Dear Fellow Warrior,
I want to be frank with you.
I don’t have any friends right now. At least to my knowledge.
For many reasons. Some to my own fault.
I want you to know that this space is a space I created for catharsis, for belonging, for social justice, mental health awareness, and curing of any and all stigmas (among other topics).
It is a place for authenticity, love, and openness to humanity.
I will say it bold and clear:
Nothing can ever be the same after the events of the past three weeks.
I have not been able to write, and my hands are trembling on the keyboard as I write this, and there are so many projects on a personal basis, aside from my professional pursuits, that have been postponed.
I have not been able to breathe, eat properly, and sleep. My health has deteriorated and it was already in a bad state prior to the events of the past three weeks.
I was already in a fragile state for several months and years as you know.
I believe with all the hatred and the divisiveness in the world, I still have been kind, merciful, and forgiving, when the world has not been forgiving and merciful and compassionate towards me.
At least towards the silence and cowardice that I have witnessed the past several years, at a personal level and as a collective.
There is a point where we have to draw the line and choose honesty over diplomacy when we confront hate, bigotry, and bloodshed.
I draw the line to systems, far before we reach a certain point. I give mercy and understanding and empathy to people in my life despite the knowledge that their political and personal beliefs coincide with forces of bigotry and hate.
And this is where I now have to draw the line. Bloodshed. And not only just bloodshed, but mass bloodshed. Genocide.
I don’t have many friends.
And I have learned in recent years that I really do not have many friends who care about me, and who would check in with me, with my illness, or care to initiate and reconnect with me if we lost touch, or to have a conversation with me related to professional pursuits, when there are clear opportunities of collaboration. Even as I practice diplomacy and peace.
People see me struggling and don’t reach out a hand to offer help.
It is always me, initiating connection, reconciliation, and peace.
Always me being the big person, being the one who reconnects, reconciles, and makes the effort to forgive and forget.
And if I don’t acquiese, I am of no value. I will be forgotten.
I have to be my own advocate.
We all have to be our own advocates, and we need to be strong to be able to be the advocates of those voices under the rubble of war and bloodshed.
This is what makes me a Warrior KQueen. This is part of my story, which starts from self-empowerment and extends to community empowerment. I am valuable.
My voice matters, and I won’t let the people who I thought were my friends in my life, make me feel like it does not matter, or make me feel like I won’t succeed in my dreams and my work if they don’t support me. I did, and I won’t anymore.
I have always been a “powerhouse.” This is a word that was only recently used to describe me with my efforts in diversity, equity, and inclusion, and I have been a powerhouse even when my voice shakes.
As Ruth Bader Ginsberg would say: “Speak, even if your voice shakes.”
It is past time to embrace the revolutionary in me in a way I have never before.
I will always try to be kind.
But I will never consider you my friend if you do not draw the line on Genocide, and on the choices you make.
I guess this is easier to be more frank now. Perhaps it was all unspoken.
But let’s make it official then.
Let’s lay out the truth:
You are not my friend ….
You are not my friend if you turn your cheek to the slaughter of precious children, in war and genocide.
You are not my friend if you support and advance the causes of political candidates that support and bless the slaughter of precious children, in war and genocide.
You are not my friend if you vote in an election for candidates that are complicit to a clear genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity pursuant to international human rights laws, and deny the evidence of genocide.
You are not my friend if you resent and harm me and others who draw the line when it comes to murder and genocide.
You are not my friend if you support the suppression of dissident voices against War, ethnic cleansing, and genocide.
You are not my friend if you don’t speak up against genocide and ethnic cleansing in any way possible within your platform, or stay associated with the governing bodies that do. (There are many ways of non-violent protest, both in silence and speech).
There can be NO common ground and peaceful co-existence if you don’t recognize the humanity of me and others.
If you cannot see the humanity in people, there can be no peace.
This is not a matter of differences in policies, this is a matter of fundamental human dignity and human rights. This is about our humanity. This is about justice.
So, here it is: if you fall into the category of explaining and justifying the death and murders of any innocent non-combatants, dehumanizing, disregarding, the dead, and you don’t have the spine or the courage to do the right thing, and stand with humanity, truth, and justice, and to the very least to rescind your support for the people and forces that are directly aiding and abetting the Genocide of the Palestinian people,… You are not my friend.
I will respect your humanity, and judge you for the sum of who you are, but will not consider you my friend.
But if you are a person of conscience, a person with principles, a person who feels the pain and suffering of others, whether small or big… If you are someone who draws the line when it comes to mass slaughter and bloodshed, You are my friend.
We are allies for humanity. And you are welcome in my life, in my space.
And I hope we join hands, in solidarity, to fight for peace and justice for all suffering during these dark times of war.
My dear fellow WARRIOR, I hope you stand on the side of humanity, something I promise you, you will never regret in due time. I hope you stay brave, bold, courageous. I hope you stay empowered, connected, and resilient.
What is happening in the world today is not like anything we have seen for a long time. Indeed it is a dark time in history. Nothing will be the same.
“In the end we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
In Solidarity, peace, warmth, and blessings,
Your sister,
Dr. Elsa
Warrior KQueen
“She wasn’t looking for a Knight. She was looking for a Sword.” – Atticus