For someone at a supposed loss for words, you have articulated almost overwhelming and very complicated feelings and observations in a moving and powerful way. Thank you for saying what I could not have said right now.
Thank you, Marjorie. It seems to me the struggle to feel and articulate those feelings is a large part of what's given to us to do. It took a lot out of me but I hope it will help other people to speak and write.
I have no memories of anything as horrific or agonizing as what we are witness to over the last few weeks. I protested the Vietnam war by marching in protest, but then my objections were intellectual rather than emotional. Wrong war, wrong place, wrong time and blah blah blah. The only things I can relate to that are comparable to this nightmare occurred before my birth and they would be the German blitz of London and the A bombing of Japan. What is to become of us? What is wrong with our species? How did we evolve to become violent murderers? No answers. m
Baruch ha-Shem you haven't been through such an atrocity yourself. Still....I imagine there have been times when you felt the world closing in...when you realized how fragile the whole arrangement is or when you felt a deep connection to other people who suffer. We are all inadequate to the task of taking in the enormity of it, never mind solving it.
I think there are modest statements of support that can be offered without making pronouncements....But we do have to be mindful of what might actually be supportive. My speech can't be primarily about my distress.
Incidentally, Susie, my mother was born in a small city of western Ukraine called Austropolia. The name may be Yiddish or Ukranian. She started her walk west at age 9 in 1921 with her mother and her sister.Her father had already left Ukraine a few years earlier in an attempt to stake out something in the golden land. They all ended up together in Philadelphia, then the lower east side snd finally in the south Bronx. There my mother went to and graduated from Morris High School which I believe is still in existence. Ive always considered my grandparents decision to move west the luckiest thing that ever could have happened to me. Wasn't I clever?! Michael
These immigration stories are endlessly illuminating. Several people have written that their ancestors walked west. It's extraordinary. My family somehow got from Iasi in Romania to the ship in Hamburg, a very long distance. How did they do that?
You say "the greatest contribution that most of us can make is to avoid facile explanations of densely complicated events." Your contribution is enormous and helps create a container for what is impossibly painful and impossibly beautiful...I am brought to my knees in grief and in wonder because of President Zelenski and the spirit of the Ukrainians.
Beautiful piece. My grandfather was Ukrainian. He walked west after serving in the Russian army in WWI, married my Polish grandmother and settled in Warsaw where he was a court clerk. He was shot and killed, along with tens of thousands, during the Warsaw Uprising in 1944. We always say: never again. Thank you for writing this and sharing.
Moved to tears - the highest compliment. thank you Susie
Thank you so much for writing, Judy. I find tears cleansing just now......and it's good to cry together.
Your words are just what I needed to read this morning - exquisite, heart-opening, and exactly on. Thank you
Writing about how difficult it is to find the right words seems to be a preoccupation of mine. Glad they reached you.
For someone at a supposed loss for words, you have articulated almost overwhelming and very complicated feelings and observations in a moving and powerful way. Thank you for saying what I could not have said right now.
Thank you, Marjorie. It seems to me the struggle to feel and articulate those feelings is a large part of what's given to us to do. It took a lot out of me but I hope it will help other people to speak and write.
Beautifully said. Thank you.
Much appreciated
I have no memories of anything as horrific or agonizing as what we are witness to over the last few weeks. I protested the Vietnam war by marching in protest, but then my objections were intellectual rather than emotional. Wrong war, wrong place, wrong time and blah blah blah. The only things I can relate to that are comparable to this nightmare occurred before my birth and they would be the German blitz of London and the A bombing of Japan. What is to become of us? What is wrong with our species? How did we evolve to become violent murderers? No answers. m
Baruch ha-Shem you haven't been through such an atrocity yourself. Still....I imagine there have been times when you felt the world closing in...when you realized how fragile the whole arrangement is or when you felt a deep connection to other people who suffer. We are all inadequate to the task of taking in the enormity of it, never mind solving it.
We are told that "silence is violence," so we feel obligated to opine on everything. But you're right, sometimes there are no words, at least not yet.
I think there are modest statements of support that can be offered without making pronouncements....But we do have to be mindful of what might actually be supportive. My speech can't be primarily about my distress.
Incidentally, Susie, my mother was born in a small city of western Ukraine called Austropolia. The name may be Yiddish or Ukranian. She started her walk west at age 9 in 1921 with her mother and her sister.Her father had already left Ukraine a few years earlier in an attempt to stake out something in the golden land. They all ended up together in Philadelphia, then the lower east side snd finally in the south Bronx. There my mother went to and graduated from Morris High School which I believe is still in existence. Ive always considered my grandparents decision to move west the luckiest thing that ever could have happened to me. Wasn't I clever?! Michael
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These immigration stories are endlessly illuminating. Several people have written that their ancestors walked west. It's extraordinary. My family somehow got from Iasi in Romania to the ship in Hamburg, a very long distance. How did they do that?
I am speechless, Susie and I stand in silent witness with you…….
That's a comfort, Patty. Sometimes I have a way of fear that we'll get used to it.
Dearest Susie,
You say "the greatest contribution that most of us can make is to avoid facile explanations of densely complicated events." Your contribution is enormous and helps create a container for what is impossibly painful and impossibly beautiful...I am brought to my knees in grief and in wonder because of President Zelenski and the spirit of the Ukrainians.
I'm so glad to hear from you on this screen. We can share this impossibly painful circumstance with one another.
Beautiful piece. My grandfather was Ukrainian. He walked west after serving in the Russian army in WWI, married my Polish grandmother and settled in Warsaw where he was a court clerk. He was shot and killed, along with tens of thousands, during the Warsaw Uprising in 1944. We always say: never again. Thank you for writing this and sharing.
I'm so moved by this. The fact that it begins with "he walked west" is just chilling. I'm grateful for your willingness to share your story.
Susie: no words -- except thank you.
Please stay in touch as the words start to cohere. I'd really like to hear what you're thinking.
Amen.