It’s good to be strong ‌–‌ ‌‌it’s better to be strong in community

Best of all is to be strong for something

Trauma-informed coach Mark Schneider teaches that strength is a product of trust. You learn to trust in your body’s abilities. Collective strength depends on trust just as much. You need to know that those beside you have the same commitment. Lives depend on it.

The 1973 coup by Pinochet in Chile was especially cruel and brutal. Thousands were tortured and killed. The private sector deprived the people of essentials. Nae Pasaran (2018) tells the story of Scottish Rolls Royce workers who refused to let Chilean jet engines leave their factory.

They explain: 

‘It was a moral stand that was taken. I couldn’t support or do anything that would help that type of government.’

Couldn’t, not wouldn’t. That’s physical.

‘At a time when the trade unions were strong, we were able to demand things for the people.’ Pause. ‘Unlike now.’

This is a rare form of strength. Also shown by the Lucas workers who had the collective vision that their factory could convert from military contracts to healthcare equipment. Or the Australian Builders and Labourers Federation who called a halt to jobs that harmed green spaces.

Rare, but not gone… This potential is bound deeply into our DNA

When they see the engine at the end they look like their memories are really fresh.

These are old men but life is bursting out of every one of their cells.