“Ritual as Resistance: XX Stories of Defending the Sacred”
PLEASE share this widely, esp. with friends of various cultural+spiritual traditions.
I got some spot-on submissions in the first round, but not enough for a whole zine. So as inspiration—and tangible examples of the “recipes” for rebellious ritual that I’m looking for—see the excerpts below from stories I’ll be using.
Length: up to 230 words or so
Deadline: on or before May 24
Email to: cbmilstein {at} yahoo
“‘Good morning, revolutionaries!’ Her glossy hijab gleams with the 7:00 a.m. dew. It’s gray out. The drizzle drips off her megaphone as she makes her rounds, tent to soggy tent. ‘It’s time to build the world of the future!’ “The raindrops, bolder, smack the tent roof in the center of the university quad. Our bat mitzvah girl looks at me quizzically. ‘Kiss here,’ I unroll the Torah and gesture. The tassel of her keffiyeh could be the fringes of a prayer shawl without too much imagination. She takes the tassel, touches the scroll and kisses it.” …
—Robin Banerji
Rhinestones still sparkle under red umbrellas hoisted around the globe even as tears fall when the list of names is read on December 17: International Day to End Violence against Sex Workers. … The list is a central feature of every D17 vigil, even when the name of the deceased is ‘anonymous.’ [Also, the] most derogatory terms for sex workers in the local language of each D17 gathering are openly reclaimed as an act of resistance by an unapologetically grieving crowd clad in fishnets, lingerie, harnesses, and high heels, all refusing to accept ‘dead hookers’ as a punch line or expected outcome of the hustle.”
—Maggie Mayhem
As my ancestors had once hidden cloves of garlic in their pockets for protection, I plant garlic every Octobe.r … My cousin aided me last fall because I procrastinated, buried in the grief of my mom’s illness. … Plants have always been our ritual. We dug up plants around our ancestral home before it was to be demolished. We mourned, taking plants to our new homes, tucking them into the earth. Bringing something we love with us as we watch the world crumble. A little seed of solace for a people of the diaspora.
—Dana G
(photos: ritualistic visit to Waldheim cemetery on the outskirts of Chicago to pay homage to the blessed memory of anarchist ancestors, including with offerings of stones and stickers, such as pictured on the Haymarket martyrs monument as well as the graves of Lucy Parsons and Voltairine de Cleyre)
