Keep It Small: Deportations, Detainments, and Intimidation

The Problem with Psychic Numbing

Someone said that the bigger and more complex an issue is, the harder that storytellers, advocates and allies must work to make it smaller. We must focus on one family, one mother, one father, one child. Otherwise, people can be overwhelmed, confused and the issue becomes unwieldy. The fancy term is psychic numbing. It describes the decreased sensitivity or empathy when we are presented with large numbers of victims in a tragedy or crisis. As the number of affected individuals increases, the ability to connect emotionally and respond effectively tends to decrease. It's easier to grasp the suffering of one individual than to comprehend the suffering of millions.

So for those on the sidelines to get involved in the work we must say names, post pictures and share their humanity because then we won’t lose it: and we certainly won’t lose ours because loving one another is one of the most human things we can do. Watching this video of a deported dreamer reminded of this profound reality.