May I Ask A Tough Question

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I wander in & out of the dinner thread. Many times I just read. When I’m going thru crap I close up. When I’m busy or I’m eating chili for the 5th day in a row ( how often can you joke about 1 word dinner answers ) I don’t post. When I inevitably come back to posting as opposed to just reading the thread, there isn’t any ( public at least ) judgment on where I’ve been & how could I not possibly see the importance of it & how I’m failing my responsibility not posting or whatever. I’m just accepted back, as me, flaws & all. Like family.

Thank you scrapmaven

I can't say that I have participated in either of those threads. I miss those peas and their presence on the board is missed. I feel like I should make more of an effort to keep those threads alive. I am political and make sure I speak out, even if it falls on deaf ears with politicians in office. Whether or not I'm considered a white woman depends on the form I'm filling out. I'm Hispanic and consider that to be my race. We have our own view on race that isn't necessarily shared by most Americans, so usually there is no "Hispanic" on the race list. But that's a whole other thread.

Thanks. I think. 

I'm just getting ready to eat dinner so perhaps I'll wait till later to read them.

Raising my hand.  
I believe i was the first person to start the Call to Action thread in honor of our friend Compwalla/ Virginia.

And I dropped the ball in not posting monthly. I think that was partly due to very little participation. Part was due to ill health. If you would like to take over posting it one a month Olan , I would be grateful. I don't think of it as something to do to pay myself on the back for what I have done / am doing/ will do, but rather as a way for those of us interested in issues of social justice to share info/ ideas and to inspire one another.  

As to what I have been doing:
I participated in a UU curriculum this spring on issues revolving around race.  1.5 day workshop with participants from several other congregations to begin with, then eight 2 hour sessions over the next 4 months with our congregation's group of 13.  This past Sunday we created the entire worship service, with 4 of us delivering mini sermons and 11 of us taking part in one way or another.  Another group will be starting this February and 14 people signed up to participate immediately following the service.  I was one of the speakers sharing my experience with the congregation. I had 4 minutes in which to speak and gave a lot of thought to my remarks.  

I make a monthly donation in support Shaun King's Real Justice PAC, whose mission is to "Elect prosecutors who will fix our broken criminal justice system."

I read and watch content created by black people - Ta Nehesi Coates, Ava Duvernay, Jacqueline Woodson and others.

I attend local events where i can learn/ hear from people of color, including an event I'm going to this week, on my birthday.

I support my local SURJ group (Showing up for Racial Justice).  

There is sooo much more for me to do and to learn.  I would LOVE to participate in a monthly Call to Action Thread.


Edited to add:  This is the quote in my email siggy.

"...there really is no mode of empathy that can replicate the daily strain of knowing that as a black person you can be killed for simply being black." Claudia Rankine

I am like you in many ways.  When I do something nice for someone I try to do it anonymously. It's not about me.  

But in terms of making our world a better place, in a thread designed to share what we're doing, I feel it is about inspiring others.  And there can't be too much of that in our current world, in my opinion.

I haven't read any of the thread so maybe my question is already answered....But, I'm wondering why it's only the responsibility of white women to address issues? Why wouldn't you just say "....when I bring up the sense of responsibility ALL woman should feel...." ?? or even better... "....the sense of responsibility EVERYONE should feel..." ?

Personally I don't participate in either thread. I don't do the dinner thread because I hate thinking up what to cook, and half the time I never know anyway until later in the day. Although, maybe I should take a look at the thread to get some ideas.

And honestly I've never seen the "call to action" thread that you're talking about. It sounds like it was a place to list what we've done in the way of social justice and/or political lobbying or whatever...? I'm not sure I'd participate in that because the things I do are regular, every week or month (depending on what it is), and it sounds like bragging, and also I get plenty of discussion about all that through my church so I'm not necessarily looking for that here.

You mean calling out white women for not doing what she also isn't doing?

Omg! Literal, out loud gasp, tears in my eyes... WTF NOoooooOooo!! Seriously?!! Nooooo! Uhhhhh, omg... Fuck. 😢😡🤬😭🤧🤒

You are so off base.




ETA:



This is so true. We are so far from where we should be. I'm embarrassed and sad, and I feel helpless and a bit hopeless. 😢☹

Ok. so Olan wants a white woman on here to post a weekly/monthly/whatever thread..right?
And then she will come on it, and tell all us white women how wrong we are?
got it.

I think Ps are being rubbed the wrong way, because online, you don't see color. I have NO idea what color people are.

I don't participate in either thread. The dinner one because it doesn't interest me. The other thread because I don't participate in political threads. I don't feel the need to justify my politics or how woke or not I am here. Normally I wouldn't have even opened this thread, but I was on my phone and didn't know was a political thread until I started reading. Then I decided I wasn't going to read and run but give an honest answer to Olan.