In a conversation I had two weeks ago, a friend asked me if it’s necessary to take a decision if it is a difficult or an inconvenient one. It got me wondering about the acceptability of the grey areas. I am not looking for answers from this vomit of a thought pool, neither am I looking to give any answers. All I hope is to maybe bring the one reading this to a position where they know where their decision is coming from and what it’s consequences can be.
I completely understand and respect when people choose not to fight at the expense of the self. I know how exhausting life can be when you make your politics personal. But is there really expense to be borne by us when we are so distant from the equation of violence that we are able to be ignorant and indifferent? Or are we really facing the exhaustion of a personal politics if we are able to choose to not fight and struggle? Assuming, then, that this position of distance always comes from a secure location then I wonder if it is okay to protect your self at the expense of someone else’s. Can we, assumably sensitive humans, choose to distance ourselves when our indifference will very likely and very directly harm another being? Can that choice to be ignorant and centrist, then, be called an act of self protection? What if and when there is lesser possible harm to be borne by us? What when we are not directly engaged in an equation of violence, which then affords us the privilege of comparatively lesser damage, if we do take a hard stance against an abuser of power or an oppressor?
What when our positions of privilege sanction for us some amount of social and institutional safety and security? Do we, then, hold the responsibility to participate in the struggle and also create a safer space for the ones struggling not by choice? If our actions might cause us very little backlash then must not we do some good? And what if choosing to not do this good means doing someone bad? Can we afford to prioritize our convenience over someone else’s misery? Is it really ethical if we look away from someone who needs help just because we do not want to be in an uncomfortable situation? Can we really say our life is worthier than someone else’s? But most importantly, can we call ourselves “good people” if we are all who matter to us?
UnshelteredPolitics 