s about safety, then we should all have strobe light bars installed on our vehicles. “Helloooo it’s me!!!!! I’m ahead of you!!!!” “I’m parked on the side of the road looking in my glove compartment!!! Watch it!!!!”

Yeah I know, it’s all about safety, but we are being suffocated to death with this over fraught world of safety. It’s not about safety; it’s about liability, covering someone’s ass – and not yours, no matter how many times you may fall on it. Injuries aren’t the real danger here. Lawyers and politicians are. 

I don’t have to remind you of the proverbial “this is an important safety announcement…” we all hear with affection, each time we travel on BC Ferries. (How many times have you had to stop what you were reading until the end of the recording?) And if the Disconnector crew really wanted our journey to be safe, then what’s with the red hatchet just sitting there waiting for some crazed individual to grab and do something inappropriate? 

Back in 2021 we had a rude awakening in Liability101, when the Hornby Island Residents’ and Ratepayers’ Association were served with a lawsuit relating to a mountain biking accident in Mount Geoffrey Regional Park. This was unfortunate for everyone. As a result of the lawsuit: HIRRA’s insurance provider discontinued their coverage; some trails and trail enhancements in Mount Geoffrey Regional Park and the Crown Land were closed; the local parks maintenance contract was cancelled and Comox Valley Regional District now manages our parks and trails. And with that, every trail head has a marker helpfully providing the 911 number (in case you forgot) and our whole island is now inundated with “No Trespassing. Not Liable…” signs. 

Mountain biking is not riding one’s bike leisurely on asphalt. It’s an adrenaline-fueled sport that involves navigating extremely steep terrain, vertical drops, massive jumps, and narrow cliff-side paths. As my mother used to say, “you made your bed, now sleep in it” which means accept the consequences of your own actions or decisions. “We’re seeing this barrage of carnage coming off of mountain biking parks,” said Dr. Brian Kwon, a Canada Research Chair in spinal cord injury at UBC. In BC, Kwon found that between 2008 and 2022, 58 mountain bikers injured their spinal cord. Although the study only examined those 58 patients, Kwon has since determined that from 2022 to 2024, another 21 BC mountain bikers suffered spinal cord injuries. More than three-quarters of the riders were thrown over their handlebars, with the rest injured by collision or other means. 

I remember many years ago the Hornby Central Road Trail Committee put up signs warning of loose rocks everywhere. What about tree roots, pine cones, slug crossings, random branches, and falling pine needles? Why did they even build the trail? What were they thinking??!! 

We live in a world where everyone is trying frantically to avoid responsibility for any fault or failing, in which we must be perpetually warned and prevented from taking the tiniest risk. Warning on a baby stroller: “Remove child before folding.” On a fishing hook: “Harmful if swallowed.” On a plastic bag: “This is not a toy.” Manufacturers must not only protect themselves against possible misuse, but predictable human stupidity.

The fear of lawsuits, this obsessive concern for our safety is utterly maddening for those of us who can remember the freedom we used to have. And please do not mistake my attitude for being cavalier. I am keen on being safe. I think seat-belts in cars are important and I applaud real advances in safety such as keeping people off the rocks and not beyond a certain point.

Virtually every institution claims safety as one of its core values. Ironically, this obsession with safety makes people feel more insecure, not less. The phrases “safety is important,” “safety is the top priority” are ubiquitous. Safety has turned into a forced habit not a regulation. When safety turns into a supposed problem that touches on every human experience or activity, people’s capacity to make sense of their fears is challenged and confused. And because safety is treated as a moral absolute, risky behaviour is regarded not merely as dangerous but as wrong. 

And now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a play date with a plastic bag.

The Book Report

The Book Report

A Bae Hel

The Book of Doors

By Gareth Brown

 

I tried, I really tried to get through this one.  The marketing says it is for readers who enjoyed The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, The Night Circus and Babel – some of my favourites. Time travel, a bookstore and a magic book!  All the necessary components for the perfect tale, so how come I can’t get past chapter 5?  I have tried a couple times, at least a year apart and while the initial chapters are promising as soon as the character starts to share her unbelievable book, I get the sense that this is a story written for teenagers, and very young ones at that. I have absolutely nothing against books for young readers, but something in this one irritates me.  So, I will put it aside. Again. And maybe one day the stars will align and I will finish it.

Project Hail Mary (Audiobook)

By Andy Weir

I first read Any Weir’s The Martian many years ago when he was self publishing before his book was picked up and a movie created.  Before the hype; and it was glorious. A science fiction novel heavy on the science. So, when I ordered Project Hail Mary, I was a bit cautious given subsequent novels may not be as good as the first. 

This one is a perfect hit.  I think a good part of really enjoying an audio version relies on the quality of the team hired to be the voice of the book.  Lately I have noticed a decided improvement in that quality.

If you like your science fiction heavy on the science, well pull out your physics resources cause this one is really sciencey.   Reminiscent of the spaceman who became an author, these types of novels don’t actually require you to understand the physics to enjoy the story.  I admit there were moments where my eyes glassed over as I had flashbacks to first year physics, but, just like then, I zoned out and got through it with a very rudimentary understanding of mass, velocity, gravity, light and time.

If you have not seen the movie or any of the hype, the basic premise is the earth is in danger (again). The sun is going out and rather quickly. A group of top scientists are give free rein to find out what can be done before the mass extinction. A discovery is made – alien virus, eating the sun. More discoveries made and off sets the team that will save humanity and everything else. No spoilers, but I did not see that one surprise coming. I give it 5 stars and while it contains adult themes, it is appropriate for teens. And probably your grandparents.

PROVINCE SEIZING PROPERTY FROM COMPASSION CLUB LANDLORD

For Immediate Release

PROVINCE SEIZING PROPERTY FROM COMPASSION CLUB LANDLORD

Monday, May 11, 2026

Victoria, B.C.: The Province of B.C. has filed Civil Forfeiture documents against the landlord of the Victoria Cannabis Buyers Club to seize the property at 1625 Quadra Street where the group was raided in 2023 and last month.  At the same time, the B.C. Solicitor General has filed a Certificate of Judgement against the home of VCBC board member, Clea Maclean, in an attempt to collect $3.2 million in fines from raids at the clubs previous home in 2019 and 2020.  A judicial review challenging the fines and ongoing raids at the VCBC has been filed by the VCBCs lawyers, Kirk Tousaw and Jack Lloyd.

Founder of the compassion club, Ted Smith, is planning on speaking at the evening meeting of the Victoria City Council meeting on Thursday May 14 to plead for protection from the province.  In the past the city council has expressed strong support for the club, which has been largely ignored by the province.  Now it appears that without help from the city, the VCBC will be in serious trouble.

With over 9,000 patients served, the VCBC celebrated its 30 year anniversary in January.  The club has not complied with the Cannabis Act because it does not allow storefront medical access and THC content is limited to 10 mg per product.  These arbitrary regulatory restrictions severely limit the ability of cannabis to fight cancer as well as reduce prescription and opiate drug use, while also violating the Charter rights of patients.  

A campaign has been started by the club to request Premier David Eby to withhold further enforcement actions until a judicial review can be heard.  Having failed to adequately stem the deaths from the toxic drug supply, it is hoped that the Premier is not going to allow the situation to become worse by shutting down one of the few viable, safe options to opiate use.  

This is the first time a property has been seized from the landlord by the government because a medical cannabis dispensary was operating without a license.  As of issuing this press release, the landlords have not been served notice of these proceedings, which claim they accepted proceeds of crime and committed income tax fraud, though the civil forfeiture is registered in the courts.  A lawyer has not yet been secured by the landlords and they are not prepared to comment at this point.

For more information contact Ted Smith at 250-415-1063 or hellovcbc@gmail.com

Elbows Up as Performance Art

Elbows Up as Performance Art  By Cylon2036. We/Us

The announcement came with all the solemn grandeur of a wartime address. Prime Minister Carney, chest puffed proudly beneath a maple leaf the size of a studio apartment, announced Canada would stand on its own two feet, with no more over-reliance on the U.S.A.. No more increases in economic integration and no more continental dependency. This was a new era, an Elbows Up, Canada First” doctrine in which the nation would reclaim its sovereignty, diversify its partnerships, and chart an independent path through a dangerous world.

Then, moments later, Ottawa signed a giant cheque to buy another 100 American fighter jets. Not just any fighter jets, of course, but several billions of Canadian tax dollars spent on U.S. made F-35 stealth aircraft so technologically sophisticated that it reportedly requires a software update every time a pilot sneezes. A marvel of engineering, diplomacy, and recurring invoices, the F-35 is less a plane than a lifelong subscription service with wings. The symbolism was exquisite.

Canada had apparently decided that the best way to reduce dependence on the United States was to purchase dozens and dozens of flying supercomputers whose maintenance, software, parts, logistics, training, upgrades, and operational doctrine would bind Canada to the American defence system until approximately the heat death of the universe. This is independence in the modern age, proudly decoupling from your neighbour while buying the military equivalent of an iPhone that only the neighbour can unlock.

Government ministers explained that this was entirely consistent with the new nationalist posture. Canada, they insisted, was not becoming more dependent on America, it was becoming strategically interoperable.” This sounded reassuring until someone pointed out that strategically interoperable” is what people say when they can no longer legally use the phrase joined at the hip.” Still, the messaging remained confident.

Canada would build resilient domestic industries and protect Canadian workers, prioritizing Canadian autonomy. The jets, meanwhile, would arrive from Texas while officials clarified that there was no contradiction whatsoever. The Canada First” policy did not mean Canada would stop buying American products, it merely meant Canada would buy American products more patriotically.

Besides, supporters argued, the F-35 wasnt just an aircraft purchase. It was an investment in sovereignty. True sovereignty, apparently, means ensuring your air force cannot function without access to a Pentagon-approved supply chain, proprietary American software, and a contractor support system sprawling across seventeen U.S. congressional districts. One advisor reportedly described the arrangement as independent dependence.”

Critics complained that the optics were awkward. On Monday, the government denounced excessive integration with the United States, and by Wednesday, it had committed billions to a weapons platform specifically designed for deeply integrated NATO and NORAD operations under overwhelming American command architecture. But Ottawa remains undeterred.

In fact, officials leaned harder into the nationalist branding. There was talk of painting giant maple leaves on the fuselages. One minister suggested the aircraft could be renamed the CF-Eh-35” to better reflect Canadian values. Another floated the idea of replacing the cockpit warning alarms with polite bilingual apologies. Military planners were practical about the whole thing. Canada, they insisted, shares a continent, airspace, supply chains, intelligence systems, and defense obligations with the United States, claiming integration is unavoidable.

Which raises the uncomfortable question, if integration is unavoidable in defence, perhaps it is also unavoidable in economics, energy, manufacturing, technology, culture, and trade. Fortunately, nobody wants to discuss that. The important thing is preserving the emotional experience of independence. And in fairness, Canada has always excelled at this particular balancing act by loudly differentiating itself from the U.S., while quietly plugging into every available American system. It is the national equivalent of insisting you are absolutely not copying your neighbours homework while submitting an assignment written in the neighbours handwriting. The F-35 purchase simply elevated the tradition to performance art.

The result was a masterpiece of modern middle-power strategy with anti-integration speeches delivered beneath the roar of imported stealth fighters whose operating manuals are stored on a server in Virginia. Elbows up, indeed, though preferably not high enough to interfere with the data link to Washington.

The Last Supper. Did they really have KD?

Gabriel Jeroschewitz, April 19th,  2026, Written at 3:19 AM after a nightmare of the Last Supper.

The Last Supper. Did they really have KD?

The upholstery in the Upper Room was a somewhat distressing shade of café au lait. Perhaps a choice for the man with the ceramic water jug who secured the apartment for them, but not for the discussion of the invention of Kraft Dinner. I waited in the corner with my wine, wondering if the Almighty took a particular interest in food of this nature, or if he wore a suit of Italian manufacture beneath his robes of traditional design. I suspect that there were pinstripes under the linen.

I am the Recording Angel, and I am very tired.

What unfolded that night was not a dinner party of atrocious timing – but the dismantling of something foundational. These fishermen and tax collectors were disassembled over unleavened bread and foot odour that could have stripped the varnish from any number of antique furniture pieces. When the man with the water jug arrived (and I had to write a memo to the Department of Anachronistic Gender Studies regarding his footwear), he instituted the first separation of water and clay into the earthenware vessel that would hold the beverage of life and the discussions of humanity’s future. I have seen the blueprints of the man, but I have also seen clay tablets from Mesopotamia, when the Almighty used them in place of written words.

Follow the jug,” Jesus said – though I almost wonder if he was referring to the men who followed him rather than the man with the water jug – and they did follow, into their own restructuring of reality.

The washing of the feet was where the evening took a turn towards the comedic – but necessary – grotesque. The Son of God was kneeling before Bartholomews bunions, scrubbing at the years of accumulated grime upon his feet. I watched as Judas left the room after he saw how much of a soul depreciation there was in the man. When he left the upper room into the night (I capitalize it because that is what the night was – well-dressed, wearing a trench coat and smoking unfiltered cigarettes), there was a separation of light from darkness – the second day all over again – but smaller in scale. A separation like divorce courts and hospices.

Then came the bread.

Take, eat,” said Jesus to the disciples, whose calluses upon their hands came from both their work as carpenters, as well as possibly from the sketching of the design of processed cheese powder. This was the third day, and the dry land of existence had finally emerged; water collected, and ground was established upon which the disciples could stand without sinking into nothingness. Though it was an existence of foundation, it was a relatively dull existence – those of us over forty years understand the foundation of marriages can dry up, yet still it was firm on the ground. Nevertheless, it was unleavened. I noted this in my ledger and underlined it twice.

Foundations are dull without the alarm clock that is time. On the fourth day, the Lord hung the sun in the firmament of heaven. Within the Upper Room, Jesus broke the calendar and instituted a new publication that replaced the old Time magazine with one whose centrefold was a crucifixion and whose editorials were written with his blood. The disciples looked confused. Thomas checked his watch – a sundial – to see if he had crossed the international date line into the time of prophecy.

I adjusted my suit. Charcoal gray would be best to match the ash upon my clothes and upon my breath. I have a suspicion that the Almighty changes his wardrobe according to the dispensation of God – stone tablets for the old era of timekeeping, flowing robes of the incarnational years of the Son of God – and perhaps Brioni lines for the present dispensation of the risen deity. Though the clay tablet era belongs to Muhammad, his receipt arrived later in his life. I file this under Vessel Variations.” The content of the vessels is the same.

The wine was introduced on the fifth and sixth days – the blood of the wine was not blood yet, but an internet signal that downloaded a new consciousness into the twelve tired men of the apostles. It was the Adam moment – the new creation of humanity necessitating the dying of the old. I watched as the apostles drank the wine – Peter noted a wince at the loss of his preference for beer – as the vessel metaphors returned to the discussion. The Jews used the stone tablets as their vessel to connect to God, the foundation of their faith, requiring the Jews to carry the tablets up the mountains. The Christian use of water – any container, irrelevant – as a symbol of the new foundation of their faith, and the Islam of clay tablets resonating with the vibration of the Tilawa – words becoming sound and becoming flesh again.

There are different filing systems for the same document that humanity cannot seem to find in the face of existence.

And then – on the seventh day – the rest. Though it would not come until later, when Jesus would sacrifice himself on the cross, the It is finished” of His final act of salvation was mans sabbatical from existence. Nevertheless, the Upper Room was closed after Judas left the room – sealed into their existence, into a womb, into a conference room of finalized mergers yet opened for the new company. They waited fifty days for the initial public offering of the Holy Spirit. Instead, they sat in the room and burped quietly into their existence, as men who had imagined the entire evening.

I checked the Almighty’s expense report. Did he invent Kraft Dinner? The question lingered in the air. I think that He did. I think he wore a toga over a three-piece suit – visible and invisible – timeless and contemporary. The water jug stood empty in the corner – the purpose of which had been served as a signpost to the Upper Room, as are the stone tablets of the Old Testament and the clay tablets of the New Testament. For all religions, the vessels suggest their own system of transcendence.

The disciples fell asleep eventually – heads on the table – into dreams of fish and fire. I remained awake to watch the shadows of the room stretch out into the small Upper Room until finally, the man with the water jug left the room – he would not receive his deposit for the apartment from the man with the ceramic water jug. Probably not – divinity is terrible with returning security deposits.

Outside in the night – well-dressed and patient – the Almighty waited. Within the Upper Room – the new creation of humanity – in its womb, yet very much alive and humming in existence.

I closed my ledger – the room was finished – for now. I wondered what the future would bring for the disciples – for the new creation of humanity. Would they have coffee? The real stuff – brewed in percolators and not the instant kind. It would seem that even God has his limits.

Top Ten Reasons to Leave Social Media Permanently

Top Ten Reasons to Leave Social Media Permanently  By Dr. Thomas P. Hunterson

You probably noticed that tech oligarchs keep describing surveillance capitalism as community,” which is adorable in the same way a mosquito describes itself as a blood-sharing enthusiast.” You’ve likely gotten tired of being transformed into engagement metrics” by companies valued at several national GDPs while they insist that the real luxury is mindfulness. You’ve finally realized social media is less connecting people” and more, Voluntarily building a psychological profile for billionaires in hoodies.” You’ve become uncomfortable with the fact that your phone knows your sleep schedule, your political leanings, your shopping habits, and your emotional vulnerabilities. 

Your mental health improves dramatically once your brain stops consuming social media outrage, catastrophe, and influencer content. Heres the top 10 reasons to leave social media permanently.

1. Youve reached the advanced enlightenment stage where you no longer need to know what your cousins roommates dog had for breakfast.

2. Every app now opens with 3 ads, 2 “suggested” posts, and 1 existential crisis.

3. You spent 45 minutes arguing with someone named TruckNutsPatriot420” about chemtrails.

4. Your attention span now reloads like a buffering video from 2007. 

5. You caught yourself narrating real life in captions: Making coffee before another emotionally unavailable Tuesday ”

6. You posted a vacation photo and somehow received a crypto pitch, a political rant, and a DM saying “u up?”

7. The algorithm knows you better than your therapist, your spouse, and several government agencies combined. 

8. You realized doomscrolling” contains the word doom and thought, “That seems like useful feedback.”

9. You no longer remember whether you genuinely feel something or just want others to validate it with tiny hearts and prayer-hand emojis.

10. One peaceful afternoon without notifications felt so good you briefly considered becoming a forest cryptid who communicates only through handwritten letters.      

Your self-esteem will recover once you stop comparing your real life to people who stage photos of themselves pretending to laugh, and you will discover that touching grass is not, in fact, a metaphor, its an actual outdoor activity with measurable psychological benefits and significantly fewer pop-up ads. You will achieve inner peace the moment you stop donating your attention span to algorithmic emperors whose business model depends on keeping humanity slightly anxious, mildly enraged, and continuously scrolling at 1:13 a.m. like raccoons trapped in a digital dumpster.

Ending Western Warmongering Should Be Our Number One Priority

Ending Western Warmongering Should Be Our Number One Priority

First and foremost the west needs to stop murdering people. Ending western warmongering should take priority over every other societal concern, in the same way your husband being a serial killer would be a more urgent concern than his refusal to wash dishes.

It’s a sign of a deep sickness how much more political attention is given to domestic policy in our society than the fact that our governments are butchering human beings on other continents. This is not to say that those domestic policy issues are not important; it is only to say that they aren’t as horrifyingly urgent as the way imperial core nations are actively participating in actual mass murder.

Healthcare? Very important. Immigrants’ rights? Very important. Social justice and equality? Very important. But imagine if you lived in a place where western-made bombs were tearing your family and neighbors to shreds and then catching sight of a western social media post about the supreme importance of LGBTQ issues or ending discrimination against neurodivergent people. Just pause and put yourself in those shoes for a minute.

Again and again and again thrice over, I am not saying that those issues do not matter. I’m just saying that ending the mass murder should feel like a more urgent concern. I don’t think this should be controversial.

In no other area of our society do we have trouble making this distinction. If a mass shooting kills twenty people in your country, that’s going to receive more attention than all the other injustices and abuses that happened in your nation on that day. The murder of a seventy year-old woman is going to be far more traumatic and significant for her community than if the same seventy year-old woman died of lung cancer. You would not continue your discussion about intersectional feminism at the restaurant if you saw someone being strangled to death at the table across the room.

When it happens near us, to people who look like us and live like us and speak the same language as us, we have no problem understanding that murder is an urgent problem and preventing it is a foremost concern for our society. But when our own governments are involved in the murder of people with darker skin, speaking different languages, practicing different religions and living in different cultures, we’re able to compartmentalize away from the urgency of the situation.

This says terrible things about us as a civilization. We’re no different than the wife of a serial killer who ignores the bodies being buried in the backyard because she’s more worried about what his online gambling addiction is costing the family. We’re disconnecting ourselves from something precious and important within us in order to psychologically dissociate from the crimes of the empire in the way that we do.

This hurts our fellow human beings, but it hurts us too. We’re doing something ugly to our insides when we twist ourselves into knots to avoid facing the cold hard reality of western military slaughter. It warps us as people. It profoundly impacts the way we experience life. It scratches the lenses of our perceptual filters. How could it not?

All these wars and genocidal atrocities are an invitation to reclaim a sacred part of ourselves by treating them with the urgency they deserve. There’s no way to live an authentic life and move into a truth-based relationship with reality without doing so.

________________

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Feature image by Marine Corps Sgt. Trent A. Henry via US Department of War.