Sitawa Ignited

Le Siblings wanted to see the NBA Store in New York, so I did a live video tour

Good afternoon beautiful people,

It is UNGA Week and all roads are leading to New York. I was there on Monday for a roundtable and reunion, and will be going back tomorrow to speak on a mental health panel. Today's post (Part 1) is a quick one that provides background information on UNGA, my previous UNGA experiences and a photo dump. A recap of the roundtable and panel will be in the next post (Part 2).

Screen grabbed this from the UN Web TV - On a mental health panel at UN HQ, 2018

Some Background Info:

The UN is an intergovernmental body that, among other things, holds an annual convening called the General Assembly (popularly known as UNGA). This assembly is responsible for 'collaborative' global policy making/legislation and produces things like the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and various global resolutions.

At the beginning of every year, an agenda is set and the UN's 193 member countries start preparing for the annual convening which takes place at the UN Headquarters in New York. This convening happens around the third week of September and this year is the 78th time it is happening (#UNGA78)

There are two main 'levels' to this convening.

There is the intergovernmental part that sees Presidents/Heads of the 193 member countries share their priority areas and comment on the agenda. This is called the High Level Meeting (HLM) and proceedings are live streamed on the UN Web TV. There are also Ministerial meetings for various Ministers and/or Cabinet Secretaries. And UN agencies like UN Women, UNDP, UNICEF also host additional events inside the UN Headquarters that involve dialogue with various government officials/agencies. Most of these events are usually included in the UNGA itinerary and can be viewed via the UN Web TV livestream.

At Concordia Summit 2018

Then there are events called Side Events...this is where the real UNGA week action happens. These events are organized by funders, academic institutions and non profits, some in partnership with UN agencies but all geared towards the goals set out by the UN ie SDGs. The most common (and popular) side events include the Clinton Global Initiative, Bill & Melinda Gates Goal Keepers, Concordia Summit, Global Good Summit, just to name a few.

Because everyone in the global advocacy space is in New York, the events - and receptions/dinners - run for a week (UNGA Week). This year will be my third time participating in UNGA Week.

The first time was in 2017, when I was a storyteller at The MOTH's Global Stories by Women and Girls. This was a side event by The MOTH sponsored by UN Women (hence the focus on Women and Girls).

The second time was the year after that, in 2018, and I spoke at;

1. Social Good Summit (watch the conversation here and read this blog by a Fordham University student as published on UN Association of the United States of America site),

2. Concordia Summit (Read about the Summit here - I am on Page 56)

3. A Mental Health Reception that brought together funders and agencies supporting mental health.

4. A mental health panel at the UN Headquarters

After this series of events, I decided to take a Sabbatical and you know what happened after that...if you do not know, read this post.

Being back in these advocacy spaces feels amazing, and I cannot wait for my panel session on Thursday - 'Responding to the Mental Health Epidemic: Local Heroes of Mental Health'. I will share how it goes as I give a recap of Monday’s Funders' Roundtable that looked at Health Equity, and had representatives from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, McNulty Foundation and Crown Family Philanthropy.

Lola Adedokun, Executive Director of Aspen Global Innovators Group introducing the Panel Session

I will leave things here for now and get to the photo dump part of this post - I am using the ’go to work with me’ format (normally people do this on their social media pages but those of us who are not on those streets get to do it on our blogs). I will, however say, that I loved the reception that followed Monday’s roundtable. I got to reconnect with a lot of people from a fellowship I am a Senior Fellow at.

Early morning - waiting for the bus to school

Grabbed an uber immediately after class and got to the train station 15 minutes before my train was scheduled to depart - Grateful for technology and the fact that we can buy tickets online and do not need to line up at the booth to get them

Reading for my Tuesday exam on the train ride to New York - I have already started wearing my Fall/Holiday spirit sweaters

Headed to the Public Library (you all know by now that I have a thing for public libraries) to read after a briefing call for Thursday's session

Reception Venue - 230 Fifty Rooftop

Reunion time at 230 Fifty Rooftop - Photo Credit: My Kenyan Sister Dr. Stella Bosire (bad ass doctor/lawyer/feminist/worst person to sit next to during serious conversations - she will make you laugh alot)

Monday Reunion - Photo Credit: Ryan Rose

Reunion time at 230 Fifty Rooftop (with Empire State Building in the background) - Photo Credit: My Ugandan Brother James Kassaga

Goodbye New York, See you on Thursday - Empire State Building all her glory - view from 230 Fifty Rooftop

On the train back to home...reminiscing on the laughter, reunions and new connections...got to the train station exactly one minute before the train was due to leave...GRATEFUL!!!

Got to Lancaster at 11.23pm - had enough time to grab some shut eye and be back at the bus stop (where this photo dump started) very early on Tuesday morning for a full day of classes...followed by a much needed sleep in.

Lancaster is also known as the Red Rose City - This 'mural' is part of the renovation that was done on the route connecting the Public Bus Station to the 'new' Public Library

Hi beautiful people,

I am in the Public Library, typing my heart out because I am feeling some type of way.

Before we speak feelings, I want to share that my original plan when I came here was to 'pass time' aka avoid the walk from the Public Bus Station to The Penthouse (my apartment) because my body malfunctions when temperatures are this high.

Since the agenda was ‘passing time’, I did not do my usual 'imaginary love affair' thing (read this for context). Instead I came straight to the ‘public computers’ section. I did not have anything specific that I wanted to look for or blog about...I just wanted to 'pass time'.

So there I was, browsing the internet - do you all remember when the internet was new and we used to browse it? To the younglings, I was looking for things to look for - when I see two men, doing a tango of sorts, right there in the library.

At first glance, they looked like they are fencing sans the proper outfit and required equipment. As I watch them, I feel envy flooding my veins. I mean, how can they have so much energy...when people like me are here to 'pass time' because we cannot brave the outdoors.

I want to see their faces, I want to have somewhere specific to direct this envy. As they continue to draw closer, I can see the words SECURITY written in bold capitalized letters at the back of one of the men's shirt.

I can also hear him.

He is telling the other guy to stop, and leave.

But that other guy keeps making punch like gestures towards the security shirt guy.

I pretend I am not looking at them when they are close enough for me to tag these feelings of envy on their faces. I turn my gaze back to the computer screen and pretend scroll down one of the tabs I have open.

Then I hear a loud cry.

My gaze moves from the computer screen and congregates alongside gazes from other library users at the source of the cry.

I see the security shirt guy with his hands out, pressing something in the other guy's direction.

It is a pepper spray...I do not see it but based on the gestures both men are currently making, I am sure that it is a pepper spray

...and I think the other guy is in pain.

I say pain but I am not sure if that is the right word. I assume that one experiences pain when they get pepper sprayed, at least that is what all the TV I watch has taught me. Not related at all but I have, experienced tear gas - thanks to the good old advocacy days in Nairobi. If you have never inhaled tear gas, I will tell you for free that that stuff makes you question your existence...you sweat, tear up, have a running nose and get a weird taste in your mouth simultaneously…it literally activates everything at once.

Throwback to my street demonstration days - I actually did logistics for the group that organized this demonstration//which was peace demonstration aka no tear gas, rubber bullets, spray tanks and running battles with police 'were needed'

As an aside, we were discussing Research Ethics in my Research Methods class today and I am curious to know, how and where people learnt the impact of these things - tear gas, pepper sprays, and spray tanks. Was there an experimental design that saw researchers gas a room, sit back and watch how participants react to gas X, then the results were somehow marketed as crowd control products to anti-riot crews? And with pepper sprays, who in their right mind volunteered, and signed a consent form, to have their eyes among those that were used to test the first doses of pepper spray. Guess I will research on these topics next time. Today my one job is to 'pass time…and right now, my task is to watch these two men who are directly behind me.

The pepper sprayed man (PSM) is now on the floor...a couple of feet away from where I am (look at what America has done to me, I am speaking in feet instead of meters). He is trying to regain his sight while the security shirt guy, who I am now sure is the security guy (SG), is on the phone with the police.

I continue pretend scrolling with one eye as I look at the guy on the floor with the other eye and eavesdrop on the security guy's call.

Then I feel the movement before I see it.

PSM is slowly moving towards the workspace with the computers. SG asks him to sit down but he continues moving forward, hands stretched out like someone walking in the dark. SG asks him to sit down a second time and moves forward to hold his hand to lead him back to where he was.

Before I know it, I have a front row seat in this SmackDown Edition of Public Library WWE. As their bodies land on the library floor, my body did what I think typical human bodies would do in such situations. This body of mine that could only manage the 2 minute walk from the bus station to the library, springs out of the seat, grabs my school bag and moves to the side.

I am in awe of how meticulously my body does this. I want to dig deeper into that automatic response but I see blood and it derails my thoughts. I cannot tell for sure who is bleeding as the two men continue to 'tango on the floor'. Other library users start gathering, with some asking SG to get off PSM and others telling PSM to stop throwing punches. It is only when one of the gathered library users moves in and holds PSM's hand that the tango ends.

Now we are all looking at a scene with SG on top of PSM, the third man making sure no one moves, and a crowd gathered around them. Though we all have different roles, we are all secretly counting down to the police's arrival.

I think this is where I say SG is white and PSM is black.

I choose to mention this here because this scene feels like a deja vu. It somehow reminds me of an image that flooded our screens in the Summer of 2020.

I start feeling some type of way about this scene.

I want this typical human body of mine, that was able to spring out of its seat a few minutes ago, that has led demonstrations and inhaled tear gas, I want it to do something, to say something, to be more than a by-stander...but it has clocked out.

Some women go near the three men, to make sure 'no knees are misplaced'...guess they got the same memo I got.

In Wyclef Jean and Mary J. Blige voice - 'Someone please call 911'

The police finally arrive, put PSM in cuffs and that is when we see that it is SG who was bleeding. His nose and arm had been scratched - or injured - I couldn't tell. One of the policemen checks PSM's ID and starts speaking into his radio, while the other one pulls SG aside to hear what had happened. He then asks SG and the library if they, each, want to press charges.

We are all shamelessly eavesdropping and eagerly awaiting their response. Reading this, the policeman decides to pull SG and the library representative to the side to continue with the conversation.

As if on cue, we all turn our gaze to the other policeman as he helps PSM up and escorts him out of the library. I am not sure what happens next. I do not know if PSM gets booked and spends the night (or two) in detention. I do not know if the library and SG press charges.

People share their speculations and as quickly as they came, they leave the computer section of the library and continue with their lives.

I try to follow suit...to go back to my aimless scrolling but I can not help but think about the incident.

I do not know what started the initial tango.

I do not know if PSM was being a public nuisance which is considered a crime here in Pennsylvania.

I do not know if this was 'another ill mental health induced incident' (for context - there is a park across the library where people experiencing homelessness used to hang out. It is currently under renovation so some of the people hang out here - in the library). Also, to be clear, not all homeless people have mental health issues and I do not even know if PSM is homeless or struggling with his mental health.

I also do not know if pepper spray, and/or holding the guy down is the 'right procedure'.

I just know that I feel some type of way.

As a Psychology student, I fall prey to psychoanalyzing things…the world is literally my classroom, and almost everything is a case study.

I am my own case study today, at least these feelings are...and my 'pass time' finally has an agenda. I want to recap my notes on the by-stander effect and the trolley dilemma. I also want to process these feelings, and writing always helps.

So here I am, typing my heart out because I feel some type of way.

On by-stander effect, social psychologists say that when something is happening and there are many people around, one is less likely to act as opposed to when they are alone. The unfortunate incident linked to this explanation is the 1960 killing of Kitty Genovese in New York (this is apparently part of how/why the U.S has a 911 line)

The other part of my thinking is on the trolley dilemma which is one of those damned if I do, damned if I don't scenarios. So there is a train/trolley coming and there are five people working on the rails that the train/trolley is using, and there is one person on the other rail. If you pull the lever, the train/trolley changes rails and ends up killing the one person...if you do not do anything and it continues on its current rail, it kills five people. Would you rather actively kill one person or passively kill five?

Using the by-stander effect theory, I think we all think someone else will do it...and some people did something. The third guy went in and held PSM's hand, the women kept checking and talking to both men to make sure all is well...but still, I felt some type of way.

Using trolley dilemma scenario, I think if anyone, Black, Brown or White was being a nuisance, they deserve to be asked to leave. If they resist, then depending on the establishment's policies, they should be escorted out. If they become combative, then reinforcement might be needed. If the person is of ill mental health, then there should be people with deescalating skills to help calm things down…so I guess I am saying it depends with the scenario (but I am also aware that that mindset is not always applicable in the real world).

Image from HuffPost

I am now thinking about Irvo Otieno, a 28 year Kenyan man with mental illness who was pinned to his death at a Virginia Hospital on March 6, 2023. (Just to be clear, I am not saying excessive force was used in the library. And I can hear my Research Methods professor asking for my operating definition and my measurements for excessive force. I don’t have a definitive answer besides the fact SG is not any bigger than PSM, and the additional person only held PSM's hands)

How many bodies can you count?

If you missed this one, here is a summary. On March 3, 2023, Irvo Otieno in a 'state of mental health crisis' broke into someone's house. The police/sheriffs were called, and placed him under emergency custody. In Virginia, where he lived with his mother, emergency custody is done when there is a likelihood that someone may cause harm to themselves or others, needs hospitalization, but is unwilling to volunteer or incapable of volunteering for hospitalization or treatment (Read more here).

The police/sheriffs took him to hospital but he apparently assaulted the officers during intake and was taken to the county jail instead (why the hospital was a by-stander in their own area of expertise is a story for another day). He is taken to county jail and booked, and he stays there for 3 days without his medication. The video showing the time just before he is taken to hospital (on Day 3), shows that he was in isolation - the window to his cell had a flap on the outside (watch full video here - be warned, it may be triggering).

The video has no audio but we see the police/sheriffs trying to give him clothes to wear, meaning he was naked and alone in a dark cell while going through a mental health crisis (again story for another day). They then spray something into his cell through the hatch door before carrying him out semi-naked (skipping a lot of things). I am not sure what they sprayed but he must have either felt something between what PSM felt here in the library and what I described happens when tear gas is released.

A second video (be warned it may be triggering) shows what happens when he got into the State Psychiatric Hospital. He is in hand cuffs and his legs are shackled. They put him on the floor, I think as paper work is being done. What starts with two sheriffs holding him down when he is sitting ends up with him on his stomach with 10 or so people (sheriffs and hospital staff) on top of him...he died on that floor.

I know revisiting this might look like placing what just happened on this library floor under a very strong microscope...but these are the types of images that ran through my mind as I stood on the side and watched.

Again, I am not saying any of those were at play, but as I continue to process these feelings, I cannot help but wonder if they stem from a point of bias based on the cases like Irvo Otieno, or if it is another example of by-stander effect (shortcomings), or just another tale from an overthinking psychology student who sees everything as a case study in this classroom called life.

The Sun is going down and I should start heading out...maybe the walk home will help me make sense of all this.

Until next time,

Sending love and light,

Sitawa

Update: You may like this video about the trolley dilemma and AI

My Opinion Piece on Gun Suicide as published by PennLive.Com

Good evening beautiful souls,

With September being suicide prevention month and related messages flooding our inboxes, at least those of us in the mental health space, I spent part of last week updating the Crisis + Helpline page on this blog and working on an opinion piece on gun suicide which accounts for more than 55% of the suicides in the U.S.

The piece cites the latest data from the CDC, explores why this type of violence is not included in gun violence conversations and proposes multi-sectoral efforts to prevent this type of suicide, which is slowly rising among Black teens (copy pasted this paragraph from my pitch - which I did on Friday night at 10pm and just learnt that the piece went up this morning...grateful for the amazing turn around for my first pitch to this outlet).

Find the piece below or read it on PennLive.com (PS: If you have read my blog post on the six books that introduced me to sociological thinking in mental health, you might be able to point out some lessons from that class)

Piece added to the Editorial Section of PoliticsPA.com's Playbook (Roundup of top stories across Pennsylvania)

On Monday 28th August 2023, a graduate student at the University of North Carolina (UNC) Chapel Hill Campus shot and killed his professor. This incident sent the university into lock down for three hours and added to the growing number of gun related deaths and trauma.

Though alarming and traumatizing, this is, unfortunately, not a unique occurrence in the U.S. Over the last couple of years, reports of shootings in schools and other public spaces have been on the rise. These reports have always been followed by partisan debates on gun control and footnote mentions of mental health. While these important debates help to gauge attitudes and subsequently advise lawmakers on policies to help reduce future incidents, they fail to look at gun violence in its entirety.

An important and urgent aspect of this conversation that remains in the shadows is violence to self, or gun suicide as is popularly known.

Provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that of the 48,117 lives lost to gun violence in 2022, 55%, 26,993 deaths, were due to gun suicide. Homicides, legal interventions, unintentional and undetermined cases accounted for the remaining 45%.

Leaving gun suicide out of public discussions increases fatalities and widens the service provision gap for those feeling suicidal, those left behind, and those who survive suicide attempts. It is, therefore, necessary to not only expand the current operating definition of gun violence to increase discussions but to also incorporate the effects of violence to self in conversations about gun violence and trauma to help improve service provision.

On one hand, the taboo around suicide makes it hard for those left behind and those who survive to speak about their experiences. On the other hand, citations of Papageno and Werther effects by suicide prevention advocates, make it hard for media houses to report on suicide without going into detail. A literature review of 108 research papers that examined the impact of media stories on suicide concluded that the media can be both a risk and preventative factor for suicide. The review, published by the National Library of Medicine, also noted the risk presented by regular reporting and coverage of celebrity suicides and the role positive reporting played in risk reduction.

Another reason why suicide is left out of public discourse is the view that it is a personal problem caused by individual weakness, instead of a complex public health issue with multifactorial causes. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, of the 48,183 people who died of suicide in U.S in 2022, 26,328 died of firearm suicides while 12,431 and 5,568 died of suffocation suicides and poisoning suicides respectively. This data shows the relationship between guns and suicide, and the need to not only look at why people are attempting suicide but how they are doing it.

Though guns do not cause suicide, they make it easier and increase the chances of success in comparison to other methods.

A study by Deisenhammer et al., found that the time between the first current thought of suicide and the actual attempt is 10 minutes or less. Further studies have shown that 85% of those who attempted suicide using a firearm were successful. These studies show that the presence of a firearm increases the chance of one attempting suicide and being successful. These findings also show that the onus to prevent suicide is not just on mental health professionals and individuals but also to multi-sectoral stakeholders including gun manufacturers, retailers and both proponents and opponents of gun control.

As the world prepares for World Suicide Prevention Day, advocates, survivors and the bereaved should not be the only ones speaking up about suicide and how to prevent it. To get ahead of this pressing issue public health issues, immediate and concerted multi-sectoral efforts are needed. These efforts should start with reframing how society speaks about suicide and looking at the methods people opt for.

Current studies clearly show that guns are chosen by most people in the U.S, and unlike other methods, they make attempts easier and successful. Efforts should therefore be made to reduce this ease and success rate. The Gun Shop Project is an example of a multi-sectoral approach that is working on this. Though studies of the impact of this project, which is currently operating in 21 states, are still underway, it shows the role gun shops can play in suicide prevention. The project, which began in 2009 when three people in New Hampshire, with no connection to each other, bought a firearm each from the same store and killed themselves within hours of purchase, brings together firearm retails, firearm rights advocates, mental health practitioners and members of the community to collaboratively prevent suicide by developing suicide prevention materials and guidelines on how to avoid selling firearms to people who are suicidal.

Gun suicide prevention not only helps the adults who are able to buy guns, but also the children and teens can access those guns. The latest data from the CDC shows that the number of Black teens dying of gun suicide is going up. Instead of wondering what is wrong with them, society needs to interrogate itself to understand how it is driving Black teens to take their lives, the methods they are using, and the multi-sectoral initiatives that can avert what could be a new version of deaths of despair.

If you or someone you know is struggling, use the numbers on Crisis + Helplines page.

Until the next post,

Sending love and light,

Sitawa

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