Others might suck. Because their whole identity, their whole form of life is predicated on our negation… And there can be no mutual recognition, there can be no mutual respect, because the relationship itself negates that possibility.
Relational freedom necessarily includes undoing destructive relationships, dissolving or attacking depleting or harmful forces. Freedom is the capacity to make friends and enemies, to be open and to have firm boundaries. In this sense, the dominant order destroys our capacity to identify and attack that which depletes and destroys us: morality, policing, law, and prisons are all designed to monopolize the power to decide what is right and wrong, and how to respond to it.
Meaningful change comes from finding wiggle room to work on each other and our situations. It might entail supporting each other to become more present with despair, guilt, resentment, fear, anger, or grief. It might include channeling rage into blocking oppressive or extractive relationships, or blocking their flows, at least in part.
Freedom is the space that opens when knee-jerk reactions and stifling habits are suspended. It is the parent learning to trust their kid, or the teen who flees a violent home with support from friends. It is the scream of refusal that elicits rage and action from others.
But the key is that one never does any of this alone, whether a humble gesture causing a subtle shift, or a decisive act catalyzing dramatic change. Freedom, gentleness and ferocity always comes from—and feeds back into—the web of relationships and affections in which everyone is immersed. Just as intimacy and closeness can be enabling, they can also be sources of coercion, manipulation, and exploitation.
Love and friendship can be contorted to enforce obedience, politeness or devotion. To thrive, friendship cannot be a simplistic command to get along and be happy together. Freedom always needs to retain the potential of refusal, negation, and resistance. Transformative relationships are only possible through vulnerability and trust, but they also entail the risk of being deeply hurt.
Sometimes friendship and close bonds are a messy mix of closeness, struggle, and distance. To turn friendship into a solution or a goal is to erase the form of freedom we are getting at, which is an open-ended capacity to transform relationships. It can never be a totally inclusive, come-one-come-all process, some differences might mean that people cannot work together. Differences might also signal potential for practices, orientations, and priorities that are resonant and complementary without becoming the same.
Differences might then become starting points for new complicities and the growth of something new. If relationships are what compose the world—and what shape our desires, values, and capacities—then freedom is the capacity to participate more actively in this process of composition. Friendship and resistance are interconnected: when we are supported, we are more willing to confront that which threatens to destroy our worlds.
These values are not fixed duties that can be imitated, nor do they come out of thin air. They arise from struggles through which people become powerful together. It is not a question of being a certain way, but a question of open-ended becoming, starting from wherever people find themselves. A persnickety linguist or historian might object that there is no unbroken line of insurgent friendship that lies hidden in history.
They would be right: it is a zig-zagging, disjointed line, always being broken and reassembled, a story among other stories, resonant with many other non-European genealogies of relational freedom. Friendship is a process and an open question, with partial responses, further questions, flashes of certainty and confidence, and the refusal of definitive answers.
A similar version of this essay was published in Pacific Review. Why do radical movements and spaces sometimes feel laden with fear, anxiety, suspicion, self-righteousness and competition? In conversation with organizers and intellectuals from a wide variety of currents, the authors explore how rigid radicalism smuggles itself into radical spaces, and how it is being undone. Rather than proposing ready-made solutions, they amplify the questions that are already being asked among movements.
Fusing together movement-based perspectives and contemporary affect theory, they trace emergent forms of trust, care and responsibility in a wide variety of radical currents today, including indigenous resurgence, anarchism, transformative justice, and youth liberation. Joyful Militancy foregrounds forms of life in the cracks of Empire, revealing the ways that fierceness, tenderness, curiosity, and commitment can be intertwined.
Our Eastern Canada Clubs met to discuss suitable recruitment strategies and methods for their clubs. Check out the recording to see if you can apply some of these ideas for new member recruitment in your club.
It involved the tradition and culture of some of our Mayan Indian villages full of color, magic, mysticism and traditional altars. Watch the recording to hear all about this incredible event. The Friendship Force of Sacramento has regular membership meetings with presentations on various culturally interesting subjects.
This month Chris Smith will lead a discussion on Murals and Graffiti, focusing on his travels to Colombia and also the murals that fill his hometown of Sacramento. The storyteller takes the listener on a magical journey, giving insights into Japanese customs, culture, and traditional lifestyles in a light-hearted, humorous way. We focus on moon-viewing in Japan and how the moon ties in with Japanese culture.
It has also been said since ancient times that there are rabbits on the moon. This is part 2 of the Friendship Force Enrichment Voyage of , organized in partnership with the Semester at Sea program.
After three days in St. Petersburg, we headed back west to Helsinki, Finland, and then Stockholm, Sweden, our point of disembarkation. Find out what makes East Africa so unique. The tribes and ethnicities, the languages, places to visit, must-try specialties….
Hear about some of the cultural and historical highlights typical for a Friendship Force Journey to Solothurn. Want to enjoy a succulent garden without the watering hassle? Paint along and learn how to create a painted rock succulent garden in this tutorial. Vicki Vance, a very experienced Global Journey Coordinator, shares exciting moments from Journeys she has led and gives some tips on how to successfully plan a Global Journey. Listen to the tale of an ancient Moghul Emperor who wooed a beautiful Hindu princess at dawn and dusk.
A brief commentary on Islam and Jainism is a thread woven through these sights. How can we celebrate? Let us count the ways! Brenda is a professional stained glass artist specializing in windows for cabinets and front-door side panels. She also designs and makes unique, personalized kaleidoscopes for adults and children.
Come explore these wonders together. Ikebana is the delicate Japanese art of flower arrangement. If you want to create your arrangement alongside Eleni, you will need the following: flowers, leaves, a vase, scissors, a little towel, a bowl and a jar with water.
Join us to learn all you need to know before heading to Russia. Hear about a special community garden, unlike many others; it has 46 fruit trees, vines that produced 36 cases of wine, and has served as the venue for four weddings! Pat Ghiglieri shares the story of how the garden started 12 years ago, how community members volunteered to make it a neighborhood gathering place, and how they keep it thriving. This webinar will give ambassadors from around the world a brief tour through New Zealand and its Friendship Force clubs.
It will also highlight some of the great scenery we have in this very small country at the bottom of the Pacific. The New Zealand club members hope they will be able to share it again soon with our friends from around the world.
Believe it or not, every time you eat a meal you are engaging in the act of culinary diplomacy. Culinary diplomacy is the use of food to connect people from different backgrounds. Join us as we discuss the three pillars of culinary diplomacy and how you practice it in your daily life. FF Sacramento hosts this program which is presented by Kelsey Maher, a culinary educator and program manager living in California.
Learn some new delicious salads for the summer! Tired of the same old thing? Try a few of these options. Duolingo is the most popular language-learning platform and the most downloaded education app in the world, with more than million users. Duolingo is designed to feel like a game, and is scientifically proven to be effective.
Join us to learn more about this amazing tool and be better prepared for your Journeys! Have you ever heard of WhatsApp? WhatsApp is a free app which allows you to send messages, pictures, videos and even voice recordings, as well as make voice and video calls over the internet for free. Join us to learn more about the features available in this amazing app! Take a virtual trip through Brazil with Thiago, as he gives us highlights of the sights and sounds of his home country.
Find out more about how FFI matches clubs together in order to assign Journeys each year. This presentation will also look at planning for travel in Isaac will take us on a virtual trip through Ghana, giving us highlights of the sights and sounds of his home country. Do you have an interest or skill that you would like to teach others?
Fill out the application form below if you would like to host your very own Virtual Experience for Friendship Force members, either within your own club or for friends around the world! Friendship Force Virtual Experiences. WhatsApp groups: Benefits for your club Host: Hemily Nogueira, FFI Staff WhatsApp is an app that allows the sending of text messages and voice calls, as well as video calls, images and other media, documents, and user location.
The nine Ontario Friendship Force clubs are excited to showcase their region. Painting Landscapes with Acrylics Host: Daithi Kelley Join professional artist, Daithi Kelley, as he guides you through this introductory acrylic painting class.
Christmas Music Festival Host: Japan Music Club Japanese club members who are ardent music lovers welcome you to a special time playing Christmas songs from around the world.
Let's connect with music! Ryotaro Sakurai, FF Sendai Miyagi This virtual trip through Hiroshima and Miyagi will give a valuable insight into their typical foods, culture, sites, and, of course, the warm hospitality of their peoples.
Eddy Cabrera Performance! Worth a Second Look, Pt. History of the Kaleidoscope Host: Brenda Hedden, FF Greater Boston Brenda is a professional stained glass artist specializing in windows for cabinets and front-door side panels. FF Sacramento: Community Garden Presentation Host: Pat Ghiglieri, FF Sacramento Hear about a special community garden, unlike many others; it has 46 fruit trees, vines that produced 36 cases of wine, and has served as the venue for four weddings!
I will also be running a relay, again. It wasn't too bad the last time around so I am going to jump back in there and continue to work on my speed. I can't believe it's already April. The really important months are just around the corner. They say time flies when you're having fun.
I guess I've been having fun then because I don't know where the past two months have gone since I've been here in Orlando. Anyway, that's it for now.
I pray for God's speed. Posted by Jackie E. Labels: competition. Newer Post Older Post Home. Subscribe to: Post Comments Atom. About Me Jackie E. I am a professional long jumper by day and an interior designing, TV watching, internet surfing girl by night. Always learning, always loving, always caring View my complete profile. My Alma Mater. Athlete's Blog List. Brianna Glenn USA.
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