shadowkat: (Default)
Neil Gaiman interviews Art Spiegelman (Wrote MAUS0




"As a result, we ended up in a world where we're all in the spin room being spun as opposed to being taken back to see what is being done to us." [He's discussing giving into the cynicism seen in later incarnations of Mad Magazine, and not believing in anything greater than ourselves and power and control and greed. See Rudy Giuliani.)

This is a fascinating video about creating comics and the art form. It's also an amazing conversation about MAUS, comics, Mad Magazine, perception, and the Holocaust. It's worth listening to.

***
Hmm...in a related event, Whoopie got suspended from the View.

ABC Suspends Whoopie Goldberg from the View

Whoa. Not that I care about the View.
the Whoopie fiasco )

Words matter - if you have a platform. Not if you are just talking to yourself in your own apartment. Well they do, but you're the only one who will care - and possibly the walls, and maybe any ghosts listening in.
shadowkat: (Default)
Anyone else feel at times like they are running this endless solo marathon, and at the end of it they'll be dead? No? Just me then.

According to Mel (coworker who I've posted about previously) - the Governor has declared a potential state of emergency for NY - in regards to Omicron. It's not been detected here yet - but she figures its only a matter of time and most likely here already.

I got to give New York credit. Considering how hard the pandemic hit us in 2020, we not only survived, we bounced back, and took all the precautions. I've noticed that as a pattern of sorts - we were the epicenter of the terrorist attacks in the US, but bounced back fast, and didn't let it take us down. We got hit hard by Superstorm Sandy, but bounced back, and took precautions to ensure it didn't happen again. Now, epicenter of Pandemic - but we came back and have taken precautions.

Everyone had a mask on in the trains and subways, with maybe one or two exceptions (dump tourists and long islanders - is my guess, or South Brooklyn suburbanites).

Mel and I traded horror stories about alt-right nitwits. I shared mine with you yesterday (we don't need a repeat). Mel said that the Proud Boys were holding a rally in Rockville Center - center of town, and marched along the streets. They were doing it all over Long Island, without a permit. No one arrested them. The Mayor said they had the right to protest peacefully. Mel is a black woman, and her husband is POC (hispanic). I was disgusted.

We were both grateful that none of our family members fall into this category.

**

Talked to mother tonight. Apparently niece cancelled her flight to Sciliy, and booked a flight home (back to New York) on Friday, instead. She'll be back on Friday, as opposed to December 10, as originally expected. The school is allowing the international students to go home early - for fear that they will get stuck in England due to the Omicron variant. This is a relief, we were all concerned that she would get stuck in England.

I'm trying not to worry about my upcoming trip to South Carolina to visit my parents. I've not seen them in two years. And I don't know how much longer my Dad has. My flight is scheduled on December 19, early in the morning, I'm due back on December 27. It wasn't a cheap flight, and while it is kind of refundable, it is kind of not at the same time.

Anywho.. apparently Michigan cousin is vaccinated, he just didn't think anyone in his family should know, in particular his mother. And his wife did not want his parents to know at all.

Okay, lets step back a bit. In New York - you have to show a vaccination card to get in anywhere. Not only that - but we upload it to our workplace.
I've told strangers I'm vaccinated.

Cousin privately takes his mother (my Aunt N) aside: so we got vaccinated in August.
Aunt: Why didn't you tell us?Read more... )

Good news is that mother survived without her home health care aids today. Made herself french toast, drove, and walked with her cane. She kind of misses them - they were nice ladies, and my mother can talk to a street pole.

**

Crazy Company..

Note : as of Monday, 11/29/2021, given the significantly increased access to Covid testing, ORG will now examine Covid 19 diagnostic testing compliance for every employee for which the ORG does not have record of full vaccination and has access to onsite testing , not just a statistical random sample. If you are found not to have complying with weekly testing you will be removed form service and considered unfit for service..

I'm actually in favor of that. These extreme measures need to be taken. It's ridiculously easy to get the vaccine, and to get tested at the company.

COVID

It's been a while...did you miss it? Probably not. I took a break from it.
Read more... )

***

Random Photo of the Evening...


shadowkat: (Default)
DW was not working - took forever to post comments, or get a page to load. Finally realized it was the internet connection - so fiddled with that, no connection at all. So rebooted, and finally got it to work. I have a feeling I owe Optimum a call to request a rooter upgrade, and at no additional cost - since they already raised costs with no benefit to me. If they say no, I may have to consider switching to Verizon. (And I hate Verizon.)

Still not as bad as what rural areas deal with - my brother's internet access goes out daily. And he gets almost no help restoring it. Same with various family members across all fifty states. Rural Michigan is so horrible that my Aunt and Uncle get up really early in the morning to check text messages and emails.

**

The weekend got away from me - so did not get around to seeing Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings on Disney Plus. I may try tonight, we'll see. I did manage to watch two episodes of Get Back - the Peter Jackson documentary, which is exhaustive. Apparently there was a previous documentary, Let it Be from the same footage, which I've not seen, and painted Yoko, John and Paul in a more negative light? I don't know, I've not seen it. And it doesn't matter anyhow, since this one is the more informative and valid of the two in that it was edited and reviewed by everyone involved, not just Michael Lindsey-Hoog, includes everyone involved, and is more exhaustive with the footage. My biggest take-aways from it are: Read more... )

Also watched a few episodes of School of Chocolate on NETFLIX. It's not very good. I keep wanting to smack the judge/teacher/chef. Read more... )

***

Talked to Wales today. Who managed to horrify me with stories about her family.

Me: How was it?
Wales: Disturbing. this is triggering folks )

I'm grateful that I don't have to personally be around crazy racist MAGA folks, one of us would most likely be dead by now.

I keep restraining myself from posting this on twitter. It's too dangerous to post on twitter, and I don't have enough room to tell it right. [Eh, I figured out a way to share it. Also on FB. Because honestly, folks need to know this is happening right now and how bad it is.]

But the discussion in all seriousness made me realize how desperately we need qualified instructors with Masters Degrees in History to teach history and critical race theory to children. Also no one should be allowed to teach history without getting at least a Masters in the subject. They should know more history than I do. I was appalled by my friend's story.

Also once again I'm worried about this country.

**

Apartment complex decorated only for Hanukkah right now - since it starts tomorrow, I think (yay, less crowded trains). Apt complex is about sixty percent Jewish, although that could be changing.

I'm waiting until next weekend, although in now hurry, since I'm flying to South Carolina for Xmas. I'm not sure we're going to have presents this year - none of us want anything.

**

Random Photo inspired by atpo_omn's flower peeking through the pavement.
Also off to make dinner and deal with the Sunday Scaries..

shadowkat: (Default)
The day flirts with me, but my sore body after walking 3.2 miles around a Graveyard on Monday, and 2.5 miles on Sunday, could only handle a walk around the block. Also it's dry outside, the air filled with tree pollan.
Pretty though - bright blue sky, and sun filled.

I'm bored at work. So, I started listening to Renegades: Born in the USA Podcast on Spotify. For those who don't know about it? Barack Obama and his friend, Bruce Springsteen, have gotten together in Springsteen's barn this past winter to record a series of podcasts about the divide in America and how to come together. They chat about their odd friendship, their backgrounds, and what they have in common and what they don't - along with various events in our history - snatches of song and speeches.

It's part, stroke the old ego, and part insightful commentary on the various racial and class divides. snippets from the podcast based on my haphazard memory )

I found it insightful - about the two men and about our world. Also a nice companion to Michelle Obama's book Becoming - which I recently finished. It's insightful as well, but also aggravating in places. I like her husband's better - it's more succinct. Michelle kind of rambles around her theme a bit. But she does mention how it is important to let people in. Open up and let them in. I thought, I'm trying, Michelle, I am trying.

My mother believes I am. But I don't know. I am a tad stand-offish, I guess.
But I'm shy and retiring too in my way, I suppose. And every time I get interested in anyone and try to strike up a close friendship or romance, they leave town on me. I don't know if it's a New York thing or just a thing.

Mother: Didn't the last guy move to France?
Me: Yes, to take care of his uncle who has dementia. He left in 2018. It was king of hard to keep a long distance relationship, it's not like we dated. Also I suck at long-distance relationships.
Mother: Most people do. You're brother is the only one I've noticed that maintained it - and only for short periods of time.
Me: I can't even maintain friendship and family long-distance that well, outside of you. Ames comes and goes.

On Twitter, discovered a lengthy interview with Ray Fisher regarding what happened with Whedon et all on the set of Justice League. It's more detailed than the previous interviews, and not all that surprising. Just manages to underline my current take on Whedon and Hollywood - aptly summed up by one responder as : "Hollywood is filled with assholes." Yep.

If you are at all curious, HERE's The Article.

My take aways? Whedon was an asshole on that set. And a lot of white folks don't understand racism or aren't sensitive to it. (I picked up on this during the Barack/Springsteen conversation, along with Michelle's book, but also talking to folks in my workplace.)

Katherine Forrest, a former federal judge who conducted the WarnerMedia probe, tells THR in a statement that in interviews with more than 80 witnesses, she found "no credible support for claims of racial animus" or racial "insensitivity."

I don't know, I watched the two films and compared them - I'd say what that I found the Whedon film to be insensitive racially (and gender wise) on multiple levels. But that may be subjective on my part.

excerpts )

From the above? Whedon pissed off some interesting folks. Patty Jenkins, Gail Gadot, Jeremy Irons, and apparently everyone in the cast. (That cast included Amy Adams, Ben Affleck, Henry Caville, Diane Lane, Joe Morton, Jeremy Irons, Jason Momoa...).

I think he'd have gotten away with it, if his version of Justice League wasn't such a bad film, and hadn't bombed at the box office. What's interesting is why HBO/Warner Brothers stuck with him after that? I'd have fired his ass. How'd he get to do the Nevers? Maybe they gave him a break due to the impossible circumstances? Or he had something on one of the execs, who finally left?

Anyhow, from what I read - I'd say the Whedon Cut was racially insensitive, and from what I saw of Whedon's cut - as compared to what Zack Snyder did? The Whedon version was racially insensitive and gender insensitive. I mean I was offended by it - when I compared the two films. You don't necessarily see it without the comparison - and I think the reason for that - is people think, oh, it's a comic book or that's just the medium. We hand-wave a lot of things. OR that's just Whedon's sense of humor. Or it's not like it's not like that in the comics or cartoon.

It's not the medium. You don't have to do it that way. That's what I think is coming out right now - that excuse, oh we have to do it this way, is just that an excuse, it's justified. There's no reason why you can't have a diverse superhero team, where all the characters have an arc and agency, not just the White Guys. It can be done. And it can be done well.

Going back to Barack and Springsteen's podcasts...I've made it through four so far, I think there are eight? Anyhow, going back to the podcasts, they make an interesting point about the cinema of my childhood, and theirs - the 1970s Westerns, where we have ingrained in us the loner hero, who has no home, no roots. No community. And this fear of being domesticated. I think that's partly the old school Hollywood writers and directors problem at the moment - they are stuck in that mindset. I know Whedon kind of is. That toxic white male loner mentality. John Wayne's misanthropic character in The Searchers. Or Clint Eastwood in High Plains Drifter and later The Unforgiven. It's ingrained in a portion of our society and breaking out of that mold is not easy - I don't think. But necessary. To find community and roots...which is hard for outsiders to do.

***

On the COVID front? Still being inundated with bereavement notices and requests to take the vaccine via workplace.

Sis-in-law told mother that she is going to take the second dose of the Moderna. She'll just get sick is all. She now has a two boils on her leg, but it appears to be getting better - and she'll survive. Niece apparently is lined up to get the vaccine next week.

Family is making headway. I may get to see them all again in the not too distant future.

Huzzah! Also I'm thinking of sending my niece flowers to congratulate her for getting into the London School of Economics Foreign Exchange Program (she had to apply and worked hard for it) and on her up-coming graduation.

Day #105

Jun. 29th, 2020 06:29 pm
shadowkat: (Contemplative - Warrior)
Storm clouds on the horizon!



This was taken about forty-five minutes ago. It is currently storming outside my window. We need the rain - so I'm happy about it. But it's pouring so hard outside at the moment, that I can barely see out the window.

Wow - we've got hail! It's serious.

Was hot and sticky on the walk. I came back soaking wet, with my clothes sticking to me, and feeling dehydrated, so I took a nice cool/lukewarm shower.

Feeling lovely at the moment. And the thunderstorm feels like a huge release of energy - my irritability melting away the heavens unleash its wrath upon the earth. Maybe it will cool things off? It's supposed to. Ah, and now, its clearing off. Will I get a rainbow - there's blue sky and sun behind it. NY is now officially a tropical climate, who knew?

New York vs. The Coronavirus and bankruptcy

Anyhow..listened to the Governor's briefing today - he gave a brief one.(I was told it was brief - it lasted an hour.]
NY's ongoing battle with the Coronavirus and well, fireworks )

Crazy Company

eh...we're broke )

NYC vs. the Black Lives Matter Protestors

Meanwhile...I was telling my mother about the protestors who've camped out in front of Town Hall, until NYC decides to reduce the NYPD's budget aka "defund" the police and redistribute the money elsewhere. They've set up quite a camp for themselves. Redesigned the plaza to be more hospitable. Among the attractions? A library, a community garden, and a tea hut. I've decided they are bored and desperate to socialize, also they are getting a lot of validation from our equally bored media. (I mean the Coronavirus is starting to get old.) It's also kind of fun to protest and camp out.

[NYC is broke, by the way. So I'm not exactly sure why they are fighting over de-funding the police - it's not like NYC actually has any money to fund the police. Actually NYC is more than happy to reduce the police budget by more than half, and use the protests as an excuse to do so, while they are at - they are closing Rikers, releasing people who can't pay bail, and releasing all these folks back into the population, and none of them have any jobs to go back to, or really homes. The police are kind of annoyed, but the city is broke. Doing this solves multiple problems from the city's perspective - less people getting the virus if the jails are less crowded, less money going to the police and more to other areas, and maybe it will appease the protestors! Win-Win. The Mayor announced today that he was struggling to figure out what to cut and if the state didn't fund them soon, they'd have to lay off city workers.]

Below the cut is the article from NY Times on Instagram about the encampment outside City Hall.
here it is in case you want to read it for yourself )

I'm on the fence about the whole defunding police thing. I'm not so sure this is going to result in the reforms people think it will. Also racism? That's prevalent. It's not just against Blacks. It's also at its root about selfishness. We're an extremely self-centered and narcissistic society. Jim Carrey has a new book out about it - or about how narcissistic Hollywood is - where he lampoons himself, Gwyneth Paltrow, Nick Cage, a thinly disquised Tom Cruise...among others. Stating, somewhat arrogantly, I think, that this is the book for the end of the world as we know it - not the actual end of the world, but the end of the selfish world we live in. I don't know. I've read history. Humans are selfish creatures. If the Plague didn't make us better, or WWII, or the CIVIL WAR, or 1918 Flu, or various other things..why this?

Also Carrey thought 9/11 would be the end of ironic humor and nastiness.
Alrighty then.

I saw on FB, a woman rallying at a old white couple she'd stumbled across who told her not to date her boyfriend because he was black. Which, honestly, pissed me off too. But what she should have written was what I just wrote. Not, Read more... )

shadowkat: (Default)
1. New York's first attempt at state wide, and city wide vote by mail is not quite working out the way that the Governor intended. It's massive fail, on multiple levels. So much so, that I'm afraid of what will happen in November.
Read more... )

2. I found this on Facebook, My Aunt posted it, and did not know this was the story behind the Beatles Song, Blackbird.

Paul McCartney Meets Women Who Inspired Beatles Blackbird

The post on Facebook, stated this:
Read more... )

3. Conversations on Race

Read more... )

There's this phrase I can't seem to get out of my head..I think it is from a song? "Peace, love and understanding.." I hear the tune. But cannot place it.

4. From my walk around the Graveyard yesterday...the History of the Freedom Lots.



In the nineteenth century, Cemetery officials referred to these seven burial lots as the “Colored Lots.” It was a term that conformed to the conventions of the time but underscored then prevalent discrimination and racial segregation. The interns working to restore these lots proposed that this section now be known as “The Freedom Lots.” This name restores respect to people who might have been enslaved, descendants of enslaved people, or free people of color whose freedom was restricted because racial oppression and discrimination persisted after slavery ended. It also reminds us that the pursuit of freedom for people of color and others is ongoing—even today.

The Seven Lots

Over time, these seven lots were unfortunately neglected. The monuments were built without foundations, causing them to sink into the ground over their 160-year history. In some cases, monuments were completely buried beneath the earth and not visible. There are no records regarding previous restoration work in these lots, and it is assumed that over time, the lack of care for the monuments caused them to end up in poor condition.

The interns were challenged with the tasks of documenting, restoring, and proposing interpretations for Lots 88, 3412, 3413, 3414, 7472, 9464, and 9932. These lots, previously known as the “Colored Lots,” were specifically designated for “Colored Children” or “Colored Adults” according to Green-Wood’s records. Public Lot 3412 was purchased in 1849 by the Association for the Benefit of Colored Orphans. (The name changed in 1875 to the New York Colored Mission).


History of the Freedom Lots at Greenwood Cemetery

Below are pictures taken of the restored lots by the interns. And their respective grave markers, dating back to the mid-1800s.
Read more... )

5. This made me laugh. K-Pop Fans Tanked Trump Rally Via TikTok and Zoom

excerpt )

6. And...from a street in my neighborhood...that I walked down on Sunday afternoon.


shadowkat: (Default)
1. Watched Big Hero Six finally on ABC tonight. They are doing movies. Disney is advertising it's streaming channel on ABC by showing various movies on it.

I loved it. I found it very comforting. I needed something comforting.

2. So, they are tearing down statues of racists again.

[Note this is by no means the first time they tore down statues in the US - they did it about three years back in 2017? All the Confederate Statues were torn down in a flood of protests through the deep south. (If you follow the link above - you can see where.) And in sympathy, New York and various Northern States and Communities tore down their racist statues as well. (There aren't any in Greenwood Cemetery that I know about. Just a War Memorial to the Union Soliders who fought in the Civil War.) This lead to a nation-wide debate on whether preserving the statues was required in regards to historical narrative or if doing so, merely preserved racist sentiments and a racist agenda. A potential compromise - was to put the statues in museums where they could be preserved for historical purposes. Some even argued they were art - an argument that was quickly put to rest when it was revealed that they were all taken from a mold and kind of similar, and not all that artistic in character. All of this lead to a bunch of protests and counter-protests in the Southern US, culminating in that really horrible incident in Charlottsville where a White Supremacist rammed his car into a woman during a peaceful counter-protest (the counter-protest was against the Neo-Nazis and KKK) - later shown in the movie BlackKKlansman. Note then as now, the violent protestors were the White Supremacists, with few exceptions. So, as you can see this has kind of been building up for a while now. ]

Anyhow, I bring that up because what is interesting and encouraging about the tearing down of statues this go around is that, well, for one thing the US isn't alone, other countries have decided to do it too. And it's not just Confederate assholes, but "all" slavers, racists and genocidal leaders throughout history that are getting torn down worldwide. Personally, I don't think these people should have been honored or commemorated in the first place. But, hey, better late than never, right?

My favorite?

Last night, Christopher Columbus statues in two separate American cities were destroyed. In Richmond, Virginia, protesters tore down a Columbus statue, set it on fire, and then dumped it into a lake.

Roughly eight hours away in Boston, meanwhile, a separate Columbus statue located in the city’s North End was beheaded overnight.


Hee Hee. This kind of made my day. I despise Christopher Columbus.

3. NASCAR Bans Confederate Flags at All Its Events and Properties

Why they didn't do that before now, I've no clue. The Confederate flag should have been banned in the 1800s, after the Civil War.

I remember a black co-worker and her husband (who is Hispanic and a War history buff) visited Gettysberg, PA. She reported being uncomfortable.
When they went to a restaurant they were stared at. There were confederate flags in a Souvenir shop, along with other racist items. And one of the diners they went into had a Confederate flag hanging on the wall. It unnerved her. She'd never seen that. I told her that it didn't surprise me and I'd seen it. That a good portion of Middle White America was racist.
I remember her eyes getting big and she told me that she'd never seen it before. That when she went down there it was the first time in her life that she felt black. Or was aware of her skin color. She'd not been aware before then.

I'd like to live in a world where I'm not aware of skin tone or race. Where it doesn't matter. I do not see that happening in my life time, but I have hope. It's tiny, but it is there. DW gives me hope - why? Because I interact with people who use alias, and really don't see each other's skin tones, or races or creeds or genders, and we treat each other as well people. That's what I loved about the ATPOBTVS fan board for the most part - I felt as if what I looked like didn't matter. I don't want to be defined or identified by my race, ethnicity, religion/creed, sex, size, gender, sexual orientation, etc. It shouldn't matter. And I can't begin to tell you how much I hate that it does.

I have hope that one day we'll evolve beyond it. But probably not in my life time.

4. HBO Max removes Gone with the Wind from streaming service
- most likely until they can figure out how to add disclaimers to it - like they did with the Looney Toon Cartoons. Disney has similar issues and has removed similar content - such as Fantasia (which was redone several years ago), and Song of the South (which you'll never see - and I've mixed feelings about. Song of the South is a bit like Huckleberry Finn and old Mickey Mouse Cartoons and Looney Tunes.)

Gone with the Wind is kind of interesting. Read more... )
shadowkat: (Contemplative - Warrior)


Long day..drifting towards another...and another...

1. Me vs. New Desk Chair

Things are slowly re-opening here, but I'm still working from home remotely. It has its pluses and minuses. On the plus side - my balance and equilibrium have been slightly off all day long - so not a good day to take mass transit or go to the office. Thankfully, I did not have to.

Instead I spent the morning trying to figure out how to fix my new chair - because apparently it is supposed to have five wheels and it only came with four.

(Ordering furniture online is kind of like rolling dice. Hence the reason I rarely buy furniture and hate doing it. I'm rarely satisfied. And no, it's not possible to go to a furniture store and look around - I do not have a car and can't just go do that. If I could - I would have done it. I have tried to do it that why. I'm kind of heading you off at the pass there.)

Anyhow before anyone rags on Amazon - Amazon was actually extremely helpful. A kind lady from Tampa helped me find wheels and order them, stating that I'd be getting a $40 promo to cover the cost of the wheels. They come in a five pack. She spent a lot of time hunting down the manufacturer, asking them for the code for the wheels, then hunting the wheels in Amazon's site. I was rather impressed - and had me on the phone and told me what she was doing the whole way. Best customer service I've had in a long time. (The way you get hold of customer service on Amazon is you hit the "contact" and then "chat" and then "ask that they call you". It's hard to find but once you are there - quite helpful.)

The chair's okay - it's better than the one I had previously. I had gotten on sale. It should be much better when I'm able to pop in the fifth wheel.

So, the wheels are coming on Thursday. Hopefully this will be an easy fix. The chair is better than the other one I had, but I miss the one in my office. I had finally gotten the perfect set-up in my office, a standup desk, two monitors, a tower, a good keyboard, and a great leath chair. I'm annoyed. I want that set-up at home and I can't get it.

Oh well, it could be worse. Must look on the bright side.

2. Me vs. Sinus Headache From Hell

It cleared up this morning. I took my blood pressure - it was down, well down after I ate at any rate. Or where it should be.

Then high again this afternoon. I took another walk around Greenwood Cemetery - a long one. And came back with a sneeze and a sinus headache. Thank you, tree pollan and freshly mown grass. I think I may be allergic to Greenwood Cemetery. To be fair, I'm kind of allergic to the outdoors and the indoors...it's just a question of severity.

But I hadn't been getting the sinus headaches...possibly the air pressure?
God knows.

3. Black Lives Matter

Yes, the protests are still going on. Actually, you probably already know that since they appear to worldwide or global at the moment. The New York Times had a picture of folks protesting six feet apart in Edingburough, Scotland (which honestly is much brighter than what people are doing here - and we wonder why the US has the most COVID cases in the world at the moment, the US is stupid. Righteous yes, but also stupid.)

On the way back from Greenwood Cemetery - I walked past a few women putting together signs for the nightly banging of pots, and protesting for Black Lives Matter - while at the same time applauding the efforts of the essential health care workers. They've kind of combined the two now.
I gave her a thumbs up and clapped. She smiled at me. It was a warm moment of solidarity between two strangers - these moments are happening more and more now. It makes me feel a little less alone and isolated in this crazy bustling city. But the truth is - it's kind of impossible to be alone or isolated in NYC. Lonely yes. Alone and isolated? Not so much.

There is some good news on the BLM front - Congressional Democrats are rushing legislation to Propose a Broad Bill to Target Police Misconduct and Racial Biasis. I seriously doubt it will get passed - but the fact that the Republican run Senate won't pass it, will most likely be another nail in the Republican's coffin. The Republicans have basically done every possible thing they can think of to make this situation worse. (Fed up I donated some money to both Jaime Harris (South Carolina against old bigoted fart Lindsey Graham) and Amy McGrath (Kentucky against demon spawn Mitch McConnell). )

President Trump said that he had ordered National Guard troops to begin withdrawing from Washington after three former Joint Chiefs chairmen condemned his use of military force in response to protests. [ He claimed that they'd done their job and weren't needed any more and took full credit for the decision of course. Only people who don't follow the news still support the asshole.]

Senator Mitt Romney marched with protesters yesterday, becoming one of the first prominent Republicans to do so. He posted photos of himself at a march in Washington, along with the message, “Black Lives Matter.” [I'm thinking Mitt may be the only Republican re-elected next year? So far he's the only one who stood up for the impeachment, pushed for the states to get funding, and marched with the protestors.]

Meanwhile the Minneapolis City Council is thinking of doing away with the police force or rethinking it
-This is not as simple as it looks. Minnesota and Minneapolis have multiple police forces and different unions.

And according to my New York Times briefing this morning...the big problem is that cops lie...

Excerpt detailing the wide-spread problem of police lying )

After reading this, I've decided the police are really stupid. Honestly they have video cameras on them all the time. The Governor basically said the same thing, which I appreciated. My apologies to all the daytime soap operas and television dramas that have depicted the police as abusive idiots - you were right - they are.

Meanwhile on Facebook this morning, once again, because the Universe has a sense of humor, I found myself on the opposite side of the argument. A while back, when all this first happened, about a week or so ago, I wondered why people were protesting in NY and Brooklyn over a killing in Minneapolis - when the perpetuators had been caught. And I got attacked.

I, however, am proud to say that I did not attack this poor woman or anyone who has said this to me. Why? I can sort of see her confusion. I mean it's not like George Floyd's death is unusual or anything. [That's the problem - it's NOT unusual. Not at all. And George Floyd is by no means the first black man who these cops did it too. My mother told me over the phone that when she watched the video - it reminded her of slavery. ]

So why now? At the height of a pandemic? And why him? Why not Breonna Taylor, or Eric Garner, or oh so many others before them. Read more... )

I remember discussing all of this with my friend and co-worker, J, a year or so ago. Read more... )

As I walk around the cemetery - I wonder this. The trees stand ever patient, silent sentinels. Guarding over the dead. I hugged one today. Put my arms around as far as they could go and hugged a tree. Feeling its kindness, its patience, its wisdom flood into me. Trees have a certain kind of energy..something strong, and pure, and so old and so wise. It's like feeling connected to something far greater than oneself. And in that moment, I no longer felt just connected to humanity but to the earth beneath my feet even though it makes me sneeze.



4. New York vs. the Corona Virus

In our daily installment of New York vs. the Corona Virus - folks, some good news. New York has beaten back the Corona Virus.

Governor of New York: Today is Day 100 since we had our first confirmed COVID case in New York State. And with New York City entering Phase 1 today, the entire state is in the reopening process. At the outset, no one knew how long it would take us to control the virus. But we did understand that it all depended on our actions. I'm so proud of how New Yorkers responded. Together we bent the curve. When things are tough, New Yorkers are tougher. Now we will move forward by region smartly.

We have a 1% infection rate - the lowest to date. The state is re-opening. 450,000 people went back to work today in New York City. (Some of us never left - I've been working remotely and if I weren't doing it remotely, I'd have been doing it at the office - I'm considered essential apparently. I don't feel essential. I'm just keeping a bunch of vital construction projects going at the moment.)

Here's what else you need to know tonight:
Read more... )

New York continues to amaze me. It is a tough little state. You can knock New York down but its going to come up swinging.

I leave you with...trees..

shadowkat: (Grieving)
Day 82 finds me battling a sick headache - which is not COVID related, so no worries on that front.

And..I'm not so sure it is epidemic central any longer. We're entering Phase #1 of the re-opening tomorrow. This means that manufacturing, construction, curb-side pick up, limited and at a specific appointed time - in store retail pick up, and more subways. Although G trains were going every 12 to 15 minutes during the crisis according to the notifications on my phone. Subways in NYC will continue to close down between 1 am and 5 am, which is kind of an adaption of European guidelines. This allows the trains to be thoroughly disinfected.

At 3 Am this morning, I woke up from a nightmare about the COVID virus, to the vertigo/sinus-tension headache from hell. The vertigo aspect lasted until 5:30 am. I finally was able to sleep from 5:30-9:30. Took a shower, had oatmeal (the idea of eggs was kind of naseuating), green tea, and did the worship service ZOOM.

The sinus-tension headache portion has lasted all day long, with me fending off the vertigo. Read more... )

This Morning's Zoom Church Service was our Annual Flower Communion - this honors a Czech Unitarian Minister who harbored refugees from the Nazis and spoke out against the Nazis in his church during WWII. He was captured and died in the concentration camps - but while there made music and provided hope. In his church they had a ritual in which people would offer flowers and place them on the altar as symbols of love and faith, at the end of the service, each person takes home a different flower than the one they brought.

For this service - which took place entirely online via Zoom, we were asked to send photos of flowers to the interim Minister, a black UUA minister. (Considering the scandal in the UUA church in 2019-2018 about the lack of POC in the UUA, it is a big deal that our church had its first black minister leading services particularly during this time.Read more... )

A healthcare worker, who runs and works in a facility that helps the underprivileged with health care needs and services, stated during the service that it was as if we had all been sent to different planets.Read more... )

After service, my headache lurking painfully in the background, I called my mother for our daily phone chat.

Mother: I don't understand why they are still protesting. How long are they going to be protesting - it's been over ten days.Read more... )

In my Covid nightmare which I shared with my mother - I was going to see my friend Diana, and got there, and there was a huge party, and she came in focus wearing a beautiful mask and I realized I'd forgotten my mask, and I held up what seemed to be an oven mitt over my face. Then I got into a debate with these people trying to pull it away from me - they weren't wearing masks and they told me that I shouldn't be wearing one either. That's when I woke up to the room spinning, I remember lying there for a while wondering if would stop long enough for me to go to the bathroom, and get some meds.

Outside my window, it is a beautiful day. In the low seventies, with light fluffy clouds, and blue sky and a nice breeze. The trees a fervent green.
And the weekend such as it is has rushed past me, I've felt as if I've accomplished little within it - outside of raging at my own impotence.

I leave you with a picture of a flower...my own since I can't seem to grab one from my church... to which I offer up to Breonna Taylor - whose petition for Justice, I signed this past week.

shadowkat: (Contemplative - Warrior)
Personal Milestone.

Eighty days.

Eighty days since I was on a subway or any other mode of transportation. Eighty days since I walked further than Greenwood Cemetery or Prospect Park.

Eighty days.

And yes, the number of hospitalizations, cases, deaths, etc are down - they are at the numbers they were on March 6. According to the Governor, we not only flattened the curve - we frigging bent it - something he claims no one else has done. (Keep in mind he's a born and bred New Yorker from Queens, with Brooklyn roots.) More on that later.

But first...

1.) To celebrate? My desk chair arrived.

Good news? It was fully assembled.

Bad news? They left it in a enormous box in the lobby of my apartment building. Apparently, it was too much trouble to lug it upstairs and place it outside my apartment like they did with the paper towels.

I went downstairs and stared at the enormous 75 pound box and it stared back at me. getting a fully assembled 75 pound desk chair in a huge box up to a third story apartment is not as easy as it looks )

See - a fuzzy picture of the partially dismantled box containing the chair in the hallway in front of my apartment. It's fuzzy because I hadn't eaten yet, my hands were shaking.

fuzzy picture of box with chair inside it )

Took a while to pull it out - it was not easy pulling that chair out of the box. There are downsides to living alone. Such as pulling heavy desk chairs out of boxes.

Why did I get it? Because current desk chair has been threatening to collapse on me since April. I live in fear it will - when I least expect it.
Also, my boss informed us all at the last staff meeting that we would most likely be working remotely from home for the foreseeable feature - my work does not require me to be in the office. I can do it from home with little difficulty. It's actually cheaper and easier for the organization if I continue to do it from home. Saves them a hell of lot of problems.

Anyhow pictures of new desk chair and old one...aren't you happy that I figured out the picture downloading thing? Also shows you my work space, computer table, wireless mouse, and lap-top lift top. Along with the window that I get to look out of each day.
pictures of old and new desk chairs side by side )

Shitty desk chair is on the left, I think. You can sort of tell. The new one has adjustable lumbar support, headrest support, back inclination, arm rests, and seat height. Also it's very sturdy. It's not going to collapse on me.

picture of work station with desk chair - only laptop is missing )

I can deduct the cost from my taxes next year as a business expense, along with wifi, and other related computer expenses. Also I got it on sale via Amazon (I did buy the warranty - in case the damn thing came damaged or broke), I didn't go for the premium leather - and it was the version rec'd by wirecutter magazine and New York Times for best ergonomic chair on the market at the moment. It's the Steelcase Leap Erogonomic Chair - I got black. It goes better with my apartment design scheme. (I do care about these things on some level.)

2. It looks like it is going to storm - the clouds are dark and ominous and it's in the upper 80s with 100% humidity. Read more... )

Mother talked to brother this morning, and apparently my brother is doing well with his vegetable farm in upstate New York. He's even built his own outdoor kitchen next to a fire pit for canning, and making maple syrup. Meanwhile..his wife, besides designing her own jumpsuit, has been harassing museum curators.

sisinlaw vs. museum curators, also New York Counter Culture Fashion design )

3. New York vs. the Corona Virus

New York has managed to do what was seemingly impossible a mere month ago - it has defeated the Corona Virus. It's reached almost 0% infection rate. We went from 57% infection rate on testing to almost 0% in a little over 96 days.

We've bent the curve. We also lost over 30,000 lives (confirmed) to the virus - possibly more if you add the probable. And over 379,000 have been infected in the State of New York. We were the hardest hit. But we've rallied - apparently, and the infection rate is at an all time low - which means NYC is scheduled to enter Phase #1 next week and other counties will enter Phase #2.

In other news, this is what the Entertainment Community has sent the Governor's of New York and LA regarding how they plan on handling COVID-19 in their filming and workplaces.

excerpt )

Rumor has it that they will be back to filming or back to work at any rate by June 12. New York has kind of laid the ground work for how they can continue to move forward in the age of COVID-19.

*Contact Tracing
* Test, Test, Test
* Temperature Taking
* Social Distancing
* Masks
* Washing hands
* Disinfectant

Apparently Mass Transit - subways and Long Island Railroad Trains are disinfected trains now - according to the Governor - they are cleaner than his house and bathroom or anyone's. Like I said at the beginning of this whole trip down the rabbit hole - New York is certainly going to be really clean.

4. The Black Lives Matter Movement vs. the Police & the US Government & All Lives Matter

Right now, the Black Lives Matter Movement has encompassed us all. Also the police infractions and brutality has ...become widespread. It kind of always was. I remember being robbed back in 2005, and the police coming to my apartment and laughing at me. I did have a decent conversation with two black female cops about Buffy. I went to the station to see if they'd recovered my goods and they laughed at me again. The white male cops did.
Then, in 2009, when I left my wallet at work - a black cop, kindly gave me enough money to get home and talked me out of cancelling all my credit cards - stating it was probably at work. (It was.)

[Speaking of work - my old MP3 player is still there - although I no longer use it - preferring the phone. But still.]

There are some good articles out there on it:

* How to Actually Fix Americas Police

excerpt )

* Interesting take on the Black Lives Matter vs. All Lives Matter Controversy
Read more... )

Buffalo Police Officers Suspended and Charges Filed After Allegedly Shoving 75 Year Old Protestor

This is the video that enraged and sickened the Governor of New York and everyone else. One woman from my church, who is an attorney, went so far as to call the Erie County Mayor's Office and asked why the other policemen weren't charged for walking by the man, and even kicking him to one side.
The Mayor's office explained - they were investigating it, and that actions were being taken, and they had a lovely discussion.

I also saw the Governor and Lt. Governor address it at the latest news briefing this morning. (I try to watch them every day because I don't quite trust the media - as much as I once did. They are bored and like to exaggerate things. I watched them do it.)

Apparently the policemen who resigned - didn't really resign, so much as have their unit resigned and sent home with pay. They are removed from emergency duty and collecting a paycheck for the time being. The reason for this is that they are covered under a "union" contract. If you are under a "contract" or collective bargaining agreement - then you are protected from certain things like being fired. Only "at-will" employees can be fired outright or with cause. A Union employee under a contract - requires a bit more information and investigation. You can't just fire them. There's good reasons for this - it is in part to protect the police, firemen, teachers, nurses, transit workers, etc from being arbitrarily fired without cause or for doing something right. Unfortunately, it also protects the assholes.
(Kind of like the First Amendment.)

There is an investigation underway. And this week - New York plans to pass into law legislation that will aid in the investigation and firing of police who commit these violations of power. I don't think it is enough - but it is a start.

A Letter Not From a Birmingham Jail

excerpt )

What have I done?

Read more... )

I leave you with...a picture of the earth taken from a plane window ages ago...showing how tiny we all are and how we are truly a part of each other and this world we live in, whether we can see it or not from down on the ground.


shadowkat: (Contemplative - Warrior)
I tried the pharmacy today, and after about fifteen minutes, gave up.




It was actually worse than this - I gave up when people came towards me with no masks, and a guy was sitting behind me with his N97 mask hanging around his neck. I thought okay...I don't really need anything that badly, I'm going home. Also I knew it was going to rain soon. And guess what? It is raining now.

[ETA: Found out later that the tent were for free COVID-19 antibody testing, that had been arranged by the community for this area. It was from 8am to 5pm today, I didn't know about it until I got home and someone on the neighborhood Kesington Facebook Page announced it.]

But this begs the question - I've been asking myself off and on all week - am I the only person who is still afraid of the virus?

[ETA: Apparently the deaths in NYC have dropped to 0? I don't know about the source. I checked the NY Government site and can't find it. Wiki on Google states it though. Good news. (Except I know for a fact that they aren't tracking all the deaths - so this is the confirmed ones in the hospital.) Although according to the Governor, 42 people passed away due to COVID-19, down from a record-high when 800 died in a single day just eight weeks ago.)

Crazy Organization
Apparently not. My other manager/friend, J, who also happens to be black, called me - after I sent her an email to see if she was okay. (I've decided to check in on my black co-workers and friends this week. They are all fine - better than I am, actually. None are protesting - of the ones that I talked to and responded. Granted two didn't respond to my email/text, but I'm hoping they are okay as well.) J is more worried about the virus than anything else.

Crazy organization has sent emails to all of the managers requesting that they volunteer to give out PPE (hand sanitizer/masks) across twenty three stations out on Long Island and in the City. They are supposed to set up a PPE station, and hand stuff out to the customers who request them. J has not volunteered and doesn't think we should be doing it. Also it's expensive - we can't afford it - where's all the money going to come from?
J ranted about this for about fifteen minutes. I kept trying to talk about the protests or other things - but this was her main concern. She's also terrified about being sent back to work - apparently they are considering sending some of the managers back. Also she has her own office. It's not her office she's concerned about - it's getting to her office. I can identify - that's why I don't see them sending most of us back. She can't drive there - no parking. Trains - not really possible to social distance on trains, and according to those who've taken them? The trains now have a person in every row. So...where are we putting additional people? And what about the jerks who aren't taking the virus seriously? Have the police help you with them? Uhm, that didn't go over all that well during the stay at home phase.

(It's very interesting to work for a public transportation agency during a pandemic, you would not believe the issues that come up - and how complex this situation truly is. Add to that civil unrest and protests. Honestly one of the worst possible times to have protests and civil unrest is during a pandemic. Yet, I know why it is happening now. People are fed up. They've been cooped up for three months, and a lot of them are dead broke and struggling. Plus they got to deal with the threat of police violence. I kind of saw this coming a mile away. But it does pose interesting issues for a public transportation system struggling to keep running and working during a pandemic.)

Speaking of Crazy Workplace...I had a lengthy discussion about comic books over Microsoft Teams with one of my project managers.

He had his video on - and it looked like he was in a storage closet with files at work.

ME: Where are you?
Project Manager: My second office.
ME: Looks like a storage closet-
PRoject Manager: Oh this? I collect comic books.
Me: Cool! I love comic books.

[He lives in the suburbs with his wife, and now his daughter who recently returned home. His wife is working out of the living room. No one has left the property. He leaves work by going downstairs, and sits on an outdoor sofa on his lawn and he's home. I just take my laptop from my desk to the armchair - and I'm home. It's a quicker commute.]

He collects comics and sells them on E-Bay, also sells them for other people. He sold a mint-condition Incredible Hulk, issue #1 for a friend of his at well over $250,000 on E-bay. An X-man #9 on E-bay went for $95,000. He showed me a Captain America #1 in a glass encasement, an Avengers #1 also in glass encasement, and an Amazing Spiderman #1 in glass encasement.

We had a lengthy chat about the selling of vintage comics. And collecting them. We also discussed the procurement of a security assessment, which was the reason for his call. I didn't grace him with a video of myself. I do not do video chatting.

Fighting with People on Social Media is Exhausting

Meanwhile - because I'm frustrated at work, and easily distracted, I got into heated debates with people on social media. Yes, I know, it's a bad idea.

fighting with entitled rich white guys on social media on both sides of the divide )

New York, The Protestors & Human Rights Advocacy

The Governor meanwhile has proposed an act entitled "Say Their Names" with four cornerstone's :

The 'Say Their Name' Reform agenda includes:

1. Allow for transparency of prior disciplinary records of law
enforcement officers by reforming 50-a of the civil rights law;
2. Banning chokeholds by law enforcement officers;
3. Prohibiting false race-based 911 reports and making them a crime; and
4. Designating the Attorney General as an independent prosecutor for
matters relating to the deaths of unarmed civilians caused by law
enforcement.

It's a start. I want more of course. If it were up to me, we'd ban all guns in this country, but it's not up to me. Getting people to give up their guns is akin to telling a guy - you are cutting off his dick. It ain't happening.

And dear god, the stuff on the news about the protests in New York are painful, sickening even - but it's not what I've seen friends post nor in my area.Read more... )

Miscellaneous

Didn't really get much of a walk in. And I think after 47 days of waffling that my period may be coming? I'm sipping a Lime Tequila Margritta - that came in a can courtesy of Foodkick. Cheaper and easier than buying all the ingredients, also less sugar and alcohol.

Watching cartoons on The Disney Plus channel - at the moment "Wolverine and the X-men", one of the better animated of the Marvel cartoons. It's close to what they were doing with Justice League. The writing is about the same - except I have issues with how they've developed and written Cyclops. (But I always do. I've yet to see an animated or live action film that handles that character well.)

And trying not to let the world outside get to me, too much. I realized today that I have not been on a subway, car or any means of transportation since March. Nor have I walked further than Prospect Park or Greenwood Cemetery. Co-worker today said it was the end of week twelve of our confinement. And there doesn't appear to be an end in sight.

In two weeks, I will have to brave the subways for a doctor's appointment, hopefully blood work, and COVID testing as well. I am hunting more masks.
It's more compulsive than anything else.

Anyhow, tomorrow my desk chair shows up. I think. Hopefully it will be fully assembled as advertised. Fingers crossed. Also that it will work and solve some of my problems. Then I got to figure out what to do with the other desk chair. Small issues, I know. Embarrassingly small.

I miss being close - physically to other people - without fear. I wonder sometimes when that will change. That fear.

Anyhow, I leave you with a sunset..it was taken on my birthday at the exact time I was born - in Costa Rica in 2017. An enlarged photo of it hangs in my apartment, it is the only picture hanging on my apartment walls.

shadowkat: (Grieving)


I'm beginning to think that I'll look back on 2020 as the year I walked aimlessly and meditatively through a cemetery. It does help one gain perspective...also seems a fitting metaphor for dealing with death. And that is what is happening - the world as I know it is dying, and shifting, and being reborn. But it's hard to be hopeful right now. The picture above kind of illustrates how I'm feeling at the moment. Why use words when a picture can say it all?

Crazy Workplace

I called Chidi today. Chidi is from Alabama, he's about twenty-eight, and looks like the kid of Omar Epps and William Jackson Harper. Asked how he was doing. About the same as I'm doing - it turns out. Neither of us have braved the wilds. He was going to protest last night - but ran into family issues. Basically his mother - from Alabama made him promise her that he wouldn't do it. It's kind of dangerous to protest. Although, I told him that if he wanted to do it - last night was the night for it. It was relatively peaceful last night - nothing happened. I think the worst - was the police blocked off a bunch of protestors on the Williamsburg Bridge, their legislative representative rushed out to see what was happening and discovered that the Brooklyn end of the bridge was open. (I found this out on Twitter - then jumped off Twitter - too many insane conservatives that I felt an overwhelming desire to throttle.)

During the Staff Meeting, Boss decided to bring just a tad of levity to the proceedings...
Read more... )
It's stormy. Storms rolling in from the Midwest. The sky is constantly shifting. We had a rainstorm at 1 PM, then pristine blue sky, barely a cloud up until roughly 7pm, when the storm clouds rolled back in. The stormy unsettled weather makes me itchy, like I want to jump out of my skin.

Also, work, as I informed my mother in our daily phone chats - which keep us both sane, I think, or at the very least from worrying about each other - is exhausting. I'm tired by 3pm and can barely focus. Read more... )

Mother: Are you exhausted because of the tedium of the tasks or something else? Such as writing up mods, analyzing numbers, issuing them, asking people for stuff, waiting on it..
ME: Pretty much the tedium...and yeah that.
Mother: At least you are a really good writer and like doing it.
ME: True. But...there are days...

Walks help.




New York vs. well everything?

I'm beginning to feel sorry for the Governor. He looks tired and battle-worn, but then aren't we all? Read more... )
Frigging hell, whoever thought a simple New Year's Resolution - To Be Kind, would be so hard to keep? I keep wanting to throttle people. It's exhausting. Not the throttling, the repressing the need to do so.

I'm depressed. This feels futile. Like we're trying to defeat an insurmountable foe that refuses to listen to anything but the sound of its own voice. And no matter what I do, I feel like I'm just continuing to bash my fists against that same stone wall.

So...



I Walk Through a Cemetery

I decided to forgo the bible study tonight. Didn't really feel like looking at my fat ugly mug on Zoom or anyone else's. Or trying to discuss the bible.

I needed trees, graves, and quiet. Some people carry phones and listen to music wandering about the Cemetery, I prefer to listen to the sounds around me. The twittering of birds. (There are parakeets in the cemetery by the way - it's the only place I've seen them. Don't blame them. If I were a parakeet, I'd go there too.) The breeze whispering through the trees. Sometimes loud, sometimes soft. Right now in my apartment, I'm listening to the grumbling of the sky and the pattering of rain - the storm has arrived apparently.

The Cemetery was peaceful. My mind began to clear. I saw very few people.
Mostly I was alone. Just me, the graves, the trees, and the birds, and a couple of flowering brush.

Surrounded by death - it helped to block out the noise. And there's a lot of noise at the moment. A lot of shouting. Screaming really. So loud, it's hard to think. Or see clearly. I'm constantly being told what to do - but I don't see a lot of "Doing" so much as telling. It's like being in that area of a book where you want to shout at the damn writer to stop telling and start showing?

I'm considering donating to Jaime Harris' campaign against Lindsey Graham, an old racist fart who needs to go. My mother already has - she's in South Carolina, Graham is her representative and he's failing her. Or Amy McGrath's in Kentucky. Also boycotting all the advertisers of Fox News.
And any firm that donated to a Republican Campaign. I don't know if it will work though.

I'm tired. I hurt. Today, I could barely breath through the mask. It was hot, and humid outside, and the mask clung to my lips and nostrils. When I hit the Cemetery and no people in sight, I pushed it down and took in the nice crisp clean air - that smelled of freshly cut grass. Everything smells of freshly cut grass at the moment - I think too many people are mowing their yards. I may have to switch masks to the buffer one, it's thinner and easier to breath through. This one - made me feel like I was inhaling cloth.

Also, I'm beginning to wonder why I'm bothering? While most folks do wear them, there are those who can't be bothered. Not many but they are there.
I want this to be over. I want to go back to my life, such as it was, and I want to fix my life - do things differently, although I know I won't. So many of our choices are predetermined by things that are simply outside of our control - or so I think, as I ponder which path to take in a winding cemetery of graves and trees and freshly mowed grass.

shadowkat: (Contemplative - Warrior)
What can I say? Except to continue to report on what is unfolding as I see it day by day. To give you a sense of what it is like to live here in Brooklyn and New York City during a pandemic.

We are currently under a curfew citywide. I'm told it is nation wide by friends on FB. 8pm to 5am. I got an emergency alert on it around 8PM and at 5PM.

I read an article in the New York Times today that stated Where the Virus is Growing Most - Countries with Illiberal Populist Leaders - The US, the UK, Russia and Brazil.

Accomplished very little today - my mind refused to focus. And sleep is filled with jagged nightmares as the days flow tirelessly into each other.

I signed petitions online and tried to text - the text didn't work. And I've donated.

So this is the fifth day of protesting in pandemic central despite an 8pm curfew...actually they are kind saying "fuck that curfew".

New Yorkers vs Racism, the Police and the Corona Virus )

I leave you with flowers.

flowers )
shadowkat: (Contemplative - Warrior)


After work, I walked through Greenwood Cemetery again to get a little perspective. I needed it. By 4pm today, I had this overwhelming sense of futility. As if no matter what I did - it did not matter. Nothing I did mattered - I was merely pushing rocks up a cliff. I stared bleakly out my window. Hard to focus on work related activities, hard to think.

I did manage to get some work done but not a lot, which means tomorrow will be busy or the day after that. My shoulders ached. And I've not been sleeping well. Outside the clouds roll in and out of the sky, and the breeze ruffles the leaves, although it is still now, and quiet, twilight moving slowly to dusk as the sun dips out of sight in the horizon and the light slowly fades from the night sky.

Online...I've read the stories of last night's protests across our country, our world. And a discernible pattern begins to emerge - the enemy is organized. They've sent people to infiltrate the peaceful protests to sew anarchy and chaos. Carol, a friend of mine (the belly dancer, Doctor Who addict, and IT networker), reported live from the protest in Brooklyn. Read more... )

At noon, the Governor came on - and what he said had me sitting upright with rapt attention. Read more... )

And I realized as I meandered through Greenwood Cemetery and these long days on my own...that I'm not alone. Every where I went in the Cemetery, I stumbled upon people. Various shapes and sizes of people. Some sitting on the grass talking on a phone, a child playing among the tombstones, a woman and man chatting...granted I was alone for long periods of time, but eventually I stumbled upon people, glorious, frustrating, kind and weary people.





I got an emergency alert on my phone that a CityWide Curfew" has been put in place from 11 pm to 5 am for New York City. Essential workers are exempt. It should be noted that no curfew was put in place during the lock-down, and we are due to start opening up next week. People stayed in and home during the lock-down. They don't know if the mob protests have spread the virus or not. Most people wore masks and social distanced, also most were under the age of 55-60.

And then I popped on line and read a long post from my cousin, a veteran, who stated that this war can't be won by raging impotently on social media. And posting political views.

This is what my cousin posted:
Read more... )
And it is an echo of what the Governor of New York stated today - "The reason we were able to climb off this mountain and contain this virus is you, the people. Not leaders. You. The people. The people lead, leaders follow. You have to set the course. The leaders will race after you to catch up."

shadowkat: (Angry)
When you read a friends post - about an event happening in their community that is far outside of yours, not in your country, not in your town and outside your realm of experience - please try to read it with curiosity, kindness, and concern, not judgement. Do not presume to know what that person is going through what their experience is, or what they are feeling. Do not presume to know what is happening near them. Or what they are experiencing.

Remember first, BE KIND.

They aren't you. And you do NOT know what they would do.

I am trying to be kind. I do not always succeed. When I'm angry or scared, it's very hard.

This morning, I cried for two hours - watching the Mayor and the Governor's press briefings.

I am sharing links here:

* Mayor De Blasio's Briefing on the Brooklyn Protest

* Governor Cuomo's Briefing on Coronavirus and the Brooklyn Protest

The protests took place outside of Atlantic Avenue Terminal and Barclays arena. This a twenty minute subway ride from my home. I did not know about the protests. There were two - one in Foley Park in Manhattan, which never became violent, and one in the streets around the Barclay's Center in Brooklyn. I found out about the second one last night via a friend who lives in the area live video footage from her apartment.

To put this into context - the Brooklyn protests took place in an area that is just a couple blocks from various "hotspots". It had over 3000 people. No social distancing. Brooklyn currently has 54,817 confirmed cases of COVID-19 (that's not counting the ones that have yet to be confirmed), with 5,085 dead. That's the highest of any county in the US for deaths, and the third highest number of cases of any county in the US.

Currently many of the people in these areas are unemployed, they aren't wearing masks or practicing social distancing - hence the uptick in cases. Many of the people are essential workers.

I take the train and work with many of them. The area I live is among the most diverse in the country.

Throughout my life - I've worked in social justice. I went to law school to become a civil rights attorney - unfortunately couldn't get a foothold, so ended up doing what I could within a Railroad and through church, and various volunteer pursuits.

Last night scared me. Why, people chose to go out without regard to their safety or anyone else's and instigated violence near the train terminal I commuted in and out of daily. It was 20 minutes away. And it resulted in more violence and pain. And no, it is not an isolated incident. I've seen more violent protests in my lifetime. The only difference about what is happening now and what happened in the twentieth and nineteenth centuries is we have the internet and social media. So you can see it now.

I've lived through it. When I first started working in Jamaica, there were protests over the police killing of a man at a Gentleman's Club a block from where I worked. And my church had their banner "Black Lives Matter" stolen.
I've had people stare and move away from me and friend on subways back in the 1990s, because she was black and I was white.

And I walked through a housing authority project, in Kansas City, Kansas, with severe infractions - that I worked to resolve with Legal Aid of Kansas City. I've stood outside a courtroom with domestic violence victims and their abusers, as they attempted to get orders of protection. I've marched (I don't believe in person protests solve anything any longer - particularly if violence is involved.) In the 1980s, I remember standing up in a room full of activists regarding the apartheid situation in South Africa - and telling them that protesting for disinvestment by camping out on the front lawn or waving signs, was fucking easy, it was fun and games and the administration was treating them like unruly children because they were acting like unruly children. If you want to get their attention take a page from the smart activists of the 1960s such as Martin Luther King who staged a sit-in. Do a sit-in at the Dean's office where the alumni have to walk by and use that time while sitting there to write letters to them. (They took my advice, and I joined them, sitting on the floor of the Dean's office to write three letters to various members of the board. And you know what? It fucking worked! The college disinvested in South Africa.)

Fresne - want to know what she's been doing? She's working with a major phone bank and calling constantly to get out the vote and change the people who are in office. She's making masks and distributing them to shelters around Los Angelos (another area hard hit by the virus).

A consultant this week that I spoke with over the phone, who lives in the suburbs of Long Island.

Consultant: Every day I sort out eggs and food and take them with my daughter to the El Salvadorian Community where I live.
Me: Thank you so much for doing that. If only I could. [All I can do is give money to various places like the Robin Hood Foundation, Food Bank of NY, and City Harvest, and COVID-19 First Responders. That and wear masks, and stay out of grocery stores, tip delivery people high, and stay home.]
Consultant: I know, I feel like it is such a small thing.

I told a co-worker once that I've learned over time to ignore what people say and pay attention to what they do. Words can be deleted. I deleted a post and all the comments today, because I was furious at the lack of communication. We are so fucking good at judging each other and telling each other "What I would do if this was my situation" or "What I would do if I was" or "IF was a privileged white woman living there I would hope I'd.."

What are you doing? Not, what would you do, because I got news for you? No one gives a shit what you think or hope you would or might do. That's the most useless phrase you could utter. What we all care about and should care about is what are you going to do?

I have a friend on DW who tries to give blood plateletes every week. It's painful. She's in her sixities. She works in a blood bank. She is considered an essential worker. She went into the office on Memorial Day. And she goes out of her way to give presents to older people on their birthdays, at a safe distance and in a creative way.

What acts of kindness are you doing? Not what you think I should do, or you think someone else should do. What are you actually doing?

What am I doing? I work 8 hours a day trying to keep infrastructure going. I send money to various causes. I meditate to keep myself sane and in check. I take long walks through a cemetery and stay at distance. I wear an uncomfortable mask. I get food deliveries and for the first time ever, have been getting take out to keep restaurants afloat. I wish I could do more.
But I am immune compromised. I'm over fifty years of age. I have high blood pressure (the vast majority of people who get COVID-19 have high blood pressure), I have recently been diagnosed with the beginnings of Type 2 diabetes. If I get COVID - it could very well kill me. There's a 60-70% chance. You may not value my life very much, but I do and so does my poor mother and father.

I do what I can. I work with a boss who is black, and I'm proud of that, as I am proud that the president of my organization is Asian-American, and the vast majority of my co-workers and project managers are people of color or various races. Through my job I provide work to minority and women owned businesses. I abate the environment. A recent project provided elevators and stair wells and other safety improvements to a train station in a lower income community.

I do what I can. I don't have a lot.

I live in an apartment in the middle of a big city. It is a 77 unit building. I do laundry in the basement. I don't have a lot of furniture. I do not have an outside garden or a terrace. I don't live with anyone. The only person I spoke with today was on the phone, and the only ones I talk to all week are on the phone.

I go walk through a cemetery to get fresh air. Half the people I pass don't wear masks - many are young and privileged between their 20-30. With their cellphones out, as if nothing matters. The older ones tend to wear them, and it is a mix.

The crisis isn't over. And what is happening with the protests? That's been going on since before I was born. I was born in the 1960s in Chicago - the year of my birth - they had the race riots in Chicago - a block or two from my parents apartment. The city was literally on fire around me when I was barely a year old.



shadowkat: (Default)
Today, I asked my co-worker, whose family hails from Haiti, so she's Haitian-American, how she enjoyed Gettysburg, PA. She'd visited Gettysburg over the Memorial Day Weekend with her fiancee. And she told me that she felt...unsafe, and anxious the whole trip. How surprised and somewhat shocked she was to see the number of confederate flags in the souvenir shop. Across one wall was huge Confederate Flag -- stating it's not about the War or Racism, but about Heritage, and how the South will come back to what it once was -- eventually. The town that they visited was all white. It was the first time she'd been in a place in which she was the only person who wasn't white.

The cafe they ate it -- they were the only non-white patrons. The other patrons were starring at them like they didn't belong. In fact at one point she asked her fiancee if there was something on her face -- because she didn't understand why the people in the table near them were staring at them for so long. When she got back to their room at the hotel, all she could think about is how badly she wanted to go home. The whole weekend she felt anxious and uncomfortable.

Afterwards, she told her fiancee that they were going to research a trip thoroughly before going. And he would have to do his historical war visits with friends, she'd prefer to go to a beach or somewhere that she could relax and chill.


[I deleted the rest of this post, because I decided what I said was not important.]
shadowkat: (Default)
1. Already irritated for various reasons not worth going into, a shelf fell on my head, while I was attempting to get my grill out from the lower shelf. Luckily only plastic ware was on the shelf. The little plastic thingamigs that held said shelf in place broke off or came undone for no discernible reason and the shelf fell. This is worrying me, because its the second shelf that's fallen. And I don't know if the shelves holding my glasses will follow suit. I complained to the super but the prior shelf, but nothing.

So, am sending an email to management company tomorrow to advise that the shelves keep falling and it's dangerous. And I need someone to fix the shelves that they clearly constructed in a poor and faulty manner.

2. I have eclipse glasses, whether I'll use them or not, no clue. I will be working at the time. And the eclipse is around 2:45 PM. I've set my television to record the news specials on it, where they are showing it live around the country.

Also there aren't really that many trees around my building or places to see it. I work in a city.

Apparently there are people out there who have no idea what an eclipse is. One wonders about our educational system.

Actually, I've been wondering about it since the Doofus got elected.

3. Here's a nifty Trailer for a Television Anthology Series Based Solely on Philip K. Dick stories entitled Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams. It's apparently Australian produced, with Bryan Cranston and Ronald Moore at the executive producing, show-running, etc helm. Amazon has rights in the US, Channel 4 has rights in Great Britain.

4. Bloody tired of the seemingly endless debate on the ugly confederate statues and monuments.

Anyhow, I got irritated enough to waste time doing a bit of research on the topic.

The NY Times has a good article about the bloody statues, which were erected by, the Daughters of the Confederacy, along with various other white supremacists over time. Confederate Statues and Our History"

And Where and When they Were Erected -- although not sure how accurate that is.
Read more... )
From: Confederate Monuments History..

* From the Atlantic The Stubborn Persistence of Confederate Monuments
Read more... )
* Aha, found the article stating that the silly statues were mass produced from pre-fabricated parts and as artistic as well the wrought iron molding on your gate, although some people see that as art, I guess.

Read more... )
Why Those Confederate Soldier Statues Look a Lot Alike

* List of Hate Speech Cases From the US Supreme Court Note, Hate Speech is NOT protected under the First Amendment. But, most people don't know what it is.
Read more... )
shadowkat: (Default)
Woke up in a good mood, then alas I went to work and my mood slowly drifted downhill from there. Not helped by the weather. Whenever I went outside, I felt as if I was treading through water. The air was thick with perspiration and electricity...

1. This week, Sci-Fi fan Co-worker, the one who loans me books...which would be cool, except he likes to loan me books that have tiny print and he'd bought in the 1960s, so they make me sneeze...

Sci-Fi Co-worker aka RZ (short for Roger Zelzany fan): I saw the worst science fiction/fantasy series on television ever this weekend. And I do mean the worse of anything I've ever seen in my entire life.
(I take a breath and brace myself...just in case it's one I happen to like, there's so many to choose from. Also this is rare, because he pretty much likes all sci-fi/fantasy shows, even shows like Midnight, Texas. )
Me: Okay...what was it?
RZ: Twin Peaks.
(I burst out laughing.)
Me: Okay, do you mean the current one? Or the original?
RZ: Yes, the most recent..
Me: Did you watch the original?
RZ: No -
Me: Because the sequel won't make a lick of sense without watching the original, or so I've been told.
RZ: My wife saw the original...
Me: Did she like the sequel?
RZ: Really not. It made no sense. Everything about it was horrible...
Me: Well, you got to understand it's David Lynch. After the first two seasons of Twin Peaks, he sort of went off the rails...and decided to be surreal. So if you don't like pure surrealism, you probably won't like it...
RZ: Maybe. Except this was just awful.
Me: David Lynch is often an acquired taste. For me he's hit or miss. I liked the first two seasons of Twin Peaks, Mullohound Drive, and Blue Velvet. Not so much the other stuff. Dune was a disappointment.
RZ: Skip this.

Considering everyone online including my mother's cousin adores the sequel to Twin Peaks, I find this conversation rather amusing and somewhat informative.

2. Discussion with freshman roommate, who happens to be African-American, lives in Boston, and works as financial planner about that Racism chart that I posted the other day. This also includes my aunt, who had to pipe in her two cents. The national debate on racism...is necessary but extremely painful.



Ex-Roommate: I have a problem with us trying to define racism. What about people who march, make space, "put themselves in harms way" for other motives? Defy parents, low self-esteem, trying to prove something? What about POC who are racist against other POC? It's fine when people are obvious about racism, but you can't get into the minds and hearts of people, look at surface behavior and yell racism. I think this chart is fine, but its so much deeper then this.

Me: Thank you. I've been wondering about this as well. Can we define it so neatly? And is there a relationship between racism and "privilege", which should be emphasized? I think you are right -- it's much more complicated than this.

Ex-Roommate: I know plus size white women who say they can only date black men because white men aren't attracted to them. Is that racist? I know a woman who adopted a little girl from China, and she would constantly say racist things towards Asian people at work. When we called her out on it she said, "I'm not racist my little girl is from China." And I constantly have black people telling me, "You should have financial education classes just for black people as we don't know how to manage our money like white people." Racist?

Me: I think it's prejudice and racism but it is socialized racism. But not necessarily discrimination in all cases? There's a huge difference between racial prejudice and racial discrimination and profiling. I mean everyone is prejudiced in some way, right? I think we all make generalizations based on physical traits and develop prejudices many of which we are socialized to believe. But, that doesn't justify racist or prejudicial behavior that hurts another. So I think it depends on the action? I.e. The woman who prefers dating black men because they see her as beautiful is a bit different than the coworker who thinks it is okay to say abusive and derogatory comments about the Chinese even though she has an adopted Chinese daughter. If anything what she's doing is worse because she's reinforcing negative racial views regarding her own daughter. Just as it is different for black people to use the "N'' word and for a white person to use it. Or a white guy to say blacks can't manage their money as opposed to the black woman stating it -- however in both cases it's not true. My white grandparents and many family members are horrific at it and I work with a lot of black financial whites.

Aunt: The chart is not diagnosing your racism. It's a tool to open your eyes as to where you stand and then hopefully, you strive to improve yourself. It's not a judgement tool. It's a self help tool.

Aunt to Ex-Roommate: No. Mentally maladjusted. I've worked in the public sector and, let's face it, there are some out there who are just plain nuts! (Whoops, I hope I wasn't being offensive to the mentally ill).



I don't know. Racism is admittedly a trigger for me. I have strong opinions regarding it. I think in part because I've seen up close and personal the consequences of it. I've met and talked and become close to people who were severely hurt by it. And I've listened to and sat with the bigots. I think I told you about my Uncle Earl, he died several years ago. The man would talk about "Nigger Ball" that's what he called Basketball. And he disowned his daughter for marrying a person of color. And at one point, he pointed out to my parents that they might want to worry about my brother marrying his wife, who was part Cherokee (and Jewish) because they tend be quite dark and will have...dark kids.
My father had to leave the room and could barely stand him. He called him "Lonseome Dove", half in jest.

I'm trying to listen. And not say too much. I think sometimes I say too much. I've been criticized a lot in my life for saying too much.

3. On a brighter note...Voyage to the Other World: A New Eulogy for Ray Bradbury by Margaret Atwood Okay, it's an eulogy, so maybe not brighter?

4. I don't know, I think several episodes of Great British Bake-Off need to be binged this weekend. I need a palate cleanser. Either that or the Defenders...although I think Great British Bake-Off would be better.
shadowkat: (Default)
1. States Remove Confederate Monuments

Following in the footsteps of Baltimore, many other cities across the United States have taken preliminary steps to remove their own Confederate monuments. This includes statues and plaques and the like, as well as schools, highways, and other facilities named for Confederate soldiers, even holidays. All told, the Southern Poverty Law Center identified about 1,503 items as of 2016. Moreover, the vast majority of statues and physical markers are located in what can be considered southern states; of the 718 monuments and statues, about 300 are located in Georgia, Virginia, or North Carolina.

As you already know, Charlottesville’s city council voted to remove a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee from the newly-minted Emancipation Park. It was this decision that led to the violence that occurred over the weekend. As of right now, the statue’s removal is on hold as the city tries to figure out how to move forward after the protests and tragedy of the weekend. Gainesville, Florida has already moved one statue, and is in the process of raising funds to remove a second. One North Carolina statue was knocked over by protesters in response to what happened in Charlottesville.


This is actually a big deal. A historic event. Keep in mind these monuments have been around since the 1800s. So they are over 100 years old. The removal of the monuments to the Confederacy has opened up a nation wide debate on the topic. A debate that everyone from Condoleeza Rice, former Secretary of State to Robert E. Lee Jr, V, descendant of the Confederate General have participated. Interestingly enough, Rice thinks the monuments should stay where they are and Robert E. Lee's descendant thinks they should be put in a history museum depicting the horror of the times.

You'd think it would be the opposite, it's not.





Asked about the value of preserving statues that honor slaveowners in a May interview on Fox News, Condoleezza Rice argued against what she called the "sanitizing" of history. "I am a firm believer in 'keep your history before you' and so I don't actually want to rename things that were named for slave owners," she said. "I want us to have to look at those names and recognize what they did and to be able to tell our kids what they did, and for them to have a sense of their own history."

"When you start wiping out your history, sanitizing your history to make you feel better, it's a bad thing," the former secretary of state added.

Rice's defense in favor of preservation is rooted in an argument that is the basic opposite of the reason white nationalists are rallying for Lee. They believe it to be a persistent reminder of a positive history. Rice, on the other hand, believes preserving monuments to the darker moments of our past ensures future generations are acquainted with history and charge forward rather than backward, away from the mistakes of their ancestors, rather than into their fading bronze arms.

To be clear, Rice has not yet voiced her opinion on this particular statue. But hers is an interesting perspective to consider at a time when a small but vocal group of racist bigots is drawing attention to one of the darkest times in our nation's history.



I am curious to see what she'd have said after the events in Charlottsville.

Meanwhile...



Lee, a great-great-grandson of the Confederate hero, and his sister, Tracy Lee Crittenberger, issued a written statement on Tuesday condemning the "hateful words and violent actions of white supremacists, the KKK or neo-Nazis."

Then, Lee spoke with Newsweek by phone.

"We don't believe in that whatsoever," Lee says. He is quick to defend his ancestor's name: "Our belief is that General Lee would not tolerate that sort of behavior either. His first thing to do after the Civil War was to bring the Union back together, so we could become a more unified country."

The general was a slave owner who led the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia during the Civil War and who remains a folk hero throughout much of the South.

"We don't want people to think that they can hide behind Robert E. Lee's name and his life for these senseless acts of violence that occurred on Saturday," Lee says.

The Lee heir says it would make sense to remove the embattled statue from public display and put it in a museum—a view shared by the great-great-grandson of Jefferson Davis.

"I think that is absolutely an option, to move it to a museum and put it in the proper historical context," Lee says. "Times were very different then. We look at the institution of slavery, and it's absolutely horrendous. Back then, times were just extremely different. We understand that it's complicated in 2017, when you look back at that period of time... If you want to put statues of General Lee or other Confederate people in museums, that makes good sense."


Then there's this statement from the Mayor of New Orleans...


But there are also other truths about our city that we must confront. New Orleans was America’s largest slave market: a port where hundreds of thousands of souls were brought, sold and shipped up the Mississippi River to lives of forced labor of misery of rape, of torture.

America was the place where nearly 4,000 of our fellow citizens were lynched, 540 alone in Louisiana; where the courts enshrined ‘separate but equal’; where Freedom riders coming to New Orleans were beaten to a bloody pulp.

So when people say to me that the monuments in question are history, well what I just described is real history as well, and it is the searing truth.

And it immediately begs the questions: why there are no slave ship monuments, no prominent markers on public land to remember the lynchings or the slave blocks; nothing to remember this long chapter of our lives; the pain, the sacrifice, the shame … all of it happening on the soil of New Orleans.

So for those self-appointed defenders of history and the monuments, they are eerily silent on what amounts to this historical malfeasance, a lie by omission.

There is a difference between remembrance of history and reverence of it. For America and New Orleans, it has been a long, winding road, marked by great tragedy and great triumph. But we cannot be afraid of our truth.

As President George W. Bush said at the dedication ceremony for the National Museum of African American History & Culture, “A great nation does not hide its history. It faces its flaws and corrects them.”

So today I want to speak about why we chose to remove these four monuments to the Lost Cause of the Confederacy, but also how and why this process can move us towards healing and understanding of each other.

So, let’s start with the facts.

The historic record is clear: the Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis, and P.G.T. Beauregard statues were not erected just to honor these men, but as part of the movement which became known as The Cult of the Lost Cause. This ‘cult’ had one goal — through monuments and through other means — to rewrite history to hide the truth, which is that the Confederacy was on the wrong side of humanity.


He's not wrong. You should really read the whole thing. After listening to the Mayor's speech, I re-affirmed my view that yes, those frigging monuments need to come down. They should have been torn down in the 1960s. No, wait. They should never have been erected in the first place. Apparently there's a memorial to a Nazi sympathizer and collaborator in NYC, why it's there, I've no clue. Particularly in NYC of all places. Although changing place and street names may be a bit more problematic from a logistical perspective. (Yes, I know, I'm possibly the only person on the planet that obsesses over logistical matters... But, say you are looking for a post office located on Robert E. Lee Avenue and suddenly it has become Forest Hill Avenue. You're GPS can't find it and neither can you. Granted, if I were African-American I would not want to be living on Robert E Lee Avenue or passing down it every day to work. So, yes it should be changed. It's just a bit problematic. I bring this up because Governor Cumo wants to change the place and street names in New York. Now, why New York of all places had places and streets named after Confederate Generals is beyond me.

2. North Carolina Protest Arrest

In the days since Charlottesville, cities across the country have taken steps to remove Confederate monuments. Baltimore removed all of theirs in the middle of the night earlier this week. And if you haven’t yet watched the video of protesters in Durham, North Carolina, who refused to wait on their city and toppled a Confederate statue themselves, I recommend doing so. It’s highly catharticOne woman, Takiyah Thompson (you can see her coming out from behind the statue in the GIF), was arrested for her part in the protest. She’s currently out on bail, but this morning, a group of about 200 people gathered outside the Durham courthouse to oppose her arrest. And many of them (about 50 by some accounts) also went full Spartacus and lined up to turn themselves in to authorities.


3. How America Spreads the Disease that is Racism by not Confronting Racist Family Members and Friends

There's a nifty chart, see if you can identify where you fall on it.

Racism Scale Chart.

I can't reproduce the chart, sorry, I tried. You'll have to follow the above link.

If you fall below “awareness”, then this is a red flag that racism is a problem for you. If it is not a problem for you, but find that it is a problem for your family members and/or friends, then it’s time to address it or it will continue to spread throughout America.

Like alcoholism, an alcoholic cannot thrive without their enablers. It is the same white Americans who enable their relatives and friends who are racist. It is important to identify and recognize that racism is a mental illness and recommend that individual to a psychotherapist as needed.

There is no easy way to contain a disease, but if we can identify the symptoms, then we can put a stop to it through education and awareness.


This is why it is very important to talk to a diverse group of people constantly. I remember ages ago being challenged by my friends, when I muttered that if only I can be around people who agreed with me all of the time. They said, a)that would be boring, and b) how would you know when you are wrong?
shadowkat: (Calm)
This excerpt from President Obama's eulogy for Rev. Pickney, I found moving and I thought hit the nail on the head regarding racism, not just in the US but world wide:

None of us can or should expect a transformation in race relations overnight. Every time something like this happens, somebody says, “We have to have a conversation about race.” We talk a lot about race.


There’s no shortcut. We don’t need more talk.

None of us should believe that a handful of gun safety measures will prevent every tragedy.

It will not. People of good will will continue to debate the merits of various policies as our democracy requires — the big, raucous place, America is. And there are good people on both sides of these debates.

Whatever solutions we find will necessarily be incomplete. But it would be a betrayal of everything Reverend Pinckney stood for, I believe, if we allow ourselves to slip into a comfortable silence again.

Once the eulogies have been delivered, once the TV cameras move on, to go back to business as usual. That’s what we so often do to avoid uncomfortable truths about the prejudice that still infects our society.

To settle for symbolic gestures without following up with the hard work of more lasting change, that’s how we lose our way again. It would be a refutation of the forgiveness expressed by those families if we merely slipped into old habits whereby those who disagree with us are not merely wrong, but bad; where we shout instead of listen; where we barricade ourselves behind preconceived notions or well-practiced cynicism.

Reverend Pinckney once said, “Across the south, we have a deep appreciation of history. We haven’t always had a deep appreciation of each other’s history.”


What is true in the south is true for America.
[Also, I think the world at large, too often we forget the violent lessons of our history, no matter how often television, movies, plays, and books attempt to remind us of them.] Clem understood that justice grows out of recognition of ourselves in each other; that my liberty depends on you being free, too.


That — that history can’t be a sword to justify injustice or a shield against progress. It must be a manual for how to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past, how to break the cycle, a roadway toward a better world. He knew that the path of grace involves an open mind. But more importantly, an open heart.


That’s what I felt this week — an open heart. That more than any particular policy or analysis is what’s called upon right now, I think. It’s what a friend of mine, the writer Marilyn Robinson, calls “that reservoir of goodness beyond and of another kind, that we are able to do each other in the ordinary cause of things.”

That reservoir of goodness. If we can find that grace, anything is possible.

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