Heavy Hearts…
by Suhlle Ahn
Note: A version of this content appeared in a Tidal Equality end-of-May Newsletter that went out to our subscribers. A few additions have been made below.
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There’s no tiptoeing around the pain of these past two weeks. Our hearts are heavy.
Two mass shootings (and an attempted third) in 10 days…
The first, in Buffalo, New York, by an 18-year old who started consuming white supremacist hate on social media, out of boredom during the pandemic. Who plugged into what researcher Jon Lewis calls “transnational accelerationist networks” that peddle extremist ideas like “The Great Replacement”—a once-fringe conspiracy theory now mainstreamed by a growing number of Republican politicians and a popular cable news host.
The killer chose a supermarket in a Black neighborhood as his target and live-streamed himself killing 10 mostly African American shoppers, including Ruth Whitfield, who lived to be 86 before being gunned down by a stranger radicalized to see her as less than human.
The second shooting, in Uvalde, Texas, carried out—again—by an 18-year old, who was able—LEGALLY—to purchase 2 military assault rifles and 1,657 rounds of ammunition (a soldier carries 210 into combat as a standard). Who needed no permit or license. Who robbed 19 school children and 2 teachers of their lives.
How do we balance grief, anger—rage, even—with an obligation to move forward? To DO something, be of use, and not let this become “just two more” in an endless string of violent gun massacres?
Since Tidal Equality is about creating a wave of change, and Equity Sequence™ helps us take action by way of shifts in our thinking, for now, we humbly offer a few paths of thought to consider as you (and we) try to process these events. All are recurring themes we’ve touched on this past year:
Understanding FEAR of social change as a motivator that produces backlash; and fear of provoking backlash as an emotion that can cow us into inaction.
Seeing the STOKING of racial fear (immigrants as invaders; Black and brown people as threats to white dominance) as a tactic from the authoritarian playbook, used to sow division and undermine progress toward greater democratic inclusion.
Spotting disproportionate POWER in decision-making, which, on the gun-laws front, has allowed a minority of Senators, who represent a minority of less populous states, to ignore the wishes of the majority, with consequences to millions of lives. We’re reminded of what Professors Tiziana Casciaro and Julie Battilana say their book, Power for All: How It Really Works and Why It’s Everyone’s Business, about the fundamental NEED FOR SAFETY as one way (bad) leaders appeal to fear to convince us to hand over power to them. But how we can also tap into a sense of collective belonging—a sense of what we can achieve together—to build collective power, as they remind us in the clip below:
Understanding the NRA and gun lobby as a group with outsized influence, preventing the correct mix of voices from being heard in this debate.
Keeping in mind a 25% committed minority as the critical threshold that can tip the balance of influence toward social change.
Recalling philosopher Myisha Cherry’s take on ANGER and LORDEAN RAGE as APPROPRIATE emotions in the face of injustice; emotions that DESIRE CHANGE and can motivate us to take action toward positive change; emotions that can complement and be compatible with love.
Remembering bell hooks’s LOVE ETHIC as something we badly need now, but recalling how her definition of love is not all sweetness and light; nor is it simply about “being nice,” as Dr. Naomi Godden and Rev. Mahogany Thomas explain below, in conversation with our own Dr. Kristen Liesch:
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Like many, we took inspiration from Golden State Warriors basketball coach Steve Kerr’s pre-game comments, in part because he’s a public figure, but not a politician; in part because we hope he reflects a shift in public mood—toward that tipping of balance that could lead to change.
