Deaf Pagan Crossroads

In this post, Ocean shares some of her thoughts in response to Deaf Pundit’s recent post at “The Deaf Edge”…

While reading A Deaf Pundit’s recent post “Revolution” at her blog site The Deaf Edge, I was reminded of a saying I have seen time and again over the years:

“If I can’t dance, I don’t want to be part of your revolution.”

This quote is attributed to Emma Goldman, a Russian-born anarchist who became well known for her writings and speeches. However, in reality Emma never made the above statement, although it does reflect her own views as a revolutionary. What she did say was this:

At the dances I was one of the most untiring and gayest… One evening…a young boy took me aside…he whispered to me that it did not behoove an agitator to dance…It was undignified…

I grew furious…I told (the boy) to mind his own business, I was tired of having the Cause constantly thrown into my face. I did not believe that a Cause which stood for a beautiful ideal…should demand the denial of life and joy. I insisted that our Cause could not expect me to become a nun…If it meant that, I did not want it. “I want freedom, the right to self-expression, everybody’s right to beautiful, radiant things”…Yes, even in spite of the condemnation of my own comrades I would live my beautiful ideal.

[Living My Life (New York: Knopf, 1934), p. 56]

With this comment, Emma Goldman reminds us of the importance of maintaining a sense of beauty even when the reality of the world around us seems so stark and ugly. We cannot allow ourselves to become prisoners of our anger, victims of a seemingly cold and oppressive society.

A Deaf Pundit states, when asked if she thinks Deaf Culture is dying…

“No… I think it’s undergoing a revolution. We are in the middle of a cultural revolution, in my humble opinion. I don’t know what the end result will be… Will it be the same? No… But it’ll still be there.”

I think Deaf Pundit is right… we are undergoing a revolution. We are coming to a growing realization that the world of oppression and domination cannot sustain our lives, our community, nor our culture.

It’s time for a change.

But we cannot allow that change to be manipulated by fear, by hatred, or by negativity. It must instead be fueled by that very sense of freedom and that very right to self-expression that prompted Emma Goldman to want to dance… and it must be sustained with the celebration of life and joy.

So yes, I’ll join this cultural revolution. I’ll throw dignity to the wind and waltz, tango, and jitterbug around the room with reckless abandon. I’ll laugh and I’ll love and I’ll live passionately. I’ll advocate whenever possible, and agitate whenever necessary. And I’ll care not a whit what my comrades think. I’ll tell them all to mind their own business, and I’ll smack the living daylights out of any impudent twit who tries to get me to sit down.

If I can’t dance to it, it’s not my revolution.

Thunder races across a nation

Fear locks doors on open minds

Fire burns the bloodied pages… of our times

Words that once seemed simply spoken

Are now stuck screaming in my brain

I stand trembling in confusion… without shame

Well, I will laugh and sing and dance

and make love with consenting humans

In our evolution

And I also agree I will fight, live and die

freely human

In our revolution

Well, it’s hard work in hard times

And when my feelings get dull, my spirit has to shine

It takes every muscle in my heart

To dance at our revolution

But I’m dancing, Emma

It takes every muscle in my heart to dance at our revolution.

“Emma”

written and recorded by Holly Near