There are someones bloated in Japan, bloodied in Cote d'Ivoire, putrified in Libya and they are no one - every one. There are someones raped, tortured, imprisoned -- no ones -- every one. There are someones who can pontificate on the no ones and yet they will have a marker when they die. The no ones are placed between plywood boards in a pit; covered with sand in the desert; left to rot in the sun.
I am no one in the mass scheme of things. I can only hope my ashes will be known to someone as they rake them into the compost pile I have tended. I will die in the natural course of things, methinks: not by a collapsing building, a massive wave, impersonal bullets or starvation. I can't be a witness for the stories of rape, mutilation, criminal enterprise or natural disaster. I can only remember them and not forget.
Mohammed Nabbous was a someone. He was braver than anyone I know. Eman al-Obeidy is still (I hope) a someone. She is braver than anyone I know. Hideaki Akaiwa is a someone. He is braver than anyone I know. Fifty un-named workers exposed to high levels of radiation are someones. They are braver than anyone I know. Tens of thousands of unnamed civilians are risking life and limb to get the boot off their necks. They are braver than anyone I know.
I sit comfortably at a computer and post irritating comments on a blog. I'm safe. I don't pretend to know why things happen -- naturally or through bellicosity. What I do know is that I don't really care about politics or regulatory fuckups or lust for oil when there are someones who may become no ones.
I honestly can't do a damned thing about any of this -- but I won't support not doing anything. Every one has a piece of these global disasters; whether financial, political or emotional. Every no one becomes us -- our complex natures of good, evil, indifferent, callous. We all have the absolute right to respond in a way that reflects our fundamental beliefs. Frankly, mine have been shattered.
Over four decades of pacifism have morphed into a feeling of visceral aggression against murderers, rapists and torturers. Twenty professional years of working on environmental issues and pushing for stringent regulations have devolved into utter despair. I have finally accepted that powerful people will continue to kill the someones -- the no ones -- whether through violence or greed.
All I want is someone never to forget the no ones, because they are everyone.