Caitlin, you've really hit it out of the park with this one. As a child of a mother who survived horrific abuse and as a 62 year old woman who left her husband after 19 years of abuse, I recognize that everything here is true. Yet, I STILL found myself getting into relationships that weren't healthy. I had a very messy life and several more breakups. Today, I finally found myself content with who I am without a partner. I have a loving community of friends - both male and female - and making choices that are right for me instead of looking to please someone else or avoid judgement.
Thank you for this. When I was in an abusive relationship I knew I needed to get out and I also didn't know how. I called a therapist and made an appointment and told her this. To my initial surprise, we didn't work on me leaving the relationship, we just worked on me. When I finally left, it wasn't a triumph, it was just the next step in the process of my healing; a messy, imperfect and still ongoing process.
I didn't catch the quote in its entirety but it was something like:
"And here is where I depart from American Identitarianism, that a certain Brazilian Left is copying instead of looking at what matters which is to leave this at the side and start to make a totally fragmented discourse that at the limit collides with popular morality. So if you look, you have it like this; Brazil spends four years with the rich having abortions in private stand-alone clinics, and the poor ones sticking knitting needles up their vagina and dying or almost dying arriving at the hospital. Nobody talks about it".
Yes, Roe v. Wade has diverted us for way too long. I am looking forward to it being overturned so that the Democratic Oligarchy can no longer pretend that there is nothing they can do. There should have been Federal legislation on abortion decades ago.
The democrats will talk all day about racism and people of color; will drape themselves in Kente cloth and take down Civil War statues, but will NEVER actually address the root causes of systemic inequality because they are part of it. Then, after years of nipping at the edges and losing an election, they blame the voters and the republicans. One has to be steeped in DNC propaganda to not see this annual charade for what it is.
Yes, abortion should have been addressed in the context of personal autonomy many years ago.
I tell people that on July 13, 1789, French peasants were probably despairing if change would ever happen. The next day, the Bastille was stormed. Not that the French revolution changed much more than the American revolution. But change did come in its time. And it can come again. Perhaps we need to keep turning up the heat.
Excellent article and very timely. I can feel in my bones that this will not continue on much longer, (another relative term as a day with the Lord is as a 1,000 years) but what the form of our deliverance from evil will look like is completely obscured and nebulous. It feels like we are a living parable at this moment in time. So much is plainly in site yet is not seen. Contradictory nonsense pours forth endlessly, yet is not heard. We are fortunate to see and hear, yet do not have the details as to how the unraveling will all happen. Perhaps it’s to keep our own hubris out of the denouement so all glory will go where it should.
Your article got me pondering and thinking about all this, which is what good writing does. Thank you!
Our ability or lack thereof to feel the temperature rising is a direct reflection of the trauma we experience as children. The more trauma, the less we feel anything, much less the subtle signs of creeping totalitarianism. Traumatized populations cope by shutting down their feelings. That is the root of the problem. Until we stop the trauma, allowing people to feel safe experiencing their feelings and healing their physical and emotional wounds, our culture will immiserate the vulnerable, the marginalized, the prey of the powerful, wealthy oligarchs.
The abuse of individuals in a relationship is a microcosm of the narrative Caitlin is describing. We all want simple solutions 'out there', but Caitlin, by drawing the analogy here, is saying we need to look at our relationships, look within for the parallels. It is her gift and her challenge to us to recognize this fundamental truth.
And those who tried and failed and now sit on the sidelines looking for leadership that they can't provide themselves. And those who followed false prophets who have betrayed them again and again and again. The lies have accumulated to the point that there is no one to believe any longer.
Lovely….and yes, the body equates the known and familiar with safety even if our situation is full of abuse/suffering.
The more we come back to the only point of contact with reality—the here now—the less our body will redirect our attention to the survival brain.
Our mental absence prompts the alarm that we may be too distracted to notice an imminent danger. Thus we return to our ancient survival programming and perceive reality through this filter. In this state we favour the known and familiar over the unknown.
Our presence—attending to the here now—reduces the domination by our ancient programming which includes the fear of the unknown.
Our deepest nature is unknowable to the mind but its presence can be felt in the body. Fear of the unknown is therefore also fear of our deepest self.
So inhabiting the Now with our attention makes us comfortable with uncertainty. We are now free to tap into that part of us that always delighted in surprises.
Last night I posted a video ( https://youtu.be/CsA5cf04t40 ) called Digging into the Data that talks about a quiet strategy for revolution, maybe like transferring some belongings to a friend's house in the meantime. And it talks about the spiritual side and all the tenderness, caring & heartbreaking stories I've found both in my personal life and online. I quote Caitlin on censorship by algorithm. But I explore the possibility that we're all people of good hearts and good minds who've been lied to. Rather than being divided over the question of vaccines, the real question is whether Federal agencies enable corruption, defined as prioritizing private gain over the public good. I suggest partnering with city council or a county supervisor to audit the data we've sent to the CDC and whether it matches the conclusions that came back. I know that's a far cry from taking to the ramparts, but I'm leaving it as a trail of breadcrumbs that there might be a way back, at some point in our collective future ;-)
Caitlin, you've really hit it out of the park with this one. As a child of a mother who survived horrific abuse and as a 62 year old woman who left her husband after 19 years of abuse, I recognize that everything here is true. Yet, I STILL found myself getting into relationships that weren't healthy. I had a very messy life and several more breakups. Today, I finally found myself content with who I am without a partner. I have a loving community of friends - both male and female - and making choices that are right for me instead of looking to please someone else or avoid judgement.
Your ability to erect signposts on a road yet paved is remarkable, and the picture you paint is really the only hopeful one possible. Thank you.
Thank you for this. When I was in an abusive relationship I knew I needed to get out and I also didn't know how. I called a therapist and made an appointment and told her this. To my initial surprise, we didn't work on me leaving the relationship, we just worked on me. When I finally left, it wasn't a triumph, it was just the next step in the process of my healing; a messy, imperfect and still ongoing process.
Worth careful reading the translation -- outstanding Brazilian politician
Inequality versus Woke BS
https://youtu.be/21i4l9T62HY
I didn't catch the quote in its entirety but it was something like:
"And here is where I depart from American Identitarianism, that a certain Brazilian Left is copying instead of looking at what matters which is to leave this at the side and start to make a totally fragmented discourse that at the limit collides with popular morality. So if you look, you have it like this; Brazil spends four years with the rich having abortions in private stand-alone clinics, and the poor ones sticking knitting needles up their vagina and dying or almost dying arriving at the hospital. Nobody talks about it".
Yes, Roe v. Wade has diverted us for way too long. I am looking forward to it being overturned so that the Democratic Oligarchy can no longer pretend that there is nothing they can do. There should have been Federal legislation on abortion decades ago.
The democrats will talk all day about racism and people of color; will drape themselves in Kente cloth and take down Civil War statues, but will NEVER actually address the root causes of systemic inequality because they are part of it. Then, after years of nipping at the edges and losing an election, they blame the voters and the republicans. One has to be steeped in DNC propaganda to not see this annual charade for what it is.
Yes, abortion should have been addressed in the context of personal autonomy many years ago.
That man made perfect sense, and shined a bright light on the cynical identity politics embraced by the current batch of democrats.
Thank you for this.
I tell people that on July 13, 1789, French peasants were probably despairing if change would ever happen. The next day, the Bastille was stormed. Not that the French revolution changed much more than the American revolution. But change did come in its time. And it can come again. Perhaps we need to keep turning up the heat.
Excellent article and very timely. I can feel in my bones that this will not continue on much longer, (another relative term as a day with the Lord is as a 1,000 years) but what the form of our deliverance from evil will look like is completely obscured and nebulous. It feels like we are a living parable at this moment in time. So much is plainly in site yet is not seen. Contradictory nonsense pours forth endlessly, yet is not heard. We are fortunate to see and hear, yet do not have the details as to how the unraveling will all happen. Perhaps it’s to keep our own hubris out of the denouement so all glory will go where it should.
Your article got me pondering and thinking about all this, which is what good writing does. Thank you!
On the other hand, you have those storied frogs who just feel the temperature rising.
Our ability or lack thereof to feel the temperature rising is a direct reflection of the trauma we experience as children. The more trauma, the less we feel anything, much less the subtle signs of creeping totalitarianism. Traumatized populations cope by shutting down their feelings. That is the root of the problem. Until we stop the trauma, allowing people to feel safe experiencing their feelings and healing their physical and emotional wounds, our culture will immiserate the vulnerable, the marginalized, the prey of the powerful, wealthy oligarchs.
The abuse of individuals in a relationship is a microcosm of the narrative Caitlin is describing. We all want simple solutions 'out there', but Caitlin, by drawing the analogy here, is saying we need to look at our relationships, look within for the parallels. It is her gift and her challenge to us to recognize this fundamental truth.
And those who tried and failed and now sit on the sidelines looking for leadership that they can't provide themselves. And those who followed false prophets who have betrayed them again and again and again. The lies have accumulated to the point that there is no one to believe any longer.
Brilliant much needed perspective! Strength!
Lovely….and yes, the body equates the known and familiar with safety even if our situation is full of abuse/suffering.
The more we come back to the only point of contact with reality—the here now—the less our body will redirect our attention to the survival brain.
Our mental absence prompts the alarm that we may be too distracted to notice an imminent danger. Thus we return to our ancient survival programming and perceive reality through this filter. In this state we favour the known and familiar over the unknown.
Our presence—attending to the here now—reduces the domination by our ancient programming which includes the fear of the unknown.
Our deepest nature is unknowable to the mind but its presence can be felt in the body. Fear of the unknown is therefore also fear of our deepest self.
So inhabiting the Now with our attention makes us comfortable with uncertainty. We are now free to tap into that part of us that always delighted in surprises.
❤ Vous avez un don Caitlin, celui de faire s'arrêter de lire et de penser, réfléchir à ce que l'on viens de lire 💪
"You have a gift Caitlin, that of making people stop reading and thinking, thinking about what we have just read."
beautiful
Last night I posted a video ( https://youtu.be/CsA5cf04t40 ) called Digging into the Data that talks about a quiet strategy for revolution, maybe like transferring some belongings to a friend's house in the meantime. And it talks about the spiritual side and all the tenderness, caring & heartbreaking stories I've found both in my personal life and online. I quote Caitlin on censorship by algorithm. But I explore the possibility that we're all people of good hearts and good minds who've been lied to. Rather than being divided over the question of vaccines, the real question is whether Federal agencies enable corruption, defined as prioritizing private gain over the public good. I suggest partnering with city council or a county supervisor to audit the data we've sent to the CDC and whether it matches the conclusions that came back. I know that's a far cry from taking to the ramparts, but I'm leaving it as a trail of breadcrumbs that there might be a way back, at some point in our collective future ;-)