Wednesday, October 24, 2018
Love in a climate of hatred
https://infonet.com.br/noticias/cidade/corpo-de-laysa-fortuna-e-sepultado-sob-protestos-contra-transfobia/?fbclid=IwAR0sEiOa2fjD9E2ryczC9KRc7K5cKkQ5J2pSTweB0vsv5jNEZfOyqkjzUyE
Geovana said of her friend, as they buried her,"Laysa embodies happiness. She was a woman warrior and she communicated that. She wanted people to be happy, to be respected, and to be free".
They buried her on the 20th. On the 16th I was in the centre of Sao Paulo when I heard about Priscila, murdered in the centre of town not far from where i was.
She had been hacked to death by a group of men who shouted: "Bolsonaro for President!" and "Under him hunting queers will be legalised".
https://ponte.org/travesti-e-assassinada-a-facadas-no-centro-de-sp-sob-gritos-de-bolsonaro-presidente/?fbclid=IwAR3iBDus7K1YTUy5Bj8rLBmP3P8S80Tgwa93C1b7Ayc75H_EX7FuqiNothw
And I wasn't surprised because this man's campaign is built on his hatred for queer people. And his hatred for women. And his hatred for black people too.
And given that means he has publicly declared his hatred for most of the population of Brazil, you might imagine that would mean he was doing badly.
But no. He's ahead in the polls. And like us Brazil, too, is prepared to vote for its own destruction.
But what immediately concerned me that night was how to get safely home.
He has told us we will find no refuge. his supporters tell us we are on a list, we are known, and when they get into power we will be taken out to paraded in the streets and in city squares where we will have our heads shaved so everyone can see us for the "men" we apparently are.
And i remember all the times I have been called a "man" by the trans-exclusionary so-called "radical feminists", the allies of these killers, who who want to deny me my existence and my name.
So somehow it doesn't surprise me to read that the President of Hungary and the President of the United States have also decided that we don't exist and ar trying to legislate to ensure that we don't.
But I got home safely that night, and am now here at home in Scotland not really feeling safe at all. None of us are, because the hatred and the madness are spreading everywhere.
When I was in Brazil, I had to fight the impulse to hide.
I feel it now. I expect many of us do.
But I refuse to hide. Because we do live in one world, which is why the hatred is spreading and there is no refuge from it.
But love and courage and solidarity and defiance spread too. And they matter more.
Queen Jesus says:
"Bless those who persecute you too. Because hatred is the only thing they have.
And it doesn't amount to much.
And they will lose it in the end.
Because no matter what they say or what they do they cannot stop the change that is coming.
And one day we will all be free."
THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JESUS QUEEN OF HEAVEN, Traverse Theatre. December 13-22nd.
https://www.traverse.co.uk/whats-on/event-detail/1524/the-gospel-according-to-jesus-queen-of-heaven.aspx
Geovana said of her friend, as they buried her,"Laysa embodies happiness. She was a woman warrior and she communicated that. She wanted people to be happy, to be respected, and to be free".
They buried her on the 20th. On the 16th I was in the centre of Sao Paulo when I heard about Priscila, murdered in the centre of town not far from where i was.
She had been hacked to death by a group of men who shouted: "Bolsonaro for President!" and "Under him hunting queers will be legalised".
https://ponte.org/travesti-e-assassinada-a-facadas-no-centro-de-sp-sob-gritos-de-bolsonaro-presidente/?fbclid=IwAR3iBDus7K1YTUy5Bj8rLBmP3P8S80Tgwa93C1b7Ayc75H_EX7FuqiNothw
And I wasn't surprised because this man's campaign is built on his hatred for queer people. And his hatred for women. And his hatred for black people too.
And given that means he has publicly declared his hatred for most of the population of Brazil, you might imagine that would mean he was doing badly.
But no. He's ahead in the polls. And like us Brazil, too, is prepared to vote for its own destruction.
But what immediately concerned me that night was how to get safely home.
He has told us we will find no refuge. his supporters tell us we are on a list, we are known, and when they get into power we will be taken out to paraded in the streets and in city squares where we will have our heads shaved so everyone can see us for the "men" we apparently are.
And i remember all the times I have been called a "man" by the trans-exclusionary so-called "radical feminists", the allies of these killers, who who want to deny me my existence and my name.
So somehow it doesn't surprise me to read that the President of Hungary and the President of the United States have also decided that we don't exist and ar trying to legislate to ensure that we don't.
But I got home safely that night, and am now here at home in Scotland not really feeling safe at all. None of us are, because the hatred and the madness are spreading everywhere.
When I was in Brazil, I had to fight the impulse to hide.
I feel it now. I expect many of us do.
But I refuse to hide. Because we do live in one world, which is why the hatred is spreading and there is no refuge from it.
But love and courage and solidarity and defiance spread too. And they matter more.
Queen Jesus says:
"Bless those who persecute you too. Because hatred is the only thing they have.
And it doesn't amount to much.
And they will lose it in the end.
Because no matter what they say or what they do they cannot stop the change that is coming.
And one day we will all be free."
THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JESUS QUEEN OF HEAVEN, Traverse Theatre. December 13-22nd.
https://www.traverse.co.uk/whats-on/event-detail/1524/the-gospel-according-to-jesus-queen-of-heaven.aspx
and deny us our name should reflect a little about where their hatred and prejudice may lead...
Saturday, October 06, 2018
We must resist with love to prevent the return of a past of hate
There is a picture of a little boy called Alexandre.
When he was two years old he was tortured in front of his mother.
He was given electric shocks in order to force her to give information about leftist groups.
This happened under Brazil's military dictatorship. Alexandre never recovered from the trauma and committed suicide in 2013.
One of the candidates in tomorrow's general election celebrates torture and is openly recalling for a return of military dictatorship.
His name is Jair Bolsonaro and he is currently leading in the polls.
I name him because he is a human being like the rest of us and deserves compassion in his terrible suffering.
Even though he wants to inflict it on us all.
And so this beautiful country, with all its hope and good energy, lies under a cloud of rage and fear.
And here I am in the midst of it, planning new work with Natalia Mallo and thinking of how to perform Queen Jesus with Renata Carvalho.
I am so fortunate. Because this work, too, has its power and it matters.
"However much darkness there may be in our lives
There is still a light a light inside us
And our job is to let it out to shine".
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]