in the thick of things
locally, nationally. plus, an ask.
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Hello out there,
We’re really in the thick of things right now. Yes, in the Northern Hemisphere, we are officially in the summer season, and as if announcing itself, the solstice brought a heat wave that blanketed the Northeast in muggy, acerbic heat. But the thick is also made up of struggle with the heightened stakes of 2024 making themselves clear.
Stateside, we have lost a progressive champion in Jamaal Bowman (NY-17) who lost his congressional primary to AIPAC-backed Jeremy Latimer. As a reminder, AIPAC is the biggest source of GOP donations in Democratic primaries in the US. Bowman’s loss is *apparently* a harbinger of more loss for other progressive members of the Democratic party - right now AIPAC is targeting Cori Bush (MO-1). I don’t discount that there is only so much we can do against the financial bemouth that is AIPAC and the GOP (those GOP $$ are 💸 generational-wealth hunny 💸 and as a vast generalization, progressive and people-powered movement usually don’t have this sort of financial access). AIPAC steered clear of Summer Lee's (PA-12) race in April but given their success in Bowman’s race, we might see this playbook repeated. But we can also see Bowman’s race as a canary in the coal mine, calling us to protect our leftist, socialist, progressive members of the Democratic party. When the Democratic party represents a broad swatch of perspectives - from leftists to centrists - it is stronger and better able to cultivate coalition building. Just MHO and maybe I will write about this more as the election cycle continues.
Nationally, I am closely watching my home country, Kenya, where earlier this week state violence killed at least 23 people, left many more injured, and likely even more deaths and injuries uncounted for. If you haven’t been following, President William Ruto has been attempting to pass a bill that will overtax everything for Kenya citizens - diapers, sanitary pads, cars, increased taxes on income, daily interactions on Mpesa (the primary methods Kenyans use to send, spend and transfer money). If you’re 25+ and living with your parents you’re taxed 300 KSH every month for housing. They’re taxing citizens’ side hustles too, the “Hustle Economy”, young Kenyans making money where they can and using social media to create income for themselves.
Important context here is that youth unemployment in Kenya is HIGH. These taxes make the difference in young people being able to create stability and keep what extra income they can make in an oft-destitute job market. I’ve been proud to watch my cousins join the protests, am following developments in my family WhatApp chats and considering my role in the African diaspora. A couple of years ago, I regained my Kenyan citizenship, something that I didn’t *need* to do, but wanted to, do as a reclamation of the things lost in the rupture of immigration, creating a more solid foundational bridge between my present and past. My cousins say “Fellow criminals*, you did great” and “No amount of intimidation will stop the cries of the citizens. The government works for the people.” It places in perspective for me the severity of violence (live bullets) one can face for democratic ideals, the vast privilege of American citizenship, and the question of how I can use my dual citizenship to amplify Kenyan liberation movements.
Read more here and here. Learn more about Kenyan post-colonial thought via Millennials Are Killing Capitalism.
This month, I want to share with you a recent piece I published with Tricycle, “On Bearing Witness and the Resilience of Karuna.” This writing is a reflection that started five years ago in grad school when I penned an essay on how viewing the body in suffering provokes compassion and our willingness to be in Right Relationship. The original essay mainly focused on self-immolation and documentation, namely that of Thich Quang Duc and Amelia Jones’ essay “Performing the Wounded Body: Pain, Affect and the Radical Relationality of Meaning.” While I emphasized this a bit in the Tricycle article, I want to share a little bit of my original writing and Jones’ notes on documentation.
What remains in the aftermath of self-immolation? Documentation of an event, protest or performance can be integral in creating impact and relevance. Jones notes in the case of the 2003 self-immolation of Iranian refugee Israfil Shiri that “...it is impossible to find an image of Shiri on the Web, which makes less likely the spectacularization and commodification of his body but also severely limits the knowledge of this event (and the violent refusal of the state to provide sanctuary which was its nominal cause) on the international stage. The lack of visual documentation surely makes it less likely for an intelligent dialogue about the terrible treatment of refugees in the UK to take place.” (Jones, 47)
The genocide in Gaza is being documented by journalists and citizens every day. My role is to not look away and to claim where I see the hurt and pain of our world. Our governments will attempt to obscure it, smooth it over, or name it as a necessary blemish on the path toward liberation. In contrast, I name our cuts and bruises so that we can keep an archive of witness history.
Please take a moment to read “On Bearing Witness and the Resilience of Karuna” and if you feel so called, let me know what you think, share a reflection on how you’re responding to witnessing the suffering in Gaza (and worldwide), and what this moment is asking of you. Remembering our fractals, that what we observe internally reverberates outward, what are you feeling called to observe right here and now?
Over the last 7 - 8 months, I’ve heard many people name that they hadn’t paid attention to the fight for Palestinian liberation and the ongoing apartheid until now. I count myself amongst them and honor that I am learning and awakening my consciousness on this issue. Maybe you are too. Hello and don’t let anyone discard your awakening.
xo Jessica
SUPPORT MY DHARMA LEADERSHIP JOURNEY
On Friday, June 21, under the Strawberry Moon, I opened my e-mail to the news that I have been accepted into the Community Dharma Leader (CDL) program at Spirit Rock Meditation Center. CDL is a dharma training program that I have aspired to attend since I started along the Buddhist Path many years ago. Applications for this program open every 3 - 4 years, are by invitation only and include many prerequisites and an interview. To meet all the prerequisites, to be invited to apply, and to be accepted into the program - WOOF - I am ecstatic.
If you’ve spent any time reading SLOWLY, SLOWLY, you know that I talk about suffering all the time. Teaching and facilitating is how I respond to the suffering, my own and the global, and how I fulfill my ecosystem roles at Healer and Weaver. Attending CDL is a personal investment in my growth on the Dharma path and a continued commitment to collective liberation. Read more about my journey and aspirations to join the CDL program here: https://gofund.me/c1868985
There are 200+ subscribers to this Substack (wow, thank you) and if you all donate $10, I will more than reach my initial fundraising goal. Please consider making a donation and helping me reach my goal by July 27, 2024. Donate here: https://gofund.me/425bd5f0
There’s much I could say - and will - about Western Dharma communities, the complicity of attending programs such as these, and how I hope to combat that in the future. Reach out to me and let’s talk. For now, I will say a quick thank you forever for your support.
Work with me.
You can find me weekly at Heal Haus, five days a week at Arena, intermittently at Inner Fields and often at 462 Halsey Community Farm.
🌞