#frames of war

[philosophybits]

There is no life without the conditions of life that variably sustain life, and those conditions are pervasively social, establishing not the discrete ontology of the person, but rather the interdependence of persons, involving reproducible and sustaining social relations, and relations to the environment and to non-human forms of life, broadly considered.

Judith Butler, Frames of War

[finnlongman]

Today is the International Day of Peace – September 21st. So let's talk about pacifism.

The fact that I'm a pacifist probably comes as a surprise to those who only know me as the person with a recently announced book featuring a teenage assassin and plenty of violence. But I am, even if I'm still figuring out exactly what it means for me in practical terms. It runs in the family – my great-grandad was a conscientious objector who was imprisoned for his beliefs – and peace is one of the Quaker testimonies, alongside equality, simplicity, truth, and sustainability. Quakers are, and historically always have been, PESTS...

Not everyone vibes with pacifism, for a lot of different reasons, many of which I respect, even if I disagree. However, to those who dismiss pacifism as cowardice or a refusal to engage – to those who see it as passive – I'd like to recommend The Force of Nonviolence. It's by far Butler's most readable book, in my opinion, and they discuss how violence and force aren't synonyms, and how pacifism isn't a passive refusal but an active, forceful, and even aggressive commitment to working to dismantle societal systems of violence. They highlight how nonviolence and equality are intrinsically linked by the belief that all lives are grievable, and therefore worth preserving, and that peace doesn't just mean avoiding war, but also advocating for a society that actually provides the means for all to thrive.

I found it hugely eye-opening; it's the best nonfiction book I read in 2020, and I had to buy my own copy so that I could keep coming back to it. You can't see it in this picture, but I have a bunch of index tabs in there to mark important passages. Frames of War is Butler's earlier book on the subject, and also worth a read, but I would definitely recommend The Force of Nonviolence as a starting point.

I'm still figuring out exactly what my pacifist values mean on an everyday level and how I'll live out those beliefs, but this book is a useful and thought-provoking challenge in that regard.

[cheerioframe-blog]

Has this been done?

[philosophybits]

They appeal to the state for protection, but the state is precisely that from which they require protection. To be protected from violence by the nation-state is to be exposed to the violence wielded by the nation-state, so to rely on the nation-state for protection from violence is precisely to exchange one potential violence for another.

Judith Butler, Frames of War

[queerographies]

[Regimi di guerra][Judith Butler]

Le immagini della guerra ci sconvolgono, ma spesso ci lasciano indifferenti. È tempo di cambiare prospettiva. Scopri come trasformare l'empatia in azione concreta.

L’indifferenza ci uccide: perché non sentiamo il dolore del mondo? Titolo: Regimi di guerra. Quando la vita è un’istantaneaScritto da: Judith ButlerTitolo originale: Frames of War: When Is Life Grievable?Tradotto da: Serena DemichelisEdito da: CastelvecchiAnno: 2024Pagine: 240ISBN: 9791256140152 La sinossi di Regimi di guerra di Judith Butler Perché restiamo indifferenti di fronte alle…

[Regimi di guerra][Judith Butler]

[anathenma]

“We judge a world we refuse to know, and our judgment becomes one means of refusing to know that world.”

— Judith Butler, Frames of War: When Is Life Grievable?

[thelonguepuree]

Forms of racism instituted and active at the level of perception tend to produce iconic versions of populations who are eminently grievable, and others whose loss is no loss, and who remain ungrievable. The differential distribution of grievability across populations has implications for why and when we feel politically consequential affective dispositions such as horror, guilt, righteous sadism, loss, and indifference … This differential distribution of precarity is at once a material and a perceptual issue, since those whose lives are not 'regarded' as potentially grievable, and hence valuable, are made to bear the burden ofstarvation, underemployment, legal disenfranchisement, and differential exposure to violence and death.

Judith Butler, Frames of War

[toothlessf-blog]