The Trauma of Witnessing Genocide in Real Time
We have to take care of ourselves so we can be effective in our actions
I’m almost never at a loss for words, at least when I’m writing.
But after last October 7th, and witnessing the intensity of Israel’s retaliation, I was unable to write anything remotely coherent for at least a couple of weeks. It was such a shock seeing civilians killed, hospitals, schools, homes and water systems destroyed, and hearing the genocidal rhetoric of the Israeli government.
And, tragically, we’re still witnessing this. Our western governments and media are complicit. Our tax dollars are funding these atrocities. We protest, boycott, speak out and take action together, but we’re ignored. Or, worse, accused of hate speech or being traitors to our countries.
We know this isn’t true. And this naked deceit begs us to question the competency of our governments. Genocide is the ultimate crime of crimes. Yet they’re supporting Israel as it commits genocide, breaks international law, and bombs civilians in surrounding countries.
When we’re being gaslit so badly, what does it tell us about the people running our countries, and the media that covers for them? Can we even call this democracy when public policy is driven by the highest bidder?
How do we process all this? How do we maintain any level of sanity when our countries are complicit in a genocide, and we’re witnessing the atrocities Israel is committing every day on our social media feeds?
And this in the midst of cost of living and housing crises, the shredding of our social safety nets, and general societal breakdown.
How do we take care of ourselves and each other, so that we are capable of the activism that is desperately needed in this precarious moment?
I make a point of eating well, trying to get enough sleep, and talking with others who also care about what’s going on. And writing these posts helps me a lot. I hope they help you too.
How are you coping? I’d love to hear how you’re getting through this time that is beyond distressing.
We need to take care of ourselves and each other. And we need to support each other until we’ve stopped this genocide and turned things around. The alternative is unthinkable.
Take care, all.
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I love the BDS campaign and the effect it’s having on Israel’s economy.
Here's an excellent list of products from Israel: https://boycott.thewitness.news/browse/1
Here's a way to help others not in your bubble to boycott Israel: https://www.cjpme.org/stickies_2024_en
And here's where you can support Palestine by buying a keffiyeh:
https://www.hirbawi.ps/
I feel like I'm flickering between coping well and completely falling apart. Writing is definitely helping to process everything and I try to spend time outdoors, be present and notice small details in the nature around me. But even when I try writing purely about Nature, my mind will go to Palestine and human cruelty and exceptionalism.
I think my biggest solace is connecting to like-minded people, online and offline. So many that I met online in the past year turned out to live relatively close. For the first time in my life, I feel like I'm actually surrounded by some sane people. And that community connection is a force stronger than any genocidal supremacist.
Sending love to you.
I sometimes feel as if I am losing my mind. I am easily distracted and forget what I am doing in the middle of whatever it is. It is more difficult to cope with personal issues that come up. We are watching this genocide that our leaders do not seem concerned about. We are all distracted from the biggest issue: the climate crisis. Our oceans are getting warmer, glaciers are melting, there are more extreme weather events everywhere. And we are being governed by greedy nincompoops who think that their bank accounts matter way more than the survival of the planet, us, and everything else that lives on our earth.