Sacred Falling Stars

Once upon a time a gymnast teacher told a girl, and all her classmates, to gather round to spot the student currently bouncing on the trampoline. They circled to volunteer a ring of imperfectly rhythmed but positively patterned intent to help, should the witnessed bounce go horribly accidentally wrong. This same request for a spot was one familiar to this same girl, and these same classmates, when they were bench pressing at the gym, not because the teacher asked, but because the fully abled weight lifter asked if they could work out together, and spotting each other during the bench press was simply Standard ReAssurance Operating Procedure for humane care givers and receivers. Anyway, the unfortunate bounder bounced sideways when one of her knees gave out and she came flying directly toward our spotter who did her very best to get out of the way, to go to the other side of the street, to walk on by, to pull out her cellphone camera to get it all delightfully or mournfully recorded for more proper punishing authorities. The teacher was (1) concerned for the wounded splattered girl on the matted and yet still not inviting floor, and (2) furious with the spotter turned distant recorder. When the classroom administrator asked, "Why?" the girl said her father told her not to touch others at risk of injury on their way down because she might be liable for post-touch injury and, besides, it's not like she's going to be financially rewarded should she be successful with mitigating harm, so, there is no "on the other hand" potential reward system worth mentioning. It's the same reason she, and those witnesses huddled in a supportive constellation around her, pulled out her star-gazing witnessing camera while George Floyd struggled to "I can't breathe" communicate while being deliberately suffocated to overpower him when he was already down, and about to blink wink out. The liability attorneys and corporate accident insurance actuaries get paid bigger bucks to tell front-line administrators why touch and help and prescriptions and medical procedures should be denied, because the risk of trying to care for each other, when it just isn't enough, is a last touch liability. And, on the other hand, there is no reward for the person, the agency, the health care giving and receiving reassurance win/win anticipating corporate system doesn't economically cooperatively exist. Compassion doesn't pay-- it just regenerates more health care risk and personal star witness liability. Care giving, especially for those who have already sustained transparent vulnerable losses in their compromised physical and mental health lives, is responsible for first and last caring touch of hand and voice every day, every custody minute of co-operative care, whether standing behind, in best-effort solidarity, or standing nearby, spotting each win/win collaborative constellation, reassuring wounded OtherStars. Care giving opportunities, health care spotting for each other, pays poorly, when compared with what star corporate liability insurance attorneys and accountants use to buy second homes; sometimes including financial bonuses for successfully avoiding any realistic possibility of harm, unnecessary financial loss. Care giving with active compassion bears a long patriarchal tradition of being feminist underpaid to relieve cameras up, but hands and eyes down, deflect, stand back, don't get involved-- are not politically disempowering run-away capitalist actions and inactions. Potential financial risk for helping to prevent further harm, for doing your win/win best, for cooperatively investing in all sacred stars, for health care compassion, for nurturing at-risk humanity in the face of immediate injury, wounds, losses, suffering, especially falling risk to marginalized persons of color, it doesn't pay well to the left brain dominant patriarchal corporate win/lose zero-sum mind-- but really is what life is all about, at its most invigorating compassionate best chance of win/win solidarity success to right brain feminist constellations of empowering hearts.