Monday, March 11, 2024

decolonization, reparations, Kinetic Awareness®, the legacy of Elaine Summers, and the danger of the simple/single story

in times of acute crisis, a painkiller may be the only means to get at least a semblance of rest, even if the problem causing the pain is still as violent as ever. but at least for a moment, there is time and space to think more clearly again, not be consumed by the pain. the longer and more costly road is healing, finding the root cause, working on understanding and what works to help it get better, where and when needed. 

in the regions of the world influenced by European cultural zones, the 20th century brought us many more simple and single stories, good and bad, black and white, evil and noble, a direct consequence from the previous centuries. it takes time, and means to grow out of them, find the necessary details. as Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie pointed out not so long ago, there are very real-world dangers in the differences with the nuances of real word details. 

trans BIPOC writer Kai Cheng Thom equally writes about transformative justice, which looks at entire affected communities working together, even when just one or a few individuals have been affected by wrongdoing.

reparations could then mean re-balancing, healing. this is very different from a winner making a looser pay up, because they finally lost. (though to some extent, that, too can be a part, if not only to stop an aggressor) currently, realizing that our existence on this planet as a species is getting lost for good and with all consequences. doing what is still possible to minimize the inevitable losses. and realizing that no single one of us can do it alone, we must make concert-ed efforts for a longer time. 

on this blog and elsewhere i have written a lot about Elaine Summers, Kinetic Awareness® and the nuance they enable. of course I am personally biased, since they worked so well for me. at the same time, this is what I  have worked on just about all my life and what I can offer, for when and where it may work well beyond my own limitations, not more and not less. 

fortunately I am not alone with this, on www.kineticawarenesscenter.org and www.elainesummersdance.com and www.skytime.org/skyworksnew.html there are many more for starters, as there are related people from all walks of life. as Dr. Jill Green stated in a paper on dance and discipline, the image is that of a tree, made up of many roots and many branches. there are many trees, many mycelia, and so on, all over this planet, at least still for now.

1 comment:

Thomas Körtvélyessy said...

It is this diversity and ability to renewal and reformation which are key tactics and conditions for what has been termed survival of the fittest. (hint: not hegenomies or dictatorships, power over etc. historically those seem to last for about 300 years when created by human beings before falling apart, releasing the violence they have been created with ...)