RESISTING EViL

[i wrote this in MAY 2019; just found it in an old journal]

when we talk about resisting evil— how sometimes people must rise up to defeat evil— we hear the example of the nazis.

but no one ever talks about resisting evil within ourselves. it’s always an epic, global, abstract saga. never about noticing the banality of evil in our own day, or turning towards suffering rather than away. never about asking: for how long will i accept the status quo, which means collaborating with: MEN ON TOP/ WHITES ON TOP/ THE WEALTHY ON TOP.

how long will i passively/aggressively accept that others around me are more limited than i in freedom, and some around me have more freedom than i do?

we all love an epic narrative about resisting evil, but who will have the courage to do what it takes to enact one? the actuality of doing so is often not epic or heroic. it usually is UNCOMFORTABLE at best, and FATAL at worst. resisting evil means being shunned by some people and damned by others.

there is a terrible paradox: when you go against the grain many people will tell you that you’re wrong— but that doesn’t mean you’re right. so the paradox is that often, in the moment, being DEAD WRONG is indistinguishable from being ahead of the crowd.