Viewing entries in
Justice
When the protests began, I knew I needed to listen, to read books on racism, to watch movies and documentaries, to hear the lived stories of black people and to sit with the awareness of racism and try to pay attention to where it is—not just in our society and in our systems, but in me.
As Brandon eats his chicken noodle soup, we put a hat on his head. Someone hands him a pair of those warm socks, and the new guy wraps a warm blanket around his shoulders. Snot drips from Brandon’s long nose.
The difference between this young man’s life and Drew Barrymore's in “50 First Dates,” is he has no supportive family to lovingly help him through each day. His father died years ago. His mother is an addict, who is suffering a long, slow, terminal illness.
He pulled up his sleeve and extended his arm toward me. Tracks marked the inside of his arm. He pulled up the other sleeve and swiped his fingers over the red places.
They overheard a woman (who is also part of our Community) in distress. A man was in her tent, and she was shouting, “No. Stop! Get off me!”
I put my hand on his arm and told him to calm down, that we’d figure this out. (I was doing the best I could to keep my own anger under control.)
The message is basically that we need not get frustrated when we are sitting under a tree and pigeon poop lands on our head. The pigeon is simply doing what pigeons do.
The judge looked at me and asked, “Who are you?” I told him I am this man’s pastor, and I am here just helping him to be in the right place at the right time.
There he was, lying unconscious in a pool of his own blood. I pushed my way through the gathered crowd, caught the eye of one of the cops, and announced, “I know this guy. I have all his information.”
Sometimes we are unaware we are under oppression, until we come up for air. It’s an atmosphere, an energy, a tone of voice, a manner interaction.
“I’m really glad Trump is now our president, ‘cause he’s gonna put blacks back where they belong and kick every Muslim out of our country. He’s gonna make America great again.”
I have experienced discrimination and oppression as a woman on a daily basis my entire life. I will write more here about these experiences. I’m guessing that many men simply do not know or do not recognize our reality
They taught me that I was to “stay in my role,” that women are naive and easily deceived, and that because of my gender, I was not qualified to teach males over a certain age. *And* they taught me that all of this was God’s will for my life.
Some days I cry. Some days I get mad. Zach is one of so many we know who fall through the cracks. There is no place for him.
We rode the train past mountains of garbage, the waste of millions that for the “least of these” is home. We visited Sonagachi, the Red Light District of Kolkata, where over 10,000 women live as prostitutes
While I hear Churchians talking about how “the poor are poor because they make poor choices,” I daily watch single mothers working at the drudgery of minimum wage jobs that just cannot pay the bills, and daily facing the temptation to dance (and more) in the strip clubs on our street
Amazing revelation to me this morning
“If your gospel is only about yourself, your spirit, your converts, and your words, and in practice your highest loyalty is to your flag . . .
“This is the original revolution: the creation of a distinct community with its own deviant set of values.” John Howard Yodel
Local politicians prevent any legal action from being taken against the forced prostitution rings because they owe their position and influence to the wealthy business interests behind the brothels.
