I just read Ann Jone’s article on the War on Women Africa. Its hard to not be emotionally knocked flat after reading about such suffering and the ability of other humans to inflict such pain and horror on others. Such a curdling mix of emotions are whirling around inside of me after reading about the horrors inflicted upon women in war torn African countries. A deep sadness, a burning anger, a sense of shame and guilt, of luck and privilege, a sense of injustice, of outrage, of empathy, of helplessness, a desire to act, a confusion as to the motives for such a desire- is it a colonial impulse imbued from the society I have grown up in?, an admiration of these women’s strength to continue on, all these feeling and thoughts are slamming into one another like the ocean waves in a storm.
Such accounts also stir a desire to share the article as widely as possible, to ensure that people know that such horrors are occurring in the world and that people must act in some way.
Such accounts also creates a context where one’s problems fade away to insignificance. Complaining about a broken printer just seems wrong/selfish/misguided when confronted with real problems that people live on a daily basis. Such depths of human actions has the tendency to suck hope from you, to question the point of writing these words when they cant respond to such suffering, cant help to ease such suffering. But paradoxically such loss of hope reaffirms the need to hold on to hope as the only way to create change in the end, that if I dont wake up tomorrow and keep working at it then nothing would change and noone would have tried.
If the women who have suffered such horrible actions, whose bodies have been broken and battered can have the strength just to recount their ordeals, and the strength to try and live their lives then surely I can do my best with my privileged position. But even so, somedays I feel like a white, male, overweight, privileged walking contradiction. fuck I hate this world sometimes.
Hi,I live in Melbourne, Australia, and I think I first came across Znet courtesy of the linear notes of a Propagandhi album along time ago. Soon after that Michael Albert gave a talk at my university- University of Queensland- where I first encountered in any detail his proposals on Parecon, which opened my eyes to exciting and new possibilities for progressive change. I particularly related to his call to offer people something other than just critiques- the 'What are we for?'Since then I have attempted to become more involved in social change, probably not as successfully or actively as I hoped (and still do), but I continue to try and discuss, engage and grow more confident/assured in political/social activism outside just those close to me. Not only do I agree with the many focuses examined in ZMag and Znet but I also have a passion for animal liberation/rights. Ive been a vegan for 6 years and a vegetarian before that and have appreciated the exeprience of having the personal and the political combine in daily life, having my lifestyle choices and habits be a daily political challenge to those around me. Its allowed me to engage and discuss other radical political views on other topics further just thru an initial question of 'what my lunch is today?'More personally I enjoy punk music, as controversial as some may find that label, its energy and ability to question help provide me with daily motivation. I also enjoy movies, and I like engaging science fiction novels- especially sci-fi's ability to hold a mirror to current society thru the use of future worlds, scenarios or alien customs.I've just started a PhD in Melbourne, where I hope to examine the continuing rise of nationalistic rhetoric in Australian society. Im looking for some part time work as there are a lot of bills and not much money. My old job was as a file clerk at the University of Queensland, shuffling paper as a means to pay the bills. So it was by no means the worse job available but it put into sharp relief the need for social change where work can be engaging and empowering for all.Im more than happy to chat about any ideas or topics, so please feel free to contact me as I look forward to meeting new people and hopefully working together to make the changes we seek in this world.
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