What gets lost in the fire?
I’m reflecting a lot on energy this weekend.
I’m thinking about the things that we fight for and the strength and persistence it takes to do so.
I’m thinking about the energy it takes to explain to those who are wilfully racist, terminally misogynist that this is behaviour that was never acceptable and certainly not in 2022.
I am thinking about the energy that it takes to combat those who express glee at the thought of basic human rights being taken away.
I am incandescently angry that one iota of the brilliance and eloquence of activists and experts is spent on those who hold this viewpoint.
I am incandescently angry at the necessary application of energy in service of holding back a fire that should have been long extinguished when the minds that are doing so should be dedicated to remaking a burnt world.
I’m thinking about the battles that lie ahead.
In my opinion it is not possible to divorce a viewpoint that is ultimately, and demonstrably, about power and control from a desire to hold a role that has very real repercussions for the rights of others.
It is not possible to divorce the very specific misogyny surrounding the Prime Minister from a toxic culture which has drastically increased its representation in our culture, especially in the last couple of years.
There has been a lot of pontificating that the Roe v Wade decision won’t touch us.
I would argue that those who hold this position have forgotten about the occupation of Parliament, which was rooted in misogyny and extremism.
I would argue that those who hold this position have forgotten the recent targeting of the LGBT+ community in Greymouth - and in Tauranga, a literal fire.
These aren’t isolated incidents. We have fertile ground that is seeding hate and that is being influenced to grow.
Activists in the US warned that it would reach this point well before 2016 and were ignored by a disbelieving media, by political pundits.
We’re about to make the same mistake if we think that our next election won’t be a critical one.
Experts and activists who live in the spaces of extremism, rising conservatism, fascism, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia have been canaries in the coal mine for years now - they are singing, loudly.
Toxicity is snowballing.
I think it’s important to say that in 2022 a National MP posted a picture celebrating the removal of rights and the certain death that will occur as a result of being unable to access basic human rights.
I think it’s important to say that this was celebrated in public by members of New Zealand’s main opposition party - and openly considered as a recipe.
I think it’s important for us to remember that cruelty is always the point.
It is important to make clear that the restriction of rights is a consideration - despite assurances.
I would suggest it is absolutely vital to remember what they do when they think no one is paying attention - and how they vote.
We cannot get to the point in New Zealand where we say “but you told us it was settled law.”
The undisguised and disturbing glee yesterday, the admittance that the US was being watched closely makes it clear that our upcoming election has high stakes - and rights on the table.
The discounting and downplaying of this threat will be a focus in the election cycle.
It will be important to make sure the public is acutely aware that while distractions and misdirections are taking place (and they will) that the goal is power and control.
This isn’t hyperbole.
“The first task is to be really clear that this message that things are okay is an anaesthetising fantasy that we have been sold to create paralysis in us. This is bad, it’s horrible and it will get worse. The second conjoined responsibility is to not let that further paralyse us.”
- Rebecca Traister
I’ve lived in a country where people did not afford me the same rights that they had - New Zealand.
Marriage Amendment only came into effect in 2013. I have not forgotten how it felt to be told I was less than human.
You have to guard progress as if it is sacred - because it is.
For damn sure there is an ugly undercurrent of hate in New Zealand - you can see it in the threats and bile spewed about the PM.
You can see it in the ugliness of men who cannot conceal their delight in the deliberate, active erosion of healthcare.
You can see it in the vocal support for some of the nonsense spouted about sacrificing lives to live with Covid-19.
When people show you who they are, believe them.
Do not wait for someone else to declare the danger, to shout fire, to write the words and to say them loudly and urgently.
I was listening to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez this morning, who held an Instagram Live on some things to consider as we collectively confront how to grapple with the reverberations of Roe v Wade being struck down - reverberations that are already clearly showing here.
“This moment calls on us to be relentless… the moment requires us to all step up - every single one of us.”
“If we engage in our actions and are sand in the gears, eventually the machinery grinds to a halt.”
“We need to really look at who is serving communities, and who is coasting.”
“We can only do more if we acknowledge more is possible… “No” does not mean stop trying.”
- AOC
Action will be needed, and it will be up to us to decide how much and how long and how vocal and how vital it is to listen to those who will tell you anything you want to hear, if only you give them power.
I will leave you with this, as we consider the fire and muster our energy to put it out, as we listen to false assurances and decide for ourselves what the truest and most heartfelt action is that we can take for others - and for ourselves.
I will leave you with this as we consider the things that might be lost if we do not take action to put this fire out.
“I can very easily fall into the trap of believing things have always been a certain way and are therefore hopeless to be changed, or somehow etched in stone… the veneer of inevitability is actually far from the truth.”
- Jessica Dore