When Tragedy Strikes (Issue #27)

This week's theme is the tough stuff – the ways we come together and navigate our ways through individual and collective tragedy.

Hi friends!

Along with many folks around the world, my heart is heavy for the people of Gaza and Israel as the violent conflict only continues to escalate. I shared some of my thoughts at the top of an issue of Sincerely, Celisia a few weeks ago, and my feelings of complex grief have only intensified since then. 

I haven’t talked about this as much on Substack, but my story as “someone who shares their thoughts on the internet” in many ways began during the summer of 2020. As a Black woman who calls Minneapolis home, the murder of George Floyd and subsequent uprising hit incredibly close. As a result, I began sharing my beliefs and perspectives on systemic racism, power, and under-taught history on my Instagram account @celisiastanton. You can read more about this time, and my thoughts as someone creating online racial justice content in this article from MIC. Now, over 3 years later, I’m grappling with what online activism looks like.

During the uprising, my role and responsibility felt tangible. It was my community after all. I was connected to what was happening here, and I felt like I knew what to do to be helpful, or at least I felt like I could figure it out. Posting online at the time felt like it mattered, too, as my words were shared across Instagram. In some ways, it did matter, and honestly, in many other ways, it didn’t. Looking back, my feelings about online activism have shifted since 2020. I’ve now witnessed, countless times, the ways that online engagement shifts from something valuable to something performative. Don’t get me wrong, raising awareness and starting conversations online is important, but is it possible this online outrage actually keeps us complacent? I mean, if I posted on Instagram do I get to “check off” my solidarity box for the day? And if solidarity is something bigger than that, what does it look like when I’m an American, thousands of miles away from atrocities funded by my tax dollars? 

During the uprising, I built a sizeable audience, but a good chunk of those folks aren’t actually very engaged with me or anything I have to say nowadays. To this day, I lose followers every time I post. For better or for worse, many people who checked their diversity box in 2020 have grown tired, and their support of me and my activism quickly waned as the heat of that summer faded into history. 

I saw a post this past week that said something along the lines of “Dear young people, what is happening in Gaza is your Vietnam war.” It feels a fitting comparison, as both conflicts heavily used U.S. resources to fund violence abroad, and I’ve really been grappling with what my obligations in this movement are. And to tell you the truth, I’m still not exactly sure. This is rare for me, as I usually have pretty strong and clear opinions on what to do, how to engage, and where I can be useful. But in some ways, the comparison to Vietnam was helpful to me, not because it provided a concrete answer on what exactly to do next. But rather, because the idea of telling the next generation about my actions in this moment serves as a meaningful reflection to help guide me in showing up as the best version of myself.

So for today’s issue, I wanted to sit with the complexity of navigating through tragedy and collective grief. And before we jump into today’s recommendations, here’s a little note on solidarity that I’ve been mulling over a lot lately:

woketeachers

A post shared by @woketeachers

A round-up of things to watch, read, and listen to as you head into the weekend.

I know how frustrating paywalls are! When possible, I’ll try to offer gift links through my subscriptions to support access to high-quality journalism.

• New York Times: Opinion - ‘I’m Crying for All the Victims That Are Going to Suffer’ (gift link) by Nicholas Kristof

  • In this piece, Nicholas Kristof reports live from Tel Aviv, sharing the perspective of a handful of folks living in the area. I appreciated the ways this piece highlighted different perspectives of folks closely affected by the events in Israel and Gaza, and held a lot of nuance throughout the discussion. Definitely a piece worth sitting with. 

• New York Times: The Scientists Watching Their Life’s Work Disappear (gift link) Interviews by Catrin Einhorn

  • Another article that profiles a number of different people, this piece features scientists whose work has been drastically affected by climate change. It’s a look at the effects of climate change unlike what I’ve ever seen before. As a photographer, I especially loved Thea Traff’s photos that were sprinkled throughout the piece. Each photo displays a scientist and/or the object of their study, and it really added an impactful dimension to the article. 

• New York Times: George Santos Swore He’d Never Talk to Me. Then the Phone Rang. (gift link) by Grace Ashford

  • I’ve been following the George Santos scandal pretty closely, so I found this profile particularly fascinating. The story follows Grace Ashford, a journalist who was assigned to cover Santos starting last fall. And despite tons of reporting on Santos, his campaign funding scandals, and the associated criminal charges, Ashford was unable to secure a conversation with Santos himself. That is until he finally reached out to her. The article is brilliantly written, and I was hooked the whole way through. Check it out!

Action items to support and care for the world around us.

• Donate to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, which provides “assistance and protection for registered Palestine refugees.”

• Donate to The Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund. This organization is delivering medical relief and essential resources like food and clean water to civilians in Gaza.

• Learn more about what’s happening in Gaza with Wiser World Podcast: Palestinian-Israeli Conflict 101 Parts 1-3. I found this podcast after

  Dani Bruflodt
  recommended it in her Substack The Weekly Page, and on her Instagram @thyme_is_honey. I’ve started listening and I think it’s a really good in-depth primer, especially for those who feel like they have a really limited understanding of the history of the region and conflict. There are 3 episodes, each under 1 hour in length. Highly recommend it for anyone looking to supplement their foundational knowledge of the region and historical conflict. 

• To take your education even further, check out Light in Gaza: Writings Born of Fire. This anthology features a variety of Palestinian writers and artists reflecting on Gaza today and into the future. I especially loved this part of the description: “As political discourse shifts toward futurism as a means of reimagining a better way of living, beyond the violence and limitations of colonialism, Light in Gaza is an urgent and powerful intervention into an important political moment.”

Things to try + share in the group chat.

Note: Links preceded by an asterisk (*) are affiliate links that allow me to collect a small commission when you purchase something I’ve recommended. That said, I can promise I’ll only ever share items I love. Buying through these links is one way to support me and my small biz. ❤️

• Givingli is one of my favorite tools for last-minute gifts and letters of support! You can design your own cute card, and send gifts and gift cards directly through the app. I especially love Givingli for random gifting as the need arises, but it’s also great for birthdays or other holidays.

• I saw *Stay True: A Memoir by Hua Hsu at a bookstore a few weeks ago and immediately added it to my Christmas wishlist. The book won the Pulitzer Prize and is a New York Times Bestseller! The story follows Hua and his friend Kevin, whose unlikely college friendship eventually leads to an inseparable bond. But Hua writes this story in the wake of tragedy and grief after Ken was killed in a carjacking. The description describes the book as “A gripping memoir on friendship, grief, the search for self, and the solace that can be found through art.” Really really looking forward to reading this!

• I mentioned

  Dani Bruflodt
  earlier in today’s issue, so I would be remiss to not point you towards her newest holistic wellness and productivity course, The Daily Method! Dani’s approach is “simple systems to a better life,” and offers incredible support for anyone looking to get organized, make time for their health, and establish new habits. Registration is extended for at least a few more weeks, and I highly recommend you check it out!!

Before you go, make sure to check out what paid subscribers got this week:

This week I shared my top tips + products that reduce clutter, clean spills, and help me tackle even the busiest of weeks. It’s actually a great pairing with today’s theme. I don’t know about you, but my house inevitably gets the messiest when I’m going through a difficult time, and I can use all the shortcuts, helpful cleaning gadgets, and solid structures that I can get! You can read it here.

I hope you take excellent care of yourself this weekend, and I will see you back here on Monday <3

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