One of my past roles was one of a labour activist and I sat as the Vice President on my union’s executive board for years. I fought for people’s rights and was very vocal about it. However, in time I would begin to realize that it was mostly done in vain.
It’s not that we didn’t make small changes for people.. but having worked at the same company for nearly 29 years, I began to see that the changes were minute and that in actuality, things have been significantly diminished over the the years as they continuously chiseled away at any of the things that gave us some semblance of security.
The reality is that the idea of unions and other organizations that “help” is grande and wonderful.. However, you have to understand that these things exist within the very colonial and patriarchal structures that do nothing for the advantage and welfare of “the people”. Essentially, captors would never give people the means to proverbially (and literally) free themselves. They would merely give them the illusion of so by granting small details that appear to be helpful, while dangling an illusory and holographic carrot before our eyes.
The truth is that a people under a constant state of struggle and duress, is a people who is burnt out, disconnected and detached; A people who can’t afford groceries or shelter, whilst having the cops raid tent encampments of those who have to go without, is a people who are on edge, depressed and disassociated; A people who are preoccupied with war and famine and violence, is a people who are greatly divided and removed and harbouring hate, doubt and contempt; A people who are constantly on this wheel of uncertainty and upheaval with no hope or promise of something better, is a people who are severely disempowered, disenchanted and despondent.
Thus making it effortless for the ones in power to continue to lobby for infrastructures and laws that only seem to benefit them whilst they continue to hoard more and more wealth off the backs of a people that can barely get by.
The rise of mental health issues isn’t something new. It’s just something that has become so obvious in the last few years. Even myself, as a “frontline worker” was praised for being “A HERO” during difficult times.. but yet, we weren’t allowed a voice when we wanted to speak.. and we certainly were not even allowed ONE paid sick day. Don’t ever let them fool you that they care about our health and well being as long as they continue to build and support the structures that MAKE US SICK. This is the biggest lie that they have fed us.
This isn’t a time to riot. Yes, we can be angry. But we can use that anger to channel it into something bigger. Like, connection and community. Our power lays in our connection and it is the highest currency that exists which is why great measures have always been put in place to divide and disconnect us from not only one another, but from ourselves.
I am always reminded of Plato’s the Allegory of the Cave when I talk about these things because we are existing in a modern day version of this and it’s so masterfully crafted with precision to give people the illusion that they are not enslaved in the cave. But we are. And only some people are aware of it. But maybe that is beginning to change. And maybe the time has finally come to leave the cave.
We cannot fix a system that was never built for us to thrive.. but we can begin to create a new one. As we begin to awaken and become aware of things.. we can begin connecting with ourselves and coming back into our bodies. We can begin to regulate our nervous systems. We can begin to reclaim ourselves. We can begin to build community and connection. And it might seem like some pipe dream.. but it’s more of a reality than we realize.
But the important part is that we begin.
-G.
