An Inescapable Network of Mutuality
Why it’s more critical than ever for us to act in solidarity across racial, religious, and other socially constructed lines to dismantle systems of oppression.
“We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
Dr. Martin Luther King wrote these words in his now famous Letter from a Birmingham Jail back in 1963. I’ve been reading and re-reading these words to myself and to others over the last six months — all while sitting in horror and disbelief as we’ve witnessed the ongoing displacement, violence, and dehumanization of Palestinians by the Israeli government and aided by Western nations.
I’m the founder of Living Hyphen, an arts community in “Canada” that explores what it means to live in between cultures in all of its complexities. Our Living Hyphen community is made up of people from diasporas from all around the world, as well as Indigenous people from many nations on Turtle Island.
Each and every one of us has lineages and histories that are inextricably bound up in colonization, imperialism, military occupations, racist immigration policies, and other oppressive systems — in our homelands and right here on Turtle Island.
I myself am a Filipina-Canadian. I was born in the Philippines, one of many countries where the process of colonization has done irreparable harm to our people, our culture, and our land.
A *fun* fact about my homeland: Did you know that the Philippines is named after King Philip II of Spain, under whom our country was colonized? The Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos named the islands of Leyte and Samar ‘Felipinas’ during his expedition in 1542, after King Philip II.
An even more *fun* fact about my homeland: Did you know that most Filipinos struggle to pronounce that ‘ph’ sound? Did you know that none of the languages of our archipelago include this fricative sound?
What sick joke that our colonizers would give us a name that we can’t even pronounce.
Today, our tourism board’s tagline is, “IT’S MORE FUN IN THE PHILIPPINES!”
But as most Filipinos would say it, “IT’S MORE PAHN IN DA PILIPINES!”
We are not Filipino.
No, we are PILIPINO.
After spending 333 years under Spanish colonial rule, the Philippines — or da Pilipines, as we would say — was then sold to the United States for $20 million in 1898.
Our “allies,” the Americans, did us dirty by working with the Spaniards to orchestrate what is now known as the “Mock Battle in Manila,” a fake battle that kept our revolutionaries distracted and occupied while these two Western powers secretly transferred control of our capital city.
And so began another 48 years of colonial rule — but this time by Uncle Sam.
It was only in 1946, after our country was ravaged by the Pacific Theatre of World War II, that the United States “granted” the Philippines its independence.
But the truth is that the Philippines is still very much under the imperial rule of America today. The impacts of this oppression continue to seep deeply into our institutions and systems, even into the very name we call ourselves.
Just like it happened in this nation-state we now call Canada, separation and disconnection from our land and culture were an integral part of the colonization process. It was a very intentional and deliberate strategy to rip us apart from our literal roots.
We are seeing so much of this violence and harm continue to play out today. We have been watching it on full blast for the last six months in Gaza, as well as in Sudan, to Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in Ukraine, to Uyghurs in China, and so many others.
I name all of these “conflicts” because as much as colonialism tries to separate us, the fact is that all systems of oppression reinforce one another and cannot be fought in isolation.
Bringing it back to the words of Dr. Martin Luther King: “We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
These teachings of interdependence exist in so many cultures around the world and have existed across generations.
In Judaism, there is Echad. There is the African philosophy of Ubuntu. In Mayan culture there is In Lak'ech Ala K'in. In my own Filipino tradition, we have Kapwa.
Respectively, they mean Unity.
I am because you are.
You are my other self.
Our shared identity.
These are not empty platitudes. These are universal laws that govern our world whether we choose to believe it or not, just in the same way that gravity works whether we believe it or not.
And just as our struggles are inextricably interconnected, so too is our liberation.
Over the last few months, I’ve been organizing with Filipinos United for Palestine, a coalition of Filipino individuals, organizations, and businesses in Canada working together for a free Palestine. Through direct action, political organizing, and community education, we are uniting Filipinos across the country to demand an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and the end of Israel’s occupation of Palestine.
In the Philippines, we have a saying, “isang bagsak,” that encapsulates our collective wellbeing. Roughly translated to “one fall,” the spirit of isang bagsak is the reality that when one falls down, we all fall down — when one of us rises, we all rise.
At a time when our world is being thrown into climate chaos, as innocent people continue to be violently displaced from their homelands worldwide, while so many intersecting injustices and violences are ravaging lives, it’s more critical than ever for us to act in solidarity across racial, religious, and other socially constructed lines to dismantle these systems of oppression and create equitable and just futures for each and every one of us.
I invoke more words here from the great Dr. Martin Luther King: “We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there is such a thing as being too late. This is no time for apathy or complacency. This is a time for vigorous and positive action.”
Now is the time to embody the fierce spirit of resistance of our kin and our ancestors to show up in solidarity with communities around the world who are fighting against all kinds of systemic oppression. We must channel their rage and grief, merge it with our own, and let this tidal wave of emotion move us toward compassion and courage. We must bring our radical imaginations to create new pathways of justice, of healing, and of freedom for ourselves and our descendants. This is the fierce urgency of now.
“And just as our struggles are inextricably interconnected, so too is our liberation.” — YES!
“Our “allies,” the Americans, did us dirty by working with the Spaniards to orchestrate what is now known as the “Mock Battle in Manila,” a fake battle that kept our revolutionaries distracted and occupied while these two Western powers secretly transferred control of our capital city.” Distraction is one of the dirtiest tricks in the colonizers handbook.