YES AND is a valuable strategy for having moral clarity and holding space for human complexity.
YES, it’s hard not to be inspired by the resilience shown by the Ukrainian people. It’s been refreshing to see leadership, courage, and unity after everything we’ve seen from places of power the past several years.
AND, it’s been disheartening to see people cling to anti-Blackness at borders during a time of crisis. From the “they aren’t like those refugees” rhetoric from talking heads to the blockade of African students and Black Ukrainians at shelters. I HATE how even during a moment emphasizing unity, Black people are still subject to this.
YES, there are a lot of reasons to hope for a depowered Putin. There are a lot of valid fears of what he could and might do, but I think of all the ways he and his media warfare have sowed discord around the world, especially in my own country, making it substantially harder to solve problems like climate, poverty, and the pandemic while also tearing families apart.
AND there are also all kinds of reminders that this doesn’t represent all of Russia. Someone speaking out against their government’s actions in Russia is a serious risk to their safety, yet thousands are doing it. Captured Russian soldiers seem forced to suffer and commit violence their leaders are unwilling to. And there are many in the gray zone- both victims and purveyors of misinformation.
YES, I wish the world could bring this moral clarity and unified action to parallel aggressions in civilian areas of Palestine, Yemen, Syria, Afghanistan, and Somalia. And the reasons why we don’t are wrong and unfair.
AND I know that NOBODY is able to respond to every global injustice in an equal and appropriate way. They are everywhere, everyday, and nobody isn’t guilty of being a bit selective. But I hope that the searing images of violence against ordinary people can strengthen our collective resolve to pursue peace and oppose war anywhere that it pops up. Most people I know who care deeply about peace have one episode that woke them up to its importance and what the world looks like without it. I hope this is somebody’s awakening to further pursue peace.
