Tiste Simeon, on 03 July 2025 - 12:30 PM, said:
I'm... I'm struggling guys. I'm trying to switch off a bit but the constant death of children is filling me with despair because I'm so helpless to do anything about it.
And yes, me a westerner in my nice comfy home with my family, I know these problems are nothing compared to what the Gazans are going through. I get that. But the thought of children the same age as my own living in abject terror and confusion is really hurting my soul. I don't know what to do but I'm going to hug my kids extra tight tonight.
You are not alone. This is incredibly soul damaging.
There are four things helping me deal with this:
1) I do work that helps many people directly and help train many, which provides a channel for the need to help people.
2) I donated to World Kitchen, which appears to get food into Palestine as often as possible and for me, this skips the insane verification process necessary because enough scammers have set up Gazan fake identities that it drowns the real Gazan begging for food and money.
3) I have been fully present for my family and friends. I've talked occasionally with some of them about this wide range of horror, which has helped me feel not as alone andv they also feel not as alone.
4) I don't stay around people who think this is ok or cheer it on. That means avoiding some people in real life, happily sticking to my decision to delete my Twitter account (bc it's a bigoted place now), paying attention to very smart writers/talkers like Jamelle Bouie, Reb Masel, and Tressie McMillian-Cottom, and retaining some strength to look at what is happening without burning myself too much.
I hope you can find a path to heal even as you burn alongside so many others, even at a distance.
(I also refuse to use block lists because they always end up in some weird drama that I had no part in. My list isn't that big, but it's mine and there's a certain satisfaction in clicking that being away.)
This post has been edited by amphibian: Yesterday, 04:25 PM
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