Neighbors, I want to tell you a story today . . . gentle warning that this note will reference rape, murder, and war atrocities.
In 2009, my family and I lived in Guinea, W. Africa, for my husband’s job. A dictator named Moussa Dadis Camara had come to power through a military coup and was running the country (leadership in this setting is referred to as a “junta”). There was incredible tension and unrest.
On the 28th of September, that tension erupted into a pro-democracy protest of 50,000 people who marched to the city’s soccer stadium, where the military opened fire on them. Over 1,200 people were injured, 109 women were publicly raped or sexually mutilated, and 157 people were killed. There is NO medical infrastructure in Guinea able to handle a mass casualty/medical crisis such as this.
While this was happening, I was experiencing a serious health issue and was medically evacuated to a neighboring country to be evaluated for possible surgery (later, we found out I had chronic appendicitis resulting from complications of endometriosis). I have a lot of complicated feelings about that day and what it means to be a white, US passport holder, but all of that is another story for another day.
Today, I am sharing this story because of something that happened after the crisis:
The military junta attempted to lie about the number of citizens that had been murdered. They claimed only 56 people had died and that they had been trampled by other protesters, not shot.
Our housekeeper, Nancy, who remained at our apartment after we evacuated, let us know that she was joining a group of citizens who were going to witness the dead. She explained to my husband, who was concerned about her safety, “They are lying and trying to hide the dead. We can’t allow a coverup, so I’m joining groups that will see with our own eyes.”
Three Good Reasons Not to Avoid the News
The news these days is incredibly heavy. It’s depressing. It’s traumatizing. Sadness, anger, and overwhelm are not just normal reactions to the news, I’d characterize them as healthy reactions. Your humanity remains intact if you see this news and respond with these strong emotions. Wanting to look away, to avoid it, is also a natural response. You can only take in so much before there are tangible mental health consequences.
If we consume trauma like water, we’ll end up drowning in despair. So, why am I arguing that we should stay informed (1) and not avoid the news?
Reason #1: We are memory keepers.
The first reason is that in a moment like ours, we have a role as memory keepers, as truth-tellers. We can witness what is occurring and keep the truth, the memory of it, alive, even as those in power attempt to cover up and erase it. What Nancy did in witnessing the dead bodies of Guinean citizens, even at personal cost to herself, is an example of how imperative memory keeping can become when the government itself has become a threat. Even 15 years later, I think about what she taught me about commitment to witnessing all the time, especially now.
In the current setting, where genocide is unfolding in Gaza and law enforcement in the US is violently responding to those trying to stop it, we might not all be able to witness in the way Nancy physically/geographically did, but we can take responsibility for our roles by searching out pictures, video, and first-hand accounts from those directly impacted and committing the truth to memory.
If you are worried that being a memory keeper means a constant stream of the disturbing and graphic, know that sometimes this role is about noticing all the small deceptions that ultimately harm society, but aren’t as difficult to process.
For example, on January 21, 2017, the day after Trump’s inauguration, Dave and I took our daughter to Washington, DC, to participate in the Women’s March with hundreds of thousands of others. We saw thousands of protest signs that day.
A year later, the National Archives presented an exhibit about women’s rights and included altered images of the signs from that day to avoid offending Trump. Since they are an independent agency charged with documentation and preservation of the historical record, it was an outrageous move to alter that record. But Dave and I (and so many others) knew and have told the truth. We intentionally included our daughter that day, in part, so that when we are gone, she will know and tell the truth.
Reason #2: We may need to take action or support other’s actions.
The second reason is that you may need to act at some point. Your decision will only be as good as the information you have allowed in. If you have avoided the news or only taken in news that you are comfortable with, it’s possible that your action won’t represent your true values or might even directly harm others. It’s possible that you will make a choice that was easily manipulated by those counting on you being uninformed.
Notice I didn’t say “misinformed” or “disinformed” there. We all must do our best to spot misinformation and disinformation, which is getting harder and harder to do, especially with the rise of artificial intelligence. Any of us could indeed be the victims of concerted propaganda campaigns seeking to influence our actions. But the work of that influence is made significantly easier when we don’t take steps to stay aware of the world around us.
You might also judge wrongly the actions of others if you are not properly informed. A glaring example of this is those not supporting anti-genocide student encampments. Those students have taken seriously the responsibility of witnessing the live-streamed destruction of Gaza on their phones for nearly seven months.
While I acknowledge again that much of what they have seen is traumatizing, if we have not taken this responsibility seriously ourselves, we might think, “These kids are acting crazy and need to be disciplined.”
To put it bluntly, among many heinous things (take caution with the images in these links), they have listened to the voice of a 6-year-old girl begging for her life, they’ve seen the lifeless body of a 7-year-old left dangling from a wall, her legs blown off by a missile explosion, and they’ve seen doctors, many not much older than themselves, still in their scrubs, uncovered from mass graves. Knowing these things, we might instead decide to protect the students who are enduring moral injury while attempting to save Palestinian lives.
Beau of the Fifth Column, a freelance journalist and activist who covers current events and offers political analysis via his YouTube channel, does an excellent job in this episode of explaining the “action taker” reason to stay informed.
Reason #3: When we share burdens, they are divided.
The final reason I am advocating we not turn away from the news, as hard as it is to know the awful reality of our world, is that this reality is a burden that should be shared. Community care is not just about the “feel good” stuff. It’s more than potlucks with friends, sending flowers to a sick co-worker, or volunteering for a roadside cleanup. As the story of Nancy shows, community care sometimes involves real personal costs, like exposure to distressing events.
I know it will be easy to read my note today and completely lose the nuance in my message. “Angie wants me to be traumatized for community care? What a bunch of bullshit.”
Please know that I am not saying you should watch horrifying videos out of Gaza on a loop. I am not encouraging you to read the news until you are incapacitated with grief. But I am saying be willing to take in enough information to spread the weight of it more evenly in your community.
What does that look like concretely? Last week, I had a 1:1 conversation with a person who had formerly been 100% pro-Israel (2) but recognized that they might be missing information. I am on the outer periphery of this person’s community, but they identified me as a resource to discuss the events in Gaza.
When I began the conversation by asking what they did know, the answer was that they had completely avoided the news because of how depressing it was. It was then on me to carefully filter and navigate in a way that helped them reconsider their position without paralyzing them.
Here's a “two things can be true at once” admission: I greatly respect this person for trying to face something so difficult for them. I wish there were more people like them, and I am honored that they see me as a safe person to start the process with. But simultaneously, it is frustrating that we rely on a few individuals to filter and parse the news for those who are avoiding informing themselves.
Essentially, we are expecting some (including young students) to carry the traumatic burden of knowing and then to carefully share it in a sensitive way so it’s easier when others decide they are ready to know. This is the correct approach for our kids, who are still developing their capacity to understand upsetting information, not what should be expected among adults.
How will you share the burden?
I have written before about the choir analogy in social justice circles. The idea that a choir works, because some singers can take a breath while others carry the note, is a good analogy for how community care should work, including the community care that goes into staying informed.
Some of those around us might be nervous right now that if they take a moment to step away from the news and recharge, there aren’t enough others willing to be memory keepers, well-informed action takers, or burden sharers. They might be taking notice of the avoidance response of so many and deciding that they’ll shoulder more of the burden of knowing, despite the risks of despair, so that the community care work won’t be left completely disregarded . . . after all, disregard during a genocide is costly. The price is human lives.
The news IS a burden, but when we share it, I think we get much closer to the kind of community care that can actually change the world. MLK called it “a kind of dangerous unselfishness.”
Neighbors, after some reflection, I am taking a break, and this will be my last note for a few weeks. I’ll see you soon, but I hope that until then, you’ll let me know how you are handling the burden of the news.
Notes:
1) Being informed takes more effort than just glancing at New York Times headlines or flipping on CNN. Unfortunately, our media is often egregiously biased and has let journalistic standards slip. First-hand accounts and triple and even quadruple checking/comparing of news sources and their reports help ensure more accurate information.
2) I realize that using terms like “pro-Israel” or “pro-Palestine” might be uncomfortable for some readers. There are times when we have to choose a “side.” As Desmond Tutu said, “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.”
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Thank you for always providing me food for thought. I hope your time offers some rest.
An emotionally-literate piece — well done!