On Aaron Bushnell, Brené Brown, and the Ongoing Journey of Rest as Resistance...

Dear Friends,

connease and I have realized that we’ve both had a difficult month with some personal issues combined with the ongoing atrocities we continue to witness every day. As such, we’ve decided to extend ourselves some grace and postpone our book club discussion of Jesmyn Ward’s Let Us Descend until our March meeting. We know that many of you are likely struggling as well and we hope you’ll join us in extending grace to yourselves. You don’t have to get everything done that you planned to get done, and you don’t have to host every meeting you planned to host. Sometimes we just need a little more time - time to rest, time to reflect on what’s important, and time to realize that rest is ultimately one of the greatest acts of resistance that is within our power to enact.

The new date for our discussion will be the last Wednesday of the month, March 27. This will be our regular meeting time moving forward, and I hope you’ll be able to join us.

For me, in addition to some personal things, witnessing the self-immolation of Aaron Bushnell on February 25th, and the media’s near total inattention to and disregard of this tragedy, sent me reeling into a spiral of despair that I have experienced before over the last four months but has become more difficult to navigate each subsequent time. The death and destruction being inflicted on the people of Palestine by the settler colony that calls itself Israel is something I never thought I would see in my lifetime, but beyond this, I continue to feel nothing but rage at the complicity of our government for both condoning and funding this genocide, and the continued and painful silence by nearly everyone who holds a leadership role in the social work profession. As I’m sure many of you know, I have been a vocal critic of social work, particularly for its ongoing support of and collaboration with harmful, carceral systems, but I truly never thought social work would devolve to a place where it remains silent in the face of an ongoing genocide, while simultaneously trying to pretend that this is a profession that supports racial justice and freedom from oppression. I feel like I’m living in some sort of bizzaro world where everything is the opposite of what it should be and there is no path toward bringing about the world that should be our reality.

If you’re interested in learning more about Aaron Bushnell, Kelly Hayes has written a deeply powerful piece at her blog, Organizing My Thoughts, which you can find here.

I was also deeply triggered this month by Brené Brown’s deeply ignorant and harmful post in which she shared her “thoughts” on what she referred to as the “Israel-Hamas war,” language that immediately points to not only how deeply she misunderstands what’s happening in Gaza, but also how little she cares about what’s happening in Gaza because she is protected by her wealth, her whiteness, and her privilege. I know I was not alone in feeling this way as a fellow social worker, but her post also brought back the deep feelings of disappointment I felt after I was removed from my position as Dean at the University of Houston in December 2022. Prior to that time, as a faculty member in the Graduate College of Social Work, Brené had always been a trusted ally and supporter of my work and the direction I hoped to take the College. However, after I was dismissed, I heard nothing from Brené. I didn’t expect Brené to say something publicly about my dismissal (although I would have welcomed this); however, I did expect her to minimally reach out and say something like, “Hey, how are you? This must be a really difficult time.” Instead, I heard nothing from Brené - not one word. Months later, she sent an email saying she was “just catching up” on the news, but it was too late. When I needed people to show support, she was not there.

Because of all this, I simply haven’t been able to read this month’s book. I just haven’t been in the headspace to meaningful engage with what I know will be a deeply moving, but also challenging, book. I imagine that I’m not alone in this. The world is a deeply troubling place, and while we all may not be experiencing the trauma and pain being felt by those in Gaza, or the trauma and pain of those in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and so many other places, I know how deeply challenging it is to witness this kind of destruction and also witness the silence and inaction all around us. It is also deeply troubling when the people we expect to stand up fail to do so and betray all that we previously thought about them.

I hope this break gives many of you additional time to read and reflect on this beautiful novel, and I hope you’re all able to join us on March 27 when we join together to discuss. connease and I are both deeply grateful for each of you and your ongoing support. We look forward to seeing you in March and hearing your thoughts.

Alan