In times of conflict, beware of "peace-washing"
A shadow exhibition, a humble learning, & a new term
for those who’d prefer to listen over reading ;)
I have a confession to make.
When the Israel/Hamas/Palestine/global culture war1 shattered our reality, I assumed the position of “social media peacekeeper.” It felt like a reaction to this media cacophony, as many of us post against the clock of human on human destruction. As we catch up on centuries of conflict at quantum speed, obviously we’re missing more than we’re catching. And I missed a big one. It took me getting called in by friends to really see it (you know who you are, you’re my muse here, thank you)
You see, I was big on peace memes. Until some surprising thoughts dropped into my DMs- comments about what those pure-intentioned messages were really signaling…after some thought, I began to ask - was my intention pure? What am I really trying to say?
To be brutally honest (we get off on humbling ourselves on this channel) something in me was using this “wider view” of peace to keep myself — a Jewish woman — safe. To say something without really saying anything, using cozy language to blanket myself from the duty to advocate for a group, my people, that are getting some pretty awful PR right now.2
A new term: PEACEWASHING
So, I want to add something to our shared lexicon. Peacewashing is when the sentiment or language of peace is used to “transcend” (more or less dissociate from) present conflict. It’s the vague use of peace as a blanket, to protect oneself from the messy realness of conflict, absolving oneself from the task of doing anything further to create said peace. It does peace no justice.
It’s a costume in spiritual bypassing’s closet, and I can report from personal experience, it’s slithery as hell.
I think we all know this, but to be clear, I am absolutely not denouncing the concept of peace, & the need for peace-full dialogue & action, especially now. Instead, I am asking us to pay close attention to our intent with the language of peace. Stay with me.
Imagine- You’re driving from California to Rhode Island. To get there, you wouldn’t just sit in your car & say over and over “I want to be in Rhode Island!” would you? No, you’d put it in your nav, take some turns, sit in traffic, refuel, maybe take a detour… always being actively on your way there.
“There is no teleporting to peaceful outcomes” said my friend Erica G. Boom.
Hard questions & big pills, from love
Now, I’m going to present some realness. Know this- I’m doing that while wrapping my arms around the “peace-washer” inside each one of us. To that pure part of us who is desperate for that mythical teleportation- I love you, thank you.
And, what’s the priority? To perform peacefulness for our own safety, or to operate as a true agent for peace? I see the latter as being devoted to a more peaceful world, and letting our actions drive us there.
And if that is the priority, our drive is through a tempestuous wilderness. It will “kick the ass upon which we sit.”3 It means actions that don’t always feel peaceful. It means meeting this shadowy moment, getting more comfortable in the discomfort of conflict. And despair4.
For me, it means allowing my words to get less monk-like, and more Jaime-like, including the Jaime who is Jewish, whose flesh & blood connects not just ancestrally but spiritually to the land of Israel. And that part of me requires justice & liberation for all (read: Tikkun Olam). It means not hovering above this conversation, but sitting inside it, at a human pace.
A bold example (remember me hugging you) - The Jaime who is a proper peace agent sees that while the broad urge for a ceasefire is more than valid, an unstrategic ceasefire is a peacewashing bandaid, and will not protect any of the all we care about protecting. She sees a need to get more specific. She also understands that our peace memes on Instagram don’t equate to less lives lost, & she is spending time internally digesting…that. Big pills, I know. You’re not swallowing them alone.
There’s the old adage of “If I wanted to go there, I wouldn’t start here.” Genuine question: If we want actual peace, where do we begin? What are the paths we take? What are the right questions?
The paths I’m choosing
I’ll opt for the paths with a realistic start point: where we are now, the entropic clock ticking on this age old mess. And as I have the privilege to be taking this in from a safer distance, I feel a responsibility to show up for the war that’s happening in the palm of our hands.
In my online life, I find some sense of duty in spaciously investigating with people who share things that make me bristle. Creating spaces where the armor can come off, & shared understanding has a chance to grow in its place between us. This peace game is a multi-generational one, and call me crazy, but I think these small moments add up.
And offline, it’s resourcing myself for that^ by feeling. the. grief. The rage, the hurt. Letting the “what the fuck-ness” wash over me, so I can keep refinding informed faith. And so I can project less of my own stuff onto our collective conversation.
And, it’s unbounded conversations with other shattered hearts, amongst my Israeli friends, my Arab friends, my Jewish community and our brave witnesses, each with our own straight up primal connection to this. It’s reclaiming a slower dialogue.
Rinse, learn, sigh, repeat.
So..now we’ve opened this channel. Started with a bang, thanks for showing up. What did this leave you with? Where do you think we should
go next?
Personally, I want to explore what collective care really means, pull out more pieces from spiritual bypassing’s closet, discover the purpose of prayer, remind us about deep play…and more, coming soon as we continue to play lost & found.
J
If your immediate response to this word was the other words you’d prefer I use to describe this moment, come back soon for a piece on buzzwords & signaling! :*
Let’s bookmark a chat about how to remember that the “PR dimension” of this conflict happens on platforms that are designed for division, and how to be in resistance to that, together.
Robert Augustus Masters said this about shadow work in his book Spiritual Bypassing. High recommend!
Don’t worry, we’re going to talk about the “despair to prayer” pipeline, very soon
Thank you thank you. Yes, calling for a ceasefire is peacewashing and I really appreciate your words here. <3