Thank you for reading, Noha. You got to the core of what I was feeling in the Post - there was a lot of emotion tied up in this, and I wrote and published it quickly. I've wondered if it was worth sharing in the way that I did...it's such a dilemma to try and participate or even speak our minds on this subject. A lot has changed since I posted this, and yet, sadly, a lot has stayed the same. I don't know if public accountability-shaming is effective, or if that is what I'd call this, but at the very least I wanted to point out that writing out all the reasons you're Not-Speaking about something means you are revealing how you really feel about it (and that any size Platform is still a Platform when we use our voices). I'm glad I found your writing this year and thanks for your comment!
I had a chat with another Substack friend about this same piece. It was very frustrating to all of us. I think the part that frustrated me most was how it was made to shut down the entire conversation. There’s definitely a double standard on this topic vs any other one.
This is beautiful. “We do not need to be experts or have PhDs on this subject to take a position, and our positions as individuals do not need to be comprehensive solutions. Sometimes, they can just be human responses (like fear, concern, or hope).” I think often about how I was cut off from my humanity in my over-intellectualization-era and how easy it is to diminish someone calling out their lack of expertise. So cutting, so dangerous.
Thank you, Isabel. I resonate with your description of the "over-Intellectualization" mindset. It's alluring to defer to someone that "has more knowledge" as a way to absolve yourself from having to share an opinion or feeling. On the flip side, it's alluring to posture and point to personal experience or intellect as a way to show we are "right" (I struggle with this, too - even writing this post was a version of this manifesting through me). I went with my feelings - we're human, after all.
I think if I were to evolve the writing I shared here, I'd leave more room for grace for the original author that triggered this realization for me (what a gift) and make this a generalized observation about the trap of over-intellectualization or people claiming to take "non-stances" (while having stances) rather than a personal Call-Out. I'm learning. I appreciate your comment and also don't want to continue the cycle of diminishment. Your post made me think of this as a situation to help change the perspective and be thankful for what I can recognize in myself and others.
YES!! I love where you are going with your thinking. I had a friend who was recently tasked with writing a book review and she hesitated to go negative, though she had qualms about the book. She said something that stuck with me: "I want to be FOR people." It's not that we can't engage in rigorous dialogue, but the impulse to critique and deconstruct only puts us back in our own echo chambers. I'm here for adding FOR-ness to all of our conversations and also holding our humanity and allowing ourselves opinions when our hearts hurt-- even if we can't "draw a topographical map." That line had me smiling :)
If you want to be silent, be silent - I love this. Exactly yes.
Thank you for reading, Noha. You got to the core of what I was feeling in the Post - there was a lot of emotion tied up in this, and I wrote and published it quickly. I've wondered if it was worth sharing in the way that I did...it's such a dilemma to try and participate or even speak our minds on this subject. A lot has changed since I posted this, and yet, sadly, a lot has stayed the same. I don't know if public accountability-shaming is effective, or if that is what I'd call this, but at the very least I wanted to point out that writing out all the reasons you're Not-Speaking about something means you are revealing how you really feel about it (and that any size Platform is still a Platform when we use our voices). I'm glad I found your writing this year and thanks for your comment!
I had a chat with another Substack friend about this same piece. It was very frustrating to all of us. I think the part that frustrated me most was how it was made to shut down the entire conversation. There’s definitely a double standard on this topic vs any other one.
This is beautiful. “We do not need to be experts or have PhDs on this subject to take a position, and our positions as individuals do not need to be comprehensive solutions. Sometimes, they can just be human responses (like fear, concern, or hope).” I think often about how I was cut off from my humanity in my over-intellectualization-era and how easy it is to diminish someone calling out their lack of expertise. So cutting, so dangerous.
Thank you, Isabel. I resonate with your description of the "over-Intellectualization" mindset. It's alluring to defer to someone that "has more knowledge" as a way to absolve yourself from having to share an opinion or feeling. On the flip side, it's alluring to posture and point to personal experience or intellect as a way to show we are "right" (I struggle with this, too - even writing this post was a version of this manifesting through me). I went with my feelings - we're human, after all.
I think if I were to evolve the writing I shared here, I'd leave more room for grace for the original author that triggered this realization for me (what a gift) and make this a generalized observation about the trap of over-intellectualization or people claiming to take "non-stances" (while having stances) rather than a personal Call-Out. I'm learning. I appreciate your comment and also don't want to continue the cycle of diminishment. Your post made me think of this as a situation to help change the perspective and be thankful for what I can recognize in myself and others.
YES!! I love where you are going with your thinking. I had a friend who was recently tasked with writing a book review and she hesitated to go negative, though she had qualms about the book. She said something that stuck with me: "I want to be FOR people." It's not that we can't engage in rigorous dialogue, but the impulse to critique and deconstruct only puts us back in our own echo chambers. I'm here for adding FOR-ness to all of our conversations and also holding our humanity and allowing ourselves opinions when our hearts hurt-- even if we can't "draw a topographical map." That line had me smiling :)
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻