STFAH: Day 2

Oh, what a thrilling day it was! I woke up with my bad toe hurting for the first time in a long time and thought maybe it was the change in the weather. It does that sometime, but the red marks on the skin indicate bruising of some sort. How did I do this?! I'm just starting to get back into walking after wrecking my knee again and now this??? Seriously?!

I didn't do as well with writing today, I wasn't feeling it as much today, but I wrote a few paragraphs. Better than nothing. Got some more reading done, watched a few episodes of Supernatural and watched Mary Poppins Returns. The highlight of the day was the outdoors walk. We walked the opposite direction for a good long(slow cuz of my foot and knee) walk in an area that is less populated so we were pretty much the only people out and about. We stopped by a teriyaki place on the way back to support a small local business since today is Take-Out Tuesday and we're supposed to support local restaurants at this time. Once I get to know the menus in this area I'll call in orders because it's still too cramped inside and it's hard to maintain 6 feet distance from everybody else. The food was awesome, though. We ate it back at the apartment. I will be back for more!

I was just a little lazier today, not much unpacking, though I did switch out my autumn/winter work shirts with my spring/summer work shirts. Did a last load of laundry to get the stuff that has to air-dry done. Now I have a lovely wooden hanging thing in my room covered in drying shirts. I did the treadmill again and finished the Batman episode. It was Mr. Freeze.

Hopefully my foot will be better tomorrow because I really love the outside walk. It's definitely keeping my sane! Trying a new 10pm show tonight cuz why not. Hopefully it'll be good!

STFAH: Day 1

So, I'm starting a new series to record my life during these bonkers times of Covid-19. Today is Day 1 of STFAH, or Staying The F--- At Home!

Here was my general schedule for the day: Woke up 7:30am. Got ready for the day, got breakfast ready. 8:30am ate breakfast, caught up with social media. 9am to 11am: worked on my writing. Writing a Galahad chapter I am going to insert into the rest of the book. 11am(ish) to about noon: Walked around my new neighborhood. Not too many people out. Stopped at Kaffeeklastch and got a pretzel and rugelach to try. Very tasty! Noon-1:30pm(ish): Unpacking and organizing the kitchen equipment, lunch prep. 1:30-2:00: lunch. Then the afternoon kind of flew by in a flurry of cleaning the kitchen, doing a batch of dishes by-hand and trying out the dishwasher(nice and quiet!). Did a couple episodes of Supernatural, read in my bedroom by the window. There are some very pretty trees to look at, and the sky was so lovely. Did a load of laundry, walked on the treadmill to an episode of Batman, took out the garbage and recycling, and showered. Made a batch of spaghetti sauce, which is delish!

Other items of note: We set up our Roku and now are the proud owners of a subscription to Disney Plus! First movie we're watching: Mary Poppins. Main project to start working on: Scanning. So much stuff I want to have a record of, but don't need to keep the physical object. Thank goodness I have a long history with document imaging! Another project: I have a pie shell, and too many apples. Need to try one of my apple pie recipes. Maybe I'll call it Dean Winchester Apple Pie...Also? The dryer at my new place is really loud. I know it's coming, but it makes me jump every single time!

I'm trying to stay on a schedule and do things like eat the same types of foods for lunch and breakfast that I do at work. This will help me maintain my sanity during this time. Outside time is important too. Going to try for 30 minutes/day minimum. Now that we're all under the "stay at home" order in this state, it's going to be important to keep this pace going.

Thanksgiving and Genealogy

Today is Thanksgiving, a day I generally think of as a harvest festival, but it's also important to acknowledge the history behind the day as well. The Pilgrims are right up there with Christopher Columbus in the damages they inflicted on the indigenous people's of this continent, as well as the destruction of the land. It all began with them. Some of us were taught to revere them, and some of us weren't really taught about them at all. I honestly don't remember ever learning about them in school growing up. We never did Thanksgiving plays or pageants and I have no recollection of ever writing an essay on the topic. I always assumed it was more of an East Coast thing. After all, that's where the Pilgrims went. So, it's been easy to ignore throughout the course of my life. But then a few years ago, I got this list of ancestors from one of the ancestry websites my friend and I use to research our families. It was a huge list, broken into sections of what the person was known for. Things like Presidents, artists, politicians, etc. One of the sections was Mayflower passengers/Pilgrims, and it showed me exactly who I was related to them. So, for all my Driggers family out there, this is relevant to all of you too! We are related to no less than nine Pilgrims. I'm going to post Wikipedia links to each of them here so you can learn their names and see what their lives were like.

It's an important thing to acknowledge our own connection to this time period, and the colonizers who inflicted so much pain on others and damage to this land. We have a line in our family tree that has been here for a long time. That means it's done a lot of harm, and received a lot of benefits and privileges over the centuries. The very least we can do is to acknowledge that, and use the privileges and benefits to help fight for others, and the land.

Here is the list of our relatives from the Mayflower:

Edward Fuller-Our 11th Great Uncle

John Tilley-Our 12th Great Uncle

John Howland-Our 1st cousin, 12 times removed. The one who fell off on the way over...Spoiler alert, they fished him out of the water...

Peregrine White-Another 1st cousin, 12 times removed

Thomas Rogers-Our 1st cousin, 14 times removed

William Brewster-Another 1st cousin 14 times removed

Samuel Fuller-Our 3rd cousin 11 times removed

Myles Standish-Our 3rd cousin 12 times removed-Yes, THAT Myles Standish, the one they talk about on the Charlie Brown special. I literally never heard of him before that.

Henry Samson-Our 12th cousin 3 times removed

As you can see, none of them is a direct ancestor, but to still be connected in any way to so many people from this moment in history, demands acknowledgement.

And another thing that is good for us to do on this day is to acknowledge the land on which we currently live is occupied land.

This link shows the tribes native to Washington state. Check it out to see what tribe's land you live in.

We live on Duwamish land. This link has great resources about the Duwamish tribe and their culture.

This link shows the locations of Coast Salish sites and what colonizers put in their place.

I highly recommend looking at the above links to learn more about the land we're occupying and the people who we displaced and colonized to be here now. The last link is sobering to see places we know and use every day and seeing what they used to be. The story of how it came to be what it is now, can't possibly be a happy story, but it's important for us to learn it.

So, there you have it. Our own family has a huge connection to the Mayflower and the Pilgrims that isn't exactly something to be proud of, but is something we can acknowledge and use to fight for others. And there are a lot of websites out there to learn about the Indigenous cultures we displaced and killed to take over the land. Every day is a good day to educate yourself about it, but this day in particular, it's necessary.

Ideas for the Environment

I have always been interested in the environment and cleaning up our planet. I live in Seattle, and we began city-wide recycling in 1988, when I was ten years old. I'm forty one now, so that means that I have recycled for thirty one years. We've been doing city-wide composting since 2004, which I am shocked to realize is fifteen years. Has it really been fifteen years already?! That's not too shabby, if I do say so myself! I am privileged to live in a city that has made environmentalism a priority. Other parts of the country have a lot of catching up to do, but we also have the financial means to do so here, and not all places have that. We have a good head start over a lot of places in this country, but there's a lot more that can be done.

Greta Thunberg has really inspired me recently. I attended, though briefly, the Climate Strike protest here on Friday, and have been thinking of ideas that people can do on an individual level to make a small impact on our world. But small things add up to big things, if we're all doing them. I don't believe that individuals can't make a difference, or not a big enough one at least, to matter. Of course governments, and corporations must do the majority of changing their ways, but that won't happen unless we demand it. We must lead the way. We must change ourselves before we can expect others to do so as well.

The following ideas are not necessarily new or even that creative, and I am not saying everybody should to do them, but we all could do more. And I know that everybody has different economic levels that allow for more or less to be done. For those of us who can make changes, I encourage us to. For those of us who can't, I don't want them to feel guilty over things that are not within their control. So, check out my list of little things, and see if any are things you can adopt into your own life. You don't have to tell me what you can or can't do, it's none of my business. But if you have any other ideas to add to this list, please share with me, I'd love to hear them!

Food and Food-Related Issues:

The Great Food Exchange: While the old mantra "reduce, reuse, and recycle" each has important elements to each word, I believe that "reduce" is the most important. Reducing the waste we create by reducing what we consume, is the most important impact we can have on this planet. But sometimes that's just not possible. And when Reduce isn't possible, that's when Reuse and Recycle come in. This is where this idea stems from. We all are guilty of buying foods to try and not liking them, so we throw them away or compost them. Or we let them sit out until they get stale or let them sit in the fridge till they get moldy so we feel less guilty about tossing them. Admit it, you know you do this, I do it too! Unfortunately, already opened foods can't be given to homeless shelters or food banks, so what to do with it? Well, how about setting aside space in your workplace kitchen and/or fridge to let people bring things in to share with one another? You might not have liked those gluten-free, low-carb cauliflower crackers you bought to try out, but somebody else might. And somebody else might have bought a brand of peanut butter they hated, but is your favorite. Or maybe you're not a fan of restaurant leftovers, and you know somebody at work who will eat literally anything, particularly if it's free. This is a great way for people to reduce waste by letting others reuse it for them. And see what just happened? "Reduce" just made its way into this, after all!

Rethink Expired Food: With a few exceptions, food expiration dates, particularly on canned and boxed food products, are merely suggestions. Unless the packaging is bulging or otherwise damaged, it is fine. Expired foods, unfortunately, cannot be donated to homeless shelters or food banks, so we all need to work on reducing what we purchase in the first place(so difficult when the sales are just so good! I am very guilty of this one,) and we also need to get past the stigma of that arbitrary expiration date. But if you just can't move past this one, see my above idea, I guarantee you there are coworkers at your workplace who won't care about eating expired foods. More free food for them!

Reducing Meat Consumption: I do not advocate for veganism, but if that is what you want to do with your life, that is great for you. I think everybody needs to do what is right for their physical and digestive needs, and shockingly, a one-size fits all approach to eating doesn't work. But I think there are things we could all do, even if only on occasion. Meatless Monday, Fish on Friday, or whatever works for you. Or maybe a full meat-free day is more than your body can handle. Maybe a "here and there" approach is better for you. One day a month, or two meat-free meals per week, or cutting out one type of meat entirely, are all possibilities. There is plenty of information easily available out there about this topic, and I'll let you research it further if you're interested.

Reduce or Give Up Gum: Gum, you say? What harm does gum play in our planet? Source. It's just a tiny little piece of nothing! But gum is not biodegradable, recyclable, or compostable. It often ends up on the ground, which requires water and energy to clean up. It ends up in our water ways where aquatic life can ingest it. And even if we do properly dispose of it in the trash can, it's going to just sit in landfills for hundreds of years and will always have a small bit of plastic it leaves behind forever. And this is just the gum alone, that's saying nothing to the plastic wrapping around the packaging, the packaging, and the foil/paper or paper wrapping on each piece. If you cannot give up gum, try to find chicle-based gum to replace the other stuff. That's a much more natural product that will eventually break down in a landfill.

Organic Foods: I personally buy a combination of organic and non-organic foods, mostly produce. This is something I'd love to be able to afford to buy more of, but I just can't. So, I pick and choose a few items that I purchase exclusively in organic form, and some that I might buy if they're on a rare sale that makes them more affordable. For me, I tend to buy potatoes, onions, or citrus fruits I plan to zest, in organic form. Thick-skinned foods or foods with peelable skins, I tend to go regular. I don't think organic foods are more nutritionally-good for us, but I do like they that don't use pesticides. Not only for my own health, but for that of the planet, I think it's really important. We know the damage pesticides cause, and I would love to do more to support the organic food industry, but it's just not always economically feasible. $6 for a cucumber? I think not! But, I do what I can, when I can.

Straws: Banning straws is ableist, period, end of story. But for those who can function without a straw, I would encourage them to forgo straws. Or switch to compostable, metal, or paper straws, though if you are sensitive to gluten, I suggest researching paper straws before using them, as some use wheat-based glues. But plastic straws, bendy and straight, as they currently exist, need to remain easily available and accessible to the people who need them to function. Their reasons for needing them are their own, and it is none of our business.

Cloth/Clothing-Related Issues:

Paper Napkins vs. Cloth Napkins: Source 1 Source 2 I have been thinking about this one recently and have decided to switch to cloth napkins. I am going to try to track down bamboo cloth napkins, as I think bamboo is a great renewable source of materials for a variety of items. While it does take water and energy to wash cloth napkins, they just go into the laundry you're already doing, so I don't feel that it adds that much more to the energy and water you're already using. But you will not be throwing a paper napkin into the garbage or compost. On a smaller scale, this is a better option, and it's a pretty simple one we can do. I'll be doing this one!

Clothing Boycott: I don't have statistics on this, but just my thoughts about it. I have to assume that it takes a lot of water and energy to create new clothing. I also have to assume that there are ways that already exist, or could be invented, to mitigate some of this. Since I also think reducing our consumption of stuff is the most important thing, if we all reduced the amount of new clothing we bought, I think we could get clothing companies to go about making changes in their industry. With the exception of undergarments that I think are important to purchase new, for hygienic reasons, I would challenge all of us, myself included, to see if we can go for a full year without buying any new clothes. If you need something, go to a second-hand store or upcycle what you already have. For the clothes horses out there, this might be a challenge, but what's more fun than a challenge?

Miscellaneous Issues:

Car-Free Friday: Or Monday, or Saturday, or whatever day works best for you. I challenge people who primarily drive a car as their main form of transportation to take a car break one day a week. This could be on a weekend if you absolutely have no other way of getting to/from work or school. But one day a week, let your car not be in use. Take the bus, walk, or just have a lazy day at home instead. If you're in a position to switch entirely to public transportation to get to school or work, I would highly recommend that, but I'm not going to pressure or guilt you into it. But could you maybe manage one day a week? It's something, anything, and like I said before, it builds up and becomes a bigger something. Less garbage in the air, less asthma in our lungs, less fossil fuels siphoned out of the ground or ocean, every bit counts.

Cigarettes: Source 1 Source 2 Still looking for a reason to kick the habit? Even if you properly throw cigarette butts into the garbage instead of littering them where they could end up being eaten by animals or getting into our water and harming aquatic life, they still sit in a landfill forever. They are not biodegradable or compostable. And this is just the cigarette butts, not to speak of the plastic wrapping or the packaging or the water and energy needed to grow the tobacco and produce the actual cigarette. If it's something you've been thinking about, but you just can't do it for yourself, try letting the planet be your inspiration.

Changing Our Attitude Towards Consumerism: We are taught from a young age to want things. Stuff. Stuff that we buy fuels our economy and keeps this capitalist system going. So we're taught, basically from birth, that we deserve things. We should want all this stuff. And if we don't have that stuff, then something is wrong with our lives and the only way to be happy in our lives, is to get that stuff. Living within our means doesn't matter if we aren't happy because we don't have stuff. Go into debt while pursuing that quest for a lavish lifestyle that you've had ingrained in you that you need to be a success in life. Debt is perfectly acceptable, as long as you have the stuff. This is, in a word, bullshit.

The hardest part of dealing with climate change and cleaning up our environment for the future, is working past this attitude. It's going to take all of us, even young people, to do it. We must become bad consumers, bad capitalists, in order to save this planet from ourselves. We have to stop wanting that new phone each year or the newest car each year or that super cute pair of shoes you saw the other day that you know you don't really need and will just end up covered in dust in your closet.

The other day I got a fall edition of the Swiss Colony catalog in the mail and enjoyed looking through it. I saw this super adorable red cape that I really wanted. It's on special for $50. But I don't really need it, I just want it. And I wanted it and wanted it for the first few days after seeing it. I thought about my finances and if I could afford it, and did I have space for it and how often I might wear it. After a week, I realized I didn't need it, would probably not wear it that often, and could find a lot better ways to spend my $50. It's tough, and it sucks, to want something and deny yourself. It goes against everything we're taught as Americans, but that's what it's going to take.

There is an element of self-sacrifice in all of this. We need to adopt an attitude that people in the world wars adopted, Make Do and Mend, and Eating for Victory. We must imagine ourselves as participants in a world war, because we are, in fact, in a war for the fate of our world. We make do with less now so that our planet and people can survive to enjoy a future. Not necessarily a financially successful future or a future full of riches, but just a future.

It's not easy to make do with less, but even less, in a world full of such riches, is still a lot. Retraining ourselves to not want so much, that's the real battle. We will have good days, and bad days. Wanting stuff is, I would suggest, an addiction as much as anything else can be an addiction. We love the high we get from buying stuff, and so we seek it out more and more. Let's work on turning caring for our planet's future into our addiction that replaces this one.

Activism: Write to your politicians, tweet them, write on their FB pages to let them know what you think about all of this, and what they are or aren't doing to do their part. Write to businesses and corporations and stand up for your beliefs. Boycotts work well when they are organized, but you can still opt out of supporting companies on your own, if they don't live up to your standards. Speak up, speak out. March.

I know all people can't do all things. We all have different abilities and talents and levels of comfort and economic levels that I completely respect. But I also think that everybody can do something. Even if it's just caring about it. Even if you can't actually make a single change or take a single action. You can still care.

So, there you have it, a not comprehensive list, with plenty of room to grow, of some things we could do ourselves and as a society, to address climate change. Whether you believe the science or not, whether you think it's a hoax, or not, you should still do some research on this. I am willing to think that this might be overblown, and we're making a lot out of nothing, but are you willing to entertain that idea that maybe you are incorrect? In the end, only one of us is right, do you want to take the chance that you could be wrong? I would love to be wrong, you can laugh at me for the rest or our lives, if that's the case. But just note, that if I am right, and you come to see it so, I will never laugh at you. I'll just hold out my hand and say, "Welcome to the fight of our lives."

Is the Green New Deal What Will Save Us All?

Does it Even Matter if We Try Anything?

Burning Walls, Building Bridges: Native Americans

In honor of Thanksgiving next Thursday, I thought I would dedicate today's blog post to Native Americans and the racism they face today. I am starting it off with a short video highlighting a lot of the misinformation we are taught about the holiday. I'm not anti-Thanksgiving, in fact, it's one of my favorite holidays of the year. But I would encourage people to educate themselves about it, and all holidays, and learn the meaning of all the elements of the rituals we partake in, and the history behind them. If the historical element of Thanksgiving is important to you, then you must do the work of educating yourself about the truth of not only how the original event took place, but how the holiday came to be a holiday. It means educating yourself about the tribes involved over the years, and learning that not all tribes were the same or had the same cultural traits. The information is out there, you have only to take the time and effort to glean it.

And just for fun, one of my favorite clips from the only Buffy the Vampire Slayer Thanksgiving episode, breaking down Thanksgiving, and showing how white guilt plays into all of it. For a little context, Spike, the one tied to the chair, is a vampire, and has been around for a couple hundred years. He's seen things...What I like about this clip, is that it masterfully shows how ultimately white guilt plays into white privilege. We're so busy sitting around feeling guilty about what we did or whether or not to enjoy a meal, that we're ignoring what's going on around us. We debate it endlessly, while doing nothing in the meantime. We're making it about ourselves, and our feelings, yet again. I think a certain level of white guilt is necessary to get us our of our own mindset and spurs us to action and change, and that's vital. But too much is just debilitating and ends up perpetuating the issues at hand, instead of fixing them.

I learned a new word this week: Aporia. It basically means living in the state of confusion that comes from an issue or concept that can't be easily summed up or decided upon. Something that has so many facets to it, and none are necessarily right or wrong, but all must be acknowledged, that it leaves us feeling uncertain about all of it. I think Thanksgiving is a perfect example of aporia. We can't just put it into a single category or box and say, that's it, this is what it is! We all have to decide for ourselves how we're going to deal with it. It's ok to be confused and uncomfortable about something. It might not be fun, but it's ok.

For me, holidays become what I make of them. What I decide to participate in or not, and the meaning it has for me and my life. And, spoiler alert: You might not think so, but so do you. We all do this. For me, I choose to look at Thanksgiving as a celebration of the harvest and taking stock in the positive elements of our lives. I tend to leave history out of it entirely.

And now, as you can see, I have done a great job of making a blog post about Native Americans and the racist issues they face today, into a post about my white feelings and opinions. This has been a great example of white privilege. Real time racism...I could rewrite this blog post so as to keep it on target, but I think it's a great example of how white people deal with stuff, so I'm not going to alter it, in fact, I am highlighting it. So, now, to get back to the topic at hand...

I think we tend to look at issues regarding Native Americans and the indigenous people of this continent as something that happened a long time ago. It sucked, colonizers were terrible people, but what's done is done and it cannot be undone or dealt with in any way or it would put our legitimacy into question, and we just can't do that, so let's just move on, all right?...But there have always been acts of racism against Native Americans, and even some quite recently that I am going to highlight here. History is full of examples, and as I have shown in one of my earlier posts, there are plenty of Supreme Court cases you can study about that show just how the highest court in the land really thinks about these people.

First up is an article about voter suppression in North Dakota just last month. You may or may not have heard about the state's new voter "protection" law passed to help ensure against voter fraud. This new law stated that a person had to have a physical address, not just a PO Box, in order to be allowed to vote. For many Native Americans living on reservations, a physical address is impossible to obtain. Thousands of people in the state were disenfranchised just before the election. Here's a handy tip: Any time you hear people talking about passing laws to protect against "voter fraud," know that that phrase is code for "minorities voting". Voter fraud discussions are always, always about disenfranchising people of color, who tend to vote Democrat. It's why so many of the people fighting for these laws tend to be Republicans.

Just out this week, a short report about Native women in Seattle and Tacoma. These two cities have the largest amount of missing, kidnapped, and murdered Native women, in the entire nation. What is it about this city, that claims to be liberal and fighting for all, that is named after a Native American chief, that makes us a hotbed for this issue and do we care enough to do anything about it?

Here is another article regarding that issue. I have come to believe that we, as a nation, have chosen not to do anything to help our indigenous brothers and sisters because it would put our legitimacy as a nation into question. It would make us start to question, and as we know, questions are dangerous. Because they demand answers. And we don't always like the answers, because it might end up with us losing our claim to power. We all bought into Manifest Destiny at one point, so that would make us actually complicit in what happened and continues to happen to these people. So, it's better to not even ask the questions in the first place. Any sort of apology or attempt at restitution would be viewed as admitting we were wrong and that we took this land unfairly and that we are acknowledging that. So we must continue to ignore it, no matter how many more people become victims.

Did you know that Native Americans have a life expectancy 20 years shorter than the average non-Native American? Lack of access to healthcare, clean water, healthy food, and jobs, among other things, has led to this. This is the legacy our policies have left with these people. This is a slow genocide.

This interesting opinion piece explores whether or not the term "person/people of color" is appropriate for Native Americans. It has some really great points. But as it is up to each group to determine how they wish to be referred, it's not on me to have an opinion, it's on me to respect their wishes when a consensus has been reached.

And also just this week, news of First Nations women in Canada having to endure forced sterilizations in order to be allowed to see their children, made the rounds. This is another example of institutional racism and how it's sadly being enforced even now. Just imagine the outrage we'd be experiencing if this had been middle class white women. The fact that you either didn't hear about this yet, or maybe saw the title in scrolling through FB or Twitter, but didn't have time to read the article yet, is an example of how we all help perpetuate institutional racism in this country. We might not harbor anger or hatred for these people, but neither do we do that much to help them, either. This makes us all complicit in their suffering. This is another example of how we are racist. Of how I am racist. Because I, and we, all can and must do better.

In December, a library in Boston with a "surplus" of Pacific Northwest Native American artifacts will be auctioning them off. Native Americans are protesting this and working hard to stop this auction and get the artifacts back to the people from whom they came.

And finally, Standing Rock was two years ago, and the next phase of building the pipe is upon us. Stay tuned as the next set of tribes will ultimately be railroaded in the name of progress. The fight will be valiant and noble, but past is prologue, and we all know how it will end...

Again, I would encourage people to research different tribes and know that not all Native Americans are the same. They do not all have the same cultural traits or beliefs, just like any other group of people. I would also encourage you to look skeptically when you run across social media posts and memes talking about "The Native American Ten Commandments" or anything that would lump all tribes into one set of beliefs. This isn't helping anybody.

There is so much information out there about the topics I wrote about today, there really is no more excuse for us to say we didn't know. So yes, go out there and enjoy the turkey or tofurkey and mashed potatoes and gravy, but also spend some time reading the articles I shared today, and do further research, and then more importantly, start telling others about it. Start caring about it, and ask that the people in your life, care about it too.

Burning Walls, Building Bridges: Antisemitism

Ever since starting this blog project, I have wondered where antisemitism fit in with it, or if it fit in at all. Is it racism? Is it institutional racism? I am not Jewish, and there isn't a large Jewish community where I am, so it's not something I've really had to think about or deal with before. It's not like I have have an issue with Jewish people. I respect the religion, culture, history, and cultural aspects like the food and holidays. I mean, I know antisemitism is a thing that happens, I don't disbelieve it. I see it on tv and hear about it all the time. I've just never seen it up close before. I think here in Seattle, we think of it as something that happens "over there". "Over there" probably meaning the East Coast. We're more laid back over here. We don't care about things that divide us like that over here. People are just people. I mean, of course we have racial divisions, and segregated neighborhoods, but in our minds, Jewish people are mostly white, so they're white people. Plain and simple, right? That's what I thought, until discussing it with an online friend who is Jewish and has white skin, but doesn't identify as white. This was very confusing to me and I didn't really understand it at all. But then I read things online from nationalist groups and other racist hate groups who say things like "Jews aren't white" and that made me think that must be what it's about. But how can white people not be white? Why the big distinction? And then last Saturday, there was a shooting at a synagogue in Pittsburgh and eleven people were killed. I felt awful, I felt helpless, and all these questions I've been pondering recently came to a head and I knew I had to write about it for this project.

I am ashamed that I've lived this much of my life without really ever thinking deeply about this before. I don't know if I've been an idiot or just woefully naive about this, but I am making up for lost time and educating myself on this subject. I just wish it hadn't taken the lives of eleven people to spur me on.

The following are links for anybody looking to learn more about antisemitism. I would encourage people who haven't ever experienced antisemitism to study up on this. In order to not accidentally contribute to it, we need to be fully educated on it.

First up, a brief explanation on the proper spelling and punctuation of the term "antisemitism." "Anti-Semitism" or "antisemitism"? Which is correct? The article is a few years old, and I just tested it on a blank doc file and Microsoft has fixed the issue since this article was published.

This is a great source of answers to basic questions about Judaism and all things Jewish. I highly recommend this one!

Here is the Anti-Defamation League's definition and explanation of what antisemitism is.

This is has good information on racially-based antisemitism. This plays into the idea of antisemitism as racism.

One of the things that confused me, is the idea of how white privilege works with being Jewish. There is an ongoing debate in the Jewish community of how much white privilege affects or doesn't affect white Jewish people. Ultimately, it's not up to me to make a decision on that or even to have an opinion on it. Definitions of "the thing" are to be made by the people affected by "the thing," not by people on the outside or those inflicting "the thing" on others.

I think one thing I need to work on to make sure I don't contribute to more confusion or antisemitism of my own, is to remember that while a lot of Jewish people are white, a lot of them are not. Assuming Jewish=white is racist. And that while white Jewish people have white privilege in some situations, it is negated in others. It's sort of a "gray" area, if you'll forgive the pun. I will try to do better with that from now on.

Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg has an excellent Twitter thread on the topic of white privilege within the Jewish community.

This opinion piece from The Jerusalem Post explores the idea of antisemitism being racism, whether or not it is institutional, and also speaks to white privilege.

There is good news and bad news about antisemitism. The bad news first-It's still very much a thing, as last week's shooting shows. The good news? We no longer live in a world where information is hard to find and share. There is so much information out there about this issue that there really is no longer an excuse not to become educated about it. And as knowledge is power, the more we know about it, the more aware we'll be, the more we'll be able to see it, and hopefully, the braver we'll be to stand up against it. We just have to hope and pray that the people fighting against it far outweigh the people perpetrating it. So, go out there and learn all you can about this! If not for yourself, then for these people:

Source

Burning Walls, Building Bridges: Book Review

Today’s post is dedicated to the book, “when they call you a terrorist, a black lives matter memoir,” by Patrisse Khan-Cullors and asha bandele.

Like the title says, this is a memoir, written by one of the three women who started the Black Lives Matter movement in 2013. This book was published in January of this year, so it’s very up-to-date, and timely. Purchase here. I chose this book because the title really stood out to me. Imagine being a person fighting for civil rights, human rights, in this country and being branded a terrorist for it. By people who are actually the terrorists. It is just so frustrating and unfair and wrong, and the worst of it is, it doesn’t have to be like this. We all could band together as a people, and stop it. But we don’t, because we're too busy choosing not to see it.

This book is a must-read for everybody, but particularly for white readers. If you are like me, trying to actively learn more about how white privilege and institutional racism works in this country and in ourselves, you absolutely have to read this book. And if you are not simultaneously inspired and outraged by the time you finish reading it, then you need to read it again until you do.

“when they call you a terrorist” is extraordinarily well-written. The memoir focuses on Patrisse's life, and her family growing up in California. Interaction with the police was nearly constant and began at a very young age. Prison was an ever-present element of life. The double standard we place on people of color and then pretend is equality is impossible to ignore. 

You can see everybody described in this book so well, even though their looks aren’t really described. Their auras shine through the pages and they are so alive. Because they are. Sometimes you have to stop for a while when reading this, to remember that this is all real. This is the reality for so many poor black and brown people in this country. And the most frustrating and upsetting part of it is, that it doesn’t have to be this way. We could all help change this, but it’s so easy as white people, not to see it. We really do have to be reminded, every day, that Black lives matter. And maybe, one day, we’ll all start remembering that and acting like it.

I couldn't help thinking about how I would have felt if I had been in Patrisse's shoes. If my life had been like her life. I saw elements of my own family in hers and it was a huge reminder of how much more alike we all are to each other in this giant human family of ours than we are different. So why wasn't my life like hers? Why wasn't her life like mine? And you can't help but feel how stupid and arbitrary white privilege is. It's outrageous and outraging.

This book left me feeling ashamed for not caring about the #BlackLivesMatter movement sooner. For not researching it and promoting it sooner. I care about people and want to help make the world a better place for everybody, but even so, my white privilege shielded me from seeing something that needed attention. Reading this has made me want to do more. It’s not much, but I intend to purchase a copy of this book and will make the effort to buy it from a Black-owned bookstore. If I believe that Black lives matter, then Black-owned businesses matter as well. It’s one small thing I can do.

I was inspired by the passage about protesting in Rodeo Drive. White people need to hear this message the most, and as a white person, I am in a position to use my voice and privilege to talk to other white people about this. I don’t have a unique perspective, I have not lived this life, but I can still share it with other white people. I can also make sure that I support candidates and vote for people who fight for this. People who believe that Black lives matter. My role in this is not to have a unique voice or a place in the actual movement, but to support it from behind and beneath. To just be a body in the crowd.

I am in awe of Patrisse and her journey. I am angry that we allowed what happened to her and her family and community without caring or listening, all the while proclaiming that we loved all people. I am inspired by what she, Alicia Garza, and Opal Tometi have accomplished by starting a movement that is shaping a generation and reshaping the entire country. I hope that one day we will not need organizations like this, because our actions will truly match our words. When we claim to be colorblind people who love everyone equally, one day, maybe we will look up #BlackLivesMatter in history books and read about how it all started there. The questions we must all ask ourselves is: What did we do to help? What did we do to make sure that Black lives mattered? And how much better are we all, as a nation, now that we live like they do?