Familia, Comunidad,
Children are sacred. Children are sacred. Not being able to keep our children safe is the most horrifying thing that happens. We’ve been too devastated to add our voices to this tapestry of anguish, words, feelings, and tears. The mass killing in Uvalde, TX especially of children in our community is a tragedy that has left a vacuum in our universe. As a mama and a dad ourselves, this pain is without words really. We can’t imagine the pain of the parents, family and friends of those who were taken from us. In our platicas, trainings, and gatherings over the years we’ve been repeatedly reinforcing that at the base of everything, we need to make sure we are well. We know this can be so hard for our communities sometimes, especially in our communities of color when kids are being separated from their families, being harmed so deeply and being murdered. We are mamis, we are daddys, we are parents, teachers, sisters, brothers, and siblings. This is how we exist and move through this world, with our Madre. As that organism, that one life force, we know that what happens on one side of the world, to some of us, happens to all of us. This deeply affects us all. These children were/are our beautiful semillitas. May they rest and may peace enter the families and the communities that have been ripped apart forever.
In our grief, we equally would like to express our anger at the many ways in which this violence could have been prevented. In addition, we express our horror at the swiftness of those who have already been stating “they’re coming for our guns.” This is another invalidation of the lives lost. While we acknowledge that the reasons and circumstances leading to this heinous tragedy may not solely be an issue of gun access laws, we must state that that:
- Responsible gun laws, particularly around assault weapons, are needed and have never been about “taking guns away.” Leaders and organizations who use this language are perpetuating an utterly and completely false narrative that is irresponsible at best and dangerous at worst. We consider them accomplices after the fact.
- If the shooter in this (another other killings) had not been able to easily access the weapons used in these murders, the victims would be alive. Period.
It must also be acknowledged that the mass killings in recent years in Texas have disproportionately impacted Brown lives. We can remember to honor at whatever pace, at whatever time it takes to grieve and mourn these terrible tragedies. In decolonizing our well-being, we remember that we don’t have to get over wounds quickly and move on to “get back to work.” We can center our well-being, light candles, perform rituals, smudge, pray, rest, sit with our feelings, wrap ourselves in rebozos, hug our young ones and embrace each other, reach out to each other, check on each other, eat things that nourish our spirits, together if we can. We can choose to honor a turtle’s pace if that’s what we need. We remember that the vibrations of love and gratitude are the highest. It can take a while to get back up there when we continue to receive devastating blows like this throughout the past 500 years. It can take a while. But when we feel well enough, we can meditate. We can root ourselves. We can be the tree that digs deep down into the Earth towards our Madre’s heart and reaches way out to our families and communities and way up to the cosmos with our branches and leaves; toward the seven sacred directions, toward being well.
Until our society truly values and understands that our history continues to play out in our present, then our wellness and well-being will continue to be an act of resistance. As such, we continue always working toward the cultural, emotional, spiritual liberation & healing of all our people. The Institute of Chicana/o/x Psychology stands in community, stands in spirit and stands in solidarity with all who will continue to mourn and who cry out for the changes we need to keep our community and our children safe.
Liberation & Healing