“You could do Lewis and Clark parties compared to the club scene, staying on top working out every day or living in the dorms as a senior,” suggested my boyfriend when I told him I didn’t know to write about for this week's blog.
“I kinda wanna write about Russia and Ukraine”
“Lizzie, don’t offend people.”
It stuck with me that he gave me a look as if he knew exactly what I was thinking about writing and didn’t think it was a good idea. It was an oh brother, here she goes, being problematic again. It stung. It was honestly a new response because I've found safe spaces all around campus to voice my opinion and even when people didn't agree, I wasn't shut down like this. I have the right to feel upset about a situation getting so much attention while still understanding the situation is deserving of that attention. My heart can break for everyone in Ukraine while still feeling the response we’re giving is deserved whenever any people are in crisis, not just white people.
Everyone seems shocked that a war could break out in a ‘civilized place’ or somewhere ‘it doesn’t typically happen.’ How have we racialized war and the bodies we see as acceptable victims of war? I can understand the outrage and also notice that this same outrage is rooted in racism. When all of Europe opens their borders to Ukrainian refugees when at they same time won’t accept refugees from Syria or other countries where the refugees don’t look like their own. I think the war is heavy on most people’s minds and it can be hard on our mental health, but I think it is extra hard for minorities right now. I see how the war is extra hard on Ukrainians of color and how the treatment of these refugees changes based on skin color and origin. It hurt because I have African, Afghani, and Colombian friends and family that have experienced the terror of war and been turned away and discriminated against when seeking refuge. It makes me think about the word refugee and how that image might be changing for some people, especially when I hear interviews with leaders in Europe talking about how these are typical refugees, but what makes them different? Because they come from a ‘developed’ country does that make them more deserving of refuge?
I was thinking about all this when my boyfriend said not to offend people, but to be honest, I wasn’t even going to write all that when I said I wanted to write about Russia and Ukraine. I just wanted to check up on everybody. I know I have been feeling so many emotions: devastation, fear, and anger. Everything feels like something I would read in a history book about things that happened before the world was connected through news and social media, but it’s happening today and it’s scary. It shouldn’t be happening, but it is and I think that even though it’s hard, we must stay informed because this is our world and there is power in being informed even in the times we may feel most helpless. I’ve been listening to Democracy Now, The Daily podcast as well as staying up with people’s first-hand accounts posted to social media. I also love The Daily Show with Trevor Noah because he usually finds a way to lighten the mood a bit while still being informed. My job as well as other organizations and clubs on campus have hosted talks about the conflict and where to get information.
Really, I think LC is a safe space for these conversations and most professors and fellow peers encourage conversations like these. This blog is just my opinion, but it's one I'm allowed to express it because I have a safe space to do so. I just want people to know they’re not alone in feeling overwhelmed and devastated right now. It’s hard to feel normal when such horrible things are going on in the world, but in the same breath it isn’t new and I wish the world had the same response anytime any group of people were in crisis. In the meantime take time for yourself and your mental health however that looks for you.