I have so many feelings connected to #Paris. Paris reminds me of my family. Paris reminds me of my first public performance ;) (aka: playing my violin in the metro at 6 years old next to my mom on viola and my 4 year old brother holding the music in his hands). Paris reminds me of the four months I lived there. I was connected to a very special synagogue there that I still think of often. I wore my Jewish star necklace proudly there, and never felt any repercussions for it. My teachers were understanding when I requested to miss class for high holiday services. This is not to say that antisemitism (and Islamophobia) dont exist there, or anywhere else really. If I was there today, I would march, but only merely in solidarity and unity, because Je ne suis pas Charlie. I am not Charlie; I would not draw the type of cartoons he drew. They were antagonistic and hurtful to many. At the same time, I do think under freedom of speech he had every right to publish his work. But what is freedom really? The right to do whatever you want regardless of how it affects others? What if you flip this very idea and instead exchange freedom of speech for the opposite end of the spectrum: censorship. Doesnt censorship, a decision by law of limiting how individuals want and need to express themselves, also a disregarding force on a population? What happens when we use our free will, our human right to self-expression and self-determination, and yet it is only meant for our enjoyment or for our beliefs or for our needs? Where is there space for anyone else to exist? Cultural and systemic violence aside, the resorting to physical violence is what I find the most painful part of this tragic episode. And that people felt the need to resort to physical violence to uphold their extremist ideology, whether in Paris, Nigeria, Syria, Israel, Palestine, or elsewhere. How do families and communities repair after such trauma and re-traumatization? And what role do we as society play in hindering recovery or supporting healing?
Posted on: Sun, 11 Jan 2015 21:56:06 +0000