If you can’t beat them
. . . then join them.”
This common expression suggests that there’s something worthy about giving in to a struggle or cause that we appear to be losing. Perhaps most of us have found ourselves conceding to actions we consider despicable. Over these past several months with the stream of tyrannical policies and practices targeting assorted groups of people, there may actually be very little we could have done.
Even after gaining our composure, there still are some who resist doing anything. This concession may be due to people not having the confidence to act against the conditions or to the belief that “things will work out on their own or when certain people step in to turn things around.” There may also be partial concessions: “I may not agree with everything that’s being done, but I agree with ____________, typically some general topic like immigration or the reformulation of DEI programs but absent of expressing concerns about the havoc and corruption created in the execution of recent changes in these areas.
Feelings of overwhelm and fear are what I have heard many people express about their encounters with the unfair changes occurring around us locally, in our communities, at the national level, and globally. The fear may be the result of retribution, real or imagined, or being fired from one’s job. “And what if others disapprove of me?, some wonder. These feelings can leave many feeling defeated.
When we feel fearful or defeated, we tend to disengage ourselves from the world. We also disengage from our “true” selves, that aspect of who we are as members of a common human family. Chapter Elder Dr. Doty Simpson-Taylor calls this disengagement “moral injury.” Moral injury is a deep sense of pain that resides inside us and that prevents us from seizing opportunities to help bring an end to our personal challenges and from constructively acting against injustice. This pain also blinds us to the reality that the struggle for justice and harmony and the societal and global levels is not a losing one.
Moral injury can be passed across generations, emerge from traumatic experiences like war, rape, child neglect, and emotional abuse. We suppress the pain using various strategies like alcohol or drug use, spending or sex addiction, workaholism, and denial of feelings, that only lessen its intensity temporarily. We lead healthy lives when we recognize the pain and pursue pathways to heal ourselves. We can also take part in the process of healing when we recognize our power to create positive change not only on the inside but also outside.
What Do We Do?
When the struggle is for justice, then to “join them” is to sink into a madness that has long plagued societies throughout the world. It is the madness that has compromised the truthful reporting of local and world events and rendered safeguards for fairness and equity obsolete in public institutions and within other entities that have long relied on federal fundings. It is a madness that jeopardizes people’s lives by removing their sources for basic needs by enacting policies that translate into tax cuts for the extremely wealthy.
“Action” comes in many different forms. It happens in the form of protests with placards (and even with crawling), donatng money to organizations who committed to social justice, writing letters or attending town hall meetings with local, elected officials, starting or meeting regularly in groups with the purpose of finding ways to tune into one issue to help create a fairer existence for all people, teaching children, your own or others, about making sense of what’s happening in their lives and modeling constructive actions described here. Becoming aware of the limitations of mainstream news media by searching for evidence-based news is also an important strategy at this time especially.
These are perfect opportunities to show our light. Ifor example, I am wracked with joy over those who have publicly faced the struggle with persistence. These include elected officials like Rashid Tliab the sole Palestianian-American elected to Congress whose campaign against tax dollars to bomb the Gaza Strip has been relentless. Nikole Hannah-Jones felt she couldn’t resist responding to recent media attention from a celebrity who shared inaccurate knowledge about the enslavement of Africans and its
impact on current society:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/society-culture-and-history/social-issues/nikole-hannah-jones-claps-back- at-jillian-michaels-slavery-remarks-historically-accurate-diss-track/ar-AA1KOme0
Joining them might mean sitting on a school board and saying little or nothing about approving the distorted knowledge for adoption into the school curriculum.
What I am suggesting is another adage: Whenever the struggle for justice seems insurmountable, then re-tool and persist in your actions.: you stay the course and act in ways that are consistent with your beliefs about fair and humane treatment for all humans. Everyone deserves fair and humane treatment.
Because whatever the outcome of the actions to urge justice, you’re at your best when you act against society’s madness.
Instead of “If you can’t beat them, join them,” how about:
“ When the struggle for justice
appears insurmountable, re-tool
and persist in your actions.”
Because whatever the outcome, you’re at your best when you
act against society’s madness.
Boycotting 101: Lessons I Learned This Month
I did it again. I purchased items at my local Lowe’s store, an establishment on my boycott list. The reasons for my descent into a boycotted store were good ones, at least for a boycotting newbie. The reasons? I already did my due diligence --- online searching, making phone calls to a different store to see if they ahd the item, and then discovering that the one local store I intended to patronize charged more than twice as much for one of the items. And yet another reason: I was squeezing between two appointment and feeling rather spent from all the research.
The saving grace is that Lowe’s used to be my go-to store so having selected a few very goodalternatives over the past few months means that my shopping days at Lowe’s have droppeddramatically. Incidentally, I live in an ageing house in need of lots of repairs and replacements, hencemy focus on home improvement.
Just as a reminder: since taking this boycotting journey, I’ve become more conscientious aboutspending money, which has become a real treat. My goal is to direct all of my spending to a small groupof vendors whose values are closely aligned with mine. This means that I no longer grab things at thelocal convenience store when I’m late for a meal. Instead, I carry the food I eat with me, at least most ofthe time. That means carrying around a freezer pack for my yogurt.
I’ve also found that I’m much more attuned to the quality of the products I purchase. Therefore,because I am spending less money overall, I’m able to spend a tad more on a particular product that Ilike. For example, I no longer Procter and Gamble products --- like Tide, Colgate, Dawn, etc.), and havefound some excellent replacements that costs only slightly more in price.
Cosmetics
The same sentiment about spending for quality applies to cosmetics.
I’ve worn make-up since the age of 14. I was a super-shy and self-conscious teen who had acne breakouts and looked for anything to cover them up. I tried all kinds of make-up, some of which made me break out even worse. With the help of my parents, I went to a dermatologist who specialized in Black skin and things improved greatly until I was on my own and too poor to continue the treatments and medications. It wasn’t until I was in my late 30s that I began better managing the acne.
Most recently, I’ve been pleased with a set of products from Black-owned companies and that are plant- based, often vegan, and free of the toxins. All are ethically-produced. I like Laws of Nature ( and Plain Jane Beauty (https://plainjanebeauty.net/ ). (And while we’re on the subject of naturally safe products, check out the Coalition for Safe Cosmetics (https://www.safecosmetics.org/blog/beauty-is-powerful- when-you-can-be-yourself/). I recently discovered Well People Cosmetics (www.wellpeople.com) for eye liner and mascara. To the best of my knowledge, there are no Black-owned companies that produce these latter products. (But if you know of any, do let me know! chathomp@iu.edu).
By the way, this photo was taken after I sat for about 40 minutes with a make-up artist. My sister, who is a filmmaker, invited me for an interview for her latest documentary and kindly treated me to this make-up session before the taping. (When I do my own, I take no more than 10 minutes to apply it.) And speaking of ethically-produced products, does anyone know the current status of toxins in synthetic hair products?
Here’s a link to learn more.
https://blackdoctor.org/warning-cancer-causing-toxins-found-in-popular-hair-braids/
