Reflections on recent and recurrent news regarding the Palestinian genocide and Hamas Attack: Part 3- Disrupting Learned Helplessness
The genocide being committed against Palestinians is absolutely horrific to say the least. I feel sick to my stomach as someone who is privileged/lucky enough to be experiencing this vicariously.
I’ve continuously felt the need to do more while also working through states of helplessness.
In working through my helplessness, I thought I’d share some strategies I’ve used, that I’m hoping will also help you if you are also working through helplessness.
First…a definition. The American Psychological Association (APA)* defines helplessness as: "a state of incapacity, vulnerability, or powerlessness associated with the perception that one cannot do much to improve a negative situation that has arisen.”
To work through helplessness then, one thing that must change is to have and to be able to exercise power/agency. More than that, we must believe (and see) that when we exercise our power/agency, it has the potential to change something for the better.
If I believe that nothing/no one can change, I am more vulnerable to staying in a standstill/in a state of helplessness.
Also, if I’m doing all the work to change someone/something outside of me (i.e. corrupt politicians, corrupt institutions/systems, etc), I may fall into the trap of further helplessness because these entities are the result of many different factors;
I am one part of the larger whole that must all work to change.
We all have to be fighting.
If in my state of helplessness, I adopt the belief that nothing/no one can change, then I might fall prey to giving up—as opposed to mindfully setting boundaries as needed to recuperate the energy to keep persisting in this fight to disrupt genocide.
I have to believe that people can change.
I have to believe that people are not inherently evil and inherently enjoy torturing others.
If I believed that no one/nothing can change, not only am I more likely to give up but I am also more likely to perpetuate harm too.
When any one person is born, we are not born with this inherent need to inflict horror/pain onto others. This is something that we might learn over time due to many different factors (i.e. biological vulnerabilities due to environmental stressors, the caregiving we receive from caregivers with their own histories of pain and joy, the sociocultural norms that we grew up with, the political systems that are in place that influence what we can/cannot do and who/what is prioritized, and more).
Recognizing that there are many different factors that influence behavior is an another critical part of disrupting learned helplessness.
We need to disrupt the larger systems at play that lend to individuals disconnecting from their humanity; disconnecting from the part of us that we are all born with—the capacity for empathy and compassion for one another. This is not a pass for individual responsibility; it is a call for systemic change—the type of change that is absolutely critical to long-term change.
On a broader scale, a key factor at play that has allowed this genocide (and every genocide) to happen is the adoption of a colonial mindset and subsequently, the pursuit of a colonial project.
In the case of the Palestinian genocide, it has been the pursuit of Zionism/Zionist state. (Zionism is defined as: “a movement for (originally) the re-establishment and (now) the development and protection of a Jewish nation in what is now Israel.”). In this pursuit, consideration of and change on behalf of the native population, the Palestinians, was neglected.
How could this happen? How could anyone inflict such brutality against anyone?
One major way is through the process of dehumanization (Stanton, 1996); a second key ingredient of genocide that must be disrupted and that can in turn, reduce feelings of helplessness. This refers to “when perpetrators call their victims rats, or cockroaches, cancer, or disease.” By talking/portraying/seeing Palestinians as “animals,” the Zionist state has been able to continue carrying out this horrific genocide; telling themselves that they are weeding out something that is “less than” or “bad.”
Thus, in order for end this genocide and to prevent any future genocides from ever taking place, we must disrupt dehumanization.
Remembering to connect with our shared humanity is another critical step to breaking away from helplessness and into action. When we forget that we have to have each other’s back to survive in this world, we are more prone to staying stuck in a state of helplessness.
It’s been hard for me to articulate this because I never ever want to suggest that I am justifying or even worse, supporting the genocide against the Palestinians.
To be clear, I stand with and support Palestine. I stand with and support Palestine infinity times and I am forever regretful/will try to mend the injustice I’ve contributed to by not firmly stating this from the start.
To be completely honest, I’ve realized that one of the reasons that’s fed into my own wavering states of helplessness is ironically, also one of my ways for fighting against internalized colonialism.
I wanted/still want to be intentional about why/what I’m sharing.
I wanted/still want to refrain from paternalistic voyeurism and saviorism; looking at problems from the outside in…in a way that feels patronizing and has “power over” flavors (vs. “power with”).
I wanted/still want to be intentional about showcasing the full breadth of the Palestinian people— not just their pain, as that often starts to veer into the territory of “trauma porn” with no follow-up action plan.
I wanted/still want to be intentional about the impact of vicarious trauma—not just on me but also for others—which often leads to numbing/dissociating/disconnecting…things that lead us astray from persisting in the fight for justice.
Truly..sincerely…in solidarity, justice, and love,
Gina
Sources:
https://dictionary.apa.org/helplessness
https://www.genocidewatch.com/tenstages
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kI_spMxp6t8
https://boforbes.substack.com/p/israel-palestine-interview-with-gabor
https://bybrittanyjohnson.substack.com/p/lets-dig-deeper-what-trauma-porn
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/11/24/1214534579/images-war-gaza-israel-vicarious-trauma-stress
*Please note that the American Psychological Association (APA) has a long history of engaging in oppressive practices, especially against marginalized populations like BIPOC folks. All ideas, including definitions, should be taken with a grain of salt— even definitions are not neutral/are social constructions created under the social contexts of our current time and history.
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