Meredith: It could have been me

One thing I’ve noticed with studying human rights and looking at other societies where these human rights violations, civil wars, state terrorism, etc. occur, is the mentality that this would not, could not, happen to me. Maybe it’s a form of coping, or a way to be able to analyze these issues without being overwhelmed by emotion, but people seem to put up a psychological wall, a form of distance, a safe abstraction from the sadness and terror.

Something I can’t ignore anymore is this: it could have been me. It would have been me. I can’t say this for sure, but if I had been alive in Argentina in the 70s, I would have, probably could have, been disappeared.

I am a leftist. I am liberal. I would have been young, idealistic. I can imagine that I would have been involved in politics, or at least in social justice initiatives like working in camps for children from the slums, las ciudades ocultas. Or, I could have been like those five or six students killed that weren’t even involved in politics, only protesting against raised bus fares. I’m Jewish. My name could have been in the address book of a friend, an acquaintance, or someone I knew that had been disappeared. I could have said the wrong thing, worn the wrong shirt. I might have looked suspicious. I might have asked too many questions.

Or, I could have been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

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