Nisha Purushotham

Jux·ta·pose
tr.v. jux·ta·posed, jux·ta·pos·ing, jux·ta·pos·es
To place side by side, especially for comparison or contrast.

On Friday, November 11th, video gamers in San Diego came out in droves to purchase the 5th installment of Elder Scrolls, a fantasy role playing game. One 18-year-old made a purchase just after midnight seeking to maximize game playing time during the three day weekend. At 5:30 am on Monday morning, he groggily acknowledged a strategy of playing until his body “gave out”.

On Sunday, November 13th, a 15-year-old boy in Dier ez-Zor refused to participate in one of President Bashar al-Assad’s staged protests of the Arab League’s decision to suspend Syria’s membership. (A decision coming 8 months into his regime’s brutal crackdown on peaceful protests throughout the country. This military onslaught has claimed over 4,000 Syrian lives.)

Perhaps in refusing to participate in political theatrics, this courageous young person sought to maximize on the growing resolve of many Syrians to force the al-Assad regime out of political power. His body gave out when military forces shot and killed him at point blank range. 

As I heard these stories in the course of one day, the contrasting realities of middle and upper class North Americans and the vast majority of the world’s population  overwhelmed me once again. Is it possible for us to live in solidarity with those who face daily repression that is decreed politically and imposed militarily?

What are ways you nurture a sense of solidarity with people whose history and present day circumstances are markedly different from your own?