Taking off your Cool | Learning & Loving
[Transcript of video composed by Kim Katrin Milan and shot by Gein Wong, discussing the ways learning and loving can enact revolution]
Kim: "You know, any piece of information could be the catalyst, you know...it's the thing that makes the person the maddest and starts this like massive revolution. Like the butterfly effect..."
Voice in background: "Uh-huh."
Kim: "...the idea that one small happening can successively affect massive kinds of change. What if something that I read just really...or something that someone read that I shared...made people feel like things could be different? You know, I really believe in all of these like post-apocalyptic uh sci-fi novels that really speak to the power of the human spirit to just do these um, enormous things. Like, change the scope of the entire world because, people are not being treated fairly."
Voice in the background: "Mhmm."
Kim: "And I think that the way in which we affect positive change is by making sure that as many people as possible have as much information as possible. [Pauses] *sighs* I just think learning is everything. I think it's like...that's why I really like Lucy, because it's the idea that you are able to access 100% of your brain just for the purpose of giving this gift to the rest of the world. Like all of this knowledge that possibly, if everyone just gets access to, that it could make everything okay. And maybe even more than okay, but like awesome. Like what if things could be awesome? What if it could be like, we could create the road so that people don't crash? What we could make sure that everything was not only sustainable but also like, nurturing? What if people all felt really good about themselves ALL the Time?! What if people felt like they were really awesome? What if people could enter into relationships that weren't shameful or scary? What if people could ask for the kind of sex that they want?
What if we could eliminate things like rape? You know? There are cultures in the world where rape does not exist. It doesn't have to be this 'truth' of our society that raping and poverty and violence are realities that we have to live out. This idea that we're naturally brutish by nature, I don't think it's true and I feel like why not put other theories to the test? As the human race, you know, why not explore other ideas about our humanity together? Or even apart. Like, why not create space for other people to explore their own personal versions of themselves, you know? And I think that knowledge is the way to do that.
I remember being a little girl, and just being obsessed with reading; obsessed with every single world I could learn about. Obsessed with every single place that people went in their imagination. I was so in awe of the fact that people could imagine whole worlds and characters and peoples and tell stories that millions of people around the world could read! That's just so...powerful. Right? Like, how can I not believe that one person can change everything. Because it's just one person writing this book, that then gets shared all around the world. But, for me it's not about the one, it's about the one to many. You know, like, we each are filters for millions of people, and millions of life forms. You know, like my body is home to millions of life forms.
Like, we have to recognize that any version of this universe that we imagine has to be one that's grounded in interdependence. Like this really deep knowing that we need each other and taking care of each other. Like, taking care of each other feels awesome. Like taking care of you in my life, Gein, feels awesome. It feels super nice the way that you take care of me too. Like, that feels super great. I like, I want people to wanna show off that they like each other. I want that to be cool, because I feel like it's not cool to say that you just think someone's awesome and smart and great, and that you're just really happy that they wanna be your friend.
And maybe that's a weird thing to like say as an adult, because it's hard to make friends as an adult...or different to make friends as an adult? But like, you know, as someone who like didn't really have a lot of friends as a kid, like, I think it's so...I think friendship is super special. And I think connecting with people is super special. And I don't understand why we don't wanna be more obsessed with information and structures of ways of making other people feel special and valued. Cuz it feels awesome and I don't know why we don't wanna do that to each other. And like, I hate how cool it is to be mean. I hate how cool it is, to like, be hurtful, I hate how cool it is to act like we don't care about each other or we don't care when we get hurt. You know everyone who's ever hurt my feelings, still hurts my feelings. Even when I'm like "I don't care, and "you're mean", "it doesn't matter"...like, it all hurts. Cuz, I feel like we're all soft on the inside."
- video ends -