I know these folks, have lived among them my entire life, and still try on occasion to reach out to them and bring them forward. But mostly I am at a loss.
How do we change the mind set of people that have a belief system not based in facts and logic? People that literally believe the Earth is ~6000 years old and/or climate change is a hoax. Those that lack, or don’t exercise their critical thinking skills.
How do we change the mindset of someone who verbally abuses and/or gaslights you whenever you try? When sometimes all you physically can do is run away from the interaction that trips all the triggers of abuse you grew up with.
How do we teach people who are uncomfortable with self-introspection, to take the time to critically examine and reflect on their own words and actions? And to reflect on the behaviors of people they consider leaders?
How do we white folk actually accomplish the great task of changing the mindset of our close-minded brethren? Is it even possible when they suspect any source that does not align with their belief system, as elite propaganda??
And most importantly, how do we hold white folks living in denial accountable, when they don’t even believe reality?
Maybe we don’t…
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The dogmas of the quiet past, are inadequate to the stormy present.
The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise — with the occasion.
As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew.
We must disentrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country.
teaching 16 credits at 3 colleges. 12 credits is FT in this part of the country, so I am basically working 1.33 FT status.
one college wants to arm campus security because of the UCC and other campus shootings, so I have been having to follow along and stand up for those of us who don’t want armed campus “police” in our safe learning spaces.
at another I am involved in a gender discrimination and general administration complaint.
at the third I am following/involved in getting a better contract for adjunct faculty.
I also logged over 23 hours of field time with students this term. This figure does not include scouting field trips.
a core group of us have come together to move forward. Much love to the amazing individuals who have done more in less than 2 weeks than we ever did under the Justice Together (re-)brand.
When I was a little girl looking up at my beloved, but very racist (and sexist) Grandfather, I prayed that those attitudes, that I found so flawed at my tender age, would die out with his generation. After he died I wrote these words about him in my journal to express my conflicting feelings for this man I did love.
He loved rocks and god.
He took care of his family.
Gave freely to needy strangers.
Outside looking in.
Upstanding citizen.
So why does he hate you so?
The color of your skin, the length of your hair?
Weren’t you born of the same god as he, as me?
Reach out my hand now, his face is so cold, pale, and dead.
No lies to tell about you.
Look at me, I see you.
Different eyes, why?
What did he see?
I hope I never see!
His Jesus had long hair?
Why don’t I see?
As he saw.
Just the color of your skin,
The length of your hair?
Do you see me?
Did he?
– Journal entry from January 24, 2000
~~~~~
Even though I loved my grandfather very much, sadly he was my first experience with racism and sexism. I also credit him with my first experiences of a loving (albeit dysfunctional) family and introducing me to a love of rocks and minerals, which I carry with me to this day. In many ways he was everything you think a grandfather should be; he loved us, taught us lots of stuff, and best of all (if you are a kid) he took us to do many fun things, including many rock and mineral hunting trips. It’s safe to say that I pretty much idolized this man when I was a child. But he also left me traumatized in many ways, and his constant hatred of “others” was one of them.
Grandpa used to read the paper every night and was very vocal about how he felt about the n*$$ers, immigrants, and long hairs. I remember questioning him about the long hair thing, “but Grandpa, Jesus had long hair,” which was really all I had any evidence for back then, well before the internet as we know it today. He would explain that Jesus grew up in a time before scissors and barber shops. I was younger than 10 at the time, so he won that round and I don’t recall ever challenging him again.
Over the years, as many teenagers and their grandparents do, we grew apart and when I did see him, I still didn’t feel enough personal power to “rock the boat.”
Sadly he died before I ever got to tell him where he could shove his racist and sexist ideology.
Sometimes we’re around folks so that we get clear examples of who we never want to become.
I remember asking my Grandma how she could be married to a man like him, again when I was a preteen, and she said I would understand when I grew up.
No Grandma, I still don’t understand and I hope I never will!!!
As I look around at the world today I am aghast to see that these same racist (and sexist) attitudes that I abhorred as a child, are still just as prevalent as Grandpa ranting over the nightly paper about how it was all “their” fault, meaning either black, brown, hippie, or pretty much anyone he considered to be “other.” From my Facebook* feed alone, much of which stems from the same area my grandfather lived in and I grew up in, I now know there is much work yet to be done in changing these antiquated and uneducated beliefs.
Thankfully I am no longer that confused, scared little girl who couldn’t wrap her mind around hating others because of their skin color, outer appearance, and/or gender. In her place is a grown woman, who has found her voice, and isn’t afraid to use it to call out such bigoted, sexist behavior!
*If you are currently friends with me on FaceBook and we grew up together, then count yourself among the lucky few who have managed to not piss me off with racist and/or sexist attitudes!! Thank you!
Many of you already know that I have chosen to take a leadership role at Justice Together with the goal of moving Oregon forward with respect to how the police and the community, they are sworn to serve and protect, interact. I truly believe that there is solution to ending police brutality in America.
All of you probably know by now that I spend a lot of time keeping up on current events on our planet. Over the past years or so, especially since the deaths of Eric Garner and Mike Brown, I have watched and read about incident after incident of police abusing their power and getting away with it.
During that same time period, I became aware that even in academic circles, which I had considered to be educated and enlightened on diversity issues, there is still a ton of racial bias, and an almost kneejerk reactive support for police in cases that I clearly saw as police brutality.
Then I started having hard conversations with friends and family and it became clear to me that in many of the police brutality cases, the letter of the law was on the side of the police, regardless of whether their actions were reasonable or just. What is equally clear is that nothing is going to change unless white people stand up and force change.
I’ve read about too many cases of police abusing their power over innocent people, people who look like my students, my son’s friends, my friends, and (if I were of color) even me. I see myself in the words and actions of Sandra Bland as captured in her arrest video, an arrest that never should have occurred.
Watch it; then ask yourself why she spent 3 days in jail, and how she “killed herself” with something that should not even be in a jail cell. Keep in mind this all happened because of a minor traffic infraction, which by Sandra Bland’s own words, was instigated by the officers own driving behavior.
What I see here is racist cop who got butthurt because Sandra “dared” to be irritated with him and to also not comply with his UNLAWFUL order to put out her cigarette. Is this really okay in our country in two-thousand-fucking-fifteen?!?
I think not!!!
It breaks my heart to think we likely will never know what really happened to Sandra Bland, and to too many others liker her.
I believe that our justice system needs to be overhauled or rebuilt from the ground up, and I plan to help lead the team to that end in Oregon. We at Justice Together believe that Oregon is a state that can help to “set the tone” for the entire nation on the issue of police brutality, as we are known for on other national issues.
One of the leaders of this movement, and our fearless leader, Shaun King, whom I have a ton of respect for, has said that this is the civil rights movement of our generation…and I agree.
If you ever wondered what you would do if you lived in the era of the of the Civil Rights Movement, now is the time to find out. We’re here
