Reflections ►
Bugs Bunny vs . Daffy Duck by Dolores Halbin , contributing writer
Infusing joy into activism has begun , martyrdom is in its death throes , and I say good riddance . This is according to activist and author Wajahat ( Waj ) Ali . Once again , while seeking the answers to the really big questions of social justice and activism , NPR came to my rescue , and , as usual , I got in the car during the last five minutes of the program , “ It ’ s Been a Minute with Sam Sander ,” as he interviewed Ali . I pulled over and wrote it down so I could come home and listen to the entire interview , which I have , several times .
It was the end of the interview in the car , where the two men , Sam and Waj , laughed and said , “ Activism all comes back to Bugs Bunny .” That was the hook .
For me , activism has been associated with grief . When I am out there trying to change hearts and minds , I do it by telling my sad story and making people cry , which takes a toll , keeping me stuck in the past — making people cry sucks , even if it is for a good cause . So , the possibility that someone can passionately advocate for a cause without suffering and with joy , well , I was intrigued .
Wajahat Ali ’ s new book , Go Back to Where You Come From : And Other Helpful Recommendations , is about his life in America as an American Muslim student in San Francisco post 9 / 11 and now post January 6 , 2021 . The book is about racism ( prohibition has been a tool for racism for 85 years ) and how to make a kinder America . Waj ’ s lessons learned from his 20-plus years of activism , now shared in his book , have kindled an entirely new way of thinking , a new attitude , as my husband used to say . He would remind the kids , “ attitude ” is an aviation term that means “ angle of approach .” Waj has introduced Joy as a new vector for our attitude towards the “ how-to ” of facilitating change .
Waj explains , “… oftentimes we measured success , our generation , through martyrdom . Look how many arrows I took for you . Look how I suffer . Look how I bleed . Look , I ’ m dead .”
I get this . I was raised Catholic in the 1950s through the 70s , including 12 years of Catholic School with martyrdom infused into every subject . Martyrdom hasn ’ t just been infused into religion , but also politics and social justice as the ultimate statement for a cause . Suffering is treated like salt , a necessary ingredient that everyone uses . Promoting martyrdom today to an educated youth is a harder sell . Not
impossible ; we still have suicide bombers but with less frequency . If we can adopt Waj ’ s template , perhaps the thinking that “ we only get change through suffering ” will become a thought of the past , making activism a little more appealing . Our new role models will be Bugs Bunny and The Road Runner , not Daffy Duck and the Coyote .
I was invited recently to be a guest on the podcast Adam and the Man . The invitation came with a note about “ being impressed with your resiliency .” I scoffed . “ I ’ m not resilient ,” I replied . “ I ’ m angry .” Of course , I ’ m angry . They took my man , and as Arnold Schwarzenegger said in Terminator 3 , “ Anger is a much more useful emotion than despair .” Is it really possible to be a joyful activist instead of a pissed-off , sad activist ? How does that even work ?
Well , according to Wajahat Ali , his book , “ Go Back to Where You Came From : And Other Helpful Recommendations On How To Become American is about loving a country that doesn ’ t always love you back and how this country can turn on us on a dime . But at the same time , it ’ s how we can move forward as a multicultural country . And I hope it is done with humor and it ends on earned hope — not some Hallmark , you know , sugary confection , but earned hope . And the earned hope comes by working through the challenges ....”
Those of us who have felt the heavy hand of the government locking us up for a plant , turning us from tax-paying citizens to criminals with a record , can relate to the feeling of being turned on a dime . Maybe our “ earned hopes ” are the relationships we form along the path of activism , those relationships that bring us joy along with the occasional successful changes .
Waj said , “… I feel like oftentimes , we ’ re asked to be like Daffy Duck — get angry and upset . But sometimes I want to be like Bugs Bunny ... always chilling . They ’ re always after him , but he always uses their traps against them . Sometimes he dresses up as a girl and kisses them ... he always gets the last laugh and the last word .”
Sanders replied , “ Yeah . Bugs Bunny didn ’ t work hard ; he worked smart .”
Waj Ali ’ s training ground for activism happened as a 20-year-old senior student at UC Berkeley on 9 / 11 . “… overnight you become