Joy can strengthen our resolve, help us unlock creativity, and bolster our resilience. In Fix’s Joy Issue, we explore the importance and power of finding joy in the face of grief, anger, and a changing climate.
Mali Obomsawin was performing with their indie-folk band, Lula Wiles, one night before the pandemic when they decided they’d had enough. After almost six years performing protest songs and discussing politics from the stage, Obomsawin had come to dread facing detractors who lodged uncomfortable questions, brought narrow-minded perspectives, and engaged in devil’s-advocate arguments. Racist remarks and demands that Obomsawin “stay out of politics and stick to singing” had become mentally and emotionally unbearable. As an Indigenous person, Obomsawin wanted to advocate for issues they believed in, like the injustices of capitalism and colonialism, but had come to realize performing folk music wasn’t the way.
“I don’t want to put myself in that position anymore because it is really alienating and scary, and sometimes you get really messed-up feedback from audiences or online,” Obomsawin says. “I discovered that for me... Read more
