Others and Allies
Title: Crosshairs
By: Catherine Hernandez
Genre: fiction dystopian lgbtqia+ literary
{This Book Reflection Contains Spoilers}
Summary: Crosshairs by Catherine Hernandez is a dystopian tale that shares the experience of being “other” and examples of true allyship.
The main character Kay, checks multiple boxes of “other” as a queer, femme, black male. Over a period of time we witness the changes that “others”, like Kay go through. One day they are freely walking the streets, the next day they lose access to money, food and shelter and the next day they are living in the shadows and in hiding as a means of survival. Throughout Kay’s journey he is helped by white allies who have wholeheartedly committed to fighting for the rights of the “others''.
Thoughts after reading the book: There are parts of this book that share similarities to horrific historical events which I reflected on:
There was a storm that took place in the book and the lack of government aid to the mostly black communities impacted reminded me of hurricane Katrina back in 2005.
There was harassment of "others" despite their financial status. This made me think of what many upper class minorities go through driving too nice of a car, living in a too nice of a neighborhood, etc.
The Prime Minster in the book reminded me of Trump based on the derogatory terms they used when referring to illegal migrants and women.
There was a fire that was set on a black community which reminded me of Tulsa.
The concentration camps and the shaved heads of the workers reminded me of the Holocaust.
The overall storyline of “others” trying to make it out their hell with the help of allies made me think of the underground railroad, slaves and abolitionist.
Allies: There is a meditation that the allies would recite everyday as a ritual. It goes:
"When I do not act, I am complicit!
When I know wrong is happening, I act!
When the oppressed tell me I am wrong, I open my heart and change!
When change is led by the oppressed, I move aside and uplift!"
This meditation was very eye opening to me because I see it as an intentional way to fight white supremacy by starting with self. Self-reflection in general is no easy work, but necessary. This meditation kept the allies in check of their privilege and helped them stay the course fighting for justice and equal rights.
Others: I enjoyed a poem from this book performed by a protester as Kay walked down the street. This poem speaks to the resilience of those deemed as "other":
"We have been occupied
Papered
Carded
Listed
Interned
Torn
Ripped
Shorn
Walked
Blanked
We have been occupied
Internalized
Assimilated
Bordered
Fenced
Reserved
Unrecognized
Colonized
Halved
Quartered
We have been occupied
Policed
Stripped
Searched
Patted down
Spotlighted
Assassinated
Imprisoned
Sentenced
Executed
We have been occupied
Whitewashed
Dyed
Bleached
Shaved
Starved
Sterilized
Stolen
Sold
Discarded
We have been occupied
Indebted
Unforgiven
Schemed
Played
Traded
Exported
Imported
Outsourced
Foreclosed
These are names they gave us
These are the ways they took from us
These are the ways they tired
But we are like the waters on this land
Slicing mountains in half
We have our own names
We did not lose everything
We survived them
We are more powerful than we hurt us
We will remember our ancestors
We will drum
We will sing
We will feed each other truth
We will look out for each other
We will come together
We will protect Mother Earth
We will speak for those who cannot
We will make way for our elders
We will listen to our youth
We will remember
We are memory
We will decolonize"
Final thoughts: Crosshairs is no easy read, but a relevant read. This book will make you reflect on privileges' that you may have. It will make you question if you are doing all that you can to be an ally to those who are "other" compared to you.
- Maya & The Spine Down
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