Trauma shared versus trauma worn

In the west trauma is an identity. We are encouraged to put on like an outfit, not just a jacket, but an entire outfit.  All the different pieces to tell you why I am the victim that you must listen to.  Don’t be naked under that identity jacket.

I have a few such outfits in my closet, that is true. It gets thrown up in defence to the identity politics. and it gets brought out like a shield when you’re going into them for a useless attack to satiate the rage…Because I grew up here with the west on top of me and we all preform as colonizers taught us (to some degree).

Identity shared is a different than oppression Olympics. Identity shared is looking for understanding, mutuality, a connection through what we share instead of a comparison of hierarchy in the wrong direction.  Seeking to be worshipped as the ultimate victim, knows everything until they made a mistake. At which point they are naïve don’t blame them. They are a victim. 

The mutual ally versus best victim. 

Mutually shared shows us who our natural allies are. It helps build bridges, shared understanding of what we are overcoming together. What we are building a bridge over. We can see how our two sides are simply the east and west side of a  shared river.  We are both river banks divided by a river that can sweep us away if we fall into it.  If all we do is talk about how bad it is on our side with this river and how much worse this river is for us. We will never get a bridge built.  We will instead build a wall.

I was asked once why I welcomed a sweat lodge family (I was a part of) that included several Muslims (rooted strongly in their own identity), but disliked lodge with white settlers.  White settlers are in search of what they are missing (while claiming superior enlightenment) and wanted me to give that to them in spirituality. Usually while recognizing them as an elder or reincarnated deity.  Muslims came looking for shared, political, ethical, spiritual allies. They didn’t need our spirituality, they had their own. They didn’t see one as superior to the other they could pray with us as equals, without needing to take anything but a shared relationship.

You think it’s just because the Muslims came already with a religion, but white Christians show up to sweat lodges and they still come looking to take spirituality because of what theirs is lacking.  And what they are lacking is why I don’t trust them. 

———-

I made a new friend this week.

Two world indigenous folks equally identified a pretendian in their midst.  Now they are friends. 

*its deeper than that but is related to my words above.