If there’s anything that life and yoga has taught, it’s that there are always at least two sides to every story. We hardly ever hear the conflicting sides in as much depth as a personal experience would allow, but we occasionally see them unfold in a massive way like Ferguson, Missouri right now and Gaza and Ukraine (etc, ad nauseum) before now. And just as yoga has taught there are many sides of the same truth, it also teaches that you can never truly know two sides of the story even if it’s your own story. What’s happening in Ferguson right now is chaotic and the facts are plentiful and being purposefully muddied by some.
Lacking the depth of information that allows for an informed decision making process, yogis seem to like reserving judgment. One, after all, should not judge especially when the facts are (seemingly) unknown. Judgment is harmful to others in a situation that seems to be “still developing” and “confusing” to untangle. Judgment is also seen as part of the samskara habits that keep us locked into a cycle of lower vibration struggle. This struggle continues to manifest itself as people against people– just as Ferguson is showing. Passing judgment on who is right and wrong further reinforces the disconnection between two parties who otherwise might get along.
At least that what I’ve come to understand about American yoga. They tend toward non-violent protest and when there is violence and intensity like Ferguson or the swarm of issues around Trayvon Martin’s passing, the situation is sticky and seems best untouched, passively observed until proper consciousness around the subject can be raised. It smacks of privilege in my opinion because to people who spend their lives in fear of overreaction from the very authorities that are supposed to be protecting them, there is no time or passive observation. How could you take a neutral stance in a clearly imbalanced power struggle? It seemed absurd to me for so long but then I realized there was another part beyond “taking sides” and talking about what is right and wrong. Without passing judgment on this way of thinking, there is another choice to present to the peacefully inclined.
Even with a confusing situation, we have the opportunity to learn and grow from what is happening. We can even challenge the injustices that are being brought to light regardless of the reason why these challenges exploded into the public eye and whose side is right. While it seems to be clear who the wronged party is, it’s not important to draw lines of right and wrong to start and participate in meaningful dialogue. Is there ever a reason to use tear gas? Is there ever a reason to loot? If people are looting, what does this mean? If police are using Long Range Acoustic Devices to disperse crowds, what does this mean? It doesn’t matter who was in the right, it doesn’t matter who is in the right. It matters what the issues being brought to light now are about.
Staying silent is, after all, a way to continue to empower injustice by refusing to call into attention its grave implications. In events like Ferguson where tensions are high and communication between the parties at odds is low, waiting for facts sees more people get hurt than taking a stand of leadership against harm. As Ferguson has signaled in many ways, it is time for massive and radical change to the way things have been. We have surely felt in many different ways at many different times the truth and need for a better system of living. This desire for a better way led many to the yoga mat in the first place. So now that there is a moment of great social change unfolding, silence on the ways this could be a large scale spiritual as well as social transformation keeps that change from realizing itself.
Not only does remaining silent prevent real dialogue of change from happening, it is incredibly selfish. It is a selfish choice to remain silent until the facts are known as the facts can never truly be known. It is selfish to ignore what seems excessive and violent and unnecessary as though there must be a reason when the reasons can never truly be known. All we can know is that relationships are broken, people are suffering, things are changing– demanding to be changed. Choosing to stand by waiting for facts lest you make a “wrong” decision or support someone who doesn’t deserve it is missing the point of standing up against harm. It is actually bringing harm by refusing to put yourself in a position of judgment. No one has to judge to know that guns are harmful and being used in lethal ways that are not in the community’s best interests. No one as to judge to know that tear gas is harmful and being used in ways that are not in the community’s best interests. No one has to judge to know that looting is happening and this is not in the community’s best interests. It is as simple as opening up a space for dialogue and taking a stand against harm that we, as yogis, create a healing space for people in traumatic protest.
There are two conflicting ideologies and communities of people coming into battle. The response of the police, the government, and those defending them has been harshly criticized and rightfully so. The people protesting the extra-judicial actions of Michael Brown’s murderer have been accused of behaving “badly” by the police as well. Which side is right? Which side is wrong? This brings to mind the equivocations of Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita on the eve of his own battle against friend, family, and alleged foe. As Krishna advised Arjuna, whether the people on one side or the other and good or bad is irrelevant, it is simply a situation that has arisen because of the choices of many over a long period of time.
Now as the eve of a battle arises, there is no more time for determining the good and bad side but rather fulfilling your own life purpose at this time. To turn a blind eye to the role one plays in this battle is to reject your own dharma (personal life purpose). Just as Krishna advised Arjuna to remember his role and to respectfully fulfill it, so the same responsibility needs to be placed on the shoulders of us all. What choices have been made to lead up to this moment are now irrelevant because we are now here. What are we going to do with our talents, abilities, and privileges to affect meaningful and lasting, positive change?
With racial tensions between black people and law enforcement and the white establishments at a head that hasn’t been seen in such force since the 1990’s or even the 1960’s (or, in the case of a Holocaust survivor arrested standing up for the Ferguson community, since the 1940’s) our affectionately termed “Civil Rights Era” makes racism seem as though it’s a bygone era of the past and has little relevance to today. We are here seeing the decades of frustration and pain and suffering and disenfranchisement unfold before the eyes of the world– what happened before is now irrelevant because here we are now. It is so intense that Amnesty International has deployed on US soil for the first time ever. It is so intense that Gaza has found empathy for Ferguson. It is so intense that national journalists that hardly ever report on scene are in the streets wondering how and why. It is so intense that countries with dictatorial and abusive regimes have found pleasure and delight in “trolling” the United States to be more kind to its citizens!
And for those that aren’t in the streets, have we deserted the battle field by refusing to talk about this for fear of “harming” this situation? Have we turned our back on life purpose when we pretend as though there isn’t enough information to make an informed decision? Are we truly working toward truth, loving kindness, and all our loftiest ideals when we pray for a speedy resolution and little else? How can we walk into our yoga classes and practice personal self care when there is a world out there fighting for their lives– a world that is in our backyard, that lives next door to us?
The avidya– illusion– runs so deep that despite there being less media representation of people of color now then there was in the 1960’s, we act as though progress has been made. The avidya is so thick that despite knowing figures like there are more black men in prison now then there ever were enslaved, we pretend as though there isn’t a side to take. We say that Ferguson isn’t about these things but are we listening or is the avidya too thick for us to wake up to our dharma– our life purpose? If we practice that we need to dispel illusions, that we are all one, that harm is not the way to bliss consciousness, then when will our rhetoric become action? Because when there is an obvious disparity between the treatment of people off the mat, there is only illusion and harm. Reaching enlightenment in a situation that isn’t based around the reality of what is happening, is not enlightenment. It is a false awakening based out of ignorance. We must be better and being better requires action.
Staying silent on this issue is continuing to harm black communities and black people. Staying silent on Ferguson and what is happening harms protestors and activists that aren’t afraid to speak their piece– right or wrong– so that we can spark a conversation, grow together, and find answers. Remembering the activists maced and blasted with LRAD during Occupy protests, it is not surprising to see the same tactics employed in Ferguson. Yet where were the conversations then? Where are the conversations now? Where was the action then? Where is the action now?
To remain silent and to pretend as though there isn’t a side to take is deeply harmful. It is to ignore the suffering of people that are being terrorized and disenfranchised simply for grieving the loss of precious life that is systematically undervalued. This is suffering that has been woven into the very fabric of the United States of America and while it is challenging to acknowledge, it is the truth. It doesn’t mean you can’t love this country or the people that helped build it, but it is important to acknowledge that there were deep flaws within the way this country did its business– and still does its business. The harm is inherent and whether we like to admit it or not, we all benefit from the harm that this country perpetuates against people of color, namely black Americans.
We need to look beyond “the facts” and see that this kind of relationship is abusive and unhealthy. We need to look beyond the story and see that this relationship isn’t isolated but national. We need to look beyond the surfacing stories of injustice and see that this behavior and silencing and abuse is systemic. We need to look at how all of these stories, systemic injustices, and racial tensions are a continuing saga that needs to be addressed.
What’s happening in Ferguson is your yoga practice. This is about healing, not harming; this is about loving and cultivating community, kindness, and compassion. Ferguson is about empowering people to make decisions that are based out of love and teaching them to respond from a place of love. Ferguson is about how we need to stop pointing fingers– cops at the black community, for instance– and start working toward solutions that are coming from a place of respect for the self and love for the community. Because what we are witnessing is not about love, it is fear, ignorance, and even hatred. This is not respect and love and whether one side is or was right or wrong is irrelevant now.
People that can’t love and acknowledge need help. Yoga is a part of many people’s healing journey and the failure to see that it can be a part of a serious conversation on how to stop Ferguson from happening again is a mistake made solely off the silence of capable yogis. What’s happening in Ferguson is your yoga practice because this is happening in your neighborhood too. Black people being disproportionately arrested and imprisoned for small offenses is in your neighborhood. Police having access and possession of highly militaristic and unnecessary crowd control equipment is nationwide. Racism is nationwide. When you see this happen in Ferguson, you should already be asking yourself how you can make sure this never happens again because it is already in your backyard. There is hardly a difference between what is happening in Ferguson and what could happen where you live. The truth is, you have the power to make a difference in your community. And that’s what you need to do.
So what is your yoga practice for this? Is it to escape to a predominantly white and financially privileged yoga class or is it to go into the community and help right these disparities? What side you take is irrelevant because both police officers and people in lower socio-economic areas need yoga. Whose side you feel is justified is irrelevant because all aspects of your community need assistance and volunteers, and real life things that you can contribute.
If you look at the issue at hand, turning a blind eye and remaining mute on Ferguson hurts the children who depend on school lunches for their meals which have been off the table for going on two weeks now. Ferguson children need food. Because of the insanity of tear gas and protesting, people need access to medical supplies and even just basic living supplies. The people on the streets, the people in the neighborhoods, the children, the press members, the protestors in solidarity, the police– they all need yoga and healing after high and intense warfare (truly, it is domestic warfare). Praying– as I’ve seen more than a few calls for– is a good place to start, but it can’t end there. Activists on the front lines of this work all over this country need help and it’s damn time the yoga community stepped up and answered the call. Silence is not an option any longer.
We must wake up from our savasana and go out and help heal this world even if all we do is start the conversation. We have to do something. It is our moral imperative.
Arjuna, do not deny your dharma any longer.
sarahmascarah 
Posted on August 19, 2014
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