I've been stalling on writing for a long time. Whatever the reasons are, there's no time anymore.
As you know, on August 6, six people seeking peace in prayer were violently killed at their house of worship. Two mosques have been set on fire.
The immediate reactions range from -
"We are all Sikh", to...
"We are Sikh not Muslim", to...
"We are Muslim, but not all Muslims are terrorists", to...
"Let me show you that my religion is peaceful", to...
"We are Americans", to...
"We are the same", to ...
"Senseless violence", to ... .
.. similar.
Then there are the critiques of the reactions. What if they/we are not American? Do we still deserve peaceful lives? This violence is not senseless, it is systematic - focused and deliberate and socially sanctioned. We are not the same, we are actually different because we are brown, Muslim, Sikh, Black, Latino, Native, women, LGBQ, transgender... - we are people who have been targeted for a long time.
This is not new. To tell you the truth, a part of me wants to and does shut down every time I hear about a new incidence of violence like this. What is there to say? What new feelings are there to feel; what words are there to describe this heartbreak that is a raging fire in so many people's hearts? The danger of feeling our feelings means to risk being consumed by that fire, to actually become senseless.
The more tiring, heavy-hearted task is to pick up and go on. To do something, to say something, to keep trying to make a difference until you actually do. To believe that it's possible, to know that it's necessary. Why? Simply because we have a need to hope, and fundamentally, that's about waking up in a world where we believe things can be better, where we are alive enough to work at it and to care, each time something so painful and soul-destroying happens. There are lots of places with tips on how to support the Sikh community in Wisconsin right now. Please do something, anything, from all those options.
My recommendations -
1. Give as much money as you can - Options here
2. Write a message of solidarity to people in the community
3. Self-reflection. The people who died are your people, are our people. The people who killed people or set fire to a mosque are also our people. Self-reflect until you can see how that might be possible, and what that means for you, and for your role in your community.
And pray pray pray. Grieve and send prayers and healing in community.
