Category: Ecstasis

by jad

Irreducible Squares

This wasn’t where I went to the first mass protest in my life, but it was the very first one I went to consciously and after agonizing about what to do. We were all caught up in the mess of affairs, but we were not all parsing them the same way, and the pressure of choosing the right side of history felt visceral at that young age. I don’t think I’ve admitted this to anyone yet, but I cried the night before, frustrated by the contrasting narratives I was scrambling to absorb in order to understand what is to be … Continue reading “Irreducible Squares” →

by jad

Between Hammer & Sickle

“The Paris Commune failed, Russia was isolated and collapsed in the end under its own contradictions and many more examples in between. Does this mean hope is lost? No, however, Marx in Brumaire, talks about revolutions which ‘constantly interrupt themselves in their own course, return to the apparently accomplished, in order to begin anew’. He recognised that revolutions ‘deride with cruel thoroughness the half-measures, weaknesses, and paltriness of their first attempts.’ We should take quite seriously that we are in the midst of many first attempts, and believe we can learn and build on them – that is what it … Continue reading “Between Hammer & Sickle” →

by jad

Beirut/Bellingham/Borderlands

I’m on the Beirut Airport wi-fi waiting for my flight to Istanbul on my way back to Seattle, seeing if I can post these double-exposures I made with @christine.bingham.art and @night_bydesign. Christine and I took the first exposure in Bellingham, which is the same city I took a first exposure the last time I did a film swap like this. It was around Thanksgiving, so we were still reeling from U.S. politics, which probably informed our vague concept. A lone soldier, a ghostly presence; and with Audrey’s lush exposures in Volunteer Park, an added layer of camouflage and obfuscation, perhaps. … Continue reading “Beirut/Bellingham/Borderlands” →

by jad

Hold The Tension

“Remember that a dialogue presupposes two sides. All too often comrades lecture people, not letting them get a word in edgewise. We must learn how to listen [emphasis in original] to people. Ask questions and get a sense of their political thinking.” We must learn how to listen. On one hand, it’s extraordinary that this needs to be said; on the other, thank God that and when it’s made explicit. All politics is learnt. All politics is also unlearnt. We are constantly relearning the give and take between the two. I’ve been engaging with a couple of points of political … Continue reading “Hold The Tension” →

by jad

Rosebud

I went to my first DSA general meeting in over five years last night; the venue had changed and was much smaller, reflecting the post-pandemic trend towards hybrid meetings. And while I have no idea how many members were on the Zoom, I have a sense that this also reflects other trends too; I think the chapter lost a lot of members since I was last active. I don’t know the stats, but it’s pretty obvious that there are far fewer working groups now. The energy was a lot less fractious than I remember too, but the goofy vibe that … Continue reading “Rosebud” →

by jad

If We Deny Our Happiness

Today’s #AdventWord is “joy” because this coming Sunday’s traditionally called “Gaudete Sunday,” from the Latin word for “rejoice.” Gaudete, gaudete!Christus est natusEx Maria virgine,gaudete! This got me thinking about the ambiguities of celebration in the midst of suffering, and how even Bethlehem couldn’t bring itself to celebrate Christmas last year, out of respect for Gaza. Even my mother wondered if I’d find decorations hurtful coming home after five Christmases away; I said no. In fact, I was looking forward to seeing them again. I found a poem called ‘A Brief for the Defense’ by Jack Gilbert while thinking about joy … Continue reading “If We Deny Our Happiness” →

by jad

Tonight’s the Night

“Decades where nothing happens and weeks where decades happen kind of feeling…” Completely. In a handful of words, a friend in Seattle sums up the whirlwind I’ve been caught in since Saturday, when I woke up to messages from a friend in Damascus asking me if I’m seeing the news. “Tonight’s the night ya Jad.” I took the first photo just after a gathering with a motley crew of democratic socialists where we argued about Syria among other things, and by the time I took the third photo sometime later, Damascus was surrounded. Once again, my friend and comrade in … Continue reading “Tonight’s the Night” →

by jad

Red December

Behold the lambBehold the lambNot one stoneAtop another will stand. There have been a couple more full circle moments lately. New starts to old ends; resets with fresh means. This is one of them; a return to trying again. Taken at the second session of the @seattledsa new member winter cohort. They used my camera to take a group shot too but posting that one isn’t my style. Also: remember the communist I bumped into at Folklife? The one I took a portrait of with the Polaroid Go I’d borrowed? I finally popped into one of the cell meetings she … Continue reading “Red December” →

by jad

Picking Pumpkins

We went pumpkin picking today. I mean, there were pumpkins strewn around, and we picked the ones we wanted. I guess that counts as pumpkin picking. Either way, it was a first for me. I wish the weather hadn’t turned sweltering for my normcore goth get-up today, because I would have spent more time here. It was very picturesque. There was a major incident on I-90 that closed all lanes for a couple of hours, but we managed to peel off the last exit towards Bellevue at the last minute. The drive back was an hour and a half longer … Continue reading “Picking Pumpkins” →

by jad

Let’s Begin Again

Almost exactly 8 years ago, on November 10, 2016, I wrote the following while observing this country spin out in disarray from halfway across the globe: “The number of contemplative postmortems I’m seeing from left-of-center Americans stunned by a Trump win because they’d been so sure that Clinton’s was inevitable that they were already preparing to spend the next four years criticizing her is a double-indictment of liberalism: first, for totally ignoring clear and present danger in the name of feel-good, third-party self-congratulation, and second, for being so out of touch with the very real, very visible forces of anger … Continue reading “Let’s Begin Again” →