This week, their thoughts on how disability justice intersects with Palestinian liberation has been so important to me, to highlight how systemic and structural oppression have real individual human consequences. You can read their thread here, which I really recommend.
I have also loved their post on fat protest, which is something that I’ve mused on before, and I’ve loved seeing someone articulate. When I’ve been on marches and protests before, I’ve often thought of how useful my body is. In a video in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd, I remember GG Made It saying, ‘stand in the gap. Just stand in the gap’, and I remember thinking: I can do that! My body can do that! My body can stand in the way of you and harm. You and violence. My big fat body can be powerful in its protection of you.
My fat body empowers my activism. I take up space and I will continue to do so, standing with vulnerable and oppressed people. Standing with people who need rest. Standing with people who need safety. Standing with people who need solidarity. And I loved to see Jordan articulating the same point – that our bodies can be powerful tools of resistance. What a reclamation of our size, our scale, that it could be inherently valuable in the social justice work we seek to undertake. Within the post, they also share safety pointers for fat bodies at protests, and I really valued those too.
Again, this week, as with every week, I am sending you all deep wishes for safety and joy.
Vicky
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