Complaint and Survival. When I first read the title I continued scrolling because the text was at the very beginning of the blog, and I wanted to make sure to pick a post that I am really interested in, but the further I scrolled the more I could feel my curiosity grow on what this title means. I often joke and say that I complain a lot but that it’s okay because I am German and that’s what we do I guess. That is obviously not a legible reason but part of my sense of humor and way of reminding myself that I am complaining ‘too’ much from time to time. However, I never thought about complaints in various forms and shapes such as this text suggests. The first point, Sara Ahmed makes which I could resonate with very much, is that sometimes we have to stop to start again (Ahmed, 2020). What happens when you stop is that you take the time to register the impact of something and depending on what the outcome is your re-start will be influenced by that (Ahmed, 2020). I think that this is pretty much what has happened with the world at the beginning of this pandemic. We were forced to slow down and everyone focused on the same existential aspects in life, which highlighted a lot of already existing injustice that even became bigger because of COVID-19 and the people that were most affected by it and still are. Another point that the writer makes is that complaining can turn you into a target, which is something I have and still experience whenever I speak up. This could be for example about misogyny or racism, which are two things I experience as a Black woman. In certain situations, I then think twice if I have the energy to speak up and most likely be disliked for it, portrayed as overreacting and/or aggressive or I could let it go in order to get through my day. The second option is described as ‘hidden complaining’, meaning that not complaining can be a different way of complaining. Ahmed explains that even just being can be a form of complaining if there is an effort to stop you from getting through (Ahmed, 2020). One of the places where this is visible is the educational system and its institutions, which oftentimes can be a very draining place for Black and students of color. A statement that made me think was that ’how we survive some structures can be how those structures are reproduced', which makes me aware of the responsibility that I have, not only for myself but also for everyone who comes after me. For everyone like me, who also sometimes has the irrational feeling that it’s their responsibility to change the entire world overnight, Ahmed says: ‘There is only so much you can take on as there is only so much you can take in’ (Ahemd, 2020).

Text Analysis based on Sara Ahmed's blog post Complaint and Survival

‘There is only so much you can take on as there is only so much you can take in’

In relation to Ahmed's idea that even being can be a form of complaining and equally survival the art of Tyler Mitchell came to my mind. The photographs from his work 'I Can Make You Feel Good' visualise what a black Utopia looks like or could look like (Mitchell, 2020). His images document Black people being free and having fun with subtle reminders about the fact that 'the Black body is still politicized, and sometimes unable to move through the real world as freely as [Tyler] would like (Mitchell, 2019).' His photographs portraying Black joy and Black individuals simply being and having fun are powerful and empowering because we still rarely get to see this in art, media and so many other creative fields.