We Can't Save The World, But We Can Save Each Other.

  / autmchiu  
  / autmchiu  
Monetization is off on this video for obvious reasons, so if you want to help me out, consider checking out my patreon.

she/they pronouns

leave a comment if you found this video helpful. i almost didn't make it bc it was getting too stressful, so knowing i helped someone out with it would be encouraging

please please reach out to your friends/community if you're feeling lost or depressed. we'll need to lean on each other to get thru this. if you don't have a community, you can join my discord here to get in touch:   / discord  

otherwise, share this with anyone who you feel like it could help. we could all use a vision to keep going i think

music: Immersed by Kevin MacLeod

feel free to copy/quote the script anywhere:

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I don't usually weigh in on serious topics, but now might be a good time.

This sucks. There's no way around it. This election is going to be disastrous for the queer community, and I'm sure I don't have to explain why. I think I speak for everyone when I say that we're scared, we're angry, and more than anything else, we want the nightmare to be over. I get it.

The first thing I want to say is this: it's not your fault. There are tremendous, incomprehensible forces controlling world politics right now, and no lone individual stands a chance at fighting them. I know this feels terrifying and hopeless, but don't make it harder for yourself by taking responsibility for it. You have done everything you can to make the world a better and safer place, and I know you will continue to do so in the future.

The truth is, as individuals, we have very little power, and even though collectively our power grows exponentially, it's still not enough to overcome billionaires, oil barons, and entire goddamn nations. We were never going to win this war by fighting it head-on; the numbers just aren't on our side. But that doesn't mean we can't win---we just have to change tactics. We have to fight obliquely, under the noses of our oppressors, through invisible gestures and acts of kindness, by gradually chipping away at this culture that despises us. And above all, we have to be unkillable, not in body, but in spirit---as long as our spirit of resistance survives, we'll come out on top in the end.

This moment in history makes me think of the Japanese occupation of Korea, which lasted from 1910 to 1945. That's thirty-five years---almost half of an adult life. For thirty-five years, Imperial Japan did everything in its power to dismantle Korean culture and destroy the Korean language. For thirty-five years, the Korean people---my people---were almost erased from the planet. And you know what? Korea's still here. In 1945, Imperial Japan was forced to surrender, and the Korean people could govern themselves for the first time in three decades. In 1980, South Korea successfully agitated for democracy in the famous Gwangju Uprising. And in the 2000's, South Korea grew to become one of the most powerful drivers of culture in the world. In 1910, the young Korean generation would never have guessed that in a hundred years, the world would be watching their movies and listening to their music, learning their language and obsessing over their pop stars.

In the darkest moments of history, it can be hard to imagine that the world could ever become a brighter place; and in truth, this darkness might last for a while, maybe for most if not all of our lives. But we have to keep living, if not for ourselves, then for the generations who will come after us, who will look back on this moment of history and thank us for fighting for them.

I don't know if I'll live to see the Golden Age of queerness, but I'm going to do what I can for it while I'm alive. In the meantime, this is my motto: we can't save the world, but we can save each other. We can support each other through hardship, and we can take in those who feel alone and isolated. As the world grows dim, we can keep a light on in the dark for the right people to find us. And above all, we have to survive. Because one day, this darkness will end, and our community will need you alive to celebrate---to say, we made it. We're still here. One day, the course of history will right itself, and history will need us alive to tell our stories. One day, the nightmare will be over; I don't know when, but it will. Until then, stay strong and stay alive.