forming communities

I started re-reading one of my favorite books this past week. It's called "Torture and Eucharist" and (as the name implies) it's a heavy hitter. This work by William Cavanaugh juxtaposes the eucharist - the liturgy of the church - against torture - a perverse liturgy of the state.

In his introduction he writes,

...I argue conversely that torture is a kind of perverted liturgy, a ritual act which organizes bodies in the society into a collective performance, not of true community, but of an atomized aggregate of mutually suspicious individuals. (pg. 12)

Atomized aggregate of mutually suspicious individuals. That's a line that will sit with you. Torture, in his estimation, is a tool intentionally designed to fracture the bonds of community leaving a shell of the thing in its wake. On page 2 he talks specifically about how torture produces horrible suffering in individuals but how the actual focus is on taming and breaking social bodies.

It's hard not to re-read this and think about the news. Kilmar Abrego Garcia comes to mind. He was erroneously sent to a torture prison overseas, brought back because courts forced it, charged with bogus crimes so that the government could cover their ass and are now giving Garcia a chance: plead guilty and be sent to a country where he can live free of fear or don't and be sent to a country with no guarantees, that he's never been to and that could cause harm. Over and over the Department of (in)Justice is using their full weight against this single man but it's clear why:

The government is trying to actively condition social bodies by reigning hell down on individual bodies.

They've threatened the entire latino population with being food for alligators. They are actively demonizing the trans population with calls to lock them up and worse. Eugenics seems to be the way of life at HHS. A key political advisor is trying to label all democrats as extremists. Media pundits are talking about how the WH's political enemies should suffer.

They are actively conditioning for fear. They are actively trying to reduce communities to "atomized aggregate(s) of mutually suspicious individuals".

So what do we do about it?

It's helpful knowing the goal. It's helpful knowing the target is actually fracturing communities. A starting point has to be building hopeful, resilient, inclusive community.

Fundamentally, where community stands, we must resist the urge towards becoming "suspicious individuals". We should gather (in whatever form that takes). We should speak truth (in the face of pervasive lies about our or other communities). We should build rituals that move us towards hope and peace and joy (that might be the eucharist in a church setting, or something group meals, community gardens, block parties). We should pull each other up as best we can when trouble strikes (especially when trouble takes the form of gangs like ICE or talking pundits wanting to demonize you). We have to choose inclusion (even though the powers that be might be begging for exclusion).

On that last note I think I'll end with this. When we are conditioned towards exclusion, we need to specifically work towards inclusion. Anyone or any class that is actively being dehumanized - we've got to choose inclusion and welcome regardless of fear. Rather than except the dehumanization we should work to re-humanize and hold space for people.

There is amazing power in community. Power hungry states know this and target community because of it. Let's choose to remember it to and use it to create a better tomorrow. Hopefully.